Suchergebnisse

Představy o "Americe" a znalosti o ní tvoří tematické pole, které se do značné míry dotýká sebepojetí dnešních evropských společností – a tedy i německé a české. Z politického hlediska je to dáno jednak významem USA ve dvacátém století, především jako největší západní vítězné mocnosti ve druhé světové válce, a jednak jejich rolí vedoucí mocnosti západní aliance v konfliktu mezi Východem a Západem. Zde ovlivňovala "Amerika" celé generace jako (demokratický) vzor i jako obraz nepřítele, v některých případech – jako u západoněmecké levice – obojí dohromady: nespoutaný kapitalismus a hnutí za občanská práva šedesátých let zde byly dvě strany téže mince. Přinejmenším stejně významný byl vliv USA v populární kultuře, zejména v oblasti módy, hudby a filmového průmyslu. Zde fascinoval (a stále fascinuje) lidi napříč hranicemi a politickými tábory. "Amerika" tak byla a je jednou z nejsilnějších projekčních ploch evropských společností. Vlastní touhy, naděje, ale i kritika a nejistota se daly výborně zpracovat skrz vnímání, diskuse a reflexe obrazů a poznatků o Americe. V neposlední řadě i vědomí o sobě samém, protože obraz vlastní konstrukce identity se (přinejmenším u části společnosti) zostřoval při pohledu na americké "přátele", resp. "nepřátele" na druhé straně Atlantiku. Geograficky vzdálené Spojené státy byly pro mnoho lidí v Evropě velmi blízké – dokonce i pro ty, kteří tam nikdy nebyli. Téměř každý měl nějakou představu o této zemi, jeho krajině a lidech. Dalším výmluvným svědectvím již z doby před rokem 1900 jsou velké vlny emigrace do zámoří – zejména do USA, které lidem žijícím v Evropě dodávaly silnou imaginační sílu a představovaly naději na snesitelnější život. Vidina útěku před bídou, nedostatkem práce a příležitostí doma byla pro mnohé silnější než strach z nebezpečné plavby do neznáma. Smíšená česko-německá komise pro učebnice dějepisu se proto dva roky po Trumpově zvolení ujala této tematické oblasti obrazů a znalostí o Americe: Ve dnech 15. až 17. listopadu 2018 uspořádala v saském Bad Schandau konferenci k učebnicím na téma "Znalosti o Americe a obrazy Ameriky. Transatlantické vztahy v učebnicích a populární kultuře v Německu a České republice". Konferenční příspěvky předložené v tomto sborníku tak nejen ukazují, jak mocnou projekční plochou USA stále ještě jsou, ale také jasně dokládají, že vedle nebo spíš společně se silným vlivem mimoškolních médií poskytují školní učebnice hlubší vhled do řádu a správy vědění a jeho historicky a sociálně-politicky podmíněných změn.

This book brings a new perspective of the United States, which arose from the necessity to overcome both uncritically admiring as well as uncritically condemning approaches. This new approach is based on a deeper understanding of the inner diversity, contradictions and quarrels within American politics and society. This offers unexpected possibilities of transatlantic cooperation in new areas and enriches the public debate about the course of the Czech Republic. It is necessary to awaken from the American dream to be able to clearly see the United States as important inspiration, whether positive or negative. In addition, the book aims to point out possibilities offered by the renaissance of territorial studies as an approach to examining the world around us, which is able to combine historical, political, economic, social and cultural approaches when answering serious and complex questions. This knowledge in different territorial contexts can significantly help us in making our own choices, both those made on a daily basis as well as the important and critical ones

Intro -- Obsah -- Předmluva -- Úvod -- Kdo zaplatí životní pojistky z období holokaustu? -- Příležitost za železnou oponou -- Kampaň proti České republice, Maďarsku a Polsku -- Vznik ICHEIC -- Pojišťovnictví v meziválečném Československu -- Regulace soukromých pojišťoven -- Pád pojišťovny Fénix a jeho vliv na pojišťovací trh -- Pojišťovnictví před Mnichovem -- Hitlerův "pojišťovací" agent -- Co s válečným rizikem -- Od Mnichova k okupaci -- Politické, hospodářské a sociální změny v novém státě -- Nové poměry na pojišťovacím trhu a rozdělení vlivu -- Křišťálová noc jako pojistná událost -- Protektorát Čechy a Morava -- Správa Protektorátu -- Regulace a instituce protektorátního pojišťovnictví -- Konsolidace a majetkové poměry protektorátního pojišťovnictví -- Vývoj životního a elementárního pojištění -- Zajištění v době války -- Když v Protektorátu hořely synagogy -- Odboj a pojišťovny -- Arizace a konfiskace pojistných smluv -- Přímá a nepřímá konfiskace pojistek -- Majetkový úřad -- Struktura arizovaných pojistek -- Závěrem -- Příloha -- Pojišťovnictví v novém Československu - říjen 1938 -- Seznam zkratek -- Seznam pramenů a literatury -- Seznam vyobrazení -- Summary -- Jmenný rejstřík -- Rejstřík pojišťoven a institucí.

The publication is the result of a three-year observation of Czech companies' relation to quality, particularly their awareness of the fact that the quality of their products is a factor of competitiveness of the entire enterprise. The research was carried out using a questionnaire survey in companies in selected sectors. Based on the research of relevant specialized literature, research questions were formulated in the field of product quality, product quality monitoring and control, degree of customer satisfaction, and competitive advantages and disadvantages. Partial analyses were carried out from 2008 to 2010, and only those questions that remained completely unchanged in the individual reporting periods were subjected to mutual comparison. In addition to the survey, the financial indicators of the individual participating companies were analyzed in each year. This enabled the authors to monitor the situation of the company not only in the context of issues of quality, but also relate the results of this survey to their actual financial success. To split the businesses into two groups according to their financial performance five indicators selected on the basis of the research literature and experience with previous similar studies on a similar subject were used

This publication represents an account of the evolution of Europe's role in international economic and political relations. We have employed a historical approach throughout the book so that we could reflect on various challenging issues. Among the most important is the rise in Europe's influence during the late Middle Ages and the early Industrial Era, the dramatic weakening of Europe in the first half of the 20th century, and its recent search for a new role in the globalized world. To make an informed contribution, we discuss a vast array of works of many prominent authors. Combining the most recent findings, this publication analyses a fascinating story of the rise and decline of Europe's important political units. To give a more comprehensive perspective on the key events and factors, a similar account of Europe's most important rivals and partners is also added. We hold that only honest and dedicated attempt at combining an institutional analysis with historically specific revelations of actors' motivations based on available historical data can enable us to understand not only the historical origins of recent developments, but also the motivations, interests, and ambitions of the most important actors, both in Europe and in the world. We strive to balance our emphasis on institutional and technological innovations with paying sufficient attention to the unique historical circumstances as well as to political power, conflicts, and war

The publication analyses and discusses legal and financial tools, including international strategies and policies, relevant to the protection of landscape character with a focus on agricultural impact in the Czech Republic. The first section summarises the available Czech literature on the subject and includes an analysis of the changes in scale of Czech farms after 1989. The second section summarises relevant financial instruments and their influence on landscape character. In the third section, a more detailed analysis of selected tools is attempted, including several case studies describing their use and impacts in practice. Section four summarises relevant international agreements, strategies, policies, and national and regional government programmes, and discusses their influence on landscape character in the Czech Republic. In the fifth section, policy changes on a national, international, and regional level favourable to landscape character are suggested. The summary in section six offers some general comments, including a plea for more effective control mechanisms and for more complex policies and strategies integrating small-scale rural renewable energy production with water and landscape character conservation and sustainable agricultural production based on local economic and biological loops

This article deals with contemporary trends within research on extremism research in Germany. Institutionalization of this research in structures of political science is described, including the international impact of this research, with specific attention paid to the situation in East Central Europe. Next, the article analyzes development within the so-called 'theory of extremism,' including new concepts elaborated by scholars (soft and hard extremism, etc.) and developments dealing with the interconnection with terrorism research. Use of results of extremism research by governmental and international institutions is identified. Finally, criticism of the concept of extremism is presented, including criticism of the concept's politicization. Adapted from the source document.

Survey-based measures of subjective well-being are more and more often analyzed cross-culturally. However, international comparison of these measures requires measurement invariance. Therefore, the major goal of this study was to investigate the cross-country comparability of the five-item subjective well-being scales used in the International Social Survey Programme (2011, 2017). This study applied both the traditional exact and the more recent Bayesian approximate approach to assess whether the subjective well-being scales were measurement invariant. The Bayesian approach detected several non‑invariant items that were problematic for cross-national comparison and could be dropped from the scales. Consequently, measurement invariance was established in all countries for the reduced scales, allowing researchers to meaningfully compare their latent mean scores and the relationships with other theoretical constructs of interest. Thus, the study highlighted the advantages of using multiple indicators and the necessity of measurement invariance testing in subjective well-being research.

The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration between territorial, societal and political aspects. The conclusion presented in this article might be used as a lesson learnt from previous mistakes in work dealing with ethnically divided societies, for which it is not sufficient to provide institutional structures without an adequate socio-political reconstruction of existing conditions. If a society is not adequately adapted to the newly-established situation, the institutional structures will not be able to fulfil their key functions completely. Furthermore, it has to be clear that any possible reconstruction of institutional bases must be attempted only with a deep consideration of specific local conditions; otherwise its sustainability is doubtful. ; The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration ...

The article analyses the evolution of the Slovak political party "Smer" (Direction) and its position in the party system of Slovak Republic. The article focuses on the shift of the party program from the "Centrist Populism" towards "Social Democracy." According to the first program documents the Party of "Smer" (Direction) was designed as pragmatic, non-ideological party. In the persistent conflict between authoritarianism vs. democracy "Smer" identified itself as the pro-democratic and pro-market force. Party policy before 2002 contained only few social democratic components; it was closer to the conservative or right-wing populist parties. After the parliamentary election 2002 and the failure of non-communist left "Smer" decided to become a member of the Socialist International (SI) and Party of European Socialists (PES). The process of the institutional approach to the international Social Democratic Party structures was accompanied by the substantial changes in the social and economic program of the party. The process was completed on the institutional level in May 2005, when Smer joined both SI and PES, and on the level of political program on the Party Congress in December 2005. In the process of so called "socialdemocratisation" of "Smer" the international factor played crucial role, especially the need to have an international partner in the European Parliament. "Smer" met the standards of the Social Democratic identity only in the social and economic affairs. The other five dimensions - environmental policy, participative democracy, cultural and human-rights dimension, supra-national dimension and the dimension of equality and freedom "Smer" met only partially or not at all, so these process remains unfinished. According to some political declarations "Smer" remains the populist party and the uncompromising critic of the right-wing government of Mikuláš Dzurinda, on the other side the official documents of the party anticipate only the moderate corrections of the economical and social reforms, ...

This article traces the effect of socio-economic, cultural, and gender factors on the reproduction of educational inequalities in access to tertiary education in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Sweden. Single- country analyses conducted to date on the Czech Republic have reached conflicting results both on the development of educational inequalities since the fall of socialism and on the weight of the factors behind those inequalities. Also, no international comparison has been conducted. Thus, the authors pursue two new directions of inquiry: 1) an international comparison, and 2) an update of the development of inequalities in all the mentioned countries since 2002. The authors used multi-dimensional statistical methods (logit models and a log-linear analysis) and the most recent available international data from the European Social Survey. The results revealed that out of all the countries studied it is in the Czech Republic that access to tertiary education is currently determined most by the cultural component of social background (the father's education). The country closest to the Czech Republic in this regard is Switzerland. The educational status of the family is also a crucial factor in educational reproduction in Sweden. Paradoxically, in the countries that historically and geographically are closest to the Czech Republic, namely, Poland and Germany, the crucial determinant in the transmission of educational status is the father's class.

Every country in the world is currently trying to reduce opportunities for corruption in the country. Fighting corruption is very challenging and difficult. The corruption occurs primarily in the public sector, where the object of interest is funding from public sources. Corruption has a negative impact primarily on the economy of the state in terms of their current, but also potential investors and strategic partners in the area of production. Second, it can not ignore the negative impact on the society, respectively citizens of the state affected by corruption. The paper aims to quantify the interdependence between the Corruption perception index and selected indicators of economic health in selected countries of the European Union. In terms of proven relationship between defined variables can then infer the interdependence of achieved Corruption perception index value in selected EU countries and to determine whether are these states in the problem unified or differentiated.