Likvidácia Tábora a vznik sídliska Luník IX

Author(s): Anna Jurová / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2015

The paper deals with complex problems in addressing the adverse housing situation of the Roma population in Košice. After World War II, part of the city known as the gypsy camp under Moldavská way found itself in an extremely exposed position at the entrance to the city. Arrival the amount of working class from rural areas with extensive construction and urbanization ratios further deepen. Numerous Roma growth was evident. Housing problems are addressed through an allocation of older apartments, phasing out the huts in the camp and fi nally focusing on specifi c Roma settlement. The idea of a separate settlement originated in the mid-60s, in 1970, the planned housing units was not built. Another intention of anticipated settlement was in the area Myslava with lower standard family houses. Because of the high costs the concept of prefabricated houses gallery type was born. The government in 1976 refused to deal with Roma housing in specifi c neighbourhoods. Council city national committee nevertheless approved the construction of Luník IX without a specifi c focus. The construction was carried out in late 1970s, several policies were processed recall procedure Roma families from the camp as well as the old city, according to various streets. In 1981 began the history of Luník IX, its ethnic ghettoization with disastrous consequences to the present.

Počiatky motoristického športu v Bratislave a Košiciach v rokoch 1921 – 1933

Author(s): Mikuláš Jančura / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 2/2014

The tradition of motor sport in Slovakia is not rooted so deeply as in the Czech lands, or west European states, where it was developed since the turn of 19th and 20th century. This expensive and marginal activity at the beginning started to grow through the organized motoring associations, which were based in Slovakia during the 1920s and 1930s. In Slovakia didn’t exist stable speedway in this period and the races were organized on public roads, what required the cooperation of the districts’ structures and security forces. This kind of races were more attractive and it made them accessible to a wider circle of audience. From the slowly beginnings in the first half of the 1920s a solid base of sports motoring has been formed, subsequently extended its activities range from small club trips to events such as: Competition reliability,„Star-driving“, Speed races or Competition of elegance. This positive trend, however, was temporarily dampened by the impact of the global economic crisis, which also closed the pioneering stage of development of motor sport in Slovakia. This paper aims to capture the character of a relatively dynamic growth of modern sport activity in its pioneering stage in Slovakia.

BRZYDKIE SŁOWA, BRUDNY DŹWIĘK

Author(s): Michał Jan Lutostański / Language(s): Polish

Punk’s not dead. Stare hasło, które pamiętam z koncertów sprzed trzydziestu lat, powraca echem, gdy czytam książkę doktora Michała Jana Lutostańskiego. Przy czym zawołanie to odnosi się nie tylko do punk rocka, lecz także subkultur młodzieżowych jako takich. Książka Lutostańskiego była dla mnie podróżą sentymentalną, przywołującą z pamięci to i owo. W kulturze, która zwykła traktować to, co zdarzyło się przed pięciu laty, jak zamierzchłą, paleolityczną niemal przeszłość, jest to cenne i znaczące. Po prostu.

POGRANICZE POLSKO-NIEMIECKIE JAKO PRZESTRZEŃ SOCJALIZACJI

Author(s): Leszek Gołdyka / Language(s): Polish

Socjolodzy prowadzący badania na pograniczu polsko-niemieckim pytają, czy relatywna bliskość zachodniej granicy jest okolicznością warunkującą obserwowane tam procesy i zjawiska społeczne, odzwierciedlające się między innymi w zachowaniach mieszkańców lub w strukturze ich normatywnych przekonań. Autor przedstawia hipotezę, że interakcyjne źródła normatywnych przekonań są mechanizmem socjalizacji w przestrzeni społecznej polsko-niemieckiego pogranicza. Za szczególnie ważne uznaje zniesienie kontroli granicznej po przystąpieniu Polski do strefy Schengen. Okoliczność ta rzutuje bezpośrednio na wzory życia codziennego, przeobraża pogranicze zachodnie jako przestrzeń socjalizacji i wpływa na strukturę przekonań normatywnych jego mieszkańców.

Vesti iz Kulture

Author(s): Ivan Čolović / Language(s): Serbian

Extremist Communication Capabilities in North Africa and the Sahel

Author(s): Andreea Stoian Karadeli / Language(s): English

The complex nature of the threat of terrorism caused by groups active in North Africa and the Sahel requires effective information to prevent, detect, and eventually investigate all criminal activities related to their areas of interest. In the Maghreb-Sahel region, more than in any other place, the boundary between the two main Salafi-jihadi groups – al-Qaeda and ISIS – is porous at best and non-existent at worst. While borders between these Salafist religious spheres can be hard to define, they are tangled with contextual and interest-based factors, thereby transforming the regional jihadi ecosystem into a challenging mosaic. The main aim of this research is to map the communication capabilities of terrorist groups in North Africa and the Sahel, taking into consideration the local context as well as to identify and categorise the specific means used to disseminate propaganda in each country / region by contextualising the material produced in / for / about African Jihadism by both al-Qaeda and ISIS groups. Bearing in mind that terrorism functions as a communicative act, the groups’ multilevel communication capabilities are a core element of the jihadi phenomenon in North Africa and the Sahel.

SWITCHING FROM CASH TO CASHLESS PAYMENTS: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR EVIDENCE FROM KOSOVO

Author(s): Faruk Ahmeti / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

This paper investigates the readiness of customers to shift toward cashless payment by identifying the main factors that impact that shift. The sample consisted of randomly selected individuals identified as potential users of cashless payment and are considered more likely to continue using the new technology. Five hundred eighty-six questionaries were returned and considered complete for the research. The outcomes were assessed employing CFA for validity and determined using Cronbach’s alpha for the reliability of the research, which was stratified by seven regions throughout the country was applied, by covering all levels of the society. The findings show that the perceived risk is connected to the level of correct and believable information offered to customers. It has been confirmed that the respondents trust cashless payment technology, and at the same time, self-efficacy had a lower impact on usage continuance intention. Consequently, the growth of self-efficacy would strengthen the intention to use cashless technologies. Several segments in the financial market may benefit from the results and develop more appropriate and reliable systems and the proper approach toward customers with needed information and insurance related to the security and benefits they may have by adopting the cashless technology.

INDIA@75: ASSESSING INDIA’S USE OF SOFT POWER AS A FOREIGN POLICY INSTRUMENT

Author(s): Mohammad Reyaz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The term soft power has become a catch-all-phrase for public and cultural diplomacy since Joseph Nye introduced it in 1990. India has had several historical and cultural advantages regarding its influence in foreign countries. While India and Indians enjoyed goodwill in most countries, the sudden interests in India among the policymakers, businesses, and politicians were mainly after the 1992 economic liberalization that had opened the Indian markets to foreign investments. Besides the nation-branding exercises globally, New Delhi employed soft power instruments in countries it deemed to have more significant interests, from traditional allies like Bhutan and Afghanistan to the countries in the West in the last three decades. Nevertheless, how successful has India been in exploiting its cultural linkages and using its soft power in its branding? This question becomes pertinent as, in recent years, India has often received negative press coverage in international media, and on several freedom/democratic indices, its rankings have gone down. As India celebrates 75 years of independence as Azadi ka Mahotsav (a grand celebration of independence), this paper assesses the scope of its soft power as a foreign policy instrument, points out its shortcomings, and recommends the possibilities.

THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY ON THAILAND’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE

Author(s): Sanyarat Meesuwan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

This study uses the theory of collective memory in international politics to examine the connection between collective memory and foreign policy to investigate why the Belt and Road Initiative has witnessed slow progress in Thailand. Qualitative data were gathered from various sources, including books, newspapers, journals, policy documents, and textbooks. The study concludes that cooperation between states is essential for achieving shared objectives but is contingent upon establishing mutual trust. Collective memories that one country maintains concerning another country can influence mutual understanding and trust, becoming ingrained even if the situation responsible for the memories changes or no longer exists. In the case of Thailand and China, the Thai government’s push for the high-speed rail project faced criticism and concerns due to the public’s deep-seated fears and distrust of China, the result of historical events and past experiences. This paper’s findings highlight the state’s role in creating collective memory and otherness, recognizing that external variables such as major power activities play a significant role.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN KOSOVO

Author(s): Ferdi Kamberi,Zeqir Hashani / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

Community development is vital in networking and creating social capital. Local governments in Kosovo cooperate closely with their communities by offering public and social services, inclusivity, and social integration. This cooperation increases active citizenship, community development, social welfare, and local democracy. This paper aims to research and analyze the relationship between local governments and their communities, focusing on providing social services. The applied methodology included a quantitative survey of 300 respondents from three municipalities: Pristina, Fushe Kosove, and Obilic, targeting citizens aged 18 and above of both genders. The results show that local authorities in these municipalities offer community services and include their communities in policy-making and decision-making. While they also offer social services, community-based services should be restructured, and local authorities should pay more attention to empowering the community more comprehensively.

Управленската и съдебната практика на Милош Обренович – от историята до народната история

Author(s): Branko R. Zlatković / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2022

A large number of oral stories about Prince Miloš Obrenović (1780–1860) are preserved as an integral part of wider biographical, autobiographical, memoir, diary, historiographical, epistolary, travel and documentary sources. By identifying and separating anecdotes, historical legends, life stories and proverbs from the tissues of more elaborate narrative units, an extensive corpus is formed in which, through a series of narratives and variants, the narrated biography of Prince Miloš develops in the spheres of his military, political, diplomatic, social and private life. Given the fact that Prince Miloš appears as a very attractive and stimulating person for narrative shaping, the examples of his special administrative and judicial practice, which are characterized by elements of humorous, unusual, witty, but also arbitrary, unscrupulous and cruel treatment emerge as particularly interesting topics. He becomes a type to which are connected themes and motifs well known not only in the domestic tradition but also in the international narrative fund.

Прогноза за времето: от епичния „край на света“ до апокалипсиса днес

Author(s): Lidija D. Delić / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2022

The paper examines the folklore understanding of weather conditions, archaic conceptualization of cataclysms and contemporary newspaper/internet articles on similar topics in a comparative context. It turns out that modern civilization inherits part of the rhetorical repository and imaginary of traditional cultures when it comes to meteorological phenomena, employing them in a new context in the already recognized global “discourse of fear/intimidation” (F. Furedi, D. Altheide, P. Cap). At the same time, this rhetorical identification is seductive insofar as all its parameters (the planet has warmed since pre-industrial times, glaciers are melting, sea levels have risen, a large percentage of forests emitting oxygen have been cut down, the ozone layer and ecosystem-regulating animal species vanish, humanity has increased enormously) speak that on a global level something dramatic is happening and that we are not just witnessing another of the great resurrections of history and its (mis)use.

Празникът „Кюстендилска пролет“ и социалистическата празничност: Идеология и политики (Част 2)

Author(s): Svetla I. Kazalarska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2022

The article analyzes the local holiday “Kyustendil Spring Day”, invented in the late 1960s, in the context of the socialist festivity policies by examining the ideological content inscribed in its semantics, symbols and rituals. The overarching research questions refer to the instrumentalization of the holiday by the socialist authorities and its functions in the local festive calendar. The analysis rests upon archival material, articles in the local press, photographs, and discussions and comments in the social media networks, as well as upon a limited number of interviews conducted by the author.

Чешката телевизионна реклама и фолклорът – начини за употреба на народните традиции от масмедиите

Author(s): Jaroslav Otčenášek / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The ways in witch advertising uses folklore motifs are rather varied and interesting. In this article, we first clarify what the essence of advertising is at a theoretical level, who it is aimed at, what is presented and how it is presented, and of course, also who orders the advertisement. This synthesizing theoretical introduction is necessary in order to fully understand the differences between audio advertising, visual and audio-visual presentation, as well as how contemporary advertising permeates the media environment including Internet and social networks. Also significant is the psychological effect on the costumers, which uses a number of traditional stereotypes and expected behaviour patterns. Subsequently, we will look in more detail at the role of folklore and especially folklore narratives in advertising, including its changes in the last century, which we will illustrate with two specific examples. The next part of the article consists of an analysis of two contemporary advertising campaigns with dominant folklore motifs in the Czech media environment (Equa bank and Seznam.cz), in which we show in detail the way they communicate with the costumer, the folklore stereotypes used and the comments of the clients and creators of these advertisements regarding the expected effect of the campaign.

Традиция и иновация (Как фолклорната култура на Чехия и България намира нов живот в медийната среда през време и след пандемията от 2020 година)

Author(s): Nevena Dimitrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Diverse influences of folklore tradition in contemporary media are presented in this article. The pandemic “closure” and encapsulation of the normal rhythm of life in 2020 unleashed a wave of creative TV, radio, social media manifestations, focused not only on covering the unusual situation, but also on the particular “return” to traditional practices and ways of adapting to the daily life routine. Self-introspection became a journey towards primordial rituals where tragic and comic coexist in the resistance and affirmation of life. The observed and analysed examples are from the Czech and Bulgarian media environment.

Интернет мемовете като част от политическата комуникация и участие (Наблюдения върху словашката онлайн платформа Zomri)

Author(s): Eva Šipöczová / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Internet memes are a basic representative of online folklore, which naturally arises and lives as part of virtual communication. Similar to political jokes, some of them comment on, gloss over, criticize and satirize political and social events, making them part of political participation and communication „from bellow“. The purpose of this case study is to use the example of the Slovak online platform Zomri [Die] to show how an amateur entertainment project, which is part of participatory online culture, became part of a societal discussion thanks to social network and popularity. Attention is paid to various actors (site admins, the public, politicians, media), the activities of those actors and the spillovers outside the internet environment. The study combines folkloristic theoretical starting points with approaches from media and pop culture studies. It is based on long-term online research of the platforms, its content, secondary activities and spillovers into other areas of the online and offline environment. It also builds on the analysis of media interviews and discussion with platform admins.

Фалшивите новини – функции и интерпретации в българското медийно пространство

Author(s): Angelina Ilieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article presents a study of the “fake news” problem from an emic perspective, focusing on media practices. The study aims to place people as conscious and active subjects of cultural production and consumption at the analysis’s centre and present the problem through their actions, reactions and interpretations. Different cases of questionable content circulating through Bulgarian media space are analysed, and their functions and uses are outlined. Two main functions of fake news are specified: 1) as an aspect of popular culture and 2) as a genre of disinformation. The features of users’ reception and interpretation, the subversive impact of fake news in the media ecosystem and its usage in the so-called ‘information wars’ are examined in detail. The conclusions emphasise the role of humour and laughter as mechanisms of counteraction.

Фестивали, позоваващи се на традицията (Някои наблюдения на медийното им отразяване)

Author(s): Vladimir Penchev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Fieldwork notes

Европейски измерения на съвременната идентичност на българските граждани

Author(s): Albena Nakova-Manolova,Vanya Ivanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The article is based on the results of a nationally representative sociological survey conducted in 2021 within the project “National and European Dimensions of the Contemporary Identity of Bulgarians” (KP06-H50/6/30.11.2020), funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. The transformations in the identity of Bulgarian citizens are traced in today’s world of increased mobility, migration and communication with representatives of other ethnicities and nations, which changes the meaning of national borders, eliminates the closedness of national cultures and leads to the formation of a consciousness of supranational or European identity. The analysis of the ongoing processes in the contemporary identity of Bulgarian citizens is based on the understanding of identity as a social construct which has relational and situational/contextual structure, determined by the nature of interaction with “others” and changing over time. The results show that although at this stage the national identity is the leading and determining one in the self-identification of the Bulgarian citizens, the processes of formation of the supranational/European identity have begun and represents an important part of their self-identification. Over 50% of all Bulgarian citizens have consciousness of belonging to supranational structures, i.e., we can talk about processes of formation of supranational identity; and in 30% of them it is a question of a declared consciousness of belonging to Europe, including the identification as citizens of the European Union.

Патриотизъм, национализъм и настроения към ромския етнос в България

Author(s): Plamena Stoyanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The political changes after 1989 in Bulgaria and the country’s difficult economic transition, temporarily led to a decline in patriotic feelings among the Bulgarian people. With few exceptions, such as Bulgaria's triumphant performance at the 1994 World Cup, which led to unprecedented national pride, the idea of belonging and unity began to dissolve in the harsh and uncertain conditions of the transition from socialism to a market economy. This led to a deterioration of relations in Bulgarian society, a sharp revision of values, a decrease in tolerance, and the entering into everyday life of the so-called language of hatred. Political parties were created which, under the guise of patriotism, openly promoted more radical sentiments toward various types of minorities. An increase in domestic crime at the time proved to be a fertile ground for such rhetoric. The fact that from the beginning of the new millennium until now, some Bulgarians have been invariably supporting nationalist parties, shows that these political formations are an expression of permanently present sentiments in the Bulgarian society. The current text will focus on nationalist manifestations towards the second-largest ethnic minority in the country – the Roma. For this purpose, specific events will be examined and analysed, and an attempt will be made to provide answers to several questions such as: What is the role of the Bulgarian minorities in these nationalist attitudes? Is it possible to build an identity based on the rejection of the other, and what are the manifestations of this rejection? How do such manifestations of intolerance and confrontation reflect on the identity of the minority itself? Who benefits from this rhetoric, and what are its consequences for the Bulgarian society?