Lessons from the Czech EU Presidency. CEPS Commentaries, 4 September 2009

While some of what went wrong in the course of the Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2009 might be attributed to extenuating circumstances, it is still useful to examine the experience of the Czech Republic to extract any lessons to be learned, especially for the sake of other small and new member states presidencies in the future. A new Commentary by CEPS Research Fellow Piotr Maciej Kaczyński identifies five major mistakes committed during those difficult six months

The soviet security services in Volyn in 1944-1947

History of the Soviet secret police in Volyn is a perfect example to illustrate the main problems of Soviet power in controlling the newly incorporated and also hostile to the USSR territory. On the one hand, we are dealing with an extremely efficient reproduction of power structures, but on the other hand we are dealing with a shortage and an exceptionally poor quality of personnel forming the new system. An early preparation of foundations of the new administration and managerial personnel had been largely nullified after the arrival in Volyn. For the Soviet secret police, this situation is perfectly noticeable both in their structure, and also in temporary efforts of the authority aiming at rescuing plans which are falling apart. In contrast to earlier liberated eastern districts of Ukraine by the Red Army, where the reconstruction of prewar structures did not encounter with resistance, Volyn was an extremely difficult and dangerous area. As far as the District Departments of the NKVD and NKGB formed on the east freely develop their activities and had no major problems with the reconstruction of departments and sections standing lower in the organizational hierarchy, so in Volyn even the best trained and experienced commanders were not able to perform their tasks without the adequate preparation of regular officials. In order to find a remedy for the dramatic shortage of personnel in the ranks of the Soviet secret police former partisans were massively conscripted, and local residents formed additional Destructive Troops

Policy-Making in the EU: Achievements, Challenges and Proposals for Reform. CEPS Paperbacks. June 2009

This report is the product of a joint project initiated by the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Swedish Confederation of Enterprise. Three expert groups of academics, policy-makers, business representatives and other stakeholders were formed to analyse the major issues and challenges facing the European Union today and to put forward recommendations for reform that can realistically be implemented in the short and medium term. The expert groups focused on EU Decision-Making, Better Regulation and Implementation & Subsidiarity

Access Logs – Underestimated Privacy Risks

Access logs may offer service providers a lot of information about specific users. Depending on the type of the service offers, the operator is capable of obtaining the user’s IP, location, communication habits, device information and so on. In this paper, we analyze a sample instant messenger service that is operating for a certain period of time. In our sandbox, we gathered enough data to correlate user communication habits with their localization, and even contacts. We show how seriously metadata may impact the user’s privacy and make some recommendations about mitigating the quantity of data collected in connection with this type of services

Upgrading the EU’s role as global actor. Egmont Commentary, 25 January 2011

This Commentary argues that the EU should build up a world-class diplomatic corps, capable of becoming a major actor in global affairs. This paper is the summary of a book published jointly by Egmont, CEPS and EPC

Effect of enzymatic conversion of lactose on the flavour profile of goat milk kefir and its permeate after microfiltration

The aim of the study was to analyse the flavour profile and general lust of innovative dairy products – kefir, which has increased health-oriented values resulting from an increase in the ratio of whey protein and an enzymatic bioconversion of lactose. Kefir was prepared from a mixture of goat milk and its permeate concentrated with microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes, combined in a ratio of 6:4. The permeate addition increases sweetness and reduces overall flavour of the dairy. The enzymatic conversion of lactose into galactooligosaccharides further increases the sweetness of the dairy mixture, while simultaneously weakening the odours both goatish and processed

Polycystic ovary syndrome and pregnancy - review

Introduction and purpose Polycystic Ovary Syndrome(PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinological disorders, and it affects 7-8 % of women globally. It is very heterogenous disease, which pathogenesis is complex and composed of many factors like genetics, hormonal changes, environmental factors and insulin resistance. PCOS has many symptoms, which appearance is dependent on comorbidities like obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia. Due to complexity of the pathogenesis of PCOS it may have four phenotypes: A,B,C,D.  The pregnancy pathologies connected to PCOS are mainly gestational diabetes mellitus, pregnancy induced hypertension. Pregnant women with PCOS have 3-4 times a higher risk of developing pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and preeclampsia and a three times higher risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). More than 64% of pregnancies in women with PCOS were terminated via caesarean section.  Metformin, although still controversial may be a good option for the treatment of PCOS before and during pregnancy as a second-line therapy. PCOS is a disease which affects the women in childbearing age and may have negative impact on its course. Pathologies connected to PCOS during pregnancy affect not only mothers, but foetus and according to new researches also children and adults from mothers with PCOS. It is very essential to extract women with PCOS to implement treatment and prevent its complications. Moreover, due to its common association with obesity patients should be under cardiologists care due to higher cardiovascular risk

Sowieckie organy bezpieczeństwa na Wołyniu w latach 1944‑1947

The Soviet secret police in Volyn in the years 1944‑1947History of the Soviet secret police in Volyn is a perfect example to illustrate the main problems of Soviet power in controlling the newly incorporated and also hostile to the USSR territory. On the one hand, we are dealing with an extremely efficient reproduction of power structures, but on the other hand we are dealing with a shortage and an exceptionally poor quality of personnel forming the new system. An early preparation of foundations of the new administration and managerial personnel had been largely nullified after the arrival in Volyn. For the Soviet secret police, this situation is perfectly noticeable both in their structure, and also in temporary efforts of the authority aiming at rescuing plans which are falling apart. In contrast to earlier liberated eastern districts of Ukraine by the Red Army, where the reconstruction of prewar structures did not encounter with resistance, Volyn was an extremely difficult and dangerous area. As far as the District Departments of the NKVD and NKGB [NKVD – The People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, NKGB – The People’s Commissariat for State Security] formed on the east freely develop their activities and had no major problems with the reconstruction of departments and sections standing lower in the organizational hierarchy, so in Volyn even the best trained and experienced commanders were not able to perform their tasks without the adequate preparation of regular officials. In order to find a remedy for the dramatic shortage of personnel in the ranks of the Soviet secret police former partisans were massively conscripted, and local residents formed additional Destructive Troops. Similarly, the emphasis in the Red Army was placed on the number of officials not on the quality of the new officials. The acceptance of partisans on the one hand solved the problem of the number of officials and knowledge of the terrain, but on the other hand it completely loosened discipline, and drastically reduced the level of the whole the secret police. It should be emphasized that the Soviet secret police, especially the Militia, were often the only representatives of Soviet power in the field and became a symbol of its kind. As a result, the common perception, not only the Chekisty, but also ordinary people directed from the inside of the USSR to work in Volyn caused reasonable fear and distrust.In the initial period of the Soviet secret police in Volyn, successes in combating the underground movement have been achieved only by a large number of involved officials and thanks to the impetus of taken actions. The massive arrests connected with the primitive and brutal interrogation methods caused that sooner or later investigators pointed out at people really connected with the underground movement and handed them over to further „processing” to more professional cadres from the Boards of Districts or even to the officers working at the republican level. Massive terror applied in the fight against banditry in addition to numerous abuses and crimes committed by the officials immensely contributed to the continuation of the underground movement resistance and deepen already gigantic human loss and devastation of the war.It is worth emphasizing that the Soviet secret police continually evolved and changed, not only ways of its activities, but also structures. Along with the defeat of the partisan units and transition of the underground movement to deep conspiracy, the main emphasis was moved from actions conducted by the Internal Forces to the operational activities coordinated by the Departments of Battle against Bandits. The system of command and registration was also subject to continuous improvement.Analyzing the documents concerning the activities of the Soviet secret police we can make an attempt to propose the thesis that Volyn became a sort of peculiar training ground on which, without losses, the Soviet leadership tested various methods of taking control of the terrain and subordination of the reluctant population. As a result of these actions total Sovietization was performed. An effective, extremely bloody and brutal combat system with the underground movement was also created. Советские органы безопасности на Волыни в 1944‑1947 гг.История советских органов безопасности на Волыни является хорошим примером, иллюстрирующим основные проблемы советской власти при овладении ново присоединенных, но враждебно относящихся к СССР территориям. С одной стороны, наблюдалось здесь очень быстрое и организованное восстановление власти, с другой стороны, недобор и исключительное низкое качество кадров, участвующих в восстановлении и укреплении строя. Вступительная подготовка новой администрации и управленческих кадров были в значительной степени потеряны после прибытия на Волынь. В случае органов безопасности эта ситуация очень хорошо видна как на их структуре, так и на экстренных мерах властей, целью которых было спасение срывающихся планов. В отличие от освобождаемых ранее восточных областей Украины, где восстановление довоенных структур не встретило сопротивления, Волынь была территорией необычайно трудной и опасной. Если на востоке сформированные областные отделы НКВД И НКГБ без всяких препятствий развивали свою деятельность и не встречали каких бы то ни было проблем с восстановлением своих отделов и ячеек, то на Волыни даже самые лучшие руководители не были в состоянии реализовать поверенных им заданий без специально приготовленных рядовых функционеров. Чтобы решить проблему огромного недобора кадров в ряды органов безопасности массово включили бывших партизан, а из жителей образовали вспомогательные Истребительные Батальоны. Подобно, как и в Красной Армии, упор был положен на количество, а не на качество новых функционеров. Включение партизан, с одной стороны, решило проблемы недобора кадров и знания территории, а с другой стороны, абсолютно расшатало дисциплину и резко снизило уровень всех органов. Следует подчеркнуть, что органы безопасности, особенно милиция, часто были единственными представителями советской власти на территории, поэтому стали ее своеобразным символом. В результате в массовом сознании не только чекисты, но и обычные люди, направленные с центральных районов СССР на работу на Волынь, возбуждали небеспричинные страх и недоверие.На начальном этапе деятельности советских органов безопасности на Волыни, успехи в разгроме подполья удалось достигнуть только лишь благодаря огромному количеству задействованных функционеров и масштабу проводимых операций. Массовые аресты в сочетании с примитивными жестокими методами привели к тому, что рано или поздно следователи ловили людей, которые реально были связаны с подпольем и передавали их для дальнейшей ≪разработки≫ более профессиональным кадрам с Областных Управлений или даже офицерам работающим на республиканском уровне. Массовый террор, применяемый в рамках борьбы с бандитизмом в сочетании с многочисленными превышениями полномочий функционеров, привели к увели‑ чению времени сопротивления подполья и уже итак колоссальных людских потерь и военных разрушений.Необходимо подчеркнуть, что органы безопасности постоянно эволюционировали и изменяли не только способы своей деятельности, но также и структуру. Вместе с разгромом партизанс‑ ких отрядов и переходом подполья в глубокую конспирацию главный упор был перенесен с мероприятий, проводимых Внутренними войсками на оперативные действия, координируемые Отделами по Борьбе с Бандитизмом. Постоянному улучшению поддавались также система их управления и учета.Анализируя документы, касающиеся деятельности органов безопасности, мы можем рискнуть выдвинуть тезис, что Волынь стала своеобразным опытным полигоном, на котором не учитывая человеческих потерь, советское руководство тестировало разные методы овладения территорией и подчиняла враждебно настроенное население. В результате этих действий удалось провести не только абсолютную советизацию, но также разработать эффективную, хоть необычайно кровавую и жестокую систему мероприятий по борьбе с подпольем

Contatto culturale come trauma. Glossa socio-antropologica

Fino a pochi decenni fa il contatto culturale era considerato oggetto di ricerca congeniale all’antropologia e, ovviamente, a tutte le altre discipline affini come l’etnologia, l’etnografia, l’etnolinguistica ecc. E questo avveniva per la coincidenza di due motivi: epistemologico e contestuale