(A)społeczność lokalna? Przemiany więzi społecznych na przykładzie dzielnicy Ksawera w Będzinie

The article, based on biographic interviews conducted in 2009 and 2010, discusses the matter of social integration and disintegration of local community in Ksawera — a postindustrial suburb of Będzin town in Zagłębie region. The main object of analysis is the change of social bonds after transformation and closing of coal mine, which was main employer for inhabitants during real socialism

Gry językowe: polski antysemityzm czy żydowski antypolonizm?

Od upadku komunizmu Polska w mediach zagranicznych bardzo często pojawia się w kontekście antysemityzmu i ksenofobii. Nie przesądzając o prawdziwości takiego obrazu, należy zadać pytanie o jego genezę. Można wyróżnić wiele czynników, które ukształtowały taką, a nie inną wizję naszego kraju na zewnątrz. Należą do nich między innymi: nieuregulowany problem własności dóbr żydowskich sprzed wojny, tzw. sprawa Jedwabnego oraz liczne wypowiedzi polskich polityków i kościelnej hierarchii. Oskarżenia Polski i Polaków o antysemityzm nie pozostają w kraju bez echa. [fragm.

Cudzoziemcy na Górnym Śląsku: analiza dyskursu medialnego na temat ośrodków dla cudzoziemców w Katowicach i Bytomiu

The article presents the question of the functioning centres for foreigners (asylum seekers) run by the Office for Foreigners in Upper Silesian cities Katowice (2008—2009) and Bytom (2008—2010) in the media discourse at the local, regional and national level. The analysis concerns the texts and articles and comments from online forums related to the presence of foreigners — mostly Muslims from northern Caucasus, mainly from Chechenya — applying for refugee status in Poland. It was also analysed how the media created the image of these foreigners as well as the naming strategies and attitudes towards this group of the “Others”

Evaluation of European Union Projects - sign of development or meaningless practice? Example of the Silesian Voivodeship

The research and the results which are presented above certainly do not exhaust the subject of evaluation of projects financed from the EU but are a presentation centred around the reflections on the self-improvement function of evaluation practices. A few further aspects should be noted. The first major issue that definitely stands out is associated with the very small percentage of projects in which evaluation was carried out in an exemplary manner – only one in eight (12.8%) cases. Even taking into account the fact that in 43 projects (or 30%) more or less successful attempts to carry out evaluation activities (or recognised as such by the implementers) were made all the time, more than half, as many as 79, did not take into account the stage of evaluation. The reasons – or rather, the reasons given by the respondents – for this state of affairs were already mentioned above. The data indicate that the project implementers face various barriers in their evaluation. On the one hand, it is often a lack of sufficient technical knowledge and the broader financial issues, but on the other hand, there were factors such as lack of conviction about the need for evaluation research. It is worth considering this argument because it suggests that, for a large part of the implementers, feedback seems to be unnecessary – or, in a more optimistic version – the ‘cost’ of obtaining it appears to be too high in relation to its value. This puts into question the importance of the self-improvement function of evaluation, which is sometimes regarded as a kind of unnecessarily addition to the project. Optimism can be found on the part of the – admittedly small number of – individuals who coped very well with the difficult task of evaluation of the implemented projects, one effect of which was to formulate conclusions and recommendations. What is important is that the projects in which evaluation was carried out and regarded as exemplary were carried out by different units: employment offices and social welfare centres (in partnership with other institutions) and local government units. Research shows that the above-mentioned topics and the methods used by the evaluators, were also very diverse. It is finally noted that the curricula of courses ending in writing a thesis on a project, more often than not, have a requirement of creating the concept of evaluation of projects to serve the real needs of the communities to which they are addressed. Introduction of evaluation studies in humanities and social curricula is the answer to those responsible for education at university level to the needs of the national and European labour markets. By strengthening the capacity of the future of public administration staff and the third sector in the long run one is given a chance to spread and increase the level of conducting evaluation research on the implementation of projects financed from the EU funds

Patterns of Resilience during Socioeconomic Crises among Households in Europe (RESCuE): Concept, Objectives and Work. Packages of an EU FP 7 Project

Since 2008, Europe has been shaken by an ongoing crisis. If relevant parts of populations are exposed to socioeconomic risks, it is a distinctive characteristic of European political ethics that they must not be left alone, but should be subject to support and solidarity by budget support policy, economic development policies and social policy at different levels. But, in analogy with medical and psychological findings, some parts of the vulnerable population, although experiencing the same living conditions as others, are developing resilience, which in our context means that they perform social, economic and cultural practices and habits which protect them from suffer and harm and support sustainable patterns of coping and adaption. This resilience to socioeconomic crises at household levels is the focus of the project. It can consist of identity patterns, knowledge, family or community relations, cultural and social as well as economic practices, be they formal or informal. Welfare states, labour markets and economic policies at both macro or meso level form the context or ‘environment’ of those resilience patterns. For reasons of coping with the crisis without leaving the common ground of the implicit European social model (or the unwritten confession to the welfare state) under extremely bad monetary conditions in many countries, and for reasons of maintaining quality of life and improving social policy, it is a highly interesting perspective to learn from emergent processes of resilience development and their preconditions. Thus, the main questions are directed at understanding patterns and dimensions of resilience at micro-/household level in different types of European member and neighbour states accounting for regional varieties, relevant internal and external conditions and resources as well as influences on these patterns by social, economic or labour market policy as well as legal regulations

Społeczność romska w Polsce jako beneficjenci działań pomocowych

Tematem artykułu jest sytuacja romskiej grupy etnicznej w Polsce jako beneficjentów działań pomocowych w szerokim rozumieniu tego pojęcia – zarówno ze strony systemu pomocy społecznej, jak i edukacji oraz instytucji rynku pracy. W części pierwszej przedstawiono krótką charakterystykę społeczności romskiej w Polsce na tle innych krajów regionu ze szczególnym naciskiem na jej sytuację socjalno-bytową i zachodzące przemiany o charakterze obyczajowym. W dalszej części opisano sytuację Romów mieszkających w Polsce jako klientów sektora pomocy społecznej oraz wyzwania i dylematy dla pracy socjalnej i projektowania polityk sektorowych, w tym zwłaszcza zatrudnienia i edukacji, wynikające z pracy w środowisku odmiennym kulturowo od większości społeczeństwa. W kontekście implementacji polityki multikulturalizmu poruszono kwestię potencjalnych możliwości dostosowania krajowej polityki społecznej do specyficznych potrzeb i wymogów kulturowych romskiej mniejszości etnicznej oraz zaprezentowano przykłady dobrych praktyk. Tekst jest oparty na źródłach zastanych, a także częściowo na badaniach własnych autorki związanych z przygotowaniem rozprawy doktorskiej oraz na jej osobistych doświadczeniach w pracy z Romami w Małopolsce i na Górnym Śląsku oraz z osobami z ich otoczenia społeczneg

Roma community in Poland as beneficiaries of welfare activities

The topic of the article is the situation of the Roma ethnic group in Poland as beneficiaries of assistance activities in the broad sense of the term – both of the social welfare system, as well as education and labour market institutions. In the first part, a short description of the Roma community in Poland will be presented on the background of other countries of the region, with particular emphasis on their social and living situation and moral changes. The situation of Roma living in Poland as clients of the social welfare sector will be described further along with challenges and dilemmas for social work and designing sectoral policies, including labour market and education, resulting from working in a culturally different environment from the majority society. In the context of multiculturalism policy implementation, the issue of potential possibilities of adapting national social policy to the specific needs and cultural requirements of the Roma ethnic minority will be discussed, as well as examples of good practices will be presented. The text is based on existing data sources, as well as partly on the author's own research conducted due to being prepared PhD dissertation and her personal experience in working with Roma in Małopolska and Upper Silesia

Patterns of Resilience during Socioeconomic Crises among Households in Europe (RESCuE): Concept, Objectives and Work. Packages of an EU FP 7 Project

Since 2008, Europe has been shaken by an ongoing crisis. If relevant parts of populations are exposed to socioeconomic risks, it is a distinctive characteristic of European political ethics that they must not be left alone, but should be subject to support and solidarity by budget support policy, economic development policies and social policy at different levels. But, in analogy with medical and psychological findings, some parts of the vulnerable population, although experiencing the same living conditions as others, are developing resilience, which in our context means that they perform social, economic and cultural practices and habits which protect them from suffer and harm and support sustainable patterns of coping and adaption. This resilience to socioeconomic crises at household levels is the focus of the project. It can consist of identity patterns, knowledge, family or community relations, cultural and social as well as economic practices, be they formal or informal. Welfare states, labour markets and economic policies at both macro or meso level form the context or ‘environment’ of those resilience patterns. For reasons of coping with the crisis without leaving the common ground of the implicit European social model (or the unwritten confession to the welfare state) under extremely bad monetary conditions in many countries, and for reasons of maintaining quality of life and improving social policy, it is a highly interesting perspective to learn from emergent processes of resilience development and their preconditions. Thus, the main questions are directed at understanding patterns and dimensions of resilience at micro-/household level in different types of European member and neighbour states accounting for regional varieties, relevant internal and external conditions and resources as well as influences on these patterns by social, economic or labour market policy as well as legal regulations

Patterns of Resilience during Socioeconomic Crises among Households in Europe (RESCuE): Concept, Objectives and Work. Packages of an EU FP 7 Project

Since 2008, Europe has been shaken by an ongoing crisis. If relevant parts of populations are exposed to socioeconomic risks, it is a distinctive characteristic of European political ethics that they must not be left alone, but should be subject to support and solidarity by budget support policy, economic development policies and social policy at different levels. But, in analogy with medical and psychological findings, some parts of the vulnerable population, although experiencing the same living conditions as others, are developing resilience, which in our context means that they perform social, economic and cultural practices and habits which protect them from suffer and harm and support sustainable patterns of coping and adaption. This resilience to socioeconomic crises at household levels is the focus of the project. It can consist of identity patterns, knowledge, family or community relations, cultural and social as well as economic practices, be they formal or informal. Welfare states, labour markets and economic policies at both macro or meso level form the context or ‘environment’ of those resilience patterns. For reasons of coping with the crisis without leaving the common ground of the implicit European social model (or the unwritten confession to the welfare state) under extremely bad monetary conditions in many countries, and for reasons of maintaining quality of life and improving social policy, it is a highly interesting perspective to learn from emergent processes of resilience development and their preconditions. Thus, the main questions are directed at understanding patterns and dimensions of resilience at micro-/household level in different types of European member and neighbour states accounting for regional varieties, relevant internal and external conditions and resources as well as influences on these patterns by social, economic or labour market policy as well as legal regulations