|
|
2003:2 Intergenerational Biographic Configurations of the Inhabitants of the NISA Euroregion |
František Zich, Ondřej Roubal, Barbora Spalová |
|
The study provides a summary of the data and information that was acquired from biographic research on the identity and mentality of the population living in the Czech part of the NISA Euroregion. It follows up on the results of the international project “Biographic Identity in the Borderlands“, which was conducted by the “Borderlands Team“ at the Institute of Sociology AS CR, in 1999 to 2002, in cooperation with Göttingen University and the University of Warsaw. The study also includes information drawn from work on the project “The Regional Identity of the Population of the NISA Euroregion. (Project GA CR 403/02/1332) The method of research is founded on biographic interviews with representatives of the generation of “grandparents“ and the generation of “grandchildren“. An analysis of the biographies made it possible to construct individual types of intergenerational constellations. The persistent type of intergenerational configuration is characterised by the presence of a relatively stronger tie between generations (traditions, values, a social bond). The younger generation continues in the family tradition in congruence with what outside changes to the societal system have introduced. The immanently modernising type is characterised by the acquired and transferred general civilisational values and the trends of their generation. The affirmatively modernising type of intergenerational behaviour is characterised by the modernity of the younger generation, which is not, however, in congruence with the environment of the older generation. The dislocated type refers to a member of the younger generation that has an entirely different manner and direction of orientation than their parents and grandparents. The types presented are characterised in the study by means of categories that were derived from the biographic material, and are illustrated with selected statements made by the respondents.
Summary
The study contains data and information from the biographic research on the identity and mentality of the population living in the Czech part of the NISA Euroregion. It follows up on the results of the international project “Biographic Identity in the Borderlands“, which was carried out by the “Borderlands Team“ at the Institute of Sociology AS CR, in 1999 to 2002, in cooperation with Göttingen University and the University of Warsaw. The study also includes data from the research conducted on the regional dimensions of the biographic identity of the population.
The Czech part of the NISA Euroregion is mainly comprised of the territory from which Germans were transferred out of the country at the end of the Second World War. The study records the process of forming the social and cultural environment in these newly arisen local societies, and notes the social structure of the population and its regional identity. These questions are addressed in the first two chapters.
The method of research is based on biographic interviews with members of the generation of “grandparents“ and the generation of “grandchildren“. This enabled a comparative analysis and made it possible to derive data relating to the issues of biographic identity and national mentality in a generational perspective. Altogether 60 pairs of biographic interviews were conducted with respondents with varying social backgrounds and from various parts of the region. The aim was to ensure the necessary representative level for the data that was to be acquired.
On the basis of a gradual comparative analysis of the biographies, dimensions characterising the substantial content of the identity of the population under study were deduced, and subsequently basic types of intergenerational biographic constellations were constructed. The most influential dimension of the intergenerational configuration is “modernisation“, (as a lasting civilisational trend), or the reflection and understanding of modernisation and people’s attitudes towards it, and primarily then also the participation of these individuals in contemporary modernisation processes. The analyses of the biographic interviews of the generational pairs indicate that the intensity or the degree of modernity in the behaviour of the younger generation varies in the comparison with the generation of grandparents. By tracing the modernisation axis in the analysis of the biographies of both generations, it was possible to put together three basic types of intergenerational biographic constellations: a) the persistent type, characterised by strong intergenerational congruence; b) the modernising type, for which a continuity between the generation of grandchildren and the reflected experience and position of the generation of grandparents is typical, along with a stressed effort on the part of the grandchildren to establish their independence; c) the dislocated (break) type, which primarily relates to a discontinuation in the life style between the older and younger generations. In a comparison with the work of the German and Polish research teams using similar methods, it was possible to also specify these types in an international perspective. In the Czech section of the research, it was possible to further specify the modernising type by distinguishing between immanently modernising and affirmatively modernising sub-types. These two sub-types differ from one another in terms of the degree to which the family is “prepared“ for modernisation. The immanently modernising family environment calculates on the modernisation of the entire society and is capable of anticipating the given situation and the related processes of participating in them, as well as profiting from them in the appropriate manner. This type is most frequently found among families with high social and cultural capital, usually in a middle-class environment. Conversely, the affirmatively modernising type is characterised by distinctly active behaviour, and the effort and conviction among the younger generation that it is essential to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the current (transforming) society. However, this effort towards modernisation (independence, freeing oneself from family traditions) usually takes place without a sufficient level of preparedness and without sufficient potential in the social and cultural capital that is required, and usually also without the required economic background.
According to the analyses of the biographies, the continuous intergenerational relationship generally dominates in the Czech part. This means that in the changed social conditions the younger generation still preserves roughly the same habitus of behaviour and direction in their life orientations as formed and experienced by the older generations. Only rarely do we encounter cases in which a fundamental intergenerational break has occurred in the conception of life as a whole, whether this then means a radical rise in social standing or a decline. This connection is, however, strikingly reflected and modernised. The modernising types thus dominate in the research. This is evidence of the fact that, in the Czech environment, modernising behaviour (of both types) forms a part of the mentality of the people and is more or less a natural reaction to the changing situation in society. This modernising orientation also corresponds to a certain capacity for timely anticipation and the ability to accommodate oneself, as methods facilitating survival. These features establish overall favourable circumstances for an open society and for integration into a broader international environment.
In the study, the individual types are characterised according to categories that were derived from a comparative analysis of the biographies. The categories characterise the generational continuity and changes in some features of the mentality and identity of the younger generation of inhabitants in the region under study.
The category “open family ties“ reveals that family ties still play an important role in the Czech environment, but that these ties are also quite loose. The family bond, especially among the younger generation, is not of the nature of a fatal commitment, but is rather a sensitive and respected social relationship.
The category designated as the need to associate (corporativism) is usually a matter of a tie to a local community, various local associations, groups, and organisations. Corporativism is also a specific form of the regional identity of the people. It is strongest among the persistent intergenerational type. The reflexive approach to traditions consists in the rational assessment of values, norms, customs, attitudes, and models of behaviour of the older generation and in making the selection between that which is necessary and can be adopted, and in the new circumstances can even be further developed (modernise – re-assess in the spirit of the development of society), and that which it would be best to leave behind. Anticipation, as the ability to foresee how things will develop and to conceive of means of achieving certain results, is, along with flexibility and an ability to improvise, a clear feature of Czech character. Individualisation and independence is a basic expression of the current modernisation (post-modernisation) of social processes. It is a solution to the conflict and tension that exist between the formal (organised) and the informal (unorganised) sides of the life of society. It is typical for both modernising sub-types of intergenerational constellations.
The results reveal that Czech society is dominantly characterised by the modernising intergenerational behaviour, (the intergenerational relations of the modernising type numerically dominate). This openness is not, however, without its limits, nor is it naively conceived or even universal. Modernising processes in society and among individuals occur variously, and if we measure them on the basis of the increase in the informality and independence of individuals from organisations and their independence from traditions, then it is among young people that they have the majority of advocates and representatives. The relatively high level of modern thinking and behaviour is a product of the development of society, but clearly also of the historical experiences and events that Czech society has been through. It is a part of the Czech mentality and the ability of people to anticipate. The modern behaviour of people, at the heart of which lies individualisation, and thus also independence and responsibility for one’s own life, depends both on external circumstances (globalisation, post-modernity, integration, the political system of the state), and on the narrower social environment and personal dispositions.
Keywords:
Biographic identity, mentality, socio-cultural space, intergenerational biographic constellations, types of intergenerational biographic constellations: persistent, immanent, affirmative, dislocated;
reflexive approach to traditions, corporativism, family ties, anticipation, individualism
|
Mezigenerační biografická konfigurace obyvatel české části Euroregionu Nisa |
|
|
|
2009:1 The First Elections to the Senate. An Analysis of the 1996 Elections to the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic |
2008:5 The Perception and Construction of Social Distance in Czech Society |
2008:4 Social Distances and Stratification: Social Space in the Czech Republic |
2008:3 Evolution and Determination of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic between 1955 and 2002 in the European Context |
2008:2 Actors of Local Development - Orlicko |
2008:1 The Political Awareness of Citizens: Theories, Measurements and the Role of Political Awareness in the Study of Political Attitudes |
2007:11 A Permanent or Temporary Change? The Arrangement of Gender Roles in Families with Fathers Participating in Childcare |
2007:10 Participation and Partnership in Local Public Administration |
2007:9 Family Friendly Working Conditions in an International Comparison |
2007:8 The Political Impact of Suburbanisation |
2007:7 Fathers, Mothers and Caring for Children after Divorce |
2007:6 The Foreign Migration of Scientists and Researchers and the Tools for Influencing Migration |
2007:5 The Representation of Different Forms of Family and Working Life in Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2007:4 Czech Labour Market: Changing Structures and Work Orientations |
2007:3 The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life |
2007:2 The Institutional Background of Czech Sociology before the Onset of Marxism |
2007:1 Educational Aspirations in a Comparative Perspective. The role of individual, contextual and structural factors in the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries |
2006:14 Work and Family Roles and How They Are Combined in the Lives of Czech Parents: Plans versus Reality |
2006:13 The Representation of Parenthood and Childlessness in Selected Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2006:12 Social Solidarity from the Perspective of the Czech Public |
2006:11 Science as a public matter: science policies and the media |
2006:10 The Issue of Minorities in the Czech Republic: Community Life and the Representation of Collective Interests (Slovaks, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, and Roma) |
2006:9 Social Standing and Lifestyle in Czech Society |
2006:8 The Image of Science in Czech Public Opinion |
2006:7 Social Capital. Concepts, Theories, and Methods of Measurement |
2006:6 Basic Features of the Membership Base of KDU-ČSL |
2006:5 Non-Marital Fertility in the Czech Republic after 1989: The Social and Economic Context |
2006:4 The Phenomenon of Childlessness in a Sociological and Demographic Perspective |
2006:3 Participation, Democracy and Citizenship in a European Context |
2006:2 Autonomy and Cooperation: Effect of the Municipal System Established in 1990 |
2006:1 Socio-economic Values, Policies, and Institutions in the Period of the Czech Republic’s Accession to the European Union |
2005:06 Civil Society in the Regions of the Czech Republic |
2005:05 Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Czech Republic |
2005:04 Work/Life Balance in the Czech Republic: Policy, Time, Money, and Individual, Family, and Company Practices |
2005:03 Regional Elites 2004 |
2005:02 Political Behavior in Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2002 – Patterns, Trends and the Relation to Suburbanization and Its Socio-Spatial Patterns |
2005:01 Measuring Value Orientations with the Use of S.H. Schwartz’s Value Portraits |
2004:11 The Formation of Group Mentalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2004:10 Hierarchy as the Strength and the Weakness of Communist Rule. The Legacy of Communist Rule IV: A Volume of Papers from the Seminar Held in Prague on September 11-12, 2003 |
2004:9 Czech National Identity after the Break Up Czechoslovakia and before Accession to the European Union |
2004:8 Life Strategies of Businesswomen and Businessmen at the Turn of the Millennium |
2004:7 Attitudes towards Marriage, Parenthood and Family Roles in the Czech Republic and in Europe |
2004:6 Life Satisfaction: Family,Work, and Other Factors |
2004:5 What Faith? Contemporary Czech Religiosity/Spirituality in the Perspective of Qualitative Sociology of Religion |
2004:4 Structural Tensions in the Interface between the Labour Market and Social Policy in the Czech Republic |
2004:3 Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic – Definitions, Basic Characteristics, Patterns of Suburbanisation and Their Impact on Political Behaviour |
2004:2 International Violence Against Women Survey – Czech Republic/2003: Sociological Research on Domestic Violence |
2004:1 Elections to the European Parliament in 2004 – An Analysis of Electoral Participation and Party Support in the Czech Republic |
2003:12 Hierarchy as a Strength and Weakness of Communist Rule |
2003:11 How the Czech Public Views the Elites the Political and Economic Elites |
2003:10 The Reconstruction of Communist Rule at the End of the 1980s |
2003:9 Women’s Civic and Political Participation in the Czech Republic and the Role of European Union Gender Equality and Accession Policies |
2003:8 Pre-election polls, election results, and validity of measurement before the 2002 elections |
2003:7 Party Preference Surveys, Their Application in Society and the Issue of Quality |
2003:6 The Transformations of Czech Socio-economic Values at the Turn of the Century |
2003:5 Objective and Subjective Assessments of the Financial Accessibility of Housing in the Czech Republic during the 1990s |
2003:4 Entry into Marriage and Unmarried Cohabitation in the Czech Republic since 1989 in Connection with Education |
2003:3 Work and Job Values in CEE and EU countries |
2003:2 Intergenerational Biographic Configurations of the Inhabitants of the NISA Euroregion |
2003:1 Structurally Generated Growth of Inequality |
2002:13 Public Opinion Surveys – Theoretical Aspects and Practical Application |
2002:12 Group Mentalities |
2002:11 The World of Hierarchies and Real Socialism. The legacy of communist rule II: volume of contributions investigating of social hierarchies |
2002:10 Social Context of the Lives of Women Working in Management Positions |
2002:09 Parties in the Parliament. Why, When and How do Parties act in Unity? |
2002:08 Life strategies of women managers: case study |
2002:07 Region and Politics |
2002:06 The World of Hierarchies and Really Existing Socialism |
2002:05 Housing Careers in the Czech Republic 1960 - 2001 |
2002:04 Re-emigrants and Socially Shared Values |
2002:03 Satisfaction with Housing among the Czech Population |
2002:02 The Family Origin on the Evolution of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2002:01 The Rise and Evolution of the New Elites in the Czech Republic (from the end of the 1980´s to the spring of 2002) |
2001:12 Who´s afraid of Hierarchies? The Legacy of the Communist Government |
2001:11 11th September. International On-line Communication Research |
2001:10 Fertility and Family Differentiation in Europe |
2001:09 The rise or decline of political regionalism? Changes of voting patterns in period 1992 to 1998 - the comparison of the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
2001:08 Cross-cutting Cleavages in the Czech Republic. A Comparison of the National Level with a Specific Regional Example |
2001:07 Roma Issues: An Obstacle to Entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union? |
2001:06 ISSP- The Environment |
2001:05 Distribution of Earnings and Income in Transitional Czech Republic |
2001:04 The Bearers of Development of the Cross-Border Community on Czech-German Border |
2001:03 Rent Subsidies in the Czech Republic: A Comparison of Selected Models |
2001:02 The Role Of Political, Social and Cultural Capital in Secondary School Selection in Socialist Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989 |
2001:01 Income maintenance policies, houshold characteristics and work incentives in the Czech republic |
2000:07 Work and Family Experience of Young Female Doctors |
2000:06 Development of the Czech Social Structure in the Years 1988-1999 |
2000:05 Party identifikation in the Czech republic |
2000:04 What makes inequalities legitimate? An International Comparison |
2000:03 Religion and Supernature in Society |
2000:02 Transformation and Modernization of Society on Examples of Selected Institutions |
2000:01 The Housing Policy Changes and Housing Expenditures in the Czech Republic |
1999:11 Geografic Analysis of the Czech Republic Borderland. |
1999:10 Rise and Decline of Right-Wing Extremism in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. |
1999:09 Perceived and fair inequalities: development in the nineties and further coherences |
1999:08 The Czechoslovak citizens' attitudes towards democracy in 1968 |
1999:07 The Czech Middletown Citizens |
1999:06 A Man in a Family – Democratisation of Private Sphere |
1999:05 Development of the Policy of Equal Opportunities of Men and Women in the Czech Republic within the European Integration Context |
1999:04 Actors of Over-frontier Community Development in the Czech - German Borderland |
1999:03 Acquaintances of Local Political Leaders |
1999:02 Housing Market, its Regional Differences and Relations to Social Structure |
1999:01 The Fluctuation of Public Opinion between Years 1990 and 1998 |
1998:06 Modernizační kontext transformace, strukturní a institucionální aspekty |
1998:05 Deputies of the First Czech Parliament (1992-1996) |
1998:04 |
1998:03 Transformation of Czech Family |
1998:02 Results of a Czech-Slovak Comparison: Actors of Social Transformation and Modernisation. Attitudes of Individuals an Institutions to Social Transformation |
1998:01 Trh s bydlením a jeho sociální souvislosti - situace v Praze a Brně |
1997:08 The Family and Change of Gender Roles |
1997:07 The territorial dimension of public administration reforms in East Central Europe |
1997:06 Czech Women in the Labor Market Work and Family in a Transition Economy |
1997:05 |
1997:04 Mass Privatization, Distributive Politics, and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic |
1997:03 |
1997:02 |
1997:01 Political, Organizational and Policy Transformation at the Municipal Level: The Case of Liberec |
1996:12 Osidlování českého pohraničí od května 1945 |
1996:11 Individuální kontakty obyvatel na česko-německé hranici |
1996:10 Socio-Economic Changes in the Czech Republic with an Appendix concerning the 1996 Elections´ Results |
1996:09 Národní identita |
1996:08 Politics, Skills and Industrial Restructuring. Introductory Findings on Local Institutions of Human Resources Development in Czech Machinery Indrustry |
1996:07 Subjective Mobility and Perception of Life Chances in Eastern Europe. Empirical evidence against a Marxist view of relationships between subjective and objective mobility |
1996:06 Zpráva o vývoji sociální struktury české a slovenské společnosti 1945-1993 |
1996:05 Tripartita jako model prostředkování zájmů v politickém systému České republiky |
1996:04 Národnostní a etnické vztahy v českém pohraničí - obraz Čecha, Němce, Rakušana a Roma ve vědomí obyvatel |
1996:03 The Making of Post-Communist Elites in Eastern Europe. A comparison of political and economic elites in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland |
1996:02 Sudetoněmecká otázka v názorech a postojích obyvatel českého pohraničí |
1996:01 Demografické chování obyvatelstva České republiky během přeměny společnosti po roce 1989 |
1995:08 Česká republika v roce 1994. Politická ročenka |
1995:07 Problém normativity a policejní represe v předlistopadovém Československu |
1995:06 Industriální vztahy a sociálně politické orientace českých dělníků a manažerů |
1995:05 Rozdíly v chování regionálních populací a jejich příčiny |
1995:04 Women, Work and Society |
1995:03 Trh práce a jeho potenciál |
1995:02 Etnické a národnostní vztahy v pánevní oblasti severních Čech (s důrazem na romskou problematiku) |
1995:01 In Search of Explanations for Recent Left-Turns in Post-Communist Coutries |
1994:09 Česká republika v roce 1993. Politická ročenka |
1994:08 Large-Scale Privatization: Social Conflict and Consensus |
1994:07 Economic Inequalities Old and New: The Czech Case |
1994:06 Prostředky kauzálního modelování v sociologii. Shrnující pojednání o postupech a přehled základních pojmů |
1994:05 Regionální diferenciace sociálních problémů v České republice |
1994:04 A Historical Comparison of Social Structures in the Czech Republic in 1984 and 1993 |
1994:03 Přeshraniční souvislosti sociálních změn v oblasti české části euroregionu Chebsko |
1994:02 Social and Political Transformation in the Czech Republic |
1994:01 Lotus Organizátor. Uživatelská příručka |
1993:09 Sociální a mzdové problémy zaměstnanců malých a středních soukromých podniků |
1993:08 Sociální postavení rodiny jako základního činitele a adresáta sociální pomoci |
1993:07 Changing Conditions - Changing Values? Changes in the position and perception of education during the post-communist transformation: the case of the Czech Republic |
1993:06 Perceptions of Justice. Principles of Distributive Justice in Comparative Perspective |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:03 RODINA ´89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi postkomunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:02 RODINA '89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi post-komunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:01 Microsoft Word verze 5.5. Uživatelská příručka |
1992:09 Historical Comparison of Social Stratification Types in Czechoslovakia 1967-1991 |
1992:08 Rodina '89. Úloha mentálních schopností a sociálního původu ve formování vzdělanostních aspirací |
1992:07 The Zero Generation of Small Business Owners in Czechoslovakia |
1992:06 Time Use of Small Business Owners. Results and Methodological Comments |
1992:05 Perception of Changing Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1992:04 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1992:03 Politické strany a hnutí v Československu |
1992:02 Politische Partien und Bewegungen in der Tschechoslowakei |
Prague in the New Central Europe. International conference 2-4 June 1990 |
1991:09 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1991:08 Nultá podnikatelská generace |
1991:07 Rodina '89. Zdroje vzdělanostních nerovností |
1991:06 Hodnotové orientace československé mužské mládeže a jejich vztah k obraně vlasti |
1991:05 Gender and the Employment of Higher Education Graduates in Czechoslovakia |
1991:04 Územní vztahy, územní a státoprávní uspořádání České republiky v názorech obyvatel |
1991:03 Social Problems of Participation in the Changing Czechoslovak Economy |
1991:02 K postavení žen v československé společnosti |
1991:01 Socialist Czechoslovakia - System Error and Premises for Change |
1990:06 Názory na rozvoj soukromého podnikání |
1990:05 Growing interest in informal work - consequences for time use research. XIIth World Congress of Sociology, Madrid 1990, Thematic Group 1, Time Use Research |
1990:04 Value-satisfaction Model and the Value of Innovation |
1990:03 Who Gains and Who Loses in a Socialist Redistribution |
1990:02 Ženy a volby '90 |
1990:01 Beyond Educational Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1989:02 Československá varianta Mezinárodní standardní klasifikace zaměstnání (ISCO) |
1989:01 Family Effect on Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands |
|
|