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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.

The author analyzes the controversial concept of globalization from its technological, political, cultural, economic, & social aspects. He refers to S. Huntington, & also to J. Gray, & uses P. Chatterjee's arguments on nationalist strategy & politics. Jameson concludes that combination, social collective, & global regulation are at the core of all strategically successful responses to the globalization trends. Adapted from the source document.

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.

Religion & religious communities as active components of each social & cultural set & as major factors in its functioning may contribute to social processes & relations or affect them both integrationally & disintegrationally. The paper lays out the theoretical & methodological grounds (functionalism) for the analysis of these processes & relations. As the examples of the integrational influence on the social & political processes in Croatia following all the social & political changes, we can mention the activities of the Catholic church (particularly in the Diaspora) &, to a degree, those of the Pentecostal church, while the disintegrational influence was exemplified by the activities of the Serbian Orthodox church. The text also includes a comparative analysis of the empirical data obtained from two studies carried out in Croatia (based on several partial indicators), which indicate a marked turn towards religiosity. Highlighted are possible individual & social aspects of these changes as well as the need for a complex & systematic monitoring of the religious developments in Croatia, the results of which might point to the possible integrational or disintegrational potentials of this "new religiosity" within a broader social framework. 4 Tables, 9 References. Adapted from the source document.

The paper looks into the justifiability of cirticisms levelled at the role of the World Bank. The meaning & guidelines of two major legal & economic reforms in Croatia are outlined: the changes in labour laws & the implementation of pension reform. The first part of the text deals with the role of deregulation policy, which has probably improved labour market flexibility, but also significantly increased job insecurity. The second part is devoted to the pension reform as an example of privatizing public service sector. The paper investigates the goals of the World Bank as well as the local reform participants. The final part of the paper offers brief conclusions. The main argument is that the described structural accommodations have been designed primarily with the criterion of economic efficiency in mind while the social aspects have been systematically overlooked. 2 Tables, 4 Figures, 47 References. Adapted from the source document.

The article presents the results of the research on the reporting about the minorities in Croatian dailies between 2001 & 2003. Besides a review of the existing relevant international & Croatian studies, there is a special focus on the aspects of journalistic selection that vitally influence the readers' ultimate perceptions. The basic findings of the research show that the issues concerning the minorities are predominantly presented as political topics, & reported in journalistic forms with hardly any analytical articles. The representatives of the authorities & the media workers still regard the minority issues as the political ones. The politicians & state officials do this by means of their activities & programs under the pressure of various segments of the public, while journalists do this mainly because of the restrictions of the editorial policies & their paper's profile. At the same time, the representatives of the minorities as a rule do not know how to foist their issues on the media & to focus more on the cultural, social & other aspects of their life, which is vital for their full social integration & their positive public image. 3 Illustrations, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

The article presents the results of the research on the reporting about the minorities in Croatian dailies between 2001 & 2003. Besides a review of the existing relevant international & Croatian studies, there is a special focus on the aspects of journalistic selection that vitally influence the readers' ultimate perceptions. The basic findings of the research show that the issues concerning the minorities are predominantly presented as political topics, & reported in journalistic forms with hardly any analytical articles. The representatives of the authorities & the media workers still regard the minority issues as the political ones. The politicians & state officials do this by means of their activities & programs under the pressure of various segments of the public, while journalists do this mainly because of the restrictions of the editorial policies & their paper's profile. At the same time, the representatives of the minorities as a rule do not know how to foist their issues on the media & to focus more on the cultural, social & other aspects of their life, which is vital for their full social integration & their positive public image. 3 Illustrations, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

The concept of new information technologies of modifications & processing information is taking on new proportions. The new possibilities in data processing have had far-reaching consequences. Relations in certain human activities as well as in the society on the whole have been changing. Today it would be possible to ensure such an interaction in which an individual & a group have equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of communal life. The pronounced political illusionism has created a wider gap between the real & the virtual. The information-based production requires greater interaction than in the previous, industrial era. Adapted from the source document.

The concept of new information technologies of modifications & processing information is taking on new proportions. The new possibilities in data processing have had far-reaching consequences. Relations in certain human activities as well as in the society on the whole have been changing. Today it would be possible to ensure such an interaction in which an individual & a group have equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of communal life. The pronounced political illusionism has created a wider gap between the real & the virtual. The information-based production requires greater interaction than in the previous, industrial era. Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses some aspects of continuity and change in Croatian society. The first part, entitled "A Synoptic View of the Croatian Society Today", gives a bird's-eye-view of the Croatian society -- its social structure, dominant values, main repetitive processes: cooperation, competition, conflict, and main processes of social change: modernization and re-traditionalization. It shows the simultaneous effect of forces of continuity and tendencies to change. The second part, entitled "Dominant Values of Croatian Society", presents dominant values on three levels of centeredness: individual (individualism and utilitarianism), national (the "heroic codex") and societal (radical egalitarianism, authoritarianism and solidarity). The war has not introduced significant changes into the value system, apart from a more prominent and generalized "heroic codex" and solidarity. Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses some aspects of continuity and change in Croatian society. The first part, entitled "A Synoptic View of the Croatian Society Today", gives a bird's-eye-view of the Croatian society -- its social structure, dominant values, main repetitive processes: cooperation, competition, conflict, and main processes of social change: modernization and re-traditionalization. It shows the simultaneous effect of forces of continuity and tendencies to change. The second part, entitled "Dominant Values of Croatian Society", presents dominant values on three levels of centeredness: individual (individualism and utilitarianism), national (the "heroic codex") and societal (radical egalitarianism, authoritarianism and solidarity). The war has not introduced significant changes into the value system, apart from a more prominent and generalized "heroic codex" and solidarity. Adapted from the source document.

This text is a polemical contribution to the debate on positivism & postpositivism in the study of international relations. It focuses on four aspects rendering Louzek's defense of positivism rather flimsy: first, the untenability of the positivism-normativism dichotomy. Second, a more detailed analysis of theories incorrectly grouped with normativism. Third is an analogous analysis of positivistic theories, & particularly their claims to an epistemologically neutral access to reality, & fourth, we discuss Louzek's ambivalent attitude to modernity, particularly to the notion of progress. Adapted from the source document.