Suchergebnisse

The article aims to analyse the evolution of governmental policy in regard to football-related violence in Poland. The investigation is seen through a broader political prism of the country's modernization efforts that were symbolically framed by two major events: the partially free parliamentary elections in 1989 and the finals of Euro 2012 co-hosted by Poland. The paper offers a discussion on policy dynamics stemmed from politicization and instrumentalization of the complex problem of hooliganism. By doing so, it demonstrates how, under external political pressure and in search for internal popularity, the governments introduced superficial legal and institutional solutions thoughtlessly imitating policies adopted in other countries (mainly England), and how this approach led to masking and sidelining social problems rather than offering actual solutions.

This article aims to compare two aspects of the education systems in two East European countries. As the political history of the Czech Republic & Poland in the past fifty years is similar, the authors compare the countries' development in tackling educational inequalities & attempt to evaluate their policies & reforms from the beginning of socialism to date. Despite many similarities & identical outcomes in the past (no effect in lowering levels of educational inequalities), these countries undertook two different approaches to the transformation of higher education after 1989. The specific current developments in higher education in the Czech Republic & Poland have been caused by conservative & reserved legislation in the former & the creation of new, very liberal rules for establishing non-state higher education institutions in the latter. As there emerged a considerable difference in the number of higher education institutions in each country, the authors show the negative impact on educational inequalities & the social consequences of the enormous increase in the number of students & private universities. Despite different approaches, the countries face many similar problems, such as quality assurance, a shortage of staff, & information asymmetry. These problems seem to be sharper in Poland, but it is only a matter of time for the Czech Republic.

Part I - Female Fandom: Theoretical and Empirical Investigation 1 Researching Female Fandom 2 Theorising Female Fandom Part II - The Local Context of Development of Female Fandom 3 History of Football (Male) Fandom in Poland 4 Transformation of Women's Status and Gender Relations in Poland 5 How Can We Explore Female Fandom? Part III - Performing Female Fandom in the Male Reservoir 6 Women's Initiation into Football Fandom: Men as Brokers 7 Female Fans at Football Matches 8 Reasons for Attending Football Matches 9 Participation in Fandom Culture 10 Female Fans as Customers 11 Perception of a Football Stadium as (Social) Space for Women Part IV - Female Fans in the Eyes of Others: Male and Football Stakeholders Perspective 12 The Response of Male Fans to the Growing Number of Females in Football Stands 13 Female Fans in the View of Other Football Stakeholders.

Since the 1990s there has been a growing number of female supporters following football clubs and there is little doubt that they have recently become an important part of the audience for both football authorities and clubs. The process of football's feminisation is neither simple nor is it taking place in a social vacuum, and female fans are encountering well-institutionalised football fandom culture, which is deeply entrenched in stadium rituals. This paper offers an empirical study of roles assigned to women in football fandom culture and the way in which this has been done in order reproduce a "traditional" social order on the Polish football stands. In doing so, it examines the grass-roots ultras' magazine To My Kibice (We are the fans) that belongs to an increasingly popular type of fan magazine, which was developed from popular homemade football fanzines in the 1980s. The analyses provide evidence that female supporters are either marginalised (not being counted as regular fans), patronised or instrumentalised by their male peers. These strategies are visible both in language and in the social contexts in which women on the stands are described.

The paper investigates the approaches employed for attracting international full-degree students in three countries on the periphery of Europe/the European Economic Area: Norway, Poland and Portugal. These countries, considered semi-peripheral regarding international student recruitment, have shorter traditions for incoming mobility than countries that are major recruiters and which have been the focus of previous research on attracting international students. The paper analyses national policies and strategies, focusing on their emergence, rationales and instruments. The study is comparative, aiming to find commonalities and differences in the approaches of these countries further to the changing global environment in higher education. The major finding is that semi-peripheral countries appear to employ different strategies and resort to other comparative advantages than the largest student recruiters, exploiting political, cultural or geographical aspects rather than educational assets. The findings highlight the need for these countries to identify their distinctive attraction capacities and assets, as well as to be purposeful in choosing their target recruitment regions ; This paper has been developed with support for a postdoctoral fellowship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Grant Number SFRH/BPD/85724/2012 and with support from the Polish National Research Council (NCN) through its research Grant (UMO-2013/10/M/HS6/00561). ; acceptedVersion