This article inquires into the connection between individualisation and environmental issues. Following an introduction to the topic in the opening of the article in chapters II and III the author provides a definition of some basic concepts and asks whether and how the relationship between individualisation and environmental issues is reflected in sociological literature. In chapter IV the author formulates a general framework that in chapter V gives insight into the inconsistent conception of individualisation in environmental ideologies. The article closes with chapter VI, in which, with the aid of a theoretical sociological framework, the author formulates some themes for studying the environmental aspects of the individualised lifestyle.
When examining the gender of institutions of parenthood, lone motherhood is a key issue. In this article the author focuses on the economic implications of lone motherhood and on the strategies that women living with children without a partner develop in order to ensure their livelihood. The author begins by presenting the theoretical background and some results from European and North American research on lone motherhood. She then provides an overview of research on lone parenthood done in the Czech Republic since 1959. Finally, the author describes the qualitative study she conducted on divorced mothers. The results show how women deal economically with marital separation and which livelihood strategies they opt for. The research methodology was based on constructivist grounded theory and the technique of interviews. From the research results the author distinguishes fi ve basic strategies that can be combined and that are based on the sources that women have at their disposal. Those strategies may differ in terms of their degree of success, dependence/independence on others, and their efficacy at different points in time. The results also indicate that the success of these working strategies depends mainly on the age of the youngest child in the family and the caring responsibilities required by that age. The author argues that while for some women heading one-parent families paid work is an option that allows them to obtain a certain degree of independence and self-confidence, its efficacy depends on the context and immediate conditions in which the women find themselves. Overstressing the employment of lone mothers as a universal solution may thus lead to new dependencies.
The paper deals with the phenomenon of globalization. The author finds globalization highly questionable concept because there is deep disunity about its definition among the authors. In the first part of the paper different concepts of globalization are summed up. According to authors view there are two main approaches towards globalization -- the first considers it as (more or less lasting) integration & the second as a completely new contemporary process. The author regards globalization as a long lasting integration. But he finds that the present integration has a few specifics that are analyzed in the following part of the paper. In the consequent subchapters the author deals with two more topics -- the pros & cons of globalization & the durability of the process. The main conclusion of the paper is that globalization is a process that has been allowed by the governments by withdrawing from certain areas & thus releasing creative forces in the world markets. The process can be again (anytime) interrupted by the governments but it would bring serious consequences for the functioning of the world economy. Adapted from the source document.
The text deals with question of European state formation in research of contemporary British sociologist Perry Anderson . Its first intention focus on how modern European medieval and absolutistic states emerged. The article consists from four main parts: (1) Introduction to theory of state-formation. (2) Analysis of structural and analytical connections between state and society in author´s treatise. (3) Third main part deals with analysis of course of European state-building. On this problem we apply specific analytical model, which distinguish causes, components, progression, and impacts on state formation processes. In this case, author analyzes mechanisms of state building in feudal period 9–15th century and period of absolutistic states (16--19th century). (4) Last part is focuses on conclusion of our findings, especially on drawings specific conceptual model of this process. ; The text deals with question of European state formation in research of contemporary British sociologist Perry Anderson . Its first intention focus on how modern European medieval and absolutistic states emerged. The article consists from four main parts: (1) Introduction to theory of state-formation. (2) Analysis of structural and analytical connections between state and society in author´s treatise. (3) Third main part deals with analysis of course of European state-building. On this problem we apply specific analytical model, which distinguish causes, components, progression, and impacts on state formation processes. In this case, author analyzes mechanisms of state building in feudal period 9–15th century and period of absolutistic states (16--19th century). (4) Last part is focuses on conclusion of our findings, especially on drawings specific conceptual model of this process.
The author of this article focuses on the theoretical framework of the concept of care as a critical category of social inequality in order to outline possibilities for a redefi nition of the relationship between work and care. Gender inequalities as well as inequalities that are based on other social categories, such as class, ethnicity, nationality, geopolitical location, marital status, and so on are incorporated in the social organisation of care which retrospectively reinforces them. Feminist debate has thus far formulated demands for the recognition of caring persons mainly at the national level, but the author of the article, referring to Arlie Hochschild and Allison Weir, shows that the current challenges of global capitalism point to the need to articulate these demands in a transnational context and to embed care in the discourse of transnational justice. She critically addresses the challenges that efforts to attain recognition for caring persons by including care as a labour-market activity are confronted with owing to the current changes in the social organisation of care under global capitalism, which involves among others the employment of marginalised groups of women and women immigrants in the caring professions. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, the author formulates two normative criteria for reconceptualising care as a social engagement without subjecting it to the logic of market valuation.
This article examines the issue of the genderedness of the philosophical canon. In the theoretical part of the article the author gives evidence of the constructed nature of the philosophical canon, which in the Euro-American space is clearly androcentric. She summarises criticism to date of the philosophical canon by feminist historians of philosophy and describes the results of their research, which is directed at several areas: uncovering forgotten women philosophers of the past; analysing philosophers' views on gender; identifying the genderedness of basic philosophical categories; criticising the dualism that characterises modern philosophical discourse; and finally, making various reinterpretations of the concepts of past philosophers. Each of these approaches has particular potential and limitations, which the author seeks to identify. In the second part of the article the author presents the results of her analysis of philosophy textbooks and books on the history of philosophy published in the Czech Republic after 1990. She conducted her analysis by comparing information on women philosophers contained in the texts of the selected books with the information available in other literature (mainly English). She also employed the typological method, and she identified five 'strategies' of marginalisation of women philosophers, whereby textbooks used at Czech universities contribute to maintaining the existing philosophical canon.
The article provides an overview of the main theoretical approaches to research on educational choices and anticipated labour-market opportunities from a gender perspective. It then presents the results of three quantitative analyses of secondary data. The objective is to help facilitate a complex understanding of the mechanisms of the reproduction of gendered social structures. The genderedness of the social institutions in the education system and the labour market in relation to the socialising trends in the family is described in three parts: 1) gender segregation in employment in the context of segregation in education – the author shows that the horizontal dimension of these social institutions plays a more signifi cant role than the vertical dimension; 2) the factors that condition girls' and boys' educational aspirations and choice of schools – the author demonstrates how secondary school choices are gendered (though the analysis did not reveal the differences between the factors that infl uence girls' and boys' aspirations); 3) the factors that condition parents' educational and class aspirations for their sons and daughters – the author uncovers several aspects of the socialising effect of the reproduction of the two traditional career trajectories based on gender. In conclusion, the article answers the question of how structurally gendered expectations cohere with individual career trajectories, and based on the three analyses formulates questions for further research and offers a revised theoretical conceptualisation of gender as an analytical category.
This paper is based on a survey among 435 Czech households caring for a dependent senior in the family to inquire into the conditions and circumstances of caring for seniors in the family. The concept of 'care as a labour of love' (Graham) is contrasted with the concept of the 'defamilisation of care' (Glenn) and 'social rights for elderly care' (Fine). The author finds that more demanding family care, measured as the level of IADL or BADL, is reflected in a growing number of hours spent on family care. The author shows the significant differences in the psychological and financial burden experienced by primary caregivers in relation to how demanding the level of care required is. The article presents evidence of the existence of 'collective family care' in situations where demanding personal care for a senior is required. The participation of other family members in providing care for a senior in situations of demanding personal care demonstrates some features of family cohesion.
The author uses the concept of reconciliation processes/reconciliation issues, which is usually used in the environment of churches or in applied theological discourses respectively, in connection with the specific contribution of Christian churches to the historical settlement & reconciliation among the European states & nations after the 2nd World War, especially in Central Europe. He analyses & compares in detail the Polish-German & Czech-German issues. While thanks to the important position of the Church (or churches) in the Polish & German societies, these activities (or initiatives) met with a great response as early as the 1960s -- and gained a great importance also on the official level of the (West-)German-Polish relations, in the Czechoslovak-(West-)German relations, this factor long remained absent or entirely marginal. But after the political change(s) of 1989 the churches became involved in the shaping of the newly formed bilateral relations between the unified Germany & the successor states of former Czechoslovakia & greatly contributed to their having a deeper anchorage in Europe. The author backs up in a detailed way the relevance of this phenomenon, especially in Czech-German relations (or generally in church initiatives/activities with a German participation), but less so in the mutual relations (and initiatives) between the Central European churches. On the contrary, the previously highly visible church engagement in the Polish-German case fell off in the 1990s. The Central European churches gradually naturally realized again the advantages & difficulties of their role as a trans-national/non-state actor -- and as one of the important players of the so-called public diplomacy. This role culminated in the 1990s in connection with their social & political emancipation in the post-communist states -- and at the same time it started to dwindle in importance as a consequence of the secularization processes which accelerated considerably & often a surprisingly during the 1990s (and also in the subsequent years) in this part of Europe. Adapted from the source document.
The article presents selected results from an ethnographic study on the (re)production of gender in the classroom. In this analysis, gender is conceived as a principle manifested in interactions, a principle that structures the lives of individuals and the collective, and not as a complex of essential characteristics of an individual. Gender is analysed in relation to other categories like age and ethnicity. These represent additional re/constructed categories that influence social inequality. These categories tend to be viewed as natural sources of social difference and the legitimisation of inequalities. An analysis of the ways in which these categories are activated in the social fi eld makes it possible to go beyond the boundaries of research on the reifi cation of these categories. In this article, the author shows how these categories intertwine and connect and how the interplay between them is manifested in the behaviour and strategies of various actors, i.e. students, in the classroom.
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.
The article investigates the practice of female marriages in 19th century Great Britain and United States and argues that female marriages provided model for more progressive forms of the legal marriage between men and women. Unlike homosexuality in the 20th century, the same-sex relationships between women in the 19th century often enjoyed social recognition and some women in female marriages occupied prominent social positions. Because they were considered to rest on contract, female marriages served as inspiration for the contractual view of marriage advocated by many supporters of the Victorian marriage reform. The contribution of women in female couples to the success of the marriage reform was further underlined by their belonging to influential social networks. The author also argues that while the structuralist anthropology of mid-20th century, represented through the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss, had limited understanding of homosexuality as a socially legitimate phenomenon, the Victorian anthropology of the second half of the 19th century was relatively more open regarding the same-sex relationships. It is contended that authors as diverse as Henry Maine, Johann Bachofen, or Frederick Engels provided impulses in their work both for a positive evaluation of the same-sex relationships and for a more egalitarian understanding of marriage.
The aim of this article is to provide insight into the circumstances of long-term unemployed graduates of (mostly) non-GCSE vocational programmes from the perspective of their transition to adulthood. The analytical framework used for this research is life course theory, according to which it is possible to approach the transition from youth to adulthood as a multiple transition. This point corresponds well with reality because young people follow at least three trajectories on their way to adulthood: from school to work, from family of origin to family of procreation, and from dependence to independence. The data necessary for the analysis were collected through repeated biographical and semi-structured interviews with 14 long-term unemployed graduates of non-GCSE vocational programmes and 6 employed graduates of vocational programmes as a reference group. Their implicit theories of adulthood, progress on the path to adulthood, and everyday strategies were examined in a qualitative data analysis, with special attention paid to contextual aspects. As for the dominant form of transition, the author found that long-term unemployment has a delaying impact on the transition to adulthood, above all owing to financial strain. These people suffer from prolonged economical dependency on their parents and remain at the threshold of the socially constructed path to adulthood. Typically there social status is vague.
The transformation of the social institution of the family in an individualised society is tied also to other demands and expectations relating to parenthood, and fatherhood is no exception in this regard. This article focuses on fathers who have accepted the modern norm of fatherhood and have played an active role by personally caring for their children, in particular, as primary carers during their period of parental leave. The entry of fathers into a sphere our culture has traditionally defi ned as belonging to women necessarily raises one basic question – 'What does the experience of caring for their children mean in the minds of fathers?' – which contains an entire series of other more specifi c questions: How do these men interpret fatherhood? Is the experience of caring for their children refl ected in how these men construct gender identities and what does this mean from the perspective of the production of gender and gender relations? Interviews based on a prepared scenario were conducted on a sample of twenty families in which the father had taken parental leave, and the resulting data was analysed with the aid of grounded theory in an effort to answer the questions outlined above. Of particular interest in the analysis are the interpretative frameworks that the actors employ in their perception of experienced reality and to what outcome or how much are common gender perceptions disrupted in their outlook. The author applies the constructivist perspective of making gender, which permits a focus on the similarities and differences between men and women and within those categories. The fi ndings contribute to the understanding of the construction of fatherhood in this group of fathers, of gender and gender relations, and of how gender stereotypes operate on the micro level of Czech society.
