Základy filozofickej antropológie I.

E-book

Soňa Lovašová

In front of you is a textbook whose main aim is to introduce readers to the issues of methods, methodology, techniques, and research methodology in social work. The book is divided into four main sections, each arranged with a specific purpose. This arrangement is primarily based on the logical progression of the textbook’s content. The first part consists of chapters dealing with professional terminology, the development of social work methodology, and the classification of methods.

The second part focuses on research methods in social work, where the author devotes space to the methodology of social work research. The goal of these chapters is not to provide the reader with a comprehensive methodological minimum, but rather to orient them in the basic types of research and to demonstrate, step by step, how to create a research project. The third part presents an overview of the various forms of social work: social work with individuals, families, groups, communities, and society. Each of these chapters begins with a brief historical introduction to the topic. The final section of the textbook consists of chapters on working with aggression in social work practice and its various forms.

We believe that this textbook will be helpful to students in their studies and that its structure will appeal to readers.

Soňa Lovašová

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Lívia Barnišinová

The scientific monograph "Spirituality in Slovak Realist and Modernist Literature" reevaluates interpretative approaches to the spiritual dimension in prose texts of Slovak literature from the realist and modernist periods. The author transcends stereotypical views on spirituality, often confined to religious themes, and advocates for an interdisciplinary approach and new methodological approaches in literary-critical research. The monograph focuses on literary characters and their spiritual dimension in connection with other compositional and semantic elements of literary texts. It does not offer a definitive view on the topic but aims to open discussion and highlight the need for a reassessment of the literary canon and the openness of artistic literature to multiple interpretations. The analysis of texts from Slovak realism and literary modernism demonstrated a differentiated spirituality and its artistic portrayal. The phenomenon of spirituality is present in the texts along the axis of explicitness - implicitness - latency and has its specific manifestation in shaping literary characters through psychologization, introspection, and spiritual depth.

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E-book

Dušan Šlosár - Vladimír Lichner

This university textbook aims to provide readers with knowledge of the philosophical foundations, meaning, and purpose of mediation, based on research and analysis of mediators' activities. In countries where mediation services operate, their staff often include graduates of social work departments.

An individual approach to both the perpetrator and victim of a criminal offense requires knowledge and skills from social work, psychology, sociology, communication, and related fields tied to social work. The principles of social work apply not only in social policy and social care but also in justice. A mediator’s mission is to facilitate alternative resolutions to unlawful acts while preserving the purpose of legal proceedings as defined by valid legal norms. They fulfill this mission through specific methods of individual social work applied in the justice sector. The mediator’s focus extends beyond the current conflict to uncover related issues, activate parties to resolve disputes, and prevent new conflicts.

Special attention is devoted to the philosophical foundations of mediation in Slovakia. We provide an overview of mediators’ core activities and mediation types used to uphold justice in Slovakia. We analyze mediation goals, the roles of parties involved, and procedural steps. In applying mediation, we explore its potential and implementation in both legal and social work contexts.

As indicated, mediation cannot be understood solely as a specialized activity in criminal justice, as it has broader applications in non-judicial dispute resolution, such as family or community work, which are often overlooked by the public. The mediator’s approach to diverse target groups is grounded in theoretical frameworks. From this foundation, we derive activities expected of mediators in the future. Expanded activities arise from concrete situations encountered during mediation.

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E-book

Adriana Jesenková (ed.)

The topic of gender equality in the university and academic environment in Slovakia remains in a highly ambivalent position – often overlooked and marginalized, instrumentalized and perceived as an alien element or a formal necessity, but most frequently exposed to numerous misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

The intention of the presented publication and its authorial collective is to contribute to shaping and cultivating an environment where it is possible to discuss issues of gender relations in the academic environment objectively, develop research from a gender perspective, and primarily implement gender equality policy as one of the tools for democratizing the academic sphere and the university. The collection was created within the framework of the project VVGS-2018-749, "Creating a Gender Equality Plan at UPJŠ in Košice," and presents various contexts and perspectives from which to consider issues of gender equality at the university. Individual authors focus on the topic of gender equality from philosophical, philosophical-legal, and legal perspectives in their texts.

The final text presents the findings of qualitative research, which was part of the mentioned project, their interpretation, and conclusions from the perspective of further implementation of gender equality policy at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. We understand the publication as an invitation to discussion, critical thinking, and research, and thus to creating a university as we can be.

Adriana Jesenková

The peer-reviewed collection of scientific works is distributed under the Creative Commons 4.0 – Attribution CC BY-NC license, which allows non-commercial use of the work provided that the names of the authors are mentioned.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Gabriel Eštok - Gabriela Szabariová - Matúš Béreš (eds.)

Presented publication is an outcome from the scientific conference for students and young scientists that took place on 12th and 13th May 2016 at the Department of Political science, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The main aim of the presented is to bring up outcomes of research of young scientists and students from Slovakia, as well as from abroad. Many of the presented papers have become integral part of qualification theses of their authors.

This conference proceedings contains 22 papers in Slovak, Czech and English language thematically creating four different parts.

Papers regarding international relations or issues exceeding a level of state power are dealing with issues of globalization, counterculture, international terrorism, extremism and a role of the EU in the Arctic. Papers dealing with the situation in the Slovak republic and abroad cover reform of security in Slovakia and in Romania, issue of dealing with totalitarian history of the states of the Visegrad group as well as development of funding of education system in Slovakia since 1919. In case of authors focusing on the socio-political situation in Slovakia we can find papers analyzing role of a reeve in city of Košice, first great political conflict during a rule of Vladimír Mečiar in Slovakia, role of Roma population in political environment in Slovakia, but also those concerning local activist or action groups and examining attitude of nursing care students towards euthanasia. The conference proceedings contents also four papers regarding theoretical or philosophical issues.

Their authors focused on topic of social state, social equality, democratic theories and transformation of human nature in “post-human” era.

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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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Peter Borza

Eastern Christianity, represented in Slovakia by the Greek Catholic and Orthodox Churches, has influenced the development of Slovak society over the centuries. Both the common history and the coexistence of the two churches in one geographical area have brought diverse experiences that both churches keep in mind.

The university textbook, which deals with their history, contains basic materials for study and focuses on important milestones in their history. It contains general information about the origin of Eastern Christianity and presents in chronological order knowledge of the history of the churches that represent it in Slovakia from the 9th to the 21st century.

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Eva Žiaková

Proceedings from the Scientific Conference with International Participation held on November 27, 2015 in Košice

Stress is becoming a part of everyday life in developed societies, which negatively affects both the physical and mental state of individuals. The proceedings from the scientific conference with international participation, titled "Forms of Internal and External Factors in Coping with Stress from the Perspective of Theory and Practice in Social Work," are therefore dedicated to the issue of coping with stress from an interdisciplinary perspective.

It addresses the full spectrum of coping issues, ranging from the most internal, specifically defined factors of the C-system of coping in oncology patients, coping with burnout in helping professions, sociological contexts of oncological diseases, through the level of social support that provides individuals with space for managing stress, to the possibilities of coping with stressful situations in various areas of life.

E-book

Margita Mesárošová - Miroslava Köverová - Soňa Lovašová

Intervention Program for Supporting Self-Care in Helping Professions: "How Do I Take Care of Myself?" The intervention program "How Do I Take Care of Myself?" was developed as part of the research project APVV14-0921, "Self-Care as a Factor in Coping with the Negative Consequences of Engaging in Helping Professions." Its uniqueness lies in being created based on specific research outputs from the program's authors and project.

In the first chapter, the authors offer insights into the preparation of the intervention program, justifying its theoretical foundations, methods, and specifics of the program participants. They also provide an overview of research on the effectiveness of various intervention programs aimed at reducing the negative consequences of helping and enhancing self-care and other positive effects of engaging in helping professions. Subsequent chapters focus on a detailed analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention program "How Do I Take Care of Myself?" and its comparison with the effectiveness of other programs, which were differently focused, targeted at different populations of helping professionals, and had different theoretical and practical orientations and foundations. Most of these studies demonstrated positive changes only in isolated cases, due to various methodological shortcomings often related to practical application.

What differentiates the intervention program presented in this monograph is the participation of helping professionals actively practicing in the social field, unlike most intervention programs compiled and validated for students of these professions. The student population, being more accessible to researchers, allows for better methodology, including a larger number of participants, as well as experimental manipulation and group balancing. In the case of participants in the validation of the program "How Do I Take Care of Myself?", it involved practitioners who are engaged in the daily work process and completed training during their work breaks, which placed high demands on balancing their work and personal tasks. We believe that the effects we discovered during the validation of the effectiveness of the presented intervention program were not always clearly mathematically graspable but were evident from individual feedback.

We present the text of this monograph to the professional public with the aim of highlighting the benefits, limitations of the intervention program, as well as inspiring researchers and practitioners to further work in this area.

Authors

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Ľubov Vladyková

Reflection of technics  is about as old as philosophy. In the presented monograph the author reflects technology and technology as a medium of everyday life.

Every technical change is reflected in countless levels of our lives: environmental, economic, political, cultural and personal. The moral-philosophical reflection of technics and  technology aims to understand the complex relationships and effects of technology on the environment, society, culture and our existence. Knowledge (whose scientific knowledge is a special type) is part of the social and technical domains. If we perceive social and technical domains as separate, we deny their functioning as an integral part of our existence.

Speaking of 'new ecology of technology and technology'  the term ecology symbolizes the new existing disorder and 'cross-border' in the field of technology and technology reflection as a result of their revolutionary and far-reaching changes, and social change is unpredictable - all the more because technics and technology is the medium of everyday life and determines the future of the human species.

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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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E-kniha

Mikuláš Jančura - Maroš Melichárek (eds.)

Predkladaný zborník je publikovaným výstupom zo Študentskej vedeckej konferencie, ktorá sa na pôde Katedry histórie FF UPJŠ uskutočnila dňa 02.12.2024. Bolo to už po trinásty krát. Zborník z tohto ročníka (už tretí v poradí) sa tak zaradil do tejto úspešnej série. Obsiahnuté príspevky, podobne ako aj v starších zborníkoch z tejto konferencie, približujú stav bádania korelujúci so záverečnými prácami študentov na bakalárskom a magisterskom stupni štúdia.

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E-book

Magdaléna Hovanová

The university textbook offers a view of the family in social contexts. It deals with the basic characteristics of the family, the life cycle of the family from the choice of partner, through the arrival of children in the family to the end of the family. During its duration, the family performs various functions. A functional family is ideal for a harmonious relationship between partners and a suitable environment for raising children.

However, a number of factors enter the life of the family, which directly or indirectly affect the performance of these functions and can cause various disorders. It is here that the task of social work is to offer help to families to cope with their big and small problems. A specific feature of social work is the focus on the whole and a comprehensive assessment of the family, where it is necessary to take into account both the client's point of view and the aspect of the environment in which he lives and which constantly affects him. Therefore, the university textbook offers procedures for social work with the family, from the assessment of the life situation, through the plan of work with the family to social intervention.

The university textbook is intended for students of social work, who have the opportunity to practice complex issues within the assessment of the case through the enclosed case studies.

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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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Soňa Lovašová - Veronika Bérešová (eds.)

Reviewed proceedings from the scientific conference with international participation held on December 1, 2023, in Košice.

This proceedings volume collects contributions from the 11th annual conference focused on adolescents, reflecting current interdisciplinary issues faced by this age group. It consists of 12 scholarly contributions addressing various aspects of adolescent life, including loneliness, risky behavior, and the phenomenon of radicalization. The contributions are organized into thematic sections, facilitating easier navigation for readers. Topics include prevention of radicalization, family factors, and mechanisms of cyberbullying. The proceedings offer both theoretical and practical insights valuable for professionals in social work, psychology, and other helping professions, aiming to enhance understanding of the current challenges faced by adolescents and propose effective solutions.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Soňa Lovašová

In front of you is a textbook whose main aim is to introduce readers to the issues of methods, methodology, techniques, and research methodology in social work. The book is divided into four main sections, each arranged with a specific purpose. This arrangement is primarily based on the logical progression of the textbook’s content. The first part consists of chapters dealing with professional terminology, the development of social work methodology, and the classification of methods.

The second part focuses on research methods in social work, where the author devotes space to the methodology of social work research. The goal of these chapters is not to provide the reader with a comprehensive methodological minimum, but rather to orient them in the basic types of research and to demonstrate, step by step, how to create a research project. The third part presents an overview of the various forms of social work: social work with individuals, families, groups, communities, and society. Each of these chapters begins with a brief historical introduction to the topic. The final section of the textbook consists of chapters on working with aggression in social work practice and its various forms.

We believe that this textbook will be helpful to students in their studies and that its structure will appeal to readers.

Soňa Lovašová

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Lívia Barnišinová

The scientific monograph "Spirituality in Slovak Realist and Modernist Literature" reevaluates interpretative approaches to the spiritual dimension in prose texts of Slovak literature from the realist and modernist periods. The author transcends stereotypical views on spirituality, often confined to religious themes, and advocates for an interdisciplinary approach and new methodological approaches in literary-critical research. The monograph focuses on literary characters and their spiritual dimension in connection with other compositional and semantic elements of literary texts. It does not offer a definitive view on the topic but aims to open discussion and highlight the need for a reassessment of the literary canon and the openness of artistic literature to multiple interpretations. The analysis of texts from Slovak realism and literary modernism demonstrated a differentiated spirituality and its artistic portrayal. The phenomenon of spirituality is present in the texts along the axis of explicitness - implicitness - latency and has its specific manifestation in shaping literary characters through psychologization, introspection, and spiritual depth.

Download e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Dušan Šlosár - Vladimír Lichner

This university textbook aims to provide readers with knowledge of the philosophical foundations, meaning, and purpose of mediation, based on research and analysis of mediators' activities. In countries where mediation services operate, their staff often include graduates of social work departments.

An individual approach to both the perpetrator and victim of a criminal offense requires knowledge and skills from social work, psychology, sociology, communication, and related fields tied to social work. The principles of social work apply not only in social policy and social care but also in justice. A mediator’s mission is to facilitate alternative resolutions to unlawful acts while preserving the purpose of legal proceedings as defined by valid legal norms. They fulfill this mission through specific methods of individual social work applied in the justice sector. The mediator’s focus extends beyond the current conflict to uncover related issues, activate parties to resolve disputes, and prevent new conflicts.

Special attention is devoted to the philosophical foundations of mediation in Slovakia. We provide an overview of mediators’ core activities and mediation types used to uphold justice in Slovakia. We analyze mediation goals, the roles of parties involved, and procedural steps. In applying mediation, we explore its potential and implementation in both legal and social work contexts.

As indicated, mediation cannot be understood solely as a specialized activity in criminal justice, as it has broader applications in non-judicial dispute resolution, such as family or community work, which are often overlooked by the public. The mediator’s approach to diverse target groups is grounded in theoretical frameworks. From this foundation, we derive activities expected of mediators in the future. Expanded activities arise from concrete situations encountered during mediation.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Adriana Jesenková (ed.)

The topic of gender equality in the university and academic environment in Slovakia remains in a highly ambivalent position – often overlooked and marginalized, instrumentalized and perceived as an alien element or a formal necessity, but most frequently exposed to numerous misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

The intention of the presented publication and its authorial collective is to contribute to shaping and cultivating an environment where it is possible to discuss issues of gender relations in the academic environment objectively, develop research from a gender perspective, and primarily implement gender equality policy as one of the tools for democratizing the academic sphere and the university. The collection was created within the framework of the project VVGS-2018-749, "Creating a Gender Equality Plan at UPJŠ in Košice," and presents various contexts and perspectives from which to consider issues of gender equality at the university. Individual authors focus on the topic of gender equality from philosophical, philosophical-legal, and legal perspectives in their texts.

The final text presents the findings of qualitative research, which was part of the mentioned project, their interpretation, and conclusions from the perspective of further implementation of gender equality policy at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. We understand the publication as an invitation to discussion, critical thinking, and research, and thus to creating a university as we can be.

Adriana Jesenková

The peer-reviewed collection of scientific works is distributed under the Creative Commons 4.0 – Attribution CC BY-NC license, which allows non-commercial use of the work provided that the names of the authors are mentioned.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Gabriel Eštok - Gabriela Szabariová - Matúš Béreš (eds.)

Presented publication is an outcome from the scientific conference for students and young scientists that took place on 12th and 13th May 2016 at the Department of Political science, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The main aim of the presented is to bring up outcomes of research of young scientists and students from Slovakia, as well as from abroad. Many of the presented papers have become integral part of qualification theses of their authors.

This conference proceedings contains 22 papers in Slovak, Czech and English language thematically creating four different parts.

Papers regarding international relations or issues exceeding a level of state power are dealing with issues of globalization, counterculture, international terrorism, extremism and a role of the EU in the Arctic. Papers dealing with the situation in the Slovak republic and abroad cover reform of security in Slovakia and in Romania, issue of dealing with totalitarian history of the states of the Visegrad group as well as development of funding of education system in Slovakia since 1919. In case of authors focusing on the socio-political situation in Slovakia we can find papers analyzing role of a reeve in city of Košice, first great political conflict during a rule of Vladimír Mečiar in Slovakia, role of Roma population in political environment in Slovakia, but also those concerning local activist or action groups and examining attitude of nursing care students towards euthanasia. The conference proceedings contents also four papers regarding theoretical or philosophical issues.

Their authors focused on topic of social state, social equality, democratic theories and transformation of human nature in “post-human” era.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)