Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond (Volume 2)

This second open access book in a series of three volumes examines the repertoire of policies and programmes led by EU Member States to engage with their nationals residing abroad. Focusing on sending states’ engagement in the area of social protection, this book shows how a series of emigration-related policies that go beyond the realm of social security address the needs of nationals abroad in the area of health care, unemployment, family benefits, pensions and economic hardship. In addition, this volume highlights the variety of sending states’ institutions that are involved in these policies (consulates, diaspora institutions, ministries, agencies…) and their engagement with citizens abroad in other policy areas such as electoral rights, citizenship, language, culture, education, business or religion. As such this book is a valuable read to researchers, policy makers, government employees and NGO’s

The Co-operative Model in Practice : International Perspectives

Published with the support of the Scottish Government and the Economic & Social Research CouncilPublisher PD

Mutual fund performance in Slovenia : an analysis of mutual funds with investment policies in Europe and the energy sector

This paper examines the risk and return performance of mutual funds in Slovenia from 2005 until August 2009. The research is limited to the regional investment policies in Europe and the energy sector. Using monthly returns, we analyzed different risk-adjusted measures such as: the Treynor ratio, the Sortino ratio and the Information ratio. We also studied selections and timing ability using the Treynor-Mazuy model. The risk and return performance of mutual funds in the Slovenian market does not deviate from those in developed markets. We also found out that the selection ability of fund managers is better than market timing and that the findings of this paper are in accordance with other international studies

Behaviour Intentions to Use RFID Subcutaneous Microchips: A Cross-sectional Slovenian Perspective

This paper presents the second iteration results of a study investigating the possibility of radio frequency identification device subcutaneous microchip (RFID-SM) usage as a substitute for personal identification, healthcare issues, shopping or payments, and home usage. Our aim was to investigate the readiness to use SM-RFID in everyday life. In the study, we used an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to verify the main concerns regarding the use of RFID-SM among Slovenian people. The survey responses were gathered from October until December 2016. After evaluating the model, it can be concluded that the fit of the model is good and the significant path of dependence are similar as in the first study from 2014. Similar to previous results, the Health Concerns have a negative effect on the Perceived Trust and Perceived Usefulness of SM-RFID adoption. On the other hand, the Perceived Trust and Perceived Usefulness have a positive effect on the Behaviour Intention to use SM-RFID

Tacit Web: Entrepreneurial Discovery, Institutional Complexity and Internet Diffusion

This dissertation investigates how institutional frameworks and entrepreneurial discovery processes condition internet diffusion. While internet and internet-based technologies have received considerable scholarly attention, the dissertation emphasizes tacit elements in understanding internet diffusion. In order to do so, it incorporates perspectives on insttitutional complexity stemming from interactions of formal and informal institutions and different institutional logics. Empiral part consists both macro level comparisons of Estonia and Slovenia as well as micro level analysis of internet diffusion processes within Estonia. Estonia and Slovenia are selected for comparison because of considerable variance in insitutional frameworks. At the same time, both countries are relatively small and members of the European Union. This allows to focus on specific institutional configurations and path-dependencies in constraining and enabling the diffusion of internet. I find that internet is diffused more extensively and intensively in Estonia. Different socio-economic groups use more sophisticated online services in Estonia than in Slovenia. Once specific institutional configurations in general and in the telecom sector in particular are considered then it emerges that insitutional frameworks in Estonia have been more facilitative of entrepreneurial discovery processes over time. As a result, supply and demand for innovative online services in Estonia is greater than in Slovenia. After comparative perspective on two countries, the dissertation proceeds to analyze specific cases of online initiatives in Estonia such as internet banking and internet voting. Examination of outcomes shows how some of these initiatives have been successful and created reasons for adoption and use of internet on the individual level leading to a greater diffusion on macro level. My analysis demonstrates that positive outcomes have often been unintended result of experimentation through the process of entrepreneurial discovery within the context of institutions and path-dependencies. Evidence for this finding is bolstered by study of heterogeneous cases of various ICT initiatives. By emphazing institutional complexity and policy heterogeneity, the dissertation illuminates and explains the tacit nature of internet diffusion in a specific context of Estonia. This implies that Estonia has followed a unique developmental trajectory which cannot be generalized and transferred to other countries

E-health fejlesztések az egészségügyi szolgáltatások hazai és európai uniós rendszerében

"Az Európai Bizottság 2012–2020-as időszakra vonatkozó, az elektronikus egészségügyi fejlesztések irányait felvázoló cselekvési tervének kidolgozása és az ún. Egészségügyi Elektronikus Szolgáltatási Tér kialakítását előirányozó törvénytervezet társadalmi vitára bocsátása nyomán az e-health fejlesztések a közösségi és a hazai jog szintjén is meghatározó kérdéskörré váltak. A tanulmány célja a magyar és a közösségi e-health megoldások alapvető jellemzőinek felvázolása a releváns jogi normák, az európai uniós intézmények dokumentumai és a másodlagos irodalmi források segítségével. A fejlesztés alapvető céljainak és eszközeinek meghatározása révén feltárhatók az európai uniós és nemzeti jogi nézőpontok különbözőségei. A fejlesztési programok és a már létező megoldások elemzése az interoperabilitás megteremtésének nehézségeit és a finanszírozási lehetőségeket szemlélteti. Az elemzést a hatásköri és alapjogi szempontok bevonása zárja. Ezen vizsgálat mentén kijelölhetők az e-health fejlesztések jogi, gazdasági és technológiai keretfeltételei.

Research on the Road

How do people drive on roads and behave in traffic? How can we change driving habits and encourage more environmentally responsible modes of transportation? These are the two main questions to which the volume tries to answer. It tackles the problems of driving, traffic, transportation, and mobility fully, rather than from a single perspective, which has tended to be the norm so far. The authors describe how we can weave together qualitative and quantitative approaches, how useful interviews are for understanding driving comfort, the power ethnography has to help us understand the lifestyle of drivers, which technological tools and approaches are the most useful for analyzing styles of driving, how to explore vehicles and traffic by analyzing language, how traffic might improve or worsen our way of life from a psychological point of view, and how we can encourage environmentally friendly behavior and practices on both the road and in life in general