V hlavní roli obraz
This paper contains following book review: Urbanová, Svatava. Konfigurace: figury a figurace II. Vydání: první. Prešov: Vydavateľstvo Prešovskej univerzity, 2021. 279 stran. ISBN 978-80-555-2664-5.
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This paper contains following book review: Urbanová, Svatava. Konfigurace: figury a figurace II. Vydání: první. Prešov: Vydavateľstvo Prešovskej univerzity, 2021. 279 stran. ISBN 978-80-555-2664-5.
More...Part II: Constructionism and Utilitarianism
As toponymic means of inscribing urban space, street names have been addressed mainly by human geographers, who have articulated the field of critical place-name studies. In this paper, I continue the endeavor started in the previous issue published in Social Change Review of reading street names through sociological lenses. Whereas in the first part of this two-part contribution the analysis was made from functionalist and conflictualist perspectives, this second and final part employs social constructionism and the utilitarian theoretical tradition in making sociological sense of street nomenclatures. First, conceiving of street names as forming discursively constructed linguistic landscapes, the paper shows how urban namescapes – the “city-text” – are written, erased, and rewritten to reflect the shifting political powers. Second, the paper examines the neoliberal processes of place branding and toponymic commodification by which street names are turned into sought-after urban commodities with transactional value on the real estate market. The paper concludes by inviting sociologists to join the conversation on street names, which should become an important topic of sociological reflection.
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The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic implied specific intervention measures in all areas worldwide. Social workers from the social care system and health services, along with other specialists, have played an extremely important role in providing support to vulnerable groups, in order to manage social and psychological issues that have emerged in this period. This paper presents the results of a study involving 94 social workers from Romania. The aim of the research was to identify the main changes in the activity of social workers from public and private social services during pandemic, a period characterized by restrictive measures in order to limit the transmission of the virus. The paper focuses on vulnerabilities and challenges imposed by these changes in order to continue to provide social services for those in need. Recommendations on social policies are outlined based on the lessons learned in this period. The results show that communication and the maintenance of the relationship with beneficiaries are the parts where most changes occurred. The limitation of direct contacts has led to a decrease in field activity, online work, increased workload, or changes in working schedule, and also sometimes (mainly in public institutions) increased bureaucracy. Based on the results of the study, some recommendations for policy makers are identified, taking advantage of the lessons from this period of crisis: the need for the authorities to prioritize the allocated resources and to impose stricter rules to follow, provide funding for specific resources, intensifying the collaboration between all social actors involved, developing and implementing unitary intervention models, greater interest and understanding from authorities and responsiveness to new intervention methods, maintaining the online activity where the situation allows it in order to reduce bureaucracy in public institutions.
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The purpose of this article is to examine the role of Confucius Institute in Shaping China's National Image in Botswana in the case of CI Students. The Confucius Institute at the University of Botswana (CIUB) is employed as a case study which is identified as the most active Chinese soft power instrument in Botswana. The paper uses a qualitative research method to help better understand the benefits and limitations of CIUB in creating China’s positive image in Botswana. Primary data is obtained from questionnaires whilst secondary data is derived from journal papers, thesis, and books. The study is framed by soft power theory to assist in learning how China utilises its soft power to improve its image in Botswana. The analysis revealed that CIUB has been fruitful in promoting Chinese language and culture in Botswana impacting positively on China’s national image. The findings of the study show that CIUB has the potential to clear some negative perceptions about China in Botswana. However, the limitation as indicated by the study is that CIUB does not have wide coverage of the population of Botswana as it targets mostly students. It is suggested that CIUB as a single tool cannot fully address all the concerns affecting China’s image.
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The topic of the paper is the role of digital media in the process of socialization of children. Digital media are becoming an increasingly important agent of socialization, they are an indispensable part of everyday life and as such greatly influence our identity, thoughts, political beliefs, and image. Children are the most susceptible to media influence to which they are exposed. Available research conducted on this topic shows that children spend most of their free time on media content. The aim of the paper is to present some of the risks and benefits of using digital media based on a secondary analysis of the literature, but also to point out the importance of media literacy and educational competence of parents in the area of protecting children from the harmful consequences of using digital media. The risks of use are not only related to the time spent with digital media, but also to the quality of the content that children choose. The presented risks of using digital media relate to violent and inappropriate content, social comparison theory, and security threats. The benefits of using digital media are mainly included in learning processes. Media literacy and media pedagogy as interdisciplinary areas are important in the formation of a critical attitude towards media discourse at an early age. Their inclusion in educational systems will contribute to the development of democratic values in society and the fight against racial, religious, gender and other stereotypes. Parents’ educational competences and parental mediation are important factors in protecting children from the risks they face on digital platforms. Of the numerous types of parental mediation in controlling children’s access to digital media and the use of various applications and tools for those purposes, as an extremely effective method, it is recommended to talk about the dangers of using different media content and the joint use of digital media.
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This paper deals with the social, cognitive, and affective consequences caused by the devastating earthquake that hit the Banija region on December 29, 2020. The natural disaster is understood not only as a catastrophe but as a kind of catharsis that has exposed layers of political negligence, difficult pasts, and deep connections to the environment. The author interprets (mediatized and face-to-face) personal narratives of natural disaster, ruination and regeneration, solidarity, and mutual understanding as the basis of making new affective communities and triggering processes that resolve national (and nationalistic) narratives and contribute to community empowerment. The paper’s methodological framework embraces participatory ethnography, the theory of folk narratives (Bausinger 2018 [1958]; Borland 2021; Bošković-Stulli 1984; Ranke 2018 [1967]; Rudan 2020, Shuman 2005), the ethnography of the senses (Bendix 2000, 2005), and the “deep implicancy” knowledge of reflecting what makes the “human inseparable from all matter” (da Silva and Neuman 2018). The author concludes that villagers co–habiting with nature (but also depending on it) make sense of their unique experiences of disaster, comparing it with other humans’ suffering and organizing a narrative frame that “makes the allegorical personal, the cosmological local” (Shuman 2005).
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This paper deals with the social, cognitive, and affective consequences caused by the devastating earthquake that hit the Banija region on December 29, 2020. The natural disaster is understood not only as a catastrophe but as a kind of catharsis that has exposed layers of political negligence, difficult pasts, and deep connections to the environment. The author interprets (mediatized and face-to-face) personal narratives of natural disaster, ruination and regeneration, solidarity, and mutual understanding as the basis of making new affective communities and triggering processes that resolve national (and nationalistic) narratives and contribute to community empowerment. The paper’s methodological framework embraces participatory ethnography, the theory of folk narratives (Bausinger 2018 [1958]; Borland 2021; Bošković-Stulli 1984; Ranke 2018 [1967]; Rudan 2020, Shuman 2005), the ethnography of the senses (Bendix 2000, 2005), and the “deep implicancy” knowledge of reflecting what makes the “human inseparable from all matter” (da Silva and Neuman 2018). The author concludes that villagers co–habiting with nature (but also depending on it) make sense of their unique experiences of disaster, comparing it with other humans’ suffering and organizing a narrative frame that “makes the allegorical personal, the cosmological local” (Shuman 2005).
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The tattoo, once an indicator of belonging to subculture, deviant, and marginalized groups, or specific occupations, has become mainstream. Given that their social world has not yet been studied in much detail, this research aimed to explore the work experiences of tattoo artists. For the purposes of the research, semi-structured interviews with tattoo artists were conducted. The results show that for tattoo artists, tattooing is more than just a job – rather, it is integral to their lifestyle. Tattoo artists give particular importance to family and friends and support and belonging in both tattoo-specific and broader alternative scenes. With regard to cultural capital, a specific type of cultural capital, “alternative cultural capital,” proved to be important.
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The article analyzes the experiences of highly educated Croatian women who migrated to different European countries after Croatia’s accession to the European Union in 2013, emphasizing their work and non-work/everyday experiences in the context of the economic and social dimensions of integration. The research conducted with a qualitative methodology shows that most female narrators’ work and everyday experiences are predominately satisfactory, largely overlapping, and indicate a relatively high degree of economic and social integration of highly educated migrant women in the receiving countries. Finding a job in their profession enables them to achieve a better standard of living, and they consider working conditions better than in Croatia. Everyday experiences indicate a satisfactory amount of free time and satisfaction with the quality of life. The interlocutor’s approach to the material and non-material aspects of life shows elements of “good living” and “personal prosperity,” as well as subjective well-being and integration.
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In his reflections, Fr. Bonaventura Zvonimir Šagi problematizes social structures and relations in the Catholic Church. He detects the Church as the most influential institution, which is, therefore, in the ethical sense, according to him, the most responsible in Croatian society. He recognizes that Christian symbolism is often in the service of the nation and the state, which, in fact, emphasizes a strong attempt to devalue the evangelical spirit by which Christian believers should act transformatively in society. He notes that it is extremely important what kind of value system is nurtured within the family, but also in religious communities, associations and movements. It is in the church community that it recognizes the institution that forms the ethical judgments of individuals, thus (in)directly influencing the value judgments in society and the state. It is therefore important to question, as Capuchin Bono Šagi does, the religious upbringing of the church community. The social engagement of the faithful connected with the religious upbringing in the family, but also in the Church, is not, in fact, inseparable from the church's social doctrine, to which he attaches great importance. All believers, but especially lay believers, should become able to make appropriate judgments and act as Christians in practice. Fr. Bono Šagi also makes a concrete contribution in this area.
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In a dynamically changing World, the process of educating students atuniversities must also change. The changes implemented, however,should be well thought out. The events of the last two years related to the pandemic have caused a global revolution in teaching methods, whichhave had to be modified to transfer knowledge remotely. Such ad hocchanges are contributing to a change in how higher education is viewed,especially in the context of traditional fields of studies such as the law,which have so far been reluctant to embrace new trends in curriculum design and educational methods. Because of their natural attachment to national legal systems, these faculties have been slower than others toundergo internationalisation, i.e. student exchanges in the educational process (due to difficulties with subjects being recognised abroad). Foryears, the Nordic countries, and especially Finland, have been amongthe leading countries in the world with regard to shaping effective and innovative systems of education, including higher education.
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Ever since the launch of the World Press Freedom Index almost 20 years ago, Finland has always been among the top five countries of that index.According to the annual Reuters Digital News reports, Finnish people also have the highest level of trust in the news media and one of the highest levels of press readership in the EU. Most of the media companies are doing quite well, while Google and Facebook have a much less dominant role in the advertising market than elsewhere in Europe. In this context, you might expect Finland to have a comprehensive and visionary media and communications policy to support democracy. However, our meta-study of Finnish media and communications policy based on two recent reports to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, other earlier studies, along with official documents as well as statistical data suggests that is not the case. Our analysis shows that most decisions have been pragmatic ad-hoc solutions serving economic interests rather than any specific media and communication policy goals. A closer examination also proves that Finland does not fit into the Nordic Media Welfare State model either, despite a long, shared history and cultural ties.
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The process of fiscal decentralization, typical of contemporary societies, in addition to the fiscal effect, also has a political effect. Namely, because bearers of political power need to get closer to citizens, fiscal decentralization is often seen as part of the democratization process in a society. Within that process, property tax is gaining more and more importance. In that respect, Serbia is no exception. The aim of the paper is to determine whether property tax in Serbia has the characteristics of an instrument for achieving fiscal decentralization. Moreover, the authors will also determine how the property tax, as a significant source of revenues for local authorities, contributes to the development of democracy in Serbian society at the local level.
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Revolutionary development of the global communication network has also been reflected on the electronic book as the most important product of digitalization, and a significant educational resource in the function of providing a stimulating learning environment. The authors examine teachers’ experiences (N=1117) (a) in relation to the justification of using electronic books and the attitudes of teachers and students of teacher education and pedagogy faculties (N=214) in relation to (b) the perspective of using different formats of books and (c) the universal values of the book, regardless of the format in which it was published. The research results show that teachers’ motivation for using electronic books in teaching is mostly intrinsic; that teachers and future teachers agree in their attitudes regarding the use of electronic and printed books in the context of text media future development, as well as in their attitudes related to the universal values of the book in general, regardless of advantages and disadvantages of the format in which it was designed. The developed critical attitude of teachers and future teachers towards the potential of technological development of the book in the function of active knowledge building is significant from the aspect of the functionality of modern media in the educational context, bearing in mind that the key role in designing the learning process with the use of modern technology actually belongs to the teacher.
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In this study, we will look at the notion of terrorism financing as the provision or collection of funds in any possible way, directly or indirectly, with the intention of using them, or knowing that they will be used, in whole or in part, to commit acts of terrorism. Due to the limited format of this study, we will only analyze the use of non-profit charities and religious organizations to fund terrorist organizations as well as the funding of terrorist organizations through the voluntary or forced collection of various revolutionary taxes and donations.
More...Slobodan Antonić, Boring Sociology - about a tiring topic such as class. Belgrade, Institute for Sociological Research, the Faculty of Philosophy, 2022, 221 pp.
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The aim of this study is to analyse and compare media reports about a case of family abuse on the case study (murder of ex-wife on October 14th 2020 in Koprivnica) in national and regional newspapers to determine whether there is a difference in the approach and way of reporting. It is analysed whether journalists obey the Code of Ethics of Croatian journalists in reporting, if they use the same or different sources for obtaining information, in which frames the reports are written and whether the term family abuse is used. The study uses methodology of content analysis, containing eight articles from five daily newspapers, out of which three daily newspapers are released on the national level (Večernji list, Jutarnji list and 24 sata), and two on a regional level (Novi list and Slobodna Dalmacija) and two regional weekly newspapers (Podravski list and Glas Podravine i Prigorja). Media have the central role in creating public opinion and influence people's behaviour so it is of high importance the way we report about such serious and crucial social problem.
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The article focuses on secondary victimization in Italy, showing that judges, lawyers, and court-appointed experts handling cases of gender-based violence against women are often not specialized in the issue, consequently causing secondary victimization episodes. Indeed, they rely on sexist stereotypes, such as “the perfect victim” one. This tends to question the reliability of victims’ declarations, minimizing domestic violence as couple conflict, restraining from issuing precautionary measures and investigating the intimate life of the victims of sexual violence. Moreover, women are considered children’s manipulators through references to the PAS, while the victim-centered approach has a number of #aws, such as victim-partner meetings being organized without an appropriate risk assessment and the fact that achieving civil remedies and claiming compensation is complicated. The text examines secondary victimization through references to the 2020 GREVIO report, the 2018 Italian women’s NGOs report and two reports of the Italian Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Feminicide. After an analysis of the progress and the criticalities of the Italian policies focused on secondary victimization, the lack of education on gender-based violence against women of judges, lawyers, and court-appointed experts’ is studied. Then, these professionals’ actions leading to secondary victimization are discussed, also referring to emblematic European Court of Human Rights judgments.
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This study aims to reconstruct the self-perception of the Karaite community in Vilnius during 1913–1939. The research is based on a review of two Karaite periodicals, Караимскоеcлово(Karaite Word), published in Russian from 1913–1914, and Myśl Karaimska (Karaite Thought), published in Polish from 1924–1939. Both periodicals served to develop national selfawareness and a spiritual revival of the whole Karaite nation by covering history, politics and literature. In Karaimskoye Slovo, Karaites identified themselves as Israelites; in Myśl Karaimska, some high-level representatives openly emphasized their Turkic origins. State and institutional discrimination against the Jewish population had become a major issue over the years, creating a volatile platform for change while breaking with the eternal sense of Karaite identity as people of Israel. This paper contributes to the literature on the history of the Karaite community in Vilnius in the early decades of the twentieth century.
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The article addresses the problem of early detection of victims and perpetrators of trafficking in human beings. The practical aspects of the identification of traffic-related persons in the border control exercised by the police authorities in entering and leaving the country are presented.
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