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The paper analyzes the reform effects of policies in the areas of education and social inclusion in Serbia. Reforms in these public policy areas have been conducted largely under the influence of European and regional trends in the context of the expected integration of Serbia into the European Union. Harmonization of the education system and social inclusion programs in Serbia with education and social integration in Europe, requires the modernization of the national framework, without neglecting its tradition, and taking into account the previous comparative and national achievements. Education and social inclusion are important prerequisities of social development and social position of citizens of Serbia and fundamental research objective of this paper is the analysis of their mutual influence. Therefore, the paper is structured as follows: in the first part, important indicators of social development of Serbia in the period 2011−2015 with special emphasis on the intersection of education and social inclusion in the national and regional context are analyzed. In the second and third part, the European trends followed by national reforms in the areas of education and social inclusion, respectively, are presented.
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The Western nature of the region, for the world on this side of the Iron Curtain, was exemplified by Hungary: leading European politicians from Helmut Kohl to Margaret Thatcher visited it then as often as Central Asian dictators do today.
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This study is provoked by one of the most significant cases of abuses over the last two decades in Bulgaria - the bankruptcy of CCB (Corporate Commercial Bank), the fourth largest bank in the country. After the 1996-1997 crisis, when one third of the banks went bankrupt, the country's banking sector collapsed. This is the second case in which huge financial resources "evaporated" and the negative consequences affected a wide range of public institutions and private subjects. The emergence of periodically recurring financial crises, with multiple impacts on public, economic and political life, motivates Transparency International Bulgaria to look for a systematic response to the problem and look beyond the specific case. The present book is based on the analytical approach of the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International "National Integrity System" which assesses clearly defined criteria, the capacity, functioning and management of sectors and institutions with key importance in counteracting corruption. The study is based on an analysis of the legislation and practical actions of the investigated institutions, a wide range of documentary sources, reports, assessments, media publications, and interviews with experts and public figures that have had direct observations and touch with the CCB case. It reflects an attempt to formulate an impartial, objective assessment of the functioning of the banking supervisory system in the 2009-2014 periods but also pursues another objective - to serve as a starting point for policies and strategic actions to give an adequate systemic response to established deficits. Viewed through this prism, this publication expresses the ambition of the Transparency International Bulgaria to not only prevent future crises of this nature, but also to contribute to the institutional strengthening of the system of supervisory institutions in Bulgaria.
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The book concerns the fundamental questions set by the founder of Bulgarian sociology Ivan Hadjiiski: Where are we coming from? What have we gone through? How far have we reached? Where are we going? Sociology is a science in which the person puts his imagination and heuristic potential. Sociology is a craft, in the practice of which the outcome depends on the mastery of the techniques and methodologies, the correct observance of rules and procedures. Sociology is a business that requires certain resources and also can reproduce or increase them. Sociology, however, is something else; it is not only a knowledge of society, but it is a public activity. It loses its meaning beyond the public realization or changes it if this realization does not correspond to the scientific credibility.
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Prof. Georgy Fotev is a Bulgarian sociologist. His scientific works are in the areas of theory and history of sociology and the disciplinary fields of modern sociology. The focus of the research interests of G.Fotev is the nature of sociology as a multiple paradigm science. Another major theme in the works of Georgy Fotev is the dialogue as a base and horizon of multiple paradigm sociology. Georgy Fotev has publications in the fields of historical sociology, sociology of politics, ethnosociology, the crisis of legitimacy, sociology of values, etc. His books "The long night of communism in Bulgaria" and "Bulgarian melancholy" throw light on the dramatic fate of the Bulgarian national society. Georgy Fotev was Minister of Education and Science (1991 - 1992). He is professor emeritus of New Bulgarian University. In 2003 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the American University in Bulgaria. Mankind is shaken by a multitude of uncertainty. There is an increasing perception that uncertainty becomes permanent. The focus is on the existential, social, political, economic, global and other basic varieties of human uncertainty. The author explores the fundamental conditions of human uncertainty and the main forms of her manifestation and experience. The phenomenon is seen in the light of the new science of chaos and complexity in the context of the risky society/world, in terms of catastrophic consciousness and the conditions of crisis types. Particular attention is paid to trust as a fundamental social attitude and condition against decadent attitudes and nihilism.
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The presented monograph is a result of many years of practical work and research of the author in the sphere of intentional influence in Bulgaria, USA and NATO structures. It would be of interest to psychologists, sociologists, psychological surgeons, PR and image-maker specialist, managers, and anyone who wants to understand the psychological mechanisms of influence - why do we think what we think, why we feel what we feel, why we act the way we do it, and how other people and the media influence us. In fact, the book does not offer ready-made recipes, but an understanding of the process that enables us to protect ourselves from unwanted influences and to be more effective in achieving our goals.
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The monograph attempts to provide an empirically grounded answer to a number of discussional scientific issues related to individual decision-making differences by building a comprehensive conceptual model and constructing a specifically selected toolbox as a prerequisite for creating an empirically validated methodology in the field of research of individual differences in decision-making. Original empirical results have been obtained confirming that the style of decision-making is not identical to cognitive style (nor is it a subset, but contains a cognitive component that does not exhaust any of the styles) and is related to mental self-regulation due to individual differences, generated by the ways of satisfying the hedonistic motif (regulatory focus and fashion), the need to control excitement (stress control), and the need for connectivity and increased self-esteem. These results are a prerequisite for the further development of individual decision-making research as well as the decision-making theory itself, because it allows for a fuller consideration of individual differences and their interaction with the characteristics of the situation and the problem that is being solved.The methodological basis of the study is the cognitive survival theory of Seymour Epstein. The results and theoretical summaries obtained empirically confirm the validity of the global personality theory that has the potential to explain new scientific problems, incorporating private theories such as E. Tory Higgins' motivational theory and Mark R. Leary's sociometric mechanism.
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This is the first collection of selected essays by the authors who attended the courses and seminars the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia organized in 2004. Within the three-year project “Building up Democracy and Good Governance in Multiethnic Communities” that is being implemented with the assistance of the European Union, twelve 5-day “schools of democracy” and eight 3-day seminars under the common title “Life and Living in Multiethnic Environments” were held in 2004 in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Novi Pazar. Over 500 trainees attended these courses and seminars. The project is aimed at capacitating young people – by the means of attractive and interactive courses of training – not only for a life in multiethnic communities that are particularly burdened with the adverse experience of the recent past, mutual distrust and stereotypes, but also for a life in the conditions that mark a modern democracy and reflect its standards. An objective as such implies, among other things, rational perception of notions, developments and trends that are in Serbia still blurred, marginalized and subject to relativism or, moreover, to various and even misguiding interpretations. The Helsinki Committee’s experience testifies this is all about a process that takes time but is worthy of effort – the more so since young people, as evidenced by the selected writings as well, fully perceive it as an imperative need of their own.
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This volume brings together a selection of papers presented at the 3rd Turkish Migration Conference held at Charles University Prague, 25-27 June 2015. This selection of papers presented at the conference are only a small portion of contributions. Many other papers are included in edited books and submitted to refereed journals in due course. There were a total of about 146 papers by over 200 authors presented in 40 parallel sessions and three plenary sessions at Jinonice Campus of Charles University Prague. About a fifth of the sessions at the conference were in Turkish language although the main language was English. Therefore some of the proceedings are in Turkish too.
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The aim of this book is to present the most important issues related to sustainable development (SD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). They are discussed from a macro and micro perspective, both in the form of theoretical foundations of these concepts and practical examples of companies operating in Central and Eastern European countries that have implemented these ideas in their daily operations and translated them into corporate and functional strategies. The book consists of four parts. The first one is theoretical in its assumptions and is devoted to explaining the key concepts of sustainable development (SD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The authors describe the determinants of sustainable development in the contemporary world, including the most important ones, such as globalization, climate change, poverty, unlimited consumption, as well as limited access to natural resources - all in relation to the goals of sustainable development. The chapter also discusses the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is now recognized as the process by which business contributes to the implementation of sustainable development. How sustainable development (SD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are incorporated into the organization's strategies and influence the corporate strategy on the corporate and functional areas of the organization is presented in the last chapter of the first part of the e-book. The next part of the e-book helps readers understand the concepts of SD and CSR in the field of organizational strategy - in strategic management, and at the level of functional strategies—marketing, human resources, marketing research, accounting and operational management. The authors explain the reasons why companies need to consider the local and global perspective when setting SDGs, and the existence of potential conflicts within them. Taking into account the area of marketing, the authors point to the increase in environmental and social awareness of all stakeholders, which translates into changes in the criteria for decision-making by managers and risk assessment. The issue of sustainability is also the subject of market research. Companies producing products and services, institutions dealing with environmental or consumer protection, scientists and students conduct many research projects related to, inter alia, much more. How to use secondary data for analysis and how to prepare, conduct, analyze and interpret the results of primary research in that area are discussed in detail in the next chapter of this section. The concept of SD also refers to the basic functions of human resource management (HRM)—recruitment, motivation, evaluation and control. They should take into account SD not only for the efficiency of the organization and long-term economic benefits, but also for ethical reasons. Thanks to the SHRM, the awareness and behavior of the entire organization can strongly express sustainable goals in the planning and implementation of the overall corporate strategy. The growing importance of the idea of SD and the concept of CSR also resulted in the need for accounting and finance to develop solutions enabling the provision of information on the methods and results of implementing these concepts in entities operating on the market. This part of the book also examines manufacturing activities in the context of sustainability. As a result, many problems arise: waste of resources, mismanagement, excessive energy consumption, environmental pollution, use of human potential, etc. The chapter presents such concepts as: zero-waste, lean-manufacturing, six-sigma, circular production, design and recycling products in the life cycle as well as ecological and environmentally friendly production. The next two parts of the e-book contain examples of companies from Central and Eastern Europe that used SD goals in their strategies, questions and tasks for readers.
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Specjalizacja badań naukowych w XX wieku przyspieszyła postęp w odkryciach i wdrażaniu innowacji. Wraz ze wzrostem złożoności naszej cywilizacji wskutek dynamicznego wzrostu gospodarczego wspieranego rozwojem technologii rośnie jednakże potrzeba transferu wiedzy między różnymi obszarami ludzkiej działalności. Dążenie do zrównoważonego rozwoju i zachowania różnorodności środowiska naturalnego wzmacnia te tendencje. Dotyczy to w szczególności nauk społecznych. Książka składa się z dziesięciu rozdziałów napisanych przez autorów z trzech centrów akademickich: poznańskiego, wrocławskiego i katowickiego. Przedstawione zagadnienia potwierdzają celowość i ważność projektów interdyscyplinarnych dotyczących integracji wiedzy z zakresu nauk społecznych, zwłaszcza ekonomii i finansów oraz nauk o zarządzaniu i jakości, psychologii, nauk o komunikacji społecznej i mediach, nauk o polityce i administracji, nauk prawnych i nauk socjologicznych. Adresatami książki są pracownicy naukowi i doktoranci specjalizujący się w dziedzinie nauk społecznych, w szczególności ekonomii. Niektóre rozdziały mogą być wykorzystywane do celów dydaktycznych na zajęciach z odpowiednio przygotowanymi studentami na studiach magisterskich, a także podyplomowych.
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Today, the number of cities participating in the child-friendly city movement is increasing both around the world and in Turkey. The main reason for this trend is the concern of creating a city image. In today's neo-liberal policies and global economy, cities have become competing actors alongside national economies. In order for a city to be privileged in this competitive environment, it must be different and attractive from other cities. For this reason, it has become popular to participate in the child-friendly city process today. The new criteria, which were blended based on the Netherlands Delft-based KISS, the South African Republic Johannesburg-based Chawla criteria, and the Francis and Lorenzo criteria, were as follows: The common and most basic criterion in all criteria is security. It is important that the city in which it is located is safe above all else. It is extremely important that children and parents feel safe in the relevant space. Therefore, the first criterion is the distance from the dangers and the safety criterion. The second important criterion is the existence of clean environment and green areas, which are as vital as security. The third common criterion is the existence of play, socialization and activity areas. The fourth criterion is accessibility and freedom of movement, and the fifth criterion is the existence of suitable, safe and accessible transportation routes, pedestrian paths and bicycle paths. Within the framework of the common criteria determined, 171 people were interviewed in game parks across Istanbul. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 171 parents who were randomly selected. During the interviews, seven demographic questions, seven open-ended questions, and five Likert-style test questions were presesnted. The results were thematically analyzed to understand whether Istanbul is a child-friendly city or not. It has been discussed what deficiencies exist for Istanbul and what needs to be done to meet the criteria.
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Grassroots communities are still a relatively new phenomenon in the scientific literature of Central and Eastern Europe. These institutional units, which arise from the proactive approach of local communities towards addressing the specific social, environmental, cultural or economic development challenges, are, among other influences, a potential source of social innovation and new knowledge. The aim of the paper is to describe the ability of grassroots communities to generate public services, social innovation and bring new solutions in local development through pooling resources from within the community. We use data obtained from ongoing long-term research of grassroots communities in Slovakia. Based on the execution of mass guided interviews and data collection in the form of an extensive questionnaire, we characterize identified grassroots communities, their activities in local development, community parameters and forms of pooling resources from within the community. We also provide an overview of specific, identified social innovations. Information on the degree of novelty of grassroots community products and services at different spatial levels and information on the spatial scope of activities served us to create a specific typology of grassroots communities.
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Dynamiczne i głębokie zmiany w środowisku naturalnym naszej planety wymuszają przedefiniowanie dotychczasowych modeli konsumpcji i produkcji. W tym kontekście koncepcja zrównoważonego rozwoju staje się jedną z najważniejszych determinant kształtujących procesy gospodarcze oraz decyzje konsumentów, przedsiębiorstw i państw, a działania w tym zakresie muszą być podejmowane na poziomie globalnym. Szczególne miejsce w tym obszarze zajmuje Unia Europejska, która postawiła sobie za cel osiągnięcie neutralności klimatycznej do 2050 roku. Jest to zarówno wyzwanie, jak i szansa dla europejskiej gospodarki. To ambitne założenie ma zostać osiągnięte przez połączenie działań podejmowanych jednocześnie w obszarze transformacji cyfrowej i środowiskowej. Przedstawiona monografia stanowi próbę odpowiedzi na pytania, w jaki sposób stawić czoła najważniejszym przeobrażeniom związanym z transformacją cyfrowo-środowiskową oraz przemianami społecznymi i globalnymi.
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The dynamic development in the world causes young people to encounter challenges in economic, social and political areas. Therefore interest in academic studies on youth is increasing. It is only possible to reveal the relationship and connection between youth policies and youth as a social group when youth studies are examined. This research paper aims to contribute to the development of youth policies and services from a social work perspective. Within the scope of the research, 12 youth and 6 youth professionals were interviewed. Qualitative research method was used and data were collected through in-depth interviews. Youth participants emphasized the inadequacy of policies and services provided to them in areas such as education, employment, health, economy, technology, and security. It was determined that this inadequacy and accessibility problems have a negative impact on the capability of youth. Furthermore, young people stated that policies and services were not designed in line with their needs and recommendations. Youth professionals stated that the fragmented and disorganized youth policies and services, which are designed without the participation of young people, could not be effective and efficient in the field. As a result, one of the main recommendations in this research paper is to plan youth welfare services in line with the needs of youth. The importance of systematic, coordinated and sustainable youth policies and services was emphasized.
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