Sociálne a politické analýzy 1-2012

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Eva Žiaková - Tomáš Šeďo (eds.)

Peer-reviewed collection of contributions from an online scientific conference (9^th year of Košické dni sociálnej práce) with international attendance held on the 26^th of November 2021.

The present peer-reviewed collection of contributions titled “Metanoia in social work theory and practice” is an output of the 9^th year of Košické dni sociálnej práce, an online conference with international attendance held on the 26^th of November 2021. As the name of the conference implies, the pivotal topic of submitted contributions is metanoia, which represents a change in life attitude. Various interesting and actual issues concerning diverse aspects of social work are discussed in the individual contributions.

The present collection comprises contributions oriented towards the issues of social pathology and its prevention, supervision, the importance of digital technologies in social work, research methods, self-care and so forth. The collection further contains several contributions devoted to the exceptionally actual issues of radicalism and extremism, which are widespread and serious occurrences in the present time. The contributions are highly original and beneficial from the point of view of theoretical conceptions and methodological procedures apart from offering quality empirical processing and interesting results.

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Tomáš Dvorský

The attention devoted to the issue of Chinese activity is highly relevant. Creating a positive reputation abroad is a legitimate tool of every state in its effort to generate influence. The People's Republic of China has been very successful in this regard since the beginning of the millennium, which has allowed it to start occupying positions in the international system that it legitimately claims based on its own history, size, and potential.

Examples from abroad also highlight the fact that Chinese foreign policy should not be accepted uncritically and deserves a cautious approach and thoughtful discussion. All of this must be done while respecting not only China's particularity but also taking into account the realities of the great power rivalry visible at the beginning of the 21st century.

In this context, one cannot abstract from a detailed look at Chinese soft power as one of the key tools for generating influence in the world. Understanding it is an essential prerequisite for a relevant evaluation of the practices and motivations of China's foreign policy, while it can also serve as a guideline in the effort to create an adequate approach toward this resurgent global great power.

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Lukáš Šutor

Proceedings from the International Scientific Colloquium "The Folk Tale in Contexts" (December 12, 2022, in Košice)

We present the proceedings "The Folk Tale in Contexts" to the professional public as the outcome of the eponymous international scientific colloquium, which took place on December 12, 2022. Our aim was, among other things, to open a discussion on verbal folklore in broader interpretative, transcultural, and ultimately also interdisciplinary contexts—a goal that was achieved especially in the latter respect. Although the contributors primarily work in the fields of folklore studies and literary science, their methodological approaches from other—sometimes even more distant—disciplines expand the current discourse to a remarkable breadth. This is proof that research on the folk tale remains vibrant and open to new challenges.

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Daniel Dobiaš

The work deals with the evolution in theory and practice of democracy, open society and humanism which is marked by dichotomy of its own progressive and regressive features. Civilization trajectory of human reality, the implementation strategy thought overlaps through a reality in the form of freedom, solidarity and human rights, formulation of normative ideas of man and his/her nature, rationalistic universalism and voluntaristic individualism created preconditions for the political background of modern societies which established democratic order with rules allowing to dispose with freedom to which the individual, as a rational being, is authorized. Moreover, the perspective of awareness of ambiguity and paradoxical content of individual parameters of democracy, open society and humanism, ideologically shaped and fixed by worldviews of economic and political elites, from our point of view, is a mirror image of how those conditions differ from the standard assumptions formulated in theory. 

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Maroš Melichárek

The history of the Balkans (not just in the 20th century) and its nations have had an irreplaceable place at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, UPJŠ in Košice for several years. Therefore, this textbook is a logical culmination of this established trend. It represents the third publication focused on Southeastern Europe, as in 2015 a monograph titled International Relations in the 19th and 20th Centuries I (Nations of Southeastern Europe in International Politics, 1804 – 1856) was published, and in 2020 Nations of Southeastern Europe under International Politics from 1856 to 1913.

Logically then, this publication complements the literature portfolio (both thematically and chronologically) for students interested in this still turbulent region. Previous works are scientific monographs that can also be used during pedagogical processes; however, this work is directly aimed at students and their needs.

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Vladimír Leško

The book is the result of long-term contemplation on the relationships between the history of philosophy and its reflection in more or less systematic, or non-systematic forms of philosophizing of the most significant philosophical teachings of the 19th and 20th centuries (Hegel, Schelling, Marx, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Fink, Patočka, and Gadamer).

The primary goal of the work is to present the most significant historical-philosophical teachings of the 19th and 20th centuries in the formation and fulfillment of strong and weak models of the philosophy of the history of philosophy in the concepts of Hegel, Schelling, Marx, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Fink, Patočka, and Gadamer.

The results of the philosophy of the history of philosophy are presented here as a metatheoretical movement within historical-philosophical thinking, whose aim is not to empirically describe the historical-philosophical process, but to understand and explain it as an inseparable part of the most significant philosophical problems – what is philosophy, what is metaphysics, and the question of being.

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Jaroslav Marcin - Viktória Marcinová a kol.

This little book started out in a way that probably many other scholarly publications do: When the five of us met as doctoral students and instructors in the Department of British and American Studies, we soon realized that our research overlapped on a number of points. Most prominent among those was our interest in political or politicallymotivated discourse and the study of myths and manipulation that it employed. 

In the end, we decided to pool the results of our research together in order to create a more complex picture, providing a variety of perspectives and voices. In our endeavor, we were greatly aided by the financial support we received from a grant offered by the Šafárik University. The outcome of these efforts is the five chapters of this brief, but hopefully informative and insightful monograph.

In Chapter 1, Viktória Marcinová deals with the impact of totalitarian ideology on the translation of so-called “capitalist” drama during the first stage of normalization in Slovakia (1948-1968). In Chapter 2, the focus shifts to political discourse and manipulation in a democracy, as Jaroslav Marcin takes a closer look at the wartime rhetoric of American presidents. USA remains the focus also in Chapter 3, but this time the question, addressed by Martina Martausová, will be one of the myth of the American Dream and its presentation in post-9/11 United States. A similar idea, though in a different geographical-cultural context, is dealt with in Chapter 4, where Božena Velebná identifies myths of Scottish identity as portrayed in historic films. Finally, in Chapter 5, Eduard Soták will take a look at the role of the mass media within the topic of politically-motivated discourse and spread of political ideology.

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Renáta Orosová - Michal Novocký - Katarína Petríková

An integral part of the process of becoming a teacher is the mentoring of student teachers by mentor teachers, serving as guidance and support for future teachers. Developing mentoring skills and fostering reflective mentoring practices are means of enhancing the practical training of student teachers, their professional development, and improving the quality of their future educational practice.

The foundation of the mentoring relationship between the mentor teacher as a mentor and the student teacher as a mentee is not to evaluate the student, but to analyse their learning and teaching and contemplate ways to enhance these processes. The university textbook represents a creative textual tool focused on innovations in strategies for supporting the development of mentoring abilities in mentors and mentees during professional practical training. This university textbook, intended for student teachers in the role of mentees and mentor teachers in the role of mentors, systematizes the theoretical foundations of mentoring, provides guidance and directives for mentoring in professional practical training. Furthermore, it offers the university teacher, in the role of supervising the student's teaching practice, an overview of techniques and methods pertaining to the mentoring relationship between mentor and mentee. It is applicable as a university textbook for student teachers, students pursuing supplementary pedagogical studies or advanced studies, as well as for mentor teachers in primary and secondary schools, and university educators involved in professional practical training.

Its English version provides opportunities for utilization during study stays of student teachers abroad and for foreign students in Slovakia.

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Renáta Orosová

The scientific and professional journal Edukácia focuses on issues related to education and upbringing in the areas of primary, secondary, and higher education. It emphasizes the current state and perspectives of educational practice, current aspects of pre-graduate 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 public. It is intended for scientific workers, young university teachers, doctoral students, as well as professional and pedagogical staff, with the aim of presenting trends in education and stimulating discussion on current issues in the presented areas of education and upbringing.

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Soňa Lovašová a kol.

Violence in the workplace has been a problem that has received attention for fifty years. Client violence is one of its forms. These are cases where the aggressor is a person coming to an institution to use its services. Client violence affects all helping professions. This monograph deals with the specifics of client violence in social work.

In addition to theoretical outputs, it also offers research results conducted on a sample of 1170 respondents, frontline workers in selected entities providing services in the social field in Slovakia. The monograph represents a summary of three years of work by eight experts. Each author contributed within their area of expertise and brought a different perspective to the issue. The main aim was to bring a variety of views on the issue and attempt to combine them into a cohesive whole. Thus, a monograph was created that contains interesting theoretical foundations included in six theoretical chapters, starting with the introductory chapter on the position of client violence in the area of workplace violence.

The following chapters address the risk and riskiness of social work, ethical aspects, the personality of the social worker, and risk areas of social work. The research chapter presents the research project to the reader and three subchapters of findings processed in tables and described in detail.

The final part of the monograph deals with prevention and group work. An important part is also the appendices, which include a questionnaire battery, a program implemented for social work students, and a proposed program for workers in the social field.

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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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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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Ján Hvozdík

With great interest, I read the proposal for the reissue of the monograph by Prof. PhDr. Ján Hvozdík, DrSc., Základy školskej psychológie (Foundations of School Psychology). It was an honor for me to be part of the editorial board for the new edition of the textbook.

The reissue comes at a time when school psychology seems to be experiencing a renaissance in its application. This is no coincidence, as the professor’s conception of school psychology as a theoretical-applied and integrated psychological discipline strives not only directly but also indirectly, through the pedagogical practice of teachers, to influence specific situations in educational practice within the school environment. From my perspective, I also appreciate the attention given in the textbook to the ever-relevant topic of self-directed learning, that is, the autodidactics of pupils and students. School psychology has become a core subject, within which its specializations are also realized.

It is worth mentioning the fact that, under the conditions of totalitarianism, the professor was not a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and yet he made significant contributions to the development of school counseling, both in theory and in practice, which commands respect and admiration. The reissue of the textbook is not an apology but rather a celebration of his positive contributions.

prof. PhDr. Ján Grác, DrSc.

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Margita Mesárošová - Jozef Bavoľár - Miriam Slavkovská 

The current situation in the world education system, which declares the need to educate students for knowledge society, for improving the graduate employability is behind the motivation of authors to address competencies and key competencies for the knowledge society.

The authors present theoretical and empirical investigations based on the application of scientific methods of competency assessment and the use of contemporary scientific paradigms. The starting point is the concept of competencies in the context of current approaches of scientific psychology, which resonates in the official documents of the European Union and has been elaborated and enriched by the authors. The monograph focuses on a selected set of competencies, namely: competence to act as a self-regulated person, self-development, decision-making competencies, social and metacognitive competencies in the context of motivation. Knowledge about nature, the structure of competencies are presented, as well as their relations with personal and environmental variables.

The effort of the authors is also aimed at making available knowledge about the possibilities of assessing these competencies using current methods. Authors communicate the results of the creation and verification of competency assessment methods. The implementation of the research results presented in the monograph is perspective in the education and counseling of the target group of university students.

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Veronika Vasiľová - Soňa Lovašová

The formation of social work as a scientific discipline is not a completed process because of with changes in society also change social problems that need to be identified and analyzed with the intention to develop methodological solutions aimed at preventing and interventing these social problems.For this reason, the field of social work as such is constantly expanding, as its dynamic nature makes it possible to respond to emerging social problems and react to the needs of society.

Social work in the school environment is a functioning science field abroad.In the conditions of the Slovak Republic, this area of social work is still missing.Therefore, the monograph deals with the possibilities of social work in the school environment in Slovakia. 

The monograph is primarily intended for the professionals working in the field of social work and in the third sector with children and youth.

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