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Item Diffusion of mobile banking among rural women: Incentivizing local leaders vs. a marketing campaign(2025) Brañas-Garza, Pablo; Kovářík, Jaromír; Rascón Ramírez, Ericka G.How can we promote the adoption of mobile banking among the socially and economically disadvantaged? We compare the effectiveness of two strategies, seeded diffusion via incentivized local leaders and a traditional marketing campaign, to promote the adoption of mobile banking among poor women in rural Peru. For the first one, we exploit the existence of local leaders who were trained by a local firm to promote the diffusion of a mobile banking application. For the second, we take advantage of an on-going traditional marketing campaign at the regional level. Our findings show that the personalized seeded diffusion via local leaders is an effective promotion strategy. It significantly outperforms the traditional campaign, during which adoption rates are statistically indistinguishable from zero. We additionally show that the seeded incentivized diffusion relies on features of the underlying community networks known to promote diffusion of information and trust. Our results emphasize the necessity of personalized approaches to promote technological products such a mobile banking among vulnerable populations.
Item The Network Expression of a Roma Diaspora(2025) Ogáyar, Francisco; Muntean, Vasile; Gamella, Juan F.; Kovářík, Jaromír; Espín, Antonio M.Despite the longstanding debates among ethnographers and policymakers regarding the social organization of the Roma–the largest and most marginalized native ethnocultural minority in Europe–quantitative analyses are limited. This is partly due to a unique combination of social closure and spatial dispersion of most Roma groups, exacerbated by their recent massive migration from Central and Eastern Europe. Here, we implement a novel methodology that draws on Roma’s migration networks and ethnicity- and kin-centred social norms, which enforce a permanent contact with their close ones, often facilitated by online social media like Facebook. We combine snowball sampling and a questionnaire about four ‘top friends’, as ranked by the Facebook algorithm, to elicit a sociocentric network of a comparatively large group of self-identified Roma originating in a Romanian area (n = 752, 96% living outside Romania). Our analysis indicates that the elicited network displays a notable similarity to the social structure of the target population in terms of kinship, subethnic group affiliation, gender roles and other characteristics. The detected patterns provide a quantitative evaluation of the qualitative ethnographic research on the Roma, thereby opening new avenues for research on this and other hard-to-reach populations.Item O naději aneb Postmoderní rebelové z Bible. Buďme otevření budoucnosti a nebojme se nikoho(2025) Tydlitátová, VěraMezi náboženstvím a vírou je rozdíl. Zatímco náboženství představuje institucionalizovanou stránku kultu; , víra je osobním vztahem k posvátnu a nepotřebuje prostřeníka. Víra je úzce spojena s nadějí, je otevřená budoucnosti. Tento fakt je znázorněn v biblických a tradičních komentářích k napětí mezi kultem a vírou.Item Svět odvrací zrak. Milion Drúzů v Sýrii čelí hrozbě vyhlazení ze strany nového damašského režimu(2025) Tydlitátová, VěraSvědectví Rabiho Jicchaka Seiferta. Zatímco je v centru světové pozornosti nesporně dramatická situace v Pásmu Gazy, oči aktivistů, lidskoprávních organizací a do značné míry i médií se odvracejí od právě probíhajícího masakru drúzské menšiny v Sýrii.Item Afrika roste díky Číně, je z ní hráč s ambicemi. Evropa by to měla pochopit, zní(2025) Záhořík, JanČlánek v MfDnes řeší aktuální výzvy, kterým čelí nejen Afrika, ale i Evropa, a to s ohledem na nástup Číny v Africe, která zcela dominuje tamnímu investičnímu sektoru.Item Deset dní vzteku. Nigerijci protestují, sužuje je drahota a neschopná vláda(2025) Záhořík, JanTento článek se zabývá protesty v Nigérii, které se odehrály ke konci roku 2024 a byly namířeny proti rostoucím cenám pohonných hmot, potravin, a dalších komodit.Item Afrika zažívá letecký boom. Vzdušný prostor se stal centrem politických zájmů(2025) Záhořík, JanČlánek pojednává o rostoucím leteckém průymslu a leteckém propojení napříč Afrikou i mezi Afrikou a světem, na němž se podílí a mohou podílet i české firmy.Item Historical Trajectories of Qatar’s Survival Strategy(2025) Sobotková, Veronika; Záhořík, JanThis article explores the historical evolution of Qatar’s survival strategy and its complex relationship with other GCC states. We examine the historical background of the disputes between Qatar and its major neighbors, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, to identify the roots of the ideological and geopolitical clashes that ultimately resulted in the Qatar crisis of 2017. We argue that Qatar’s independent and frequently GCC-opposing politics are the consequence of a lengthy historical trajectory characterized by challenges to and disputes over its territorial existence and sovereignty that, along with the failed coup of 1996, have had a significant impact on the shape of modern-day Qatar.
Item Massimo Zaccaria, Missions abyssines. L’Etiopia, la Grande guerra e la Conferenza della pace, Roma, Viella, 2024, 188 pp., ISBN 9791254695883(2024) Záhořík, JanLa recensione del libro di Massimo Zaccaria valuta i contributi della sua ricerca sulla storia etiope del primo dopoguerra. Si tratta di un'opera unica che risolve una questione della storia dell'Etiopia finora poco studiataItem Konverze k islámu a formování identity českých muslimek(2022) Tlili, VáclavaCílem studie je přiblížit čtenářiprocesu náboženské konverze k islámu na příkladu několika českých žen, kterése rozhodly přijmout islám za svou víru. Na základědlouhodobého terénního výzkumu a získávání kvalitativníchdat prostřednictvím zúčastněného pozorování, individuálních askupinových rozhovorů studie ukazuje, jak jsou muslimské praktiky integrovány do každodenního života českých konvertiteka jak se buduje jejich nová identita. Autorka se nejprve zabývá případovou studiíkonvertitky Moniky, na jejímž případu poukazuje na významsociálního kontextu konverze. Následující kapitoly se zabývají postupným procesem přijímání novéhonáboženství a způsobem, jakým je identita českých muslimských žen utvářena novými praktikami a ovlivňovánapřítomností dalších muslimů a české společnosti.Item Za Petrem Charvátem(2023) Tydlitátová, VěraNekrolog a vzpomínka na profesora Petra Charváta. Jeho znalosti zasahovaly do mnoha oborů, na Filozofické fakultě Západočeské univerzity se zapsal jako vynikající historik se zájmem o archeologii a kultury Blízkého východu.Item The weakness of common job contacts(2023) Kovářík, Jaromír; Ruiz-Palazuelos, Sofía; Espinosa Paz, MaríaMany people obtain job information from friends and acquaintances. However, one factor influencing labor-market outcomes that is ignored in the literature is the presence of overlapping friendship circles in social networks. We find that overlapping friendship networks produce correlated information flows, resulting in an increased probability of two events: either receiving redundant job offers or receiving no job offers at all. Consequently, people with common contact networks exhibit worse employment prospects even if they have the same number of information providers and compete with the same number of people for vacancies. In quantitative terms, the impact of overlapping friendship circles rivals that of the number of direct contacts and contacts’ contacts. This implies that the results in Calvó-Armengol (2004) only apply for networks where people’s friends are neither connected nor have common contacts. Because overlapping friendship circles are a crucial aspect of strong relationships, our findings uncover an alternative mechanism behind “The Strength of Weak Ties” (Granovetter, 1973): their ability to maintain independence in job information flows. We further show that people with common job contacts earn lower incomes on average. However, conditional on being employed, their expected wage is higher because they can take advantage of the multiple job offers received by selecting the one with the highest pay.Item Kdo odsuzuje Izrael? Spojení propalestinských právníků, západní levice a islámského fundamentalismu(2024) Tydlitátová, VěraMezi radikálními levicovými aktivisty vyvolalo vlnu nadšení sdělení, že by Mezinárodní trestní soud v Haagu (ICC) mohl vydat zatykač nejen na čelného představitele palestinské teroristické organizace Hamás Jahjá Sinvára, ale také na Benjamina Netanjahua. Podle britského advokáta Karima Khana, hlavního prokurátora Mezinárodního trestního soudu, jsou terorista a izraelský premiér podezřelí z válečných zločinů, proto požádal soud o vydání zatykače na oba muže.Item Shi'ite Islamic Religious Authorities and COVID-19(2023) Sobotková, VeronikaThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected religious life and has temporarily changed some of the important religious rules of Islam. Most of the highest Shi'ite clerics in Iran and Iraq have become active protagonists in the fight against COVID-19. The author focuses on these clerics' support of state institutions in matters of hygiene and protection measures as well as bans on gatherings. The author then analyzes the attitudes of these clerics toward changes in religious practices during the Coronavirus epidemic: the prohibition of Friday / congregational prayers, the closing of Shi'ite shrines (places of burial of Shi'ite holy Imams), fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, changes in funeral customs, the issue of martyrdom due to Coronavirus infection and changes in performing the major Shi'ite religious ceremonies of Ashura and Arba'een.Item Analysis of Antisemitic Trends in Czech Websites between 1999 and 2022. Ideological Background, Geolocation, Transparency, and Attitudes on the Russian-Ukrainian War(2023) Tarant, ZbyněkThis article provides an original and up-to-date overview of the main trends in Czech online antisemitism by analysing aggregated data from multiple surveys made by the author, which cover two decades spanning from the pioneering era of the Czech internet in the late 1990s to 2022. The study has noted some profound changes in the main sources of contemporary Czech antisemitism – from various flavours of the far-right in the mid-2000s to conspiracy narratives without a clear Left-Right distinction since the mid-2010s. This new generation of antisemitic websites was found to have a longer lifespan and significantly larger audiences while operating with a higher degree of self-confidence from all regions of the country. A strongly pro-Kremlin inclination was found to be a significant feature of almost all antisemitic websites in the country to the extent that they were directly impacted by the February 2022 government crackdown against “pro-Kremlin disinformation platforms”. The aftermath of this crackdown is discussed in the final chapter.Item Review of Aharon Pick's "Notes from the Valley of Slaughter: A Memoir from the Ghetto of Šiauliai, Lithuania, trans" translated by Gabriel Laufer and Andrew Cassel(2023) Tarant, ZbyněkReview of recently published translation of the Aharon Pick's diary. Aharon Pick was a Jewish doctor in the Šiaulai ghetto during the WWII. His valuable notes have been waiting for a proper Englilsh translation for more than eighty years.Item Leo Herrmann z Lanškrouna jako „manažer sionismu“ a zachránce československých Židů(2023) Tarant, ZbyněkČlánek připomíná život a dílo lanškrounského rodáka, filmového producenta, generálního tajemníka Keren ha-Jesod a zachránce přiblližně 2500 čeeskoslovenských Židů. Článek slouží k popularizaci výzkumu a otevření debaty o této významné, leč zapomenuté osobnosti.Item Jews in the Czech Lands in Year One: In the Jewish Community, in the State and Among Neighbours. A Return to the First Republic of Czechoslovakia?(2024) Soukupová, BlankaAfter the Second World War, the fraction of the Jewish population in the Czech lands that survived the Shoah coped with this tragedy in various ways. The text addresses the main minority strategies: emigration (primarily to Palestine/State of Israel), engagement with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, unconditional assimilation into the Czech nation (intentional departure from Judaism), the reconstruction of Jewish religious communities and Jewish life in general, seeking solace in faith (especially typical for those repatriating from Carpathian Ruthenia/Transcarpathian Ukraine). It also analyzes the perspectives of these life strategies, the manners in which they were pursued, and both their successes and failures in relation to the previous attitudes of the survivors and their situation following the liberation of Czechoslovakia in May of 1945 (loss of relatives, property, confrontation with the anti-Semitism of individuals as well as the rise of state anti-Semitism). Various rituals were often used as a particular way to collectively cope with the Shoah (celebrations, the unveiling of monuments and memorials to deceased and fallen members of the Jewish minority, and Shoah-themed exhibitions) organized by Jewish religious communities in cooperation with state authorities..Item The Influence of the Environment on al-Layth bin Sa’d´s School of Islamic Law(2024) Tlili, VáclavaThe aim of this study is to bring back to the light one of the forgotten Islamic jurist al-Layth bin Sa‘d, and find out how the environment may have influenced his legal reasoning. The first part focuses on the influence of a specific environment on human thinking in general and points to the factors influencing the formation of Islamic law in various areas in paticular. The rest of the paper discusses al-Layth ibn Sa‘d´s personality and the elements that may have contributed to his conception of legal thought; the very multi-religious nature of early Islamic Egypt has been identified as one of the significant elements that helped shape the central nature of his legal school. The conclusion of the study provides examples of some legal rulings issued by him, in which the key role of his environment is clearly demonstrated, and the different legal approach of other lawyers is pointed out.Item Stojíme před výbuchem nesmírného násilí? Kde najít naději a jak uzdravit svět(2025) Tydlitátová, VěraAktualizovaný výklad pojmu Tikun olam. V klasické rabínské literatuře se sousloví tikun olam vztahuje především k nápravě pokaženého společenského řádu. Nejstarší známé užití této formule nacházíme již v Talmudu, kde se jím myslí změna nebo úprava zákona tak, aby společnost dobře fungovala, aby byla dodržována spravedlnost, sociální smír, vymahatelnost práva a prosperita.
