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The article analyses the political and economic context of the growing distrust in politics in Slovenia over the last 15 years. Focus is given to the changes in the power relations, policy changes and roles of different national and international institutions. It is established that the fundamental element of the specific class trade -off which underpinned the broader political legitimacy from the early 1990s up until 2008 – a strong welfare state and low economic inequalities – was partly dissolved after the crisis of 2008. However, no new joint programme emerged to replace it due to the weakening of the trade unions, the EU’s stronger role in policymaking processes coupled with the shrinking differences between political parties in their social and economic policies. These changes are not only seen in the high levels of political distrust in public opinion surveys or decreasing voter turnout, but in the instability of the party arena as well.

The article contributes to discussions on the nature, extent and depth of neo-corporatist political arrangements in Slovenia before the 2008 crisis by analysing the interests held by the respective dominant social bloc(s) as they emerged in the early 1990s and are most clearly expressed in strategic documents of the state. Our analysis shows that beneath the neo-corporatist structure and certain neo-Keynesian policies as the outcome of the social partnership, a strong technocratic, political and capitalist orientation to introduce greater liberalisation in the areas of employment and social policy was already present long before 2004, a year usually seen as when the neo-corporatist consensus started to crumble after a new rightwing government came to power and Slovenia joined the EU and NATO. Keywords: Slovenia, neocorporatism, state strategies, capitalism, social bloc.

Different applications or industries use different systems for linear actuation, such as hydraulic, pneumatic or electric. Electric systems are becoming increasingly popular and are already replacing hydraulic systems in various applications. These are known to be potentially harmful to the environment, as large amounts of fluid can be released into the environment in the event of a pipe burst or other accident. This paper presents the results of a comparison between hydraulic, pneumatic and electric systems under variable conditions but with similar loads in all three systems. The common feature of all three systems is the input power, which was limited to 1.1 kW. There was no hydraulic accumulator in the hydraulic system and no pressure vessel in the pneumatic system, so no stored energy could influence the system behaviour or results. The main difference between the systems studied was the profile of displacement and power consumption. The most consistent response and lowest power consumption were obtained with the electric system, although both hydraulic and pneumatic systems can achieve consistent response with some modifications.

The article contributes to discussions on the nature, extent and depth of neo-corporatist political arrangements in Slovenia before the 2008 crisis by analysing the interests held by the respective dominant social bloc(s) as they emerged in the early 1990s and are most clearly expressed in strategic documents of the state. Our analysis shows that beneath the neo-corporatist structure and certain neo-Keynesian policies as the outcome of the social partnership, a strong technocratic, political and capitalist orientation to introduce greater liberalisation in the areas of employment and social policy was already present long before 2004, a year usually seen as when the neo-corporatist consensus started to crumble after a new rightwing government came to power and Slovenia joined the EU and NATO.

The article explores three countries with different industrial relations institutions: Ireland, Portugal and Slovenia. It focuses on the trajectories these countries have taken since the mid/late 1980s and compares the developments in their respective industrial relations systems, the role of their tripartite social dialogue bodies, and labour market policies. The article reveals similarities among the countries in their pursuit of industrial relations liberalisation and greater labour market flexibility. However, it also shows an opposite movement in these countries since 2015 and provides an explanation for these developments. The article thereby contributes to the different discussions in the field of comparative political economy dealing with the varieties of capitalism, institutional convergence and divergence, and the neoliberalisation of different industrial relations systems. Keywords: varieties of capitalism, industrial relations, labour market, politics, EU.

This research demonstrates the basic elements of a prototype automated orchard sprayer which delivers pesticide spray selectively with respect to the characteristics of the targets. The density of an apple tree canopy was detected by PROWAVE 400EP250 ultrasound sensors controlled by a Cypress PSOC CY8C29466 microcontroller. The ultrasound signal was processed with an embedded computer built around a LPC1343 microcontroller and fed in real time to electro-magnetic valves which open/close spraying nozzles in relation to the canopy structure. The analysis focuses on the detection of appropriate thresholds on 15 cm ultrasound bands, which correspond to maximal response to tree density, and this was selected for accurate spraying guidance. Evaluation of the system was performed in an apple orchard by detecting deposits of tartrazine dye (TD) on apple leaves. The employment of programmable microcontrollers and electro-magnetic valves decreased the amount of spray delivered by up to 48.15%. In contrast, the reduction of TD was only up to 37.7% at some positions within the tree crown and 65.1% in the gaps between trees. For all these reasons, this concept of precise orchard spraying can contribute to a reduction of costs and environmental pollution, while obtaining similar or even better leaf deposits.

Ireland, Portugal and Slovenia – three states with different historical legacies and institutional frameworks – promoted labour market flexibility and active labour market policies before and during the 2008 crisis. These policies were postulated as basic poli-cies on the EU level. However, a significant change came with the COVID-19 crisis when governments in all three states implemented measures much more resembling neo-Keynesian policies. In the article, we show that the crucial mechanisms for the various labour market poli-cy choices made in these three countries were due to the two crises being of distinct types, the (non)coincidence of interests of a range of actors and classes, and the dif-ferent policy frameworks promoted by the EU. Keywords: crises, flexibility, labour market, European union, semi-periphery, COVID-19

The purpose of the article is to explain the creation of the Slovenian debt state and its transformation into a consolidation state after the crisis of 2008. When the crisis struck Slovenia in 2009, the banking system was near collapse. Through the recapitalisations of the banking system the public debt began to grow. After a couple of years and under the structural pressures of rating agencies and pressures from the EU, the Slovenian state had to adopt austerity measures to consolidate its public finances, while limiting the scope of democracy. The main finding of the article is that the crisis of 2008 fundamentally changed the Slovenian state. Keywords: capitalist state, consolidation state, debt, Slovenia, democracy

Irska, Portugalska in Slovenija, tri države z različno zgodovino in institucionalnim okvirjem, so pred krizo leta 2008 in po njej spodbujale fleksibilizacijo trga dela in aktivne politike zaposlovanja. Te politike so bile postavljene kot temeljne politike na ravni EU. Vendar je med krizo, ki jo je povzročil covid-19, prišlo do pomembne spremembe, saj so vlade v vseh treh državah izvajale ukrepe, ki so mnogo bolj spominjali na neokeynesianske politike. V članku pojasnjujemo, da so bili ključni mehanizmi za različne izbire politik trga dela v treh državah pogojeni z različnimi tipi obeh kriz, (ne)sovpadanjem interesov različnih akterjev in razredov ter različnimi javnopolitičnimi okvirji, ki jih je spodbujala EU.

Turbulent free-surface flows are encountered in several engineering applications and are typically characterized by the entrainment of air bubbles due to intense mixing and surface deformation. The resulting complex multiphase structure of the air–water interface presents a challenge in precise and reliable measurements of the free-water-surface topography. Conventional methods by manometers, wave probes, point gauges or electromagnetic/ultrasonic devices are proven and reliable, but also time-consuming, with limited accuracy and are mostly intrusive. Accurate spatial and temporal measurements of complex three-dimensional free-surface flows in natural and man-made hydraulic structures are only viable by high-resolution non-contact methods, namely, LIDAR-based laser scanning, photogrammetric reconstruction from cameras with overlapping field of view, or laser triangulation that combines laser ranging with high-speed imaging data. In the absence of seeding particles and optical calibration targets, sufficient flow aeration is essential for the operation of both laser- and photogrammetry-based methods, with local aeration properties significantly affecting the measurement uncertainty of laser-based methods.