6 (106)

Contents

  • Author: The Editors
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 5-7
  • DOI Address: -
  • PDF: kie/106/kie106toc.pdf

An Introduction to Socio-Economic Structuralism

  • Author: Jacek Tittenbrun
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 18-39
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.02
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10602.pdf

The paper sets out to present an outline of what is in fact a fullyfledged social theory, termed socioeconomic structural ism. The paper focuses on a number of concepts regarding the economic sphere, such as property and various types of labor. The style of presentation isalthough not deliberate drawn onnevertheless akin to that of Weber’s.

work property material work labor power Marx Weber

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National Currencies and National Identities: Historical Origins and Ironies of the Neoliberal Baltic Model

  • Author: Zenonas Norkus
  • Institution: Vilnius University
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 40-66
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.03
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10603.pdf

During recent economic crisis 2008 – 2010, the economic policy of internal devaluation in the Baltic States earned the applause of exponents of the neoliberal orthodoxy. How to explain the choice and ability of the Baltic States to maintain the fixed exchange parity? Economists look for conventional costbenefit calculation. The paper advances culturalist NeoWeberian argument, elaborating the concept of “nation neoliberalism” of Henri Vogt and the research of Eric Helleiner on the contribution of national currencies to the modern nation building. Because of the destruction of the national Baltic States by Soviet occupation in 1940, postcommunist transformation in the Baltic States was restitutionally oriented. Hard national currency, modelled after “that old good Litas, Lats, or Kroon” of the interwar time became a central symbol of national identity along with national flag, anthem and coat of arms. This “monetization” of the Baltic identities predisposed indigenous Baltic peoples to embrace the neoliberal model of capitalism and to accept the cost of the defence of currency peg during the crisis. The success was ironically selfdefeating, as it enabled Baltic nations to join European Monetary Union, which conclusively disenchants the money by abolishing national currencies.

economic crisis 2008 – 2010 post–communism internal devaluation democratic corporatism neoliberal capitalism national money disenchantment

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Real Estate Markets and Financial Crises – From the “Gründerkrise” to the “Subprime Mortgage Crisis”

  • Author: Luigi Droste
  • Institution: University of Münster
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 67-88
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.04
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10604.pdf

There are significant hints of a strong relationship between the dynamics of real estate markets and financial crises from the second half of the 19th century until today. In spite of research accumulation, it is seemingly ignored that since the late 19th century several financial crises were caused by real estate bubbles, depending on the distinct characteristics of real estate markets. The paper supports the idea that real estate and financial crises show indeed similar and congruent characteristics since the 19th century. This concerns (1) the inherent tendency towards speculative bubbles, (2) the growing significance of globalized finance, (3) credit practices, (4) the close relationship between the banking system and real estate markets and (5) between the real estate business and the stock market. However, the investigation into real estate markets is not only interesting for understanding and explaining the genesis of modern economic crises, but also contributes to the understanding of the emergence of practices of speculation, the indebtedness of private households and social inequalities. Further research on real estate markets promises the contribution towards a better understanding of actors, practices and institutions in modern market society.

real estate markets financial crises finance economic sociology economic history

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Employees’ Attitudes towards Organisational Change: An Explanatory Model Proposal

  • Author: Witold Nowak
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 89-104
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.05
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10605.pdf

The aim of this article is to present formal organisations employees’ attitudes towards organisational change explanatory model. Initially, main results of conducted desk research on uptodate literature in the field are presented. The analysed secondary data sources mainly consist of research results on social phenomena accompanying organisational change. Three main conclusions of desk research constitute a basis for the explanatory model itself: an existence of noticeable need of bridging gaps between paradigms, necessity of taking a more balanced view on distance in employees attitudes towards change initiative and explaining relationship between individual attitudes and organisational culture. Next, the theoretical model of employees’ attitudes towards organisational change explanation is presented. It is developed on a basis of three distinguished concepts: Pamela S. Tolbert’s and Lynne G. Zucker’s microinstitutional theory, Krzysztof Konecki’s integrated organisational culture model and Paul J. Di Maggio’s and Walter W. Powell’s organizational field concept. Finally, the capabilities and challenges related to empirical application of presented explanatory model are discussed.

employees’ attitudes organisational change organisational culture explanatory model

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Are Daily Deals a Way to Cope with the Crisis?

  • Author: Ariela Mortara
  • Institution: IULM University in Milan
  • Author: Antonella Ardizzone
  • Institution: IULM University in Milan
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 105-121
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.06
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10606.pdf

The purpose of this article is to present and analyze the foundations and premises of Nazi cultural policy, and the bodies responsible for its implementation, the two most important ones being: National Socialist Society for German Culture and the Ministry of National Enlightenment and Propaganda of the Reich. Policy in this case is interpreted as intentional activity of the authorities in the field of culture, aimed at influencing the attitudes and identity of the population of the Third Reich. The analysis covers the most important documents, statements and declarations of politicians and their actual activity in this domain. Adopting such a broad perspective allowed to comprehensively show both the language and the specific features of the messages communicated by the Nazi authorities, and its impact on cultural practices.

Third Reich Nazi cultural policy National Socialist Society for German Culture

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Digital Technologies and Socialization. Notes from the SMILEY Project

  • Author: Grzegorz J. Kaczyński
  • Institution: University of Catania & University of Szczecin
  • Author: Augusto Gamuzza
  • Institution: University of Catania
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 122-143
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.07
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10607.pdf

The lively debate about the socialization and in specific way about the exclusion practices in schools all over Europe Union imposes the necessity of framing new forms of peaceful interactions between nonhomogeneous social groups. Starting form this core issues, this awareness has been rooted into an actionresearch project named SMILEY, (Social Mindedness In LEarning CommunitY, funded under the Lifelong Learning ProgrammeComenius, and carried out from January 2011 to December 2012). SMILEY wants to present an “exit strategy” based upon the centrality of the social dimension of development, expressed by values, social cohesion, solidarity and respect for gender equality: examples of what “social mindedness” means for the European society. This target was achieved through an integrated system of “online” and “offline” activities catalysed by an elearning platform hosting an ERPG (Educational RolePlaying Game) named “YourTown” connecting students and teachers from the partner countries: Italy, Turkey, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. SMILEY project shed a light upon some interesting remarks in order to better understand the

digital technology socialization school environment European project

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The Social Capital of Internet Users – A Diagnosis of Diversity

  • Author: Agnieszka Jeran
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 147-158
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.08
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10608.pdf

Social capital is considered from at least several viewpoints – as trust, institutions acting as mediators between the state and the individual, and a network of the individual’s relationships. In the third approach, it can be also called the individual social capital. In the discussed research, it was measured using the resource generator based on the concept of T.Snijders. The research carried out among 369 respondents aged 18 – 34, who were also Internet users and had at least secondary education, allowed to diagnose the level of their individual social capital and identify diversifying factors. Primarily, the analysis revealed that greater Internet experience and its more intensive use are linked with a higher level of individual social capital. These factors had more importance than sociodemographic characteristics – age, sex or the level of education.

social capital internet Internet user diversifying factors

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Commodification of Labour in the Post-Socialist State. Liberal-Democratic versus Centralised-Autocratic Model of Society in Social Awareness

  • Author: Tomasz Herudziński
  • Institution: Warsaw University of Life Sciences
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 159-172
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.09
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10609.pdf

The article describes the commodification process, focusing on the sphere of labour. The specificity of the approach consists of treating labour as a component of the systemic transformation of the Polish society. The Polish people, on their way from real socialism to market democracy, are undergoing a particularly intense commodification process. This process has been intensified by Poland’s accession to the European Union and by globalisation, due to participation in supranational market systems at the regional (European) and global levels. Empirically, the commodification process has been analysed using awareness studies. Subjects were young inhabitants of Warsaw with higher education, and the study results were additionally related to nationallevel research. The labour sphere is seen here as a key element of the wider social reality and it is studied empirically in terms of individual orientations which the subjects exhibit towards normative social models. The processes of commodification and decommodification are seen in the context of the systemic transformation from centralisedautocratic to the marketdemocratic models of society. Attention has also been paid to the role of the welfare state, whose key function is to protect citizens from major risks, including the risk of being unemployed. The empirical study clearly shows the specificity of labour in commodification processes. Labour was shown to be an element that stands out from the other elements of the social system.

globalisation welfare state labour market systemic transformation commodification

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Foundations of Nazi Cultural Policy and Institutions Responsible for Its Implementation in the Period 1933 – 1939

  • Author: Sylwia Grochowina
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Author: Katarzyna Kącka
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 173-192
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.10
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10610.pdf

The purpose of this article is to present and analyze the foundations and premises of Nazi cultural policy, and the bodies responsible for its implementation, the two most important ones being: National Socialist Society for German Culture and the Ministry of National Enlightenment and Propaganda of the Reich. Policy in this case is interpreted as intentional activity of the authorities in the field of culture, aimed at influencing the attitudes and identity of the population of the Third Reich. The analysis covers the most important documents, statements and declarations of politicians and their actual activity in this domain. Adopting such a broad perspective allowed to comprehensively show both the language and the specific features of the messages communicated by the Nazi authorities, and its impact on cultural practices.

Third Reich Nazi cultural policy National Socialist Society for German Culture Ministry of National Enlightenment and Propaganda of the Reich

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Public Participation as an Element of Social Security

  • Author: Daniel Urbański
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 193-203
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.11
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10611.pdf

From the point of view of social policy, the need of security is considered as the indispensable part of functioning and development of every society. Citizens’ participation avers that the inhabitants will have the possibility of taking part in making decisions about their own surrounding, which results in development of the sense of security. The actions taken in the social space initiate the existence of the selfaware civil society. This article’s main aim is to discuss the possibilities of assuring the social security through civil commitment and their active participation in the public life. The formal instruments that occur in the system of Polish law (i.e. a participation in the open debate, a participation in the elections, a legislative initiative) have been analyzed. Those instruments enable to the residents the participation and codecision making and, what follows, they contribute towards forming broadly defined security.

social safety safety public participation civic society Third Sector social consultations participatory budgeting nongovernmental organization – NGO

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The Significance of Cultural Component in Foreign Language Teaching

  • Author: Małgorzata Łazicka
  • Institution: University of Warsaw Library
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 204-217
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.12
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10612.pdf

My paper deals with the significance of introducing the cultural component in foreign language teaching as well as the necessity of developing young people’s sensitivity to culture, especially to art and literature. In the article, the basic definitions and relevant terms connected with culture are discussed, according to the current status of glottodidactic knowledge. The question of how and to what extent should the cultural component be introduced in the school is also raised. Moreover, the aims of teaching cultural elements as well as their role and importance in foreign language learning are presented. In the final part of the text I describe an example of a practical pedagogical application of the cultural component, which can be used during English classes. This crosscultural studies project consists of three lessons, focused on a chosen aspect of British culture, namely the creation of two representatives of the 18thcentury art and literature. The presentation of this project supports the thesis that the combination of teaching language together with cultural elements is possible. It also serves as an example of how to achieve this aim and, simultaneously, how to make lessons both educational and untypical, which means more entertaining for the students. All in all, the aim of the article is to emphasise the need for aesthetic education as well as to raise teachers’ and educators’ awareness of the aforementioned problem.

Education foreign languages culture literature art aesthetic education

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Special Education in the Twenty-Second Century?

  • Author: Marzenna Zaorska
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 218-239
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.13
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10613.pdf

At present, not only the representatives of the world of science, but also ordinary inhabitants of the Earth follow evolutionary theories with interest. They ask themselves questions such as: Who are we in reality?, How have we developed in the history of humanity?, Have we indeed, as claimed by Charles Darwin, evolved from creatures who physically and intellectually were, colloquially speaking, no match for us?, Where are humanity and the human heading for and what will humans look like in the future?, What will the world be like in a few centuries? At a time when the dispute between the opponents and propagators of the theory of evolution is still hot, many scientists – assuming that evolution indeed takes place – wonder where this evolutionary process will lead us.

special education development transhumanism cyborgization posthuman

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Sociology Is out of Joint: A Response to Reviews of Maszyny społeczne

  • Author: Łukasz Aftelowicz
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Author: Krzysztof Pietrowicz
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 258-263
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2014.06.18
  • PDF: kie/106/kie10618.pdf

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