Private Information Retrieval: Combinatorics of the Star-Product Scheme

In coded private information retrieval (PIR), a user wants to download a file from a distributed storage system without revealing the identity of the file. We consider the setting where certain subsets of servers collude to deduce the identity of the requested file. These subsets form an abstract simplicial complex called the collusion pattern. In this thesis, we study the combinatorics of the general star-product scheme for PIR under the assumption that the distributed storage system is encoded using a repetition code

The national question, monarchism and the state in the political views of the Russian emigrant Sergei Prokopovich

Sergei Prokopovich was a moderate socialist and he held the post of minister of the coalition Provisional Government of Russia in 1917. In 1922 he was obliged to emigrate first to Berlin, and then to Prague. In Prague, he organized the Economic Cabinet (1924–1939), a well-known scientific center for the study of Soviet Russia.Unlike a significant part of the Russian emigration, Sergei Prokopovich did not idealize the monarchy and did not approve of the idea of restoration. He posed the question of overthrowing Soviet power to the ”will of the Russian people”, but not to acts of emigration and moreover the intervention. Such position was very controversial, since he understood, on the one hand, the illusory intentions of prominent emigrants, and, on the other hand, the impossibility of realizing the ”will of the people”, in the USSR in the 1930s under the circumstances of the totalitarian regime. Reflecting on the goals and objectives of Russian democracy, he proposed orienting himself towards the European line of development, advocated overcoming the political ignorance of the masses, and was a supporter of parliamentary democracy. Analyzing the role of the state in the nation-building process, Sergei Prokopovich pointed out generally the economic factor as the dominant of national progress. First of all, Prokopovich advocated a historical approach to the study of national issues, when the development of the capitalist economy simultaneously with the formation of the state created a political nation (for instance in the USA). As for the independence of the state, firstly, the developed and independent economy was needed, because if it is not present, then political independence becomes a fiction. Considering Russian case, he believed that the resolution of the national question was very difficult because the country was devastated by the Civil war and the revolution, but it was extremely necessary for the future development of Russia to retain the unity of the state language and legal order, the suitable development of industry and railways too. According to his political views, Sergei Prokopovich was a supporter of democracy, political freedom, and a social state. Thus, it can be attributed to the left-centrist wing of the traditional political spectrum.Sergei Prokopovich was a moderate socialist and he held the post of minister of the coalition Provisional Government of Russia in 1917. In 1922 he was obliged to emigrate first to Berlin, and then to Prague. In Prague, he organized the Economic Cabinet (1924–1939), a well-known scientific center for the study of Soviet Russia.Unlike a significant part of the Russian emigration, Sergei Prokopovich did not idealize the monarchy and did not approve of the idea of restoration. He posed the question of overthrowing Soviet power to the ”will of the Russian people”, but not to acts of emigration and moreover the intervention. Such position was very controversial, since he understood, on the one hand, the illusory intentions of prominent emigrants, and, on the other hand, the impossibility of realizing the ”will of the people”, in the USSR in the 1930s under the circumstances of the totalitarian regime. Reflecting on the goals and objectives of Russian democracy, he proposed orienting himself towards the European line of development, advocated overcoming the political ignorance of the masses, and was a supporter of parliamentary democracy. Analyzing the role of the state in the nation-building process, Sergei Prokopovich pointed out generally the economic factor as the dominant of national progress. First of all, Prokopovich advocated a historical approach to the study of national issues, when the development of the capitalist economy simultaneously with the formation of the state created a political nation (for instance in the USA). As for the independence of the state, firstly, the developed and independent economy was needed, because if it is not present, then political independence becomes a fiction. Considering Russian case, he believed that the resolution of the national question was very difficult because the country was devastated by the Civil war and the revolution, but it was extremely necessary for the future development of Russia to retain the unity of the state language and legal order, the suitable development of industry and railways too. According to his political views, Sergei Prokopovich was a supporter of democracy, political freedom, and a social state. Thus, it can be attributed to the left-centrist wing of the traditional political spectrum

National sovereignty and economic globalization: An analysis of the role of the Imf in the changing world

Chapter 1 outlines empirical and normative theories of national sovereignty. A comprehensive analysis of the origins and evolution of sovereignty is offered. We suggest that the notion of absolute sovereignty is antiquated and needs scientific reassessment; Chapter 2 discusses theories of the nation-state , while keeping in mind that the conceptualization of the nation-state is intertwined with that of sovereignty; Chapter 3 gives a comprehensive overview of contending theories of globalization ion and definitional confusion associated with the concept. We conceptualize globalization in general and economic globalization in particular; Chapter 4 takes the International Monetary Fund as a case study and as one of the manifestations of globalization. We describe the principles and the rationale behind the creation of the IMF, its achievements and failures since its founding in 1945; Chapter 5 (Conclusion) discusses recent developments which point at the erosion of state-centered Realism, a theoretical construct, that views states as the dominant and unitary actors on the international level. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

National urban policy in Russia and the European experience

This article analyses the features, shortcomings, prospects, and limitations of Russia’s national urban policy (NUP) and similar initiatives abroad to formulate proposals for further development of the Russian NUP. To this end, the study examines international (particularly German) documents and publications on NUP and the Russian regulatory framework. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the resilience of cities to crises and the development of urban green spaces. Germany’s current NUP, adopted in 2007, stands out for its complexity and congruence with regional policy. The principal NUP document in Russia is the Spatial Development Strategy. However, it overlooks some issues essential for the development of the city system: the federal authorities support only selected types of towns, such as single-industry municipalities, and the NUP is not comprehensive as it pays little attention to the economic dimension. A feeble information framework and largely powerless municipal authorities impede further development of the NUP. A transition to a comprehensive and well-designed NUP in Russia is proposed, which includes counteracting the concentration of population and economic activity in Moscow and establishing Saint Petersburg as a centre of economic growth. There is also an urgent need to understand the economic development prospects of smaller towns

The sea factor in the federal regulation of Russia's spatial development: post-Soviet experience and current priorities

Current geoeconomic and geopolitical transformations project on Russian society and its spatial organisation, highlighting the problems of spatial socioeconomic development and its governmental regulation. This article examines the theoretical and applied aspects of the incorporation into the national regional policy of the sea factor, understood as a combination of location and resources, which is determined by a country's jurisdiction over coasts and waters, its maritime activities and coastalisation potential, including the economic, settlement-­related and psychological elements of the latter. The article describes the key influences of the sea factor on the spatial development of post-­Soviet Russia. The steadily growing impact of maritime activities on the spatial-­economic and settlement dynamics has been given a new impetus by the rising geostrategic, resource and transport-­logistic significance of the World Ocean, as well as its water and water-land substructures, amid increasing military-­strategic confrontation and geoeconomic regionalisation. The article presents a retrospective analysis of the role of the sea factor in Russia’s regional policy and identifies its stages. The authors emphasise the need for a synergy between maritime and spatial policies and proposes ways of achieving it

And then there were none: what a UCU archive tells us about employee relations in marketising universities

Our study engages evidence from a University and College Union branch archive to explore developments in employee relations (ER) that reflect the organisational effects of marketisation of UK universities. The evidence exposes points of strain in ER at a level of professional divide between managers and academics, and helps to understand their roots in the context of universities as organisational hybrids. Our investigation reveals the failure of ER to adapt to increasingly conflict-ridden working environments and encourages a different, sustainability-centred, approach to constructing ER in universities in an attempt to coordinate more effectively the clashing institutional logics

Private Life Safety Provision in Digital Age

Digital technology nowadays covers all the spheres of life of an individual and society’s activities. With this, it is not a secret that it can be used both for the benefit and to the detriment of the person. In digital age, private life is becoming most vulnerable to arbitrary interference. This article considers various violations of the rights to privacy, communication safety and inviolability of privacy security brought in by the digital revolution. The article concludes that the most important task in the sphere of private life safety is to find a balance of interests of the state, the society and individuals. Private life restrictions caused by the new global threats should not lead to complete disappearance of privacy

Formation and Development of the Training System for Innovative Development of Regional Industry

The paper determines tendencies of modern economy development. The key role in the expanded reproduction of innovation processes in the regions in modern conditions belongs to the enhancement of human capital. Regions are actively increasing their efforts in creating innovative infrastructure, knowledge-intensive industries, while success of regional development is directly related to the effectiveness and cohesion of all innovation infrastructure elements. An indispensable condition for the successful development of innovative infrastructure and high-tech industries is the region economy saturation with highly qualified personnel, particularly mining, trained in view of the projected trends of innovative development

PECULIARITIES OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS OF BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS

The paper deals with psychophysiological features of biological and medical second-year students. Parameters of physical development and cardiovascular system were measured in 88 medical students (52 men and 36 women) and 89 biological students (36 men and 53 women). Peculiarities of psychoemotional status of the women, studying both in biological and medical universities, have been examined with the help of the standard methods. Underweight was detected in 1/3 men studying in medical university and in 1/4 men studying in biological university, in 1/5 women studying in both universities. In more than a half of cases, reduction of lung capacity and muscle strength of the hand was found in biological and medical students of both sexes. Cardiohemodinamic markers in all participants met the normative standards. Balanced state of intro-extroversive attitude, medium level of neuroticism and personal anxiety, hyperthymic type of character accentuation were revealed in most cases in women. At the same time, elevated levels of reactive anxiety and high risk of coronary-prone behavior was higher in women studying in medical university as compared to biological students. The paper discusses possible causes of mentioned specific differences and degree of physiological adequateness of the psychoemotional pattern in women studying in medical university