Croatia’s economic development involving a huge amount of current account deficit intensified its vulnerability to external shocks and it was already unsustainable in 2008. In such a situation the global financial crisis dealt this country crucial blows. Croatia is now required to do a switchover of the existing model of economic development, i.e. domestic consumption exceeding domestic export, imports exceeding exports and investments exceeding savings.
The aim of this study was to examine if emotional intelligence (EI) measured by tests and self-reports contributes to the explanation of self and partner’s assessments of marital quality. Ninety eight married heterosexual couples participated. Each partner completed for itself measures of EI, quality of marriage, personality inventory and some socio-demographics. Models showed that socio-demographics, personality traits, and EI measure explained between 21% and 27% of own and partner’s quality of marriage, with 5% – 7% of specific contribution of EI measures to quality of marriage. Among EI measures, ability to regulate one’s own and others’ emotions was significant predictor of own and partner’s quality of marriage, while self-reported measure of regulation and managing of emotions significantly predicted own quality of marriage. Other significant predictors were extraversion for both own and partner’s quality of marriage, and agreeableness, length of acquaintance before marriage and cohabitation for partner’s quality of marriage only.
The article analyses the issues related to the mannerism of Croatian art historian Grgo Gamulin (1910 - 1997) as a prime example for a possible interpretation, which allows a view to the methodological and ideological positions of an art historian in the post-war period in a communist country. His appreciation of mannerism has been fully manifested in the article Mannerism between contradictory views (1960). The mannerism is not rated negative as a style of aesthetic degeneration, but grasped in its historical meaning, whereby the tendencies of expressive and spiritualising mannerism are evaluated positively and those of the so-called epigonic and mimetic mannerism marked negative.
The setting of Norbert Gstrein´s novels Das Handwerk des Tötens (2005) and Die Winter im Süden (2008) is Croatia. Through the destinies of the protagonists Gstrein presents the historical background and the implications of the wars in Croatia. At the same time, the novels present this region also as a projection surface of mid-European identities. The protagonists, which can be divided into “local inhabitants” and “strangers”, are in search of their own identities, which are based partly on past and partly on present events. The protagonists try to construct their own identities in contact with and in comparison to the strange identity. The stereotypes and clichés that are thereby created bear witness to the impossibility of an objective perception of the “other”, which can lead to tragic consequences.
Krzysztof Krysieniel courageously undertook the examination of one of the after-Jugoslavian country that relatively recently gained independence. As articulated research goal, he managed to fully realize. book consists of an introduction and four chapters elaborate. Introduction clearly demonstrates of good methodological preparation of the author. Krysieniel not only clearly formulated research questions, which in the course of discussion will attempt to answer, but also explains in a professional way of defining the meanders of the political system, citing to his classic shots in political science. It also gives a method for research and discusses the bibliographic database, which draws on examples, helpful in assessing historical reality, political and social, in which he moves.
On 10th April 1941 the Independent Croat State (NDH) was proclaimed in Zagreb. Slovakia recognized NDH five days later. Croatia and Slovakia were interested in closer cooperation. However, NDH was too weak. The dreams about cooperation in political and economical field did not materialized and the contacts were limited mostly to the culture only. In December 1942 Blaz Lorkovic, the old member of Ustasa movement and brother of the Croatian Minister of Foreign Affaires, was apointed as Croatian minister to Bratislava. The published documents shows how Lorkovic saw the situation in Slovakia before the Slovak National Uprising.
The article focuses on the lyrics of select contemporary Croatian songs. The author attempts to decide what purpose they serve and poses and attempts to answer several questions. Do the numerous national qualities and references to the history, both past and very recent, in these songs reflect noble feelings of patriotism and satisfaction from newly regained independence? Or perhaps do they serve to help to close ranks before the next stage of the yet unfinished battle, and to demonize threats and strengthen the atmosphere of fears and sentiments? What symbols connected with Croatian culture and tradition appear most frequently and what role do they play? What is the basic subject of national pride, and, conversely, what is never mentioned at all? In what way do individual authors of the lyrics use national myths? And what is their approach to historic figures and events, to their neighbors (especially Serbs and Muslims) as well as to compatriots living in Bosnia-Herzegovina? The final question is: what influence do these songs exert on the contemporary national consciousness of Croatians?
Eugen Kvaternik (1825-1871) was a Croatian politician, a proponent of Croatian independence, and one of the most controversial figures in the history of Croatia. His dramatic life is bound up with the stormy events of 19th-century Europe's political arena. His contacts and ties with representatives of the Polish independence movement, with French and Italian revolutionaries, as well as his relations with the intelligence services of Russia, where he also sought help, made him a figure of an international significance. Kvaternik was a romantic who revolted against Austria-Hungary aiming to establish an independent Croatian state. With this aim in mind he launched a nationwide uprising in fall 1871. But due to his romantic nature, the revolt on the Military Frontier soon turned into a grotesque farce and ended in complete failure within just 96 hours. Because Croats and Poles experienced similar political and historical fates, Polish language newspapers became increasingly more and more interested in the course of the revolt. They paid a lot of attention to Kvaternik and his 'Uprising.' Despite the fact that Eugen Kvaternik died almost 150 years ago, debates on his role and influence in the history of the nation are still vivid in Croatia, among not only historians but also politicians, and journalists express emotional opinions of him.
The author analyzes actions of the European Union within the area of supporting the political and economic transformation of Croatia. In the article, he presents the main forms of the activity and instruments applied by Brussels with reference to this country, in the effect of which its accession to the Union was successfully completed. According to the author, the actions carried out by the Community within the area of the Western Balkans very clearly show that the Union plays the role of a normative superpower in this region. It focuses primarily on propagating values which are of vital importance to it, such as: democracy, human rights, social market economy.
Ageing/aged bodies reflects gender norms and power relations. The paper is based on analysis of four focus groups realized in homes for older and infirm persons with participants older than 65 years. Old age and ageing are not gender neutral phenomenon – perception, experience, interpretation and strategies of managing of ageing/ aged body are gendered. For participants tidiness and cleanliness are most important despite gender. Dominant interpretations of focus groups’ participants reflect traditional understanding of gender roles, gender ideals and internalization of gender and age stereotypes: physical appearance is more important to women than to men; beauty and physical attractiveness are reserved for youth; female sexuality is interpreted as burden, obligation and source of pain for women; menopause is interpreted as beginning of declining; male ageing bodies were interpreted in functional terms. Negative attitudes toward all types of surgical interventions on face and body are dominant and in this aspect participants reject socio-cultural pressures for youthful and glamorous looking in old age.
Johann Baptist Ranger (1700 – 1753), was Pauline lay-brother and one of the most important artists of the first half of the 18th century in Croatia. He approached through his illusory painting north western Croatia to the Central European baroque art. Despite the fact that several of his most precious works can be found in parish or pilgrim churches, Ranger’s most important compositions are those inspired by the biblical story, and located in the Pauline monastery churches, currently parish churches – the Church of St. Mary in Lepoglava (1733 – 1743) and Church of the Assumption in Remete (1745 – 1748).
Svetozár Hurban Vajanský (1847 – 1916) had some contact with the Croatian environment and reflected on Croatian issues in his newspaper articles and literary texts several times. However, the book of his substantial correspondence only seldom features the contact with Croatian partners. The fact that Vajanský´s works were well-received in Croatia at that time can be proved by e.g. translations and reviews in the Information-overview section Listak of the magazine Vienac (1869 – 1903), which was Croatia´s most significant literary magazine in the 19th century. The subject of the paper is the contribution of the magazine Vienac to Vajanský´s reception by Croatian readers. The magazine mainly deserves credit for reassessment of his literary work, especially the prosaic part, which later resulted in publishing many translations of his proses in other Croatian literary magazines. Vajanský´s opus primarily earned praise for its aesthetic criteria and principles, which in contrast to young Croatian intellectuals was adhered to by the older, more conservative generation of Croatian writers, who in the late 19th century turned the magazine Vienac into their platform.
Studies related to well-being of older people have been carried out in the past with two types of variables: those reflecting socioeconomic factors, and those referring to psychological and psycho-social variables. Since one of the important psychological variables - goal-achievement strategies - can be different in older age, the relationships between strategy use in older people and their well-being are valuable to explore. In this research the authors used the model of goal-achievement strategies (selection, optimization and compensation) in elderly proposed by Baltes and Baltes (1990). The short version of the SOC questionnaire (Selection, Optimization and Compensation; Baltes et al., 1999), the Global happiness item and the Global satisfaction item as measures of two dimensions of subjective well-being were individually administered to 355 people 65-96 years old in Western Croatia. The results indicate that in goal-achievement, older people with higher level of well-being use more frequently strategies of optimization and compensation, while those with lower level of well-being use the strategy of selection more frequently.
Narratives can create borders, discrimination and exclusion, but also connections, links and friendships. Towns along the Slovenian-Croatian border are interconnected in historical, social and economic terms, which have enabled connections of people on both sides of the border. With the analysis of stories, jokes and anecdotes collected mainly on the Slovenian side of the Slovenian-Croatian border area along the upper stream of the Sotla River it can be seen how boundaries and borders are created and formed through the narrative tradition of the area. The stories collected on both sides of the border are, on the one hand, connecting people and breaking down national borders, and on the other hand, deepening divides and intensifying the boundaries. At the same time, these connections and contacts are erasing raillery, confrontation and rivalry which can be seen in quips/jeers, singing slurs, deprecatory rhymes, jokes, humorous stories and legends collected in the Slovenian-Croatian border area.
One of the music directors ('Kapellmeisters') whose works have been recently identified is Johann Zajitz (1800, Domasin, Bohemia - 1854, Rijeka/Fiume, Croatia), the music director of the 45th infantry regiment Baron Mayer. He was the father of Ivan Zajc (1832-1914), the most famous Croatian composer in the second half of the 19th century. In 1830 he came from Bratislava to Rijeka with his regiment, where he actively took part in the musical life. He settled here and had left military service. He worked as a music teacher at the musical school, conductor of the city orchestra and as the cathedral organist. His compositions have been found in Vienna, Zagreb and in Rijeka: at present we know his 21 manuscripts and printed works for the piano or for the orchestra. Some of them were written during his stay in Bratislava (marches, minuets), others in Rijeka (waltz, 'Konzertstück für Oboe und Orchester', various adaptations.)
This paper examines the relationship between different types of cultural capital and educational outcomes. The authors operationalised highbrow cultural capital, two additional formal competencies from CNFC, and parental cultural capital, in order to ascertain whether these cultural capital types are associated with secondary school enrolment and school grades. Data was collected by the authors in a survey that was conducted in five Croatian secondary schools. The results broadly show that highbrow cultural capital is connected with both measured educational outcomes. The authors conclude that the dominant interpretation of cultural capital still has its merits and argue for a broader contextual approach to cultural capital in future research.
The article describes the Slovak language enclave and diaspora in Croatia and Serbia. It briefly describes the history of the Slovak settlement process and the recent demographic development of the Slovak minority in Croatia and Serbia. The central attention of the article focuses on the communication vectors, the language situation and linguistic characteristics of the Slovak language enclave and diaspora in these countries. Finally, the article states the basic common and different characters of the Slovak language communication in Croatia and Serbian Vojvodina.
The authors of the text provide information about Slovaks in Croatia in the censuses between 1880 and 2011 with regard to the Slovak language as a native language of Slovaks in Croatia. In the first part authors bring information about the arrival of Slovaks in Croatia, and then deal with their number, religious and gender structure as well as their literacy. The text is the result of research in the Croatian State Archives and published material in the Central Bureau of Statistics and literature. In conclusion the authors emphasize the need of a systematic approach to the study of Slovak communities in Croatia.
This article deals with the description of Croatian lands in the road notes and letters of Russian academicians, specialists in Slavic studies in the first half of the 19th century. Such Russian academicians as Osip Bodyansky, Fyodor Chizhov, Izmail Sreznevsky, Petr Preis and Viktor Grigorovich during the visits to Croatia tried to find the material connected with Croatian language, culture and history. They had also a communication with activists of Illyrian movement which began to spread among the Croatians at that period. Their notes contain the description of the different sides of the life of common Croatian people. The notes and letters of Russian academicians are very interesting and important source of the history of Russian Slavic studies, Croato-Russian relations and the history of Croatia of the first half of the 19th century.
Religion reflected in the development of the Slovak minority as one of the basic elements (except language) of identity currently does not constitute an essential element of previously initiated development containing assimilative tendencies. However, a fundamental difference, which affects predominantly the middle and the older generation, has become evident in a number of factors identified through the questionnaire and our research for the benefit of the Evangelical Society in Ilok. The youngest generation still declares themselves as the members of the Slovak nation, yet this generation perceives their ethnic identity as double or increasingly solely as Croatian. We have not observed significant revitalization activities that would have tendencies to change the situation. All activities are mainly related to the retention of the status quo. Especially in the teaching model C, the existence of folklore ensembles and organizing of folklore events, sporting and social events. We are not sure, whether this state will ensure the future model, which would be sufficient for maintaining the Slovaks in Croatia at least in the position equal to the present one.
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