Suchergebnisse

The article examines the deliberation of
higher education (HE) scholars and practitioners on
research issues in the HE field, which has taken into
account the complexity of current trends of deglobalisation and changing characteristics of globalisation.
More precisely, the article offers a systematic review of
the ideas developed by focus group participants (FGPs)
from different parts of the world while debating internationalisation, globalisation and Europeanisation
with respect to the field of HE. These FGPs agreed that:
1) theoretical definitions used by academics and practitioners are currently socially constructed in a biased
way (in favour of the Anglo-North American point of
view); 2) academic research (notably conceptual definitions) must better take into account the issues contextually and dynamically across time and space; and
3) that HE research is in the stage when a more theoretically refined and a methodologically stronger new
global wave of empirical research is required for further
advancement of theorising and practitioners' work.
Keywords: higher education, methods, theory, definitions, globalisation, internationalisation, Europeanisation

Dementia – a reason for deinstitutionalisation

Dementia is often the ultimate argument for the need of institutions. However, dementia is not a "disease" that would need an institutional care, and institutions are not an environment of decisive advantage, and the placement in an institution is not the result of a "deterioration" of the state – it is a consequence of the discontinuity of the system, the lack of intensive services in the community, the "drama of institutionalisation" accompanied by reification of human beings and encouraged by the quest for profit. Quite the contrary, institutions can be described as a "machine of oblivion", a foundation of alienation, passivation and intensification of the very difficulties that are usually attributed to the disease process. On the basis of this critique, the author sketches specific elements of deinstitutionalisation in the case of dementia and proposes a heuristic theorem for the research and action in this field. The transition to the community means transforming the modelling of dementia, providing a safe space, adequate intensity of support, a conjunction of informal care and professional interventions, enabling alternative subjectivity and new solidarity. Research and action in the field of dementia should stem from the life-world of so labelled people, and transversely address the variety of plateaus of action. It should focus on the equally transversal phenomena of supplanting the loss of subjectivity and territorial insertion, while also addressing the more fundamental issues of the bifurcation of contemplative and action identity.

The article examines agenda-setting factors in Kosovo concerning the war in Ukraine. Due to the complex situation in the Western Balkans and the context of the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, the presented research explains the role played by television in the hybrid media environment as the most important source of information in the crisis. The research looks at how television has impacted how the public views the war in Ukraine, and how it has covered the situation both before and after the invasion. A mixed methodology consisting of a questionnaire, television monitoring, content analysis, and desk research was thus adopted on the empirical level. On this level, 716 news stories were analysed between 1 February and 31 March 2022 and a survey with 1,312 respondents from Kosovo was conducted in April and May 2022 to identify different agents in the agenda setting and how that works with respect to the war in Ukraine. The research results show that the war in Ukraine has dominated the agenda of television stations in Kosovo, while the effects of their reporting vary according to the audience's demographic characteristics. Keywords: agenda setting, framing, Kosovo, public opinion, Ukraine, war

Perceptions of professional identity and its formation during education at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana

Professional identity in social work can be described as a collection of identifiable and enduring professional qualities of social workers that bind them together as a professional group and make them different and unique compared to other professional groups. As the social work profession is devalued and stigmatized around the world, exploring the processes involved in developing a strong and positive professional identity is of great importance. The need to explore social work professional identity has been recognized in some places abroad and has mainly focused on researching professional identity formation during social work education. This paper presents findings on the definition and role of professional identity in social work, focusing on professional identity formation during education at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. Qualitative research on social work students' perceptions of professional identity is presented, as well as suggestions for a more frequent and discrete treatment of the topic during the education of future social workers.

Abstract. Crisis response planning can never fully prevent a certain amount of improvisation given that, in some cases, it is necessary, if not even desirable. This article analyses the research question on the relationship between crisis planning and improvisation in theory and with respect to the Covid-19 epidemic in Slovenia. Despite existing systemic recommendations, normative and to some extent operational crisis preparedness, our analysis of the country's response reveals improvisation in several key elements: planning, decision-making, coordination and crisis communication. The quite considerable improvisation seen with the epidemic is the outcome of its unexpected dimensions, the absence of a comprehensive crisis management plan, and individual actors' insufficient crisis management competences. It has been reflected in the establishing of specialised ad hoc structures, overnight decisions and their sudden reversals, and often in inconsistent and inappropriate communication with the public. Keywords: preparedness, improvisation, planning, decision-making, coordination, crisis communication, Covid-19 epidemic

The specific characteristics of life course and past experiences of LGBT+ old people require knowledge and awareness on the part of carers. In this paper, an international perspective to shed light on key issues in the field of inclusive care for LGBT+ older people is used, with a particular focus on the Slovenian context, drawing extensively on the findings of the European project "Being me" (2018–2020). In the project, we aimed to explore best practice in the area of education and to develop online learning materials and tools for social and health care workers. Among the principles and approaches that guided our research, the focus was put on intersectionality, resilience, strengths perspective, life stories, and collaboration with LGBT+ old people in all phases of the project.

Abstract. Childhood is socially constructed, depending on social, economic and cultural circumstances. Poverty, social differences, conflicts, and social injustice have a negative impact on children's lives. The aim of the article is to present childhoods under conditions of exploitation. Despite general progress, and the emancipation of children's rights, data confirm an increase in the number of children who are engaged in war conflicts, perform difficult and inappropriate work, or in slavery. In conclusion, the exploitation of children is considered in the context of social conditions and processes, neoliberal capitalism, globalisation, and documents that guarantee children's rights.
Keywords: childhood, exploitation, children's rights, social inequalities, globalisation

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on older people's lives on a global scale but for some marginalised communities have seen a marked exacerbation of health and other inequalities. Research has highlighted the impact of the pandemic on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) people's lives, but less has been documented about the experiences of LGBT+ older communities and how their specific needs have been mediated. Community-based advocacy organisations are central to promoting LGBT+ human rights in the UK through its social movements, and this paper explores their role and significance during a distinct period of the UK mandatory isolation. Drawing on a case study approach based on qualitative interviews with six key LGBT+ community organisations in the UK, we captured their insights into how they navigated support for older people when faced with limited resources and the challenges posed by mandatory physical and social distancing. We position these events in current discourse about structural and health inequalities for LGBT+ ageing in the UK.

Discussions of political metaphors provide fertile grounds for understanding issues in political theory and political practice. The article departs from the established theoretical and methodological approaches to political metaphor (e.g., classical, conceptual, hermeneutical, cognitive) to introduce (post)structuralist and (post)Marxist methodological and theoretical bases. It maintains that the established approaches to the study of functionalities and ontologies of political metaphors are possible, primarily by researching their functioning in political discourses and as events in the power/truth dispositive. Metaphors can be researched as specific political technologies (strategies of power) that influence/create regimes of truth. Keywords: political metaphors, political theory, linguistic theory, political discourse, power, knowledge

Abstract. Many risks are associated with the Covid-19 crisis and related lockdown measures in the areas of employment, the economy, and everyday life. Working parents have faced the challenge of combining their work and family obligations following the closure of schools and kindergartens. A considerable number have encountered a bigger risk of unemployment and the linked financial instability. The extensive literature analysing changes during Covid-19 suggests that women have tended to suffer more, been faced with both less stability since their employment statuses appear to be more precarious, and been disproportionally affected by the heavier burden of balancing family care and work obligations. Our own analysis of the most reliable survey data available shows corresponding changes in Slovenia, confirming that the crisis reveals certain less visible, already existing inequalities along with particular new gender inequalities, and in this respect also presents specific research design conditions for assessing otherwise hidden disparities. The results indicate the consequences for the subjective well-being of women compared to men of the more precarious employment and the stronger demand for family care. Keywords: Covid-19, gender inequalities, employment flexibility, work from home, family care, life satisfaction

Abstract. The article reflects on a key category introduced by Adolf Bibič
in his 1990 theoretical work Civil Society and Political Pluralism; namely,
association pluralism. Bibič introduced this concept into Slovenian political thought to grasp the diverse social and political developments of the 1980s and to open up a new view of political pluralism that moves beyond party pluralism. The author therefore asks whether the notion of associational pluralism still holds sufficient explanatory potential and is worth preserving and developing further, or whether it can be used to deal with a new social and political reality, i.e., political pluralism, which is also strongly marked by multifaceted environmental issues.
Keywords: associational pluralism, political pluralism, party pluralism,
civil society, state.

The article explores the relationships between young people's media choices,
technological preferences, and everyday life in connection to their cultural and
social characteristics. As such, it describes the conceptual framework of the media repertoires approach and selected methods. Media repertoires are approached
from a generational perspective, pointing out the conceptual and empirical challenges of such research. As one of the first attempts to conceptualise media practices at the intersection of family, educational and peer contexts, the article aims
to describe the qualitative research design of an empirical study that considered a
sample of 67 students aged 12 to 19. The sample is presented through an analysis of its sociodemographic characteristics, while personal media networks help
identify the teenagers' media preferences and their potential cross-connections.

The article is concerned with typology of differentiated author's opinions on the world economy phenomena, as internationalization, integration and globalization. The author examines, from the international political economy point of view, their differences and formulates three phases of internationalization process. The author defines also the relation of these phenomena to the process of integration and regionalization in the world economy and pays attention to frequently discussed topic of global governance as well. The author further examines the possibilities of measuring globalization process intensity on both world wide and national economy levels. The article assigns a set of characteristic features or indicators making possible to define main limits of when a given national economy can be hold as being incorporated and in what rate into the globalization process. This step of identification of globalization intensity rate is very important, as starting point, when a strategy of adaptation to globalization trends is needed to be formulated, evidently, closely with the competitiveness growth and catching-up strategy elaboration. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract. The study focused on investigating and analysing the perception
of Facebook's role, as one of the components in the field of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT), namely, social media, on the quality
of emotional interaction, particularly among individuals in their third age.
The research sample comprised 260 participants of various ages, divided
into two age groups – under 50 and over 50 years old. Participants' opinions were obtained through empirical research, employing quantitative
methods and surveys as the research technique. The research findings indicate that age influences participants' attitudes to digital communication
as a means and medium of emotional communication in various contexts.
Participants in the third age exhibit stronger reservations towards Facebook as a tool for emotional communication and are more cautious about
the use of modern communication methods offered by new social media
techniques. They are also less inclined to abandon traditional interpersonal interactions. The results reveal general distrust in the information
circulating on Facebook and underscore the advantage of maintaining
each interpersonal communication, encompassing all elements of emotional relationships beyond the realm of the Internet, or the information
mediation services offered by ICT, primarily social media.
Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies, Facebook,
third age, emotional communication, alienation.