Papers by Plamen Penev Penev
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2009
Context: Epidemiological data indicate that reduced sleep duration is associated with increased i... more Context: Epidemiological data indicate that reduced sleep duration is associated with increased incidence of type-2 diabetes. Objective: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that, when part of a Western-like lifestyle, recurrent bedtime restriction may result in decreased glucose tolerance and reduced insulin secretion and action. Design and Setting: We conducted a randomized crossover study at a university clinical research center and sleep research laboratory. Participants: Eleven healthy volunteers (five females and six males) with a mean (ϮSD) age of 39 Ϯ 5 yr and body mass index of 26.5 Ϯ 1.5 kg/m 2 participated in the study. Intervention: The study included two 14-d periods of controlled exposure to sedentary living with ad libitum food intake and 5.5-or 8.5-h bedtimes. Main Outcome Measures: Oral and iv glucose challenges were used to obtain measures of glucose tolerance, glucose effectiveness, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity at the end of each intervention. Secondary measures included circulating concentrations of the glucose counter-regulatory hormones, cortisol, GH, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Results: Bedtime restriction reduced daily sleep by 122 Ϯ 25 min. Both study periods were associated with comparable weight gain; however, recurrent sleep restriction resulted in reduced oral glucose tolerance (2-h glucose value, 144 Ϯ 25 vs. 132 Ϯ 36 mg/dl; P Ͻ 0.01) and insulin sensitivity [3.3 Ϯ 1.1 vs. 4.0 Ϯ 1.6 (mU/liter) Ϫ1 ⅐ min Ϫ1 ; P Ͻ 0.03], and increased glucose effectiveness (0.023 Ϯ 0.005 vs. 0.020 Ϯ 0.005 min Ϫ1 ; P Ͻ 0.04). Although 24-h cortisol and GH concentrations did not change, there was a modest increase in 24-h epinephrine and nighttime norepinephrine levels during the 5.5-h bedtime condition. Conclusions: Experimental bedtime restriction, designed to approximate the short sleep times experienced by many individuals in Westernized societies, may facilitate the development of insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94: 3242-3250, 2009) T he pathogenesis of type-2 diabetes (T2D) is influenced by genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors and involves a complex interaction between deficits in insulin secretion and action (1). The development of insulin resistance due to excessive adiposity and physical inactivity and the failure of pancreatic -cells to maintain
Gender is theorized as a basic principle of social structure and cultural interpretation; “the pa... more Gender is theorized as a basic principle of social structure and cultural interpretation; “the patterning of differences and domination through distinctions between women and men that is integral to many societal processes” (Acker 1992:565). Gender identities are socially and historically constructed under circumstances of dominance and oppression among individuals and organizations. In this context, armed forces are considered important sites for the study of masculinities given their primary position in many societies and their role in manipulating representations of masculine and feminine identities. For the strong link between military service and civic virtue, as well as for the obligatory conscription of men and women, Israel seems to provide a unique framework to the examination of gender constructions. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Israeli Defense Forces in the construction of gender identities and the assignment of gender roles within the Israeli society. The structure of this research is divided in three parts. The first begins by depicting the intricate relationship between men, masculinity and the military. The second section starts by exploring the influence of militarism upon the Israeli society, and finishes with the examination of the gender division of labor within the Israeli Defense Forces. Finally, the third part of the essay discusses the position of women in the Israeli military service.
IFLA Journal, 2012
Access to information and transparency are considered a vaccine for ensuring good governance and ... more Access to information and transparency are considered a vaccine for ensuring good governance and countries must gear up for this vaccine to ensure accountability and prevent corruption. This paper probes the anticipated implementation challenges of the freedom-of-information (FOI) law in Jamaica, and the lessons Ghana stands to learn to improve on its FOI bill, currently at a deliberative stage. The lack of transparency in government or the public sector as a result of lack of access to governmental or public information will be tackled in this study. After describing the background, context, framework and methodology of the study, the paper presents findings, makes a comparative analysis, and provides recommendations especially for Ghana, which is still in the process of passing similar legislation.
Connections: The Quarterly Journal, 2011
Connections: The Quarterly Journal, 2009
Connections: The Quarterly Journal, 2018
Open Research Europe
The given research paper addresses the need for a digital platform to build efficiency and transp... more The given research paper addresses the need for a digital platform to build efficiency and transparency within the energy efficient building renovation sector. The SUNShINE platform is presented as an innovative solution to tackle the obstacles during the complex building renovation process by ensuring efficiency, transparency and standardization. A variety of stakeholders can effectively communicate during the multiple stages of the process with the help of this platform, which makes it a core tool of deep building renovation projects. Costs are cut due to digitalization of the process and we standardize documentation and resources. Currently, it is being tested in six different countries. The SUNShINe platform was developed as part of the EU-funded projects H2020 SUNShINE, H2020 Accelerate SUNShINE, and H2020 FinEERGO-DOM.
American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans" offers an insight into America's dipl... more American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans" offers an insight into America's diplomatic engagement in the Balkans, more particularly after the disintegration of former Yugoslavia. Ambassador James W. Pardew recollects in his memoir the variety of crucial moments and negotiations, starting from the finalization of the Dayton agreement in 1995, and ending with Kosovo's proclaimed independence in 2008. Pardew's masterpiece combines the historian narrative with the vast diplomatic overview of events that help us to better understand the political logic of decisions taken by policy-makers, the way how the Europeans struggled to find a peaceful solution for the Balkan crisis in the 1990s and why America was obliged to diplomatically and militarily intervene to stop the humanitarian tragedy after Yugoslavia's collapse. At the outset of the 1990s, most of the former Soviet satellite-states grasped the historic moment´s significance (fall of Communism in 1989) and started reforms towards market economy, free competition, democratization, establishment of transparent and functional institutions, rule of law, and opted for European values. Conversely, other Balkan leaders choose violence over peace and threatened in this way Europe's stability. It was Europe's myopia and lackadaisical attitude during the 1990s that led to a situation in which simmering ethnic tension transformed into carnages with tens of thousands of people killed and millions displaced.
Connections: The Quarterly Journal
The article focusses on the Council of Europe 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist... more The article focusses on the Council of Europe 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters envisaged in article 7 of the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism adopted on 22 October 2015. The Protocol supplements the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and it entered into force on July 1, 2017. The Protocol addresses the imminent security threat originating from "foreign terrorist fighters" (FTFs) who are returning to their countries of origin or are trying to relocate in third countries as a result of Daesh's military defeat and collapse. Those 'returnees,' i.e, FTFs and their families, pose a tremendous challenge with no easy solution for law-enforcement agencies and societies across Europe, and combatting the menace requires full compliance with international law.
Danube:Future Interdisciplinary School Proceedings 2017: Cultural and Social Implications of Global Change on the Danube River Basin, 2017
The inhabitants of RDDRA are characterized by low household incomes, lack of adequate infrastruct... more The inhabitants of RDDRA are characterized by low household incomes, lack of adequate infrastructure and energy poverty and deprivation. Biomass (wood, timber as a process of uncontrolled cutting) is primarily used as the energy source for domestic heating and cooking. The present project focuses on the introduction of green solutions/green energy/RE (renewable energy) in the Jurilovca commune which consists of three villages (Jurilovca, Visina, Salcioara). The Jurilovca commune is sparsely populated (4,595 inhabitants) and serves as a pilot project for the RDDRA. The research will demonstrate that "heat pumps" and on-site "photovoltaic" installations can substitute the uncontrolled usage of biomass (wood/timber) during winter time by offering the rural community of Jurilovca reliable energy capacities and increase energy consumption per capita, which will further improve living standard, economic status, mitigate the climate change footprint and lastly boost the tourism in the region. By introducing the new heat-pump/PV technology, it is expected that deforestation can be addressed, and preservation of the genuine ecosystem (flora and fauna) can be achieved by diminishing the negative man-made impact on the habitat in the Romania Danube Delta (RDD). The project combines social science methodology with technical tools. The driving idea behind this integrative approach will result in improving the rationale of human behaviour (local people) in the RDDRA. The research aims at collaborating with the local authorities (policy-makers, local-stakeholders, lobbyist, administrative decision-makers) in the RDD to seriously consider the proposed energy efficient technologies (solar and geo-thermal) as a model for sustainable development, eradicating energy poverty and reducing the usage of wood in the RDD. What the current project offers the Romanian state is an effective tool how to more effectively tackle a triple-issue which has economic, social, and environmental impact on parts of the Romanian society. The defined problem and the solution to it incorporated in the research concept can be used by policy-makers and decision-makers in Romania to instigate energy efficiency policies, actions and strategies in the RDDRR for better usage of renewable energy, for enhancing domestic economic growth, and on a final note to preserve the sustainability of the ecosystem in the Danube Delta.
Environmental values; Youth; Eastern and Central Europe; Sustainable development; Natural heritage; Interdisciplinarity; Regional methodology and data exchange; Science-policy interface, 2014
The proposed international project aims at developing a solid data body on environmental values o... more The proposed international project aims at developing a solid data body on environmental values of young people and their possible connection to the environmental history of their region. During the project not only the methodology of measuring the environmental values will be adjusted and tested and the values measured, but also a policy material with research summary and recommendations on how to work with the results on the policy level will be developed. This material will be further communicated on the relevant policy level in the context of the involved countries.
Jana Krčmářová, Bresena Kopliku, Planem Penev, Marko Škorić, "Working Group “Orange”. Danube youth – Danube Future" in: Stefano Brumat, Claudia Macchia (eds.) "DIAnet International School Proceedings, 2014. The role of natural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube Region, Gorizia 22nd-31st March 2014", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2014, pp. 158-177.
978-88-8303-564-7
http://hdl.handle.net/10077/10496
978-88-8303-565-4
Collections
The importance of the Council of Europe’s 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters, 2018
The article focusses on the Council of Europe 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist... more The article focusses on the Council of Europe 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters envisaged in article 7 of the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism adopted on 22 October 2015. The Protocol supplements the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and it entered into force on July 1, 2017. The Protocol addresses the imminent security threat originating from “foreign terrorist fighters” (FTFs) who are returning to their countries of origin or are trying to relocate in third countries as a result of Daesh’s military defeat and collapse. Those ‘returnees,’ i.e, FTFs and their families, pose a tremendous challenge with no easy solution for law-enforcement agencies and societies across Europe, and combatting the menace requires full compliance with international law.
Friday Keynote: Why Populist Foreign Policies are Doomed to Fail – Andrew Moravcsik Responses: St... more Friday Keynote: Why Populist Foreign Policies are Doomed to Fail – Andrew Moravcsik Responses: Stefano Stefanini, Nadine Godehardt & Matt Kroenig. Mod - Benjamin Tallis.
The Prague Insecurity Conference (PIC) is the new, critical counterpart to the established events in the European security calendar – such as the Munich Security Conference and Globsec. The PIC exists to challenge the ways we understand (in)security - and how pursue it in policy, practice and research.
There is fresh critical thinking and valuable knowledge on (in)security in academia but too often it doesn't get to policymakers and security practitioners; and too often academics and journalists don't understand the challenges that security policymakers and practitioners face. The PIC exists to change this situation by facilitating constructive, critical exchange between these groups.
By bringing together cutting-edge academics with leading policymakers, influential practitioners and journalists - and pushing them out of their comfort zones - the PIC will challenge received wisdoms and the standard approaches that too often dominate security discussions. We have become too secure in the way that we approach security. Too often we end up self-defeatingly over-securitising issues and relationships. Too often we fall back on ideological or theoretical binaries. It’s time to change that by changing the discussions we have.
The PIC is an event for key influencers and thinkers rather than the general public or for students. It’s the new place to come for fresh thinking on security and for the networking that generates better action. The PIC is thus an innovative and critical, yet complementary, counterpart to the Munich Security Conference.
Format: Rather than lengthy, academic type presentations, the PIC will consist of shorter, punchier presentations and discussions such as ‘hardtalk’ one-on-one style interviews or roundtables between small groups of experts. These will be complemented by breakout workshops to discuss particular issues in small groups and informal networking and discussion sessions.
Themes: The PIC has four provisional main themes, which will have two sessions each (plus potential side-events) that are organised around sub-themes (below). Speakers will address the conference primarily on one theme but will contribute to others - as they overlap - and to encouraging fresh thinking beyond comfort zones.
Purpose of this research proposal is the elaboration of a comparative approach which aims to comp... more Purpose of this research proposal is the elaboration of a comparative approach which aims to compare systematically the common energy policy of Japan and Bulgaria. From the technical point of view such a comparison appears systematically complex and tricky. The field of our interest's covers the energy mix (nuclear energy, gas/shale gas 2 /conventional/LNG, coal and RES) based on economic and environmental aspects. Both states are facing to some extent the same problems which can be summed up as an energy dependence on energy resources in order to maintain a sustainable and competitive economy. However, we have observed in our analysis two different approaches how energy shortages could be tackled effectively.
The relations between Russia and China in the Central Asian theatre and their impact on energy se... more The relations between Russia and China in the Central Asian theatre and their impact on energy security and regional stability
Projektziel EnergiePLUS Stadion: produziert übers Jahr mehr Energie, als es selbst verbraucht. Vo... more Projektziel EnergiePLUS Stadion: produziert übers Jahr mehr Energie, als es selbst verbraucht. Von einem EnergiePLUS Stadion sprechen wir, wenn der jährlicher Primärenergieverbrauch für Strombetriebene Prozesse (Beleuchten, Lüften, etc.), Heizen und Kühlen, mit der am/im Gebäude produzierten erneuerbaren Energie, am Standort Wien gedeckt werden kann. Projektziel ENERGIEPLUS STADION Es gibt zwei Ansätze um das Ziel EnergiePLUS Stadion zu erreichen: 1) Passiv: Verbrauch minimieren. 2) Aktiv: Ertrag maximieren. (wie kann man nachhaltig, das heißt ohne Einsatz fossiler Energieträger, Energie für den Betreib des Stadions bereitstellen.) Grundsätzlich gilt der Slogan: "eingesparte Energie ist die beste Energie" Ziel ist ein ∆ Ertrag x [MWh] Verbrauch x [MWh] ∆ [MWh] Jahres-Energiebilanz Energieverbrauch *) Alle verwendeten Werte wurden anhand von Verbrauchsaufzeichnungen des SK Rapid Wien und des FSV Mainz 05 und anhand Internet Recherche entwickelt. Die genannten Werte Unterliegen einer großen Schwankungsbreite und sind daher nur als Präsentationswerte zu verstehen.
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Papers by Plamen Penev Penev
Jana Krčmářová, Bresena Kopliku, Planem Penev, Marko Škorić, "Working Group “Orange”. Danube youth – Danube Future" in: Stefano Brumat, Claudia Macchia (eds.) "DIAnet International School Proceedings, 2014. The role of natural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube Region, Gorizia 22nd-31st March 2014", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2014, pp. 158-177.
978-88-8303-564-7
http://hdl.handle.net/10077/10496
978-88-8303-565-4
Collections
The Prague Insecurity Conference (PIC) is the new, critical counterpart to the established events in the European security calendar – such as the Munich Security Conference and Globsec. The PIC exists to challenge the ways we understand (in)security - and how pursue it in policy, practice and research.
There is fresh critical thinking and valuable knowledge on (in)security in academia but too often it doesn't get to policymakers and security practitioners; and too often academics and journalists don't understand the challenges that security policymakers and practitioners face. The PIC exists to change this situation by facilitating constructive, critical exchange between these groups.
By bringing together cutting-edge academics with leading policymakers, influential practitioners and journalists - and pushing them out of their comfort zones - the PIC will challenge received wisdoms and the standard approaches that too often dominate security discussions. We have become too secure in the way that we approach security. Too often we end up self-defeatingly over-securitising issues and relationships. Too often we fall back on ideological or theoretical binaries. It’s time to change that by changing the discussions we have.
The PIC is an event for key influencers and thinkers rather than the general public or for students. It’s the new place to come for fresh thinking on security and for the networking that generates better action. The PIC is thus an innovative and critical, yet complementary, counterpart to the Munich Security Conference.
Format: Rather than lengthy, academic type presentations, the PIC will consist of shorter, punchier presentations and discussions such as ‘hardtalk’ one-on-one style interviews or roundtables between small groups of experts. These will be complemented by breakout workshops to discuss particular issues in small groups and informal networking and discussion sessions.
Themes: The PIC has four provisional main themes, which will have two sessions each (plus potential side-events) that are organised around sub-themes (below). Speakers will address the conference primarily on one theme but will contribute to others - as they overlap - and to encouraging fresh thinking beyond comfort zones.
Jana Krčmářová, Bresena Kopliku, Planem Penev, Marko Škorić, "Working Group “Orange”. Danube youth – Danube Future" in: Stefano Brumat, Claudia Macchia (eds.) "DIAnet International School Proceedings, 2014. The role of natural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube Region, Gorizia 22nd-31st March 2014", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2014, pp. 158-177.
978-88-8303-564-7
http://hdl.handle.net/10077/10496
978-88-8303-565-4
Collections
The Prague Insecurity Conference (PIC) is the new, critical counterpart to the established events in the European security calendar – such as the Munich Security Conference and Globsec. The PIC exists to challenge the ways we understand (in)security - and how pursue it in policy, practice and research.
There is fresh critical thinking and valuable knowledge on (in)security in academia but too often it doesn't get to policymakers and security practitioners; and too often academics and journalists don't understand the challenges that security policymakers and practitioners face. The PIC exists to change this situation by facilitating constructive, critical exchange between these groups.
By bringing together cutting-edge academics with leading policymakers, influential practitioners and journalists - and pushing them out of their comfort zones - the PIC will challenge received wisdoms and the standard approaches that too often dominate security discussions. We have become too secure in the way that we approach security. Too often we end up self-defeatingly over-securitising issues and relationships. Too often we fall back on ideological or theoretical binaries. It’s time to change that by changing the discussions we have.
The PIC is an event for key influencers and thinkers rather than the general public or for students. It’s the new place to come for fresh thinking on security and for the networking that generates better action. The PIC is thus an innovative and critical, yet complementary, counterpart to the Munich Security Conference.
Format: Rather than lengthy, academic type presentations, the PIC will consist of shorter, punchier presentations and discussions such as ‘hardtalk’ one-on-one style interviews or roundtables between small groups of experts. These will be complemented by breakout workshops to discuss particular issues in small groups and informal networking and discussion sessions.
Themes: The PIC has four provisional main themes, which will have two sessions each (plus potential side-events) that are organised around sub-themes (below). Speakers will address the conference primarily on one theme but will contribute to others - as they overlap - and to encouraging fresh thinking beyond comfort zones.
The interview took place in 2018 in Bonn within the framework of fellowship program at Deutsche Welle.
The research project focusses on the Bulgarian political discourse/narrative in the period 19992017 and it takes the aim to explain statements and positions uttered by official representatives of the Bulgarian state (former and acting politicians, decision-makers, members of the EP, diplomats, intellectuals). The time framework has been chosen by the organizers of the project which is led by Mr. Tomas Dopita from the IIR in Prague. The methodology will be briefly highlighted on the following page but basically, the statements made by official Bulgarian representatives have been collected and analysed. Translation from Bulgarian into the Czech language has been added as well. Additionally, all the sources from where the statements have been extracted, are listed so that it will be easy for prospective researchers to trace the citations and verify the genuine character of any of the mentioned statements and expressed positions. Apart from that, for your perusal, the following key words have been used “Косово”, “България”, “oфициални позиции”, “статус”, “политика”- Kosovo, Bulgaria, official positions, status, politics. Based on the abovementioned keywords, 21 hits have been encountered. In addition to the 21 hits, another 5 hits have been founded that had been assigned to Bulgarian diplomats who are classified as experts and pundits well acquainted with the political processes in the Western Balkans and Kosovo. Based on the gathered data, graphics demonstrating the frequency of the statements are presented. Furthermore, the names and the positions of the political decision-makers have been namechecked so that the reader is able to better digest the provided and collected data.
Keynote on New World Disorder or Post Order Geopolitics Responses: Giampaolo di Paola, Nadine Godehardt & Matthew Kroenig,
Moderator- Benjamin Tallis,
No terrorist group has been able to lure so many female Western recruits so far, although the numbers of females moving to ISIL have started to decrease due to US-RUS areal strikes and the ground offensive which has been jumpstarted by the Iraqi army. My research aims at explaining the reasons behind such unprecedented success, the motivation and driving forces of Western Muslimas to team up with ISIS and their roles in the ‘Islamic State’ (women used for propaganda purposes, women participating in the so called law-enforcement as part of the women´s police force “al-Khansaa Brigade”, etc.)
The research compares living conditions in ISIS’-occupied territories with the expectation induced by ISIS’ recruiters in women from Western counries who had expressed their willingness and an interest to make hijra and gang up with ISIS. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW), ISIL imposes abusive restrictions on Iraqi and Syrian women and girls and severely limits their freedom of movement and access to health care and education in areas under its control. Interviewed women reported that they have to deal with restricted access to health care and education due to discriminatory ISIS policies, including rules limiting male doctors from touching, seeing, or being alone with female patients. In rural areas, ISIS opted for a policy which prevents girls to take school classes; a practice sloganeered also by terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram.
Understanding the motivations for women to join ISIL is vital to figure out how to stem the flow of females heading towards ISIL and to address the security threat posed to the Western world by possible female returnees, or radicalized sympathizers who are unable to leave their countries of origin.
Gender identities are socially and historically constructed under circumstances of dominance and oppression among individuals and organizations. In this context, armed forces are considered important sites for the study of masculinities given their primary position in many societies and their role in manipulating representations of masculine and feminine identities.
For the strong link between military service and civic virtue, as well as for the obligatory conscription of men and women, Israel seems to provide a unique framework to the examination of gender constructions. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Israeli Defense Forces in the construction of gender identities and the assignment of gender roles within the Israeli society.
The structure of this research is divided in three parts. The first begins by depicting the intricate relationship between men, masculinity and the military. The second section starts by exploring the influence of militarism upon the Israeli society, and finishes with the examination of the gender division of labor within the Israeli Defense Forces. Finally, the third part of the essay discusses the position of women in the Israeli military service.
Those are the questions this research paper aims to address. By analyzing Castro’s leadership characteristics, this work expects to reveal how Castro inspires the devotion of his followers, tackled the challenges posed to his rule, shaped and reshaped his country’s policies to nurture his need of maximum power.
Since 1959 the CIA had been planning an invasion near Guantanamo Bay at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón) in Cuba, an endeavor that was approved under the Kennedy’s administration. However, being ill-conceived, rapidly staged and based on the CIA expectation of popular support, the invasion was doomed to failure. Master in guerrilla warfare, Fidel took command from the beginning to prevent attackers from establishing a beachhead and led his revolutionaries to victory in three days.
The victory of Giron is regarded as a date of great importance in the history of Cuba, that triumph has restated the power of Cuba as a truly sovereign country and prevented the history of the country from once again being under the scrutiny of the U.S. government.
Moreover, the triumph has strengthening Castro’s revolution by proclaiming the first defeat of Yankee imperialism on the continent. Fidel has made the most of his victory, which raised his popularity and authority to new heights, and additionally inflamed powerful nationalist sentiments among Cubans.
Through the orchestration of political ritual and a dramatic rhetoric, Castro has managed to mobilize his population, instill Cubans patriotism and loyalty to the regime. Anniversaries of Giron, its memorials and monuments are key elements of the Cuban government political actions, when they come to remind Cubans of their goverments’ major victory.