Razvigor :-)

Debtocracy, a documentary film by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou about the causes and possible solutions of the Greek debt crisis, can be viewed with English subtitles from today. It's distributed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license and allegedly had over 1 million views so far. This “documentary produced by the audience” was filmed with only EUR 8.000 recuperated through small donations [gr] from individuals and trade unions. It contains comparisons with the cases of Argentina and Ecuador.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Very Different Survey Results: Telephone vs Personal In-Home

This post also available in Macedonian:
македонски @ Блогерај: Анкети со мноогу различни резултати: телефонски наспроти теренски
македонски @ Блогспот: Анкети со мноогу различни резултати: телефонски наспроти теренски

A current discussion on Twiter is based on a question by @banekoma:

#howcome [mk] 2 surveys with completely different results
1. Survey: VMRO-DPMNE persuasivelly ahead of SDSM [mk, 28% : 12%, Kurir]
2. Survey: VMRO-DPMNE 22% : SDSM 20% [Press 24]
#onlyinmk [mk]

Assuming that both surveys were honest, they still can yield different results because the first was a telephone survey, and the second, as far as I know, was a personal in home survey.

Telephone surveys are conducted via fixed telephone network(s). In Macedonia, maintaining a fixed phone line is a luxury for some social strata. After some relatively inexpensive prepaid mobile options became available, poorer citizens renounced their fixed phone numbers on a massive scale. According to the Enlargement Countries Monitoring Report by Cullen International (Dec 2010), published on the website of the Agency of Electronic Communications, fixed telephony in Macedonia has a negative "growth" rate. In January 2005 there were 29.21 fixed phone lines per 100 inhabitants, which dropped to 20.56 in January 2010 - almost by a third.

Allegedly, this trend is especially present in more rural areas. Therefore, a survey based on calling people via fixed telephone would not accurately reflect the general opinions, unless it contains additional mechanisms to provide a representative sample of the whole population. Just doing a telephone survey with the same number of people as an in-house is simply not enough, because it would omit representatives of people who (no longer) own a fixed telephone. If the survey designers did not take this into consideration, their results will deviate from reality. During the 2009 Presidential Elections there were instances when some politicians who were oriented toward the rural population "surprised" with a better vote count than the surveys predicted

Also, there's a difference in the level of ease of the surveyed people depending on the method. Probably there's a precise psychological formula on how to relax the subject, but I think that when someone gets a telephone call he's more aware that someone could relate his personal data (telephone number leading to name and address) with their political orientation and would respond more carefully. Due to politicized nature of our society and the real influences on personal and family well-being, probably a portion of the future voters would decline to respond, or would say they are undecided, or would say they'd vote for an option they think would look best if checked by someone who they fear.

Unfortunatelly the website of the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research presents no data on this survey with explanations of the methodology. It seems that the quoted Institute Dimitrija Chupovski has no website at all. There's a Facebook page [mk] with that name which has a free Gmail as e-mail contact address, which does not contribute to building trust. Anyone can open such a page in literally 4 minutes, which does not help its credibility.

During the same discussion, pointed [mk] an example of a famous U.S.A. survey which failed due to non-representative sample, even though it covered an enormous percent of the total population.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

UNESCO World Heritage Sites List

This post also available in:
македонски @ Блогерај: Листата на УНЕСКО за културно наследство
македонски @ Блогспот: Листата на УНЕСКО за културно наследство

Browsing through TargetMap service I stumbled upon a map of UNESCO World Heritage Sites by Country. (I was also testing the option to embed the code into blogs posted on various platforms - works on Wordpress and Blogspot.)

Considering our vanity, it would be useful to compare Macedonia (1 site) with the wealth of other countries.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Most Commented Articles About Macedonia on Global Voices Online

This post also available in :
македонски на Блогерај: Најкоментирани написи за Македонија на Глобал Војсис
македонски на Блогспот: Најкоментирани написи за Македонија на Глобал Војсис

I found it interesting to take a peek which articles about Macedonia published in the last couple of yearts on Global Voices Online received most comments. I checked the "main", English version, which is read by people world over and is the basis for translations into various languages, including Macedonian and Albanian.

Title	# Comments

Macedonia: Bloggers Discuss NATO Summit and Greece	96
Macedonia: Bloggers Emphasize Need for Open Communication with Greece	38
Macedonia: Online Rebellion Against “Skopje 2014″ Plan	28
The Balkans: “Whose is This Song?”	16
Macedonia: Violent Inter-Ethnic Incident on Skopje Fortress	14
Macedonia: Student Protest Ends in Violence	13
Macedonia: Alexander the Great as Media Bait	11
Macedonia Timeless	8
The Balkans: Byzantine Nostalgia	6
Macedonia: Grassroots Effort to Preserve Folk Music Online	5
Macedonia: Early Elections Imminent, Date Uncertain	5
Macedonia: Sakura – Cherry Blossom Cebration in Skopje	5

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

The works of Vito Volterra and F. Scott Fitzgerald enter the public domain

This post also available in:
English @ Metamorphosis: The Works of Vito Volterra and F. Scott Fitzgerald enter the public domain
македонски @
- Блогерај: Делата на Вито Волтера и Ф. Скот Фицџералд влегуваат во јавниот домен
- Метаморфозис: Делата на Вито Волтера и Ф. Скот Фицџералд влегуваат во јавниот домен
- Блогспот: Делата на Вито Волтера и Ф. Скот Фицџералд влегуваат во јавниот домен
Shqip @ Metamorfozis: Veprat e Vito Volterës dhe F. Skot Ficxheraldit hyjnë në domenin publik

One of the events marking the Public Domain Day on a European level was organized by the NEXA Center for Internet & Society at the Polytechnic University of Turin on January 22, 2011.

The topic of the event was the importance of the entry into the public domain of works by two authors who had deceased in 1940: scientist Vito Volterra and writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald.

According to copyright laws in both Italy and the United States, 70 years after the death of the author, the author’s work is being “returned” for public use, and the heirs or rights holders are no longer able to limit the use of the work. For example, now anyone can republish the book "The Great Gatsby", to publish a new translation, or make a new film based on it, without needing to seek permission or pay any royalties to the family of the writer.

The Public Domain Day event is intended to allow the public to identify all the works that have become fully available during the previous year, in order to allow rapid cultural development. Advocates of the free culture movement believe that no work can be created without the author "borrowing" elements from "his" or from the world’s culture, so they also consider the termination of restrictions for free use by other people as a "return" of the works.

Prof. Juan Carlos de Martin, coordinator of the COMMUNIA network within which the Public Domain Day was established believes that the first celebration in Italy is very important because...

"...The public domain is essential for our cultural and economic life. Unfortunately people do not know what it is and why it is important, which is why we organized this celebration - to tell people what the public domain actually is – the works that you can use freely. In order to make it more tangible, we selected a couple of authors... and we told people about their life and work. We helped people realize that now they can use these beautiful works in any way they want ...We are planning to organize these celebrations every year to increase the awareness about the public domain."

During the celebration in Turin, Primavera De Filippi, representative of the Open Knowledge Foundation, with a masters’ degree on copyright in the digital environment, made the following statement:

“It is important to promote the public domain, to inform and sensibilize the population to the richness of European cultural heritage. The public domain day serves as a reminder that, every year, a whole new range of cultural works becomes available to the public for use and re-use. These works represent the basis of our common culture and an input for the production of new culture”.

Vito Volterra PhD. (1860-1940) was an Italian mathematician and physicist known for his contributions to mathematical biology and integral calculations, as well as a fighter against fascism. In 1931, he was one of the 12 professors out of a total of 1,250 who refused to give the obligatory oath of loyalty to the regime of Mussolini.

Writer and playwright Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is best known for his book "The Great Gatsby" (1925) considered to be a classic of American literature. It was chosen as one of the hundred best books of the twentieth century and has a great impact on popular culture and through other media, especially the Robert Redford film from 1974. An example of this influence is also the fact that there is a pizzeria in the town of Radovis called "Gatsby".

The public domain is not explicitly defined as a special condition in the Macedonian legal system, but it is indirectly defined as the termination of copyright validity. As in most of the other member countries of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the termination takes effect automatically 70 years after the author’s death.

Unfortunately, the volume of works by modern Macedonian authors deceased 70 years ago is relatively modest, but as time passes by there are more and more possibilities. For example, the public use of the works of Koco Racin, the founder of the contemporary Macedonian language poetry will be possible in 2013.

As part of the efforts for spreading free culture, the Metamorphosis Foundation seeks to define the public domain in the legal system of Macedonia as a concept and develop mechanisms for greater legal availability of the contents. One option is the entry of all contents created with public money in the public domain, such as the products of public services and results of scientific research, as well as culture projects supported by the state. These efforts are consistent with the activities of the COMMUNIA network, whose founders include the Metamorphosis Foundation, working in this field on a European level.

Metamorphosis is also an advocate of the Creative Commons movement, offering legal tools - licenses, tailored to the national legislation. With these "agreements for non-exclusive copyright transfer" the individual authors are transferring part of their material rights to the public under certain conditions. One of the conditions is the obligatory attribution of the source, which provides additional promotion, particularly on the internet. One of the users of these licenses is the world's largest encyclopedia - Wikipedia.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Napoleon Bonaparte in Skopje?!

This post also available in:
македонски на Блогспот · Наполеон во Скопје?!
македонски на Блогерај · Наполеон во Скопје?!

Autumn issue of Croatia Airlines in-flight magazine has an article on Skopje. Some of the history data are pretty puzzling.

The feature on Skopje, one of the destinations covered by the Croatian state airline, is available online in Croatian and English in the Autumn 2010 issue, pg 106-116. Most of it refers to Mother Theresa and the consequences of the 1963 earthquake. The photos don't look too fresh, even though the text mentions some more recent buildings.

The rest of the article is devoted to city's history. I got an impression that the author received a briefing from an overly enthusiastic source, someone with a burning desire to accentuate the city's importance over the centuries, with little interest for the truth. For instance...

"Until 1453, the city was the seat of Turkish Sultans."
"Napoleon himself choose the trade route through Skopje, a melting pot of cultures and religions, on his travels to the Middle East."

Napoleon indeed lead a Middle East campaign in 1798, but his route was over sea to Egypt, then over land to Syria, and then back to Egypt with sea voyage back to France. The impact of his passing through Skopje in either direction would have considerable changed history, as it would imply the destruction of the Ottoman Empire.

Still, my biggest objection is about the following claim from the article:

Prayer calls still resound from the slender mosque minarets which tower above the Carsi [Old Bazaar], and remind everybody of the city's multicultural past.

As if our present is not multicultural! And as if there are no functioning mosques with minarets elsewhere in the city in which about one third of the inhabitants consider themselves Muslim.

PS
The illustration was made using two Public Domain works as basis: the painting by Jean-Antoine Gros "Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul, Reviewing his Troops after the Battle of Marengo" and an old photograph of the Stone Bridge.

Friday, December 31, 2010

My Son's Favorite Cartoons (These Days)

"With Goofy and the Little Piano" [Moving Day] was made during the Great Depression. Disney's protagonists are members of the working class who lost their home because they cannot afford the rent, so they attempt to save their furniture from impounding and the authorities' auction.

"With the Musicians" [The Band Concert] incited the weirdest present request I've ever heard: "Daddy, buy me a storm! A big one, so I can play with it."

Oh yeah, :-) Happy New Year to all

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Introducing the Hunza Affair Abroad

This post also available in:
English at Global Voices (short version) · Macedonia: Introducing the Hunza Affair
македонски на Блогспот · Претставување на аферата со Хунзите пред светот
македонски на Блогерај · Претставување на аферата со Хунзите пред светот

On the Nationalities Blog, Anastas Vangeli, aka Vuna, analyzes from the perspective of Orientalism an ongoing Macedonian political affair: fraternization with the “Hunza people” from the remote mountainous region of Pakistan, who claim ancestry from the soldiers of Alexander the Great.

Front page of "Orientalism" by Edward Said (1978)

I've written on this subject * before, and I'll repeat that I am sorry that instead of real appreciation of the culture of these people, and scientific, linguistic and historical/genetic research, the citizens of Macedonia get only politicking that brings profit to certain parties.

So far the pro-government media haven't shown recordings of Hunza people speaking in their native language [which is allegedly close to Macedonian, so I presume the facts would work against this fallacy], or from their everyday life. They only show some old photos in folk dresses and reiterate the claims of their promoters.

Moreover, the orientalistic stereotyping has been perpetrated not only by the critics of the affair, but by the promoters of the 'reunification' with the Hunza, too. Starting from Janko Ilkovski, the influential late-night talk show host (Jadi burek show on Nasha TV) who provided excuses for our long-lost Pakistani relatives by saying that they practice "a light version of Islam."

The latest example sounds like direct transmission of vicious Hindu Kush rumors, reminiscent of the scenes in the related film "The man who would be king" when villagers claim that their neighbors upstream are dirty bastards who intentionally urinate into the stream to give them hard time. This is an excerpt from Kanal 5 news item (bold is mine):

The Hunza live in northern Pakistan, administratively they are part of the Pakistani state from 1974, but they've retained their king. Besides the Hunza which number around 50,000, the Kalash tribe also consider themselves descendants of the army of Alexander of Macedon. Unlike the Hunza who are Islamized and educated, the Kalash are an ignorant tribe.
This fact is used by neighboring Greece, which opened a cultural center in the Kalash area, and donates significant financial funds for education of the Alexander the Great's lineage.

From such coverage, one can assume that "ours" Hunza people simply burst from being too educated, as if they have tons of universities and scientific-research institutions... I hope you noticed the accent of superiority of religious orientation i.e. the spreading of religious hatred.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Correlation between number of tweets and followers?

This post also available in:
македонски на Блогспот · Корелација меѓу број на твитови и читатели?
македонски на Блогерај · Корелација меѓу број на твитови и читатели?

Few days ago I used the hashtag #kvantitet [quantity] to initiate a little survey among Macedonian Twitter users about how many tweets they've published so far. The results of all who took part in the conversation are presented in the graph bellow. The number of tweets is on the X-axis, while the Y-axis represents the number of followers, i.e. readers.

Click on the graph for a bigger version.

Some statistics about this post by Bit.ly.