Covid-19, mobility and self-isolation. Experiences of the Serbia’s citizens in the times of global pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus and closing the state borders across the world led to the mass return of the citizens of Serbia immediately before and after the declaration of the state of emergency in March 2020. The measure of placing under health supervision and the obligation of self-isolation, were the key means of mobility management in the situation of the health crisis in Serbia. How were the given measures implemented? How did they affect the citizens who returned to the country? What resources did they have at their disposal and in what way did they meet their basic needs during self-isolation? How was their experience of self-isolation shaped by public media perceptions of diaspora by representatives of the authorities and by their own social environment during the state of emergency? The aim of this paper is to answer these questions relying on the results of the online survey of 305 returnees, conducted during April and May 2020 by the researchers from the Institute for Sociological Research of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade

Cultural encounters in the banking sector of Serbia: The case of Raiffeisenbank

Osnovni cilj studije je ispitivanje kulturnog šoka, razlika i sukoba koji nastaju u okviru Rajfajzen banke između aktera koji pripadaju različitim nacionalnim kulturama, austrijskoj i srpskoj, a koji se, uslovno, tretiraju kao predstavnici dva modela karakteristična za 'Zapadna', odnosno 'Istočna' društva. Fokus istraživanja je bio na elementima organizacione kulture, a pre svega na odnosima koji se uspostavljaju na horizontalnoj i vertikalnoj ravni, tipu vođstva, stepenu formalizacije procedura i radnih zadataka, ali i na nekim od elemenata kulture rada, karakterističnim za dva društva. Posebno je ispitivana uloga kulturnih medijatora, čija se funkcija ogleda u posredovanju pri prilagođavanju predstavnika lokalne nacionalne kulture na novine koje donosi organizaciona kultura 'uvezena' spolja, ali i pri adaptaciji stranaca na karakteristike lokalne kulture. Studija slučaja obuhvata kratak istorijat rada Rajfajzen banke u Srbiji, analizu pisanih dokumenata, te dubinske intervjue s akterima koji se smatraju tipičnim za ispitivane oblike kulturnih kontakata.This paper aims to examine the existence of cultural shock, differences and conflicts inside Raiffeisenbank, between personnel belonging to two national cultures (Austrian and Serbian), which could, conditionally, be regarded as representatives of 'Western' and 'Eastern' cultural models. The focus of the research was on elements of organizational culture, such as horizontal and vertical relationships, the type of leadership, the extent of formalization of procedures and work tasks, the types of motivations for different parties, but also on certain elements of work cultures (e.g., the respect of time limits, attitude toward extended working hours, etc.). Specific focus was placed on the role of cultural mediators, whose function was to mediate in the process of adaptation by the representatives of local national culture to novelties in the organizational culture imported from the outside, but also in the process of adaptation by foreigners to the local culture. The case study comprises a short history of Raiffeisenbank, analysis of written documents, and in depth interviews with individuals who could be regarded as 'typical' in the examined cultural encounters

Strain Enhanced Superconductivity in Li-Doped Graphene

We present a new way to enhance the electron-phonon coupling constant and the critical superconducting temperature of graphene, significantly beyond all reported values. Using density functional theory, we explore the application effects of the tensile biaxial strain on the lithium intercalated graphene. Both effects together, the presence of adatom and the strain, trigger enhancement of critical temperature, up to 300\%, compared to non-strained lithium intercalated graphene.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Potencijali i prepreke za transnacionalizaciju suvremenih ekoloških borbi u Srbiji

Considering the growing tendency of contemporary environmental movements from the Global North to internationalise their struggles, in this paper we try to explore the potentials and obstacles of recent environmental initiatives in Serbia - the protests against small hydropower plants and struggles against the exploitation of lithium - to scale-up from the local to national and transnational level. Focusing on the discursive framing of these initiatives based on the analysis of the digital content created and shared by environmental organisations and activists on social media, we investigate to what extent eco-nationalism represents an incentive or a barrier for the creation of transnational alliances. We also explore the willingness of this movement’s advocates to participate in organised collective actions addressing their grievances to international institutions, and especially to the European Union. We interpret the emergence of eco-nationalism as related to the environmentalism of the poor/dispossessed, which arises as a reaction to the commodification of natural resources, advancing neoliberal policies and neoextractivism on the (semi-)periphery of the world capitalist system.S obzirom na sve izraženiju tendenciju suvremenih ekoloških pokreta da internacionaliziraju svoje borbe, u ovom radu pokušavamo istražiti potencijale i prepreke nedavnih ekoloških inicijativa u Srbiji - prosvjeda protiv malih hidroelektrana i borbi protiv eksploatacije litija - da se prošire s lokalne do nacionalne i transnacionalne razine. Fokusirajući se na diskurzivno uokvirivanje ovih inicijativa temeljeno na analizi digitalnog sadržaja koji su ekološke organizacije i aktivisti kreirali i dijelili na društvenim mrežama, istražujemo u kojoj mjeri ekonacionalizam predstavlja poticaj ili prepreku za stvaranje transnacionalnih saveza te njihovu spremnost na sudjelovanje u organiziranim kolektivnim akcijama upravljenima prema međunarodnim institucijama, a posebno prema Europskoj uniji. Pojavu eko-nacionalizma tumačimo povezanom s ekologizmom siromašnih/razvlaštenih, koji se javlja kao reakcija na komodifikaciju prirodnih resursa, širenje neoliberalnih politika i neoekstraktivizam na (polu)periferiji svjetskog kapitalističkog sustava

Toward a Vygotskian theory of textbook

U ovom radu razmatramo elemente i procedure za zasnivanje jedne moguće teorije udžbenika. Osnovne postavke teorije Vigotskog vidimo kao temelje teorije udžbenika. Razmatramo heurističku moć teorijskih ideja Vigotskog kao i moguće pravce elaboracije i operacionalizacije njenih osnovnih postavki. U radovima Vigotskog razvijena je osnovna sociokonstruktivistička ideja, ali on nije stigao da razvije tu ideju do nivoa koji bi bio dovoljno operativan za razne upotrebe. To tretiramo kao izazov. Ovaj rad je pokušaj da se skiciraju mogući pravci operacionalizacije osnovnih postavki Vigotskog. Početna postavka Vigotskog je shvatanje razvoja kao procesa posredovanog kulturom. Više psihičke funkcije su konstrukcija koja se odvija prvo na interpsihičkom planu, u susretu deteta i kulture (najčešće odrasli pripadnici kulture posreduju u tom susretu). Kultura pruža oslonce i osnovnu simboličku građu za konstrukciju na interpsihičkom planu. Ove oslonce Vigotski naziva kulturno-potpornim sredstvima (KPS). Koncept KPS u radu pokušavamo da operacionalizujemo određujući mu tri distinktivne karakteristike: 1. oni su kulturno prepoznatljivi, 2. imaju simboličku prirodu što im omogućuje da budu internalizovani i 3. imaju specifičnu razvojnu misiju koja ih određuje. Primere KPS možemo naći svuda u kulturnom okruženju. Udžbenici su kao žanr određeni da budu nosioci kulturno-potpornih sredstava. Kako je moguće sačiniti iscrpnu listu mogućih KPSova u udžbenicima? Induktivni put je samo jedna mogućnost. Druga mogućnost je deduktivni put, odnosno izvođenje KPSova iz fundamentalnih teorijskih istraživanja relevantnih za udžbenike. Relevantnim disciplinama smatramo razvojnu psihologiju, kognitivnu psihologiju, pedagošku psihologiju i savremene analize diskursa. U radu kratko specifikujemo po čemu su te discipline relevantne za moguću teoriju udžbenika. Iz svih tih bazičnih disciplina moguće je izvesti implikacije za konstrukciju udžbenika i strukturne elemente koji čine dobro oblikovan udžbenik. Strukturne elemente je moguće po formi koju imaju razvrstati u 9 kategorija (u radu navodimo koje su to kategorije). Kakva je, dalje, veza između strukturnih elemenata udžbenika i kulturno-potpornih sredstava? Strukturni elementi udžbenika su, u stvari, KPSovi ugrađeni u udžbenike. Kako to možemo znati? Po njihovoj osnovnoj funkciji! U radu definišemo te osnovne funkcije i strukturnih elemenata udžbenika i KPSova uopšte. Kroz razmatranje tih funkcija vraćamo se i osnovnim individualno psihološkim i kulturnim funkcijama udžbenika. Na kraju razmatramo kritički potencijal koncepta KPS. Ovaj koncept iz svog marksističkog porekla vuče ideju o pozitivnom uticaju sredine na razvoj. Da li je moguće držeći se koncepta KPS razlikovati dobar od lošeg udžbenika. U radu navodimo nekoliko ideja kako je to moguće učiniti.This is an attempt to place the problem of textbook theory into a new frame of reference provided by cultural-historical theory of development, using the idea about cultural-historical mediation of individual development and concept of CST as a basic analytical concepts. The new frame of reference introduces a new language on textbooks, opening a range of new research problems, while dealing with the old ones in a new and more complex way. Textbook is shifted from the usual pedagogic-didactic setting and placed in a more basic and cultural context. The paper is an attempt to bring the concept of cultural tools to a completely operational level, as well as to test the actual power of that concept by identifying CST in textbooks. Furthermore, this paper is an attempt elaborate the forms of social assistance that constitute the zone of proximal development, seen as the characteristics of joint activities of the child and a more competent participant (which is "hidden”, i.e., indirectly present, in this case). Vygotsky never specified the forms of social assistance, but rather gave general prescriptions (Moll, 1990), thus presenting one of the central theoretical and practical tasks for the followers of his ideas

Ochratoxin A in grapes and wine

U ovom radu izneseni su rezultati različitih istraživanja o prisutnosti okratoksina A u grožđu i vinu. Okratoksin A je mikotoksin kojeg proizvode neke plijesni roda Aspergillus (A. ochraceus i A. carbonarius) i Penicillium (P. verrucosum). Konzumacija ovog mikotoksina može biti uzrok različitim patologijama kod ljudi i životinja. Najčešći uzročnik kontaminacije vina okratoksinom A su plijesni roda Aspergillus. Prilikom primarne prerade grožđa, tijekom muljanja, okratoksin A iz micelija plijesni prelazi u mošt. Upravo zbog razlike u procesu prerade vina, tj. dužem trajanju kontakta bobice s moštom rizik kontaminacije okratoksinom A znatno je veći u crnim nego u bijelim vinima. Sva dosadašnja istraživanja pokazala su da su vina južnih, toplijih krajeva bitno izloženija riziku kontaminacije. U Europi je u mediteranskom području kontaminacija okratoksinom A česta, dok je u vinima sjevernijih dijelova rjeđe zabilježena.This paper presents the results of various studies on the presence of ochratoxin A in grapes and wine. Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin produced by some Aspergillus (A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius) and Penicillium (P. verrucosum) mold. Consumption of this mycotoxin may be the cause of various pathologies in humans and animals. The most common cause of wine contamination with ochratoxin A is the Aspergillus mold. During primary grape processing, pressing of the grapes, ochratoxin transfers from mold mycelia into grape juice. Because of the difference in the wine processing, the longer duration of the contact with berries, the risk of contamination with ochratoxin A is considerably higher in red than in white wines. All previous studies have shown that wines from southern, warmer regions are significantly more exposed to risk of contamination. In Europe, contamination with ochratoxin A is common in the Mediterranean area, while it is rarely found in the vineyards in the northern parts

Gender perspective in migration studies

Istraživačko polje migracija dugo vremena ostajalo je van glavnih teorijsko-institucionalnih tokova akademske sociologije, profilišući se kao interdisciplinarno područje koje se razvijalo u okvirima i pod uticajem različitih disciplina nauke o društvu. U okviru ovog polja naučnog istraživanja se, naročito u poslednje dve decenije, razvijalo interesovanje ka analizi rodnog aspekta migracionih procesa, gde se kategorija roda profiliše kao jedan od ključnih činilaca koji motiviše migracije, oblikuje njihov tok, posledice i specifično migraciono iskustvo. S prodorom kvalitativnih istraživačkih postupaka i razvojem postmoderne filozofije i feminističke teorije, dolazi do ustanovljavanja rodnih studija migracija kao posebne poddiscipline, koja je uspela da izgradi sopstveni teorijsko-kategorijalni aparat (i dobije akademsko-institucionalno utemeljenje) i manje ili više uspešno doprinese sagledavanju mnogostruke uslovljenosti migracionih procesa. Ovaj tekst predstavlja nastojanje da se da kratak pregled nastanka i razvoja ovog relativno novog istraživačkog područja u okviru nauke o društvu.Research field of migration has been developing for a long time parallel to and outside mainstream institutional academic sociology and its theoretical foundation. In the last two decades, within the field of migration studies, one specific aspect of the phenomena came to the research focus: gender, as significant factor that influences on motivation for migration, shaping, at the same time, its characteristics and specific experiences. With decisive breakthrough of qualitative methods in social sciences and humanities, as well as with gradual development of postmodern philosophy and feminist theory, gender migration studies have been established as research sub-discipline, with its own theoretical and categorical scientific apparatus (as well as institutional-academic grounding), managing more or less successfully to explain and understand multidimensional character of migration processes. This text represents an attempt to make relatively concise overview of disciplines' historical, theoretical and research field development, as a first step in its broader affirmation within Serbian institutional sociology

Characteristics of the structural and valueideological divergence of the population and elites in the context of global rise and the crises of neoliberalism: the case of Serbia

Globalni uspon neoliberalnog oblika regulacije kapitalističkog poretka, globalnih tržišta i supranacionalnih političko-bezbednosnih institucija označili su (privremeni?) kraj interesne utemeljenosti političkih elita u nacionalnim kon- tekstima, gde parlamentarne elite ubrzano gube moć, koja prelazi u ruke pred- stavnika izvršne vlasti (Lane, 2014: 111). Pored toga, sa širenjem multinacional- nih kompanija, ekonomske elite ubrzano počinju da se konstituišu na dualnim osnovama: s jedne strane, u njihov sastav ulaze predstavnici lokalnog krupnog kapitala, dok im se, s druge strane, u sve značajnijoj meri pridružuju predstavnici multinacionalnog (stranog) kapitala. Oslanjajući se na staru Polanjijevu tezu da neoliberalizam ima za posledicu nametanja tržišnih merila i vrednosti ne samo ekonomskoj nego i političkoj i društvenoj organizaciji, Dejvid Lejn tvrdi da se hegemone lokalne (političke i ekonomske) elite u sve značajnijoj meri oblikuju i reprodukuju shodno interesima i vrednostima globalnog kapitalističkog sistema, odnosno da u sve manjoj meri predstavljaju interese i dele strukturno-ideološke karakteristike lokalnih populacija. Navedeni proces Lejn naziva divergencijom (de-coupling) elita i populacije, nastojeći da ukaže na neke od njegovih karakteri- stika na primeru Velike Britanije (2014). Na temelju podataka koji su dobijeni putem kvantitativnih empirijskih istraživanja populacije, te predstavnika ekonomske i političke elite u Srbiji (2012–2015), kao i podataka dobijenih u ranijim istraži- vanjima elita i populacije (1989, 2003), nastojaćemo da testiramo ovu hipotezu poredeći odnos između sledećih elemenata u tri vremenske tačke: 1. strukturalne karakteristike: a) materijalni položaj elita i populacije, b) stepen obrazovanja, i c) klasno – slojno poreklo; i 2. vrednosno-ideološke karakteristike: stepen pristajanja uz vrednosti ekonomskog i političkog liberalizma.The global rise of the neo-liberal form of capitalist regulation, global markets and supra-national political and security institutions marked the (temporary?) end of the interest embededness of political elites in national contexts, with parliamentary elites rapidly losing their power that goes to the hands of representatives of the executive power (Lane, 2014: 111). In addition, with the expansion of multinational companies, economic elites are rapidly starting to be constituted on dual bases: on the one hand, they are comprised of representatives of local large-scale capital, while, on the other hand, of the representatives of multinational (foreign) capital. Drawing on the old Polanyi’s thesis that neoliberalism has the effect of imposing market benchmarks and values not only on economic but also on political and social organization, David Lane argues that hegemonic local (political and economic) elites are increasingly being shaped and reproduced according to the interests and values of the global capitalist system, that is, to a lesser degree, they represent the interests and share the structural-ideological characteristics of the local populations. Lane called this process a de-coupling of the elite and the population, striving to point out some of its characteristics on the example of the United Kingdom (2014). On the basis of the data obtained through quantitative empirical research of the population, representatives of the economic and political elites in Serbia (2012–2015), as well as data obtained in previous studies of elites and populations (1989, 2003), we will try to test this hypothesis by comparing the relationship between the following elements in three time points: 1. structural characteristics: a) the material position of the elite and the population, b) the level of education, and c) class origin; and 2. value-ideological characteristics: the degree of acceptance along of the values of economic and political liberalism

Promena vrednosnih orijentacija u postsocijalističkim društvima Srbije i Hrvatske: politički i ekonomski liberalizam

Bibliografija: str. 287-29

Vojin Milić’s Contribution to the Study of Global Inequalities in the Production of Knowledge: A Theoretical Consideration of the Use of the Conceptual Pair Center-Periphery in the Study of the Organization of Science

Tokom proteklih decenija, sa sve snažnijim procesima akademskog umrežavanja, raste i broj radova koji problematizuju pitanje globalnih akadem- skih nejednakosti, nudeći teorijske elaboracije uzroka, posledica i načina na koji se strukturiše globalna hijerarhija u proizvodnji znanja. S obzirom na to da se pomenute nejednakosti strukturišu na političkom, ekonomskom, kulturnom i geografskom nivou, o njima se neretko govori u terminima teorija zavisnosti i teorije svetskog sistema (gde se linije distinkcije povlače između centra, polu- periferije i periferije) ili savremenih postkolonijalnih teorija (u okviru kojih se razlikuju globalni sever, globalni jug i, u novije vreme, globalni istok). Problem nejednakosti u globalnoj proizvodnji znanja u sociologiji se poslednjih godina sve više tematizuje ili koristi kao analitički koncept i u okviru domaće nauke o društvu. Međutim, pionirski rad, koji je na pomenutu tendenciju ukazao znatno ranije no što je ona postala u potpunosti uobličena i u nauci o društvu popula- rizovana, vezuje se za Vojina Milića. Reč je o tekstu pod nazivom „Odnosi sre- dište–periferija kao problem u društvenim proučavanjima nauke”, objavljenom 1989. godine u časopisu Sociologija, odnosno 1995. godine u okviru obimne monografije Sociologija nauke.During the past decades, with intensification of the processes of academic networking, the number of works that problematize global academic inequalities, offering theoretical elaborations of causes, consequences and mechanisms of the structuring of global hierarchies in knowledge production, is also growing. Given that these inequalities are structured on a political, economic, cultural and geographical level, they are often discussed in terms of dependency and world-system theory (where the lines of distinction are drawn between center, semi-periphery and periphery) or modern post-colonial theories (within which the Global North, Global South and, more recently, the Global East are distinguished). In recent years, the problem of inequality in the global production of knowledge has been increasingly thematized or used as an analytical concept within domestic social science, as well. However, one of the pioneering works, which pointed to the aforementioned tendency much earlier than it became fully formed and popularized in social science, is related to Vojin Milić’s text entitled „Center-periphery relations as a problem in the social study of science”, published first in 1989, within the journal Sociologija, and later in 1995, as part of the authors’ extensive monograph Sociology of Scienc