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EU programme documents designed to influence the social policies of the member states are filled with concepts of social exclusion and social inclusion. This paper aims to clarify these concepts as they are employed in academic and public policy discourse and to discuss the societal function of this discourse and the impact of the European agenda of social inclusion. The authors show that although concepts of social exclusion and social inclusion are far from straightforward in meaning, their influence on public policy discourse and agenda is evident. The reason is that they redirect social policy towards a multidimensional approach, towards balancing rights and obligations, and towards more complex but also local and individualised policies, though the corresponding discourse bears the normative features of a social 'vision'. The EU's social policy agenda exhibits aspirations towards and some potential for achieving real policy change. On the other hand, there are reservations about its true impact. In this respect, the specifi c societal and political context of its implementation plays a crucial role.

This article, published in connection with the recent death of Otis Dudley Duncan (16 November 2004), sets out to provide a critical summary of the development - from its beginnings in the 1960s up to its final revision & modification in 1983 - of the socio-psychological model of the status attainment process. The article not only looks at the classic model of the social stratification process of Blau & Duncan, but also examines the influence of one of the founders of the socio-psychological branch of the study of social stratification, W. H. Sewell. Special attention is devoted to the development of the so-called Wisconsin model, primarily the work of William H. Sewell & his student, Robert M. Hauser, who, while as a student of Duncan also, considerably contributed to the use of structural modelling in sociology. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the main critical reactions to the socio-psychological model emphasising the 'allocational' paradigm of interpretation of the reproduction of social inequalities. The article should primarily help students of sociology gain an orientation in the massive amount of often poorly accessible literature on one of the most cited of sociology's 'products'.

The article describes the development of Czech social policy & the issues that have surrounded it since 1989. The author begins by describing the character of the communist welfare state & outlining its theoretical alternatives. Despite the introduction of energetic changes during the early years of transition, since the mid-1990s the area of social policy has been dominated by stagnation, & instead of any real & specific efforts in this area there are only debates. Despite all the problems that plague the current social policy, at present the system performs satisfactorily, as is evident in the very low rate of poverty. However, in the long run, concerns may arise over inadequate family situations, a frozen pension system, & poor work motivation. The 'reform' year of 2005 has seen the emergence of many different efforts relating to social policy, but it has not heralded any substantial changes aimed at a more efficient functioning of the system.

The article focuses on the academic discourse of social cohesion, from general theories of social integration through to the definitions, measurement methods, and basic analytical concepts. The authors identify two degrees of universality with respect to the use of the concept of social cohesion: 1) the creation and preservation of social order in general, and 2) the study of particular mechanisms of social cohesion (civic participation, the effectiveness of cooperation, etc.). The first part differentiates between different general social theories according to how they approach the question of integration (norms/procedures and structures/relations), and the second part reviews the most important empirical approaches to the study of cohesion at the micro- and society-wide levels and the indicators used in these approaches. The authors distinguish between approaches 'integration from the bottom up' (e.g. factors of in-group cohesion) and the enlarged multidimensional, normative/relational 'good society approach' to macro-social cohesion. In conclusion, the authors propose a conceptual framework for studying the social cohesion of Czech society broadly based on the 'good society' approach, which they further elaborate in terms of reciprocity and universally applicable rules. This multidimensional conceptual framework encompasses the vertical dimension of social inequalities and civic rights and the horizontal dimension of collective social capital, especially its bridging form.

This article provides a look at the main turning points in research on educational inequalities, both at the level of the fi eld's subject matter and its methodology. The text focuses on authors and concepts that in their time constituted a major innovation, signifi cantly advancing analysis and knowledge in the fi eld of research on educational inequalities. In the article the authors propose viewing researchers in the fi eld of educational inequalities through the lens of their era and in relation to the major turning points between them, which can be identifi ed in terms of subject matter and methodology, and even chronologically. The authors define three basic periods, and for each one present two key concepts. The first period is represented by the basic model of the stratification process and by the socio-psychological model. The second period is characterised by the concept of educational allocation and the theory of 'maximally maintained inequality' (MMI). Presented for the third period are the multinomial transition model and the theory of 'effectively maintained inequality' (EMI). Across these stages of development the authors highlight three of the cited concepts as ground-breaking methodological innovations (the basic model of the stratification process, the concept of educational allocation, and the multinomial transition model) and the other three as innovations in subject matter (interpretive), though closely tied to the advancement of quantitative methods used in the analysis of educational inequalities (the socio-psychological model and the MMI and EMI theories).

The author, a Czech social anthropologist who returned home from exile in order to help in the introduction of his discipline, writes a field report in which he describes in relative detail the vicissitudes of Czech social anthropology during the last thirteen postcommunist years. Even though lecturing on social anthropology became common in Czech universities, the institutionalization of the discipline encounters stiff resistance from the conservative academic establishment. Social anthropology gets support in new provincial universities (Pardubice, Plzen) & only very reluctantly in Prague (Charles U). As a result, Czech protagonists of social anthropology are scattered throughout various institutions. Nevertheless, the author concludes, social anthropology has become known in the Czech Republic as a dynamic part of the social sciences. Grant agencies have given support to fieldwork projects on minorities, political culture, & identity problems during the transformation process. If the momentum gained during the recent years were to be sustained, social anthropology has a bright future on the Czech academic scene.

On 2 January 2020, the Government of the Czech Republic submitted a bill to the Chamber of Deputies amending the Labor Code. The bill was sent to deputies as press 689/0 on 2 January 2020. The proposed amendment to the Labor Code was compiled by the Ministry of Labor and Social Aff airs of the Czech Republic, among other objectives, with the aim of achieving compliance with national legislation with EU regulations and case law. The proposed amendment to the Labor Code should explicitly regulate the conditions for the transfer of the employer's activities, and further specify the conditions for giving notice by an employee pursuant to Section 51a of the Labor Code when transferring rights and obligations from employment relationships. It is precisely in the issue of conditions for the transfer of the employer's activities that the current legal regulation has been repeatedly criticized due to insuffi cient use of EU legislation for the national legal regulation of the transfer of rights and obligations from labor relations.

The post discusses some issues with proving intelectuall and mental maturity of juveniles. In the introduction author briefl y deals with reasons of the adoption of The Juvenile Justice Act and corresponding relative adoption of criminal responsibility of juveniles. Distinctive theoretical attitudes are not omitted with this conception of criminal responsibility. Also the adolescence process is analysed in the brief including factors directly infl uencing this process. Another chapter is dedicated to the examination of the mental state of the juveniles and determination of the degree of their mental maturity by expert's investigation. In this context some factual problems and drawbacks common to the criminal proceeding are pointed out. These issues are demonstrated in the examples from practice. The next part is about proving bio-psycho-social level of the juvenile. The standard procedure of the law enforcement authorities for proving intelectuall and mental maturity of juveniles is described, including possible drawbacks and the opinion of the courts regarding this topic. At the end author summarizes outputs of the individual chapters, including consideration of possible change de lege ferenda.