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Numerous Czech studies have been conducted on how the education system reproduces inequalities. While most of them have dealt with the reproduction of class inequalities, relatively few have focused on the reproduction of gender inequalities. In this article, the authors apply a conceptual understanding of the category of gender to research on education, an approach that avoids both universalising the category of woman, as well as the opposite extreme of individualisation. We claim that female students, even though they differ among themselves in various social and personal ways, are serialised as women by institutions in the education system. They are expected to perform differently, with different motivations, their performance is valued differently and they are expected to follow different professions than male students. The paper focuses in detail on the gendered nature of educational institutions, both in terms of the gender segregation of fi elds and levels of study, as well as in terms of the importance of the interaction that occurs during the processes of teaching and ascribing value and significance to the performance of male and female students. The authors argue that education, generally expected to function as a social ladder and a route to better-paid jobs in the labour market, serves men and women in segregated ways.

This article is based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with women and men suffering from fertility problems. It analyses the negotiations between partners confronted with the diagnosis of infertility and seeking the best solution. The analysis examined how men and women define their roles in the treatment of infertility, how they perceive their partners' coping and involvement, and confl icting and controversial topics and situations. Data suggest that the burden of infertility is unequal. While treatment involves a woman fully in the physical and the psychological sense, the involvement of the man and potential father in the treatment process is reduced to his provision of genetic material on demand. The research revealed two factors that infl uence and separate the experiences of men and women: the different time/age frame of the reproductive experience and the physical aspect of infertility and reproduction. Both factors are anchored in the praxis of assisted reproduction. The treatment process is administered in a way that, instead of reshaping or challenging traditional defi nitions of parenthood or gender roles, confi rms the status quo.

Obálka -- Obsah -- Úvodní slovo a poděkování -- 1. Kdo byl Josef Vavroušek -- 2. Systémový inženýr a vizionář v českém prostředí -- 3. J. Vavroušek a "rada moudrých" světa jeho doby: K. Boulding, B. Ward a Amartya Sen -- 4. Slabiny modelu všeobecné tržní rovnováhy v epoše antropocénu -- 5. Eudaimonia a štěstí. Finalita ekonomie, úděl a poslání člověka na Zemi -- 6. Cena Josefa Vavrouška očima mladých účastníků soutěže -- 6.1 Ohlas ceny mezi studenty Univerzity Karlovy -- 6.2 Příspěvky moravské environmentální a rozvojové školy -- 7. Epilog jako naděje ekologické konverze -- Přílohy (Jiří Kameníček) -- A. Faksimile "Zakládací listiny" studentské soutěže o Cenu Josefa Vavrouška -- B. Seznam přihlášených a oceněných studentských prací v letech 1996-2015 -- C. Fotografická příloha -- Literatura.

This paper introduces the concept of social capital as a valuable social resourcewhich is accumulated and developed via activities of civil society organizations: through reciprocal relationships as well as through relations with the domain of political power. Civil society, as the institutional actor of political participation, is in a relationship with social capital, which, to a great extent, improves the political, economic and cultural aspects of societies – those with consolidated democracy and institutions, as well as post communist societies with nonconsolidated democracy. Strengthening and development of civil society has a positive impact on the strengthening and development of social capital and vice versa. On the other hand, social capital lays a solid foundation and a base for the growth and strengthening of civil society, thus raising citizens' awareness about political participation which is an indispensable ingredient of the development of democracy. By depicting norms, networking and trust, as well as by distinguishing bonding from bridging social capital, this paper is going to portray the subject matter of social capital which is "utilized" by the citizens' and stakeholders' effi cient collaboration, thus contributing to democratic development. The stability of developed social capital facilitates the development of political participation and enhances democratic development.

The article focuses on an analysis of the situation in which information is obtained from respondents in questionnaire surveys. From the perspective of the cognitive aspects of survey methodology the article takes a complex view of this situation and applies theoretical concepts and empirical evidence in order to explain the close connection between the interview situation and the quality of the information obtained. The interview situation is portrayed in its twofold form: personal aspects (the mental operations of respondents) and social aspects (the interaction and communication between the interviewer and the respondent). The analysis of the interactive aspects of the interview situation draws attention to the rules of standard communication, which interfere with the ordinary concept of the standardised interview and the course of mental processes. The cognitive aspect of responding to questions is analysed from the perspective of the wider understanding of context effects, the author refers to the most important theoretical concepts relating to individual effects and empirical evidence of some effects that infl uence the response process. The article takes a somewhat untypical approach to some aspects of data collection in questionnaire surveys and into the Czech context introduces the cognitive aspects of the methodology of questionnaire surveys.

Peripheral regions are most often described in terms of economic geography. However, this study stresses more the sociological aspects of peripheries, studying not only the causes, but also the social effects of life in peripheral regions. The authors use the term 'inner peripheries' because most of the peripheral regions detected in their analyses are located in the inner parts of the country, mainly along the borders of the administrative regions (kraje). Their approach combines the concept of the life world (espace vécu) as defined by A. Frémont and A. Giddens when describing the social and cultural consequences of living in peripheries, and a modified version of G. Myrdal´s theory of cumulative circular causation when trying to explain the origin and growth of peripheries. In the Czech Republic inner peripheries are usually the peripheral zones of metropolitan areas and regional centre areas. In the mid-1990s population numbers stopped declining in some peripheries as a result of suburbanisation processes, but in other peripheries depopulation processes continued. This last category of inner peripheries can be described as the hard core of Czech peripheral regions and in the authors' opinion they warrant the development of specifi c regional policy measures, stressing the creation of new jobs, the improvement of public transport, greater accessibility of service centres, and co-operation among communities.

The book deals with the introduction of innovations, particularly environmental innovation. The issue of sustainable development affects all organizations from the economic, social, and environmental perspective. Through environmental innovations, businesses could achieve not only cost cuts and the reduction of their negative impact on environment; the innovations are also a platform for the involvement of employees in improving organizational processes. The publication describes factors influencing the birth and implementation of improvement proposals from the perspective of conservation psychology and organizational psychology. The outcomes of the research could be used as a probe into the system of business innovation support and they also give an idea of how employees view the environmental aspects of innovation activities

This study deals with application of the Norbert Elias's theory of sociogenesis to the case of early Czech state formation. For this purpose we focus on the mechanisms of emergence and establishing of the state monopoly, as well as on the aspects of decentralization and privatization of state power during reign of first Premyslid dukes - from 860 to 1230 AD. In the second place, the article tries to compare the process of sociogenesis in the Western Europe with the dynamics of state formation that was typical for the contemporary Czech lands. In this context we claim that Elias made several mistakes, because he supposed that features and mechanisms of state formation were fairly unitary everywhere Europe. We try to challenge this notion show that the history of state making in the Central European region has many autonomous and unique aspects that differentiate it from social dynamics in other parts of the continent. From this critical pointof view, the article attempts a reformulation of Elias's theory for the Central European area.