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Félelem helyett kölcsönös segítség: a katasztrófaszociológia tanulságai a klímaválságra való felkészülésre (Rebecca Solnit: A Paradise Built in Hell)

Author(s): Ágnes Gagyi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 25/2019

Rebecca Solnit has published her book "A Paradise Built in Hell" ten years ago. Its main idea was originally formulated in 2005 in an essay published on the day when Hurricane Katrina reached New Orleans. Rebecca Solnit is writer, historian and activist living in San Francisco; she has been working in various environmental, anti-war, human and women's rights movements since the 1980s. She has published 17 books so far and is a regular author of Guardian and Harpers' Magazine. In her works she continues the tradition of American progressive public intelligentsia: although she relies on historical facts and social science research, she primarily outlines perspectives to expand sociological imagination (Mills 1959) on challenges that cannot be solved by the social knowledge produced within the current social order.

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I Love It, But It Is Too Complicated. Aging Adults’ Perspective on Mobile Technology Acceptance

Author(s): Ioana Iancu,Bogdan Iancu / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

In the context of constant population aging, digital technologies are required especially for communication and geriatric care. However, before a large-scale deployment could be implemented, the general technological acceptance level should be assessed. The paper aims to descriptively analyze the perception of aging adults on mobile technology. Based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the variables considered are emotional attachment on technology, actual use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intentions. Methodologically, a set of semi-structured interviews have been conducted. The results show that although individuals love their mobile devices and although they perceive them as being useful, the devices are not easy to be used and there are numerous concerns regarding technology. Paradoxically, while they claim the like owning smart devices, they consider them too complex and intrusive.

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La gérontologie narrative numérique : porte ouverte sur les apprentissages informels intergénérationnels et les communications numériques

Author(s): Béatrice Crettenand Pecorini,Emmanuel Duplàa / Language(s): French Issue: 26 (2)/2020

Ontario’s action plan for seniors recognizes that seniors have health and education needs, among other needs (Gouvernement de l’Ontario, 2017). To partially meet these needs, we have proposed an innovative gerontagogical approach by combining two existing concepts: narrative gerontology with digital storytelling. Thus, by this new concept of Digital Narrative Gerontology, we give seniors a special place for the elaboration of the message they wish to bequeath to other generations, by creating together their life testimonies in digital form easy to share, while mutually acquiring new digital skills and exploiting the benefits of narrative gerontology, such as well-being, aging well, resilience and wisdom, but also informal and intergenerational learning. Communication was important on two levels: between the elder and the researcher during the oral narration and the creation of the digital narration in a relationship of mutual trust as well as in the form of digital testimony with a key message to transmit, during the broadcast of the digital narration. This research also made it possible to respond to the curiosity of the elders for new matters in a reassuring framework, adapted to their level, while respecting their learning pace and the choices of knowledge that they wish to acquire. Seniors were proud to share their digital creation with those they had chosen, thus opening the space for discussions, exchanges, emotions and the open door to a new intergenerational “narrative” and social interactions - sources of learning.

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Aging in Online Communities: A Systematic Literature Review of Design Recommendations

Author(s): Ana Isabel Veloso,Sónia Ferreira,Liliana Vale Costa,Óscar Mealha,Carlos Santos / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

The increase of computer-mediated communication use and the aging population has led to a renewed interest in online communities and social networks for active aging and social support in daily living. However, a systematic understanding of the design recommendations in Senior Online Communities is still lacking in scientific documentation. The aim of this paper is to identify the design recommendations used in online communities that support active aging. In addition, this paper highlights some of the benefits of using online communities by older adults. Twenty-three papers published between January 2015 and May 2020 in English-language, peer-reviewed publications, met inclusion criteria. The review presents a set of recommendations for designing online communities to enhance older adults’ social interactions. A process that aims for “engagement” is suggested to strategically guide the design of Senior Online Communities: Interacting – Sense of Belonging (Role-playing, Storytelling, and Legacy) – Engaging.

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Age and Technology in Digital Inclusion Policy: A Study of Italy and the UK

Author(s): Simone Carlo,Maria Sourbati / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

The role of media and communication technologies in increasing the quality of life of the elderly is today a key topic in academic and policy debates. This article discusses findings from a study into the way public policy frames the role of technologies in later life. The aim of our study was to critically investigate the policy discourses on ‘old age’ and on the role of digital ICT in fixing challenges associated with ageing. Our focus was on digital inclusion policies of the UK and Italy, two countries experiencing similar trends in population ageing but different ICT diffusion patterns. We found that an age-based understanding of digital technology use was quite common, as was an enthusiastic embracing of the role of digital ICT in the implementation of Active Ageing and Information Society goals. We also found that the understanding of the role of digital technology and its relationship to (old) age has been changing over the last decade, starting to reflect social complexity as ICT diffusion increases among older age groups.

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Recommendations on Age-friendly and Gender-balanced Media Content Delivery of Products for Seniors: Findings from a Case Study

Author(s): Paula Alexandra Silva,Maria João Antunes / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

ociety is ageing at an unprecedented pace. In tandem, the number of technology-enabled solutions targeted at older adults continues to rise. It is therefore important to understand how to best communicate these solutions to seniors and facilitate use and adoption. To develop an understanding of what could be an improved strategy of communication and media content delivery for companies that provide older adults with technology-based solutions is the goal of this research. Aware of the potential stereotypes that may emerge towards the ageing population, this paper takes a special interest on ageism and gender to determine imbalances. With this in mind, this paper conducts an in-depth case study of the online presence of a company that developed a digital product for seniors that has been nominated for a Prize on Best Practice on Active and Healthy Ageing. Findings concerning the communication strategy of the company are extracted based on the analysis of their website and their five social media profiles. In total 120 posts were inspected, containing 120 text excerpts, 352 pictures, and 21 videos. Results show that the organisation sustains a continuous engagement with both seniors and the seniors’ organisations that use their product, privileging a relationship of close proximity. The representation of older adults is one that shows exceptionally happy and active seniors, who are surrounded by an aura of admiration. There seem to be no considerable differences with regards to gender.

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Digital Media Usage and the Engagement of Older People from Rural Areas in Technological Projects: Co-design Sessions

Author(s): Ana Merlo,Lídia Oliveira,Ana Carla Amaro / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

The question posed in the call “How the widespread of new technologies are changing the norms and practices of the later life?” was transformed in the main motivation to write the paper. LOCUS scientific research project addresses the subjects of Internet of Things, its impact in maintenaince and sustainability of Cultural Heritage and the important role of older generations to these operations. What the research team noticed is that sometimes it is the dissemination of technologies (and accompanying infrastructures) that promote their use and the creation of the need. And when the technologies do not exist, the infrastructures are compromised and/or nonexistent. It is considered that there is a before and an after period in the way in which the implementation of technological projects influences rural areas and older people. This also means that there is a high relevance in the second question of the call “How social actors, groups, institutions and mainstream media provide, spread or constrain ways of growing older via digital devices?” But also, a high importance of the project developed for the scientific knowledge advancement in the study areas (Communication, Technology, Sociology, Demography, Geography, etc.). The main conclusions of the paper are that digital technologies contributes to those Cultural Heritage maintenaince and sustainability, however, this is only possible with the mediation of oler people. Consequently, those people need to know or learn how to manage digital media and technology in order to contribute for the projects and technology development. Older people aim to participate in these projects and that also influences on their proficiency on technologies (on a win-win basis).

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Perception of Media and Information Literacy among Representatives of Mid–Age and Older Generations: the Case of Latvia

Author(s): Anda Rožukalne / Language(s): English Issue: 26 (2)/2020

Academic interests on the impact of media on individuals’ lives often highlight differences in knowledge across generations. The spread of disinformation and its potential impact on societies has added a new dimension to this process - the need to continuously improve media and information literacy (MIL). Thus, the older generations face greater challenges, as they need to acquire new skills more rapidly and on a larger scale. This article analyses interrelations between encouragement measures (implemented by media policy makers) and media literacy perception of middle-aged and older population in Latvia (aged 55 to 75). The research employs data of two national representative surveys (May 2019, 1017 respondents; August 2019, 1005 respondents) that include data on respondents’ perception of MIL and test their media literacy skills. The theoretical background of this paper is supported by literature that discusses age and generations in context of media and technology use (Aroldo, 2014), and the Ideological model of literacy (Street, 1984; 1994). Data shows that a higher proportion of middle-aged and older respondents, compared to other age groups, are not interested in MIL issues and evaluate their MIL competences as rather low, but in the everyday practice their ability to recognize and evaluate information is equivalent to that of other age groups.

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THE COVID-19 MOBILITY IMPACTS ON THE MIGRATION FLOW IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE: THE SITUATION IN 2021 AND BEFORE 1989

Author(s): Rossen Koroutchev / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

In this paper, we analyze the current travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed by the countries from South-East Europe and briefly compare them with those imposed by the Central European countries. By using official data collection of displacement tracking matrices and analyzing the porosity of the borders in this part of Europe, we research the impact of COVID-19 on human mobility and the related economic and social aspects. Discussions are presented regarding this impact on the travelers, the seasonal workers from some of the selected countries, and the immigrants from the Middle-East. A formal analysis is performed relating the current travel restrictions and the travel ban during the iron curtain.

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Сравнително проучване на гръкоезични преселнически общности в България и Гърция

Author(s): Darina Slavova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2020

The Karioti are a Greek-speaking ethnographic group from Bulgaria, a large part of which migrated to Greece in the 1920s. The hypotheses about the emergence of the migrant community in the village of General Inzovo as well as the factors influencing the emigration to settlements in Northern Greece (the Municipality of Eginio, Thessaloniki region, and the village of Trikala in Imathias) are diverse: social, economic, political and others. The new environment in which the Karioti settled had a significant impact on the community. Language, traditional clothing and cultural features are part of the external manifestations that distinguish them from other communities. By using certain specific elements in traditional clothing, the community demonstrates a desire to be distinguished among others and vice versa, by rejecting others it reflects a desire to join the urban community.The preservation of the musical heritage of the Greek-speaking communities in the three settlements has gone through several periods, which are not identical in the two countries. Contemporary folklore manifestations and the activities of the community cultural institutions in the settlements aim to preserve the local identity of the Karioti in Bulgaria and Greece.

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GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE POST-COVID-19: TIME FOR A HIERARCHICAL ORDER?

Author(s): Jean Vilbert / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

The COVID-19 has renovated the debate about global health governance. Many scholars have proposed that the World Health Organization (WHO) should assume the position of a central coordinator with hierarchical powers. This article presents four main objections to this project: the problems with ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies, the heterogeneous distribution of power within multilateral institutions, the risks of crowding out parallel initiatives, and the democratic principle. Testing the WHO’s ability as a provider of technical information, an OLS regression, analyzing the first year of the coronavirus health crisis, from January 2020 to January 2021, in 37 countries reported in the World Values Survey Wave 7, shows a negative relationship between the population trust in the WHO and the number of cases of COVID-19. This indicates that there is a valid case for countries to strengthen the WHO’s mandate, but not to create a hierarchical global health structure.

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Книги 2020 – 2021

Author(s): Emiliya Voleva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 42/2021

Selected bibliography in the field of Bulgarian Studies published in the current year.

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THE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF NORTH MACEDONIA AND KOSOVO

Author(s): Mirlinda Vejseli,Ferdi Kamberi / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

Communication is a process and part of human identity without which man could not exist today. Intercultural communication is a form of global communication, which refers to intercultural interactions between different cultures that appear in a social group with different religious, social, ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds. North Macedonia and Kosovo are considered multicultural states which have ethnic identities within them, which are part of the mosaic and the promotion of intercultural communication is a test of the democratic development of these states. Therefore, this study aims to research and analyze the role of intercultural communication between local communities in both countries, communication of local government with the community, and community participation in public meetings as part of local decision-making. The methodology applied in this paper is the study of literature and the development of quantitative research with local communities. The results show that even though the participation of local communities is low in both countries, due to various factors, intercultural communication has broken down barriers between communities and has influenced the initiatives for the organization and development of the community itself.

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THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN PEACEBUILDING IN IRAQ AFTER ISIS

Author(s): Araz Ramazan Ahmad / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

The victory over the territorial rule of the so-called Islamic State provides an opportunity for the government of Iraq to restore its state institutions and reassert its authority. Can the Iraqi leadership step beyond cycles of failure in this transition to tackle the systemic issues that sustain state weakness and promote the emergence of groups like ISIS? This paper aims to enlighten the challenges faced by Iraq after ISIS for the restoration of peace between minorities and religious groups, and coexistence after the myth, so that conflicts are going on between minorities and religious groups, particularly in Mosul and other cities under the control of ISIS, the state could not reconcile the displaced people. Correspondingly, this paper intends the focus and role of local, regional, and international media in the process of peacebuilding and coexistence in Iraq after ISIS.

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Трансформации на фолклорната и религиозната култура в Странджа през призмата на обичая Еньова буля и култа към св. Модест

Author(s): Mira Markova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2020

Over the last decades, the Strandzha region suffers a serious demographic crisis and the outflow of population results in significant change in the local culture. The empirical data of the current research is based on fieldwork in villages of Fakia (Central Strandzha, Sredets Municipality). The aim is to give a picture of the current condition of the folklore and religious culture through symbolic and specific phenomena. Enyova bulya custom is widely spread in Strandzha region and is conceived as an accent in the Enyovden (Yanovden) celebrations that take place on the 24th of June and is one of the main summer feast days until the ’60s of the 20th century. Enyova bulya is associated with fertility, maiden's transition and the well-being of the settlement community. Today, the custom is disconnected from the context of the festive life of the researched community as far as the world view of the main actors has been changed. Main doers are elderly women, the time of the celebrations is not exactly fixed thus the sacredness of the actions is automatically degenerated. A conclusion can be made that the custom nowadays has the characteristics of a tourist attraction in some aspects. Keeping the celebrations is perceived as a need to declare local identity and local diversity. The transformations in the religious culture of the researched community can be analysed in a similar direction. St. Modest cult (celebrated on December 18) is seen as “typical only for Strandzha region”. In the past, the cult is related to the local livelihood – livestock-raising and agriculture. For example, in Fakia village is believed that the woman that gives out ritual bread first will be the first to finish harvesting. Today, as a result of drastic changes in livelihood, the cult exists as a characteristic of local religious culture – grounds for the local dimensions of cultural identity. Anyway, ritual practices serve the local identity. Searching a motivation in tradition keeps alive a local peasant community in process of dramatic demographic and social crises in Strandzha region.

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Култът към католическите мъченици на тоталитаризма в България (1944–1989)

Author(s): Valentin Voskresenski / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2020

The article presents religious practices and politics of memory, related to the cult of the “new martyrs” (“martyrs of totalitarianism”) in the Catholic Church in Bulgaria after 1989. The paper is based on terminological apparatus and methodology in the field of anthropology of memory and anthropology of religion, and describes the procedures of beatification of Blessed Eugene Bossilkov (beat. 1998) and bishops Fr. Kamen Vichev, Fr. Pavel Dzhidzov, Fr. Iosafat Shishkov (beat. 2002), Fr. Fortunat Bakalski, Fr. Rafael Peev, and others. The objective of this study is to elucidate major moments related to the institutionalisation of the cult, the processes of construction of sacredness, the creation of new religious practices, the commemoration practices, and the places of memory. The study explores the elements of the veneration of the “new martyrs” in Bulgaria, the connection between cult and history, and the issues of memory and the policies of memory as a form of heritage. The observations and the examples are obtained through field research and interviews conducted in several settlements in the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv and the Diocese of Nicopolis (primarily the towns of Plovdiv, Rakovski, Ruse, and Belene, the village of Oresh, and the city of Sofia). Relics, testimonies of martyrdom, stories of miracles, hagiographical and iconographical innovations, commemorational festivities, places of memory, related to the “new martyrs” – all of these are analysed through the prism of processes of invention of cultural-historical heritage, renovation of confessional identities, and creation of reworking models of traumatic memory in the period of socialism. The article looks for answers to the following questions: What is the character of the totalitarian martyrology in Bulgaria? How are the confessional consciousness of the Catholic communities and the character of their religious culture being transformed through the religious cults of the “new martyrs”?

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Читалищата по време на пандемия – политики и практики

Author(s): Stela Nenova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

The measures for limiting the distribution of COVID-19 that have been undertaken by the state during the last months affected many institutions and people engaged with the preservation of local cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. The article discusses the official policies towards the community centres (chitalishta) in the current complicated situation caused by the pandemic crisis. Additionally, it utilises direct observations in the field, in the media and in internet milieu, and interviews with community centre workers and representatives of communities that are successors of cultural heritage. Based on concrete examples, the study offers a general and up-to-date picture of preservation practices, developed on local level, such as the ethnographic collections at the community centres, the non-professional groups for folklore, and different initiatives related to the popularisation and socialisation of cultural heritage.

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Културната политика към българите в Молдова, Украйна и Румъния и предизвикателства на COVID-19

Author(s): Elena Vodinchar / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

This study is developed within the framework of the research programme Cultural Heritage, National Memory and Social Development. Without setting the goal to exhaust thoroughly the question, it starts with a survey of the cultural policy of the Bulgarian state towards the Bulgarian communities in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania before the epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic was officially announced in Bulgaria. Afterwards, in comparative perspective, the author presents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Bulgarian state policy aiming to delineate the different points of view to the current situation. She notes the first reactions to the “new reality” and identifies some suggestions for coping with the pandemic crisis.

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Етнология и епидемии. Социокултурни измерения на пандемията от COVID-19. Съставители: Вихра Баева и Ангелина Илиева. София: Издателство на БАН „Проф. Марин Дринов”, 2021

Author(s): Valentina Ganeva-Raycheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

Book review

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Научна конференция „Опазване на културното наследство – анализи, документи, практики“

Author(s): Stela Nenova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

Scientific life, conference report

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