Sociálne a politické analýzy 1-2011

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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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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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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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Vladimír Leško - Milovan Ješič - Eugen Andreanský

The philosophical work of Immanuel Kant, the founder of German classical idealism, is one of those which, by the strength of its theoretical legacy, is permanently inspiring even in contemporary philosophical activities. This is an indisputable fact that cannot be seriously objected to. The philosophical teachings of Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, his successor Martin Heidegger, as well as several representatives of analytic philosophy, are proof of this fact. The above fact led the authors of this work to the idea of devoting a separate collective monograph to the indicated problem. 

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Lukáš Šutor (ed.)

Contributions in the field of psychology address current issues such as normative beliefs and attitudes regarding alcohol consumption, the characteristics of loneliness, questions of pupil personality and the perception of teachers’ interaction styles. They also consider hyperexcitability (excessive psychological excitability), research theorems on injustice, and fundamental concepts and their theoretical connections in the field of self-regulation research within the context of executive functions.

In philosophy, the authors focus on selected aspects of works belonging to major currents of world philosophy (Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Plotinus, Descartes, Patočka).

In literary studies (Slovak studies), the topics include modeling the theme of death in prose texts, the depiction of technological progress in space science fiction films, and the translation work of K. Strmeň, Návštevy (Anthology of World Lyric Poetry).

In the field of social work, the authors present contributions on current trends in preventing burnout syndrome in helping professions, the use of logotherapy in foster care, certain factors enabling the emergence, development, and spread of socially pathological phenomena (“cyberbullying”), religiosity and the value of human life, and an empirical analysis of the competencies of social workers in institutional care for people with intellectual disabilities.

The political science contribution analyzes selected institutions and documents within the European system of human rights protection, while the British and American studies paper examines the relationship between metaphor and metonymy in the interpretation of the meaning of new English compounds.

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Štefan Jusko

Selected Chapters in Epistemology" is a work resulting from the author's multi-year research and also represents a fulfillment of the requirements from pedagogical practice in this subject. The chapters, presented in this synthesized form, have not been published before, and I am convinced that precisely in this form they can gain higher value and greater real impact on our philosophy students.

The individual chapters focus on the problem of knowledge today, primarily on the problem of criticizing metaphysics and questions related to creating post-metaphysical thinking. It is no coincidence that Friedrich Nietzsche is a common denominator for the presented texts; he is a philosopher who has fundamentally influenced and continues to influence current philosophical discussions and intellectual movements. The chapters are written to lead our students or other readers toward reflection, i.e., critical thinking, personal growth, and professional independence.

To what extent I have succeeded in fulfilling my intentions and goals remains for the reader to decide.

Autor

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Jana Balegová

The textbook Lectiones grammaticae Latinae I is primarily intended for first-year students specializing in Latin Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.

It was created out of the practical need to provide students with easy electronic access to the grammar material covered in the order in which it appears in the lessons of the Latin exercise book used in the course.

For this reason, it also includes grammatical topics that go beyond Latin morphology, which forms the main content of the grammar course in the first year of study. However, if necessary, it can also be used by students of other study programs that include Latin as part of their curriculum.

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Simona Ďurbisová

Metodická príručka vznikla ako praktický výstup projektu APVV-19-0284 „Faktory výberu a dosahovania dlhodobých cieľov u mladých ľudí v období prechodu do dospelosti“ Katedry psychológie Filozofickej fakulty Univerzity Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach. Obdobie prechodu do dospelosti je charakteristické mnohými zmenami, nestabilitou a neistotou, ktoré sú úzko spojené aj so snahou o dosiahnutie cieľov z rôznych oblastí života – či už ide o vzdelávanie, rodinu/vzťahy, kariéru alebo osobný rast. V rámci projektu bola preto pozornosť venovaná bližšiemu preskúmaniu procesu dosahovania týchto cieľov u ľudí v období nastupujúcej dospelosti. Výskumné zistenia pomohli doplniť doposiaľ chýbajúce informácie o špecifikách tejto problematiky, ako aj poskytnúť účelný základ pre potenciálnu aplikáciu intervenčných aktivít.

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Lukáš Šutor (ed.)

The current sixth volume of the Doctoral Miscellanea consists of eight contributions from four study programs, with two contributions also involving authors outside of doctoral studies. Given the limitations on the length of individual contributions and the uniqueness of the research, the authors have chosen varying widths and depths in presenting their dissertation topics. Some contributions serve as an introduction to the issues, others provide a summary of previous results, and still others focus on a detailed analysis of a specific problem. These three approaches may not only reveal the stage of research in which the doctoral candidate finds themselves but also their potential research priorities.

The main commonality across all issues of the proceedings remains interdisciplinary diversity, which shows a certain continuity. Specific themes appear regularly. In these cases, alongside alternating doctoral candidates, the key figure is the supervisor (in the role of co-author) and their research focus/project in which the doctoral candidates participate. This development of research continuity is particularly evident in contributions from the field of social work.

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Renáta Orosová

The scientific-professional journal Edukácia focuses on issues related to education and upbringing in the fields of primary, secondary, and higher education. It emphasizes the current state and prospects of educational practice, contemporary aspects of pre-service teacher training, social pedagogy, special pedagogy, as well as pedagogical and psychological aspects of upbringing in basic educational institutions from the perspective of the broader pedagogical community. It is intended for researchers, young university lecturers, doctoral candidates, as well as professional and teaching staff, with the aim of presenting trends in education and stimulating discussion on current issues in the presented areas of upbringing and education.

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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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Peter Fedorčák

When studying the Renaissance, researchers utilize various critical and core terms and concepts which it is necessary to characterize.

However, many such points, notably the following, are problematic: The relationship between the Renaissance and the antiquity; The connection with the Middle Ages; The transformation to Mannerism and Baroque; Realism and Secularism in Renaissance art; The individualism of the Renaissance artist; The reasons for the creation of Renaissance art in Italy, its determinants and stimulators; Distinguishing between the analysis of the genesis of the Renaissance and the analysis of the creation of the period’s art generally; Regional differences in Italy and their impact on the art; Chronological limits of the Renaissance and its milestones; The terms “Medieval Ages” and “Early Modern Period”; The impact, and its extent, of the artistic influences of the Byzantine, Gothic and Romanesque arts on the Renaissance. The term “Renaissance” itself, its content and existence, are also the subject of the discussion with students, alongside learning how such terms and definitions came about and continue to evolve, how they attain their content, how this content morphs in the historical discourse, what academical pluralism and freedom of thinking look like in the discourse led by historians, what the differences are between scientists and schools of thought on the same subject and how it is possible that they are so numerous.

The students will come to recognize the leading scholars in the field, and follow their arguments and methodological approaches. They shall be invited to closely trace and scrutinize the logic which those historians use in building their argumentation. It shall be seen that the freedom to create terms, concepts and new definitions cannot stand on an ignorance of the (historical) facts, as becomes clear with expanding knowledge of those historical facts, the variability of their interpretation growing in tandem. This approach, actually used across the whole range of seminars and lectures, shall drive discussion on the topics covered, students being invited to formulate their own theses and antitheses.

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Pavol Kačmár - Margita Mesárošová - Ladislav Lovaš (eds.)

This publication introduces a selected body of papers presented at scientific conference School psychology: History and perspectives that took place on October 17 and 18 in Košice.

The conference commemorated two important jubilees. The first was the birth anniversary of prof. Ján Hvozdík (100 years), the second jubilee was related to the opening of the study of psychology at the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik (50 years).

The contributions have undergone peer review.

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Alexander Onufrák, Peter Dubóczi, Lukáš Jakabovič

The submitted publication entitled Voľby 2023/2024: výsledky – hodnotenia – dôsledky reflects a wide range of topics related to the electoral processes that took place in 2023 and 2024 in Slovakia and abroad. The publication deals with both the evaluation of the currently valid electoral legislation, including proposals for its further improvement, and the broader socio-political consequences of the elections in connection with democratization and integration processes. The submitted publication is published as an output of the VEGA project No. 1/0474/24 Audit of Slovak electoral and referendum legislation, the project leader of which is prof. JUDr. Ladislav Orosz, CSc. from the Faculty of Law of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and in which the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Arts of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice also participates. The authors of the individual contributions analyze all types of elections, from municipal and regional, through parliamentary and presidential, to elections to the European Parliament. While some authors focused primarily on the local or regional level, others chose an approach focused on the national or supranational level, and the geographical scope of the cases examined was extremely diverse. 

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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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Iveta Bónová

The foundations of the presented work were developed alongside the emerging research on child language in Slovakia. An enthusiastic team of individuals from several scientific fields—psychology (Marína Mikulajová), speech therapy (Svetlana Kapalková), and linguistics (Daniela Slančová, Jana Kesselová, Zuzana Ondráčková, Stanislava Zajacová, Iveta Bónová)—met regularly, discussed, and sought ways to mobilize efforts to achieve their set goals: conducting research on the language of intact (healthily developing) children based on actual longitudinal observation.

I am very pleased and grateful to have been part of the team at the beginning of systematic research in the field of child language acquisition in Slovakia. As a member of this team and a co-researcher on several projects in this area, I had the opportunity to participate in research on child language, which is no longer "on the fringes" of scientific interest. It has become a serious, exact study supported by quantitative and qualitative data, conducted systematically "at an excellent scientific level" (Průcha, 2011, p. 14).

The research itself was naturally preceded by data collection. The technologies of the late 20th century enabled the replacement of the outdated diary recording method with what is now the most commonly applied approach to material collection—audio-visual recordings. The synthesis of analyzed data collected over time, its explanation, generalization, and integration into a broader interdisciplinary research context is all the more interesting and beneficial as it contributes to speech therapy practice. Thanks to the results of the latest research, intervention possibilities in speech therapy are expanding, and methods for (early) diagnosis and stimulation are being developed and refined.

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