The Debate over Reproductive Rights in Germany and Slovakia: Religious and Secular Voices, a Blurred Political Spectrum and Many Inconsistencies

In this paper we analyse the legislation and arguments concerning bioethics and reproductive rights (on the examples of abortion and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis – PGD), as well as the power of different actors’ voices in Slovakia and Germany. Our comparative analysis revealed a paradox: In the abortion case study we found a restrictive principle with a pragmatic/liberal application in Germany, and a liberal law with a restrictive application in Slovakia. In the PGD case study we found a liberal approach and dominating critical religious voices in Slovakia; and a restrictive approach and dominating critical secular voices in Germany

The State, Religious Pluralism and its Legal Instruments in Italy and Slovakia

In this paper we analyse how Italy and Slovakia have dealt in practice with the idea of religious pluralism and what legal instruments they have used to ensure it. The history of state-church relationships in Slovakia has been full of abrupt changes due to political changes; in Italy the development has been more straightforward, but in both countries the Catholic Church has had a privileged position. We offer a few suggestions for how today’s increasing religious plurality might be handled in a more transparent and just way, using a rather different legal and institutional framework and thus promoting real religious pluralism

Zero to eight : young children and their internet use

EU Kids Online has spent seven years investigating 9-16 year olds’ engagement with the internet, focusing on the benefits and risks of children’s internet use. While this meant examining the experiences of much younger children than had been researched before EU Kids Online began its work in 2006, there is now a critical need for information about the internet-related behaviours of 0-8 year olds. EU Kids Online’s research shows that children are now going online at a younger and younger age, and that young children’s “lack of technical, critical and social skills may pose [a greater] risk” (Livingstone et al, 2011, p. 3).peer-reviewe

A story of great expectations: Qualitative research in psychology in the Czech and Slovak Republics

In this article, we explore how social, cultural, and institutional contexts have influenced methodological choices in psychology research in the Czech and Slovak republics (C&SR). Thirty years since the collapse of communism in 1989, many qualitative psychologists are disappointed, feeling their hopes have not been fulfilled. In the current performance-oriented and measurement-obsessed academic milieu, it has become difficult to do in-depth qualitative research. Despite the broad integration of qualitative research into C&SR psychology, there has been only a modest increase in qualitative research getting published. Our article looks at the personal narratives of key figures in qualitative research in the C&SR and how these overlap with the overall narratives of social change in our countries and the epistemological changes in our science. The article draws on a conference panel discussion, interviews with key actors who have shaped qualitative research in C&SR, and our own experiences

A story of great expectations: Qualitative research in psychology in the Czech and Slovak Republics

In this article, we explore how social, cultural, and institutional contexts have influenced methodological choices in psychology research in the Czech and Slovak republics (C&SR). Thirty years since the collapse of communism in 1989, many qualitative psychologists are disappointed, feeling their hopes have not been fulfilled. In the current performance-oriented and measurement-obsessed academic milieu, it has become difficult to do in-depth qualitative research. Despite the broad integration of qualitative research into C&SR psychology, there has been only a modest increase in qualitative research getting published. Our article looks at the personal narratives of key figures in qualitative research in the C&SR and how these overlap with the overall narratives of social change in our countries and the epistemological changes in our science. The article draws on a conference panel discussion, interviews with key actors who have shaped qualitative research in C&SR, and our own experiences