Older gays and lesbians are one of the most invisible social groups as they experience "double invisibility": in Western societies that celebrate youth, they are invisible as older and as older homosexuals. Existing research shows a different structure of social networks of older gays and lesbians compared to older heterosexuals, it points to fears of discrimination in care activities and feelings of exclusion from the LGBT community, which, like society at large, is defined by youth. This exploratory study for Slovenia identifies similar trends, with the key problem being the tension between an individual's stigmatized homosexual identity, which the elderly still mostly hide, and the LGBT community, which is not inclusive for older gays and lesbians. The purpose of the research was to identify key characteristics of everyday life of older gays and lesbians in the period before the existence of activism in Slovenia and the characteristics of the current position of older gays and lesbians in the LGBTIQ + community and society at large.
The Covid-19 epidemic and associated changes in everyday life have exacerbated existing inequalities between people, particularly in the case of many invisible, vulnerable, and marginalised groups, and exposed systemic weaknesses in addressing their needs. The study "The needs of LGBTQ+ people over 50 during the Covid-19 epidemic" explored the impact of emergencies on the daily lives of LGBTQ+ people. In the interviews, interviewees highlighted the hardships of those LGBTQ+ people who have a small social network and/or are not in a partnership, as well as limited access to shared events and safe spaces where people can live according to their identity. Interviewees had both positive and negative experiences with health and other services and emphasised the importance of having access to services and the need for aware and trained providers who are able to accommodate to the unique circumstances of LGBTQ+ people. The findings highlight the importance of researching the experiences and life trajectories of people in times of emergencies in order to better respond to identified needs.
nternational tobacco smuggling remains an important concern for governments, tobacco manufactur-ers and health experts alike. While often linked to other forms of illegal activities, it also directly impacts govern-ment tax and health policies. Knowledge of factors that contribute to illicit tobacco trade and the existence of smug-gling routes is strongly hampered by the lack of reliable data on bilateral flows of illicit tobacco. Therefore, recon-structing the trafficking routes and estimating the size of cross-border illicit flows are crucial steps for gaining bet-ter understanding of these crimes and enforcing actions aimed at countering them. This study is the first to use grav-ity estimation techniques to decompose aggregate illicit cig-arette inflows for which data are available into their bilat-eral components. Our approach is a simple and effective method that can serve as a complement to other methods of pinpointing international trafficking flows such as empty discarded pack data or network analysis to help in the fight against illicit tobacco flows. Policymakers, customs officials as well as law enforcement can employ the presented meth-ods as an additional tool in the fight against illicit trade. Keywords: bilateral illicit cigarette trade, gravity model, predictive estimation
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.
Politična korektnost predstavlja velik problem v današnji družbi, ki skuša biti inkluzivna. V inkluzivni družbi je namreč pomemben jezik, ki ga uporabljamo, saj ne želimo nikogar diskriminirati ali izključiti iz družbe. Magistrsko delo se osredotoča na politično korektne in nekorektne izraze, ki se pojavijo na socialnem omrežju Twitter v času predvolilne kampanje v ZDA in v Avstriji. Zanimal me je predvsem jezik štirih predsedniških kandidatov: Donalda Trumpa in Hillary Clinton iz ZDA ter Norberta Hoferja in Alexandra van der Bellena iz Avstrije. S pomočjo izbranih objav na socialnem omrežju Twitter sem skušala poiskati povezave med Avstrijo in ZDA. V teoretičnem delu sem navedla vse potrebne definicije in prikazala politično korektnost v povezavi z drugimi jezikovnimi fenomeni, kot so tabuji, stereotipi in predsodki. Ločeno sem obravnavala politično korektnost v Avstriji in politično korektnost v ZDA. Zanimala me je tudi povezava politične korektnosti s svobodo govora. Raziskala sem, s katerimi zakoni je urejena pravica do svobode govora v Avstriji oz. Evropi ter v ZDA. V empiričnem delu sledi analiza izbranih objav. Vse politično nekorektne in politično korektne izraze, ki so se pojavili v času predvolilne kampanje, sem razdelila v kategorije in jih analizirala tako statistično kot tudi jezikovno. Rezultati so pokazali razliko med ZDA in Avstrijo glede rabe politično korektnega jezika in zmage na volitvah. V ZDA je namreč zmagal kandidat, ki je med kampanjo uporabil največ politično nekorektnih izrazov. V Avstriji pa je zmagal politično najbolj korekten kandidat. Največ različnih politično nekorektnih izrazov se je pojavilo na področju rasnega/etničnega razlikovanja, kar sem tudi pričakovala. ; Political correctness matters for inclusive society. Language that we use is very important in an inclusive society because we do not want to discriminate or exclude anyone from society. This master's thesis focuses on politically correct and politically incorrect terms that appeared in the social network Twitter during the election campaign in the USA and Austria. I was interested in the language of the four presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton from the USA, and Norbert Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen from Austria. I tried to find similarities and differences between Austria and the USA with the help of selected posts on Twitter. The theoretical part, contains the definition of political correctness and show political correctness in relation to other linguistic phenomena, such as taboos, stereotypes and prejudices. Political correctness in Austria and political correctness in the USA are compared and political correctness is associated to the freedom of speech. The legislation regulating right to the freedom of speech in Austria and in the USA is discussed. The empirical part presents an analysis of selected Twitter posts. All politically incorrect and politically correct terms that were found during the election campaign were divided into categories and analyzed both statistically as well as linguistically. I have found out that politically correct language is not necessary for an election victory. In the USA a candidate who used the most politically incorrect expressions during the campaign won. In Austria, on the other hand, the most politically correct candidate won. Most politically incorrect expressions appeared in the category racial/ethnical discrimination, which was expected.
Predmet doktorske disertacije je upravljanje zunanjetrgovinske politike države ob upoštevanju delovanja nadnacionalnih entitet, pri čemer je naš osrednji cilj identificirati optimalen način realizacije nacionalnih interesov v okviru nadnacionalne entitete (tj. Evropske unije). Zunanjetrgovinska politika je eno izmed najstarejših ekonomskih področij, o katerem so tekle resne akademske razprave že v Antični Grčiji pred več kot 2000 leti. Vendar o razvoju svetovne trgovine kot sistematičnem globalnem načinu trgovanja govorimo šele od 15. stoletja dalje. Za boljše razumevanje področja v doktorski disertaciji najprej opredelimo teoretska izhodišča, v okviru katerih predstavimo teorije mednarodne menjave ter analiziramo vlogo države in ekonomske diplomacije skozi različna zgodovinska obdobja (merkantilizem, liberalizem, protekcionizem, intervencionizem ter obdobje liberalizacije in globalizacije). Kot najpomembnejše teoretično izhodišče od Davida Ricarda dalje identificiramo ugotovitev, da svet ni ničelna vsota – vse države z zunanjo trgovino pridobivajo. Kljub temu da so države skozi različna zgodovinska obdobja (glede na gospodarske razmere) vodile različne zunanjetrgovinske politike (protekcionistične ali liberalne), teorija in praksa potrjujeta, da liberalna zunanjetrgovinska politika povečuje konkurenčnost gospodarstva. Študije ekonomistov (Sachs in Warner 1995, 35 ; Frey v Pruslecki 2008, 5 ; Krueger 1980, 289) namreč kažejo, da države z liberalno zunanjetrgovinsko politiko dosegajo višjo gospodarsko rast od tistih s protekcionistično. Kot potrditev teze navajamo izsledke analiz, ki kažejo na višje stopnje gospodarske rasti v t. i. hitro rastočih gospodarstvih (državah BRIICS ‒ Braziliji, Rusiji, Indiji, Indoneziji, Kitajski in Južni Afriki). Slednje so na podlagi liberalizacije trgov v zadnjih dvajsetih letih dosegale višje stopnje gospodarske rasti od razvitih gospodarstev. Glede na to da je predmet disertacije zunanjetrgovinska politika v okviru Evropske unije (EU), ki jo Slovenija sooblikuje, se v okviru analize ukrepov osredotočimo na ukrepe zunanjetrgovinske politike EU, vlogo nacionalnih in nadnacionalnih (vladnih in nevladnih) akterjev ter povezavo vsebin z drugimi politikami. Ključni akterji v procesu formalnega delovanja na področju zunanjetrgovinske politike EU so: Evropska komisija (Direktorat za trgovino), Svet EU (Odbor za zunanjetrgovinsko politiko, Coreper in Svet za zunanje zadeve), Evropski parlament ter nevladni akterji (združenja, nevladne organizacije) kot nadnacionalni akterji in (vladni in nevladni) akterji na nacionalni ravni držav članic EU. Prioriteta zunanjetrgovinske politike EU je multilateralna zunanja trgovina, vzporedno pa potekajo pogajanja s številnimi državami oz. regijami za sklenitev preferencialnih trgovinskih sporazumov. Med ukrepi zunanjetrgovinske politike EU je pomembna še Strategija dostopa na trg, v okviru katere se dosegajo sinergije na podlagi okrepljenega partnerstva med Evropsko komisijo, državami članicami in gospodarstvom. Ugotavljamo, da postaja v obdobju globalizacije zunanjetrgovinska politika izrazito večplastna ter da izginjajo meje med zunanjimi in notranjimi politikami. Na primeru pogajanj t. i. Razvojne agende iz Dohe, ki potekajo v okviru Svetovne trgovinske organizacije, potrdimo tezo o prepletanju pogajanj na različnih ravneh (bilateralni, regionalni in multilateralni) in vsebinski povezanosti zunanjetrgovinske politike z drugimi politikami (z razvojno, s kmetijsko ipd.). Slednje potrjujejo tudi strateški dokumenti EU (Strategija Evropa 2020 ; Trgovina, rast in svetovne zadeve ter Globalna Evropa: konkurenčna v svetu), v katere je zunanjetrgovinska politika vključena kot pomemben sestavni del politike konkurenčnosti. ; The doctoral thesis focuses on a country's external trade policy management in relation to the processes witin subnational entities. Our main goal is to identify an optimal approach to realizing national interests in the context of a subnational entity (i.e., the European Union). External trade policy is one of the oldest economic policies. The first discussions on trade issues started among philosophers in Greece 2000 years ago, but global trade as a systematic process emerged in the 15th century. At the beginning of the doctoral thesis, the focus is on the theoretical background ‒ theories of external economic co-operation. We analyse the role of the state and economic diplomacy in different historical periods (mercantilism, liberalism, protectionism, interventionism, liberalisation and globalisation). The most important theoretical finding is (discovered by David Ricardo and confirmed in subsequent theories) that all states, engaged in external trade, gain (we talk about the so called positive sum). Although countries led different external trade policies during various historical periods (liberal or protectionist), theory and experience show that the liberal external trade policy increases competitiveness of an economy. Studies of several economists (Sachs and Warner 1995, 35 ; Frey 1984 ; Pruslecki 2008, 5 ; Krueger 1980, 289) also confirm, that countries with a liberal external trade policy record higher growth rates than those in favour of protectionism. Emerging economies (the so called BRIICS countries ‒ Brasil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa) record higher growth rates in the last twenty years – after liberalising their markets. We analyse the European Union (EU) external trade policy measures, the role of national and subnational (state and non-state) actors, and the interconnectedness of the external trade policy and other national policies. The key actors in the formal process of creating EU external trade policy are: European Commission (Directorate General for Trade), Council of the EU (Trade Policy Committee – formerly 133 Committee ; Coreper, Foreign Affairs Council), European Parliament, non-state actors (associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) as well as actors in the member states (state and non state actors: ministries, diplomatic network, business associations, chambers of commerce, NGOs, etc.). The priority of the EU external trade policy is multilateral trade – successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda. In parallel, EU is negotiating preferential trade agreements with several countries and regions. One of the most important trade policy measures is also Market Access Partnership, where active involvement of member states and the business sector is expected. Globalisation has changed the patterns of global economic co-operation and global trade. External trade has become more complex (linked to the competition, energy, environment and sustainable development policies) and the number of actors (state and non-state) involved in the policy has increased significantly. The boundaries between external and internal policies disappear as well. We show the interactions between different actors, negotiating levels, and policies on the World Trade Organisation Doha Development Agenda case, where the positions of the negotiations have to be agreed on at different levels: national, bilateral, regional, and multilateral. External trade policy is an important part of the EU strategic documents (Global Europe: competing in the world, EU 2020), and therefore an important element of the competitiveness policy. The thesis also confirms that the role of economic diplomacy in trade issues has gained importance during the last twenty years. Saner and Yiu (2003) argue that the main function of the post-modern economic diplomacy is representation in the international organisations and influence on other countries' policies.
