Sociální péče 2. díl

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Ján Kahan - Eva Žiaková

The monograph focuses on the issue of loneliness among substance-addicted people in the context of abstinence prospects and re/lapse prevention. In the monograph these phenomena, several theories were integrated and applied in the context of the ecosystem meta-framework of social work and practical contexts. The ecosystem meta-theory serves as a meta-construct with the ability to encompass the complexity of social phenomena as well as that of human beings within the structure of their living and social environment, formal and informal networks, and close intimate relationships.

In this monograph are presented research sample consisted of 235 respondents – hospitalised addicts undergoing urgent treatment, abstaining A-club members as well as members of psychotherapy and self-help groups. The research showed that abstainers were statistically less lonely than the hospitalised respondents. Quantitative data of research are complemented by qualitative data collected in four case studies; two of them focused on two long-term abstainers from alcohol and drugs, while the other two case studies dealt with two respondents in post-hoc treatment undergoing the resocialization process. The research also showed that respondents who broke abstinence felt lonelier than their successfully abstaining counterparts.

The results were supported also by the fact that a statistically significant inversely proportional relationship was identified between the duration of abstinence and loneliness rate. Gender differences were found between the hospitalised addicts in all loneliness dimensions. Naturally, the combined research was limited in certain aspects, mainly in terms of the size and proportional distribution of the research sample and its subgroups, test battery extent, and general nature of the population studied. Triangulation among quantitative and qualitative with the theoretical starting points confirmed the existence of a relationship among loneliness, addiction, and prospect of abstinence.

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Iveta Jeleňová - Gabriela Kravčáková (eds.)

Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, October 16, 2014, Košice

In mid-October 2014, the second annual conference "Human Capital and Society" was held, organized by the Department of Social Studies of the Faculty of Public Administration at P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, in collaboration with another department of the faculty, the Department of Economics and Management of Public Administration. Today, you have before you the proceedings encompassing contributions presented by participants of this conference. In preparing it, the editors had to deal with the diversity of the participants' profiles, which was reflected in the authors' approaches to the issues they addressed, and subsequently had the contributions reviewed by experts from various fields. The individual contributions address traditional topics, as well as newer and emerging themes, reflecting current problems and questions related to human capital, organizational behavior, and primarily, public administration.

At the conference, researchers specializing in management, psychology, political science, social work, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, as well as individuals who do not belong to just one scientific discipline, came together. It was interesting to see how people from different disciplines view the same phenomenon. The conference demonstrated that an interdisciplinary approach can highlight the shortcomings in identifying and understanding problems from the perspective of just one discipline.

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Vladimír Lichner - Dušan Šlosár

Issues of punishment are directly linked to a state’s criminal policy, which is an inseparable part of its social policy. Historically, the state has held a unique dominant position in the realm of punishment. Once the conditions for imposing a penalty are met, the state fulfills its obligation by sentencing through independent courts. However, it does not address questions of satisfaction, which belong to the victim. The victim may be a specific physical person or legal entity that suffered harm due to the criminal act. This harm simultaneously affects civil society as a whole. The state prioritizes its duty to punish and decide on the matter over compensating the harmed individual or civil society.

By mediation in criminal cases, we mean extrajudicial facilitation of resolving disputes between the offender and the harmed party, with the assistance and personal participation of a mediator. The mediator, as an independent and impartial person, helps parties identify their interests and supports them in finding shared, practical, and realistic solutions to the points causing their conflict. Probation refers to monitoring, supervising the accused, defendant, or convicted individual, as well as providing individual assistance to the offender and encouraging them to lead a lawful life. This reduces the risk of recidivism, or repeated criminal behavior.

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Dušan Šlosár

The monograph Social Institutions and Social Organizations analyzes the issues of society, spheres of society, models of social coexistence, social system, social institutions and social organizations that arise within individual social institutions. From social institutions, the monograph focuses on culture, religion, education, politics, health and economics.Individual social institutions are analyzed from several sociological perspectives, which allows the creation of a broader view of the analyzed issues.

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Dušan Šlosár

The monograph offers an insight into radicalization pull and push factors, influencing which is the competence of helping professionals.Radicalization is conditioned by the current social, economic, cultural and political context, i.e. the time-space in which radicalization occurs.It is this fact that directs the content of the monograph to factors that can be considered triggering and influencing factors of radicalization processes as well as radicalization itself.

The monograph systematizes knowledge about radicalization from the point of view of pull and push factors, which have been identified as factors of radicalization in professional literature, research reports and other verified sources, including Internet resources focused on radicalization and processes of radicalization, as well as available interventions to influence or prevent radicalization.The monograph mainly focuses on the analysis of pull and push factors that are related to radicalization and radicalization processes.

The monograph offers the results of research carried out through qualitative methodology.The research focused on issues related to radicalization in the research sample consisting of radicalized and non-radicalized respondents.The research focused on the investigation of pull and push factors related to radicalization, which can occur in the family, school or work environment, among peers, in the wider social environment related to the social and political climate in society and the influence of mass media.

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Lenka Pčolinská

The university textbook "Social Economics and Social Entrepreneurship" presents the issue of the social economy from a complex point of view and it is the first university textbook focused on the topic of social economy in Slovakia. Its aim is to contribute to the understanding of the concept of social economy, its development, basic conceptual apparatus, legislative anchoring and practical realities of social economics and social enterprises in Slovakia. The textbook discusses the basic legislative principles that need to be known when establishing a social enterprise.

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Lukáš Šutor (ed.)

The fifth volume of Doctoral Miscellanea was created as a conference proceedings, returning to the original idea of the entire project: to establish a publication space for contributions from emerging scientists.

The first two issues of Doctoral Miscellanea consisted of outputs from departmental seminars, which involved internal discussions. Compared to direct publication, it proved more beneficial for doctoral students to verify their initial research results in multiple stages and present them in diverse ways (reaching more listeners and readers). The length of the texts in the first two issues was adapted to the duration of the presentations, but this practice was slightly disrupted by the omission of seminars in previous issues. In the current issue, the scope of the studies is somewhat more uniform.

An added value of the fifth volume was the meeting of all contributors at a joint conference, the Autumn School for Doctoral Students of the Faculty of Arts at UPJŠ in Košice, which took place on October 17, 2018, and October 18, 2018, in Danišovce.

We believe that this unique experience—often the first for many—of actively presenting at a scientific event could contribute to a better final version of the submitted contributions. At the same time, it allowed doctoral students to broaden their horizons within the humanities and social sciences, at least within the scope of the currently addressed dissertation research.

Lukáš Šutor

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Soňa Lovašová

The theme of self-care is currently a significant trend, emerging as a protective factor in numerous demanding life situations. The implementation and internalization of self-care are highly desirable in certain life phases. One of the challenging life stages is considered to be higher education. Pursuing studies at a university entails substantial life changes: a new social circle; novel forms of academic workload; the initiation of interpersonal relationships; and the process of self-independence. Self-care offers students the opportunity to establish order in their lives, to pause and contemplate the meaning of things, and to maintain well-being. The aim of the textbook is to assist students in understanding the concept of self-care, its potential benefits, and strategies for implementation. It provides various examples, case studies, and worksheets for initial engagement with self-care practices.

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Katarína Šiňanská - Dušan Šlosár

The presented monograph deals with various views on of the community issue and community work, with which  area of social work or other helping professions is closely connected. It offers theoretical analysis as a basic theoretical framework of the issue, which is necessary to know in the study and in the performance of the practice in the helping profession. The authors consider community work to be one of the possibilities for fully involving the inhabitants in co-responsible decision-making on things that fundamentally affect their lives.

The monograph characterizes in  fifteen chapters the community and the processes that takes place in it, outlines a brief history and approaches in community work. It offers theoretical background, which is used in community work as a necessary prerequisite for a professional approach practice. The monograph also points to the important position of professional help in community.

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Eliška Župová

University textbooks are dedicated to the theoretical issues of sociological aspects for the needs of students in the study program of public administration and the study program of European public administration.

The publication's first chapter focuses on the attention of sociology from the perspective of its subject and its relationship to other scientific disciplines. The second part consists of chapters two to five and is dedicated to the history of sociology and the most significant figures in sociology from its inception to the present, as well as the developmental directions of classical and contemporary sociology. The third area addresses systematic sociology.

From a range of sociological topics, paradigms, and problems, this part of the publication is structured to provide students with fundamental knowledge from selected sociological aspects for their studies.

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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

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Soňa Lovašová

If we were to conduct a study on the popularity of subjects among social work students, the subjects of Research Methodology and Statistics would likely rank low on the list. It is precisely the lack of popularity of research methodology among students that led to the preparation of this textbook. The stylistic approach of this text was chosen with the intention of introducing the fundamentals of methodology to students encountering it for the first time, without alienating methodologists. The text primarily serves as a teaching aid for the course "Exercise in Research Methodology" and the seminars "Bachelor Thesis Seminar" and "Master's Thesis Seminar." Throughout the entire textbook, examples and case studies are interwoven and visually highlighted. The text endeavors to address the fundamental question that is key to motivating and understanding the essence of research methodology: why is research necessary for social workers? The aim of the textbook is to facilitate students' preparation for the Research Methodology course and to enhance their understanding of the basics of research methodology.

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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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Eliška Župová

The scientific monograph examines the issue of competencies among mayors in municipalities of the Slovak Republic. At its core is interpersonal (social) competence, characterized by a set of competencies (interpersonal skills and abilities) formed by comfort in social (interpersonal) situations that mayors encounter daily in performing their duties.

Social (interpersonal) competence is an essential skill for any manager. A mayor should also act as a manager, operating within a social environment, where the level of mastering interpersonal competencies predicts successful behavior in interpersonal situations. Through their actions in these situations, they influence the internal environment of the municipality, including municipal office employees, members of the municipal council, local residents, and external environments—such as collaborations with other municipalities, higher territorial units, contractual agreements with private organizations, or representatives of the third sector.

The central focus of the scientific monograph is the exploration of interpersonal competencies. A pivotal research question addressed was: What is the level of mastery of interpersonal competencies among mayors in municipalities of the Slovak Republic?

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Lucia Tóthová

Social work with a group, along with social work with individuals, social work with the community and social work with society, is one of the basic methods used in the field of social work, but also in other helping professions. The work of a social worker requires knowledge of these methods but also of the techniques through which these methods are implemented and fulfilled. Understanding and acquiring individual methods for the needs of social practice requires the theoretical mastery of those institutes that are the basis of the method and the interrelationships between these institutes. Therefore, the author proceeded to elaborate a university textbook in which she focuses on one of the basic methods of social work, namely social work with a group.

The university textbook is designed for university students who are focused on social work studies, but also psychology, ethics and other disciplines using the method of working with a group, as it aims to present some facts about social groups and behaviour in them.

The author offers an insight into social work with the group from its historical foundations to today's latest knowledge of this method in accordance with the latest research of work with the group.

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Miroslava Köverová - Margita Mesárošová (eds.)

The publication „Helping professions and self-care from the perspective of psychology and social work“ includes research studies focused on self-care, and the positive and negative effects of helping among specific groups of helping professionals – psychologists and social workers.

A number of Slovak as well as foreign authors contributed to the book of proceedings. The contributions are theoretical studies, research studies and case studies. The theoretical and research studies are focused on important issues of professional helping: self-care, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, burnout, perceived stress, secondary traumatic stress, mindfulness, empathy, job satisfaction and turnover among psychologists and social workers.

Research interest in the phenomena is especially important in the context of the mental health of helping professionals and in reducing the negative consequences of helping. 

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