Suchergebnisse

This book brings a new perspective of the United States, which arose from the necessity to overcome both uncritically admiring as well as uncritically condemning approaches. This new approach is based on a deeper understanding of the inner diversity, contradictions and quarrels within American politics and society. This offers unexpected possibilities of transatlantic cooperation in new areas and enriches the public debate about the course of the Czech Republic. It is necessary to awaken from the American dream to be able to clearly see the United States as important inspiration, whether positive or negative. In addition, the book aims to point out possibilities offered by the renaissance of territorial studies as an approach to examining the world around us, which is able to combine historical, political, economic, social and cultural approaches when answering serious and complex questions. This knowledge in different territorial contexts can significantly help us in making our own choices, both those made on a daily basis as well as the important and critical ones

Purpose of the article: Current students of Czech and Slovak universities have lived most of their lives in the separate Czech/Slovak Republic, in new political, economic and technological conditions and also in a more intensive contact with members of other cultures than the previous generations. This could have affected their self-identification, national sentiments and attitudes to the EU. There is minimum empirical knowledge answering the question whether this hypothesis is right. The aim of the research was to contribute to the reduction of this deficit in knowledge and provide a starting point for further, more extensive, studies. Methodology/methods: The research used a sample of 134 Czech and 119 Slovak students of economy oriented universities. The research data were collected by means of a questionnaire, providing us with quantitative and qualitative data. The results were processed separately for the Czech sample and the Slovak sample and then compared. Scientific aim: The aim of the research was: (1) to explore the extent of national pride of young Czech and Slovak students of economy oriented universities as well as their identification with their country; (2) to explore the young Czech and Slovak students' opinions on the entry of their country in the EU and what they expect from the EU membership in the future; (3) to compare responses of Czech and Slovak respondents and identify the differences in their sentiments and attitudes to the EU.
Findings: The research has revealed some differences in the extent of Czech and Slovak students' identification with the regional units where the respondents live and in the perception of the contribution the entry of their country in the EU could bring. The expectations of both groups of respondents mainly concern better standards of living and a better economic situation of inhabitants. Conclusions: Generally, the results indicate that the attitudes of the students of the selected economy oriented faculties to EU membership are related to the perception of economic benefits and contributions to personal development and success at the labour market on the one hand, and on the other hand, to the perception of personal identity formed in the context of the country's historical development. It means, these are not mere results of rational calculations - the results indicate that even the generation of young, economy educated people who grew in new conditions shares the sentiments connected with their national identity. Due to the size of the sample set, the results cannot be considered valid for the entire population of students of economy oriented Czech and Slovak universities. The purpose of the research was to provide basic empirical knowledge, mainly of qualitative character, that will form a starting point for further, more extensive studies.

A reply to Jan Keller (2007), Jaroslaw Kilias (2006), & Johann Arnason (2007) as critical reviewers of Machonin's Ceska spolecnost a sociologicke poznani. Problemy spolecenske transformace a modernizace od poloviny sedesatych let 20. stoleti do soucasnosti ([The Czech Society and Sociological Knowledge. Problems of Social Transformation and Modernization from the Mid 1960s to the Present] Prague: ISV, 2005). Keller's critique is found to be fed by his personal, 'hyperskeptical' & overly pessimistic, view of modernization. Kilias misreads the book in the context of his own theoretical-methodological conceptions. Arnason's criticism is discussed in more detail, addressing the following issues: (1) the variety & diversity of epistemological approaches in sociological research, (2) the liberal thought in classical Marxism & the notions of social liberalism & democratic socialism, (3) the theory of multiple modernities, & (4) the concept & term 'state socialism' & the question whether state socialism, as practiced in the Soviet bloc countries, qualifies as a special type of modernity.

This short study provides a comparative analysis of Anglo-Saxon scientific literature (in the form of monographs, articles from reviewed periodicals, Internet sources) in which the phenomenon of coup d'état is the primary subject of research interest. The main goals of this text are (1) to increase awareness of research into coup d'état as an essential phenomenon in the sphere of transitology among Czech political science students, and (2) to present solutions to the terminological problems relating to this political science discipline. To achieve these goals, the text presents a coherent terminological concept of coup d'état based on a semantic analysis of the disparate literature of Anglo-Saxon provenance, in which research into coup d'état has reached an advanced level of knowledge ; This short study provides a comparative analysis of Anglo-Saxon scientific literature (in the form of monographs, articles from reviewed periodicals, Internet sources) in which the phenomenon of coup d'état is the primary subject of research interest. The main goals of this text are (1) to increase awareness of research into coup d'état as an essential phenomenon in the sphere of transitology among Czech political science students, and (2) to present solutions to the terminological problems relating to this political science discipline. To achieve these goals, the text presents a coherent terminological concept of coup d'état based on a semantic analysis of the disparate literature of Anglo-Saxon provenance, in which research into coup d'état has reached an advanced level of knowledge

The article identifies the most important controversies related to public opinion polls on electoral preferences, explains their substance, & discusses their impact on the possibility to use information obtained in the surveys. The article further focuses on the importance of surveys for representative democracy, the impact of the publication of opinion polls' results on public opinion, the possibilities of manipulating surveys, the risks related to the growth of research production (high non-response rate & the growth of survey costs, non-transparency of the market, incorrect application of advanced data analyses), the limits to election forecasting, & issues related to the relationship between research & journalism. Opinion polls contribute to shaping the environment for political competition. The nature of their impact is determined by their quality. Serious risks are associated with the possibility for intentional manipulation, poor quality of the survey process, & misinterpretation of results. Knowledge on research, publication of contextual information together with the survey data, & free competition in the market can help reduce the risks. The possibilities for quantification in social research do not remove the obligation to ensure sound theoretical grounding & qualified judgment, which are the prerequisites for the credibility of all conclusions drawn from the data. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.