Pasaulyje bet kurio reiškinio tyrinėjimas nebus pakankamas, jeigu nebus siejamas su vienu reikšmingiausių šių laikų veiksnių – naujosiomis technologijomis. Mokslininkų teigimu, pastarosios transformuoja ir laikui bėgant vis labiau transformuos susiformavusias žmonių įsitikinimų sistemas, taigi, keis ir pilietines vertybes. Vertybės – svarbi pedagogikos mokslų tyrimų sritis. Vienodos vertybės žmones vienija, skirtingos skiria, todėl svarbu, kad kuo daugiau vertybių būtų diegiama per praktinį patyrimą, todėl pilietinis ugdymas jau tapęs viena prioritetinių sričių. Bendrojo lavinimo mokykla Lietuvoje siekia išugdyti sąmoningus piliečius, ne tik išmanančius, bet ir gebančius pasinaudoti savo teisėmis, žinančius savo pareigas bei mokančius gyventi ir kurti nuolat besikeičiančioje, globalizacijos veikiamoje visuomenėje. Viešoji erdvė atlieka svarbų vaidmenį formuojant piliečių nuomonę, nes sekdami informaciją internete, daugiau ar mažiau žmonės ima tikėti tuo, ką mato ir ką skaito. Internete skleidžiama informacija vartotojas naudojasi atskirai nuo aplinkinių, todėl dažnai gali interpretuoti neteisingai. Vertinant virtualiąsias, viešąsias erdves svarbūs laisvo prieinamumo ir racionalios diskusijos veiksniai, skatinantys teisingą čia pateikiamos informacijos suvokimą ir interpretavimą. Deja, dažnai daugelis žiniasklaidai keliamų reikalavimų paminami, todėl ir pilietinis raštingumas, pilietinis dalyvavimas ar paprasčiausias pasitikėjimas žiniasklaida, kitu žmogumi ar bet kokia... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / No investigation in the world cannot be fulfilled in the best way without connecting it to the most significant and meaning agency of today – modern technologies. Scientists state that modern technologies transform present systems of human convictions and will transform even more in the future. It means that modern technologies will influence and transform civic values. Values – are essential area of pedagogical scientific researches. Same values unify people, as different values part people, so it is important to inculcate values into people through the practical experience. That is why civic education has now become a priority area. Basic schools of Lithuania try to form conscious citizens, who are able to fulfil the exercise of their rights, who knows their responsibilities, who are able to leave and create in the volatile and global society. Public area plays a huge role in forming citizens’ opinion as people searching for information in the Internet start to believe more or less to what they see and read. User usually uses the information separately from the others, so the information can be often badly interpreted. Estimating virtual public areas factors of free access and rational discussion are very important, as they may help in understanding and interpreting reached information. Unfortunately, most requirements to the mass communication are often ignored, therefore civic literacy, civic participation and even interest in media is weak. It can be explained, as media... [to full text]

Kai po trečiosios demokratizacijos bangos pagausėjo demokratinę santvarką pasirinkusių valstybių, prasidėjo demokratizacijos procesas. Demokratijos konsolidacija yra demokratizacijos proceso rezultatas, kuris parodo šalies demokratijos būseną. Ji išreiškiama pagal demokratijos kokybės kriterijus, kurie šiame darbe yra politinė kultūra, ekonominė ir socialinė padėtis bei žmonių teisės ir laisvės. Lietuva ir Estija yra vienos iš tų daugelio valstybių, kurios pasirinko demokratinę valdymo sistemą. Vis dėl to šiuo metu pastebimi esminiai šių valstybių demokratijos kokybės skirtumai, kurie atskleidžia pagrindinę darbo problemą. Problemos analizė yra šio darbo tikslas, kuris pasiekiamas, apibrėžiant demokratijos sąvoką ir jos egzistavimo sąlygas, analizuojant Lietuvos ir Estijos politinę kultūrą, ekonominę ir socialinę padėtį bei gyventojų teisių ir laisvių užtikrinimą. Taigi darbo objektas – tai Lietuvos ir Estijos demokratijos konsolidacija. Įgyvendinant uždavinius, pasitelkiami aprašomasis ir palyginamais metodai. Šie metodai padeda analizuoti valstybių demokratijos kokybės skirtumus ir nurodyti svarbiausias jų priežastis. Atlikus analizę paaiškėjo, kad Estija nuo nepriklausomybės atgavimo pasižymėjo geresne ekonomine ir socialine padėtimi. Tam įtakos galėjo turėti palanki geografinė padėtis, atviresnė nei Lietuvos rinkos ekonomika bei paveldėta vokiečių kultūra. Darbas atskleidė, kad kada keičiasi valstybių ekonominė situacija, tuo pat metu kinta politinės kultūros būklė... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The democratization process started in post-communits countries after the third wave of democratization. Democratic consolidation is the result of the democratic process that reflects the country‘s democratic status. It is expressed through the quality criteria of democracy. Political culture, economic and social situation and human rigths and freedoms are very important criteria which are used in order to explain the democracy’s consolidation in Lithuania and Estonia. Those countries chose the democratic regime. However, it is noticed that there are differences between Lithuanian and Estonian democracy’s consolidation. This is the main problem of this work. The problem’s analysis is the aim of the research that is achieved by defining the concept of democracy and its conditions, making an analysis of Lithuanian and Estonian political culture, economic and social situation and the human rights and freedoms. So, the paper’s object – is the consolidation of democracy in Lithuania and Estonia. The research uses descriptive and comparative methods that help to analyze the main differences and their reasons. The analysis has shown that Estonia has better economic and social situation than Lithuania since the becoming independent states. It could be influenced by advantageous geographical position, open market economy and German culture. The research has shown that when the economic situation is changing, the political culture is also changing at the same time. The comparison of... [to full text]

This thesis focuses on possible financial resources of the ESN nonprofit organisation. First chapters define the following terms: nonprofit organization and civic society; afterwards the ESN organization on international, national and local levels is introduced. The second part of the thesis offers a review of the possible resources like the EU program Youth in Action, structural funds, grant from the Czech ministry and Sophia Foundation. In the practical part, the research done in the ESN CR network can be found. The thesis also comprises the recommendations for the ESN CR members.

The mass character of political mobilization is not the only measure for the strength of civil society. It turns out that, in post-communist countries including the Czech Republic, transaction capacity became the characteristic of protest movements and initiatives. It referrs to the ability to cooperate, take advantage of inter-organizational network and share resources and know how. These transactions, to a certain extent, compensate for poor mobilization capacity, which is typical for new transactional activism and civic self-organizations. The contrast between "old" social movements, episodic mass mobilisations, new transactional activism, along with civil self-organization, illustrated that even without mass mobilization a mature structure of civil society and advocacy organizations can emerge and operate. The year 1998 brought the beginning of favorable conditions for political activism. It turns out that the activity of the "old" activism decreases with the number of members of trade unions, which is typical for this mode. At the same time, people prefer forms of direct action and direct public protest. Using five selected case studies we described the nature of episodic mass mobilization, civil ad hoc and informal self-organization and new transactional activism,whose repertoire is besides petitions...

Urban movements are defined as groups of citizens that try to emphasize urban problems. Originally urban movements in reference to Manuel Castells addressed issues arising from the collective consumption and uneven accumulation of capital to government. The interest of current urban movements is broader. They focus on topics as quality of urban life, accessibility of urban spaces and urban infrastructure and policy making process. The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe urban movements in the context of civic society in Prague. The thesis focuses on the origin, activities, topics and relations of urban movements. The case study focuses on urban movements participating on three topics in city district Prague 8 (eco-centre Trojský vrch, Invalidovna in Karlín and Libeňský most). Semi- structured interviews were conducted with representatives of involved urban movements and selected local politicians. Results of the research imply that Czech urban movements actively influence neighbourhoods. Activities of urban movements are affected by the members' relation to the locality, but also by the territorial scope of movements. Actions of the current urban movements are linked to new possibilities of ICT; the movement works with the community of social network users and uses the shared information...

The expert capacity of umbrella NGOs is not adequately addressed in the literature, although it is a key issue. This issue is pointing to the growing demands for accountable and transparent organizations with the expertise needed in the form of professionals who can actively promote the importance and interests of NGOs in a public policy process. Expert capacity is described in this case as the ability to perform analytical work in selected umbrella NGOs which focus on advocating interests and influencing the policy process. The aim of this work is to understand the expert capacity of the umbrella platforms of NGOs in advocating their interests and their influence on policy making and to outline the possibility of more effective cooperation with the state. For this purpose were chosen all-state national umbrella platforms, which defend the interests of organizations throughout the Czech Republic. In the theoretical part, the public policy theories: policy work, policy analytical capacity and evidence-based policy making are presented to facilitate the concept of expert capacities, complemented by the theory of interdependence, which presupposes mutual cooperation between civil society organizations and the state. Second part of the thesis analyzes the policy analytical capacity of two all-round...

This thesis focuses on specific business personality of the nineteenth century - Richard Dotzauer. It charts his work in the field of business, but so is devoted to his public activities in the federal and political life. As part of the work is monitored also the issue of entrepreneurial mentality and lifestyle. As part of this work is to form a wider excursion pointed to other significant business personality of study epoch. Richard Dotzauer represents a type of German businessmen. In the case of Andreas Haase terms of personality that goes nationally difficult to define. Jindřich Fügner is nationally representative of the Czech entrepreneurship. The work studies the personalities mentioned in the context of important processes of the nineteenth century, such as the industrialization, the formation of the national movement and the emergence of modern civil society. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This thesis examines how American and German constitutionalism, as shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), have mediated the tension between threats to stability and the imperative of renewal through occasional or constant interventions in their democratic processes. To do this, it primarily assesses the 1960s U.S. reapportionment cases and the European Parliament electoral threshold cases of 2011 and 2014. It also considers the ideas of four thinkers, theorists and jurists who have wrestled with the dilemma of how to maintain the bond between citizen and state: Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Hannah Arendt, Thomas Jefferson and Alexis de Tocqueville. Stability and renewal represent the twin orientation points for constitutionalism and the courts against which they must adjust to possible democratic threats, or new political and social forces in need of recognition. Threats to the state can emerge either from a surfeit of illiberal views in politics and society aimed at destroying an existing constitutional order, or when democratic channels become starved of new opinions through the constitutional or unconstitutional exclusion of voters and parties. A distinctive feature of the approach taken is the conceptual division between the ‘legal/institutional' space in which the Supreme Court and Bundesverfassungsgericht interpret constitutional meaning, and the ‘civic space' in which citizens accept or reject constitutional meaning. One central question is how American and German constitutionalism, and the U.S. Supreme Court and Bundesverfassungsgericht shape and influence the vital civic space that is integral to the democratic relationship between citizen and state, and the survival of the state itself. Ultimately it is concluded that without acceptance of the importance of law and constitutionalism by citizens in the civic space, the influence of the Supreme Court and the Bundesverfassungsgericht becomes purely institutional and effectively consigned to the courtroom.

The purpose of this study was to identify the role of nongovernmental organizations in Nicaragua and their impact on the status of women. The study analyzed the status of women at the beginning of the revolution, starting in 1980. The study then examined the evolution of non-governmental organizations deriving from the original group named the Luisa Amanda Espinosa Association of Nicaraguan Women (AMNLAE). It then described the impact of non-governmental organizations on policy making and building civic societies. Ultimately, this study analyzed the status of women thirty years after the revolution and demonstrates through institutionalism that because of the effect of non-governmental organizations on society, the status of women has improved. It then concluded that nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations are necessary for building civic societies wherein gender equality is accepted.

The main question of my thesis is what role non-profit organizations play in policies regarding Roma education in the Czech Republic. The thesis includes how these non-profit organizations can influence the policy. The research focuses on small groups of NGO's that support inclusive education in unspecialized schools. NGO's are active proponents of inclusion related politics, too. The research contains interviews with representatives or employers of these organizations, and it also looks into channels that represent the use in policy-making. The document presents what activists regard as effective instruments of policy-making, and which instruments activists consider as ineffective. The thesis comprises the difficulties and struggles these non-profit organizations encounter. The study tenders examples of policy-making in small groups of organizations, as well as possible ways NGO's advocate in the Czech state system. This thesis also compares inclusive education policy-making with other fields of policy-making. To conclude, this thesis analyzes the role of non-profit organizations and their ability to exert change at a policy level.