DEMOKRACIA • Stav – Kontexty – Perspektívy

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Soňa Šnircová

This textbook has been designed as supporting material for the postgraduate course on modern trends in European literature. It focuses on the presentation of five modern literary modes of writing: the realistic mode which was brought to its prominence by the nineteenth-century Realist movement; the stream-of-consciousness and ‘absurdist’ modes which were developed in the context of modernism; and the magical realist and metafictional modes which are associated mainly with postmodernist literary trends. Each mode is represented by a well-known text which demonstrates the formal aspects of each mode and deals with the thematic concerns typical of the literary movement that influenced its production.

The textbook adopts an interdisciplinary approach, placing the chosen literary texts into the historical, philosophical and cultural contexts that shaped their characters, and thereby providing the background knowledge necessary for a deeper understanding of their formal and thematic aspects.

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Martina Hurčalová- Lukáš Jakabovič- Jana Kseňák Gregová (eds.)

Proceedings of the XIIth International Scientific Conference of Students and Young Scientists organized on the 19th of May 2023 at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice in cooperation with Institute of Political Science and Public Administration, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Marie Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, University of Miskolc, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas and the Res Publica civic association. The aim of the present publication Firewall of Democracy is to highlight the distortions of democracy and its defense mechanisms in the contemporary world, Europe or even Slovakia itself. The collection consists of 13 contributions, mainly in Slovak, but also in English and Czech languages. The authors of the individual contributions dealt with the state of democracy and its problems not only in the domestic but also in the global environment.

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Tatiana Žiaková - Dušan Šlosár

The last decade marks not only the average life expectancy increase in healthy population, but also life expectancy increase in group of people with intellectual disorders/disabilities. Due to their diagnosis that defines and classifies them into specific categories, people with intellectual disability are finding themselves in a constant confrontation with obstacles negatively affecting the saturation of their existential needs. It creates mostly educational, social, cultural, psycho-social and economical disadvantage in the context of their lives. Consequently, their active potential is weakened, making it unable for them to influence public affairs in society from a position of an adult or elderly citizen. Building up on this condition, the focus of this monograph is on understanding and explanation of prevailing concept of social inclusion and related concepts of social exclusion. These concepts influence the way we tend to define and think about the character of society, as such.

Simultaneously, we are examining that the quality of coexistence between dominant population and people with intellectual disabilities is dependent on the development of attitudes and opinions of major population towards this specific minority. These attitudes reflect the extent of social tolerance and at the same time serve as a quantification of moral values and equity in the society, whether it concerns any type of small everyday help or professional and institutionalised long-term support.

This monograph focuses on presenting professional care for people with mental disability in form of social services as a dominant type of support in our local environment. We show that the quality of social services inevitably depends on degree of professional competences social workers possess. The significance of professional competences social workers are capable of using is reflected in the degree of the competence and adequacy of their performance. The primary aim, in relation to which professional competences should be accustomed, is to enhance meaningfulness and dignity in life of mentally disabled receivers of the social services.

Competences of social workers are a dynamic phenomenon that modifies along the development of society and also with the frequently altering needs of people with intellectual disability as receivers of the social service. For this reason we designed the presented research to reflect our goal to reappraise the scope of professional competences and define the required professional functions of social workers working with people with intellectual disability.

This monograph is dedicated not only to professionals working with this group of people but also aims at answering basic questions to practical issues that families with a intellectualy disabled member are coming into contact with.

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Ľubov Vladyková

The present monograph titled Evolutionary Ethics: Selected Issues and Challenges discusses a range of problems, theoretical concepts, and beliefs from the perspective of evolutionary ethics. The term evolution has become one of the central terms in contemporary science and philosophy.

In social sciences in general, and in socio-biology and evolutionary psychology in particular, evolution has had great impact on our understanding of the genesis of culture. Evolutionary theories play a similar role within the theory of consciousness and of the mind (evolutionary epistemology). The interrelation between our evolutionary past and our sense of good and evil is also a subject of heightened interest in ethics; it has in fact become one of its challenges. The concept of evolution challenges the way we create thought patterns through which we understand, or hope to understand, ourselves and the world around us.

This monograph represents a general summary of selected issues in evolutionary ethics, touching upon various aspects of current research into evolutionary ethics and the related domains of evolution, science, ethics, and morals. Evolutionary ethics has become a project which presupposes that in order to understand the essence and basis of morals one must turn to the process of evolution of thought, and to the theories put forth by evolutionists, specifically evolutionary biologists.

The structure of this monograph, as well as its potential usefulness for research and education clearly show that the analysis of the problems discussed here has significant implications for domains far removed from the purely theoretical parts of moral philosophy or biology. The advantage of such discourse is that it enables the implementation of evolutionary ethics in social and ethical issues of public interest (for example Sex Literacy, Sex Education), and this should be recognised and welcome.

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Božena Velebná

The following material has been created during the two years of teaching English for Chemists at the Faculty of Science of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University and is therefore designed to meet the needs of this course. The main motivation was the lack of appropriate materials, especially as the groups generally comprise students with a very diverse level of English. This diversity therefore became the main criterion determining both the form and the content of this text.

In the ten units that provide material for a one semester course, the emphasis is put on teaching the students vocabulary and terminology, which is introduced via authentic texts, depending on the topic of each unit. Students are encouraged to learn the meaning of new words in context. Grammar is included too, with the aim of demonstrating and explaining grammatical rules by means of examples taken directly from the texts. For the more advanced students, grammatical exercises in this material can serve for revision while the beginners might need more supplementary materials.

I hope that this material, the preparation of which has been a challenging as well as enjoyable experience will be useful for future teachers and the students of this course.

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Renáta Gregová

The book is primary designed for the first-year students of the study programme “English Language for European Institutions and Economy” and its subject “Comparative Phonetics and Phonology”. Following the structure of this subject, the textbook is divided into eleven chapters whose content provides the reader with the essential theoretical information about the given issue from the sound subsystems of the English and the Slovak languages. The structure of each chapter is as follows: (1) theoretical explanation of the topic, (2) Suggestions for further reading recommending additional sources that develop the topic, (3) exercises whose aim is to evaluate students’ theoretical knowledge of the theme presented in the particular chapter, as well as its practical application in the process of communication. Considering the content of the book, it can be also used a study material for the students of all philological study programmes whose content encompasses the sound system of the English and/or the Slovak language.

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E-journal

Juraj Schenk et al.

The scientific journal Sociálne a politické analýzy (Social and Political Analyses) serves as an interactive electronic platform for communication and the presentation (publication) of experts and their work in the fields of basic and applied research and analyses within sociological, psychological, political, and methodological contexts. It is a medium focused on intensively supporting research activities and analyses within an interdisciplinary framework, facilitating the exchange of experiences, fostering collaboration, and revitalizing the production of scientific work in this area.

The publication section of the journal offers space for works such as:

- Original sociological, psychological, and political studies and analyses in any areas of social life

- Methodological studies

- Research reports

- Studies from qualification theses Research and analysis projects

- Reviews

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Lukáš Šutor (ed.)

The proposed anthology represents for many doctoral students their first entry into the publishing environment of scientific genres. The studies in such cases contain the essence of future dissertation works, which represent the creative pinnacle of doctoral studies. In addition to providing doctoral students with the opportunity to publish scientific outputs, we also consider the anthology a space for interdisciplinary encounters and mutual enrichment. However, interdisciplinarity is not merely a characteristic of the anthology as a whole but also of some studies.

Most notable interdisciplinary approaches are observed in literary studies. The traditional subject of research into artistic texts is enriched in individual studies by examining theatrical and film works (Peter Getlík), linguistic aspects of phrasemes (Ivana Hudiková), musical elements (Terézia Kulíková), visual art (Dominika Petáková), and digital spaces of new media (Alexandra Popovičová). From other disciplines, we highlight Miroslava Süčová Vernarská’s study, which extends psychological research into sociological and linguistically communicative contexts (the concept of metaphor), or conversely, Zuzana Šoltésová and Dušan Šlosár’s contribution, analyzing eating disorders from their disciplinary background in social work.

Both mentioned disciplines also include contributions with traditional research subjects. Nikola Fabiny from psychology analyzes consequence expectations in the context of goal selection and achievement. Jana Plavnická and Dušan Šlosár’s co-authored study from the Department of Social Work presents a multi-perspective analysis of integration barriers for immigrants in Slovakia. Within their own disciplines, both philosophy contributions operate: Juraj Brenišin interprets the ethical aspects of Avicbron’s Fons vitæ, while Michal Kručko examines Edmund Husserl’s unfinished work through a comparative lens of his students Jan Patočka and Roman Ingarden. The anthology concludes with Lukáš Lukačín’s study (written in English), which explores the semantic-grammatical category of modality in the verbs MAY and CAN within legal-administrative documents of the European Union.

The representation of academic disciplines and doctoral students’ individual creative outputs in Doktorandské miscelaneá 4 is thus appropriately diverse. We present this publication to the broader academic community as a representative overview of trends in young scholars’ thinking across the spectrum of humanities and social sciences doctoral programs at the Faculty of Arts, UPJŠ in Košice.

Lukáš Šutor

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Soňa Lovašová (ed.)

Proceedings of the Scientific Conference with International Participation held on November 28, 2014, in Košice

Social work is among the helping professions that can be considered highly risky from various perspectives. The clientele utilizing social services is very diverse, often consisting of individuals in extreme life situations. It is typical for help to be sought only when the client is at rock bottom. Along with other factors, this can lead to the emergence of various risky situations. The proceedings were created within the framework of the VEGA task No. 1/0332/12 titled Analysis of Selected Risk Factors of Client Violence in Social Work with an Emphasis on Prevention of Client Violence and Preparation of Social Workers - National Mapping of the Occurrence of Client Violence Against Social Workers in Slovakia. The thematic focus of the proceedings is broader, as client violence is only one of many risks in social work. In the proceedings, the reader will find 52 articles that address the riskiness of social work from many perspectives. They offer an interesting overview of theoretical foundations as well as research findings. The numerous thematic contributions indicate that the issue of risk in social work is highly relevant and that attention is paid to it in both theory and practice.

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Soňa Gabzdilová

The educational system (schooling) is one of the most effective tools for shaping the young generation in any advanced society. Schools not only create the knowledge base necessary for fulfilling the demands of the economy and the social sphere, but they also shape the national and ideological identity of each member of society. The school plays a decisive role in forming positive values, but it can also become a breeding ground for xenophobia and racist attitudes. The school has an irreplaceable role in creating national consciousness, identification with one's own nation, its history, the heroic deeds of ancestors, and the meaning of its existence.

After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, there were fundamental geopolitical changes in Central Europe. One of these was the creation of Czechoslovakia, a state founded on radically different principles than pre-war Hungary. The founders of the Czechoslovak Republic (CSR), the personalities who decisively determined the character of the political system in the newly established republic, did not belong to the privileged classes of the previous regime. Unlike Hungary, where political power was controlled almost without exception by the nobility, the elite in Czechoslovakia consisted of men who were radical critics of Austria-Hungary.

A fitting example was the most influential figure of interwar Czechoslovakia, President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Despite his origins, Masaryk was perceived by both Czechs and Slovaks as the founder of the state, a legendary figure whose political and social influence far exceeded the powers of the presidential office.

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Jana Balegová - Anabela Katreničová

The university textbook Lingua Latina – a workbook for philologists is a parallel study material to the textbook Lingua Latina – cursus communis. It is designed for practicing grammatical material at home. The content of the exercises corresponds to the focus of individual lessons in the mentioned textbook, both in terms of the covered grammatical phenomena and vocabulary. For this reason, only vocabulary that was not part of the lessons covered in the textbook is included in the exercises.

A Latin-Slovak dictionary at the end of the workbook contains the entire vocabulary from both the workbook and the textbook. A Slovak-Latin dictionary includes the vocabulary from exercises that require translation into Latin. The vocabulary of this workbook is oriented towards the needs of students specializing in philology and, with regard to the selection of source materials, also includes non-classical lexicon or non-classical meanings of classical words (this lexicon is marked with an asterisk). The workbook includes a key that allows students to directly verify the correctness of their work.

The textbook Lingua Latina – a workbook for philologists is available electronically in PDF format. As part of the educational program, online tests available on the KKF FF UPJŠ website (https://www.upjs.sk/filozoficka-fakulta/katedra-klasickejfilologie/katedra/) also serve to practice the covered material.

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Henrich Hrehor - Martin Pekár (eds.)

(Košice, Kraków, Miskolc, Opava) : From the Middle Ages to the End of the 18th Century.

Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, Košice, June 28–29, 2012

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Drahoslav Magdoško (ed.)

Hlavný zámer zborníka, ktorý držíte v rukách, predstavuje práve vzdanie pocty historikovi, ktorý svojim úctyhodným vedeckým dielom výrazne prispel k utváraniu slovenskej historiografie, predovšetkým medievalistiky. Zároveň sa tu vyslovuje uznanie za rozsiahlu a v nemalej miere priekopnícku prácu archivára, ktorý pomáhal rozvíjať moderné archívnictvo na východe Slovenska. A v neposlednom rade ide o formu poďakovania za prácu vysokoškolského pedagóga, ktorého predmety absolvovali stovky študentov, a ktorý si svojim podnetným prístupom získal ich srdcia. Na všetkých týchto troch rovinách má cenné zásluhy prof. PhDr. Ferdinand Uličný, DrSc. (*18. 8. 1933, Ploštín), ktorý v lete roku 2023 oslávil životné jubileum 90. rokov.

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Helena Petruňová

Učebnica je určená pre vyučovanie slovenského jazyka pre začiatočníkov (úroveň A1, A2 podľa SERR), zahraničných študentov lekárskej fakulty, odboru všeobecné lekárstvo a zubné lekárstvo. 

Učebnica AKO POUŽÍVAŤ SLOVENČINU V LEKÁRSKOM PROSTREDí  – základy slovenčiny pre študentov medicíny obsahuje 13 lekcií, ktoré sú vhodné pre samoštúdium a pre prácu s učiteľom na jazykovom seminári. Tematicky zamerané lekcie ponúkajú základy slovenskej výslovnosti, slovnej zásoby, krátke dialógy a jednoduchý výklad užitočnej gramatiky. Všetky cvičenia a aktivity umožňujú študentom osvojovať si a precvičovať bohatú lekársku slovnú zásobu a vybranú gramatiku v kontexte. Obsahujú kľúčové slová, slovné spojenia, jednoduché frázy a základné otázky, ktoré sa používajú v komunikácii lekára s pacientom. Dôraz sa kladie na funkčnosť jazyka pre získavanie údajov o zdravotnom stave pacienta, o jeho živote, rodinnom prostredí, o chorobách predkov, súrodencov a pod. Na konci učebnice sú tematicky zoradené užitočné slová a slovné spojenia z prostredia nemocnice, zoznam základných slovies a kľúč k cvičeniam.   

E-publication

Lucia Tóthová

The monograph offers a comprehensive perspective on the theoretical, methodological, and empirical dimensions of participatory visual research within the field of social work. It is grounded in the understanding that social work plays a crucial role in amplifying the voices of vulnerable groups and promoting social justice, with particular attention paid to persons with disabilities who frequently encounter limited opportunities for participation as well as persistent social, communicative, and environmental barriers. The author analyses the concept of participation in alignment with the principle of “Nothing about us without us” and presents the PhotoVoice method as an interdisciplinary tool that integrates participatory action research, critical pedagogy, feminist epistemologies, and documentary photography. The method is understood not only as a research technique but also as a form of visual advocacy, enabling participants to articulate their experiences, needs, and perspectives in ways accessible to both professional audiences and the wider public. The monograph reflects on the development of PhotoVoice in international scholarship and highlights its potential to transcend traditional academic boundaries toward participatory and transformative practice in social work. The empirical section comprises three projects conducted by the author in the Slovak context, focusing on diverse groups of persons with disabilities and their families, who face specific social needs and everyday barriers. The findings demonstrate the potential of PhotoVoice to strengthen participation through accessible and meaningful visual tools. The monograph also addresses methodological, ethical, and terminological considerations and adopts an inclusive understanding of disability consistent with contemporary approaches in social work.

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