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SOCIOLÓGIA
SLOVAK SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW



CONTENTS 6/2003, p. 531-614
OBSAH 6/2003, s. 531-614

 

Studies
Štúdie

Reviews
Recenzie

Contents of Journal SOCIOLÓGIA, Volume 35, 2003
Obsah SOCIOLÓGIE ročníka 35, 2003

How the Polish Roman Catholic Church’s Representatives Explain Decline of the Positive Estimations of the Church’s Public Activities

Paweł Załęcki

Institute of Sociology, Nicholas Copernicus University, Toruñ

How the Polish Roman Catholic Church’s Representatives Explain Decline of the Positive Estimations of the Church’s Public Activities. The main purpose of the article is to draw readers’ attention to some possible ways of interpreting the decline of positive estimations of Polish Roman Catholic Church’s public activities within last dozen or so years. The proposed point of view of analysis refers to ‘emic-view’ perspective used in social sciences (especially within cultural anthropology) to illustrate the standpoints of ‘inner-actors’ of social actions. The Polish Church is one of the key powers on the public and political scene in Poland. The context of political transformation in Poland and Church’s contribution in building during the communist regime the ‘underground civil society’ has given to the Church possibility to became one of the main players on the political scene and an important component of the official culture. But the wide, social support for Church’s public activities in the mid 1990s radically changed. This situation called for the explanations. A lot of Polish social scientists have undertaken adequate surveys and clarifications. This article however is focussing on opinions and statements of some key Polish Roman Catholic Church’s representatives (both secular persons and bishops) explaining this fundamental change.

Sociológia 2003 Vol. 35 (No. 6: 533-556)

Individual Farmers in Slovakia: Typology, Recruitment Patterns and Sources of Livelihood

Gejza Blaas

Research Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, Bratislava

Individual Farmers in Slovakia: Typology, Recruitment Patterns and Sources of Livelihood. The paper is focussing on the analysis of some social features of individual farm holders and their households in Slovakia. During the years from the start of the transition process toward market economy a wide variety of farming types has emerged. Nevertheless, corporate farms, which are the successor ventures of former socialist co-operatives and state farms still dominate the current farming structure in terms of their share in the overall land use and output. Individual farms operate about 20 per cent of total farm land and represent a very diversified socio-economic pattern comprising fully commercial estate farming exploiting hired labour on one side, but also a large number of tiny self-subsistence part time farms on the other. As a result of this, the dual pattern of farm structure, which was typical for the earlier decades, has not changed too much. It is still characterising not only the overall structure, but also the segment of individual farms.
As for the literature sources on social typology of stakeholders, the author is discussing earlier findings of Szelenyi, based on Hungarian empirical knowledge and the theory of rural enbourgeoisment.
The most distinctive feature of farming types is the use of produce – marketing versus self-consumption. The former is typical for farmers-entrepreneurs and the later for non-registered farms, which are significantly smaller in size and serve predominantly subsistence needs of households.
The author finds that there is a very close relation between the social background of these days’ individual farmers and the type of farming which they pursue. As survey data shows, among new farm holders there is a high share of persons with higher education and persons who hold higher positions in business, state administration and elsewhere, before starting their farm business. Neither experience in the farming sector nor special agricultural training has been crucial for the recruitment of new farmers. This applies especially for full-time commercial farmers.
Farming households may as a rule, besides on income from farming, rely on other sources of additional or complementary income. As survey data show, these are mainly the work of spouses out of agriculture and the old age pension of the farm holder or his relatives. But farm holders themselves very often pursue a job other than farming, which is their principal or supplementary source of income. For only about one fifth of farmers is farming their single source of income.

Sociológia 2003 Vol. 35 (No. 6: 557-578)

Gender in Science – Women in Science in Slovakia

Magdaléna Piscová

Institute for Sociology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava

Gender in Science – Women in Science in Slovakia. The issue women in science represent a very specific topic and can be labelled as a multidimensional problem: a problem of science and a problem of gender equity in society. In the last years the topic on women in science has raised attention more as a part of political agenda and less as theoretical problem. Nevertheless due to the activities of the European Commission and namely the Unit Women and Science by the Directorate General for Science and Research, the problem of existing male domination in science and gender imbalance in science started to be much more frequent in public and scientific discourse.
The article represents a first attempt to map the situation on women in the science and research in Slovakia. Presented data confirmed the existing ”leaky pipeline” in science so as under representation of women in higher scientific and academic positions. Available data did allow particular analysis of the causes of the existing divergence in male and female scientific careers.
Except quantitative statistical data the article presents some additional information from the survey ”Women and Science in SAS”carried out in the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The main asset of this survey was that for the first time was in Slovakia paid attention to the gender dimension in science however the small size of the research sample does not allow any detailed analysis. The survey confirmed the fact about relatively low sensitivity on gender issue among the scientific public.
The present situation of women in science in Slovakia is very similar comparing to the other European countries. Horizontal and vertical segregation in academic careers is evident not only in the universities but also in research institutions. Contrary to the other countries the gender dimension in policy agenda and in practise does not belong to the preferred and frequent issues.

Sociológia 2003 Vol. 35 (No. 6: 579-598)

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