Slovak Government Research Articles

Foreign policy of the Slovak Republic towards challenges in the eastern policy of the European Union

The article is about the selected and current problems of the Central and Eastern Europeanforeign policy of the Slovak Republic. This state, like other small in terms of territoryCentral European countries, due to the actual position held as a player in internationalrelations, it cannot influence the decisions of the other states, i.e. more powerful participants. In this respect, it seems interesting which analysed activities of the Slovak foreignpolicy are now a priority. The content analysis of the source documents and the results ofoperations of the Slovak government allows us to make a distinction between ‘declaredpriorities “and” real priorities”. The first shall be adopted officially, among others, by virtueof the Slovak Republic’s membership in the Euro-Atlantic structures, and the latter arethe result of an independent assessment of international affairs and strive to highlightthe important role of the Slovak Republic in this area. In the case of the first group ofpriorities a very clear duality of attitudes can also be seen, which makes you think aboutthe real objectives, especially in the Eastern European dimension of the foreign policythat the current government of the Slovak Republic aims to meet.

Development and Innovation of Curriculum in Foreign Language

The primary aim of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Žilina in Žilina is providing education of a very high quality. Its realization is evaluated not only by the Accreditation commission but also by the Slovak government advisory body which monitors, reviews and independently evaluates the quality of educational, research, development, artistic and other activities of Slovak universities. The evaluation of Academic ranking and rating agency (ARRA) is based on publicly available and verifiable data concerning the quality of education and research of individual faculties in Slovakia. It is often a decisive criterion in the selection of the university where the students will be studying. The Faculty of Humanities was ranked first in the group of philosophical faculties in the 2012 ARRA evaluation in Slovakia and its aim has become a continuous, high-quality training of students in order to improve their labour market success. To reach the mentioned aim the faculty participates in various projects concentrating on the development and innovation of curriculum with emphasis on the needs of the labour market and knowledge society. As intercultural communication is nowadays one of the key priorities and important pre-conditions for the processes of globalization, our project team has decided to prepare accreditation documents for the study programme Intercultural communication focusing on comparison of socio-cultural dimensions of English speaking countries with the national peculiarities of Slovakia.

The Compatriot Magazine “Jednota”: A Mirror of Hundred-Year History of Slovak Immigrants in the USA

It was mainly the Slovak-American press that had unified the Slovak immigrant community in the USA. It represented a relevant source of information about the Slovak community life as well as about the situation back home in Europe. Today, the preservation of Slovak cultural heritage in an extensive assimilation process of the American Slovaks in the USA is of high significance. The primary objective of the article is to summarize the data obtained by the study of one of the most influencial compatriot periodicals (Jednota – The Union) in the USA as it represents an important part of the Slovak cultural heritage. Key words Slovak immigration, USA, compatriot periodicals Immigrant communities abroad represent a relevant part of the history of both home and host countries. Cultural heritage of immigrants reflects their life abroad as well as the situation back at home from their point of view. Cultural identity and language preservation of minorities living abroad are involved in charters and conventions of both national and international associations. All of them emphasize the importance of enhancing and supporting the activities of compatriots living abroad that keep them linked with their native country. The UNESCO and the European Council have the responsibility to formulate strategies and policies to respect and protect the traditional knowledge, to safeguard the linguistic heritage and to support expression, creation and dissimilation in the greatest possible number of languages. More than 2.8 million people of Slovak origin are scattered all over the world of which two thirds live in the USA (Holestiak, 2002). However, the Slovak Republic has joined these activities only after the fall of communism in 1989. The period before had represented a dark side of the flow of information about the Slovak immigration and their activities. One of the primary goals of Slovak foreign policy today is to protect the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of Slovak immigrants and to assure the cooperation and communication between the Slovak Republic and the compatriot organizations abroad. Consequently, the Slovak government has committed to consecutive financial intervention to encourage compatriot publishers and literary work of fraternal societies to meet international agreements. As the manifestation of the Slovak culture preservation abroad is reflected mainly in literary and publishing work, theatrical and musical performance and folk art. The framework of Slovak cultural identity is formed by three major elements – community, language and religion. To keep the Slovak cultural and national identity in the context of political and social situation both in Europe and in America was not easy. In early years of Slovak settlement in the USA, the Slovaks were just anonymous ethnic group within a large multi-ethnical environment. Since the Slovak national identity was not assured until the gain of independence from 1939 to 1945 and then later in 1993, religion played an important role in their self-identity. It represented an integral part of the Slovak everyday life and their struggle with tough reality. Christian traditions, holiday rituals and customs were kept in immigrant

Electronic Cash Registers as a Part of the Fight against Tax Evasion

The usage of electronic cash registers in the conditions of the Slovak Republic does not have a long, but definitely interesting history, which is very often related to changes and amendments in its legislative and technical-economic aspects. Small and medium enterprises need to pay a close attention to the area of electronic cash registers, as often changes and amendments of legislation and technical aspects cause them problems and additional costs. The usage of electronic cash registers is one of the measures of the Slovak government to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion.

Towards perpetual neoliberalism in education: The Slovak path to postcommunist transformation

Abstract Slovak education policy is an example of the kind of transformations occurring in the education spheres of postcommunist countries. While at the end of the 1990s, it seemed that education policy was still attempting to ensure that Slovakia caught up with education levels in western countries, the period that followed brought with it a shift towards neoliberalization of the education sector and towards the economization of education. Slovakia’s entry into the EU was accompanied by the total assimilation of the neoliberal agenda within education and since then it can be said that Slovak education policy has followed a path towards so-called perpetual neoliberalism. The aim of this article is to show how education policy has developed within Slovak politics, in terms of how it is gradually adapting to neoliberal ideas. The article analyzes government documents from 1998 onwards, particularly Slovak government programs, which document the process of neoliberalization in education.

The Dynamics of Slovak-Hungarian Relations – The Shift from Language Issues to Legal and Symbolic Questions

Abstract Language practice and its official recognition are considered crucial markers of national identities in the region of Central/Eastern Europe. The issue of language rights used to be a vital aspect of the agenda in national movements in the former Austrian (Austrian- Hungarian) Monarchy, together with the process of territorializing and constructing of national identities in the region since the nineteenth century. The protection, persistence, preservation and further development of the national language was introduced as part of the moral obligations and commitments of the members of a community to the constructed national community. This article examines two discrete yet related research questions that address language. The first one is based on dependence theories and analyzes to what extent the contemporary language policy of the Slovak government and political elites as well as its institutional and legal framework are affected by the decisions adopted in the past which created certain institutional as well as mental frameworks of shaping of the language policy. The second research question is related to the place of the “language issue” in contemporary Slovak domestic political discourse and its role in bilateral relations between Slovak Republic and Hungary with regard to the EU accession in 2004.

Present and Future of the Senior Education in Slovakia

The main goal of this paper is to define the basic terms and functions in the field of seniors education. We analyse the Slovak Government politics concerning active aging and we relate it to economical issues. Another section focuses on senior education by means of the University of the Third Age in Slovakia. Actual statistics of the academic year 2012/2013 are provided here. In the final part, the present situation and the future of senior education in Slovakia are compared, and we also discuss the issue of new technologies in senior education.

The 2012 parliamentary elections in Slovakia

The article deals with the topic of parliamentary elections in Slovakia in 2012. The elections were held early after the breakup of the previous Slovak government. For the first time since 1993 a single party, Smer – Social Democracy, was able to gain a majority in parliament and to create a government without the need to find any coalition partners. On the other hand the centre-right parties got only disappointing results and went to opposition. As in the past, the party system of Slovakia still seems slightly unstable as a new party with a strong protest appeal entered the competition and gained mandates.

SECURITY PLAN AS A PART OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION

Critical infrastructure protection and its elements is a strategic task not only of the European Union, but also of the Slovak Republic. For this reasons the Slovak government has adopted the Act No. 45/2011 on Critical Infrastructure in 2011. This legislation implemented Council Directive 2008/114/EC on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures and the assessment of the need to improve their protection. The Act regulates the subject matter of the Act, definitions, organizations and competence of state administration in the area of critical infrastructure, sectorial and cross-cutting criteria, procedure for determining of the critical infrastructure elements, the obligations of the owner/operator, security plan, contact point between the owner/operator of the critical infrastructure element and the relevant Member State authority, the contain of the sensitive critical infrastructure protection related information, removal the element from the sector, administrative offence. The Act provides a stage of the process determining of European critical infrastructure elements and development of a security plan, sectors and subsectors of critical infrastructure and the List of transposed legally binding acts of the European Union in four annexes. The Act enacts to owner/operator of critical infrastructure elements the obligation to process security plan and to proceed according to the security plan in case of disruption or destruction of the element. According to the Act on critical infrastructure the content of security plan especially contains description of the possible ways of element threat, disruption or destruction. It describes vulnerability of element and security measures for its security. The methodology of processing of the security plan is the aim of this article.

Applying the principles of welfare and quality of production in the organic farm of the laying hens

European Union banned with Council Directive No. 74/1999/EC use of the conventional battery cages for laying hens in European Union with effect from January 1, 2012. By this time much attention was paid to the assessment of laying hens welfare in the modified breeding system,namely from aspect of behavior and expression fyziological stress. At present are used the enriched cages, which device is defined by the Code of laying hens living conditions. Quantification of intensity and sequence of the events in different behaviour and a time regime can contribute to knowledge of time spending of the laying hens in the breeding area and to determining of prioritizing their behavior.The aim of our research was assessment an application of principles laying hens welfare in the farm, their production and egg quality. An object of investigation was ecological farm of laying hens. In the experiment were observed thehousing conditions and nutrition of laying hens in farm, egg production, egg weight at laying hens old 42 weeks and selected indicators of chemical formation of the eggs. In the farm were reared laying hens ISA Brown, which are high-productive and the most the most widely used in EU. The informations and data on farm, laying hen hall, breeding facility, breeding conditions, the behavior of the laying hens, nutrition, feeding and egg production were obtained by personal visit an organic farm and informations which the farmer records and stores. The informations about the behavior of laying hens were obtained by observing and comparing with the knowledge and data of the Slovak Government regulation on December 11, 2002, which minimum standards determine for the protection of laying hens.The informations on feed were obtained directly from an organic farm and feed company that followed by accordance the minimum content of nutrients and energy in accordance with the needs of the laying hens. Egg production was monitored on the base of collecting eggs two and several times a day, which was recorded daily on an organic farm. Chemical analyzes of samples of eggs were conducted according to the methodology for analytical laboratories (2009). In the farm were application welfare principles. The laying hens had unlimited access to feed and water, ad libitum, free movement in the stable hall on the litter and perches. The laying hens rummaged and ashed in the free-range are of clay. In the free-range area of grassland where was a shelter, they free ranged and explorated environment. The microclimatic conditions, a construction of the perches, nests in the hall and location of the feedersand drinkers in the hall and in the free-range were solution in the accordance with the needs of improved living conditions of the laying hens. The laying hens achieved an intensity of egg-laying 84.60% in the all laying cycle. An egg weight was 62.30 g at laying hens old 42 weeks. The average dry mater contents was in the table eggs 26.21 g per 100 g of egg mass, the proteins 12.34 g per 100 g of egg mass, a fat 11.63 g per 100 g of egg mass and a cholesterol 1.27 g per 100 g of egg yolk. On the base of achivied the results, further research was recommended in the field the welfare of the laying hens intendent for the production of the table eggs.

Short Thought over Tax Issues

Dear readers, at the close of 2011 I would like to spare a moment of thought over tax issues which have come up during the year. The Czech Ministry of Finance has continued with the preparation of a single collection point, an intention which has been the subject of several years of acclaim and preparation. The aim of a single collection point is to unify the collection of taxes, social and health insurance to a single form, to a single authority. These intentions can adequately be termed using the word "tax reform". They are certainly attractive from the taxpayer's point of view (administration would decrease), but less so for numerous state officials. The result of these preparations was the presentation of the proposal of the Act to the House of Parliament, where it was shown to be incomplete, ill-conceived and impracticable. Thus the tax reform has been postponed to 2014 for the purposes of better preparation. Across the border, the situation (as far as tax reforms are concerned) is not much better. In October 2011, Milan Chovan (the President of the Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisors) informed his Czech colleagues at the annual general meeting that Slovakia is preparing a major tax reform, the intention of which is (among others) the implementation of super gross salary in the Slovak Republic. Apparently, the Czech model had gained such favor among them that they were inspired by it and would like to implement it in the Slovak Republic. Roughly a month later, the Slovak government fell and all intentions connected with tax reforms were indefinitely shelved. Let me one more remark in connection with super gross salary. Its abolition is among the intentions of the Ministry of Finance, as presented in the Czech tax reform. In the area of taxation of physical entities - employers, however, we would not return to the state of affairs before its implementation (when insurance paid by the employer was deducted when calculating the tax base) but rather the tax base under the new concept would be comprised of gross salary minus non-taxable items. Thus we have yet another new model of taxation. The only people pleased by this novelty will be software companies (who will be the ones changing software for the calculation of salaries) and education agencies. The Commission has presented a proposal for a financial transaction tax in the 27 Member States of the European Union. The tax would be levied on all transactions on financial instruments between financial institutions when at least one party of the transaction is located in the EU. The exchange of shares and bonds would be taxed at a rate of 0.1% and derivative contracts at a rate of 0.01%. The Commission has proposed that the tax should come into effect from 1st January 2014. The revenues of the tax would be shared between the EU and the Member States. Part of the tax would be used as an EU own resource which would partly reduce national contributions. Member States might decide to increase the part of the revenues by taxing financial transactions at a higher rate. Algirdas Ĺ emeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud and Audit, said: "With this proposal the European Union becomes a forerunner in the global implementation of a financial transaction tax. Our project is sound and workable. I have no doubt this tax can deliver what EU citizens expect; a fair contribution from the financial sector. I am confident that our partners in the G20 will see their interest in following this path."1 The financial transaction tax aims at taxing the 85% of financial transactions that take place between financial institutions. Citizens and businesses would not be taxed. House mortgages, bank loans, insurance contracts and other normal financial activities carried out by individuals or small businesses fall outside the scope of the proposal. The decision followed an analysis of different tax instruments to make the financial sector contribute to the recovery of the EU economy. In parallel, the Commission has explored ways to introduce a financial transaction tax at global level since 2009 with its international partners in the G20. A further activity of the European Commission aims towards the harmonization of direct taxes. In 2011, a proposal for a directive on a common consolidated corporate tax was presented. After several years' of discussion, material which would enable the implementation of a single, voluntary system of taxing legal entities was compiled. This would entail replacing 27 tax systems with a single one, but the introduction of a 28th multi-national system for the taxation of income tax. Europe drew inspiration from USA and Canada. This theme is highly acute. Dear readers, allow me in closing to wish you pleasant times during the festive season and all the best health and wishes for the New Year.

The Bratislava metropolitan region

Although small as compared with other national capital regions, the Bratislava Metropolitan Region’s (BMRs) location in southwestern Slovakia and at the confluence of four Central and Eastern European nations (CEE), has for centuries placed it at the center of Europe’s major politico-ideological and military battles. Nevertheless, despite its strategic location and its central role in Slovakia’s rise to European Union (EU) and European Monetary Union (EMU) status, relatively little has been written about it in English. This profile attempts to help rectify this situation by chronicling some of the region’s historical milestones and describing how the joint efforts of the Slovak Government, Volkswagen (VW), and other foreign automakers, have transformed the post-Socialist BMR into a vibrant hub for capitalist automotive production.

Government borrowing and the long-term interest rate: Application of an extended loanable funds model to the Slovak Republic

Extending the open-economy loanable funds model, this paper finds that more government borrowing as a percent of GDP leads to a higher government bond yield, that a higher real money market rate, a higher expected inflation rate, a higher EU government bond yield, or a decrease in the Slovak nominal effective exchange rate would increase the Slovak government bond yield, and that the positive coefficient of the percent change in real GDP is insignificant at the 10% level. When the standard closedeconomy or open-economy loanable funds model is considered, except that the positive coefficient of the ratio of the net capital inflow to GDP is insignificant at the 10% level, other results are similar.

Comparison of Empirical Results of the Fight Against Corruption in the Czech and Slovak Republics (in Czech)

In this paper, I compare the results of the different strategies of the fight against corruption realized by the Czech and Slovak governments. I use two types of empirical indicators. The first empirical comparison is based on hard data statistics of the malfeasance connected with corruption. The second empirical comparison is based on soft data surveys conducted by EBRD and World Bank together with EBRD. While the Slovak Republic was more successful than the Czech Republic according to hard data statistics, the Czech Republic remains relatively less corrupt in the light of soft data surveys. This conclusion might suggests that the repressive strategy of the fight against corruption pursued by the Slovak government did not succeed.

Constraints and Opportunities of Leadership in Post-Communist Europe by Tim Haughton (review)

i86 SEER, 86, I, 2008 security, not least in respect of the former Soviet 'loose nukes'; in both respects, he did pretty well. Russian specialists may also have particular quarrels about the account given here of thepossibilities for real democratiza tion in this era. Itmay also be feltby some that the book's theoretical and conceptual framework ? rooted in competing versions of decision-making theory ? is a little too intrusive, and too redolent of this study's origins as a doctoral thesis. It is also not entirely clear why, ifdecision-making theory is to be taken so seriously, the author steers so far clear of International Relations theory.After all, at one level, thisbook represents an exemplifica tion of tenets of traditional realism.Marsden also does not really engage with the huge literature, reaching back toThomas Jefferson, on ideals and interests inAmerican foreign policy. My own view is that this is an outstandingly good piece of research. Inter nal Clinton Administration documents are not yet available for academic investigation. The Clinton Presidential Library in Litde Rock, Arkansas, is unlikely to offermuch in the foreseeable future to researchers intoClinton's foreign policy. Lee Marsden demonstrates what can be achieved by conscien tious reading of published public records, and by tracking down willing interviewees. Lessonsfrom Russia is a very important contribution, primarily, to the foreign policy historiography of the Clinton Administration. It also deserves to be taken seriously by non-Americanists who wish to understand how Russia fared in the 1990s. Department of Politics and International Relations JohnDumbrell UniversityofLeicester Haughton, Tim. Constraints and OpportunitiesofLeadership in Post-Communist Europe. Ashgate, Aldershot and Burlington, VT, 2005. x + r76 pp. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?47.50. For almost a decade after thevelvet divorce ofCzechoslovakia (January 1993), the Slovak Republic appeared to be the 'black sheep' of Central Europe. Largely surrounded by successful reformers and candidates of early accession toNATO and the European Union, Slovakia lagged behind, strugglingwith its totalitarian past and its authoritarian present. Vladimir Meciar was Slova kia's towering political figure from the early 1990s onwards. He was not only primarily responsible for the course ofpost-Communist change during thefirst decade of independence but, consequently, also for the country's rather nega tive reputation abroad. But how important, how powerful was Meciar? In Constraintsand Opportunities of Leadership inPost-Communist Europe Tim Haughton explores the limitsand the possibilities of political leadership in the context of early post-Communist change. What role did Meciar play in determining the trajectory of Slovak politics in the 1990s? Based on interviewswith key political figures, and on primary and secondary sources, Constraints and Opportunities adds not only to our knowledge of the political processes of this small Central European country, but also offers theoretical insight into the semi-authoritarian regime-type Meciar's Slovakia represented. REVIEWS 187 Meciar was a controversial politician. Unknown until 1989, he rapidly assumed a political career after the fall of theCommunist regime inNovem ber. Thanks to his legal background and his political contacts he firstbecame Slovak InteriorMinister (January 1990) and then Prime Minister (June 1990), only to be dismissed inApril 1991 by the anti-Communist umbrella organi zation Public Against Violence, which had initially nominated him. Subsequently, Meciar founded his own political party (theMovement for a Democratic Slovakia, HZDS). He won the 1992 general elections, and made his comeback as premier later that same year. He would dominate Slovak politics during most of the decade. He presided over the Slovak government in 1992-94 and 1994-98 and was acting president in 1993 and 1998.Meciar's political stylewas forceful, ifnot rough and authoritarian. But itwould be unfair, Haughton stresses, to reduce his actions to a simple thirst for power. Not only did Meciar (mostly)play by the democratic rules (i.e. leaving office after electoral defeat), but his motives and ambitions, shared by a substantial part of the Slovak nation, went beyond the aim of achieving power for the sake of power. 'He was driven inpart by his vision of a strong, dynamic and proud Slovakia,' Haughton asserts, 'and worked ceaselessly to achieve it' (p. 14). The political role and relevance ofMeciar can best be understood within the framework of a structural...

Information and knowledge systems in the operation of agricultural and food-processing enterprises

The utility value presents the main competitive advantage in the knowledge and digital economy. It cannot be achieved without modern technologies, modern organization and operation of the production and social processes. One of the Slovak government’s precedences is to establish favourable conditions for the development of knowledge economy in every section. The informatisation level of the agricultural sector is continually increasing. As perspective, we can see the implementation of the knowledge systems in agricultural and food-processing enterprises. The main contribution is mainly the possibility to forecast the development and the state toward the future and the use of knowledge base for ensuring of the operational, tactic as well as strategic management.   

Yukos' Stake in Slovak Transpetrol

SUMMARY In 2002, Yukos was the ideal investor for Slovak Transpetrol, as Yukos was one of the Russia's largest oil producers, and hence had enough oil to fill Transpetrol's pipelines. Just as important, Yukos was the standard-bearer for Russia's more transparent, well-managed oil sector. Unlike some Russian energy companies, Yukos' conduct never raised suspicions that it was acting as an agent for the Russian State in its former empire. Nevertheless, the situation at the beginning of 2005 is different from 2002. Yukos' forthcoming bankruptcy negates all those advantages because of which Yukos was welcomed as the strategic investor and leaves the Slovak Government with a lot of additional problems. For any decision that the Slovak Government would like to undertake, the agreement of the Russian side is necessary. No swift resolution is likely. Important decisions about the future of the respective oil industry may be made in Moscow rather than in Bratislava.

Straddling Borders: Literature and Identity in Subcarpathian Rus' by Elaine s> Rusinko (review)

REVIEWS 12 I may lament the loss of these sources, thisworkdoes clear the ground of many misapprehensions. In this new-hewn clearing, historians are now obliged to devise a researchagenda to recover the lost world ofJews in Rus'. Department ofHebrewandJewish Studies JOHN D. KLIER University College London Rusinko, Elaine. Straddling Borders. Literature andIdentityin Subcarpathian Rus'. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo, NY and London, 2003. xii + 560 pp. Table. Map. Notes. Bibliography.Index. $I25.00: /8o.oo. THISmassive tome, which appeared simultaneouslywith a similarlyvoluminous book by Marc Stegherr(DasRussinische, Munich, 2003), signalsa growing scholarly interest in Rusyn literature and language. Rusinko's study was inspired by Paul Robert Magosci, who guided the author in her quest of Rusyn identity through the prism of literature (p. 8). To prove that Rusyns constitute an ethnic group with all necessary characteristics to become potentially a distinct nationality (p. 9), Rusinko tackles the question of their identity from the perspective of cultural studies, especially postcolonialism (P. 15). The postcolonial experience of Rusyns is indiscriminatelycompared by Rusinkowith oppressedculturesinAfrica,the Caribbeanregion,Australia, New Zealand, India and Arab countries(pp. i6, i i6, 234, 239, 248ff.), hence her neologism 'the Subcarpathian creole' in reference to the local literary standard(p. 292). The volume is provided with a transliterationtable, indispensable for the multi-lingualnature of this study, and a map of 'the CarpathianRus', 2000', representing the Rusyn territories in Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. There are six chapters in the book with numerous sections which, unfortunately, are not reflected in the table of contents. Yet one reads the study with keen interest, for the chronological and well-detailed account of the Rusyn identity formation through literature and language, viewed as 'a social and culturalconstruction'(p. 9). Rusinko's main claim is a unique 'in-between' national narrative between East and West, Orthodoxy and Catholicism, Slavonic and Latin, Hungarian and Rusyn dialect (p. i8). This 'in-between' cultural essence, based on the concept of the 'other',leads her to claim that both Russophilism and Ukrainophilism were counterdiscourses to Magyar domination and Czech colonialismrespectively(pp. I7, 277). However, only Rusyn populism, which firstemerged in Rusyn literature (Sabov, Voloshyn, Vrabel', et al.) at the beginning of the twentieth century, could resist 'Ukrainian cultural hegemony' and 'colonialism'(pp. 362, 452). This iswhy Rusinkosympathizes with contemporary Rusyn writers(e. g., Petrovtsiiand Fedynyshynets')who, despite their radical calls for the disintegrationof Ukraine as a unitary state, might allegedly produce 'a distinct European-level literature,hybrid in form and language, but united in resistance to Ukrainian cultural hegemony' (p. 452). Rusinko is somewhat inconsistent in her argumentation. While speaking about Rusynophilism, the author eschews explaining why this populist strain 122 SEER, 84, I, 2006 was endorsed by the Hungarian government (p. 280), which in I939 started promoting 'apatrioticRusyn orientation'and convincing the people that they were not Ukrainian, but Rusyn (p. 426). A similar language policy was pursued by the Czechoslovak authorities, and later the Slovak government, which supportedaratherhastilypreparedcodificationofthe Rusynvernacular in I995. Rusinko'sdiscussionof languagematterscastsseriousdoubt on the cogency of her pro-Rusyn arguments. The author maintains that the Rusyns speak 'several East Slavic dialects' (p. 8). Yet the three-volumeAtlasukrains'koi movy (I984-2001) convincingly showsthattheyareUkrainian dialects.It hasalso been established(see, for example, George Y. Shevelov, A Historical Phonology of theUkrainian Language, Heidelberg, I979) that the said dialects have been developing in an all-Ukrainian context which produced the Subcarpathian standardof the Ukrainian literarylanguage, as well as Galician, Bukovynian and Bachka-SremRusyn. Rusinko believes that the Gherlakhovinterpretiveepistle and the Tereblia prologue were written in the Russian recension of Church Slavonic (p. 38) ratherthan in the Ukrainian(Ruthenian)recension.The authoralsoidentifies Church Slavonic used by HryhoriiTarkovych(I 754-184 1) as Slaveno-Rusyn (p. go). However, the firstgrammarof the Slaveno-Rusynlanguageby Arsenii Korsak(I 788) was modelled on the Slavonic grammarof Meletii Smotryts'kyi (p. 9I), who introduced the new (Ruthenian) version of Church Slavonic, accepted by Moscow. Leaning heavily on Magosci, Rusinko is too hasty to assert that the first Rusyn printed book is the Catechism (in fact, primer) of Joseph de Camillis(i 64I- I706), publishedin i 698. One legitimatelywonders to what extent the language of the Catechism was Carpatho-Rusyn, inasmuch as...

The Political Economy of Comprehensive Social Policy Reform and Emergence of a Social Policy Paradigm: The Case of Slovakia

In many European countries, significant changes in social policy are needed to ensure successful policy outcomes in employment, social inclusion and overall prosperity. However, many governments have been unable to implement the changes due to resistance by special interests as well as broader sections of population. The paper uses the example of Slovakia, which has been able to introduce a comprehensive social policy reform (including pension reform, labour market reform and tax and benefit reform), to study the political economy of such changes and what has enabled the Slovak government to successfully introduce them. The paper first looks at reasons underlying the need for comprehensive changes in social policy in many European countries. It then describes the reform package adopted in Slovakia and analyses political and other factors that made it possible to design, implement, and sustain a radical change of this sort. In the conclusion, it looks at whether a broader new social policy paradigm can be identified as emerging among the new member states of the European Union.

Implementation of QA and QC standards in radiology in Slovakia

The Slovak government organizes the radiation protection policy through its regulatory authorities within the Ministry of Health, on a central level. The health protection regulations are compatible with international standards and recommendations of the ICRP and the EC. The general requirements on quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) (acceptance, constancy and routine tests), the guidance levels for various types of radiological examinations and the instructions for optimisation procedures are supported by Slovak technical standards, compatible with European standards. But the QA/QC process, as well as the training of the staff, needs improvement. The Slovak Medical University participates in the QA implementation through organising and managing national audits for control of the QA programme. In this paper, we present results of patient dose measurement studies carried out in the Slovak Republic, in the framework of activities of the Slovak Commission of QA established by the Slovak Ministry of Health.