| 1. | Do we have more egalitarian partnerships? Factors differentiating the gender division of labor** | The dissertation work will examine the gender division of labour in Slovakia from a longer time perspective based on the analysis of data from the ISSP Family and Changing Gender Roles modules. It will also aim to identify factors that differentiate the gender division of labour in partnerships. The research will also focus on examining the consistency of individual value orientations, preferred and actual gender division of labour. |
| 2. | Social cohesion in Slovak society: factors and dynamics of its current development and its measurement ** | Social cohesion is a prerequisite for building a democratic society and acts as a preventive measure against the rise of conflicts and radicalisation of parts of society. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the theories of social cohesion and to analyse the strategies and instruments used to measure the achieved social cohesion in society. The thesis is to result in a proposal of conceptualization of social cohesion and a proposal of its measurement in Slovak society. |
| 3. | Conservation of nature versus defence of culture: Large carnivores in the cultural landscape of Central Europe as a social problém ** | The thesis will focus on the issue of large carnivores (bears and wolves) in selected regions of Slovakia and neighbouring countries through the lens of sociology of social problems and sociological analysis of social conflicts. The analysis of public policies, analysis of the content of media messages, field research at the level of selected micro-regions, secondary analysis of data from representative surveys of Slovak society are assumed. |
| 4. | Social agency of animals ** | The work will focus on the theoretical conceptualization of animal agency and the realization of empirical research on interspecies interaction as social action. A critical analysis of the current theoretical debate about the social agency of animals is assumed, especially in the field of etnomethodology, symbolic interactionism and human-animal studies, which will be followed by empirical research on interspecies interactions in everyday life. |
| 5. | Low-wage employment: labour market, institutional context and growth model in Slovakia ** | Slovakia belongs to the EU countries with lower wage level and significant proportion of employees working for low wages. Several factors contributed to this fact. Thesis will focus on analysis of presence and nature of low-wage employment in Slovakia and its institutional contexts, including regulation of the labour market, economic policy, welfare state design as well as role of trade unions. Thesis should bring a more complex picture on low-wage employment and factors that make it a social and public policy issue. |
| 6. | Permanent or temporary state? A mobility of persons in non-standard forms of work and its determinants ** | Labour market segmentation represents a solid feature of labour markets in developed countries. While non-standard forms of employment represent a significant source of social risks. Thesis should aim to identify prevalent mobility trajectories of employees in non-standard jobs, their variability in various socio-demographic and socio-economic categories and factors that differentiate the mobility trajectories. |
| 7. | Ukrainian migrants and paid domestic work ** | Based on semistructured interviews and ethnography, the PhD. thesis will focus on how Ukrainian domestic workers and their employers negotiate and conceptualise working conditions and contract. Conceptually, the thesis will examine how symbolic economy – e.g. ideas on aid, help, charity and solidarity shape organisation of paid domestic work. |
| 8. | Digital Technologies and Care ** | Drawing upon ethnography and interviews, the PhD thesis will examine the role of digital technologies in care practices and relationships. Conceptually, the work will be based on digital anthropology and STS. The particular theme and research participants depend upon the interest of the PhD student and agreement with the supervisor. The examples: 1. Childcare and digital technologies, 2. Elderly care and digital technologies. |
| 9. | Institutional trust and environmental attitudes in Slovakia ** | The aim of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between institutional trust and environmental attitudes in Slovakia. The topic assumes the use of quantitative methods to analyse the impact of trust in institutions of a state on individuals' views on environmental issues and to identify the factors that shape these attitudes. |
| 10. | Charismatic authority in Slovak politics ** | The thesis will deal with the application of the classical theoretical category of charismatic domination/authority, introduced into the sociological discourse by Max Weber, to the current Slovak political scene. The aim of the research, focused on one or more personalities of the 20th and 21st century, will be the development of this classical theoretical concept, its connection with other existing sociological sub-disciplines and the discussion of its possible benefits for a deeper understanding of Slovak politics. |
| 11. | Platform Work Regulation | The obligations of digital platforms as facilitators of the provision of services are laid down by state legislation and are reflected in their terms and conditions. Through these rules, the state may regulate the behaviour of individuals and their work. The goal of this project is to describe how regulation influences the working conditions of platform workers and how it promotes or deters their potential collective action to claim better working conditions. |
| 12. | Labour and Migration | In contemporary workplaces – often next to each other – people work in different contractual relationships with their employer. These differences frequently overlap with the different migration experiences of workers. Research would explore how workers with different labour-migration statuses negotiate their working conditions, especially collectively across categories. The specific research question would depend on the interest of the PhD student and would be the result of an agreement with the supervisor. |
| 13. | Workplaces as sites of socialization: hierarchy, agency and organizational self | This topic falls within the sociology of organisations, where workplaces are seen as sites of further and ongoing socialisation. The primary source of data will be narratives of specific work-related events with a formative impact on experiencing and interpreting one's own organizational position and subjectivity. The aim is to analyse the depiction of relations and practices that, for example, fostered either participation, inclusion and empowerment, or, on the contrary, differentiation, exclusion and subjugation. |
