“Read-To-Write-Tasks” in English for Specific Purposes Classes

Author(s): Galina Kavaliauskienė,Jelena Suchanova / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2010

At university level students face demanding tasks of reading an enormous amount of professional materials in English. Writing various assignments is another challenging part of higher education. Online activities are the priority for conducting assignments at tertiary level. Students usually start doing the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course before learning subject-matters of the future profession, i.e. in their first year. The cornerstone of the ESP is unfamiliar lexis and numerous concepts of subject-matter. In order to succeed, students need to develop proficiency in reading professional texts and writing skillfully on relevant subject issues. The aim of this paper is to study, first, learners‘ attitudes to online reading of professional materials as well as to writing various assignments online and, second, to examine learners‘ self-assessment of proficiency in these skills. Our research employed brief written surveys designed in accordance with the standards in Social Sciences, which were administered to the students doing the ESP course, and the verbal data obtained during individual interviews intended to assess learners‘ success and achievements throughout the academic year. The respondents were the students specializing in psychology at Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania. All the participants were unanimous in the importance of writing and reading skills for the ESP tasks. 100% of respondents support reading professional materials, and 80% of respondents support exercising online writing. Self-assessment of reading proficiency demonstrates that 90% of students believe they possess very good or good skills of reading, and 70% of learners are sure of their good skills in writing. Respondents’ performance in these skills is less impressive. Some recommendations towards perfecting students’ proficiency in “read-to-write-tasks” are suggested. It is important to help learners develop better rates of reading and learn to employ metacognitive strategies in writing.

“Roma” labelling, identity politics and EU-integration: the case of Montenegro

Author(s): Sofia Zahova / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2018

The article makes an overview of the groups labelled as Gypsy/Roma and the minority policies related to Roma in present day Montenegro, and discusses how – in view of the processes in the region and in the course of the state’s EU-integration – the top-down approach of adopting definitions centred on the terms “Roma and Egyptians” and “Roma” have influenced the state politics of identity regarding sup- porting and promoting new identities, as well as reinforcing the label “Roma” and “Romani” for all communities considered of common (Gypsy/Roma) origin. Further on, the impact of the EU-integration discourse on legislation and setting up Romani and Egyptian organizations is discussed within the public policies sector. Finally, I discuss initiatives and resources for publishing in Romani language in a country where a great part of the groups considered being of Romani origin speak another language as a mother tongue. My main argument is that the minority protection EU-conditionality and the special focus on the rights of the Roma, have led to an “import” of Roma issues for “solving”, along with copy-pasting of activities that supposedly aim to flag Romani identity and language even though neither Romani identity nor Romani language are characteristic for all communities labelled as “Roma”.

“Romania 100 - I Choose Romania” Virtual Reality Project

Author(s): Ionel-Bujorel Păvăloiu,Andrei VASILĂŢEANU,Paul-Andrei CREŢOIU,Maria GOGA / Language(s): English / Issue: 14/2018

The project "Romania 100 - I choose Romania" developed by Radio Romania aims to cultivate the love of the country, the pride of being Romanian while promoting the highest human values recognized internationally. During the last years there were presented the most beautiful places in Romania (2014), the most valuable Romanians in science and culture (2015), the most famous athletes or sports teams from Romania (2016) and the most beautiful Romanian songs performed by great national artists (2017). The radio-documentary series were broadcast on-air an all the regional radio network stations and also posted online on the project's website, YouTube channel and Facebook page. In 2018, when 100 years from the Great Union are celebrated, the campaign will present 100 defining events in history that made the nowadays Romania possible. To celebrate this, the organizers intend to create 12 memorial parks in important Romanian cities. They will enclose "Union Forum" places, guarded by 20 symbols, 10 on each side of the alley or placed on the circumference for the round forums. For a multitude of reasons, including the appeal to a younger audience, there will be set a Virtual Reality (VR) commemoration themed park, where to present all these fascinating stories. All the moments will be accessible as interactive multimedia items/symbols in the digital realm, extending the existence of the physical ones. In this paper we debate the importance of adapting information exposition, specifically the one regarding the culture, to the new digital environments available today. There are fears that globalization and new media will wear down the national culture and cultural heritage. We will analyze these aspects and we will show that Internet and VR can be not just spaces of social manifestation, but also of cultural presence, adding new dimensions to the Romanian cultural landscape. A better integration within the national identity improves the sense of well-being and the quality of existence for the Romanian citizens. The information gathered will serve to better understand how the facts are best perceived and learned by users in the virtual environments and how to improve this technology-enhanced learning technique.

“Sense and Sensibility” at an Event in Digital Media

Author(s): Claudia Chiorean (Talaşman) / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

For thousands of years, people have been talking about emotions, from Plato and Aristotle’stheories till Ellis’s cognitive theory. Plato believes that emotions disturb the mind and Kant argues thatemotions are diseases of the soul. Darwin integrates them into valuable adaptive behaviors and intoevolutionary species, while JP Sartre considers them a way of keeping consciousness awake. Emotionsconstitute a significant component, dynamic-human energy of the psychic system. It reflects thesubjective internal experience through social behavior, how to adapt to objective reality in which manlives. Current Man lives in a dense, predatory media environment; its adaptation to the objective realityis decisively influenced by the proximity media system. Reality of Media is contained in both thecognitive system, and in displaying the emotional and volitional, motivational symptom. Emotionsthemselves are processes in which the functions of consciousness are activated. They are the effect ofthe confrontation between the individual and the actual/presumptive needs of the environment.Emotions are pluritonal and they develop gradually. They are situational and they frequently occur as aresult of satisfied or unsatisfied biological needs. Consequently, emotions can be experienced only inthe cognitive context. Thus, we distinguish between provoked, evoked and anticipatory emotions.People are rarely surprised by the course of events. Normally, they try various methods to determinethe course of events, without expecting something in particular to happen. Depending on howadequately they predict and how close they are to the reality in progress, they build their optimalscenario for each situation. The affective element is essential (attraction or repulsion, fear or fear ofdomination, a motivating feeling or a blocking effect). Perception, representation or thinking is imagesof the objects. Affective processes reveal the suitability / opposites between the data subject and theexternal world needs. It reflects the relationship between the individual and ambience events.

“SEVDALİNKA” VE “İNSANLIK AYAĞA KALK” ROMANLARINDA BOSNA SAVAŞI’NDAKİ TOPLUMSAL YAPI VE İLİŞKİLERİN OLUŞUMSAL YAPISALCI ELEŞTİRİSİ

Author(s): Demet Yener,Cumhur Aslan / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 2/2018

The Bosnian war and genocide, which is one of the biggest tragedies in human history, has been a popular topic in various fields such as literature, poetry, novels, and cinema. The tragedies created by the war and the genocide have been critically subjected in numerous works. The Bosnian war includes both political struggles and cultural, ideological, and identity conflicts. The Muslim identity and its cultural background is an important theme in all the studies concerning the Bosnian problem. This paper first scrutinizes two novels written over Bosnian war and then they are compared to each other concerning cultural and ideological aspects. Moreover, the paper aims to analyze the different forms in which the religious, identity, and the ideological aspects of the Bosnian problem are handled, and also it contents to understand the differences in these distinct approaches. To this end, two novels, which approach to the problem from different agendas, an Islamic and a humanistic one respectively, are comparatively scrutinized.

“Siedem zegarków kopidoła Joachima Rybki” — pisarski rachunek sumienia na lekcjach języka polskiego w liceum

Author(s): Lucyna Sadzikowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 25/2016

Gustaw Morcinek’s novel Siedem zegarków kopidoła Joachima Rybki is for hima sort of literary examination of conscience. In school practice, it can also be viewed as a road to a better cognition and understanding by a student of his/her surrounding reality. Reflection on the Silesian writer’s text may become a perfect means to make students aware of the universal nature of some issues and values. In Joachim Rybka’s closet, the clocks measure time giving a pretext for taking a trip down memory lane and recollecting adventures and characters possessing wordly wisdom. A S ilesian ditch‑digger is a distanced man and very candid. His long and well‑lived life gives him the right and privilege to have this attitude. He sees things that others do not want to notice.

“SOCIAL ECONOMY DAYS IN CLUJ”- CAMPAIGN FOR PROMOTING SOCIAL ECONOMY

Author(s): Alexandra Antonia Irimia ,Dolores Banc,Oana-Magda Vlădut / Language(s): / Issue: 1/2015

“Social Embeddedness” Viewed from an Institutional Perspective. Revision of a Core Principle of New Economic Sociology with Special Regard to Max Webe

Author(s): Andrea Maurer / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2012

Starting by the very fact that Mark Granovetter's notion of "social embeddedness" became very successful by establishing new economic sociology in the 1980s yet it is argued that current economic sociology needs to work on a stronger connection to institutional arguments. It is shown that this can be based on new theoretical developments by linking micro and macro level. This article reconstructs Granovetter's attempt of working within an action-based framework that has strong ties to the work of MaxWeber as well as to some parts of new institutionalism. The particularity of Granovetter's approach is seen in his assumption that individuals' interests as well as their economic actions are socially embedded in "networks of social interactions" that influence the economic outcome. With regard to Max Weber and new institutionalism, it is then argued that Mark Granovetter omits to carefully consider both firstly how mutual expectations defined within social relations are affected by more general social expectations (the institutional framework) and secondly what kind of coordination problems are precisely solved by social relations through information or expectation. But this would be important for a more complex and more realistic picture of economy. Therefore, it is recommended to analyze the interplay of different social mechanisms-social capital, trust, legitimacy, hierarchy, social entrepreneurs-that work either through information in a network, group norms or generalized expectations in an wider institutional framework. In conclusion, a methodological suggestion is made by combining historical-empirical work with theoretical arguments.

“Socialist management” in Czechoslovakia - Conflict and Reconciliation

Author(s): Tomáš Vilímek ,Oldřich Tůma / Language(s): English / Issue: 44/2017

“Spiritual Begging”: The Dichotomy of Ziyarat in Pakistan?

Author(s): Sheba Saeed / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2018

The article is based on years of researching begging in the context of South Asia around locations such as traffic intersections, bazaars and shrines. The central idea that it explores is how the practice of Ziyarat (Visitation), a contested ritual journey to the shrines of Saints, is actually a form of begging, albeit, on a spiritual level. It elaborates on the novel concept of spiritual begging and the relationship between such supplication in a sacred space and internal poverty using supporting notes from the field participants and illuminates the intra-religious pluralistic conflict which exists within Islam on this practice.

“SPIRITUAL DELICACIES OR GAMES USEFUL TO MEN BANISHED FROM THE EARTHLY PARADISE TO THE HEAVENLY PARADISE” BY ALBERYK KOŚCIŃSKI. CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF THE XVIIth CENTURY

Author(s): Katarzyna Kaczor-Scheitler / Language(s): English / Issue: 27(32)/2015

The article is one of the first attempts to present the works of Alberyk Kościński whose “Spiritual Delicacies or Games Useful to Men Banished from the Earthly Paradise to the Heavenly Paradise” (Poznań 1695) was aimed at helping nuns or potential recipients to perfect their inner self. The article discusses the three goals of meditation mentioned by Kościński (“elimination of imperfections, the acquisition of holy virtues and unison with God”) which relate to the three stages of spiritual life (purging, enlightenment, and unison). Thus, the article adds to the picture of the views presented by other authors. However, the innovation lies in the motif of “game” as an inner activity stimulating the spiritual sphere and encouraging spiritual transformation, as described in Kościński’s work. The article focuses on the role of the metaphorical images used by the clergyman to describe the meditative act: the internal transformation, the experience of closeness to and unity with God. Thus, the article emphasizes the need for meditative practice discussed by Kościński, i.e., the titular “spiritual delicacies” which can help one achieve eternal life.

“Stand Up for Someone’s Rights!” The Nelson Mandela Rules

Author(s): Claudia Constantinescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2017

In 2016 the theme of the International Human Rights Day was “Stand up for someone’s rights today!”. The students of the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work responded to the United Nations’ campaign and stood up for the human rights of the offenders during their detention time and during their reentry into society following imprisonment. Debates with some of the imprisoned and the staff of the Bucharest‑Jilava Penitentiary, those who made the event happening, brought into light the Nelson Mandela Rules of December 2015. This article is about the amendments of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the United Nations 60 years ago (the so‑called Nelson Mandela Rules).The document was updated in December 2015 to reflect the new reality of imprisonment. The process of its implementation is ongoing within the Member States and they are technically assisted by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime.

“Statistical Assimilation” in the Hungarian Kingdom 1880-1910

Author(s): György Kövér / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2016

During the existence of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy the official censuses on the Cisleithanian side inquired about the colloquial or everyday language (Umgangssprache), whereas the Hungarian census focused on the „mother tongue” (Muttersprache). In the Hungarian Kingdom between 1880 and 1910, however, the relevant question changed. In 1880 it was formulated as “What is your mother tongue?”, whereas from 1900 onwards, probably in an attempt to reproduce the question formulated on the Cisleithanian side, it was “What is your mother tongue, that is, the language you consider as yours, the language in which you are most fluent and like to speak?”. Can it possibly be a pure accident that the ratio of those with Hungarian as their mother tongue happened to break through the magic 50% threshold value exactly in 1900, and that such ratio reached nearly 55% by 1910? The main question of this paper: what is the “statistical contribution” to these “results” considered as a “successful Hungarian assimilation”? The answer we try to give with the help “changing the scale”, it means on country and county level, both.

“Success stories” as an evidence form: Organizational legitimization in an international technology assistance project

Author(s): James M. Nyce,Cheryl Klimaszewski,Gail E. Bader / Language(s): English / Issue: 16/2011

This paper looks at how evidence and success were constructed in Biblionet - Global Libraries Romania, an NGO-led, technology-based project in Romania. The main focus of Biblionet is to provide public access to computers and the internet in public libraries throughout Romania. Here, we discuss how project staff relied on one particular set of measures to legitimatize, validate and "sell" their project to audiences in Romania and in the West. This NGO tended to "demonstrate" success using relatively weak measures. Perhaps the most suspect of these were, paradoxically, appeals to" science," that is to say, "hard" numbers and and one-time, one-off inspirational "success stories" that would play well in popular media. Our research on the Biblionet program in Salaj County, Romania identified trends in information, technology, and library use which either fell outside of or were not captured by the NGO's quantitative metrics. This is despite the fact that these trends seemed to indicate a greater potential for this project's long-term success than the ones the NGO itself employed. This raises a number of issues that neither the anthropology of development nor the anthropology of science have taken seriously. In particular, this paper suggests that the role lay or folk notions of empiricism and "success" play in the legitimization and evaluation of NGO efforts requires more attention than it has received in the literature so far.

“Teorija” i “praksa” socijalnoga nauka

Author(s): Jadranka Brnčić / Language(s): Bosnian / Issue: 15/2011

Pravda je stvar Države, a ne Crkve – tvrdi Papa. To je katolički argument ograničene vlasti izrečen jezikom teologizirane političke filozofije. Božanska ljubav da transcendira politiku. Za obojicu papa, Ivana Pavla II. i Benedikta XVI., prava revolucionarna uloga Crkve jest evangelizacija, mijenjanje kulture mijenjanjem pojedinca, što je, u svojoj radikalnosti – poziv na svetost. Ali, i dalje ostaje sporno, ili barem otvoreno pitanje kako se ova svetost ima očitovati u društvenom životu

“THE ECSTASY OF COMMUNICATION:” INTERDISCIPLINARITY, RELATIVITY AND OTHERNESS IN AMERICAN STUDIES

Author(s): Irina Dubský / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

The present study proposes to investigate the phenomenon of interdisciplinarity interpreted as a form of communication and exchange. Interdisciplinarity relies on different forms of otherness which is explored within the overarching context of postmodernism, being evaluated as an essential dimension of both the cultural and socio-political sphere. This multifaceted intellectual project may be placed within the vast perspective of cultural relativism, which, among many other things, entails a plurality of voices and narratives that admit to their own partiality, locality and limitation. An all-encompassing perspective on the interdisciplinary enterprise may be achieved if it is related to what Baudrillard terms “the instantaneity of communication,” which entails a redrawing of boundaries at all levels, the effacement of disciplinary frontiers being a particular illustration of this ample phenomenon.

“The Fear of Small Numbers”? (Re)constructing Identities of American and European Muslims

Author(s): Izabela Handzlik / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

“The Human” between the “life-world” and its theoretical (re)construction

Author(s): Cecilia Tohaneanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 31/2010

The traditional split between rationality and historicity, concept and intuition, the form and content of knowledge has brought about an inappropriate approaching to humanities and social sciences. Presenting the main effects of such split, this paper aims at arguing the need to consider both the “empiric” and the “interpretive” as equally relevant for understanding our human world. It is eventually a meta-theoretical pleading for reconciling epistemology and ontology within a theory of humanities and social sciences able to avoid the two kinds of reductionism, foundationalist and textualist, related to traditional (empiricist) epistemology and respectively, to postmodernist hermeneutics.

“The more things change the more they stay the same”: Decision-making in Zimbabwean transnational families

Author(s): Admire Chereni / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Whereas studies have documented socio-cultural changes connected to migration dynamics, there is a dearth of knowledge about decision-making in transnational families. This article seeks to understand transformations in decision-making in six Zimbabwean transnational families. This is done by examining qualitative data generated through semi-structured interviews with members of the migrant families. While accentuating the need for more research on interpersonal processes in transnational families, the article illustrates that shifts in gender roles may occur alongside gender-normative behaviours that maintain women in subordinate decision-making roles.

“The Orient” in Global Cultural Flow: the Case of the Turkish Riviera

Author(s): Elżbieta Wiącek / Language(s): English / Issue: 15/2013

Tourism has become an important sector in Turkey as a growing source of foreign exchange reserves and employment over the last two decades. An increasing number of foreign tourists makes the Turkish Riviera an area of intense global interaction. According to Arjun Appadurai, the new global cultural economy has to be seen as an overlapping, disjunctive order that can no longer be understood in terms of the existing center-periphery models. This article will explore such disjunctures and deal with the complex “-scapes” of the Turkish Riviera. It aims to look at the relationships among the five dimensions of the global cultural flow: ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, financescapes, and ideoscapes. One goal of this review is to examine if the concept of “the Orient” coined by Edward Said still exists within the discourse and the visual imagery of tourism.