In the past couple of decades the social sciences have paid much
attention to the topic of boundaries and boundary regions. The present article analyses the changes in the discursive assessment of the Czech-Saxon boundary after 1989. It focuses on the transformation of the national and transnational culture and politics of history related to boundaries, cross-border regions and
cross-border interactions. The interplay of the socio-political transition with its discursive implications and the application of new methods and concepts in social sciences (boundary and identity studies, spatial turn etc.) created conditions for a significant
modification of the approach to boundaries and boundary regions. Concentrating on the public and academic discourse, the article assesses the conceptualization and representation of the
Czech-Saxon boundary in political and public rhetoric, historiography and museology. and Článek zahrnuje poznámkový aparát pod čarou
This discussion paper deals with equal opportunities for women and men policy in the Czech Republic financed by the European Social Fund. It presents findings of a case study focused on the position of the “gender expert” which was introduced as obligatory within call no. 76 OP HRE, area of support 3.4 “Equal Opportunities of Women and Men on the Labour Market and Reconciliation of Family and Working Life,” in order to increase the quality of equal opportunities projects. The evaluative case study concludes that the position was not defined sufficiently which lowered the potential quality improvement of the projects. Further policy steps are suggested and a broader context is discussed where the position of the “gender expert” may surprisingly be seen as a contribution to the financial stability of some NGOs focused on equal opportunities. The paper also aims to provide those who work as gender experts with an opportunity for a much needed self-reflection.
This article analyses the ascent of ‘Russian hybrid warfare’ (RHW) as a notion that transformed the understanding of national security in the Czech Republic in the short period of 2014–2016. It argues that the emergence of RHW as a specifically understood prime security threat was the result of contingent and often unruly social interactions across different settings, rather than a linear and centralised response to Russia’s actions. To capture this process, the concept of ‘assemblage’ is introduced and then defined as a temporary constellation of a variety of different actors, both public and private. Building on research interviews and documents produced in the RHW field, the authors then proceed in three steps. First, they chronologically trace the gradual emergence of the Czech RHW assemblage from a variety of different actors—bureaucrats, NGOs, academics, journalists—after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2014. Second, they unpack the inner workings of the assemblage by identifying the key actors and asking who did the assembling and how. Third, they look at how different actors were able to reinforce and/or transform their identities by being part of the assemblage, with an emphasis on the effects this had for the distinction between the public and the private.
In late 2005 Czech authorities first began to discover substantial amounts of municipal waste illegally transported from Germany to the Czech Republic. The dumping of more than 30 000 tonnes of German waste in 'black dumps' throughout the Bohemian countryside raised social, economic, and political questions about how to mitigate the negative human health and environmental impacts and prevent dumping in the future. In addition to prompting practical policy questions, the situation challenges sociologists to theorise the causes, effects, and possible responses to the problem. This article draws on the environmental sociological Treadmill of Production (ToP) theory to examine the role of the state in managing the crisis. The author presents the history of the Bohemian illegal waste problem and then describes and analyses relevant waste management policies in the Czech Republic, Germany, and the European Union in the light of the ToP theory, which hypothesises that environmental degradation is caused primarily by institutional political-economic forces, and that the protection of environmental quality can be achieved only through structural reform. The dilemma of illegal waste shipment highlights the difficult role of the government, which must balance its responsibilities to protect environmental quality and human health and promote commerce and economic growth in an international context. Data from interviews and documentary analysis are used to describe the case study and test the ToP theory. The author concludes that while the ToP theory is useful for analysing the illegal waste issue by highlighting the structural character of the problem, some refinement of the theory may be necessary to better understand this case study.
The article addresses the differential recruitment advantages of individual candidates in regional assembly elections. The authors argue that in a multi-level polity different types of incumbency exist that are reflected in the recruitment process, favour officeholders over newcomers, and at the same time differentiate the accessibility of regional offices for officeholders at various system levels. Moreover, it is argued that the effect of multi-level incumbency can be well observed even in proportional electoral systems. Empirically, the impact of incumbency on a candidate’s chances to succeed in the recruitment process and to obtain preferential votes is analysed using regional assembly elections in the Czech Republic as an example. The authors demonstrate that regional incumbents enjoy by a huge margin advantage during the candidate nomination phase and they are the most favoured group at the ballot followed by national-level politicians and big city mayors.
The article presents an analysis of the performance of regional governments - the institutions representing the self-governing regions in the Czech Republic. The authors try to answer the question of whether regional governments function similarly or whether they vary in terms of performance, and if they do vary, how structured and how large are these differences. After a review of the position occupied by the regions in the Czech public administration system, and after assessing the ways in which regional government performance can be understood and measured and the accessibility of necessary data, indicators are proposed and used to create an aggregate index of regional government performance. An analysis based on these indicators shows that there are considerable differences between regional governments in terms of the structure and the level of their performance. Based on the performance index it was possible to distinguish regions with above-average, average, and below-average regional government performance. The territorial distribution of these groups and some other factors confirm the validity of these measurements.
Contemporary theorists of family and kinship emphasize its fluidness. Processes of mating and becoming parents do not have clear rules and people must explicitly define their partner commitments and family arrangements. I explore the ways surnames are employed in the negotiation of kinship and making it obvious. Focusing on women’s perspective, I analyzed data downloaded from internet chats where (mostly female) participants discussed family-related topics. Findings confirm the the negotiated nature of family relationships and illustrate how social norms are being reinterpreted and accomodated to particular situations. As a result of a number of repartnered families, biological kinship loses its importance in defining close kin relationships, and instead their social and emotional basis is emphasized. The norm of nuclear family sharing a surname is challened and alternatives are prefered by some women, despite being restricted by less flexible codified norms.
V době příprav nové legislativy upravující podmínky pro působení archeologie otevírají následující texty diskusi o provádění terénních výzkumů v České republice. Výchozí text kritizuje praxi, kdy si tzv. oprávněné organizace zaměstnávající profesionální archeology najímají na výkopové a dokumentační práce komerční organizace, tzv. servisní firmy, které vyplácejí z finančních prostředků poskytnutých zpravidla investorem na úhradu nákladů na výzkum. Pokud archeologie rezignuje na neustálé řízení postupu terénního výzkumu, přestává být poznávacím oborem, popsaná praxe navíc může být v rozporu s principem financování archeologických výzkumů vycházejícím z nonprofitního pojetí realizace odborné činnosti ve veřejném zájmu. Oponenti poukazují na to, že nejde o problém servisních organizací, ale o otázku jejich korektního či nekorektního využití. Nutnost jejich zapojení do terénního výzkumu zdůvodňují mj. omezenými kapacitami profesních archeologů a podmínkami rozsáhlých a striktně termínovaných záchranných prací; archeolog – vedoucí výzkumu je plně odpovědný za úroveň řešení odborných otázek i využití vynaložených prostředků. Nalézt průnik obou pohledů nebude snadné, avšak archeologie musí v každém případě eliminovat společenská rizika spojená s těmito problémy. and The conducting of terrain excavations in the Czech Republic is the topic of the ensuing discussion at a time when new legislation is being prepared on the conditions for archaeological operations. The starting text involves a critique on the practice of licensed organisations, which employ professional archaeologists, hiring commercial organisations, i.e. so-called “service companies”, to perform digging and recording work, and who pay these “service companies” from funds provided by investors to cover excavation costs. If archaeology resigns to the continuous management of terrain excavation procedures, it will stop being an epistemic field. The described practice can furthermore be in conflict with the principle of financing archaeological excavations stemming from the non-profit conception of the execution of professional activities in the interest of the public. Objectors see it as not being a problem of service companies, but a question of the correct or incorrect utilisation of these companies. These organisations state one of the reasons for using these service companies in terrain work as being the limited capacity of professional archaeologists and the conditions surrounding extensive rescue excavation work and its strict deadlines; the archaeologist – the head of the excavation is fully responsible for the standard of resolving specialised issues and the utilisation of expended resources. Finding a meeting point between these two views will not be easy, however archaeology must in all cases eliminate the social risks linked with these problems.
This article deals with intercultural contact in branches of multinational companies or corporations founded in the Czech Republic by German, Austrian or Swiss owners. Multinationalbusinesses (large ones in particular) are trying to regulate the communication within the company. This is achieved predominantly by introducing an official corporate language in the company, employing people fluent in the language, and promoting language courses. Our research, based on the analysis of questionnaires and semi-structured interview data, has shown that the foreign employees seldom adapt to the language of the local employees, while the adaptation of the local employees to the language of the foreign ones is not only usual but also expected. The regulation of the communication therefore results in the promotion of primarily asymmetrical language adaptation, which benefits the German, Austrian and Swiss owners and the German-speaking foreign employees delegated by them (the so-called expatriates). However, the companies examined also promote the use of English to a considerable extent, which provides a basis for symmetrical communication between local and expatriate employees. and Der Artikel handelt über den interkulturellen Kontakt in multinationalen Unternehmen, die nach 1989 in der Tschechischen Republik durch deutsche, österreichische und schweizerische Unternehmen gegründet wurden. Multinationale Unternehmen (insbesondere die großen) versuchen die Kommunikation innerhalb des Unternehmens zu regulieren. Dies geschieht vor allem durch Einführung einer Firmensprache im Unternehmen, Anstellung von Mitarbeitern, die der Sprache mächtig sind, und Förderung von Sprachkursen.
In 9 % der Unternehmen ist das Tschechische die einzige Firmensprache, in 55 % übernimmt diese Aufgabe das Deutsche, in 16 % das Englische, in 15 % Deutsch und Englisch, in 5 % Deutsch und Tschechisch. Was die Sprachkurse betrifft, werden in 64 % der Unternehmen Deutschkurse, in 19 % Tschechischkurse und in 48 % Englischkurse gefördert.
Unsere auf Fragebögen und teilstrukturierten Interviews basierende Untersuchung hat gezeigt, dass sich die ausländischen, nach Tschechien entsandten Mitarbeiter nur selten an die Sprache der lokalen Mitarbeiter adaptieren, während die Adaptation der in Tschechien einheimischen Mitarbeiter an die Sprache der ausländischen Mitarbeiter nicht nur üblich ist, sondern auch erwartet wird. Die Regulierung der Kommunikation mündet also primär in eine asymmetrische sprachliche Adaptation zum Vorteil deutscher, österreichischer und schweizerischer Besitzer und deutschsprachiger ausländischer Mitarbeiter (sog. Expatriates), die durch die Besitzer nach Tschechien delegiert werden. Die untersuchten Unternehmen unterstützen jedoch in beachtlichem Ausmaß auch die Verwendung des Englischen, das eine Basis für symmetrische Kommunikation zwischen den in Tschechien einheimischen und nach Tschechien entsandten Mitarbeitern bildet.
Diese Adaptation betrifft jedoch konkret vor allem die Managementebene, während die Produktion weitgehend tschechisch geprägt bleibt. Weit verbreitet ist auch die Nicht-Adaptation, die zum Einsatz von Dolmetschern und Übersetzern führt. Dies ist – neben der asymmetrischen Adaptation und dem Rückgriff auf das Englische – in 80 % der Unternehmen bzw. in 95 % der großen Unternehmen der Fall.
Eine Detailbeschreibung der Kommunikation in einem der auf dem Gebiet der Tschechischen Republik tätigen Unternehmen des Siemens-Konzerns macht deutlich, wie die Funktionsstellen in einem Produktionsunternehmen besetzt und mit welcher sprachlichen Qualifikation diese verbunden werden, sie zeigt aber auch, wie sich die Firmensprache ändert, wie die interkulturelle Kommunikation unter Einsatz von sprachlich qualifizierten Mitarbeitern konkret abläuft und wie diese – etwa in Sprachkursen – auf ihre Aufgaben vorbereitet werden.
Následující tři texty navazují na diskusi otevřenou v Archeologických rozhledech 62/2010 (712–719). Předmětem diskuse jsou úskalí aktuální praxe, kdy si profesionální archeologové, resp. instituce založené na principu neziskovosti, najímají na provedení terénních prací komerční organizace. Je zřejmé, že bez úpravy zákona týkajícího se archeologie je problém, vyplývající ze změny politicko-ekonomické situace České republiky, těžko řešitelný. Perspektivám připravovaných právních změn se věnuje třetí text, uzavírající diskusi. and The following three texts are a follow-up to the discussion opened up in Archeologické rozhledy 62/2010 (712–719). The subject matter of the discussion is the current practice when professional archaeologists or institutions established along the non-profit principle hire commercial organizations to carry out the fieldwork. It is evident that without modification of the law concerning archaeology, this problem – a consequence of the political and economic transition of the Czech Republic – is difficult to solve. The last, third text concluding the discussion is focused on the prepared legislative changes.