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A Hegemonic City: Discursive approach to ideology and dominance in development and planning of post-socialist Prague
Orcígr, Václav ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Vacková, Barbora (referee) ; Naxera, Vladimír (referee)
Late capitalist society is dominated by specific attributes of neoliberal ideology, which are inscribed in various ways in the politics of governance in the context of geographical location, political and social organization, economic situation, and other parameters. Discourse plays a specific role in the reproduction and legitimation processes of ideology. This thesis elaborates a theoretical approach to ideological dominance in the topic of urban development, specifically post-socialist Prague. The latter, as an urban space that has undergone major changes of post-revolutionary transformation, becomes a specific arena in which the discursive manifestations of various actors contribute to the production of theoretically identified (and also other yet unrecognized) patterns of dominant ideology. These, in turn, create a discursive field in which reproductive and legitimizing schemas are produced that contribute to the fact that the theme of urban development serves as one of the significant means that reinforce the global hegemonic position of neoliberal capitalism. The thesis builds on Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical approach to identify the actor field within which the processes of reproduction and legitimation occur, and works with Bourdieu's theory of ideological domination, which he developed...
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Analysis of attitudes towards gender roles and their harmonization in Czech society
Gresko, Olesya ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Hasmanová Marhánková, Jaroslava (referee)
This thesis examines gender roles and their development in Czech society. The theoretical part defines the concepts of gender and sex, examines gender roles and the combination of work and family roles, with an emphasis on the changes in attitudes towards gender roles over time. The thesis draws on previous research and analyses of attitudes towards gender roles. It combines secondary analysis of data from the ISSP international research project with analysis of qualitative interviews. The research objectives include describing the attitudes of Czech society towards gender roles, verifying the existing findings in a new context and examining the influence of the current gender structure on attitudes towards gender roles and the harmonisation of work and family responsibilities. Several key findings regarding gender roles in Czech society emerged from the analysis. Data from the ISSP secondary analysis shows that attitudes towards gender roles are not static and undergo changes over time. Some trends in the view of gender roles in the family and at work have been identified that indicate a shift away from traditional models. Qualitative analysis of the interviews provides deeper insights into the individual attitudes and experiences of respondents. It shows that despite societal progress, there are...
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Climate change deniers and believers on the TikTok media platform: similarity and difference in the distribution of their knowledge claims
Kasenov, Ayken ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Coufal, Linda (referee)
In the era of the dominance of social networks, not only communication but also conflicts have undergone significant changes. Polarization and radicalization that occur due to the isolation of groups in their informational echo chambers cause radicalization of ideas. The ideas of existence of the climate change have split the users of TikTok into two opposing categories. This study aims to understand what are the similarities and differences in how users of the social network TikTok perceived the differences inside and outside an algorithm-based social network. To answer this question, a comparison of the interview data of 5 climate change believers and 5 deniers was made. The results of the research suggest that echo chambers do not prevent the creation of an opinion-challenging environment for both groups. However, the groups have perceived their informational environment differently, with climate change believers noticing more frequent exposure to opposing information.
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Motivation and expectations of Czech students for university studies in Great Britain
Jeřábková, Tereza ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Uherek, Zdeněk (referee)
This study aims to identify and analyse the motivations and expectations of students who have decided to complete their full university studies in the UK. The thesis further examines the retrospective view of these students on their study abroad and their subjective perception of this experience. As part of the research, specific experiences that students had during their studies abroad and which had an impact on their personal development and life paths are investigated. Part of the study is also the identification of potential challenges and difficulties that students encountered in a foreign country and how these influences affected their motivation and determination to achieve their study goals. Last but not least, the work focuses on the assessment of student development at the personal and career level, thereby bringing insights into the benefits of this study format for the individual growth and professional perspectives of students.
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Sexual assistance as an object of media spectacularization
Rokosová, Anna ; Hasmanová Marhánková, Jaroslava (advisor) ; Balon, Jan (referee)
In my diploma thesis I deal with the issue of media spectacularization in the context of the provision of sexual assistance services. My thesis includes a critical discursive analysis of selected online posts with this topic in selected Czech media. These media are Novinky.cz, iDnes.cz, Aktuálně.cz and Blesk.cz. Since this service first has started to be provided in the Czech Republic in the autumn of 2015, I take advantage of the more active debate on this topic in later years. The aim of my thesis is to highlight the spectacularization of the topic of sexual assistance in selected media, to identify the legitimizing means and to define the discursive levels that appear in the media space. Subsequently, I focus on the actors who speak on the topic of sexual assistance in the media, whether actively or not. An important theme of my thesis is normativity as a social construct (disability studies, social roles) and the stigma associated with it. Afterwards, I used selected media to analyse the transformation of the topic through its spectacularisation and point out the disciplining of the topic through its frame. In my thesis, I draw attention to the social image that the media transforms the sexual assistance service into, how the detabulation of the topic is reflected here, how ideas about gender...
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Narrative battle: A critical discourse analysis of China and the US's news coverage on COVID-19 origin-tracing
Wang, Qiulin ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Vocásek, Tibor (referee)
The origin of Covid-19 has been a subject of intense public discussion since early 2020, with different countries such as China and the US engaging in propaganda over which laboratory was responsible for the virus's leak. This narrative battle has not only been fought on the basis of scientific evidence but has also become highly politicized, with mainstream media outlets such as newspapers taking sides. This qualitative research employs a critical discourse approach, using Van Dijk's ideological square, to compare newspaper discourses on Covid-19 origin in China (Global Times) and the US (The Wall Street Journal) and identify what images of ingroup and outgroup have the media created through news reporting respectively. The study also analyzes the discursive strategies used by the newspapers to reinforce their narrative. The findings reveal that both newspapers show a dichotomy of "us versus them." In Global Times, The United States is depicted as incompetent, dishonest, politically driven, and unresponsive to concerns regarding its bio labs. Reciprocally, China is portrayed as culpable for Covid-19, uncooperative, and with concerns about its political system and risky lab practices in The Wall Street Journal. The study also indicates that linguistic tactics such as evidentiality, lexicalization,...
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Is Czech Society Divided? Sociological Analysis of Social and Political Polarization in Czech Society
Háčková, Kristýna ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Dvořák, Tomáš (referee)
Master's thesis entitled: Is Czech Society Divided? The Sociological Analysis of Social and Political Polarization in Czech Society is concerned with the study of polarization on a mass level. Its main goal is to indicate social and political polarization by means of a questionnaire survey and subsequent quantitative analysis to identify any fault lines and determine the essential factors that contribute to polarization. The author first focuses on research into party and political polarization, from which she moves to the social dimension of polarization, i.e. the key topics and groups that form fault lines. In the text, the author further focuses on opinion extremity, affective polarization and perceived polarization, where the influence of (a)political anger or political engagement is examined. Last but not least, the influence of social media use and exposure to extreme views and political content on levels of polarization is examined. The results show that Czech society does not appear to be strongly divided, rather it feels that way. However, the research revealed several lines of conflict in society concerning the political situation, human rights, topical issues, social questions and wealth inequalities. The results demonstrated the influence of factors such as (a)political anger, political...
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The Third Role of the University - from Elite to Mass Education
Voborská, Jasmína ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Tesárek, Jan (referee)
The bachelor's thesis "The Third Role of the University - from Elite to Mass Education" deals with the concept of massification in tertiary education and its influence on the field of sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Prague and the Faculty of Philosophy in Prague. The aim of a bachelor's thesis is to understand and then compare how these two groups of students reflect the changes associated with massification and how these changes affect their motivation and attitude to study. The starting concept of bachelor's thesis is the already mentioned concept of massification, which makes it possible to partially analyse changes in universities associated with expansion and increase in student numbers that affect not only students' attitudes to education, but also their very motivation to study. In the theoretical part of my bachelor's thesis, I am engaged in a general explanation of the concept of massification and its effect on the field of sociology taught at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Prague and the Faculty of Philosophical Studies in Prague. In the empirical section, I describe the research design of the work and the subsequent analysis of the data obtained. By analysing semi-structured interviews with students of two Prague faculties, I answer whether the changes associated with...
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Delegitimization of Climate Change Through New Media Rhetoric: The Case of Online Magazine Reflex.cz
Koutná, Barbora ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Cuker, Ivan (referee)
This bachelor thesis aims to examine the problematics of delegitimising scientific knowledge in new media. It focuses primarily on the usage and forms of interpretations of scientific results concerning climate change in the section "Comments" of the internet magazine Reflex.cz. Using Norman Fairclough's discourse analysis, I examine the construction of climate change in the texts and styles of interpretations and arguments regarding scientific knowledge. Subsequently, I focus on actors and relations between them, also norms and values appearing in the discourse. The results of the analysis reveal some of the delegitimization practises and describe their mechanisms.
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