Czasopisma 2018
Communist Post-Communist Studies Vol. 59, iss. 1 (2018), s. 39-48
The article is an expression of search for the motivational role of religiosity in individuals’ civic activity. Mature civic attitude is shaped by the person’s values, individual and communal needs, and experience. The main thesis of the presented study is that the relation between religiosity and human will in many points overlap with the factors which determine the citizen’s activity for the benefit of the community. Stefan Huber’s Centrality of Religiosity Scale emphasizing the primary importance of the motivational value of religiosity and an original scale measuring civic involvement were used in the study (N ¼ 732). The study proved that religiosity mostly serves as a civic involvement predictor among women from the middle age group. Although a higher level of civic involvement was found in men, religiosity did not prove to be a significant factor explaining its higher level, which means that the determinants for it need to be sought in other spheres.
Romanian Journal of Political Science, 18(2):119-148
Empowering local government has been a recurrent element of political programmes of British and Italian governments since the 1990s. The political decisions concerning local government made in the past decade were undoubtedly influenced by the effects of the 2008 economic crisis and the global metropolisation processes with the growing importance of urban development affecting international economy and culture. In the British case, combined authorities are currently functioning in England, based on devolution agreements between the central government and local authorities. In Italy the central authorities, except in autonomous region, have chosen another way: metropolitan cities are established top-down, by way of constitutional and statutory laws. The aim of the article is comparative analysis of the process of development of English combined authorities and Italian metropolitan cities, providing the basis for discussion of the principles of structural change of local government units over the past decade. Legal, administrative, political and economic factors that contributed to the formation of new entities are analyzed. The study shows that both England and Italy face the problem of insufficient democracy in the bodies of combined authorities and metropolitan cities established after the onset of the economic crisis in 2008.
Journal of Comparative Politics, nr 2, s. 18-29
One of the inherent elements of democracy is citizens’ participation in public life. The most frequent ways of realization of political participation are universal elections and direct democracy institutions. The aim of this article is to compare the level of application of direct democracy mechanisms at the local and national level in Poland. The research was inspired by diverse institutional positions of direct democracy instruments in the Polish political system. The national ones are based on the Constitution of 1997, which gives them the status of high significance. But on the other hand, especially regarding formal conditions, it functionally limits their possible application. Local direct democracy institutions are normatively based on lower order acts (laws), which are much easier to amend. Hence, they are more adaptable to changing political and social conditions. The authors’ research confirmed the thesis that the use of direct democracy mechanisms is more intensive at the local level. As a continuation of their research, the authors reflect on the determinants of this situation, making six hypotheses.
Politcs in Central Europe, nr 3, s. 7-30
The aim of this study is to find out whether women in Polish politics are perceived through the prism of gender stereotypes. We conducted a two stage empiri¬cal study (N=447) to investigate the kinds of qualities that young voters attribute to politicians in the context of gender stereotypes. Our findings correlated with a pattern of research that shows that female politicians are typically associated with “female issues” and seen in terms of stereotypically feminine traits. The results of our survey showed gender solidarity, with female and male participants generally responding more positively to politicians of the same gender. There were also significant differ¬ences based on respondents’ interest in politics; people interested in politics were, for example, significantly less likely to ascribe qualities related to political ability and self composure to women. Finally, ideological identifications did not modify perceptions of female politicians but people who identified as right wing more often viewed male politicians as politically capable, diligent, likeable and go getters.
Res Rhetorica, no. 2, s. 29-44
Presented research describes the character of message and techniques used in TV political advertising during the 2016 US presidential campaign. The results unambiguously indicate a steady increase in the use of negative ads during political campaign. Television commercials of Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump focused mostly on discrediting their political opponent. In addition, the content of negative ads more frequently referred to image characteristics than to issues.
Problems of Sustaiable Development, Vol. 13, nr 1 (2018), s. 159-163
The article addresses the issue of upcycling as a new pattern of consumer behaviour, enabling the production of new goods from the previously used products, which prolongs their life. Such behaviour also leads to a reduction in the use of new products on a market basis and reduces the need to throw things out that have lost their former usefulness. Creativity is an important element of upcycling, which allows us to find new uses for things, which have previously been treated as useless rubbish or waste. Increasingly, large corporations take the example from individual and undertake activities related to upcycling of their products or convert things which have so far been treated as waste into starting material for manufacturing products. The activities described earlier are strengthened by the media, which promote the ideas of upcycling as a modern form of business, art and a new pattern of sustainable consumption. The following paper attempts to address these perspectives and indicates the opportunities and threats that are brought about by this phenomenon for the functioning of the communal services sector.