Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika
Not a member yet
364 research outputs found
Sort by
Family Associations as Social Capital for Families and Society
Get PDFAt a time of renewed interest in the family, family associations are attracting increasing attention. This is due to a growing awareness that fraying social bonds and the general crisis of the welfare system are related to lack of support for the family and its code of solidarity. This article explores a number of issues, starting with the question of the identity of a family association, both in theory, within the framework of relational sociology and international literature, and in practice, in light of the international federations of family associations’ membership criteria. Finally, family associations will be described according with the concept of social capital, to show that when families form associations with other families they become an irreplaceable resource for society
The Social Policy of Combating Domestic Violence in Georgia and Lithuania
Get PDFDomestic violence is perceived as one of the most severe violations of human rights and gender inequality. It has negative psychological, social and economic impact on the victim. In seeking to combat violence of an intimate partner, laws against domestic violence were implemented in many European countries. Two countries, Lithuania and Georgia, are compared in the article. Even if they have different locations and patriarchal traditions, the common past of belonging to Soviet Union unites them.The article compares the political measures and their impact on the solution of the domestic violence problem. Even the laws criminalizing domestic violence were implemented in 2006 in Georgia and in 2011 in Lithuania. The problem of domestic violence remains a top issue in both countries. The amount of reported domestic violence events maintains a high level; however, the investigated cases level remains low. Still, a high level of unreported domestic violence cases remain in both countries. Insufficient shelters for women victims of violence remain a problem in both countries
Anthropological Foundations of the Family and the Common Good
Get PDFThe family and the common good are often related to each other in contemporarydiscourse and debate, generally in a functionalistic sense: the family is taken to be either necessary or not for the civil common good. However, the family is not itself considered a common good. In fact, however, the family is the paradigmatic example of an “integral common good” because it is the family in which the members are most obviously integrated and related in a community which is in itself a good. Western liberal thought, on the other hand, is unable to conceive the family except in its own image, as a fundamentally constructed reality composed of self-initiating and autonomous individuals. Yet in reality, the family shows us the ontological foundations and meaning of natural human communities, ontological foundations that must be respected and promoted by civil society if it is to be authentically human
Priėmimas globojant vaiką: patirtis, kurianti naują kultūrą
Get PDFThis article discusses the welcoming concept and experience in fostering a child in Lithuania. It is important to study the phenomenon of foster families, since a very high level of institutionalization exists within the sphere of child care in the country and the number of families to potentially welcome children abandoned by their parents is decreasing. Another reason is that the culture of gratuitousness and solidarity is very scarce; therefore, it is crucial to analyze the families that positively experience fostering and represent the best practices in this field. Such conception of welcoming is linked with the procreative nature of the family discussed in Christian anthropological literature, which is understood not only as an ability of a couple – male and female – to generate new life, but also as a generation in spiritual, cultural and social ways. The relationship of a man and a woman, in its differences and complementation, if only it is open and alive, can be generative and acceptive of others, able to give space to, embrace and support even distant and unknown people.To explain welcoming, the concept of a gift is presented with reference to different authors of Christian anthropology, philosophy and theology – K. L. Schmitz (1980), Schildler (2011), Lopez (2014 a, 2014 b), Giussani (2012), Laumenskaitė (2010). This complex concept is revealed as a freely and in an unmerited way received gift, related to the nature of gratuity in the relationship with God. In seeking to introduce the most significant experiences of fostering in families, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 foster families – married couples (wives and husbands were interviewed separately), using the qualitative interview methodology. Certain families, those related to the NGO SOTAS, which have positive experiences of fostering a child that is not of a relative origin, were purposefully selected for this research. It was also revealed that they are practicing Christians (not all of them Catholics) and belong to Christian communities. This research has highlighted that the reasons and paths of becoming foster parents of each family are different; however, in general, it is possible to say that it is related to the need to share and give oneself to others – this as a gift that they recognize to have experienced in their childhood or being adults and are still experiencing in their lives. Sharing this desire in their families and with their children (all families have their own children, most of whom are adults) formed the decision to foster children who lost parental care. Nevertheless, the main influence for their decision to foster children was their faith in God, participation in the community, meaningful events and meetings. Some of them called it the calling, which they recognized as the call of God to fulfill his will; they also perceive a child as a given, as a gift of God. For families, fostering is a new and different form of parenting (not the same as parenting their own children), where the experience of unconditional love grows. However, such attitude of foster parents towards their children, which is not automatic and easy, does not resolve problems and dramas of foster parents.Nevertheless, it changes appearance and increases consciousness and liberates them from limitations and the fear of making mistakes. Therefore, together with inevitable devotion and difficulties, it is the experience of joy, fulfillment and gratitude that a child exists and changes the life of the whole family. In the article, the problem of a child’s relationships with his family of origin is treated as well, a problem which is frequently discussed among various researchers and specialists because of its meaning and benefit for a child. Fostering puts a child in the situation of a double belonging (Roncari, 2014, and others), it is a crucial and most dramatic point for all participants of foster care – firstly, for the child. Thus, the main task of foster parents is to rebuild the lost relationship, unconditionally giving themselves, but not replacing and devaluing the families of origin, which remains for a child as a fact, the aspect of truth about him. Having generalized the material of the interviews with foster families, a particular feature of their experience can be highlighted: it is the unconditional attitude and openness to the child and the reality, which obviously has influence on the entire fostering process. These fostering families receive from within their own families, as well as their relatives, communities and SOTAS, which is the organization they come to for consultations and participation in the self-help groups of fostering families. Finally, the experience of faith is the main basis for these families and the basis of their conception of education and relationships. These experiences of foster parents witness about a hard, but attractive form of being a family in which they find the calling and this inevitably changes social environment as well. This shows how families can be a generative place not only for their children, but also for others, thus contributing to the common good.Straipsnyje nagrinėjama vaikus globojančių šeimų patirtis atsiremiant į priėmimo sampratą krikščioniškos antropologijos požiūriu. Tyrime dalyvavusiems globėjams svetimo vaiko priėmimas kelia nemažai iššūkių, tačiau kartu tai yra pilnatvės, džiaugsmo, dėkingumo patirtis, kuri juos ugdo, didina jų sąmoningumą, keičia visos šeimos gyvenimą. Vaiko globa jiems yra pašaukimo naujajai tėvystei ir motinystei atradimas ir išgyvenimas. Globėjų patirtys byloja apie galimybę vaikui, netekusiam savo šeimos globos, augti ir būti ugdomam kitos šeimos aplinkoje, kuri gali užtikrinti stokojamus jo priklausymo, stabilių santykių poreikius. Vaiko globa šeimoje yra socialiniai ištekliai vaikui, bet drauge ir visuomenei – kuriantys naują, dosnumu ir solida- rumu grįstą kultūrą ir prisidedantys prie bendrojo gėrio. Todėl svarbu, kad socialinės paramos lygmeniu jie būtų atpažįstami, palaikomi ir stiprinami
Is the family really an outdated institution in Italy as well as in Europe? Findings from the European Values Study
Get PDFThe concept of institution, one of the main issues in the social sciences, has been developed in a number of anthropological, economical, juridical, political, and sociological institutional theories. There is no overarching theory, however, to explain what institutions are for, how they are formed and why they change. This contribution takes into account, in particular, the institution of the family as a fundamental institution of society, not only because it ensures reproduction over time but because it shapes the personal and social identity through socialization of new generations, and will verify whether the family is still considered valid as an institution. In particular, the research questions to be addressed are: is the (marriage-based) family still considered a valid institution by Italians and Europeans? Is it possible to identify specific elements linked to a strong idea of the family? Which elements? Using data from the European Values Study (EVS) 2008–2009, an index was devised to measure the (high, medium, low) importance attributed to the family as a social institution, and its structural and cultural characteristics in both Italy and Europe (with a total of 28 countries considered), as well as with clusters correlated to it
Lietuvos socialinės įtraukties politika: kodėl ji būtent tokia?
Get PDFIn order to reveal the dichotomy of convergence and divergence, the article discusses the profile of Lithuanian social inclusion policy. The article critically evaluates the Open Method of Coordination and the new social policy tool, which is still under the process of elaboration – the European Pillar for Social Rights. The concrete examples of Lithuanian social policy that suit the definition of the austerity measures reveal thatinstead of a promoted and supposed convergence towards Social Europe, the European policies of social inclusion diverge. In order to explain the diverging social policies and their institutional constellations, the theory of path dependency, one that emphasizes the transaction costs and typology of social knowledge, is employed. The article also aims to elaborate the theoretical framework for the examination of the relationship between the profile of social inclusion policy and value orientations of the population. Lithuanian policy experts of social inclusion, as well as professionals working in the same field of social policy, are inclined to prioritize the austerity measures and the role of social control.Straipsnyje siekiama galima atsakyti į klausimą, kodėl Lietuvos socialinės įtraukties politikos profilis yra būtent toks, koks jis yra. Kritiškai aptariamas socialinės įtraukties politikos konvergenciją turėjęs ir vis dar turintis skatinti atviro koordinavimo metodas bei naujas Europos Sąjungos politikų ir biurokratų rengiamas instrumentas Europos socialinių teisių piliorius (European Pillar for Social Rights). Apibūdinant socialinės įtraukties politikos profilį ir iliustruojant jį konkrečiais socialinės politikos pavyzdžiais, formuluojama socialinės politikos konvergencijos ir divergencijos dichotomija. Ieškant paaiškinimo, kodėl socialinės įtraukties politika, užuot konvergavusi, diverguoja, pasitelkiamos priklausomybės nuo tako teorija, kuri pabrėžia transakcinius institucinių konsteliacijų kaitos kaštus, ir socialinio žinojimo tipologijos teorija, kuri suteikia įrankių aiškintis, kaip institucinės konsteliacijos įsitvirtina skirtingose socialinio žinojimo struktūrose. Straipsnyje aptariami Lietuvoje atliktų tyrimų duomenys, kurie galėtų būti priskiriami ekspertų ir gerai informuotų piliečių socialinio žinojimo tipams. Lietuvos socialinės įtraukties politikos ekspertai ir šioje srityje dirbantys specialistai, kurie atitinka gerai informuoto piliečio apibrėžimą, yra linkę sureikšminti griežtas taupymo priemones ir socialinės kontrolės didinimą
Epilepsija sergančių asmenų ekonominės padėties ir gyvenimo sąlygų įvertinimas
Get PDFResearchers see a definite link between health and economic statuses, but relatively little is known about the economic status among people with particular chronic diseases. Less is known about the economic status and living conditions of people with epilepsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the economic status and living conditions among people who suffer from epilepsy in Lithuania.The article is based on the data of empirical research that was carried out in 2014. During this research, 220 people with epilepsy, aged 18–85 years, were investigated. The evaluation of some aspects of economic status and living conditions of people with epilepsy, such as personal and household income (income responses were based on subjective measures), sources of household income, housing quality, durable goods and some aspects of financial capability are presented in this paper. The main findings of research were that income differentiation among people with epilepsy is high. Income disparities between rural and urban areas, like between different educational levels, are observed. The vast majority of income of people with epilepsy is low and it represents a significant element of their household income. A quarter of people who have epilepsy cannot afford to buy new clothes and every second person cannot replace his/her worn-out furniture. Even a tenth of people with epilepsy cannot afford to eat meat, chicken and fish (or a vegetarian equivalent dish) every second day. An absence of durable goods is more associated with the personal choice of people with epilepsy rather than with a lack of resources. The obtained results show that people with epilepsy dutifully pay all their monthly bills (utility bills, rent and/or loans to credit payments), but more than a quarter of them lack the necessary resources to accumulate money for the future (their money always runs out and they never have any additional left over) and the largest group of people with epilepsy (30%) thought that they would manage for less than one month if they faced a drop in income.Straipsnyje nagrinėjami tam tikri epilepsija sergančių suaugusių asmenų (ESA) ekonominės padėties ir gyvenimo sąlygų aspektai. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo prastą ESA ekonominę padėtį: didelę sergančiųjų asmeninių pajamų diferenciaciją, menkas daugumos ESA asmenines pajamas, kurios sudaro reikšmingą dalį ESA namų ūkio pajamų. Ketvirtadalis tiriamųjų namų ūkių nurodė negalintys nusipirkti naujų drabužių, kas antras negalėjo pakeisti nusidėvėjusių baldų naujais, dešimtadalis negalėjo gerai maitintis. ESA pasižymi pareigingu mėnesinių komunalinių sąskaitų, būsto nuomos ir/ar paskolų kredito įmokų apmokėjimu, tačiau daugiau nei ketvirtadalis namų ūkių neturi reikiamų išteklių, kad galėtų sukaupti pinigų ateičiai, nenumatytiems atvejams, pensijai ar pan., 30 proc. epilepsija sergančiųjų iš turimų santaupų galėtų išgyventi daugiausia mėnesį
Nieko geriau už paskaitą? Apie socialinio darbo universitetinių studijų mokymo(si) metodus
Get PDFStraipsnyje svarstoma, kurie mokymo(si) metodai tinkamiausi universitetinėms socialinio darbo studijoms. Remiantis socialinio darbo bakalauro ir magistro studijų studentų apklausa nustatyta, kad paskaita kaip metodas labiausiai padeda jų kompetencijų ugdymuisi. Labiausiai stebina tyrimo rezultatas, kad paskaitų metu studentai ne tik įgyja žinių, bet ir jaučiasi labiausiai išmokstantys žinias taikyti. Šie tyrimo rezultatai kviečia diskutuoti, kodėl paskaita - klasikinis universitetinių studijų metodas net ir tokioje į praktiką orientuotoje specialybėje kaip socialinis darbas pasirodo esantis populiariausias ir duoda studentams daugiausiai naudos. Vienas iš galimų atsakymų – paskaitos, kaip tarpusavio sąveika kuriamo gyvo naratyvo, įtaigumas ir ugdomasis poveikis, atveriantis kur kas daugiau mokymo ir išmokimo galimybių
