RESEARCH TOPICS

Project Purpose

Most brown coal and lignite mines spread throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina provide fuel for two thermal power plants (TPP) in the Federation, TPP Kakanj and TPP Tuzla, which in turn work for the Public Power Distribution Enterprise of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Elektroprivreda BiH – EP BiH). There is some interesting data about energy sources in EU countries. In Denmark, the structure of energy sources for electricity relies almost completely on fossil fuels – 90%, and it is similar in the Netherlands – 94%, Belgium – 94%, Luxemburg 94%, and Ireland 95%. All previous assessments of mineral resources took into account only their technological and economic aspects. The greatest shortcoming of all the investment projects is the omission of the environmental aspect. It has been shown that the dimensions of endangerment are far greater than previously known, so this problem must be taken very seriously. In that sense, it is necessary to raise social awareness about the necessity of environmental protection and development goals (we must make the transition from quantitative to qualitative indicators of development).

Questions Raised by the Project

The mines in the Federation are all very different. Some have large reserves, while others have practically exhausted their economically exploitable reserves. The quality of the coal varies drastically with a wide range of heating power, moisture, ash and sulphur. Every mine has its own unique set of problems, issues and challenges, but almost all share a universal need of capital: for land, infrastructure and equipment, as well as for revitalisation and use of degraded land. Another common problem for all mines is the disruption of the working environment. The climate of the working environment (mine climate) is basically made up of the combined effect of air temperature, humidity, air current speed, pressure and radiation affecting the abilities of the miners. These conditions are usually augmented by the effect of the chemical quality of the air, dust, noise and the limited space inside mines. The problem of adverse affects of mine climates on the miners has not been fully researched yet, but the development of subterranean exploitation indicates a tendency towards increasingly unfavourable conditions.

Main Researcher:
Nataša Radović, Ismeta Šarića 15, Breza

Duration:
1 October 2001 – 30 June 2003

Institution:
Breza Mine
Research Team:
Knežević Aleksandar, Muratović Mustafa

Project Purpose

Preventing drug abuse is not merely the problem of healthcare services, education and social institution, it is a serious social problem. Drug abuse is one of the most complex issues of conceptual orientation of young people in an increasingly unstable system of hierarchy of social values. Opting for drugs is a manifestly deviant and destructive manner of rejecting the world of adults. Passivity is dominant in terms of ideology, worldview, lifestyle, and quality of life where life is merely spent instead of lived creatively, and orientation towards goals contrary to the essential and authentic needs of young people.

Questions Raised by the Project

The modern world is faced with environmental contamination. Dehumanised social spaces cause young people worried about their existence to revolt. The drama of unemployment among the young generations, competition for attractive occupations, the problem of articulating free time, the problem of the role of the young generation in society and its perspectives give rise to discontent. If they are not offered more creative lifestyles, they will increasingly opt for aggressive modes of behaviour. Drug abuse has long surpassed the level of individual pathology and has become a collective phenomenon for humankind. It has also spread to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country in transition with "permeable borders". There are no innate drug abusers. Drugs are encountered in social human spaces all around us. If drug abuse is not understood and recognised as a social problem, drug abusers will never be stopped in their pointless wandering through life. Society is expected to commit itself to preventive action, not concern in the form of empty phrases, but an organised, coordinated, continuous and expert-led action that will aim to form clear viewpoints on drugs and primary prevention goals.

Main Researcher:
Anđa Ilić, Stepe Stepanovića 69, Banja Luka

Duration:
1 October 2001 – 1 March 2003

Institution:
RTV RS Banja Luka

Research Team:
Arnaut Saša, Bukelić Jovan, Karan Siniša, Malbašić Radojka

Project Purpose:

Bosnian-Herzegovinian religious reality or the religious mosaic of Bosnia and Herzegovina are terms often employed in both everyday and scientific discourse, often without a proper grasp of their meaning. Irrespective of many smaller religious communities, which are not the subject of our research, these terms are most often reduced to encompass Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism. For centuries and in the present day, these four religious communities have shaped Bosnian-Herzegovinian society in various ways and with varying intensity. In view of the issue of the relationship between ideology and religion, the relationship between Judaism and ideology is not crucial or questionable in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, research is limited to the three most numerous religious communities: Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam.

Questions Raised by the Project:

In previous centuries, these three religious communities have often met and intermingled in various ways in Bosnia and Herzegovina, forming its social fabric. Very little research has been carried out concerning their mutual relationships and the relationships between individual communities. Therefore, surveying previous research in the field of the sociology of religion, we can confidently assert that almost no relevant comparative studies of Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam have been carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even studies dealing with theology are practically nonexistent and other aspects of the relationship are even more neglected. On the other hand, all previous comparative studies of the relationship of religion to a social phenomenon, rare as they are, have been based on ideological premises such as communism. The subject of this research is these ideological transcendental starting points for the study and treatment of religion.

Main Researcher:
Šaćir Filandra, Ćemaluša 12, Sarajevo

Project Duration:
1 October 1999 – 30 June 2001

Institution:
Faculty of Political Sciences, Sarajevo

Research Team
Markešić Ivan, Nagradić Slobodan

Project Purpose:

In the Middle Ages, with the appearance of towns that were "modern before their time” and "announced the future,” European society was fundamentally transformed: a new social class, the citizens, arrived on the scene, bringing new perceptions that overpowered old, narrow-minded viewpoints. The change was made most apparent by the fact that citizens were free people and did not owe their freedom to a feudal lord. Up to this time, such a relationship was unheard of in a society based on patronage.

Questions Raised by the Project:

With the appearance of citizens, society continued to change more and more: for the first time paupers moved into urban areas, universities were established and lay education flourished, other new corporations developed (trade associations, guilds, brotherhoods), the flow of trade and spiritual ideas conquered new territories and life was directed towards coastal areas. Henri Pirenne summed it up by stating that "Before, civilisation was completely continental; now it becomes coastal.” With the advent of towns, European medieval society entered a mature phase and was subjected to deep and fundamental social changes, such as would not bee seen for centuries to come. Along with the Church, towns became a general symbol of European medieval civilisation, a symbol of multifaceted material and spiritual progress. Civilisation became stronger and more varied and "an obvious convergence between civilisation and culture” was established.

Main Researcher:
Dubravko Lovrenović, Franje Račkog 1, Sarajevo

Project Duration:
1 April 2001 – 31 December 2002

Institution:
Faculty of Philosophy, Sarajevo

Research Team:
Kurtović Esad

Project Purpose:

One can not overestimate the importance of border issues and the border topos for contemporary European culture: it may be the most interesting of contemporary phenomena, intriguing for its power to create meaning and discourse, narrative potential, ambiguity and ontological-phenomenological and structural-semiotic efficiency in images, beliefs and thought.

Questions Raised by the Project:

The border phenomena relates to all forms and aspects of human activity and is necessarily studied precisely at crossroads as a fundamental category and constitutive premise for all psychological, social and art systems in which it denotes the site of implementing the differences in the system – the environment. The border and border phenomena are efficient signifiers of various structuring processes since they too are based on a principally event-driven structure. It is clear that all individual social systems (economy, law, ethics, science, art, education) reduce the borderless complexity of the world in the eyes of the spectator by marking off and enforcing differences in the process signifying the power of the border and border phenomena. In literature, border topoi can be relevant for the treatment of plot, point of view, ideological readings, the organisation of the semantic field, generating images of otherness (for example, the character of the neighbour or enemy) etc. The "Border Topos and Border Phenomena” project would be carried out in Bosnia and in Sarajevo, places which are already border topoi in a geographic and cultural sense. Bosnian culture is, according to stereotype, a borderland between the cultural systems of the West and the East.

Main Researcher:
Nirman Moranjak – Bamburać, Hamze Orlovića 11, Sarajevo

Project Duration:
1 January 2001 – 30 June 2002

Institution:
Faculty of Philosophy, Sarajevo

Research Team:
Bašović Almir

Project Purpose:

Agriculture is the strongest branch of business and the most important human activity in general. The proof is as follows: agriculture provides us with food, the basis for human existence, without which there would be no life. Half of humanity is employed in agriculture, their main or only source of income. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to pre-war statistics, one third of the population is employed in agriculture. This number is even greater today since industry and some other branches of the economy have become inactive.

Questions Raised by the Project:

Up to four decades ago (until 1957), agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina was highly regarded. There was no mass production and no accompanying use of mineral fertilizers, pesticides, machines and irrigation. Therefore the yield of staple crops, such as wheat and corn (although the same is true for other crops as well), was very low – approximately one tone or less per acre. In 1957, agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina intensified. In the following three decades, the age of the worldwide "green revolution,” it grew more than threefold. Agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina is eight thousand years old. Therefore, our ancestors needed eight millennia to achieve a crop yield of barely one tone per acre, while it took our generation only three decades to triple that yield. This was made possible by important advancements in agricultural science and technology and the implementation of these advancements in general practice.

Main Researcher:
Milan Stupar, Mokri Dolovi 10, Trebinje

Project Duration:
1 October 2002 – 30 June 2004

Institution:
Faculty of Agriculture, Sarajevo

Research Team:
Berberović Husein, ?ikić Mirha, Gadžo Drena, Lopandić Dragiša,
Miketa Vera, Muminović Ševal

Project Purpose:

In order to ensure necessary material goods, man has always made use of the Earth’s natural potential, raw materials (mineral and biological), water, air, agricultural land and its ecological potential, that is the Earth's ability to self-regulate its ecological systems. A systematic approach to the study of this issue is made all the more important by the rapid depletion and degradation of raw materials, water, earth and air, resulting from ecologically unsound technological developments, war and the lack of appropriate legislature. Previously, economic theory and practice has ignored this issue, focusing on other, supposedly more important problems of transition. At present, there are no strategies for the development of the state as a whole or of individual regions. Therefore, it is advisable to take into account the experiences accompanying the establishment and expansion of the European Union which indicate that interests are best realised within a greater framework.

Questions Raised by the Project:

The aforementioned serves as additional motivation for the members of this research team. The members of this research team come from different areas and have joined together in this common project with the aim of contributing to the positive world trends in the field. At present, a very important step towards this aim is the realisation that the interaction of economy and ecology is of vital importance for a normalisation of living conditions. For this project to succeed, it is necessary, first and foremost, to collect, order and process facts and information needed to define the present state of the fundaments of the ecological system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the possibilities for connecting this system to neighbouring national economies and ecological systems in the region and beyond. Using the discoveries regarding the existing situation and the worldwide developmental trends in this field, we can build a realistic image of the possibilities of social and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and connections in the region and beyond. It is also necessary to mention new methodological approaches for primary and secondary education in the field of ecology.

Main Researcher:
Milenko Radević, Srbac, Republika Srpska

Project Duration:
1 October 1999 – 30 June 2001

Institution:
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Banja Luka

Research Team:
Agić Mirza, Oglečevac Selver, Osmanović Senad

Project Purpose:

In the past fifty years, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, small settlements, mostly villages but also small towns, have suffered from a loss of their youth population who move to urban centres. This leaves the small settlements without their most important developmental resource. At the same time, the influx of population into large industrial centres and urban agglomerates has exerted a strong pressure on the infrastructure of public utilities and further dehumanised living conditions in large cities.

Questions Raised by the Project:

This phenomenon is, first and foremost, the result of economic development. However, it is also influenced by the recent war and further aggravated by forced (internal and external) migration, making the issue both more pressing and its solution more necessary. Economic development factors are generated by technological progress, that is by industrialisation and other agro-technological measures in agriculture. The productivity of work in villages and agricultures has multiplied but at the same time a surplus of the work force has been created. These people have searched for and are still searching for work in other fields, usually in large cities. The problem is relatively well known. However, despite partial attempts in the fields of science and legislature and the efforts of state bodies, the problem has yet to be studied in detail and successfully solved. This project is an effort to thoroughly study the problem and, based on the results of the research, to suggest a practical, systematic and complete solution.

Main Researcher:
Vlado Markuljević, XIV srednjobosanske Brigade 40, Banja Luka

Project Duration:
1 October 1999 – 30 June 2001

Institution:
Pensioner

Research Team:
Kumalić Jusuf, Roljić Lazo, Vaško Željko

Project Purpose:

All of man's activities are carried out in a certain time and space. The success of these activities depends on a good organisation of that time and space. The Earth in general and each country in particular have a limited amount of space (taking space to mean land area). Land in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although non-renewable, is one of the basic natural resources and is liable to great degradation, wear and loss. Therefore, there is a real danger that, in the foreseeable future, we will be left without arable land, the most important resource for us because it is the substrate for the production of food necessary to sustain life. The area of Bosnia and Herzegovina is 51.129 km2 or 5 112 900 acres. Of that total number, 2 525 000 acres or 49.4% is agricultural land, including natural fields and pastures and 2 449 000 acres or 47.9% is woodlands. The rest is non-arable land and land under buildings, roads etc. (statistics from 1991).

Questions Raised by the Project:

We are fast losing land in Bosnia and Herzegovina owing to the construction of settlements, industry, roads etc. In only two decades, from 1970 to 1990, 110 000 acres or 4.2% of agricultural land was lost. Approximately 20 000 acres was lost only for the construction of artificial damns. If we were to follow the pre-war tempo of losing land, Bosnia and Herzegovina would be left without this basic natural resource in approximately 200 years. Moreover, in the post-war years, pressure has intensified to turn agricultural land into land for construction of various facilities. This has come to the point that, by some estimations, we could be left without land already in fifty years.

Main Researcher:
Zaim Elezović, Trg Nezavisnosti 18/1, Sarajevo

Project Duration:
1 January 2001 – 30 June 2002

Institution:
UPI Ilidža Agricultural Institute, Sarajevo

Research Team:
Dodoš Draško, Neidhart Tatjana, Knežević Lidija

Project Purpose:

To study the reasons that agricultural production in Bosnia and Herzegovina is behind in comparison to agriculturally developed countries. To study the recovery of agriculture from war devastation. To study the consequences of changes in social organisation on agricultural production. To examine the lack of expert staff for the implementation of science and technology breakthroughs to agricultural practice, as one of the key reasons for it lagging behind. To point out possibilities for the renewal of broken ties between scientific and professional institutions, agricultural experts and farmers in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entities and to strengthen trust between them. To develop dialogue and cooperation between agricultural and ecological professionals, thus encouraging dialogue and cooperation with foreign institutions. In turn, this will make possible a more efficient implementation of the most important scientific and practical solutions for agriculture and ecology from other countries resulting in an increase in food production in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Questions Raised by the Project:

Professional agricultural counselling services played a very large role in applying the achievements of science and technology in agricultural practice, resulting in such a large growth in profit and production in the past four decades. However, owing to the inconsistent agricultural policies of the previous political system, the expert agricultural services fell into disuse. The close ties between science and practice were severed. This also had a negative effect on production. This project aims to contribute to the cooperation between the agricultural experts and farmers of our two entities and has a double goal: to promote agricultural production and to strengthen trust and understanding, thus strengthening the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Project Leader:
Milan Stupar MA, Mokri Dolovi 10/5, Trebinje

Partners:
Dr. Taib Šarić, 033 440 546
Dr. Ševal Muminović, 033 649 741
Dr. Dragiša Lopandić, 055 401 926
Husein Berberović MA, 035 240 157
Mirha Đikić MA, 033 464 267
Drena Gadžo, 033 521 407

Project Duration:
1 January 2001 – 31 June 2002

Project Purpose:

How will a change in women’s consciousness or self-awareness affect the institutions of marriage and family, focusing on the institution of family in Bosnia and Herzegovina and society in general.

Questions Raised by the Project:

• Transformation of the woman through self-awareness
• Defying stereotypes about male and female roles in society
• (Male-Female) relationships
• Including women in the economic reorganisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Main Researcher:
Jasmina Jovanović, Borisa Kidriča 11/18, Tuzla, 035 225 260

Partners:
Branka Hadži-Ristić, 035 254 321
Edisa Gazetić, 035 254 321
Boris Ljubić, 035 251 206
Nermin Jusić, 035 281 644
Adnan Osmanbegović, 035 597 105

Project Duration:
1 October 2001 – 1 March 2003

Project Purpose:

A multiethnic research team made up of six (6) women from different professional backgrounds, all with university degrees and from various areas (Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) will attempt to give a broad overview of the issue by studying all forms of discrimination in the family and cooperating with various foundations and associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This project will give an analysis of various forms of discrimination against women, an overview of reports on violence published in the media, reports on violence against women by expert social and medical institutions, and show the negative effects of discrimination in the family and the workplace. The project will be presented through various forms of media, making the information arrived at through research available to the public, in the aim of raising social consciousness about the protection of women's rights in Bosnian-Herzegovinian society.

Questions Raised by the Project:

• Representation of the problem in the media (newspapers and magazines, TV, brochures, the Internet) in order to better inform the public. What are the most common forms of discrimination and the effects of discrimination in the family and at the workplace (a questionnaire)?
• The role of education – education about this problem
• Legislature – the contribution of this and similar projects to finding better solutions
• Counselling centres and an expert brochure.
• The youth viewpoint (a questionnaire) on violence against women.

Relevant Texts:
Elzaheta Jamaković: The Role of the Family in Upbringing: The Family and the Child, Sarajevo, 1997.

Mirjana Lukač: Domestic Violence, The SOS Phone Line for Women and Children Victims of Violence, Casper hauser (WHO), 1998.

Main Researcher:
Eldina Muftic, NOVA 5, Sarajevo, eldinamuftic@hotmail.com, 033 623 203

Researchers:
Enida Mališević, 033 400 543
Maja Knežević, 668 157
Elzaheta Jamaković, 033 612 697
Mirjana Lukač
Maida Hadžiomerović, 033 521 557

Project Purpose

The project will thoroughly research one of the most controversial segments of the legal system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Research into the system of citizen’s housing rights will be placed within the context of the paradigm of post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina, reflected in the divergence of the legal system.

Questions Raised by the Project

First and foremost, we will assemble and classify sources of rights that make possible the protection of housing rights of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second aim is to test the hypothesis that the legal system, including housing rights, has been subjected to divergence for many years. Divergence of the system of citizen’s housing rights can also be seen in relation to international standards of human rights, as well as in relation to European legal norms. Only once we have carried out a scientific classification of housing rights and the means and forums for their realization and protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will it be possible to compare the branch of housing rights to the status of these rights in European countries. The final aim of this project is to point out paths to the convergence of the system of the protection of housing rights of Bosnian-Herzegovinian citizens, both from the standpoint of human rights and from the standpoint of property rights. It will be shown that the protection of citizen’s housing rights can be efficiently carried out only if they are established and protected as subjective civil rights.

Main Researcher:
Branko Morait, Kordunaška 20, Banja Luka, 051 644 688

Researchers:
Branko Kosić

Project Duration:
1 January 1999 – 31 December 2000

Project Purpose
To define types of organisation with discretionary powers (police and security forces), identify and provide proof of their role, forms and methods of operation, objects of strategic interest and attacks, ties to and misuse by centres of social and political power in the destruction of the social fabric of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Questions Raised by the Project
- Defining the basic ideological and political standpoints regarding the sovereignty and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina held by centres of political power in neighbouring countries and in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Defining groups, structures and types of organisations with discretionary power (civil and military, police and para-police forces, security forces—military and civil, security forces of political parties)
Characterising the relationship between organisations with discretionary powers and certain centres of political power concerning the carrying out of activities directed towards the destruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina (autonomous, partially or completely dependent, politicised, manipulated…)
Characterising the viewpoints and attitudes of centres of political power towards activities of organisations with discretionary powers aimed at destroying Bosnia and Herzegovina
Levels of correlation between standpoints and concepts of certain centres of political power and actual activities of organisations with discretionary power on destroying Bosnia and Herzegovina
Organisations with discretionary powers and their ties with and dependence (material, staff, professional assistance etc.) on the security forces of aggressor countries or non-governmental structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Operational methods of organisations with discretionary power with the aim of destroying Bosnia and Herzegovina (organisation, promotion and participation in provoking ethnic and political tensions, terrorist acts, diversions, arrests, deportation, displacement, establishing concentration camps, liquidation, concealing war crimes, protecting war criminals, misuse of humanitarian activities, blockade of freedom of movement and return of refugees etc.)
Misuse of function and authority and other forms of misuse (law, religion, government) by organisations with discretionary powers that aim to destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina
Targets that organisations with discretionary power aimed their activities at (state and social institutions, organisations, political parties and organisations, groups, individuals etc.)

Main Researcher:
Munir Alibabić, Josipa Štadlera 8 , Sarajevo, 033 471 721

Researchers:
Mihajlo Pavlović
Irisa Alibabić
Zlatko Biščević

Project Duration:
1 January1999 – 31 December 2000

17. POST-WAR CHALLENGES AND THE CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Project Purpose
Regional economic policy (REP). As well as presenting the experiences of developed countries in implementing regional economic policy and giving a comparative analysis of theoretical standpoints and regional political practice, it will be necessary to give an overview of the regional policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina starting from the Dayton Agreement - its limitations and possibilities.

Derviša Numića 18B,
Sarajevo,
033 646 736,
Murpr@bih.net.ba

Reserachers:
Ibro Popić
Osman Pelić

Project Duration:
1 October 1999 – 31 March 2000

16. THE POPULATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: DEMOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT IN A MULTIETHNIC SOCIETY

Project Purpose
To research the development of population in the multiethnic society of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Questions Raised by the Project
Main Researcher:
Ilijas Bošnjović, Gabelina 23&III, Sarajevo, 033 201 209

Researchers:
Alma Pobrić
Naris Bošnjović
Saida Traljić

Project Duration:
1 October 1998 – 31 March 2000

15. SOCIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF THE CRISIS OF URBANITY IN POST-TRADITIONAL BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN SOCIETY

Project Purpose
The purpose of the project is to examine the rural-urban conflict phenomenon using the R. E. Park W. Burgess - L. Wirth terminology of accommodation, competence, differentiation and use of leisure time, testing a composite variable, "the urban lifestyle,” in the Radakova suburb of Zenica.

Questions Raised by the Project
The basic issues and questioned raised by the project concern the spatial interpretation of post-traditional society located in the urban form of the Radakova settlement. This type of interpretation allows us to understand post-traditional models that appear between their culture and their assigned space, where they are out of place and exist as a consequence of the war and post-war situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have seen a series of clear correlations between social group and space and the type of migration into the city and space. This research was carried out on a sample of the population of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian town Zenica, which belongs to the T-population distribution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on the suburb of Radakova. The research confirmed an important correlation between differentiation and accommodation (r = 0.57), differentiation and competition (r = 0.56) and accommodation and competition (r = 0.54). The main factor of urban lifestyle in urban forms is accommodation. Furthermore, accommodation is significantly linked by the subject-respondent (n = 150) to other sub-dimensions of spatial interpretation. The space-place relation, seen in the symbolic tension between village-town, indicates a basic tension as the key conflict in contemporary Bosnian-Herzegovinian society. In several places, the project foreshadows further research that can be carried out concerning the contemporary Bosnian-Herzegovinian city which has developed as a classic example of a Third World city (over populated, dysfunctional) in comparison to the Third World village (poverty stricken, without technology).

Main Researcher:
Dr. Alisabri Šabani, Jalimanov put 1/b, Zenica, 032 411 551

Researchers:
Nihad Bećirević

Project Duration:
1 October 1998 – 31 March 2000
Project Purpose
The idea behind this project, and the main contribution of the research on this topic, is to establish the lofty goals and ideals of democracy despite the fact that some of its most fundamental preconditions have not been fulfilled. Raising awareness, knowledge and ideas about the type of society we wish to achieve—a developed, rich, modern democracy—necessitates, first and foremost, that as well as constructing such a state and all accompanying political institutions, we must also work on the development of certain human qualities, since humans are the citizens of this state.

Questions Raised by the Project
Raising awareness, knowledge and the democratic engagement of people as members of a state or of a social community in general means the promotion of human qualities that are necessary prerequisites for economic and all other forms of prosperity of the state and of the individual in the state. Research on the subject "Raising Awareness, Knowledge and Action Directed Towards the Promotion of Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy” and the results that would be reported during the research phase and at the end of the project would assist in:
1. establishing, as soon as possible, the basic structure for a state under the rule of law which would, first and foremost, protect human rights
2. citizens themselves, individually or as part of democratic associations, representing a necessary opposition to the state when it oversteps its democratic, social and ethically justified social functions

Main Researcher:
Ćazim Sadiković, Mustafe Busuladžića 23, Sarajevo, 033 441 903

Researchers
Nežla Borić
Mirjana Nadaždin-Defterdarević

Project Duration:
1 October 1998 – 31 March 2000

13. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND SUGGESTED MEASURES FOR ITS REALISATION

Project Purpose
Rapid changes in science, technology and society demand that the legislative and executive branches of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian government act in order to manage the development of these human activities. Taking into consideration the importance of science and technology for overall social development, as well as the demands that they must contribute to solving vital problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a need to draw up planning documents for the science and technology development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Questions Raised by the Project
Science and technology development policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina should outline the basic goals, directions and priorities for the development of science and technology in Bosnia and Herzegovina which would be realized through:
1. A support programme for basic research;
2. A support programme for research into technological development;
3. A support programme for the transmission of knowledge and technology from scientifically and technologically developed areas to Bosnia and Herzegovina;
4. A programme securing new and sustaining older equipment and facilities for science and research activities;
5. A support programme for international scientific cooperation;
6. A support programme for further training of science and research staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
7. A programme securing scientific reading materials from abroad;
8. A support programme for employing younger science and research staff;
9. A support programme for editing and publishing scientific journals, science books and monographs;
10. A programme for the construction of a general database by the Ministry of Science and Culture for the science sector ;
11. A support programme for the organisation of science conferences, societies and institutions;
12. A programme encouraging the activities of science and professional organisations in the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
13. A programme of quality improvement proposed by the science sector at the ministry charged with developing science and approved by the minister for science.
The policy should aim to encourage the development of science and technology and to increase their contributions to society. The implementation of new knowledge and technology in using Bosnia and Herzegovina’s professional, technological and natural comparative advantages would lead to competency in an international context.

Main Researcher:
Prof. Dr. Daniel Romano, Kordunaška 6, Banja Luka, 051 644 518

Reserachers:
Dr. Živojin Erić
Biljana Kukrić
Branka Škiljić
Ana Romano

Project Duration:
1 January 1999 – 31 December 2000

12. THE POSSIBILITIES OF IMPLEMENTING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Project Purpose
New technologies are part of the new political, economic and cultural relationships in Bosnian-Herzegovinian society. Establishing a society without conflict, affirming trust and respecting differences as valuable in Bosnia and Herzegovina are all connected to an affirmation of a culture oriented towards science and technology. This project provides an acceptable synthesis of distinguishing social and economic traits in Bosnia and Herzegovina and world trends in information technology. Therefore, the project links our present and future with technology as an important accelerator of development.

Questions Raised by the Project
Information technology is of special importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This research project maps contemporary technological trends in the world onto the dire political, economic and cultural conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Contemporary technology and the globalisation it engenders, endangers the present political atmosphere, especially the threefold nationalist autism. The reconstruction of the economy and a successful process of transition are, in fact, assertive expressions of internet economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its accompanying processes. The cultural and spiritual spheres in Bosnia and Herzegovina also have to be included in the universalistic tendencies of advanced technologies. This project explores the problematic Bosnian-Herzegovinian environment and makes a synthesis of this environment with hi-tech world trends that have an important social and cultural dimension. The penetration of information technology, symbolising all the advancements in modern science and technology, is the lifesaving radiation that will rid Bosnia and Herzegovina of social (and all other) cancers.

Main Researcher:
Ognjen Huskić, Kralja Tvrtka 13, Livno, 034 202 736

Researchdrs:
Sulejman Velić

Project Duration:
1 January 1999 – 31 December 2000

11. THE MUNICIPALITY AND SCHOOL IN DECENTRALISED EDUCATION

Project Purpose
The project explores the role and importance of the municipality and school in decentralized education, a product of decentralizing education in regards to the municipality and the school.

Questions Raised by the Project
Up to 1992, education in Bosnia and Herzegovina was centralised. There was a single unified education system with unified laws and regulations, pedagogical standards, curricula and syllabi, textbooks etc. During the war, conditions were such that three education systems were formed and they persist to this day. The idea of decentralised education was included in a political document, legitimized by the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, without taking into consideration the factors and conditions that brought about this change and the necessary activities that now must be carried out to create mechanisms for its implementation.

The projects aims to:

• consider all available sources concerning decentralised education in various countries, especially focusing on successful examples
• analyse existing school legislature and provisions dealing with the management of education and the role of the municipality and school
• ensure conditions for education authorities at the local level, school headmasters, teachers and parents to all be included in thinking through modelling the decentralisation process and creating conditions for the implementation of decentralised functions in education

Main Researcher:
Dr. Hasnija Muratović, Avde Smajlovića 1, Sarajevo, 033 651 145

Reserachers:
Mira Merlo
Nadežda Radić
Jasminka Nalo
Mirsad Islamović
Hašim Sinanović
Salem Halilović

Project Duration:
1 January 1999 – 31 June 2000

10. EDUCATING YOUTH FOR THE CREATION OF A HEALTHY LIVING ENVIRONMENT

Project Purpose
Preventive action against drug abuse through informing youth and teachers. With the same goal in mind, the project encourages creative activities through an adjustment of existing curricula.

Questions Raised by the Project
Amount of information in schools about addiction
How informed are students and teachers about this problem?
How to successfully educate teachers and students
Which methods should be used?
Current knowledge of this problem
How much do students and teachers know at present?
Lack of continuous work on prevention
How to ensure continuous work on prevention in schools?
Oversights in existing education activities
How to overcome these oversights?
Youth lifestyles and self-awareness
How to promote healthy lifestyles and find the most acceptable methods and alternatives for developing self-awareness?
Individual responsibility as prevention of misuse
How to develop individual responsibility?

Main Researcher:
Prof. Dr. Zlata Žigić, Stupine B7, Tuzla, 035 232 604

Reserachers
Ediba Pozderović
Zerema Obradović
Edin Husarić
Mirza Mulaosmanović
Ernesa Mešić

Project Duration:
1 October 1999 – 31 March 2001

9. INTER-RELIGIOUS TIES BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Project Purpose
The aim of the project is to acquaint the Bosnian-Herzegovinian public with important scientific truths in a reasonable and acceptable way, in order to improve interpersonal relationships and the quality of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. One of the most important scientific questions–the question of the origin of man–undoubtedly indicates that creationism, accepted by all representatives of the dominant religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Islam, Christianity, Judaism), is scientifically reliable.

Questions Raised by the Project
Addressing the question of the scientific reliability of Moses’ account of creation is of the utmost importance because if the account proves to be reliable we can deduce that all inhabitants of the region are brothers, created by a single Creator and descending from a single Adam and Eve. (In general, Jews accept only the revelation of the Old Testament, together with additional revelations of the Creator, while Islam usually accepts both the Old and New Testaments, together with the Quran as another revelation from the Creator. It is important to emphasise that all three religious communities accept the first five books of the Old Testament (the Five Books of Moses). We will consider only eleven chapters of the First Book of Moses which recount the creation of the Universe, life and man.) Since the Middle Ages, the greatest scientific minds, such as Newton, Pasteur, Pascal, Mendel, Maxwell, Kepler and others, believed in Moses’ account of creation. Today, a large number of scientists around the world offer scientific proof of this account. Therefore, there are many facts that can be presented to better understand our common origins and our biological and genetic similarities.

Main Researcher:
Miroljub Petrović
Jovana Raškovića 107
Banja Luka
Tel. 051 214 145

Researchers:
Milanko Džuver
Zoran Veselinović

Project Duration:
1 October 1999–31 March 2001

8. THE LITERATURE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BETWEEN POETICS AND IDEOLOGY

Project Purpose
The development of literature created in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past ten centuries has been unified and has had a specific continuity. We wish to write a diachronic overview of Bosnian-Herzegovinian literature spanning from the earliest written artefacts to postmodern authors of the second half of the twentieth century. We will employ two basic principles for systemising the material-the principle of dating source texts and their classification into various stylistic and chronological groupings.

Questions Raised by the Project
In the initial period of Bosnian-Herzegovinian literature, during the Middle Ages, Slavs who had settled in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina quickly assimilated into the already existing Roman Christian culture. As soon as the Bosnian bans consolidated their power, they surrounded themselves, like other medieval European rulers, with rhetoricians, priests, jurists and poets. Over the following four centuries, the cultural circles gathered around the bans developed and established an authentic Bosnian cultural and ideological syncretism, most strongly articulated in the institutionalisation of the Bosnian Church. Three parallel traditions: After Bosnia was conquered in 1463, it received new rulers, a different political and economic organisation and a new dominant religious and cultural model and the previous cultural unity began to fade. Namely, Bosnia’s cultural confinement within the Ottoman Empire developed into four different cultural models. With the arrival of Turks and Jews, Bosnia and Herzegovina was enriched with new viewpoints and a new cultural syncretism. Literature developed as three parallel traditions. The Croat tradition was a continuation of the mature European Roman-Latin Middle Ages. The Serbian tradition was tied to medieval Serb ecclesiastics and the lay culture that took on a psychological initiative. The Bosniak tradition employed Oriental languages, as well as Bosnian. Therefore, it seems necessary to study precisely those spaces where these traditions face off, come into conflict or agree ideologically and poetically, all vividly occupying the same spaces. These three modern literary genres, as we may characterise them, originated in Bosnia and from Bosnia, from the epic genre, a favourite among all South Slavs. The importance of the epic and the esteem in which it is held is testified by the numerous published collections, anthologies, selections, pearls, jems, overviews of Serb, Croat and Bosniak native or global epic poems, by anonymous or identifiable authors. Despite the fact that the Romantic Age has long since passed! Taking into consideration the existence and aesthetic value of epic poems, our researchers will focus on their social and psychological effects, the mental process leading to unquestioning collective mythomania, that is, the confusion of fictional "truth” from an epic poem with historical fact.

Main Researcher:
Dr. Nirman Moranjak-Bamburać, Hamze Orlovića 11, Sarajevo, 033 667 845

Researchers:
Muhamed Dželilović
Jasna Šamić
Nela Rubić

Project Duration:
1 October 1998–31 March 2000

7. PUBLIC OPINION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 1999-2000

Project Purpose
The main aim of this project is to determine the similarities and differences in the "unity in diversity” making up the Bosnian-Herzegovinian nationality. In particular, we wish to determine the socio-demographic, socio-economic and socio-psychological similarities between Serbs, Croats, Bosniacs and Others, that is, to determine a profile of similarities and differences based on the aforementioned variables.

Questions Raised by the Project
There are different theoretical models for understanding the term "public.” The most important are the sociological or discursive model, on the one hand and the individual or aggregate model, on the other hand. According to the sociological model, the public is a loosely organised collective which disappears and changes during a debate on a controversial social issue (Blumer, 1946). According to the individual or aggregate model, the public is an assembly of individuals and public opinion is a synthesis of individual opinions (Lamza-Posavec, 1995). In order to understand the term "opinion” one often begins with the communicative stage, followed by sociological and psychological viewpoints or a combination of these. Opinion is seen as an unreliable judgement or reasoning, as a behavioural or psychological phenomena or as an aggregate of viewpoints and beliefs. What is public opinion? Many theorists differ greatly in trying to define the term "public opinion”. One of them, B. C. Hennessy (1965) states that "there are practically the same number of definitions of ‘public’ as there are writers on ‘public opinion’." Most researchers agree that it is necessary to separately define the terms "public" and "opinion" in order to better define the concept.

Vranjače 48,
Sarajevo,
033 203 225,
PRISM@bih.net.ba

Researchers:
Elvira Duraković
Stanko Smoljanić
Marko Romić

Project Duration:
1 October 1999–31 March 2001

6. INCREASING TRUST THROUGH STRENGTHENING AGRICULTURE AND A MORE ADEQUATE IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE TRANSITION OF THE BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN AGRO-ECONOMY

Project Purpose
The purpose of this project is, first and foremost, to strengthen coexistence and trust (fundamental values in Bosnian-Herzegovinian society and an affirmation of the positive values that stem from Bosnian-Herzegovinian differences) in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Questions Raised by the Project
One of the important tasks and goals of this project is a renewal of coexistence and trust in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dialogue (recognising ones differences in relation to the environment and recognising other’s differences in relation to the self) is the foundation for a normal future. In the past several years, a lack of dialogue has hindered the construction of a democratic Bosnian-Herzegovinian society. The research team had the following activities:
increasing trust through strengthening the economy
implementing new scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements
researching the transition of Bosnian-Herzegovinian agro-economy
questionnaire (administered in the surrounding areas of Sarajevo and Banja Luka to provide an overview of the contemporary state of Bosnian-Herzegovinian society.)
Researchers believe that intellectuals, because of their power, have a moral responsibility to construct Bosnian-Herzegovinian democracy (based on the protection of human rights and the rule of law).

Main Researcher:
Enida Mališević,
Gornja Jošanica 2/40,
Vogošća,
033 430 363

Reserachers:
Nezir Tanović
Josip Čota
Boško Gaćeša
Fuad Turalić
Ljubomir Radoš

Project Duration:
1 October 1998–31 March 2000

5. FRAGMENTS OF THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Project Purpose

• To present and carry out a textual analysis of anonymous manuscripts found in the archives of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• To reconstruct the anonymous collection of the Archive of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• The theoretical and practical approach to the reconstruction of Bosnaicae
• The story of the Sarajevo Haggada, one of the symbols of Bosnia
• A bibliography of Jewish periodicals in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Defining a virtual library of Bosnia and Herzegovina – a new archive of Bosnians and Herzegovinians

Questions Raised by the Project
1. The National Museum as a paradigm of Bosnia;
Development of scholarly research;
Institutions originating from the National Museum;
The rise and fall of strategic development commitments of the National Museum
Collections, particularly the collections of the Museum library, exchange of publications
2. The National Museum and the Karl Patsch Institute for Balkan Studies – similarities, differences and conflicts;
The Archive of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, a forgotten episode in the development of the Institute; The problem of Dr. Vladimir Ćorović; Institute Legacies; Anonymous manuscripts: Svetozar Ćorović, drama, ‘U mraku’ (In the Dark) (1909); collection of poems by Avdo Karabegović Hasanbegov; Palimpsest of posthumous editions or on the political use of poetry; collection of solder’s songs from the First World War; ‘Bibliography of Bosnians and Herzegovinians’ by Pavle Mitrović; the Museum’s Oriental collection
3. The issue of "erasing memories”
Destruction of the Oriental Institute (18 May 1992) and of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (25 August 1992);
The concept of Bosniaca;
Reconstruction of the collections of the Oriental Institute and the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Future responsibility of bibliographers and librarians for the reconstruction of Bosniacae;
Methodological notes on search methods
4. New testimonies;
Historical origins of the story of the Haggada;
The story of the Sarajevo Haggada, construction, deconstruction and hypertext;
The continuation of the story and consequences
5. New preface to Rabbi Moric Levi; Moric Levi, ‘Sefardi u Bosni’ (Sephards in Bosnia), (1911)
6. Appendix to the bibliography of Jewish periodicals in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(Židovska svijest (Jewish Consciousness) 1921-1923)
(Jevrejski život (Jewish Life) 1924-1926)
(Narodne židovska svijest (Jewish National Consciousness) 1924-1927)
(Jevrejski glas (Jewish Voice) 1928-1941)
7. The necessary steps for creating a universal Virtual Archive of Bosnians and Herzegovinians; Suggestions for a digital library: contents, form and users

Main Researcher:
Dr. Kemal Bakaršić, Višnjik 23, Sarajevo, 033 679 834

Project Duration:
1 October 1998–31 March 2000

4. THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF SACRED SPACES IN BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN RELIGIONS

Project Purpose
To demonstrate that the phenomena of sacred places in Bosnia and Herzegovina confirms our hypothesis that before the cultures that developed as part of official religious communities and their institutions, there existed a pre-culture of Bosnia that remains directly linked to our tradition.

Questions Raised by the Project
We believe that our research will demonstrate that the phenomena of sacred places in Bosnia and Herzegovina in contemporary Bosnian religions, confirms our hypothesis that prior to the cultures that developed as part of official religious communities and their institutions, there existed a pre-culture of Bosnia that remains directly linked to our tradition. Several examples of the author's prior research into caves and cave like structures, more or less brought together in the publication "The Sacred Underworld of Bosnia” (Blagaj, 11 January 1998) indicate that in Bosnia and Herzegovina caves have been revered by all Bosnian religions in almost all ages as holy places. In recent times (the past fifty years) there has been an attempt to marginalise the respect and the importance that holy places have held in religious practice. This attempt comes especially from state structures (prohibitions, changes in dates etc.) and recently from religious authorities. The symbolism of the cave and its meaning has not been recognised in previous research as a spiritual heritage transcending any religious particularities. The case is similar with springs, mountaintops and woods since, apart from previous research into caves, modest research into springs, mountaintops and specific locations indicates that all these phenomena had the characteristics of holy places (although the evidence is weak we consider this to be the result of lack of research).

Bajrama Zenunija 6,
Sarajevo,
033 463 390,
JMULAOME@utic.net.ba

Researchers:
Ilhan Dervović
Dragana Ćulibrk
Enisa Omanović
Rešid Hafizović

Project Duration:
1 March 1999–31 December 2000
Project Purpose
Studying various forms of degradation, destruction and contamination of soil, focusing especially on the loss of land through urbanisation etc., as well as the catastrophic effects of erosion. We will also study and suggest methods for the prevention of damage to land and the sanitation of already damaged land.

Questions Raised by the Project
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the construction of various buildings, we lose over 5000 acres of land a year. According to optimistic forecasts, Bosnia and Herzegovina will lose all land in 200 years. Pessimistic forecasts put the date closer to fifty years. Approximately 90% of land, mainly hills and mountains, have been subject to erosion which degrades the soil and carries it away. Soil erosion is worsened by incorrect usage of land for agriculture: the wrong choice of crops on elevations and incorrect methods of cultivation of land and sowing. Land is also contaminated by various pollutants from industry, traffic, agriculture, dumps of various waste and garbage etc. All this endangers the production and quality of food. The project explores ways to rationalise the use of land with the expansion of cities, villages, industry, mines, roads etc.

Ferhadija 15,
Sarajevo,
033 440 546,
TSARIC@utic.net.ba

Researchers:
Dr. Vladimir Beus
Mirha Đikić
Drena Gadžo

Project Duration:
1 October 1998 – 31 March 2000

2. THE FUTURE OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Project Purpose
"The Future of the Energy Industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina" project aims to ensure the necessary preconditions for ongoing work on the production and use of energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For a variety of reasons, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we do not have the conditions needed for drafting a unified strategy for the energy industry. Therefore, since its initiation in 1994 to present, work on this project has aimed to ensure the initial conditions for drafting a strategy for the energy industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for its constant innovation.

Questions Raised by the Project
For this project, the research team will work on establishing communication with subjects involved in the energy business in Bosnia and Herzegovina and with institutions that are active in the world energy industry. The result of this communication should be to ensure a staff nucleus and a database necessary for creating a unified strategy for the energy industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Vrazova 2,
Sarajevo,
033 445 349,
ekulic@utic.net.ba

Researchers:
Alija Lekić
Sead Sirbubalo
Haris Lulić
Nihad Hodžić
Nijaz Delalić

Project Duration:
1 October 1999–31 March 2001

1. BOSNIA IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Project Purpose
Determining the developmental cycles of medieval Europe in the Church-political, economic and cultural spheres, their mutual ties and interdependence and using this wide framework to determine the position of medieval Bosnia as a country occupying a transitional zone in European culture. This research purpose has been formulated on the basis of the obvious difference between the results of specific research and ideological stereotypes that still determine the general view point on medieval Bosnia.

Questions Raised by the Project
By setting up synthesis as a goal but refusing to sacrifice analysis, we aim to show to what extent medieval Bosnia, primarily as a court (clerical) culture was part of the European cultural landscape. Artistic styles, ideas on legislature, heraldry, types of ruler ideology and monarchical piety, the mentality of the feudal class, chivalry, genealogical and political ties etc. are the most obvious indicators of the universalisation of European culture. Within this framework cohabitation with ruling standards was established. Preliminary research already indicated a high level of correspondence between Bosnian medieval culture and European standards. Further research shaped this impression into a coherent conclusion. In all key aspects, medieval Bosnia represented an organic part which gravitated to Rome as its Church centre but retained its particularities originating from the heritage of Cyril and Methodius as a basic foundation for the cultural shaping of the Slav world.

Main Researcher:
Dubravko Lovrenović,
Faculty of Philosophy,
Franje Račkog 1,
032 202 712

Project Duration:
1 October 1998 – 31 March 2000