There is no such thing as Society. „Ferdydurke” w neoliberalizmie, postmodernizm i płeć

Author(s): Ewa Majewska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 20/2013

In this article Ferdydurke is discussed as a forerunner of the logic of late capitalism with all its repercussions, as identified by Frederick Jameson. Gombrowicz’s novel is seen as an early prognosis of neoliberal ideology, with its demands for effectivity and productivity as well as negation of social and affective bonds. Margaret Thatcher’s aphorism: “there is no such thing as society” is a pretext for a critical analysis of Ferdydurke, including the feminist critics of the European vision of the subject built on fear of the Other. This feminist analysis of Ferdydurke reveals several problems with the notion of body – theories of Julia Kristeva (on abjection) and Lynda Nead (on the female nude) are employed to demonstrate this argument. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is that queer disruptions of the binary logic of gender oppositions do not necessarily produce anti-patriarchal results.

Think non-ethnic, but act ethnic: Perspectives from South Asian entrepreneurs

Author(s): Mark McPherson / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Literature pertaining to ethnic entrepreneurship assumes that religious-cultural and generational factors espouse the intention and ability of the entrepreneur towards business development. And by way of business growth and development, such entrepreneurs should breakout from their local ethnic customer base to service a wider non-ethnic customer base. In reality, many ethnic entrepreneurs lack the resources, the motivation, the ability and/or intention to do this. Consequently, the development and success of the business become hampered. To this end, working within a context of ethnic entrepreneurship, the aim of this paper is to examine the notion that entrepreneurial intention, ability and opportunity inform business growth, development and how the entrepreneur defines the success thereof. Addressing this, 48 semi-structured interviews and 11 comparati ve case studies were conducted with fi rst- and second-generati on South Asian Sikh, Hindu and Pakistani Muslim entrepreneurs within Greater London. A phenomenological paradigm was adopted, with key-words-in-context used to analyze data. Findings note there is no evidence of genuine breakout. Instead, what defines business development and growth is three approaches: (i) content to remain, (ii) forced to remain, and (iii) struggling to adjust. Hindered are attempts to increase the customer and market base beyond that of local clients. Additionally, differences and success between the two generations are refl ective of sectorial location, intention, ability and skill-sets, rather than generational or cultural influences. Essenti ally, the paper presents an alternati ve view of how entrepreneurial intenti on, ability and opportunity facilitate or inhibit small business growth and success. However, given the sample-frame and, socio-economic environment within Greater London, findings may not be generalizable. In conclusion, debate pertaining to ethnic entrepreneurship needs to be re-examined; because placing emphasis on culture, religion, ethnicity and generation may be misleading researchers as to the true nature of business requirements, problems and support for ethnic entrepreneurs.

Third party liability claims on the Polish insurance market - a study of market trends and social attitudes

Author(s): Ilona Kwiecien,Ewa Poprawska,Anna Jędrzychowska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

Analyses of trends on the third party liability insurance market have indicated in the recent years that the quantity and value of claims have been growing on all markets . The examination of reasons therefor reveals multiple factors, including also a change of social attitudes - a greater inclination of injured parties to assert claims and higher expectations as to the quality (extent) of compensation. This inclination results from social and economic factors. This paper describes current trends in this field on the Polish market in the context of experiences of other countries. It identifies the determinants of changes of attitudes of persons who assert claims and illustrates such attitudes with results of questionnaire surveys.

THOMAS FUCHS, ECOLOGY OF THE BRAIN: THE PHENOMENOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF THE EMBODIED MIND, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD, 2018.

Author(s): Olga Nikolić / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Thomas M. Bohn, Der Vampir. Ein europäischer Mythos

Author(s): Karen Lambrecht / Language(s): German / Issue: 1/2018

Review of: Thomas M. Bohn: Der Vampir. Ein europäischer Mythos. Böhlau Verlag. Köln u. a. 2016. 368 S., Ill., Kt. ISBN 978-3-412-50180-8. (€ 24,99.). Reviewed by Karen Lambrecht.

Thomas Piketty: Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Author(s): Hendrik Theine / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2015

THREATENING LETTERS: MENTAL CONFUSION AND HATE AS MOST COMMON PREDICTORS OF ARREST FOR VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR

Author(s): Margaret DIEKHUIS-KUIPER / Language(s): English / Issue: 21/2019

This study focused on digital and handwritten threats against individuals in what are known as the national security domain. Being threatened may stir up feelings of fear or unrest. Making threats towards people in the public domain can influence the public debate and may even jeopardize the democratic legal order when a fear of (repeated) threat stands in the way of open and frank discussion. Threats, and the subsequent assessment and decision-making process, are time-consuming and difficult, without other available documents. The main question was: which characteristics can be linked to criminal acts? Insights were gained from threat studies and from forensic linguistics to better understand the motives of those writing threatening letters. Bivariate- and logistic regression analysis were used for assessing characteristics in 450 letters. Mental confusion, which was operationalized in the theoretical framework as incoherent use of language, was linked to repeated threats. Mental confusion and hate increased the likelihood of being arrested for violence behaviour.

Three Approaches to the Sociological Study of the Social Well-being

Author(s): Irina Trotsuk / Language(s): English,Serbian / Issue: 1/2019

The globalizing and diversifying world demands from sociology to constantly redefine its boundaries, especially with psychology. It is also necessary to identify the specifics of the sociological interest to such a psychological issue as mental health. This can be done by limiting the focus of the sociological study to the social well-being that can be ‘measured’ in three perspectives: first, identification of value orientations; second, description of fears that prevail in society or its particular groups; and, third, attempts to measure the level of happiness, its factors and components in terms of their ‘size’, changes and sustainability at the national level and in the comparative perspective. The article presents some empirical examples of all three sociological ‘dimensions’ of the social wellbeing.

Three Decades of European Works Councils: A Quantitative Evaluation

Author(s): Holm-Detlev Köhler,Sergio Gonzalez Begega,Mona Aranea / Language(s): English / Issue: 1 (11)/2015

European Works Councils (EWCs) constitute the most developed arena of social dialogue in the EUs multi-level system of employment relations. In this paper we give an overview over the quantitative trajectory of these representation bodies and evaluate the potential for their future development. Based on the historical development of the legal framework since the 1980s we establish a four phase periodization with different motives and dynamics in the creation of EWCs. Using the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) database on EWCs we look at several company characteristics that might have an effect on EWC creation such as country of origin, company size and degree of internationalisation. Our findings confirm a strong relationship between the development of the European legal framework and EWC creation dynamics. We argue that the current voluntaristic soft law approach without clear binding obligations for the companies covered by the EWC Directive is one of the main factors to explain the currently very low EWC creation rate in a context of growing internationalisation of firms and industries.

Three dimensions of modern terrorism in the European Union

Author(s): Sebastian Wojciechowski / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/2018

Due to the political, economic and media importance of the European Union, as well as on account of its cultural and social diversification, the EU constitutes a prominent target of terrorist attacks. The scale, character and specific nature of these attacks are well evidenced by the annual reports by Europol. This paper aims to discuss the nature and characteristics of modern terrorism in the European Union in recent years with particular emphasis given to the latest data published by Europol in 2018. The issues addressed include, among other things, the threat of terrorism in the EU posed by jihadist terrorists, separatists, and left-, and right-wing extremists. Another issue concerns individuals arrested and convicted in the EU for terrorist activity. The main proposal made in this paper is that terrorism in the EU has a vertical, horizontal and transcendent dimension. The vertical dimension is related to the extensive range of innovative tactics and strategy. The horizontal dimension refers to the potential of attacking various targets in individual EU member states. Finally, the transcendent dimension concerns the diverse ideological inspiration of terrorists, be it Islam, separatism, extreme left-, or right-wing ideology. Key words: terrorism; terrorist threat in the European Union; Europol; vertical; horizontal and transcendent dimensions of terrorism

Three Perspective on Social Pathology

Author(s): Václav Bělík / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2015

The issue of social pathology is a multilayered topic which goes through a series of disciplines. It can be perceived mainly as a sociological topic. The paper presents the contexts of other disciplines which define the issue such as social deviations, respectively from the viewpoint of psychology and pedagogy as risk behaviour. The paper points to three possible views on social pathology. The first view is social pathology as a set of phenomena which are perceived as problematic by the society (deviating from the behaviour according to the norms of the society). The second view is social pathology as a field of study preparing graduates for the prophylaxis and treatment of pathologically social phenomena. The third view is social pathology as a study subject concerning not only the students of socially oriented fields but mainly the students who are to become teachers. They often tend to be important sources of social support and possible actors in the process of searching for and elimination of pathological phenomena in the period of childhood and adolescence.

Three Pillars of Security Culture

Author(s): Juliusz Piwowarski / Language(s): English / Issue: 24/2017

The article presents a proposal for multidisciplinary scientific platform, as a basis for security studies. It includes not only the military but mostly non-military aspects of security. An emphasis is put on security culture, the main pivot of the “Security Dimensions” as a scientific journal, with three pillars of the security culture concept: mental and spiritual (individual dimension), legal and organizational (social dimension), material.

Three Qualitative Studies of Cultural and Temporal Adaption of Africans at Home and Abroad

Author(s): Malwina Bakalarska / Language(s): English / Issue: 24/2015

This research note describes three qualitative projects that I conducted on the topic of cultural and temporal adaptation in Nigeria and of Nigerians living abroad. The first was a pilot study that laid the groundwork for two subsequent studies conducted in Nigeria, and of Nigerians living in Asia. The process of academic discovery is too-often presented as pristine; that is, as unblemished by learning experiences. However, the process of research is often marked by trial and error, where both positive and negative experiences build toward scientific discovery and academic insight. The purpose of this research note is to explain, in a personal way and in as plain language as I can, the process of discovery and the content of these studies.

Three Theses on Recognition Culture and Human Security

Author(s): Anton Carpinschi / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2018

Inspired by an autoreflexive-therapeutic approach, this study proposes the idea of culture of recognition as an axiological principle of human securitization. In this context, the culture of recognition might become a therapy of human securitization, by cultivating the comprehensive attitude with the help of the philosophical conscience and political reasonableness. Three general theses determine this study. The first thesis, an ontological-anthropological one, states that the-human-mode-of-being predisposed to recognitive and securing behavior is that of assumed fallibility. The second thesis maintains, for cultural and epistemological reasons, that the trans-modern spirit favors the culture of recognition because of its comprehensive and recognitive potential. The third thesis, a praxeological corollary of the previous ones, states that securitizing the human through the culture of recognition becomes socially possible in a climate of political reasonableness. The three theses can be operationalized by three hypotheses, as follows: the first hypothesis identifies the hypostasis of comprehensive being as a state of wakefulness through which the human capacity of understanding becomes more embracing, more profound, and more participative. The second hypothesis sets out to elaborate an epistemological model of the comprehensive being capable of the culture of recognition, by valorizing acquisitions in the philosophy of conscience and cognitive sciences. The third hypothesis advances the model of the politics with the human face as an expression of the comprehensive being in action.

THROUGH THE EYES OF A STRATEGIST AND DIPLOMAT. The Polish-American Relations post-1918

Author(s): Robert Kupiecki / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2019

The authors describe these exceptionally eventful one hundred years in a clear and straightforward way, subjecting them to critical analysis. The book is written in a flowing style, easy to understand for non-experts as well.Prof. Jerzy EislerThe United States played an instrumental role in Poland's going down a difficult road - first to independence in 1918 and then to freedom and gull sovereignty in 1989. (...). This book is exceptional: it covers a wide time span, it was written by distinguished experts and practitioners, and it encourages raising diverse questions.Dr. Krzysztof SzczepanikISBN 978–83-65390-80-6ISBN 978–83-66213-34-0

Through the Looking Glass

Author(s): Keith Tester / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2017

Thuwar versus Azlam – Identity Dilemmas of Libyan Minorities during the Arab Spring

Author(s): Janusz Borusowski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Tihana Rubić, Nezaposleni u gradu: antropologija rada i neformalne ekonomije u Hrvatskoj

Author(s): Ozren Biti / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 1/2018

Review of: Tihana Rubić, Nezaposleni u gradu: antropologija rada i neformalne ekonomije u Hrvatskoj Zagreb: Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, 2017, 312 str.

TIK jako czasoprzestrzenny przełom w komunikacji e-społeczeństwa

Author(s): Tomasz Warzocha / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2018

Technological progress, the development of new tools facilitating the exchange of information, including the way of communicating with others, forced the transformation of the traditional form of communication into the form of e-communication. The time spent in a traditional conversation required the interruption of other activities and forced the individuals to be present. Currently, we also have the possibility to visualize a given person during an e-communication, but time and place do not limit us in anyway. Internet access is so common that from anywhere in the world we can communicate with each other seeing each other, using the necessary applications installed on smartphones, e.g. SnapChat, Facebook, Instagram etc. The article analyzes the methods of communicating with each other over the years. The issues discussed seem to be still relevant, due to the newer and newer methods of communication in information technology-based societies. Is this the case?

Timasheff Nicholas S. (9 XI 1886-9 III 1970)

Author(s): Andrzej Kojder / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 0

The first world encyclopaedic guidebook to the most important problems of the sociology of law. It contains nearly one hundred and fifty entries written by eminent Polish and foreign scholars. It is an excellent source of knowledge of the role and importance of law in social life. It sketches portraits of the most distinguished authors of legal sociology and presents their scientific achievements. It also discusses law subcultures, punitive justice, anthropology and atrophy of law, the destruction of norms, the iuridisation of social life, law nihilism, praxeology and feminist sociology of law.