Introduction

Local communities in the traditional sense seems to have less impact on the shaping of our social personality, but really we all subconsciously long for the times in which the yard and closest friends were our social universe. All also are present in a global world, thanks to increasingly advanced information technology and transport, we yearn for our “small worlds”, which in contrast to the confused and dangerous area without borders, we determined the stable and secure place “here and now” tamed by us and the social world in which we live. Hence we see renaissance, both local communities and try to play it in some form of virtual communities, which are now taking different forms, most commonly refers to the sentiments and emotions associated with our ‘local’ past, and whose formation was made possible by development of the Internet. We are looking for answer how is presen regional identity?

The author describes those aspects of cultural identity which are connected with political identity creation in Upper Silesia. He is interested in regional re-vindications and asks how Silesian cultural and social specificity influences its political identity. He analyses a “special case” of Upper Silesia from an anthropology of politics and sociology of politics perspectives. He indicates those elements of social and cultural life which are the evidence of Silesian uniqueness. Analyzing a special character of Upper Silesia, the author finds its territorial range settlement very difficult. He writes about two important consequences of a strong Silesian cultural identity: first of them is the return to autonomy idea, the second is the acceptance of Silesian nationality as unique. He also mentions “foundation myth” that reinforces Upper Silesian identity. The essence of Silesian exceptionality is considered opposed national and EU politics. The author claims that the consequences of national politics, as well as European Union politics are visible in Silesians’ activity, i.e.: efforts driving to the Silesians association registration, strengthening the sense of Silesians’ cultural separateness (with no political projects), new model of Silesian identity creation, intensive work in identity myth creation. In conclusion, the author puts forward some proposals connected with Silesian Voivodeship status regulations. He writes about Belgian, Spanish and British solutions and postulates the implementation of a new decentralization model: “a variable geometry decentralization”.

In this article the author tries to estimate chances for the borderland of Upper Silesia created by modern European regional politics. From a historical point of view it can be said that there are two kinds of territories, i.e. those playing a central role in the consolidation of adjacent lands (great nations and big countries were created of such territories). The second are called borderlands, where we deal with the lack of both uniformity and centralization. These are known to make a mixture of different elements and cultural influences. Modern Silesian oivodeship belongs to the second category, in which the problem of integration is currently perceived from a perspective of historical heritage. Thoughtless aspiration to achieve integration at all costs will lead to unnecessary social conflicts as well as arguments in the power elites, but what is the most important it will impoverish the region. Due to considerable regional diversity and transfer of ideas the borderland is seen as culturally attractive, with its dynamic economy and creativity in adopting new patterns of behaviour as well as political visions. Present Silesian Voivodeship is this kind of territory. On the one hand it is an interesting mixture of a national state model, but on the other hand it draws on the experience of historical heritage of patterns, ideas, traditions, which should create a natural bond between inhabitants of common Europe. Although nowadays we talk about chances for the borderland, in the 20th century this region was considered to be problematic. In terms of international relations the region was a controversial issue, which was known as a ‘bleeding border’. As far as domestic politics of both Germany (Kulturkampf) and later Poland (autonomy, settling accounts with the past after the II World War) are concerned, the borderland was seen as a difficult topic as well. At present, the variety of traditions of European borderland should not be treated as a burden. The development of these regions is dependent on the ability to answer the out-of-date question: Is there a desperate need to integrate (i.e. to unify) those regions into homogeneous national state? The Silesian Voivodeship will make use of this opportunity if the past is seen as a rich multicultural heritage and not as a burden of ‘Silesian tragedy’.

Transformation processes that take place in Silesian Voivodeship have an influence on demographic processes. Formerly, this region used to attract people by employment possibilities (especially in the mining industry). Now adays, it is becoming a place characterized by a high level of emigration scale. In the space of years, population structure by sex and age has changed. We can observe a decrease in percentage of young people of the population, at the same time a percentage of old people increases. Both phenomena accelerate the process of demographic ageing. We can also find mortality tendencies alarming in Silesian population — its level is relatively high.
Unfavourable changes in people’s reproduction take place as well. A reduction of birth rate and fertility level are caused by a decreasing number of marriages, postponing marriages and an increasing number of informal relationships. Achieving simple substitutability of generations is not possible because of total fertility rate decreasing. Therefore, restricting people reproduction cannot guarantee a demographical balance. As a result, the population’s strength visibly decreases in Silesian Voivodeship, which is deepened by the adverse migration balance.

The paper is an attempt to present in a thorough form migration processes which occurred in towns of Katowice Province in the 1977—2006 period. The analysis was based on the following measures: migration balance, mobility coefficient, coefficient of migration efficiency. The obtained material indicates a decrease in the size of population movements, showing essential differentiation in both the class of towns size (large, medium, small) and the spatial aspects. Mobility coefficient indicates a dominated position of medium towns in spatial mobility of population in this area. There is a clear zonal character in migration processes, especially in case of western-central part and eastern part of the Province. In the first area population migrations did not disturb too much previous socio-demographic structures, as it took place in the eastern part of conurbation and western-central part of Podbeskidzie. In migration processes three types of spatial processes may be distinguished: vector-like, twodirectional and concentric. The vector-like model appeared to be the most common in Silesia Province. Although in the northern and central part of the Province, vector-like type and two-directional type occur, in the southern part of the Province concentric model is represented. This differentiation of the directions of migration changes confirms lack of a uniform character of socio-demographic transformations, in the studied area, which is often pointed out in literature (Runge, 2005, p. 201).

The article discusses the matter of the results of the 2002 Polish census when over 173.000individuals declared themselves to be of the Silesian nationality. The aim of this paper is to presentqualitative research conducted in 2007. The article is based on intervievs with people who declaredSilesian nationality in 2002. At the beginning of the article the question of nationality in the 2002Polish census is presented along with a discussion. In the paper there two theoretical perspectivesare examined: Benedict Anderson’s and Józef Obrębski’s concepts of an imagined community.In Marek S. Szczepański’s opinion, there are five reasons why people declared the Silesiannationality: real identity and feelings, disappointment caused by industrial restructuring and regionalization,catharsis after socialism, the result of Silesian Autonomy Movement action, and theself-creation of activists. The author examine the motivation of declaring a controversial nationalityaccording to Szczepański’s view.

The article is an attempt to explain the phenomenon of religious fundamentalism that is perceived as a manifestation of globalization. The author shows that the key motive of the fundamentalism that is analysed here solely in the American, protestant version, is the reconstruction of the symbolic order that was violated by global detraditionalization and relativisation. The undermining of cultural norms and rules that have — until now — been taken for granted, calls into question the obviousness of “being-in-the-world”. It violates the sense of ontological security and, as a result, causes anxiety. The author sees that process as Victor Turner’s liminality, where the symbolic structure was scattered, identities were blurred and the temporal order was disrupted. Liminality turns into structure and the latter is reconstructed in a dichotomous mode, as Durkheim, Lévi-Strauss and Mary Douglas showed. Such an effect is clearly visible in multidimensional representations and discourses of the religious fundamentalism, for example in the opposition of “Us” versus “Them”. A sense of security is also rebuilt through a ritual reconstruction of the symbolic, temporal order that is present on the individual (biographical) as well as the collective levels.

The subject of the article is symbolic places status in Upper Silesia. The author presents typology of significant areas, taking into consideration the perspective of different nations living in the region. He tries to answer the question: Do places chosen from Upper Silesia by Polish and German reflect general canon of national memory? He writes about secular and sacred space. He seeks an area which can be considered as ethnoscape and mentions icons of central cities. In the article, there are references to region’s history.

Contemporary world offers a far-reaching variety of ideologies, philosophies and possibilities of living. At the same time, there is no guarantee when it comes to universality and inviolability of any kind of moral values. This situation becomes the source of anxiety and even violent existential conflicts. Ever stronger individualisation and deinstitutionalization processes cause people (youth in particular) to face the whole range of serious challenges. We could risk the thesis that a new mentality of the young generation is being formed and developed on the basis of contemporary social, political, economic and cultural transformations. Technical and technological progress results in a situation, that the youth and adolescence is significantly different nowadays from the youth of today’s adults. The future of the young generation is then questionable. In the conditions of the risk society nobody can be sure of their future. Hence, the questions about constant points of reference which let us not to loose orientation in this complicated reality become more and more important. This article analyses the foundations of axionormative systems possible to be identified among young inhabitants of Upper Silesia. Thanks to the analysis of the specificity related to young people’s world of values, we can come closer to answer the question about the location of today’s youth on the tradition-modernity axis. It seems that reflexion of this type can not only throw light on the situation of Silesian young people, but it also allows for careful conclusions in relation to all young Poles.

The article presents a dispute over Silesian cultural identity. The author indicates peasant and working-class roots of the Silesians’ culture. They form a regional community sharing a sense of wrong following their cultural marginalization and economic exploitation. Silesian ethos has been mythologized and their social role has been marginalized. The complexity of the transformations within the contemporary Silesians’ culture is being unnoticed. Their ethos and aspirations are constantly diversifying. Part of them aims for the recognition of a separate Silesian nationality and regional autonomy. The majority remains passive but certain part is subject to social pathologies. Changes of ethos are also connected with the increase in educational aspiration. Better educational qualifications among Silesians raise hope for modern activation beyond traditional industry. The rising acceptance of multicultural Silesians’ identity and their right to develop a regional language (Silesian dialect) is a positive phenomenon. The result of Silesians’ new aspirations and at the same time a cultural dilemma is a movement either towards a subculture or an autonomous regional culture which would create Silesian nationality.

The author of the article describes the image of the Silesian civil society which is much the same as the image of the civil society in Poland. Although the number of similarities increases, the third sector becomes more and more professional, and many non-governmental organizations and institution conduct very interesting work, civic and political activity does not change and is comparatively low. Several condition influence this situation: rules of law, the form of social structure, traditions, culture and methodological factors.

The article presents research results of the study of entrepreneur’s trust objects. Within studied sample, entrepreneurs indicated extraordinarily high levels of general trust. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Piotr Sztopka’s sociological theory of trust. In relation to thit theory, further, more specified research questions were formulated, concerning different types of trust, mainly: interpersonal trust, positional trust, procedural trust, institutional trust, system trust. The research was conducted in Poland utilizing standardized sociological interviews as a research method on a sample of 249 randomly selected participants in the 2008.

Family as a fundamental element of social structure is under the influence of incessant changes. Sociological researches on the Silesian family done from the 1960s to date show dynamics of these changes respecting family structure and organization. Recent Silesian family is modified extended family, based on legally accepted marriage with few children, egalitarian, accepting work of married women, educating its children in accordance with more liberal model.

The focus of the paper is situation of women, employed in the coalmine industry and the consequences of the restructuring of mining sector for this group of women. The authors describe the changes of the structure of employment of women taking into account the coalmine sector and labour market outside of this sector, the outplacement solutions addressed to women within the programs of the restructuring of the sector and their consequences for the professional reorientation of women. Discussion about the economic aspects of the problem is followed by the critical reflection about the discriminatory practices associated with the process of deindustrialization, the socio-cultural determinants of the position of women within the “restructuring” discourses changing patterns of femininity and potential consequences of ongoing cultural transformations.

All the aspects of contemporary family life, that are discussed in the text undergo significant changes. We refer to those changes neiter as progress, positive development or evolution, nor as crisis, regression, stagnation or even pathological development. Change are characterized by the contribution of social and structural level (demographic trends, changes in education and the world of work, the conduct of human life as an institution changes, growing economic standard and their differentiation, the general trend of liberalization, changes in female self-assessment, changing world of work; education, etc.). Changes are presented from the perspective of both: parents and children to obtein complete image of changes and possible schemes of current, fragmented family life. Development of Slovak families in the last decade reflects a mixture of historical continuity and important change. Even the majority of young families is dominated by a combination of traditional and postmodern relations, attitudes, values and forms of life. Slovak family functions between continuity and change, thus the quality of its various aspects and attributes will be necessary not only to identify and empirically verify it, but also subsequently evaluate. Today we are witness the first signs of a new rise in marriage, and marriage, free from patriarchal ballast and including not only love and sexual coexistence, but also greater mutual tolerance, friendship and support as znovunadobúdanie (regaining) forces and relax from everyday life, relaxation from everyday life, dictates of competition or even economic partnership.

The author presents the problem of sociological education at universities and the problem of sociology graduates’ careers. The article reveals the author’s opinion of how young sociologists should be taught and their role in different institutions and workplaces. Gradvates should be prepared for different roles, which defines sociology as social theory directed towards practice. Sociologists should not be educated without a wide social context, because they are especially needed after EU enlargement. Graduate sociologists should work in different branches, but they are often undestimated or ignored by employers, who are afraid discovering something that should stay hidden. Sociologists are also often ignored by other social scholars. The author considers the possibility of repeating the research conducted in the 80s when graduate sociologists were asked about the usefulness of their studies in later professional careers.

In the introduction of the article the author defines ‘Ethos’ and places it in a wide area of research. Next, factors convenient for the formation of ethos of work in Silesia as well as the first research on the subject are presented. The research on ethos of work concentrates firstly on two dominating professions, e.g. miners and glassblowers and then on other professions. The author also defines chronological periods of research and showes the evolution of the attitude towards the mining profession as well as the changes in ethos of work of other groups. In the conclusion the author states her opinion on the research that is far-conducted on ethos of work and points out the research deficiencies.

The article presentes the results of a survey conducted on a population of 1143 last grade students of upper secondary schools from Ruda Śląska. About 95% of all the students graduating from upper secondary schools in Ruda Śląska underwent the survey. Students who graduate from upper secondary schools are a significant element of the job market. These young people who graduate from vocational schools and general upper secondary schools are entering the job market. Even in case they start further education they often look for a job at the same time. The aim of the research was getting to know the plans for the future the graduates from upper secondary schools have, identifying their level of civilisation competence and defining the factors which influence the fact of possessing such competence. The research helped to answer the questions concerning the possible behaviour strategies young people use in case of lack of employment.