Suchergebnisse

This thesis examines the question of organization, governance and choice of seeds in Swedish agriculture. It consists of four papers: Paper I investigates the evolution of plant breeding industry in Sweden. The results suggest that the establishment of intellectual property rights (IPRs) schemes creates power in the seed value chain in Sweden and has therefore been a major driver of mergers and acquisitions, together with changes in domestic agricultural policy as well the country´s entrance to EU. Based on nationwide survey among farmers, papers II and III examine the impact of IPRs and specifically the implications of the enforcement of Plant Breeders Rights on farmers´ choice between certified versus farm saved seed (FSS). Paper II uses transaction cost theory and logistics regression to examine empirically the governance structure of farmers choosing certified or FSS. Farmers´ assessment of the quality seed in terms of the genetic purity of each channel has no impact on their choice while personal relations with their upstream partners, investments in the farm as well as delivery contracts affect their procurement strategy. In paper III, spatial autoregressive models are used in order to analyze the transfer of "know-how" between farmers, and the spillover effects of social learning in farmers´ choice of seed channel. Farmers are distinguished between neighbors, based on their relative distance; and peers, based on membership in farmers' cooperatives. The results indicate the existence of spatial dependence on Swedish farmers' choice of seed channel. Paper IV evaluates the impact of farmers' social networks on their decision to be involved in the governance of the agricultural cooperative. The findings suggest a relationship between network characteristics and farmers' involvement in the governance that persists over a long period.

The article deals with resonance, development, and changes in various forms of atheism in the works of Czech, especially Marxist, intellectuals in the second half of the 20th century. Attention is also paid to their influence on public opinion, especially in connection with a rise in negative attitude of a large part of the Czech public towards religion. The study is based primarily on historical and discursive analyses of the works of principal authors from the 1950s to 1989. Among the authors discussed are important figures such as Ivan Sviták, Milan Machovec, and Vítězslav Gardavský.

This thesis studies political elites' beliefs about the ideal party leader. This ideal, like other human ideals, is characterized by ambivalence. The thesis explores the ambivalence expressed in party elites' leadership ideal and how it can be understood. The study draws primarily on qualitative interviews with members of the party elites in the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in Sweden. Specifically, it analyzes the "life world" of the party leaders, party secretaries, group leaders in the Swedish Parliament, and election committee chairmen. Building on classical and modern research on leadership and political parties, the thesis derives an analytical tool to guide the interviews which covers six aspects of party leadership: Characteristics, Leadership style, Tasks, Freedom of action, Representation, and Status. The empirical analysis shows that the elites' party leadership ideal is ambivalent and different across the two parties. The ambiguities can be summarized as dichotomies, where the ideal leader should encompass both sides of the dichotomy. The Social Democratic Party elites' ideal is represented by two dichotomies: the leader versus the team and the party versus the government. To bridge the ambiguities, the elite resort to the idea of "anchoring". This notion resolves conflicts between the leader and the surrounding team and the party and the government. The ideal of the Liberal Party's elites includes four dichotomies: dogmatism versus pragmatism; idea versus person; appearance (outward-looking) versus action (inward-looking); and free versus constrained. Unlike the case of the Social Democratic Party, it is less evident how the Liberal Party's elites accommodate the ambiguities. However, an emphasis on accountability and maintaining a balance between existing conflicts, partially remedies the dilemma. Also, the idea of leadership within the Liberal Party is less problematic compared to the Social Democratic Party. In sum, while the Social Democrats' ideal resembles the "friendly father figure", the Liberals' ideal is portrayed by the "superficial intellectual". The findings also indicate that the way in which the parties were established, their experience of being in government, size, ideology, and position within the party system affect their beliefs about leadership ideals.

The presented article addresses the problem of learning in democracy by children at the early educational stage. The main objective of the conducted research was to present and analyze the activities of teachers in terms of creating conditions for children to experience democratic practices in the learning process. The background of this research is a review of the contemporary considerations on the idea of democratization in relation to the education of a child at early school age in the contemporary reality. In the course of the research, the author of the study searches for the answers to questions concerning the main problem: Do and what actions undertaken by teachers during integrated classes are conducive to learning in democracy by children at early school age? As a result of the conducted qualitative research using observation of integrated classes (daily blocks of classes) hosted by primary class teachers, the author categorized teachers' actions hindering or preventing the child participation in the education process, building space for student autonomy in cognition and understanding of the world, and facilitating effective learning in the course of interaction with other participants of the educational process. In the final part, a summary was made and conclusions from the research were formulated, the inclusion of which in the practice of early school education may favor the democratization of the intellectual space of school. ; W prezentowanym artykule podjęto problem uczenia się w demokracji przez dzieci na etapie wczesnej edukacji. Głównym celem przeprowadzonych badań były przedstawienie i analiza działań nauczycieli pod kątem tworzenia przez nich warunków do doświadczania praktyk demokratycznych przez dzieci w procesie uczenia się. Tło tych badań stanowi przegląd współczesnych rozważań nad ideą demokratyzacji w odniesieniu do edukacji dziecka w młodszym wieku szkolnym we współczesnej rzeczywistości. W toku badań poszukiwano odpowiedzi na pytania skoncentrowane wokół problemu głównego: Czy i jakie działania podejmowane przez nauczycieli w czasie zajęć zintegrowanych sprzyjają uczeniu się w demokracji przez dzieci w wieku wczesno­szkolnym? W rezultacie przeprowadzonych badań jakościowych z zastosowaniem obserwacji 54 zajęć zintegrowanych (bloków dnia) prowadzonych przez nauczycielki klas początkowych, dokonano kategoryzacji działań nauczycieli utrudniających bądź uniemożliwiających dziecku partycypację w procesie kształcenia, budowanie przestrzeni dla uczniowskiej autonomii w poznawaniu i rozumieniu świata oraz efektywne uczenie się w toku interakcji z innymi uczestnikami procesu edukacyjnego. W końcowej części dokonano podsumowania oraz sformułowano wnioski z badań, których uwzględnienie w praktyce edukacji wczesnoszkolnej sprzyjać może demokratyzacji przestrzeni intelektualnej szkoły.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to analyse the relationship between ideas of philosophical anthropology and the problem of intellectual legitimacy of democracy. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: In the article I am trying to answer the question, what is the relationship between views on human nature and attitude to democracy. I analyse this problem by interpreting classic works of political thought. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The starting point is the statement: aversion to democracy arose largely from misanthropy. Democracy was not considered as intellectually legitimate regime, because it was not believed in the rationality of an ordinary person and his ability to participate responsibly in public life. This situation changes during the Enlightenment, when anthropological pessimism was undermined, and the theories underlying the idea of the intellectual legitimacy of democracy were formulated. The later course of events largely questioned these theories, but nevertheless democracy in the West is considered as the only legitimate form of government. RESEARCH RESULTS: This leads me to a view on the paradoxical nature of modern democracy. On the one hand, there is a consensus regarding the intellectual legitimacy of democracy. On the other hand, in theory and practice, the ability of ordinary people to participate reasonably in public life is commonly questioned. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The results of the analysis should prompt the political scientist to change the way of understanding the nature of modern democracy. This system is called democracy, but it seems to have less and less to do with the hopes of those authors who formulated its intellectual assumptions. ; CEL NAUKOWY: Celem tego artykułu jest analiza związku między wy‑ obrażeniami z zakresu antropologii filozoficznej a problemem intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji. PROBLEM I METODY BADAWCZE: W artykule próbuję odpowiedzieć na pytanie, jaki jest związek między poglądami na temat natury ludzkiej a sto‑ sunkiem do demokracji. Analizuję ten problem interpretując klasyczne dzieła z zakresu myśli politycznej. PROCES WYWODU: Punktem wyjścia jest konstatacja: niechęć wobec demo‑ kracji wyrastała w dużej mierze z mizantropii. Demokracja nie była uznawana za ustrój godny poparcia, ponieważ nie wierzono w racjonalność zwykłego czło‑ wieka i jego zdolność do odpowiedzialnego uczestnictwa w życiu publicznym. Ta sytuacja zmienia się w epoce Oświecenia, kiedy to podważono pesymizm antropologiczny i sformułowane zostały teorie stanowiące podstawę dla idei intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji. Późniejszy bieg wypadków w du‑ żym stopniu te teorie zakwestionował, ale mimo to demokracja na Zachodzie uznawana jest za jedyną prawomocną formę rządu. WYNIKI ANALIZY NAUKOWEJ: Analiza prowadzi do sformułowania poglądu o paradoksalnym charakterze współczesnej demokracji. Z jednej stro‑ ny, istnieje konsensus co do intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji, z dru‑ giej – w teorii i praktyce powszechnie kwestionowana jest zdolność zwykłego człowieka do rozumnego uczestnictwa w życiu publicznym. WNIOSKI, INNOWACJE, REKOMENDACJE: Wyniki analizy powinny skłonić politologa do zmiany sposobu rozumienia charakteru współczesnej demo‑ kracji. Ustrój ten nosi nazwę demokracja, ale wydaje się mieć coraz mniej wspól‑ nego z nadziejami tych autorów, którzy sformułowali jej intelektualne założenia.