EDITED BY:

MUHIDIN MULALIĆ
NUDŽEJMA OBRALIĆ
ALMASA MULALIĆ
EMINA JELEŠKOVIĆ

Education, Culture and Identity:

NEW TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
IN TODAY’S EUROPE
 Education, Culture and Identity:

NEW TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

IN TODAY’S EUROPE

EDITED BY:
Muhidin Mulalić
Nudžejma Obralić
Almasa Mulalić
Emina Jelešković

SARAJEVO, 2016
EDUCATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY: New Trends and Challenges in Today’s Europe

Publisher: International University of Sarajevo

Editors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhidin Mulalić

Assist. Prof. Dr. Almasa Mualalić
Assist. Prof. Dr. Nudžejma Obralić
Senior Assistant Emina Jelešković

Reviewers : Dr. Keith Doubt

Dr. Nurullah ArdiÇ
Dr. Maja Đukanović

Design & Dtp: Meliha Teparić

Emir Hambo

Printed by: CPU The Printing Company

Circulation: 200 copies

Address: Hrasnička cesta, 15, 71210, Ilidža, Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tel: +387 33 957 101/102
Fax: +387 33 957 105
e-mail: info@ius.edu.ba

Copyright © 2016 by Muhidin Mulalić, Almasa Mualalić,

Nudžejma Obralić, Emina Jelešković

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

Opinions, interpretations and ideas expressed in this book belong exclusively to its authors, not to the
editors and their institutions.

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NEW trends and challenges in today's Europe : education, culture and identity / edited by Muhidin Mulalić ... [et al.]. - Sara-
jevo : International University, 2016. - 833 str. : ilustr. ; 24 cm

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ISBN 978-9958-896-25-5
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COBISS.BH-ID 23118854

-----------------------------------
 Foreword

T his book examines contemporary issues related to education, culture, and identity
in terms of new trends and challenges in today’s Europe. Currently, Europe is going
through transition and the new insights, technologies and educational trends require
better understanding among people from different cultures and backgrounds. Since such
a conception can hardly be defined and explained by a single academic discipline, this
interdisciplinary book aims at analyzing it from different perspectives such as educational,
psychological, social, cultural, political, historical, literary, visual, artistic and media-
related perspectives. We believe that this book is a platform for personal, scientific and
technical relations with the authors from different parts of the world who are interested
in these current issues. The book explores questions of education, culture, and identity in
an international context drawing experts from different academic fields. Therefore, the
reader is provided with an opportunity to broaden views, learn from the research and
experiences of others, and review knowledge related to education, culture and identity in
terms of new trends and challenges in today’s Europe from interdisciplinary perspectives.
Besides, the book defines new trends and provides recommendations that could resolve
outstanding challenges and thus, it is especially relevant for the local and international
experts from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

A special thanks to International University of Sarajevo and the rector, Prof. Dr. Yücel
Oğurlu and ICECI’15 authors for their support and contribution.

Dr. Nudžejma Obralić

Contents

PART A: EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

15 George Orwell’s Pessimistic Vision of 1984 Or Francis Fukuyama’s Optimism:

The Future of Higher Education Exemplified by British Universities
Marek Smoluk
23 Modern Educational Systems in Europe
Sanida Šehmehmedović
39 Education as a Determinant of Economic Growth
Muhidin Mulalić
52 Decision Making Via Systems Thinking In Management: Educational Issues
Kudret Yurtseven & Walter W. Buchanan
64 21ST Century Manager
Enisa Gološ
71 Reading and Learning Strategies in the 5th Grade
Vladka Potočnik

PART B: EDUCATION

77 Abacus – Mental Arithmetic

Sanela Nesimović
97 Parents’ and Educator Perception on Parents’ Cooperation with
Kindergartens in the North Sandžak Area
Zehra Hasanović
108 Age Specifics in the Use of Free Time of Primary School Students
Nusreta Omerdić & Mediha Riđić & Samira Beba
116 The Third Way
Nebojša Vasić
126 Computer Usage like a Factor That Enriches Motivation and Academic Optimism
among Nominally Gifted Students
Anela Hasanagić & Edin Tulić
148 Mobile Learning and Teaching High School Students
Nezir Halilović
162 Teachers› Competences for Educational Work
Antea Čilić
170 Singing Bowls – Sound Journey in a Kindergarten
Mirsada Zećo
178 Importance of Music in Education System
Ivana Gojmerac

PART C: LITERATURE

189 Towards a Typology of Literary Genres of Our Times

Srebren Dizdar
208 Reification of Grendel as Post-Anarchist in the Contemporary World
Timuçin Buğra Edman
214 Afrocentric Visions in Jean-Maria Gustave Le Clezio’s Onitsha
Asim Aydin
223 The Cleavage between Satire and Irony in J. Austen’s Novels
Yildiray Cevik
230 Immigrant Voices through Doyle’s The Deportees
Laila Shikaki
239 Miss Julie: A Psychoanalytic Study
Sonali Jain

254 Avanguard or Bunt - Ionesco- s. Beckett

Almedina Čengić
263 Gothic Indictment in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto
Samet Güven
271 Transnational Identity in Robyn Rowland’s Australian/Turkish Poems: This Inti-
mate War – İçli dışlı bir savaş: Gallipoli/Çanakkale 1915
Catherine Akça
289 Multiperspectivism in The Iliad Of Homer and The Siege by Ismail Kadare
Fatma Dore
305 Are We What We Buy and What We Consume?: Crisis of Identity in Hanif Kureishi’s
The Decline of the West
Ali Güneş
319 Seeing Is (Not) Believing: Struggle for Redemption in Ian Mcewan’s Novel Atone-
ment and Joe Wright’s Film Adaptation
Srebrenka Mačković
329 Critique of Authority in Julian Barnes’ History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, Eng-
land, England and The Porcupine
Azamat Akbarov & Elma Šahbegović
337 Universal Impeccability of Humanity, a Discourse Analysis of Maxim Gorky’s Her
Lover
Zeliha Işik

PART D: LINGUISTICS

353 Stereotypes and Gender-marked Usage of a Language in

Textbooks of Language and Literature
Sead Nazibegović & Bernes Aljukić
365 Comparison of Numerals of 1, 2 and 10 in North Caucasian Languages as a Root
Word
Yücel Oğurlu
372 Strategies of Translating English Names into Albanian
Zamira Alimemaj
381 Verb Errors Made By Bosnian Learners of English
Emina Jelešković
391 Cross-Linguistic Transfer of L1 to L2: Evidence from Turkish/Bosnian and English
Nudžejma Obralić
400 Using Blogs to Promote Student Interaction and Learning in EFL Classes
Izela Habul-Šabanović
415 The Use of Collocations by B1, B2 and C1 Level Students of English as L2 at the
University of Zenica
Edina Rizvić-Eminović & Kamiah Arnaut-Karović
428 Generic and ESP Acquisition Skills in Social Science Students
Danica Pirsl & Amela Lukac-Zoranić
436 Teachers’ and Students’ Perception on Authentic Materials in the Teaching Process
at ELS
Almasa Mulalić
448 Using Corpus in Enhancing Reporting Verb Patterns in Teaching/Learning Process
Samina Dazdarević & Fahreta Fijuljanin & Aldin Rastić
459 The Impact of Students’ Motivation on Their Achievement in Freshman English
Course at International University of Sarajevo: A Case Study of Turkish and Bos-
nian Students
Neđla Ćemanović
471 Importance of Language Competence Development for the Knowledge Oriented
Society
Katarina Aladrović– Slovacek & Anita Mazej & Andelka Ravlić
485 Teaching Styles Preferences of Freshman Students at IUS
Alper Fener

PART E: MEDIA

503 Is Communication Really Food?

Sandra Veinberg
519 Features of the Documentary in the “Selfie Culture”
Lejla Panjeta

PART F: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

535 The Importance of Information Technologies In Regard to the Competition and

the Effects on the Way of Change
Atila Karahan & Rifat Iraz
541 Strategy of Information Technologies iIn Turkey
Atila Karahan & Rifat Iraz

PART G: CULTURAL STUDIES

549 New Trends and Key Challenges of Tourism in North-Western Bosnia

Nermina Alibegović

560 Bosnian Spirit of the Mathnawi Tradition – Past and Present

Lejla Hota
583 The Cultural Framework of the Bosniaks in Turkey
Hanifa Obralić & Tarik Obralić

590 Tourism as an Old Trend but New Challenge for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lejla Dizdarević

PART H: POLITICS

603 The Rise and Fall of The European Dream

Joseph W.H. Lough
625 Russian Challenge to the EU Model
Seven Erdoğan
637 What does the European Union’s (EU’s) New Approach Bring to Bosnia and Her-
zegovina (B&H)?
Edita Đapo & Ognjen Riđić
646 Reflecting Upon Issues in European Identity and Multiculturalism Related to Ris-
ing Populism in Europe by the Example of Germany
Abdülaziz Ahmet Yaşar
652 Secularization of the Practicing Muslims in Turkey
Rukiya Mohamed Bakari
663 Macedonia, Copenhagen Criteria, Geopolitics, Balkans
Lejla Ramić-Mesihović
677 The Interrelation of Gated Community and Ethnic War: The Case of Belgrade
Aysegul Bostan

PART I: SOCIOLOGY

685 Civil Society and Social Capital in Croatia: A Conceptual Analysis

Andreja Sršen
693 Civil Society and Social Capital in the Modern Mena Region
Akbar Valadbigi
704 What Exactly do We Mean When We Talk about Multilingualism?
Laura Fekonja

PART J: PSYCHOLOGY

713 The Role of Socioeconomic Differences and Material Deprivation in Peer Violence
Vesna Bilić
737 The Influence of Anxiety on Socio-Cultural Adjustment among International Stu-
dents in Malaysia
Asmat-Nizam Abdul-Talib & Marlin Marissa Abdul Malek & Abd Rahim Jaguli & Hartini
Husin
749 Frozen in Time: An Exploration into the Impact of a Remote Refuge Settlement on
Social Identity Formation
Nina Bosankić & Selvira Draganović
763 TV Series and Viewers Personality Traits
Amila Rustemović & Anela Hasanagić & Lejla Panjeta
PART K

781 Field Testing: The Energy Efficiency of a Family House in Gradiška

Svjetlana Vlaški
791 Importance and Use of Renewable Energy Sources in the Case of Small Hydro
Power Plants
Dragana Strbac
799 Methods and Tools for the Analysis of Entrepreneurial Thinking –
A Critical Review
Nerma Saračević & Ivana Bekić
821 International Challenges in Regulation of Sex Delicts
Ena Kazić
830 Characteristics of Health Economics
Amir Topoljak
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe

EDUCATIONAL MENAGEMENT
 George Orwell’s Pessimistic Vision of 1984 or Francis
Fukuyama’s Optimism: the Future of Higher Education
Exemplified by British Universities

◆
Marek Smoluk
Zielona Góra University, Poland

Abstract

A new report on higher education, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Robins
Report, reveals that academics, instead of devoting more time to teaching, actually prioritise
their research. Further, it is claimed that two-thirds of students receive no feedback. These
findings have been publicised in a pamphlet which at the same time, discloses new predictions,
including a huge increase in the number of university entrants by 2035. The analysis of these
findings, confronted with subsequent reasoning which may have caused them, should allow the
establishment of the present trends that have been formed in higher education and are bound to
be followed; especially by the ‘newer’ United Kingdom universities. Thus this paper’s main aim is
to identify possible challenges and pitfalls which may well await these universities in the future.
Also, such an evaluation becomes quintessential in view of the fact that at present students’ fees
have risen to circa £9,000-10,000 for the very same courses which were available at the time when
such tuition was free. The paper provides evidence that the underlying reason for many of the
present problems these ‘less prestigious’ universities are experiencing, is chronic under-funding.
As the current pattern of expansion appears to be occurring even more speedily than expected,
one needs to bear in mind that distortion usually results when such goals wish to be achieved
with a minimum effort and more importantly, at minimum possible cost.

Key Words: higher education, British universities, future of higher education

My plenary lecture delivered in Vienna in September 2013 during the Academic Fiction
in Anglo-American perspective research seminar was entitled Current Expansion and Distortion

  15
of Higher Education in the United Kingdom and it focused on drawing an outline of higher
education from its most remote times to the present day (Smoluk 2014: 17-24). On the basis
of this history, analyses show how through the centuries (recent decades in particular) higher
education has expanded and led to numerous misappropriations and misunderstandings in the
use of the expressive “higher” education. The following presentation entitled Modularisation
and Commodification of Higher Education in the United Kingdom was delivered last year at the
University of Bucharest and it referred mainly to the identification of merits and demerits of the
modular degrees and credit accumulation programmes and subsequently, the evaluation of their
impact on ‘commodifying’ education. As the past and present assessment of higher education
has already been presented, and in order to make this series complete, the 2nd International
Conference on Education, Culture and Identity, held at the International University of Sarajevo
in October 2015, has enabled me to talk on recognition of these modern trends which influence
universities these days and which require examination in order to provide a basis for speculation
on the challenges and dangers awaiting higher teaching institutions in the future.When over a
hundred years ago a few British universities began to introduce new courses as subjects of study
for a degree such as English literature, or later engineering, these decisions on the extension
of subjects offered by universities were regarded as pioneering. Not in wildest dreams was it
thought then, that over the forthcoming century the curriculum would be expanded and
revolutionised by the inculcation of courses in genetics, biotechnology, microbiology, business
studies, management studies or computer science, et cetera. The above examples illustrate
that making certain predictions for what a university ought to look like half a century ahead
poses a major risk of misjudgment and invites errors. Anything may happen and as Hans Van
Ginkel, Rector of Utrecht University, notes, the future of universities can follow either George
Orwell’s pessimistic vision of 1984 or Francis Fukuyama’s optimism, and, whichever version
proves correct, this will be determined by changes in society, “both at an economic level and in
socio-political terms” (Ginkel 1994: 67). Allowing for the foregoing, this paper does not attempt
to speculate whether future universities will have few buildings and that such teaching will be
carried out by international networks – symptoms of which are already risibly visible by the
setting up of more and more popular distant teaching institutions. Neither is its aim to ascertain
whether universities will be confined to a “barracks” in which lecturers, researchers and scholars
will continue their work. Instead of drawing unpredictable visions, the paper’s aim is to recognise
present tendencies whereby higher education evolves and – as already mentioned – on such bases
make pertinent speculations apropos possible challenges and pitfalls.

Consequently, this should help us to reflect and possibly prevent those in authority from
making decisions that may, in the long run, turn out to be harmful for higher education.

One of the trends referring to future higher education was formed with the acceptance
of the Dearing Report of 1997, in which, amongst numerous recommendations, this one stated

16
that over the next twenty years a steady increase in student numbers should be secured. This
government’s declared policy has proven very successful as by the year 2000 the number of
students had more than doubled (Gombrich 2000: 10) and within the last ten years this figure has
risen by 25% to 2,5 million students, both undergraduates and postgraduates.1 Prospects for the
future are even more optimistic. In a report revealed on behalf of the Social Market Foundation
think tank in October 2013 David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, appears to
anticipate a steep increase in the number of students entering higher education by 2035 due
to rising birth rates, as well as growing interest of the young in getting a university education.
According to Mr Willetts, these demographic and social changes will result in 460,000 young
entrants entering universities every year by 2035, which is up by a quarter from 2011 (Graham
2013:6). Such an anticipated increasing rise in demand for places at British universities is much
in tune with the government’s commitment to guarantee that every “motivated and qualified
applicant is offered a place in a UK university” (Graham 2013:6).

Laudable – in its very essence – as this expansion of university students sounds, the trend lays
out pitfalls for future and may bring about considerable distortion in the idea of higher education.

With tuition fees skyrocketing during the last few years, a fundamental question arises
what this average £9,000+ gets for a potential student? The pamphlet, which has been published
recently for the Social Market Foundation to mark the 50th anniversary of the Robbins report
on higher education, reveals sensational findings. These can be useful when answering the
above question. According to this study commissioned by the Department for Business, present
lecturers at red-brick universities, it is claimed, spend 40 per cent of their time teaching and 60
per cent “facilitating” research, whilst half a century ago the ratio was almost the opposite: 55 per
cent was spent on teaching and 45 per cent on research (Garner 2013: 2).

It becomes self-evident that the proportion of total academic time devoted to teaching
has shrunk significantly and such figures should be viewed with a measure of caution, especially
when contrasted with the growth in the number of students at these universities. The less time
devoted to lecturing is not the only notable decreasing figure in this report. Another finding
refers to the average time spent by students being taught; this has dropped from 14.8 hours
a week to 12.2 – with an increasing number of lectures conducted in auditoriums with up to
one hundred students (Garner 2013: 2). Last but not least, a horrific figure relates to written
assignments. In 1963 the average student would usually hand in one piece of written work. At
present this has fallen to one a fortnight. Not only in the quantity of assignments, but also in the
quality of feedback, universities are lagging far behind the times compared with a century ago;
nowadays 77 per cent of written work is handed back to students with only written feedback
and a grade, whilst in 1963, 61 per cent of more frequent assignments received both written

1 The Higher Education Statistics Agency, http://www.hesa.ac.uk; 27.11.2013.

  17
comments and oral feedback (Garner 2013: 2). Figures released in the pamphlet indicate one
more trend of England’s present higher education: undergraduates assignment papers are usually
marked as pass or fail, and there is little chance that they would be of any constructive feedback
since their essays or projects are usually handed back when the students have moved on to the
next module (Hussey, Smith 2010: 35).

In view of such findings released recently, it should not be surprising to hear why students’
parents keep asking more and more insistently questions such as “Do you really only get three
hours of lectures a week? How much time do you spend in the lab? What do you mean you
haven’t sat down with any of the professors yet?” (Garner 2013: 2). Questions of this calibre are
perfectly understandable, but who and/or what should be blamed for having such issues raised?

The title of Richard Garner’s article What the £9,000 fee gets you: less teaching time
prompts the reader to a straight answer: it is the academics who ought to be blamed for teaching
less and worse than was done half a century ago. Are these recriminations which are claimed
to echo in English society, substantiated and do they truly reflect the current state of higher
education in the United Kingdom?

As student contact time is reported to have decreased in the last fifty years, it should be
remembered that the gigantic rise in student numbers within the last few decades has not been
matched by a proportional increase in teaching/lecturing staff. Due, simply, to lack of proportions
maintained, current academics seem to be buried under administration and paperwork, which,
in fairness, their colleagues of the 1960s were perhaps lucky enough to do without, or at least not
in such volume. This additional burden on the lecturers’ shoulders is well described by Professor
Pete Dorey who writes:

The Soviet-style managerialist regime imposed on universities by successive

governments means many academics spend up to 40% of their time on form-filling,
box-ticking, business plans, quality assurance frameworks and countless ‘strategy’
meetings or reviews (Dorey 2013: 39) .

In light of teaching staff-student ratios becoming reversed during the periods under
discussion, and this coupled with a “different” kind of paperwork, increasing substantially now,
but virtually non-existent half a century ago, present claims of decreasing student contact time
and less effective feedback, even if correct, have their justification in the different circumstances
in which universities were operating in the 1960’s compared with the present.

Another finding of the recent study reveals that academics place the priority of
facilitating research over lecturing. It is suggested that they should ‘tuck’ this part of work into
their spare time so that their main mission of teaching is not affected. The Report, however,
does not mention that according to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) – formerly the

18
Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) introduced by the Thatcher government, academics are
under obligation to do research. First, only such academics who are active in research can feel
competent enough to prepare course syllabuses which enable them to examine their students
and finally to award appropriate degrees for the graduates. Second, not only does research enrich
students’ experience, but it also exposes researchers and their students to global challenges,
which consequently may transform our lives beyond recognition. Third, from the universities’
viewpoint, research is co-related to international prestige and league table rankings and above
all such scholarly activity determines, to a large extent, the funding available to the departments.
Last but not least, a crucial factor is that career progression depends on one’s research results.
Whether an academic is promoted or made redundant will be dependent upon his/her devotion
and research ‘outputs’ (Dorey 2013: 39).

In view of the above, the question arises whether less time devoted to teaching and more
to research is a result of teachers’ negligence or simply a consequence of the circumstances in
which the “collective” responsibility for higher education has voluntarily or indeed in-voluntarily
cornered itself?

According to Sally Hunt, General Secretary of University and College Union, the primary
function of a university is “to produce well-rounded, engaged individuals able to reason and
question. That capacity makes someone employable, but it also makes them a more engaged
citizen too” (2013: 39). It should be added at this point that it is assumed that the aim of higher
education lies in its mission not only to educate the young, but also to facilitate research, both to
the highest standards. In order to be able to both maintain and improve these standards, clearly
adequate funding is required. Like in any typical household, one should buy such chattels or get
involved in such financial enterprises which are at least affordable. The UK governments, running
this ‘household’ on a macro level, seem to have overlooked this maxim and throughout the last
century, have launched four waves of higher education expansion. First, by the nineteen twenties,
in the period of the ‘redbricks’ foundations, the already existing number of universities in the
kingdom increased to just over twenty. The era of the Robbins Report (1960s) more than doubled
this number. The third wave of university expansion came with the passage of the Further and
Higher Education Act of 1992 which permitted all polytechnics to become universities. The new
Millennium ushered in another period of thirty six polytechnics, colleges and higher education
institutes receiving university status, thus all in all there are about 120 universities in the United
Kingdom, out of which 78 are in England alone.

This recent rapid growth in the size of the educational sector and its beneficiaries i.e.
students, has not gone along with their adequate financial support. As a result of the policies
of successive governments, the 90% cut in teaching budgets imposed by the government is
supposed to be offset by the £9,000+ fees. Not in even the most pessimistic visions promulgated

  19
in 2006, did anyone anticipate that within a few years tuition fees would triple from £3,000. As
a consequence of such policies, not only for a student in England has a university education
become the most expensive in Europe, but more sadly these higher teaching institutions have,
on the pretext of modernisation, been compelled to act as competitive corporate enterprises.
As competition is a discipline of the market economy, this economic rule, it was thought, could
be applied to universities. It was argued that thanks to the application of competition, teaching
institutions would be encouraged to make more effort towards self-maintenance and, if their
performance was still unsatisfactory, this could call for reforms, and finally, if they still could
not get their act together, this would force them to suffer the consequences by closing down
the ineffective ones. In the world of academic competition, effectiveness and the efficiency of
teaching institutions are now measured in part by the number of applicants who are admitted to
studies, and this, in turn, determines their Treasury Grant. The irrational thinking behind the
turning of the higher education system ‘upside down’ was that potential students were believed
to obtain a wider choice of being educated at lesser cost incurred by the taxpayer. This was – as
Hussey and Smith call it – ‘the political equivalent of turning base metals into gold’ (2010: 3).

What was, however, overlooked in the whole operation was one tiny nuisance i.e. there is a
huge discrepancy between for instance companies making and selling paper and universities which
buy and use this paper for facilitating research and imparting knowledge. With the competition
wheels being set in motion in the 1980s, the survival race and more and more frustrating struggle
for finances at universities had begun. The side effects of this university revolution are countless.
Suffice it to say, universities use all possible tricks in order to attract students and once they get
hold of new entrants, they are prepared to do their utmost to smooth their passage through the
system. Should any student fail an examination, the regulations allow for a number of solutions
so as to prevent him from dropping out. This has already given rise to the dumbing down of
traditional degrees. As a result, what is achieved is not what is desired: illiterate and incompetent
graduates with ‘Mickey Mouse” degrees, which are given away by – as B. Brecher (2002: 18) and
other scholars (S. Baker, Brian J. Brown 2007: 124) call them – “Disneyland” universities.

Has anyone in authority given any thought if it is a mere coincidence, or does some
correlation exist between a growing number of students who graduate from universities with first
class honours, and an increasing number of prospective employers who point to cases of illiterate
and incompetent graduates, who have to be trained from scratch before they are capable of work?
One can feel less remorse if the re-training of a supposedly qualified graduate should be practical
or even possible, but who should take the responsibility for allowing a graduate who himself lacks
knowledge and thus imparts scraps of information in a haphazard way to young children at school?
Thus in this context, what many claim that “the whole thing is too expensive and inefficient and
that it is educating the wrong people in the wrong way and for the wrong jobs” (Hussey, Smith
2010: 35) seems to have appalling examples of such inexcusable practices in real life.

20
 From the above it becomes self-evident that what we witness is confused decadence in
higher education, but the question remains; to what is this decline due? The pamphlet recently
published for the Social Market Foundation and mentioned here several times, reveals, amongst
other findings, an increasing number of lectures that are run in auditoriums with up to one
hundred students (Garner 2013: 2). This should not come as a surprise why universities with
their cash-stripped budgets take such measures. Clearly, it has become economically viable to
teach – or rather lecture – large groups since this method saves a lot of teaching hours which
would have to be paid for if the teaching took place in smaller groups. Thus the struggle of
academics to provide a good quality education has been replaced with their struggle for survival.

For the sake of argument, should we take the assumption that all the successive governments
from the 1960s to the present day have had a clear vision of how the system of higher education
should have evolved with a view to its improvement, their success can only be measured in
quantitative terms, resultant in the foundation of several dozen universities and a similar number
of conversions of one time polytechnics and colleges into universities. With the expansion of
universities, there has been a corresponding rapid growth in the number of students, which,
as already stated earlier, is predicted to continue. In contrast, the funding, both that paid to the
centres of higher education and that paid to their students, has been reduced whilst their fees
increased drastically. Fifteen years ago it was already admitted in the Dearing Report that “the
expansion was [...] much faster than the government had envisaged and there was insufficient
thought about the potential effects of a progressively reducing unit of funding” (Dearing 1997:
3.115). This admission seems to have gone unheeded since tampering with the system of higher
education has continued. Yet subsequent steps have followed in precisely the opposite direction
to that which the facts in the Dearing Report indicated in terms of action required.

Under such financial strictures, questions as to what sort of good quality education
can be offered to an immense horde of students? How can academics impart knowledge, instil
critical thinking, understanding and develop their enthusiasm as students rush to tick off their
modules and move to the next one with the often doubtful quality of estimated results, becomes
a rhetorical question. When mass higher education is offered at least possible cost to the national
budget, such problems arise, and will escalate in their intensity in the future.

On the one hand, academics are expected to produce lots of research results and teach
to the best of their abilities, whilst, on the other hand, cuts in teaching budgets are imposed.
Surely, if sufficient funding was guaranteed, berating academics for prioritising research over
teaching or scolding them for not providing their students with sufficient feedback, would be
unnecessary. Amongst the numerous problems that have formed the present trends, especially
those implemented by these ‘newer and less prestigious universities’, one thing appears to be
common to both categories of university: chronic under-funding.

  21
 So long as these fundamental problems remain, any/all future reports on the state of higher
education will inevitably have to take into account the current problems outlined in this paper.
Should they not be resolved fast, they will multiply and corrode the entire creaking fractured
system. Such a failure to fulfill our duty to the young of today will have disastrous consequences
and ramifications. And little consolation will be that other universities in Europe have shared the
same fate.

References

Baker S., B. Brown, Rethinking Universities, The Social Functions of Higher Education. London:
Continuum International Publishing Book 2007.
Brecher B., Fast Food is No Substitute for an Intellectual Feast. The Times Higher Educational
Supplement, June 7th 2002.
Dearing R., Higher Education in the Learning Society. The Report of the National Committee of
Inquiry into Higher Education. Norwich: HMSO 1997.
Dorey Pete, Academics do not neglect teaching for research. The Guardian, October 25, 2013.
Garner Richard, What the £9,000 fee gets you: less teaching time. The Independent, October 21,
2013.
Ginkel Hans Van, University 2050: The Organisation of Creativity and Innovation [in:] Universities
in the Twenty-first Century. London: Latimer Trend and Company Ltd. 1994.
Gombrich F. Richard, British Higher Education Policy in the last Twenty Years: The Murder of a
Profession. Tokyo 2000available from http://indology.info/papers/gombrich/uk-higher-
education.pdf retrieved May 2015.
Graham Georgia, Universities need to grow by 25pc to meet demand, says minister. The Daily
Telegraph, October 21, 2013.
Hunt Sally, Academics do not neglect teaching for research. The Guardian, October 25, 2013.
Hussey T., P. Smith, The Trouble with Higher Education. A Critical Examination of our
Universities. Abingdon: Routledge 2010.
Smoluk Marek, Current Expansion and Distortion of Higher Education in the United Kingdom,
[in:] D. Fuchs, W. Klepuszewski (ed.) Academic Fiction Revisited. Selected Essays.
Koszalin: Wydawnictwo Uczelniane Politechniki Koszalińskiej, 2014, s. 17-2.

22
 Modern Educational Systems in Europe

◆
Sanida Šehmehmedović
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

There is significant contribution to the modern science, in this work, based on reflecting
to comprehension of obtained conclusions and directing to the pragmatic benefits in the work of
teachers, in order to reduce and to prevent failure in school. With more security, we will explain
the difficulties in learning; also, we will notice the power of modern education, i.e. individual
factors of success or eliminating failure in education. The process of systematic thinking, about
establishing and ensuring the quality of education within the OECD, began in the eighties (OECD,
1995). In Europe, a similar thought is further encouraged by the European Union (EU), for example
„Guide for quality assurance of education (PHARE, 1998); "Analysis of theoretical approaches
that are largely shaped by systemic framework of contemporary evaluative research of educational
outcomes, shows that more and more often uses the term 'competence' as a central construct. One
of the definitions of competence belonging to this approach adopted in this research work is based
on three important contemporary models of „evaluation of education system“. It is about attitudes
toward individualization in education. This education's models describe theoretical orientations
as: Creemers' model of educational effectiveness, Slavin and Stringfields' model- Qait/ MACRO
model of efficiency in education and CIPO model for teaching by Scheerens.

Key Words: Creemers, Qait, Cipo model, individualization, IEP

Introduction

Evaluation of education is a set of analytical procedures that are important for establishing,
monitoring and improving the efficiency and quality of education. It is a precondition for
creating thoughtful education policy and decision-making development. As a mechanism for
improving quality, evaluating education has become one of the central themes of education

  23
policy in Europe (Commission of the European Communities, 2001a, 2001b; Wastiau-Schlüter,
2004). Several European countries legally regulated valuation of schooling, transfering greater
part of the responsibility for educational qualitytowards to the schools exclusively (Wilcox
and Gray, 1996; Leithwood et al., 1999; MacBeath et al., 1999; Reezigt, 2001). It is important
to mention that International Academy of Education (IAE) is associated with the International
Bureau of Education (IBE), which is managed by the Council composed of representatives of 28
Member States appointed by the General Conference of UNESCO (UNESCO, 1998). As part
of its educational lectures on the development of school’s curricula, the International Bureau is
establishing regional and local networks to manage changes in school programs and developing a
new information service, which is a platform for the exchange of information about educational
contents (Tedesco, 1998).

In many countries, already for several years, there are formed educational system solutions
associated with establishing and ensuring the quality of education. The process of systematic
thinking about establishing and ensuring the quality of education, for example within the OECD,
began in the eighties (OECD, 1995). In Europe, a similar thought is further encouraged by the
EU. The cognition of the importance of education which prepares individuals and generations
to live together, to seek opportunities in cooperation with other people and cultures, gives the
strength to the idea of establishing and ensuring the quality of education. Everything indicates
that this will remain so. The Union has, in fact, by its core, been committed to quality in all areas,
especially in the field of education.

The basic postulates of quality educational systems

Natural linking of different countries and different systems of education support the notion
that, in this area, it is not possible to achieve uniformity of programs, curricula, textbooks, and
so on. Therefore, the Union can not achieve quality by programming uniqueness, but the Union
is taking to the establishment of mechanisms which can be used if different countries in different
ways, with the help of mechanisms for establishing and ensuring quality, sought their own paths
towards a higher quality system of education. The Union is, at the level of Member States and
countries that will progressively join, as part of building a European home of education, and
the priority is education and quality assurance. Education brings change in the quality of life
of individuals and society through human and democratic process of lifelong learning, because
educated individuals are able to take responsibility and actively engage and participate in
the economic, social and cultural development of society. Human and democratic process of
lifelong learning provides, at the same time, gratification of personal needs and development

24
opportunities (potentials) individual with full respect for the other person, their personality
(individuality), their needs and vocations (interest). “Analysis of the theoretical approaches that
have largely shaped the systemic framework of contemporary evaluative research of educational
outcomes, shows that more and more often uses the term “competence” as a central construct.
One of the definitions of competence belonging to this approach was adopted in the framework
of Deseco/Definition and Selection of Competencies” (OECD, 1997). “Competence is defined
as the ability to successfully respond to complex and complex demands in a particular context
through the mobilization of psychosocial preconditions, including cognitive and non- cognitive
aspects” (Rychen and Salganik, 2003).

“The main characteristics of the situation in the education sector in BiH are: the lack of
certain educational backgrounds capable of quickly and effectively responding to the needs of
the labor market; a huge number of laws that regulate this area; inadequate funding of education;
lack of educational standards; curricula not adjusted to the requirements of a developed society;
outdated equipment or techniques; discrepancy between teacher education and the real needs of
the teaching practice; adult education programs have not been updated for more than a decade;
lack adequate infrastructure for training, retraining and upgrading of adults” (OSCE, 2002).
“It is significant to emphasize the importance of the principles of education, which refer to the
following: education should be based on standards with systematic monitoring and assessment of
its quality; Education shall be directed to the processes and outcomes of learning, rather than on
presenting the contents of individual academic disciplines; Education should respect individual
differences among students, according to methods of learning and speed of progress; Education
should be based on participatory, cooperative, active, experimental and empirical methods of
teaching and learning; Education should respect the everyday experiences of students, acquiring
knowledge outside of school and link them with teaching content; Education should develop
student’s positive attitude towards school, towards education generally, also encourage student’s
interest in learning and continuous education; Education should be the process of developing
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values at
​​ students behaviour” (IBF and the British Council,
2005). The previous research in the field of education reform (OSCE 2002, OECD, 2005) is
theoretically possible to be realized according to the paradigm of Creemer’s model educational
system. The authors from the region of Southeast Europe, whose work can be compared with
Creemer’s dynamic model of school effectiveness are: Ničković and Prodanović (1974); Šimleša
(1980); Bartolović, according Bujas (1982); Bezinović (1993); Djukić (1995). Three key models of
the world’s education systems, which we will present in more detail in this survey are: Creemer’s
model of school learning (Creemers, 1994), Qait/MACRO model of school effectiveness (Slavin
and Stringfield, 1992) and CIPO-model (Scheerens, 1990).

  25
 The theoretical assumptions of evaluation educational systems
By review of theoretical models and researches, but also by a numbers of instruments
for the observation of teaching, in our approach we are taking the elements that all models are
recognized as important elements of quality education and whose importance is confirmed by
numerous empirical studies. These are determinants of the quality of teaching confirmed in
focus groups with professional advisors in schools and with consultants. In these facts of based
categories and particles for perception and self-perception of teaching, similar patterns were
developed in the framework of our project:

• supportive classroom climate and good relations between teachers and students,
• structuring and planning lesson, emphasizing learning goals and clarity of instruction,
• involvement and motivation of students,
• teaching metacognitive skills, higher order thinking, strategy,
• learning and application of learning,
• individualization and differentiation of instruction for individual students and groups of
students,
• formative assessment and feedback about learning.

This approach emphasizes educational goals and provides the resources to achieve these
goals, through enough flexible way within the circumstances of individual schools.

“The comprehensive model of educational effectiveness Kyriakides, Creemers and Antoniou

underline the following factors of quality teaching: • orientation (emphasizing learning goals),
• structuring - clearly structuring material and activities that are planning to be exposed, the
announcement of subjects will be discussed at the beginning of the teaching time, highlighting
key ideas and summarizing at the end of an class, • moulding- selfregulated learning, problem
solving strategies, higher order thinking, • implementation of the learned, • asking questions, •
evaluation, • time management during teaching class-time is distributed to different parts of the
teaching class, • creating a climate supportive to learning in the classroom” (Kyriakides, Creemers
and Antoniou, 2009). A comprehensive model of efficiency in education (Creemers, 1994) refers
to the following factors: • The efficiency is measured by student’s achievement (generally, not
only in the exercise of the fundamental cognitive skills), • For efficiency is an important factor
at four levels: student, classroom-teacher, school and legal level; • A higher level should provide
the conditions for the functioning at the lower levels of education; • The connected effects at
all levels need to be brought to implementation; • The process of teaching and learning is not
static (constant adjustment, change and new challenges); effective education must be based on its
dynamic; • The dynamic model should be useful for practitioners and experts in decision-making,
improving and finding optimal solutions; • Integration of the factors of success in education is

26
not necessarily linear; • There are important links between factors at the same level (e.g. class);
Some factors may represent a group that specially contributes to efficiency, which is important for
a strategy to improve; • Multi-dimensional approach, each factor is defined and measured in five
dimensions: 1.) frequency (through much activity during the class teacher answers the questions
of “why” they have been doing and for how long), 2.) focus (whether activities meta-specific
or general, whether you have one or more purposes), 3.) level/phase (whether the activities are
directed towards the goals and whether they are held more or less with content, longer or shorter
hours), 4.) quality (whether students understand the goals, how well and clearly targets shown,
from light to heavier tasks) and 5.) individualization/differentiation (whether and how well the
teacher implements individualized activities, and takes into account the personal characteristics
of students, follows the needs of students, the surrounding factors, discussing about the present
concretely case, implement organizational and cultural skills in the context of class or entire
school);

Dynamic Model encourages contemporary approaches combined with teaching classes,

in compare with the classic transfer of knowledge (structuring lessons and ask questions),
constructivist approaches are in accordance with the new paradigm of learning (learning
orientation and modeling). The orientation about behaviour of teachers, gives the dynamic
model of efficiency education, refers to the achievement of the goals of the lessons, more hours of
instruction, the atmosphere where the teacher encourages students to identify the purpose of the
activity. There must be a clear response of teacher to the student’s question “why”.

The students achievements are high if the teacher’s transfer knowledge fit into the
scheduled time, and if it is all well-structured; if properly describes present goals, highlights and
draws attention according to the content, highlights the main points at the end of time, and make
a review after described problems, it is also important to repeat and reinforce the material. An
effective teacher often asked many questions, the students involved in the discussion. Questions
should be such that it will get the most accurate answer, with the exceptions that the answer
remains open, but not that it cannot respond. Optimal questions also depend on the context.
In teaching, some issues may be with more repeating, “exercise” with issues that require a short
answer. It is important to encourage the use of lessons learned, to properly use the generalization,
assessment, even if it is currently only a few students in the class. The best is to use the combined
issues, depending on the situation, those who seek an explanation, and those that have short
answers. The dynamic model emphasizes the contribution of teachers in the group, as well as an
adequate learning environment. Suchlike contribution is related to the five elements:

- Interaction teacher-student, - Interaction students-students, - Consideration of students

by teachers, - Competition among students, - Self-evaluation by students, - Descriptive evaluation

  27
by the teacher. Creating learning opportunities and properly using time to learn are the factors
that have an extremely significant impact. Evaluation is an integral part of the teaching course.
It is especially important to check when the knowledge base is established, and properly used
feedback from teachers and students. Each class is one of the most important indicators of the
effectiveness of the teacher as group leader. In the dynamic model, at the teaching class level,
some factors are not involved: the source of knowledge, pedagogical knowledge of teachers, their
expectations and so forth. This model emphasizes the implementation of an adaptable curriculum.
Designed curriculum includes factors at the school level, not at the level of a centralized system.

At the classroom level, similar concepts such as “school level”, requires the quantity and
quality of teaching, and providing opportunities for learning. Then, it requiresschool conditions
for each student, according to the teaching and activities which improve methods of getting
knowledge and achievements of young people. School Policies, for teaching and activities to
improve teaching, emphasize next aspects: - Policy of time management for learning (beginning
and the end of learning, determination of teaching hours, (not) disturbance of teaching- for
example, appointment of meetings, celebrations, some preparations etc.), - The policy regarding
absences, - Policy of school related to the tasks (tasks at home), - Policy of scheduling school hours,
- Policy measures in which pupils, according to their ability, can learn outside the prescribed
curriculum (knowledge for specified competitions- additional classes), - School policy that strives
to improve the quality of teaching in practice. The school as a learning environment - The behavior
of students outside of classroom- engagement of the expert school’s team towards additional
and extracurricular activities, - Cooperation and interaction between teachers/collective
atmosphere - Policy of partnerships (relationships with parents and external experts, advisors),
- Offering adequate teaching and learning materials, resources, as for teachers as for students,
- Encouraging values in ​​ utility of “learning”, through continuous and descriptive assessment,
- Centralized system does not affect the efficiency of the education- encouraging decentralized
system of education; - Increasing educational opportunities/ strengthening the professional team
(psychological- pedagogical) and professional development for teachers; - The expansion of the
educational environment: the question of support that schools provide to different groups of
actors (universities, companies, consultants, experts, researchers ...), - expectations for lifelong
learning and promoting academic success for different employees within and outside the
school (parents, professionals, employers, public). Within the schoolaspect includes established
quality educational policies and agreements with classroom, values, quality organizational
policy, intervision, supervision, professional staff, school culture, efficiency, time and timing,
rules and agree about the time of use, orderly and quiet climate, curriculum, an agreement of
intent, rules and agreements about how to implement the curriculum. The work in the classroom
should have a quality that meets the criteria of the curriculum, explicit purpose of goals and
contents. There are important structured lessons with clear content, organized for “advanced”

28
students. Then, the evaluation of students based on feedback interaction, correct instruction,
descriptive and continuous assessment. Also, there is an accent on the development of learning
skills, group work and collaborative learning. It is important to emphasize consistently behaviour
of teachers, creating orderly and peaceful atmosphere, setting homework that will account into
the composition of the final grade, high expectations, a limited set of goals emphasis on basic
skills, the affective and cognitive learning and transfer), content structuring (ordering the goals
and contents; prior knowledge). Clarity of the teacher’s exposure, testing, exercises, evaluation,
feedback and instructions are very important for effective teaching process. School students
emphasis refers to the time to learn, opportunities to learn, time for task, motivation, awareness
of social heredity, consistency, cohesion, control and evaluation of metacognitive skills.

Figure 1.: Comprehensive model of school effectiveness/Contextual factors and effective school impro-
vement (Sun, H., Creemers, B. P. M., 2007)

  29
 CREEMER’S model (1994): - Efficiency is measured by student’s achievement (generally,
not only in the realization of the fundamental cognitive skills); - As for efficiency, it is a very
important factor at four levels: student, school class-teacher, school and level of legality; - A
higher level should provide the conditions for the functioning at the lower levels of education;
The common action at all levels need to be brought to realization; - The process of teaching and
learning is not static (constant adapting, changes and new challenges); effective education must
be dynamic on its basis; - The dynamic model should be useful for practitioners and experts in
decision- making, improving and finding optimal solutions;

Figure 2.: Slavin/Stringfield model of school effectiveness, QAIT/MACRO

(Borman, Stringfield, & Slavin, 2001)

QAIT/MACRO is model of evaluation educational system developed by Stringfield and

Tap (1992). QAIT stands for quality, appropriate, incentive and time; MACRO is short for
meaningful goals, attention, academic focus, coordination, employment and training, and the
organization.. Model, Qait/ Macro has four level: 1.) level of the individual student and other
students; 2.) level of professionals who are in direct interaction with students; 3.) level of school,
with principal, other school staff and programs, “which influence on student learning, regarding
operation and communication between students, teachers and parents”; 4.) level of school in

30
relation to the community, school district, state, and federal sources of programming, financing
and their evaluation” (Stringfield & Slavin, 1992, p. 36.).

Figure 3.: Integral model of school’s efficiency, CIPO model (Scheerens, 2001)

CIPO-model (Scheerens, 2000, 2004a, 2004b) sign: (1) Context (analysis and evaluation) -
Stimulation of achievements for higher administrative levels; Development of education using;
The inclusion of variables, such as demographic characteristics of school (urban/rural, size of
school, students structure, types). (2) Input (analysis and evaluation) - Experience of teachers,
parent’s support and costs per pupil; (3) Process (analysis and evaluation) - At the school level
(the level of achievement, leadership in education, collective atmosphere/planning teaching
cooperation, the quality of the school curriculum in terms of content and formal structures,
also the potential of evaluation); At the classroom level (estimated time for a given problem, the
structure of the lecture, the ability to learn, high expectations of pupils’ progress, the degree of
estimation and monitoring of students’ progress, as well as reinforcement. (4) Output (analysis
and evaluation) - Student’s achievement adjusted to previous achievements, the level estimated

  31
intelligence and their SES (socioeconomic status)” (Teddlie and Reynolds, 2000). The basic
contribution to the science, in this work, is reflected in comprehension of obtained conclusions
and directed to the pragmatic benefits in the work of teachers, in order to reduce and to prevent
failure in school. With more security, we will explain the difficulties in learning; also,we will
notice the power of individual factors of success or eliminating failure in education.

Figure 4.: CIPO-model, S. De Maeyer et. al (2003), The conceptual model used variables

Figure 4. shows Multivariate model of the educational system at the school and its
effectiveness based on the research of Sven De Maeyer et al. (2003).

Netherlandish system for the observation of teaching ICALT, applied in several European
countries, consists of seven categories that define the quality of teaching (Van de Grift, 2007):

32
• a safe and stimulating environment for learning, • clear and stimulating learning, • effective
classroom management, • adaptation of teaching to different needs of students, • teaching
learning strategies, • reflectivity of teaching, • the involvement of students. Sammons and Co
(2008), for models of efficiency in teaching, using structured forms for observation of successful
teachers behaviour and pulled out the following elements, that make their classes very effective:•
supportive and stimulating environment of learning, • proactive management of the teaching
process, • well- organized lectures with clear goals, • quality learning environment, • adapting
of teaching towards different students, • teaching learning strategies. It is also very interesting to
consider the five-factor model of education (Edmonds, 1979), which consists of strong leadership,
high expectations, focus on core of the skills, a safe and orderly environment, regular monitoring
of student progress. Carroll (1963) model emphasizes learning through the dimension of time
and volume of the quality of teaching. Time’s dimension associates opportunities of learning,
persistence in learning and teaching, also capacity (how much time should be learned, if the
optimal teaching is „received“.

Bloom Carroll model has been upgraded and is based on “learning and behavior.” It relies
on consistency, cohesiveness, consistency/stability and control (CCCC). Consistency means the
factors of success at all levels. Consistent activities of all related factors create cohesion among
the different participants. For optimum performance is not good that the rules and approaches
change frequently. It accentuate the needs for continuity (consistency) over a long period of
time, as for students as for teachers. Within this model, it emphasizes the control of teachers and
regular review of the performance of students. Principles of Bloom Carroll models are important
to implement not only at school level, but also at the low level. Bloom teaches that higher
taxonomic goals were not achieved without lower one. Also, it is important to learn how to learn,
to understand and control their own mental activity (meta cognition) and constructivism, apply
“new learning”. Except cognitive skills, there are important achievements based on non-cognitive
aspects of students’ personality: affective (emotional), aesthetic, psychomotor and social aspects,
democratic values, critical thinking and taking the initiative. Empirical research shows (Knuver,
Brandsma, 1993; Kyriakides, 2005) that achieving cognitive goals positively correlates with well-
being of students and increases their motivation.

Also, all of this indicates a cohesive socialization with peers of different mental capacity
and personality structure, which certainly directs us to inadequate priorities of the young’s people
future. All of these variables together are the key factors for the success of students, through
education, and complete construction of socially acceptable personality (according to regularly
pedagogical orientation) of which largely depends the further way of accessing different life
challenges and tasks. Three different context- variables were measured: size of school, type of
community and the percentage of students according to ethnicity. Size of school is measured by

  33
the number of students in school. Z-value was used for the analysis of these variables. The sample
design was multi prepared. The first samples are the schools, then a sample of students and the
sample of teachers in those schools. In determining the sample size, the fact of accurate data
by the performance level of the school was taken into account. In order to evaluate a complete
school, 15 to 20 students per class were taken. The number of schools had to be at least 40 by
the type of education (technical versus professional). These data tell us that the survey was very
extensive and good quality and worthy of emphasizing a combination within the CIPO model
(Bosker & Snijders, 1990).

Individualization in education

Individualization in teaching means a new teaching curriculum, modern methods and

techniques in teaching, contemporary forms of teaching as the interaction and co-operation with
a reduced effect of frontal teaching, re-education of teachers, engagement of an expert advisors
team, making stronger partnerships with parents and the like. It is important to emphasize the
impact of individualization towards a realistic assessment of the students and their academic
success. The process of individuation is a dynamic process, whose main goal is the formation of
personality that has learned to differentiate themselves from others, and to recognize their own
abilities which differ from each other. Modern psychological perceptions believe that this process
is most intense in the educational process. Psychologists within the school, or in the function of
the mobile team, may indirectly influence the “reality” of academic achievement and abilities of
students, through the results of skills testing. It is important to examine the effects of evaluation
and individualization in teaching, tested by the teachers, which are expressed through the level of
acceptability of the proposed methods and techniques in teaching, student assessment systems, the
curriculum, re-education of teachers, professional collaborative team, partnerships with parents,
the IEP- individual educational plan and program, etc. Assessment of individualization is based
on the teachers’ opinion about current implement of individualization in the education system,
which directs their current work in the classroom. Categories of individualization’s attitudes,
which authors suggested, are the following: 1. Professional team and authoritative teaching 2.
Modern methods and techniques in teaching, 3. Reeducation of teachers - continuous teacher
training and implementation of the IEP, 4. Partnership with parents 5. The decentralization
in education 6. Evaluation of student’s knowledge, 7. collective atmosphere (Creemers, 1994;
Stringfield and Slavin, 1992 and Scheerens, 1990). In this paper, we mentioned the concept of
individualization in education, regarding attitudes and evaluation of individualized methods
by teachers, for the purpose of the previously mentioned factors “properly” identified through
“existing” teaching process. Seen from a global point of view, individualization in education
is a process that emphasizes the rights and needs of socially marginalized people, through the
family background, language, race, class, ethnicity, religion, abilities, in the sense of discussion
an integrated, multi- cultural, pluralistic or assimilation’s concept in education. In this study
we assessed the importance of the seven segments of the phenomenon of “individualization in
education.” There is talk of activities such as: authoritarianism of professors and representation
of the expert team, objectivity of evaluation, decentralization of education, modern methods
and forms/ techniques in education, re-education teachers, the inclusion of partnerships with
parents, the collective assessment of the atmosphere in schools. Contemporary educational
reforms seek to ensure maximum opportunity of individual development of each student,
foregrounding the development of personality and its capabilities. The goal of this research is
to prove the most effective proposals in the area where education can provide effective training
methods for optimal child development. Ignorance of the specificity of abilities development,
mental and affective one, and the teaching way of work, automatically leads to the series of
wrong attitudes and actions taken by a professor in his educational work. What describes the
system models in the education of Creemers (1994), Stringfield (1992) and Scheerens (1990) has
proven, quite significantly, within the dimensions of individualization’s assessment. Profiles of
individualization’s attitudes in teaching explains the crucial segments in the reform of education,
based on seven objective postulates: a professional team and authoritativeness, modern teaching
methods and techniques in the classroom, the IEP (individual education program) and the re-
education of teachers, partnership with parents, decentralization in education, evaluation and
the collective atmosphere. School success of secondary school students is defined by factors
of individualization, examined teacher’s attitudes, based on seven proposed dimensions of
individualization. Assessment of the current presence of individualization in the educational
system, by teachers, was also studied in relation to the achievement of adolescents at school.
There is a need for improving the education system, by strengthening the local school regulations
and their mutual cooperation within and outside the education team.

Conclusion

The fundamental paradigm of individualization in teaching, directing previous mentioned

variables, rely on “a newer form of the curriculum,” which explains the establishment of a “hidden/
emotional curriculum”. These are the main postulations, according to Ničković and Prodanović
(1974):

1. Change the curriculum, whose contents correspond to the different abilities of

students, in accordance with the effective application of the labor market; 2. Participation of
parents in decisions about changing the content of teaching courses, the purpose of which is
adaptation to individual abilities and needs of the child; 3. Eliminatingf the frontal teaching and
accepting cooperative and interactive teaching; 4. The difference in learning, except in abilities,

  35
also is in the style of learning (information’s processing, emotions); 5. The goals, contents and
ways of realization should be designed to stimulate the learning process and to offer more
opportunities for creative work; 6. It is important to mention the cultural structure of society,
in which the student lives; 7. Curriculum should be designed to respect the integrated process
of intellectual, emotional and social development of pupils; 8. Orientation’s curriculum towards
the students, according to their need for an active role in the process of their own development
and according to their need to wait for actualization. This realization is possible, within the
theoretical principles of the curriculum, which is based on: a.) Balancing - between knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values; Developing personal identity in terms of the different religions and
multiculturalism; b.) The coherence and continuity - horizontal and vertical links between the
goals, contents, methods and forms of teaching with the results of education at all levels of school
age students; c.) Openness - defining the basic elements, operational objectives; d.) Flexibility -
individualized instructions assimilated to students; e.) Intercultural - multicultural structure of
society; f.) Inclusion - Inclusion of different traditions, cultures, processes of past and current
development system of educational evaluation (categorizing and stigma/labeling students have
many negative consequences, for which there is no place in the industrial system of education);
affection in mutual learning and cooperation with each other is necessary; g.) A student-centered
approach - teaching methods are based on the student’s needs, situations, where students are
actors; Participatory learning through relaxation/free time activities (Ničković and Prodanović,
1974). Ničković and Prodanović said that, despite the fact that “individualization ... has not yet
become an extended practice school work ... There are several forms of individualized teaching,”
which are worthy of mention. We need to emphasize the attitude of these authors, regarding
assessment process of individuation, through the flexibility of curricula to the needs of students.
Indicators for flexibility, according to Đukić (2003), are as follows: a) Certain teaching topics
that require adjustment in terms of methods, forms and temporal organization of work, followed
by adaptation, b) Teaching content is assimilated to the needs of the child/student, c ) There are
individual upbringing and education’s programs, in which educational goals and the acceptance
of educational content adapted to the needs of students, d) The parents of students participate in
the development of individual upbringing and educational program, monitoring of the learning
process in school and extracurricular activities, e) The evaluation functions as monitoring of the
progress and student motivation (Đukić, 2003).

“Those are the forms of individualization related to general, realistic model of

individualized teaching, which includes problem’s teaching, heuristic, exemplary/programmed
instruction, by proceeding through discoveries, mentoring and autodidactic teaching classes.
The mentioned teaching model, therefore, provides a greater degree of differentiation among
students, about what they teach, how they teach and which material they use, in accordance with
their capabilities” (Šimleša, 1980). The current educational system in BiH, unfortunately, does
not completely support such capacities and potentials of young people.

36
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38
 Education as a Determinant of Economic Growth
◆
Muhidin Mulalić
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The relationship between higher education and economic development has gained
significant attention as a result of the emergence of ‘knowledge economy’ that emphasizes
knowledge, production, accumulation, transfer and application. Although economic development
of a state depends on many factors higher education institutions play key role in delivering and
providing knowledge. How education may affect economic growth? Obviously, education directly
conditions the human capital inherent in the labor, which increases consequently productivity
and growth. Education is inevitable for the innovative capacity of the economy, knowledge
economy, technology, production and economic processes that altogether promote economic
growth. Through adoption of new knowledge, education also deals with processing and the
application of new technologies, which again promote economic growth. This paper will survey
these dimensions of economic growth that are obviously conditioned by the quality of education.

Key words: education; economic growth; human capital; new technologies; Bosnia and
Herzegovina

Introduction

Classical economists in the 18th and 19th century began studying the relationship between
education and economic growth by considering the impact of education on the overall wealth
of a nation. However, economists in the 20th century began studying such relationship by using
empirical estimates, considering direct investments, returns and income (Krueger and Lindahl
2001). Studies have also shown personal pay-off from education, whereby individual earnings and
wages increase in terms of the number of years of schooling. Finally, their studies indicated that
investments in education significantly affect GDP growth in terms of productivity, employability,
innovation and using of modern technology.

  39
 Education is essential ingredient for prosperity and there is common believe that without
reading, writing and calculation it is impossible to function in a society. Education plays
significant role in economic development as educated population with knowledge and skills
are the greatest resource of a state. Then, schooling is necessary for industrial development
as it generates cognitive, behavioral and social development of individuals that are critical for
production, consumption, use of knowledge and labor.

In-depth research analysis is not necessary to determine that education offered in

developed and developing countries differs tremendously. Significance of human capital and
centuries old attention on education in developed countries have been extremely important in
the process of economic growth. This is why even today ‘the Education for All’ is at the center of
the Millennium Development Goals. Another good example was Tony Blair’s political campaign
in 1997, who introduced famous slogan “education, education and education” as three of his key
political priorities.

Due to significant influence of the globalization process, creating conducive environment

for investment in human capital and thus increasing the economic growth is increasingly emerging
as one of the key elements of economic strategic plans in many countries. The international
competition, globalization and technological progress contributed towards unprecedented
economic growth of humanity. This progress was possible because of different factors, including
the science and education. Education and training left to pedagogy and teachers has finished and
nowadays economists and policy-makers have integrated education into national strategic plans,
whereby economic growth is impossible without bridging education and economic activity. New
economic approach began to focus on education for economic demand by especially taking into
consideration human capital that is inevitable for increased productivity.

The Conception of Human Capital

Adam Smith (1776) was the first classical economist that included human capital in his
monumental work the “Wealth of Nations.” He began to argue that human capital embodies
useful skills acquired by useful members of society. Such skills of a worker are product of
personal investment that should be repaid back as an income. Then, in the end of the 1960s
the emphasis on the human capital began with research studies conducted by Theodore Schultz
(1961) Investment in Human Capital, Jacob Mincer (1974) Investment in Human Capital and
Personal Income Distribution and Gary S. Becker (1964) Human Capital. Besides shaping the
human capital concept, their works also influenced other researchers to address furthermore
economic growth, education, training, migration, health and social exclusion.

40
 To begin with, Theodore Schultz (1961) introduced an idea that the human capital is
indispensible for a national economic growth in the modern economy. He also made research
studies on the educational and health expenses as key investments with the aim of economic
growth. He argued that higher levels of education offer to people the change of profession and
more job opportunities. According to him human being is a form of capital that can be developed.
Then, Jacob Mincer (1974) has shifted his attention to study of the relationship between the
human capital and the revenues from labor by the degree of education of the individuals. His
research findings indicated that an added year of schooling anticipate growth of revenues
throughout life. For example, recent studies of Kruger and Lindahl (2000) that applied Mincer’s
approach indicated that in the USA each year of schooling raises the lifetime revenues by 10%.
These early human capital theories, associated with education and economic growth, continued
furthermore with the works of Gary Becker (1964) who examined significance of human capital
in sustainable development of economy by especially considering information progress and its
impact on both individual and the society. Due to him human capital started to include theoretical
knowledge, skills and abilities that are inevitable in the process of creating goods and services.
Becker also introduced an idea that education increases the productivity of those who possess it
and investments in human capital produce earnings. Similarly so, Romer (1990) affirmed an idea
that the human capital is a precondition of economic productivity.

The above-mentioned survey has indicated that there are different conceptions of human
capital throughout the literature. Yet all of them put stress on the economic and non-economic
benefits of human capital investments. Therefore, the OECD proposed the definition that
includes both economic and non-economic benefits of human capital as “the knowledge, skills,
competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal,
social and economic well-being” (OECD, 2001). Unlike other definitions OECD definition
includes also psycho-social, mental and physical aspects of individuals that are also regarded
as human capital. Then, another comprehensive definition argues that the human capital is “an
amalgam of factors such as education, experience, training, intelligence, energy, work habits,
trustworthiness, and initiative that affect the values of a worker’s marginal product (Frank and
Bemanke, 2007). Broadly speaking the conception of human capital includes both human and the
capital dimensions. Therefore, the capital is directed towards the creation of goods or services and
they are significant part of the production process. Therefore, along with the capital, the human
is the subject of all economic activities such as production, consumption and transaction. The
humans are usually utilized as the labor force and, as well as, they are the creators of knowledge,
skills and competencies (Boldizzoni, 2008 and Little, 2003).

  41
 The Income-Based Approach

The main driving force which can inhibit or impel the growth of one society is the investment
in human capital. Education and professional trainings should be considered more seriously by
policy-makers as they are the most important investments in the creation of human capital. The
human capital, therefore, development of knowledge, qualities, qualifications, competencies and
skills are conditional for serious economic activity and growth. The quality of the investment
made on education anticipates future benefits in the process of economic growth. In addition,
at individual or personal level the income-based approach considers the future earnings that
human capital investments generate over a person’s lifetime (Jorgenson and Fraumeni, 1992).
According to Checchi (2005), “income inequality tends to be lower in countries where average
educational achievement is higher (p. 5). Very idea that the investment in human capital raises
individual’s income and wages was introduced by economists beginning from 1950s. As studies
were developed, researchers came to the conclusion that investing in human capital is more
beneficial than investing in physical capital. Barro (2001) in his study, applied on the number of
countries, affirmed that the educational level of the work force has positive impact on national
income too. Obviously, if a state spends more on education, incomes will consequently grow up
at times amounting more than the investment.

According to OECD (2012) report, one of the most important reasons for growing
unemployment and social inequalities is lack of proper education, training, and especially lifelong
learning. In addition, “on average, employment rates are 18 percentage points higher for those
with an upper secondary education and 28 percentage points higher for those with a tertiary
education, compared to individuals who have not completed an upper secondary education” (p.
120). Therefore, additional investments in education and producing more qualified and educated
people are inevitable for economic growth. According to old perceptions, investing in education,
and thus in human capital, has been considered as individual decision which is aimed at certain
kind of pay back or refund in the future. This perception is also based on measurable rates of
return in European countries average about 6.5 percent for an additional year of education, while
the rate of return in the US is 3 percent higher than in Europe.

Studies have indicated that unemployment rate among people with higher education is
lower than among the people with high school education. People with higher education actively
participate in social and political life of a country and contribute to better functioning of the
social and political processes. Children of parents with higher education enjoy more quality way
of life than the children with lower level of education. Research results also show that people with
higher education can bring higher benefits for the whole society in terms of new discoveries,
creativity and innovations than people with lower level of education.

42
 The Cost-Based Approach

The main component of the economic growth is human capital that depends on the
education. Therefore, education should be treated as production investment, not as consumption,
because education is the accumulation of capital. Every student invests in education through
purchasing of books and paying of the tuition fee. Similarly so, state institutions, by investing
in staff salaries and educational institutions, contribute to the economic growth. The cost-based
approach was first introduced by Kendrick (1976) who argued that even child rearing, studying
time and any form of spending on education has education value and determined human capital
in the form of investment and earnings. Researchers and economists especially become interested
in the financial significance of investment in formal education. For example, the total investment
in education in developed countries, averages about 6.2% of their GDP. However, Denmark,
Iceland, Israel, Korea, New Zealand and the United States spend more than 7% of their GDP on
education (OECD, 2012, p. 238). Then, “On average, OECD countries spend USD 9 252 annually
per student from primary through tertiary education: USD 7 719 per primary student, USD 9
312 per secondary student and USD 13 728 per tertiary student (Ibid., p. 218).

Such significant investment in education is aimed with the purpose of making the return at
least equal to the investment, if not higher. Another reason for growing interest of researchers in
investment in education is the fact that underdeveloped and developing countries do not put this
as their priority in economic strategic plans and policies. The World Bank measures human capital
through its comprehensive wealth accounting (World Bank, 2011). That is why the European
Union in the framework of Lisbon Strategy emphasized investments in human capital and made it
as one of the main preconditions for the creation of a modern knowledge-based economy. Being
influenced by research studies many countries at the national level have attempted to measure
their human capital by considering adult literacy rates (Romer, 1990), school enrollment ratios
(Barro, 1992) and average years of schooling (Krueger and Lindahl, 2001).

Becker (1993) argued that “it is fully in keeping with the capital concept as traditionally
denned to say that expenditures on education, training, medical care, etc., are investments
in capital” (p. 16). Therefore, any activity that carries the costs in the current period and that
possibly can increase productivity in the future can be considered as the investment. Therefore,
all activities that increase productivity require investments. In this regard, human capital is the
economic expression of knowledge, skills workers acquire through education, training and work
experience. This means that human capital and education are two sides of the same coin, as they
condition the ability of the economy to produce goods and services. In countries where human
capital is scarce, the gap between earnings of educated and less educated workers is higher.

  43
 Throughout life, people accumulate useful knowledge, skills and experience and ultimate
‘capital’ at the end depended on investments. Therefore, “education and professional training
are the most important investments in the human capital” (Becker, 1997, p. 1). Similarly so,
according to Schultz (1981) human capital depends, in addition, on investments in healthcare
system as a good health is a precondition of human capital. Both the expenses on education
and on health can be considered as an investment in the human capital (p. 7). Therefore, being
an integral part of human capital investment healthcare is important as it enhances individual’s
intellectual and learning abilities and eventual job performance. Besides the positive effects of
investing in education on growth and development, education creates the potential for social
inclusion and integrates excluded social categories such as the unemployed, the poor and
disadvantaged. Therefore, encouraging investments in human capital and lifelong learning
became top priorities of new Guidelines of the European Employment Strategy, which aims to
achieve higher employment and create quality jobs.

Education and Knowledge

From historical point of view, it is commonly known that the human society has un-
dergone significant developments, each period with much more sophisticated developments.
Mankind passed from stone age, iron age, agricultural age, industry age, information age to
knowledge age. These civilization stages or revolutions also affected changes and developments
of economy, which shifted from an economy based on material resources to a knowledge-
-based economy. Due to such changes and transformations, human capital became inevitable
factor that influenced economic development.

Highly educated people who possess knowledge and skills become drivers of economic
development because they often create additional value on the market. Physical capital is not
determined by the competitiveness of companies, but it is, on the contrary, human capital
that is integral part of every economic process. Human capital brings along to the company
education, knowledge, skills, competencies and motivation, which are driving forces for incre-
asing productivity that is based on knowledge, experience and qualifications. Becker (1993)
introduced an idea that the scientific and technical knowledge raises the productivity of labor.
Therefore, mutual dependency between technical knowledge and production increased the
value of education and training in economic development (p. 24).

Innovation depends on the knowledge that is considered to be good or a product as

any other. As De Long (1997) argues, increased productivity and improved standard of living
bring advantages in knowledge and improvements in application of knowledge. In addition,
improvements in knowledge and in the application of knowledge, as key components of re-

44
search and development, directly contribute to the economic development. That is why the
basic macroeconomic understanding of economic development depends on GDP, technology,
capital and labor.

Some older models of growth like Solow Growth Model (Solow, 1956) argue that a small
part of economic growth is attributed to the labor and the capital, while the largest part of eco-
nomic growth depends on technological advancement. According to Solow (1956), because of
the technological advances human capital becomes more important. In the beginning of the
1980s, technological advances began to be treated as part of economic theory. Neoclassical
economic theories began to argue that technology, human capital and innovative ideas stron-
gly influence the economic growth (Romer, 1990; Barro, 1991). This is very much obvious in
underdeveloped countries because of different capacity to absorb new technology. Technology
cannot be acquired and used without education and practical skills. In addition, developed
and underdeveloped countries differ in education, research and technology, therefore under-
developed countries generated different results because of gap between technology and human
capital on one side and economic growth on the other (Mankiew, Romer, Weil, 1992).

Education and Bosnian Economic Development

In 2008 the Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted Strategic Directions for the
Development of Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2008 – 2015 (http://www.vetbih.org/
portal/images/stories/politika-i-strategija/BIH-Strategija-BOSANSKI-JEZIK.pdf). According
to Education for All 2015 National Review Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina,this document
defines education priorities aimed at “raising the level of education of the population and the
competence of the workforce, improving the effectiveness of education and training, prevention
of social exclusion among children and youth and expanding opportunities for adult education
and training, as well as the quality assurance and revitalization of research in education” (p. 4.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently working on the adoption of new strategic plan that should
link the labor market, stakeholders and innovative curricula; modernize education system and
its administration; reform the financing of the education system; introduce integrative education
development model according to EU standards as to harmonize education systems at cantonal
and entity levels.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a need of more investment in education as to improve its
quality and to make education compatible with the market needs. Obviously, with the investment
in education, fostering of entrepreneurship spirit, training and development of human resources,
Bosnia and Herzegovina can reduce unemployment rate and develop its economy. Since 1990s

  45
until today, small investments in higher education have been reduced to a minimum and they
are exclusively aimed at public universities that largely depend on the budget. Therefore, lack of
investments in the higher education significantly influenced the quality of higher education in
terms of infrastructure and human capital. According to international standards, 2% of GDP
should be allocated for education, while in FBiH it is at 0.28% (Federal Ministry of Education,
2012: 8). According to Strategic Development of Education Canton Sarajevo 2010-2015, “higher
education is perceived as public expenditure and not as an investment in human capital” (n.p.).
Then, unlike in industrialized countries, higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina is only
financed from public and not from private sources. Excellent examples of private participation in
investments in public higher education are USA, Korea and Chile (Branković, 2012, pp. 17-18).

The annual budget for higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 56,75 million €,
which is approximately 550 € per student. In comparison, developed countries invest per student
significant amount of money. For example, USA invests per student 14.851 €, Canada 10.934 €,
Sweden 9.918 €, Scotland 9.101 €. Therefore, the budget allocated for higher education in Bosnia
and Herzegovina is 20 to 40 times less than in Europe, and the rest of the world. According to
yet another study in 2010, each student was allocated with 1.674,16 KM at public universities.
Average allocation in the EU countries is between 8.000 EURO and 36.000 EURO depending on
the field of study (Brankovic, 2012, p. 42).

Good examples of capital investments in education are newly established institutions of

higher learning, which could directly affect an economic growth. For instance, the International
University of Sarajevo (IUS) has invested significant amount of money in building a modern
campus. Besides, there is significant impact that students, staff and the University expenditures
have on the local community. Students and staff make significant expenditures on housing, utilities,
telephone, food, entertainment, services, clothing, purchasing of books, health, education and
tuition. There are certainly financial contributions of the University on surrounding communities.
Fresh capital investments by some private universities do not only influence the development of
the economy, but also increase state revenues (Mulalic, 2012, p. 363).

Bosnia and Herzegovina has 9.9% illiteracy rate as based on 1991 census. There is very
low participation in higher education at 16%, which is expected to be increased to 32% by 2015.
According to UNDP 2004 survey, only 4.3% of people possess higher education. Then, university
enrollment is very low and it is at 24%. On the top of that, there is political instability and brain-
drain of the young people (Strategic Directions for the Development of Education in Bosnia and
Herzegovina 2008 – 2015, 2008, p. 2). Yet it is important to mention that in the span of five
years (2004-2009) the number of students enrolled in universities indicated growing trend as the
number of enrolled students increased from 84.475 to 109.579 (Brankovic, 2012, p. 41).

46
 In Bosnia and Herzegovina there is no clear control and monitoring of student’s
enrolments at the institutions of higher learning and often graduates do not match market needs.
According to European University Association (2009), participation in education in Europe is
50% while participation in higher education in Bosnia is only at 16%. Despite the large number
of universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, only 15% of young people go on to attend one. This is
in contrast to developed countries where significant numbers of young people attend university.
Actually, in some countries within the last ten years student numbers have doubled. For instance,
in Europe 52%, in Japan 49%, in Canada 59% and in the USA an amazing 81% of young people
attend university.

Bosnia and Herzegovina grapples with extremely high unemployment rate. In June
2015 there were 539.512 unemployed and 712.353 employed people. 43% of young people are
unemployed (Labour and Employment Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina, http://www.arz.gov.
ba/statistika/mjesecni/default.aspx?id=1954&langTag=en-US). In this regard, it is important
to mention that job strategy is also closely linked with economic growth and development of
education (Diamond, 2005: 109-185 and Harvey, 2001: 97–109). To start with, universities
themselves are among the largest employers. Perhaps, Canton Sarajevo is good example where
four universities employ significant number of people. Then, universities produce skilled labor
that is inevitable for functioning of companies. In addition, Bosnia-Herzegovina will eventually
join the European Union; therefore, the European market will be open for qualified graduates
that possess not only the knowledge, skills and ability of using modern technologies, but also
effectively use the foreign languages. There is the need for skilled labor because the percentage
of skilled labor in Bosnia-Herzegovina is extremely low in comparison to European countries.

Advocators for higher education hold that there is also correlation between education and
income. Of course, higher educational level can increase individual’s income up to 70 percent and
there is higher probability of being employed (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2009). At theoretical
level, there are theories that argue on the relationship between education and earnings or income.
Education awards the individual additional values, which increase his/her productivity, which
in turn can be translated into higher earnings. In simple terms, the productivity is the ratio of
outputs to inputs. Therefore, there is the relationship between education and productivity. An
increase in education could have a permanent impact on economic growth and consequently an
increase in the production level (Pana & Mosora 2013).

Economy and practical knowledge and skills are needed because of scientific and
technological demands of the modern world. There should be an emphasis not on theoretical,
but practical knowledge. Recent technological progress in computers has stimulated large
investments in information technology. There is close relationship between economic

  47
development, technology and education (Ćosić and Fabac, 2001: 516-544). Certainly there is
the role of technology in educational processes; investments in building modern laboratories,
scientific-research databases and libraries; impact on economic development in terms of
economic initiatives, transfer of knowledge and technology, development of new products and
opening of new services and jobs.

Institutions of higher learning stimulate other industries, opening of new jobs and additional
investment in the form of the projects. According to Trani and Holsworth (2010), “during the
1980s and 1990s, Ireland essentially reinvented itself as an information technology capital and,
in the process, skillfully used its universities as an incubator for talent and for the establishment
of collaborations between the academy and the best-known multinational corporations” (p. 12).
Nowadays, every university is research-driven institution with a focus on knowledge, technology
and their diffusion. It is mandatory that universities service the business sector by producing
human capital, knowledge based on research and publications, research projects and consultancy.
Unfortunately, research and development is at very low lever and Bosnia and Herzegovina
is lagging behind other Western Balkans countries such as Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia,
Croatia, Slovenia and Kosovo (Brankovic, 2012, pp. 42-43). Ćurković (2010) holds that “Bosnia-
Herzegovina allocates only 0.05% of its GDP in research and development” (p. 136).

Concluding Remarks

In the process of economic planning and investment it is important to consider the extent
to which factors such as human capital, knowledge and technology can give the best results for
economic development of the country. Apart from physical capital, all the above factors play
complementary role in economic development. The application of new technologies also depends
on human capital, because its production is in the hands of highly educated people who possess
knowledge and skills to use new technology in economic processes. Acquired education and
competencies of young graduates is in accordance to new technological advancements in our
society. Therefore, human capital as opposed to physical capital loses its value when not in use.
Actually, human capital increases knowledge and skills through the process of work. Physical
capital is not any more decisive for economic development, but it is human capital, knowledge,
innovation, creativity and modern technology.

The universities sometimes depend on political framework for the development, whereby
they don’t focus on their own strategies and policies that should be aimed at the development.
Therefore, because of wrong perceptions, universities don’t play direct role in the development
and the development is considered as sole responsibility of the state. On the contrary, knowledge
produced at the university should be decisive for capacity building and economic development.
Impact of higher education on economic growth is clearly visible from extremely dependent

48
relationship between higher education participation rates and economic growth rate (Reisz and
Stock, 2012, p. 200). From ‘rates of return’ perspective, there are both the private and public
benefits of investing in higher education. Higher education plays significant role in the creation
of the human capital that is indispensible for the labor market. Private firms and companies are in
need of new technologies, whose knowledge and application depend on higher education. Finally,
lifelong learning and preparation for jobs also depends on higher education and its quality.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is important to develop effective higher education strategic

plans; increase investments in higher education; develop qualified human capital; put emphasis
on practical knowledge, research and technology; and articulate both social and economic
dimensions of education.

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 Decision Making via Systems Thinking in Management:
Educational Issues

◆
M. Kudret Yurtseven & Walter W. Buchanan
Izmir University, Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a critical view of the educational issues related to teaching
decision making in management studies and to provide a general framework that will serve as
a basis for designing new courses, covering some methodologies for handling complexity in
decision making. At present, the widely spread approach to teaching the subject matter is mostly
restricted to the traditional OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science) paradigm. This
paradigm is based on a set of mathematical tools and suitable for solving well defined decision
making problems; it fails in “messy” or complex situations. Systems-based approaches are more
promising in complex situations since they provide the decision maker(s) the opportunity to
address the problematic situation in its full system context. The framework proposed in the study
attempts to complement the traditional OR/MS paradigm rather than to replace it.

Key words: systems thinking, decision making, management, education

Introduction

It is well known that managerial decision making problems can be highly complex, in general,
but there is a sub-set of problems that can be formulated in well-structured forms. Such problems
are normally handled with the quantitative techniques of the Management Science/Operations
Research (MS/OR) paradigm - this paradigm is also known as hard operations research. The major
quantitative techniques or tools of the paradigm are mathematical programming, game theory,
simulation models, Markov chain models and decision tress. In messy situations, these tools prove
to be too rigid and mechanical to be useful. The decision problems faced by top managers at the

52
strategic level are mostly complex and ‘messy’. There is usually too much ambiguity involved, and
information available for decision making is often uncertain, incomplete, or even distorted. Under
such conditions, managers need to describe the problematic situation in its full system context
andmake use of systems thinking-based methodologies to find satisfactory solutions.

For instance let us consider the situation where an American company is questioning
whether to enter a new market in a country like Pakistan or Jordan. This decision is a strategic level
kind; hence it is complex. There is bound to be considerable uncertainty and ambiguity related to
the country’s economic conditions, the stability of markets, consumer behavior, etc. It may not be
easy or not possible to find an acceptable solution to this problem through the OR/MS tools. The
soft approaches are suitable since the soft issues such as consumer behavior can be included in the
model via a combined use of hard and soft modeling approaches. Supposing that the company
decided to enter the market, the next decision problem will be of a tactical kind, such as whether
to follow an export led market expansion or locally produce the product. Here the solution may
or may not require the use of both hard and soft methodologies. The related decision at the lowest
level could be whether to hire more local people for some operations. This is an operational
problem. Now this problem can be handled by hard approaches without a great deal of difficulty.
Another example where complexity may be seen is in managing call centers. Effective operation of
a call center requires a sensible balance between conflicting aims, such as waiting times, number
of operators, equipment, etc. These variables can be formulated in monetary terms and a solution
can be found via mathematical models or simulation models. However, if one wants to include the
consequences of long waiting times, such as loss of life or serious injuries, the problem becomes too
complex to be handled by purely mathematical models. Similar arguments are valid for ecological
systems. The economic activities involved can be measured easily in monetary terms, but not the
loss or degradation of the natural environment. The common features in all these problems are:
(1) Different people view a problem in different ways; (2) The solution is not too obvious; (3)
There are usually conflicts on objectives; (4) There may not be enough information to evaluate the
consequences of decision choices; (5) The interactions between various elements or aspects may
exhibit high computational complexity for human mind to produce a solution; (6) The settings
within which these problems exist are systems.
Complexity and decision making in complexity have been studied by a number of
researchers in the past. Gorze-Mitka et al. (2014) traces the roots of “modern complexity”
to the birth of General Systems Theory. The complexity issue was also addressed in Weiner’s
work on cybernetics and in the work of other important names in systems movement, such as
Churchman, Ackoff, Beer, Weinberg, Forrester, and Gigch (Skyttner, 2001 and 2006). In 2005,
Jamali suggested that the existing decision-making processes are no longer adequate, and urged
educational institutions to teach new approaches to decision-making problems (Jamali, 2005).

  53
The new approaches can now be seen in some textbooks. For instance, Pownall’s book (2012),
Effective Management Decision Making, covers holistic approaches, heuristic decision making
and group decision making, as well as more traditional topics. Daellanbach et al. (2012) wrote an
interesting book, entitled Decision Making through Systems Thinking, which also reflects recent
developments. This book puts considerable emphasis on the application of soft systems thinking
(particularly Soft OR and Soft Systems Methodology) to decision making. Similar comments can
be made about the book by Maani et al. (2007), Systems Thinking, System Dynamics: Managing
Chaos and Complexity. Here, the approach is based on system modeling by combining both hard
and soft approaches and System Dynamics methodology. Skyttner (2001 and 2005) provides
a wide perspective and presents decision making process in the context of General Systems
Theory. He considers various dimensions of decision making processes, including philosophical,
methodological, technological and psychological aspects. He emphasizes the importance of
Managerial Cybernetics in handling complex organizational issues. Managerial Cybernetics
is also seen as an important methodology by Jackson (2000 and 2003) for handling complex
managerial problems; Beer’s viable model is noted as a significant methodology in this respect.

There are a number of specific studies on complexity decision making in literature. For
instance, Gorzen-Mitka, et al. (2014) examine complexity decision making issues and argue that
strategic decision-making in complex environments requires meta-cognitive skills and a tool-bag
for innovative and adaptable decision models beyond linear thinking. The book written by Parnell
et al. (2011), Decision Making in Systems Engineering and Management, approaches the subject
matter from a systems engineering point of view. The decision making process laid out in the
book is based on both multiple-objective decision making and value-focused thinking. Problem
definition, measuring stakeholder value, designing creative solutions, exploring the decision
trade space and structuring successful solution implementation phases are all viewed from this
perspective. The attractive aspect of this work is that it is very well suited for system life-cycle
models.

The material in this paper is presented in the following order: the fundamental role of
system thinking in managing complexity is assessed in the next section; this is followed by a
discussion of the potential contributions of systems thinking to decision making, the description
of the proposed framework, and the major conclusions of the work.

Systems Thinking and Managing Complexity

Managers today are expected to cope with increasing complexity, change and diversity.
They need to handle problems that come as interconnected with other problems, or as ‘messes’.
Managers have some popular tools available to deal with decision problems, such as scenario
planning, benchmarking, value chain analysis, and process re-engineering. The ‘quick’ solutions

54
generated by these tools rarely work, simply because they are not holistic. These tools deal with
parts of the organization rather than the whole. Although it is possible to optimize the operation
of a part or a subsystem via this approach, the overall operation of the system may be affected
adversely. Although it may not be optimal, a satisfactory solution for the overall system can
be found if the crucial interactions and the subsystems are taken into account as a whole. The
principle “a system is more than the sum of its parts” suggests that systems’ behavior can be
understood well if one understands the emergent system properties that arise only when parts
interact with each other. This phenomenon was observed by many researchers in process re-
engineering (BPR) projects. It appears that the main reason behind the failure of many of
these projects is that there was too much concentration on subsystem re-engineering; crucial
interactions such as human-organization relationships were ignored.

The limitations and inadequacies of hard systems thinking become fairly obvious in the
1980’s due to the increasing complexity of contemporary systems. Soft systems thinking emerged
as a response to overcome these difficulties and enable systems people to develop acceptable
solutions to multi-disciplinary and complex problematic situations. Jackson classifies all
important hard and soft systems methodologies and reviews them in a critical manner (Jackson,
2000 and 2003). His classification, from social sciences point of view, includes the following
groups: (a) The Functionalist Systems Approach; (b) The Interpretive Systems Approach; (c)
The Emancipatory Systems Approach; (d) The Postmodern Systems Approach; (e) Critical
Systems Thinking.

The Functionalist Aapproach includes Hard OR, Systems Engineering, Cybernetics,

System Dynamics, Living Systems Theory, Autopoiesis, and Complexity Theory. Here systems
appear as objective aspects of reality independent of observers. Their behavior is analyzed via the
methods of the natural sciences, and this knowledge is used to improve their efficiency or efficacy
of the system. In contrast, the assumption that everbody percieves reality the same way is rejected
in soft systems thinking; perceptions are multiple and environment is plutralistic. Within the
functionalist approach, there is a group of methodologies where “hard facts” are used throughout
the study, and this kind of approach is commonly referred as “Hard Systems Thinking”. Systems
Theory provides theoretical background to all these methodologies. In regard to relating
methodologies to problem contexts, Jackson (2003) suggests that “Hard Systems Thinking” is
applicable to “simple systems-unitary participant” types of problems. Methodologies known as
System Dynamics, Organizational Cybernetics and Complexity Theory are considered suitable
for “complex systems-unitary participant situations”. Similarly, Soft Systems Approaches are
found to be applicable to both “simple systems-pluralist participants” and “complex systems-
-pluralist participants”, Emancipatory Systems Thinking to “simple systems-coercive participants”,
and Postmodern Systems Thinking to “complex systems-coercive participants”.

  55
 Probably the most important “break away” of the soft school from the hard school is
related to the concept of objectivity. The claim of “objectivity” of classical science is found to
be problematic in soft systems school; it is seen as nothing but an illusion. It is argued that
it is meaningless to formulate objective aims and objective means in complex situations. The
actors involved in the process are bound to have different perspectives of the problematic
situation or the reality, and they will likely suggest different solutions. For instance, Soft Systems
Methodology (SSM), one of the well-known methodologies, developed by Checkland (Checkland
and Scholes, 1990), (Checkland, 1993), embraces a paradigm of learning rather than viewing
the world as systems whose performance can be optimized by following systematic procedures.
This way of thinking can also be seen in other soft methodologies, such as Warfield’s Interactive
Management, Churchman’s Social Systems Design, Mason and Mitroff ’s Strategic Assumption
Surfacing and Testing, Ackoff ’s Social Systems Sciences, Senge’s Systems Thinking, Soft OR, Soft
System Dynamics, and Soft Cybernetics. The interested reader should also look at Mingers and
White (2010) and Mingers (2001) for detailed reviews of “hard and soft system schools”, and their
approaches to complexity.

The methodology-problem context issue is also addressed by Kurtz and Snowden

(2003). They developed a framework, called Cynefin sense-making framework, classifying
systems as follows: Known, Knowable, Complex, and Chaos. The Known systems are systems
that have perceivable and predictable cause and effect relationships, and can be handled via
Sense-Categorize-Respond types methodologies (e.g. process re-engineering). In the Knowable
category, cause and effect are separated over time and space, and Sense-Analyze-Respond type
methodologies are suitable. Complex systems, on the other hand, are viewed as systems with
cause and effect relationships that are coherent in retrospect and do not repeat; apparently, the
appropriate methodologies for this category are the Probe-Sense-Respond type (e.g. pattern
management). In chaotic systems, cause and effect relationships are not perceivable, and can
be handled only by Act-Sense-Respond approach (e.g. crisis management). Although it is not
possible to draw clear lines between different systems and different problem categories, this
categorization helps us to develop a picture where the problem situation can be related to a
methodology or to a set of methodologies (multi-methodogical approach).

Systems Thinking and Decision Making in Complexity

As human beings, we make various decisions every day. Some of these decisions produce
undesirable results, while the others do not. Some decisions taken in the midst of complexity
may produce important consequences, whether they are good or bad. In most cases, the decision
maker is a group of people or an organization rather than an individual. The culture of the
organization or institution then becomes a significant parameter to be considered. In regard

56
to global matters, Skyttner (2001 and 2006) suggests that the world society and its institutions
are not functioning effectively because the old worldview has not been kept up to date with
contemporary changes. The worldview of an organization is certainly an important factor that
shapes its culture, and it also shows how adaptive the organization is. Surely, adaptivity requires
strong organizational learning capabilities, both technically and socially. All organizations are
socio-technical systems by their nature, and the social aspects are as important as the technical
aspects. As discussed earlier, hard systems thinking is not suitable for understanding and dealing
with such complexity; we need to look into soft system approaches. Hitchins (2003) has quite
a radical suggestion for handling socio-technical systems. He thinks that “we do not need to
fully understand the incomprehensible complex human-system interaction” and suggests that
“we need to adopt an accelerated evolutionary approach by building complex adaptive socio-
technical systems”. The 2020 vision of Systems Engineering published by INCOSE (International
Council on Systems Engineering) is also concerned with the increasing complexity of systems.
Their prediction is that “developments will urge systems engineers to integrate social and
technological aspects of complex systems” (INCOSE, 2005) - it is also argued that developments
in genetics and technology will make significant contributions to this effort. The reader will find
detailed discussion on socio-technical systems in Jackson (2000 and 2003), Maani et al. (2007),
Mingers et al. (2010 and 2011) and Yurtseven et al. (2012).

In general, there are actors with differing goals and preferences, and with different
perceptions in all organizations. In addition to the organizational culture, personal inclinations
of people involved may also play some role in decision making. Personal inclinations affect the
decision outcome considerably if there are rapid changes in the dynamics of the environment,
particularly the external environment; some people are more reluctant to take risks than others.
Obviously, decision making processes that are designed for stable and slowly changing conditions
will not work in a rapidly changing environment. Hummelbrunner and Williams (2011) think
that managing complexity requires the principles of decentralization and collaboration, in addition
to adaptivity. It is important to remember that the degree of decentralization needs to be adjusted
properly to be useful, depending on the characteristics of the organization.

There are some studies that specifically address complexity decision making via holistic or
systems approach. Research conducted at Santa Fe Institute attempts to unify some of the core
system concepts into a model known as complex adaptive systems (Snyder, 2013). The argument
is that the emergent properties of complex systems can be modeled and operated relatively more
effectively as complex adaptive systems. Aelker et al. (2013) discusses this issue with some depth
in their work. Sondoss et al. (2015) handle the complexity in a viticulture irrigation management
system in South Australia. They present a step-wise methodology that integrates qualitative
information into formal simulation models, involving cognitive mapping and agent based

  57
modeling approaches. The resulting structure seems to capture the richness of decision making
and mental models. Pagani and Otto (2013) adopts qualitative mapping theory building and
quantitative group model building approaches in a computer-based system modeling environment
for market strategy development. They claim that this holistic approachenhances the quality
of the decision processes. Carlman et al. (2014) relate the complexity issue to sustainability in
decision making processes, particularly to ecological systems. The decision structure developed
in the study provides communication and collaboration between a technical-scientific group and
social scientists via a holistic outlook. Swami’s work (2013), on the other hand, views decision
making under the broad topic of executive functions or cognitive processes that are regulated.
This holistic approach includes theories and concepts from psychology, behavioral economics,
operations research, and managerial practice. Schiuma et al. (2012) report a systems thinking-
based framework where knowledge assets are translated into organizational value for making
good decisions. Similarly, the work by Wiek et al. (2009) presents a framework called The Tran
disciplinary Integrated Planning and Synthesis (TIPS), which is mainly based on soft ORmethods.
This particular framework makes use of a multi-methodological approach involving cognitive
skills and habits of the stakeholders, and experts and their mutual and joint Trans disciplinary
learning processes. This framework was applied in a large-scale regional planning process in
Switzerland. The interested reader can find a number of models/methods/systems that have been
developed to underpin sustainable decision-making in environmental impact assessment, life
cycle assessment, ecological footprints, cost benefit analysis, etc. (Sondoss et al., 2015), (Carlman
et al., 2014), (Schiuma et al., 2012), (Petkov et al., 2009) and (Taylor et al., 2011).

The Framework

Pownall (2012) describes different perspectives of decision making and gives a useful clas-
sification of decision making methods. These perspectives can be summarized as follows: (a) a
qualitative perspective which is an integrative approach (or rational normative); (b) a perspective
achieved by combining quantitative and behavioral disciplines in an interdisciplinary manner;
(c) an interlocking perspective where the engagement of one perspective limits the use of other
perspectives; (d) a cause-effect view where decisions taken are interrelated across organizational
events.

Systems thinking-based decision making does not exclude perspectives (a), (b) and (d).
Furthermore, it removes the limitations implied by (c). Figure 1 shows the relative positions of
different approaches as a function of changing complexity. The sequential decision making (pro-
blems are formulated as a sequence of “independent” decisions) is algorithmic; hence it belongs
to the least complex situations shown at the left of the scale. The anarchical decision making is far

58
on the right of the scale, indicating that they involve highly complex situations. The RAT (ratio-
nal-normative model of decision making) and three-phased (problem identification, solution de-
velopment, and solution selection) models are closer to sequential decision making, respectively,
and heuristic models are closer to the other edge.

RAT 3 Phase Heuristics

Sequential Anarchical

Decision Decision

Figure 1. Moving beyond RAT (rational model of decision making) (Pownall, 2012).

The normative or rational models are based on the assumption that all relevant and pertinent
information is available for optimal decision making. These types of problems are mostly seen
in investment analysis, project management, cost-benefit analysis, etc. The three-phased model,
unlike the sequential decision making, recognizes that the solution development and solution
selection phases cannot be separated, and that the corresponding cognitive processes overlap and
can occur simultaneously. As we approach to the right side of the scale, the decision processes
become more complicated since they involve decisions made by groups in a political context. As
one approaches to AnarchicalDecisionMaking region, the decision makers need to make use of
heuristic approaches. The models here tend to become more “irrational” where human decision
values are incorporated into the process. The decision maker may incorporate any of these models
or a combination of them in systems thinking-based approach.

The framework consists of five parts:

Fundamentals; Rational Models with Quantitative Methods; Rational Models with

Qualitative Methods; Systems Thinking-Based Decision Makings; Optional Material.

Part I: The Fundamentals: Introduction to Effective Decision Making

The objective here is to explore the concept that decision-making process is partly science
and partly art. Different concepts of rationality and the resulting approaches are discussed in
general terms, ranging from normative rational view to anarchistic and heuristic views.

Part II: Rational Models with Qualitative Methods and Analysis

  59
 The main theme here is to cover the development of rational models based on forecasting
and regression techniques.

Part III: Rational Models with Quantitative Methods and Analysis

This section covers methods based on probability theory, such as decision trees and related
decision analysis and queuing theory.

Part IV: Systems Thinking-Based Decision Making

This part starts with the Fundamentals of Systems Thinking and provides an introduction
to soft system methodologies. Some case studies are discussed to demonstrate the strengths
of system thinking-based decision making. Selection of case studies and the methodology or
methodologies will depend on the instructor’s choice.

Part V: Optional Material

Heuristic Decision Making and Group Decision Making: This section includes the
fundamentals of decision making approaches that emphasize cognitive, heuristic, and group
behavior aspects.

Knowledge Management and Decision Enhancing Decision Making:The objective in this

section is to teach the fundamentals of knowledge management concepts, and (intelligent) decision
support systems, together with the relevant IT. The technological aspects of this topic may be
found at (Muller et al., 2014), (Khan et al. 2014), (Laudon et al., 2013) and (Kendall et al. 2011).

The reader should note that Monte Carlo Modeling can also be considered as a Systems
Thinking- Based methodology (Pownall 2012, Parnell et al. 2011, Taylor III, 2013). This approach
is very helpful when complete information is not available and/or the decision making process
cannot be formulated in a manageable analytical form. In Monte Carlo modeling, the potential
outcomes of a decision problem are assigned weights via the use of pseudo random numbers. The
decision maker can then produce decisions without referring to the decision context. In this way,
the difficulty involved in the explicit treatment of uncertainty is avoided. Due to its versatility,
Monte Carlo modeling is covered in many undergraduate textbooks nowadays (Hazelrigg, 1996),
(Daellanbach, 2005), (Parnell et al. 2011), (Krajewski et al., 2013) and (Taylor III, 2013).

As a final note, instructors are reminded that students need to know how to include soft
indicators (such as morale, commitment, burnout, capacity for learning) together with hard
indicators (key performance indicators or critical success factors) into the modeling of complex
decision making problems. They also need to be comfortable with simulation tools; it is well
known that simulation models are useful in handling complex systems. System modeling,

60
model validation, policy analysis, scenario generation and strategy development studies can be
conducted easily via intelligent software packages such as Stella these days. The interested reader
should see Maani et al., (2007), Aelker et al., (2013), Mingers et al. (2010), and Yurtseven et al,
(2012).

At present, sufficient information is not available to evaluate the effectiveness of the above
framework. However, a positive initial response was received from the fourth year industrial
engineering students when some material from Part IV of the framework was introduced into
the Fundamentals of Systems Engineering course.

Conclusion

It was argued that the traditional or hard OR/MS paradigm is not adequatefor complex
decision making situations; it needs to be complemented by soft system thinking approaches in
university educational programs. Soft system methodologies cover a wide range of approaches
that hard methodologies cannot capture and allow the decision maker to handle a complex
situation in its full system context. The framework presented in the study will help instructors
to design contemporary courses that include complexity decision making processes. In this
way, graduating students will have a broader vision and will have some confidence in handling
complexity in real life. Future research will be directed towards measuring the degree of success
of the framework proposed.

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 21st Century Manager
◆
Enisa Gološ
Pedagogical Institute, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The paper focuses on the reform that has affected the education system, explaining the
positive changes that are inevitable in order to raise the quality to a higher level. As a result of
this, the role and importance of education managers is emphasized. Furthermore, the paper gives
an illustration of the current situation at the same time as highlighting the role of 21st Century
Managers whose obligations are to keep track of the changes and adjust themselves to the
European way of life. The sole change and adjustment began by replacing the former name, role
and function of the school principal, what is included in the phrase education management. By
splitting up the professional development, it is noted that only managers remain on the horizontal
and vertical plan beyond the professional development. Therefore, it is necessary to create
required settings and replace the current surroundings with the challenges of tomorrow which
advocate pedagogical professionalism and lifelong learning. In addition to upgrading the skills for
personal development, education managers ought to have a leadership role which is, along with
the successful set up and achievement of the set standards, the key to success in education.

Key words: reform, education manager, professional development, leadership role,

standards

Introduction

The progress in science and technology is changing the nature of work and leisure time. In
addition to knowledge, one’s skills and personal competencies are often discussed. The reform, in
its broadest sense, has covered all areas, including education system. In accordance with the needs
of the labour market, changes in education are stated as a necessity. The discussion is about the

64
development of occupational standards to meet the needs of the labour market, which requires
a change in the curriculum and the compliance thereof with the Qualifications Framework of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Qualifications Framework. Furthermore, horizontal
and vertical mobility must be respected.

Therefore, everything changes, starting from the curriculum based on learning outcomes,
continuous professional training of teachers, changing the monitoring angle of the teachers’
work, etc. Then, the discussion continues about higher education which is in the process of
adapting to the Bologna process. But what about managers in education? This situation raises
the questions whether they follow the changes and upgrade professionally to the new working
conditions. These are the question for which we are seeking answers.

The manager in education

As we may witness, the term ‘management in education’ as opposed to the previously used
term ‘governance’ and ‘administration’, has been used ever more frequently, as well as the term
‘manager’, which we have adopted over various areas of life and our activities, but also through
the influence of the English language. The same term is used instead of the former terms ‘director’,
‘administrative officer’. The question is whether these terms can be used interchangeably as
synonyms due to the fact that each term has inherent characteristics different from other terms,
with which they are put in comparison or in a paradigmatic relation.

The paper aims to show the complexity of the concept and the role of management in
education. At the same time, it should demonstrate the accuracy and convenience of using the term
in relation to the above terms of guidance and administration, since the emphasis is on the position
and role of managers of the 21st century. The analysis of the current situation in Herzegovina-Neretva
Canton has shown that only a few principals in primary and secondary schools have continuity in
professional training, even though their job position as managers in education requires it.

It is necessary to strive for professionalism in teaching and dynamic education in one’s life, as
well as in one’s career. The profession of teaching, from which they attain the position of managers,
is influenced by the environment and by the European context of life. Acceptance of changes and
the adoption of competencies that an individual has to encounter is a challenge of tomorrow.

The manager’s function and role

An education system that seeks to achieve the desired quality requires active participation
of all its partakers, starting from the arrangement, going through implementation to evaluation.
At school level, teachers are responsible for the quality of work with students, while the manager

  65
is responsible for the quality of human resources management, which includes working with
teachers, students, parents and non-teaching staff within schools. This means that the manager’s
role is more demanding because it encompasses the previously mentioned work of teachers
and students. At the same time, it requires a permanent work in terms of analysing, planning,
organizing, evaluating and self-evaluating of work.

By preferring the term ‘management in education’, a big progress has been made in
relation to the previous state.And what the name itself encompasses and what changes we can
discuss about are all questions we need to answer. After presenting the arguments for and against
different terms, the allocated term ‘management in education’ stands out as the most acceptable
because it integrates knowledge of several scientific disciplines of human resources management
and business, which means, the management is the art of applying the above knowledge, while
the process alone is the skill of using several functions (Slatina: 2008).

Management functions are results to be achieved and they include various development
strategies, such as strategies of planning, organizing, managing, successful controlling etc. In order
to achieve these results, it is necessary to accept and carry out the manager’s role consciously and
systematically. So, the manager’s work should be viewed through the scope of function and role.

Management functions include a number of related groups of tasks. The same can
be classified into two groups. One group consists of the basic – functions, while others are
of mediating character (Slatina: 2008), which is regarded as a working style. In fact, a special
emphasis should be put on the transformation of working style, which includes the changes in
management and communication, because this affects the whole school atmosphere.

A good manager’s task is to guide people in the right direction without using force.His/
her next task is to direct them with support of control instruments.Here, a parallel is drawn
and it is discussed about the importance and role of the rules in the classroom set by students
and teachers, as well as about ensuring that the same ones are respected. This means that the
manager could apply the same model of conduct and formulate rules along with teaching and
non-teaching staff that needs to be followed and respected by both parties. This might be the key
to success. Therefore, working together, equal opportunities for all who are directly or indirectly
related to the teaching process, division of labour, avoidance of force and power use, and self-
regulation jointly contribute to the quality and successful management in education.

The 21st Century Managershould have the skills associated with creativity applicable in
using technology, because only a capable manager can influence the professional improvement of
a school’s teaching staff. The manager should be a role model of personal improvement in times
of rapid and fundamental changes. He/she has to show how necessary it is for a teaching staff to
be prepared for educating future generations (Donaldson: 2013).

66
 Education is becoming the centre of interest; teaching is focused on the students and
teachers are the leaders of the teaching process. In such an environment, managers should have a
clear vision and mission formulated in the school’s annual work programme. For this, they need
to have the analysis of demands and priorities gained through evaluating reflections of teachers,
as well as students and their parents.

Analysis of the current situation, especially in secondary schools, indicates that there are
still examples of teaching process that focuses more on teachers and teaching materials than the
students. This results in overloaded curriculum, the presence of frontal work and classes with
a greater number of students. All of this makes us wonder if our schools are communities that
teach and educate and whether we are a learning society. In order to achieve the aforementioned
changes, high-quality development programmes are necessary, and here, first of all, it is referred
to the programmes in the field of school management.

Importance of education and continuous professional development of managers

in education

By developing the concept of a learning society, we focus not only on education in terms
of teaching but also in terms of upbringing students, because knowledge and skills are acquired
through education, whereas values, attitudes and habits are acquired through upbringing. The
present working approach of principals as managers in education clearly needs to be changed in
accordance with the quality of the competition, which is required not only by Europe, but the
world in general. The stated suggests the need and necessity of practicing leadership in education
in order to improve its quality. The process has started. There have been sporadically organized
seminars or workshops for principals, but nothing particularly significant that would provide a
prolonged and lasting solution. The principals assume that their teaching profession presupposes
them to be capable of school management without any further education required. However, if
viewed from the perspective of final participants in the teaching process – students/pupils, the
consequences are inevitable because in this cause - effect relationship, each participant must
not be deficient in continuous improvement.If students (pupils) are educated and if we aim
at achieving anticipated outcomes, if the teachers who teach the students improve constantly
and continuously, it means that also managers need to be trained and need to work on their
professional improvement. Only if these requirements are met, we can close the circle that leads
from the principal to students in order to have a quality and competent school atmosphere.

Globally, methodologies applied in the teaching process that are intended for students
have been changed into methodologies that are meant for the human being and his/her needs as
well, because every human being is important. The manager has a duty to set good goals and to
formulate clearly what is expected as the final result of his/her work.

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 Leading in education

Previously, planning, implementation, evaluation, management and governance have

been discussed. References were made to quality of schools and the objectives pursued by the
manager. In order to talk about the quality of cooperation and teamwork at school level, it is
necessary to point out the managerial function as one of the preconditions for a quality school.
Only schools that advocate using methodology of leading management in their work and schools
whose manager and teachers have a leading role can be sure of reaching the set objectives.

Even if it cannot be spoken of the ideal circumstances, it may be a pursued imperative.

This raises the question of what ideal is in this case. It refers to a school where all have the equal
opportunities and where all are involved: students, teachers, parents and the manager. In his/her
work programme, the manager gathers all participants because they all have the same objective
- a quality school. In order to achieve the specified quality, it is necessary to support and work
on establishing a leadership role of managers, as well as teachers, since the given role requires an
assessment of the situation and taking measures to overcome obstacles.

Through their attitude to work and their human resources management skills, managers -
leaders create a supportive environment and impact on creating healthy human relations, which
is creating a pleasant and positive atmosphere at the school. Here we regard interpersonal skills as
important factors in preserving the modern management. They guide control in the desired direction.

Create equal opportunities for all

The systematic problem solving is not only reflected in acquired informal trainings, but
also in establishing faculty studies for future managers. Furthermore, job announcements for a
manager’s position should require completed specified studies. In this case, it is possible to use a
positive example (experience) from the surrounding countries, e. g. Slovenia.

In addition, it requires constant and continuous effort to build crucial competencies ofthe
manager. This requires time and money, but it also provides a guarantee of a successful “leader” of
an educational institution. Systematic problem solving requires additional funds to be provided
to an individual who is seeking for training and professional improvement. These funds should
also be provided by the community for the purpose of education development. In this way, any
dissatisfaction or work overload is bypassed. Here, we talk about dissatisfaction in the sense of
indignation at the very choice of a manager who is not competent for this position (according
to school environment, associates responsible for monitoring teachers’ work etc.), and about
work overload in the sense that an individual is given a chance to perform managerial functions
for more than 16 years based on the mere individual’s personal beliefs. But instead, we have an
uncontrolled attitude towards work, work by inertia, apathy work or work without motivation.
At the same time, it can be concluded that once passed, the certification exam in terms of getting
licenses for independent work, is not a viable solution for the problem called “unorganized and

68
uncontrolled” work which does not encourage, but merely ignores work. So, I am a proponent of
the theory that it is necessary to perform testing of the teaching practice and confirm the quality
of work by extending the license or by depriving it. This will lead to the achievement of continuity
in vocational training and professional work of teachers, which will lead to managers wanting to
be part of the team that strives for professional improvement.

A manager’s good training for monitoring and management of human resources is teaching
to the extent required by weekly curriculum, for which the manager was pre- qualified. It is a
type of work that keeps the manager in a good teaching and management form. Furthermore,
managers should hold workshops or set thematic discussions for teachers e.g. examples of good
practice, which would require the manager’s continuous publication of scholarly and scientific
papers. Finally, it is necessary to prepare and conduct workshops for parents. All these activities
should be imperative for managers of the 21st century.

The key to success is in setting standards for future managers in education. This is what we
should aim for because the inevitable question is whether the teacher understands his duties and
affairs once appointed to the position of the school principal. It is important that everyone has
equal opportunities, but also that the elected individual is able to meet the set standards.

Conclusion

In this paper, it was pointed out how changes affect education and the importance and
significance of managers’ professional development in education. Transformation of the name
also changes the way we view the process of teaching and school work in general. This also alters
the position and role of a manager in such a school. Changes that occur in the school system do
not affect only our country, but have a world-wide character, which means it is expected that they
affect also the management in education.

Furthermore, the paper emphasized the importance of giving directions, which would be
monitored by the control instrument as one of the better forms of human resource management.
This is what it is striven for when it comes to the education manager’s work quality. The paper
somewhat draws attention to interpersonal skills, motivation, encouragement and communication
as key factors in creating healthy interpersonal relationships, which is a guarantee of success of
managers in education.

Using tried and tested models of behaviour, we provide a better education, which is the
main objective and motto of our future. Human resource management, as well as teaching staff
management and people indirectly involved in school work, represent skillsthat need to be
learned. On the other hand, it is necessary that a manager knows how to manage work. It is not
enough that future candidates for managers in education have only work experience in teaching
- it takes a lot more. It is necessary that they acquire and master the managerial skills, which is,
they need to learn how to manage (administrate).

  69
 The condition for achieving the desired success is to set standards of professional
competences, as well as of one’s commitment to his or her profession. A good manager is familiar
with all teaching areas; he/she has a broad general knowledge of pedagogy and didactics and is
capable of managing human resources and business in general.

A manager, whose pedagogical logic is not based on the verb ‘must’ in terms of force and
power, has good prospects for success. His or her willingness to accept new things and changes as
a challenge and his or her readiness to life-long learning are the imperatives of tomorrow.

Reference

Agić, H., Avdić, A., Bajrić, A., Bajrić, A., Halilović, H., Hasanović, H., Jahić, M. & Kurević, J.
(2006). Vođenje u obrazovanju. Gradačac: Javna biblioteka „Alija Isaković“.

Bogunić, Z., Dervišević, E:, Ivošević, S., Raič, N. & Stojkić, M. (2013). Priručnik za direktore/ice.
Sarajevo: Franex trade.

Čaušević, R. (2006). Stil rukovođenja kao psihološki faktor efikasnosti menadžmenta u obra-
zovanju. Didaktički putokazi, 40 (XII), 8-15.

Donaldson, G. (2013). Profesionalac 21. Veka. U Nastavnička profesija za 21. vek (str. 13-23).
Beograd: Centar za obrazovne politike.

Džanan, Š. (2015). Uticaj osobina menadžera u obrazovanju na funkcionisanje škole kao orga-
nizacije. Naša škola, 71/241 (LXI), 69-82.

Glasser, W. (1990). Kvalitetna škola. Zagreb: Educa.

Gološ, E. (2015). Utjecaj sadržaja lektire na kvalitet života srednjoškolaca. U Unapređenje

kvalitete života djece i mladih. Tematski zbornik – II dio (str. 170-171). Tuzla: Udruženje
za podršku i kreativni razvoj djece i mladih i Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet Uni-
verziteta u Tuzli.

Pranjić, A. (2007). Rukovođenje u kvalitetnoj školi. Didaktički putokazi, 44 (XIII), 35-37.

Slatina, M. (2008). Ka pojmu menadžmenta u obrazovanju. Didaktički putokazi, 46 (XIV), 2-6.

Slatina, M. (2008). Menadžment u obrazovanju – planiranje i određivanje prioriteta. Didaktički

putokazi, 47 (XIV), 2-9.

70
 Reading and Learning Strategies in the 5th Grade

Vladka Potočnik
University of Maribor, Slovenia

Abstract

Quality lessons are recognized by activity and involvement of the students during the le-
arning processes, the processes of understanding of their own activities. The lessons are focused
on students. I would like to present different reading strategies and activities, already practiced
in the class, to develop and increase student’s reading comprehensive abilities in the second pe-
riod of education of the primary school (4th, 5th and 6th grade), which have a great influence
on the quality of learning processes and also teaching techniques (team work, cooperative work,
developing competencies of 21th century, etc.).All these strategies and techniques help spreading
sensibility for systematic approaches at introducing and developing reading and learning strate-
gies in the pedagogical process. One of the most important segments of the lesson is the feedback
information of the student's understanding. Quality and recent feedback increase the motivation
for learning and success and is worth to practice it as much as possible.

Key words: reading and learning strategies, reading dices, sticks-questions, using Bloom's
taxonomy, VŽN strategies (1. – I know, 2. – I'd like to know, 3. – What have I learned), Pauk's
strategy, PVPPP (1. – read the text through, 2. – ask yourself, 3. – read the text thoroughly, 4. –
look through the text once again, 5. – report), the method of six hats, mind maps.

Introduction

Teachers have noticed that fewer and fewer young people like to read; consequently, they
have learning difficulties. Even the world trends show a lower reading literacy in comparison to
the literacy in the past, which is mainly due to weaker reading habits.

  71
 “Some experts have been already warning about alarming changes caused by development
and change of communicational options for younger generations. Although some data suggests
that there are many more exceptionally talented young people today than in the past, they are
often unable to process – to read and to understand purely verbal messages that did not represent
any problem for previous generations at the same developmental stage” (Grosman, 2006, p.26).

Quality lessons are recognized by the active involvement of pupils in the learning
processes, or so to say, in the process of understanding of their own activities. Lesson is oriented
on/from the pupil. We need to promote sensibility for a systematic approach in development in
implementation of reading-teaching strategies into the pedagogical process.

In order to achieve higher forms of knowledge with more ease, a pupil has to be familiar
with some basic learning strategies. However, if reading is that fundamental activity by means of
which the pupil receives information throughout the process of learning, then we can talk about
reading strategies (Pečjak, 1995, p. 42).

Teaching-reading strategies are methods with which we consciously select a certain mental
operations (steps) when reading, in order to achieve a certain learning objective in a certain
learning situation (adapted from Pečjak, Gradišar 2012, p. 48).

Many children read, but their reading does not meet the level that would allow them to
read in order to learn. Teaching strategies is one of the many possible steps towards achieving
literacy. Complex strategies include those that cover the entire learning process (before, during
and after the reading). They are used in more complex reading tasks.

When developing literacy, the key role is the teachers. For different objectives we use
different reading techniques.

Practice

Reading dices: Reading dices encourage pupils to set a wide range of questions regarding
the read text. The activity can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups. Pupils take
pre-reading, during-reading and after-reading dices. Pupil who threw the dice first answers the
question, later on others supplement his/her answer.

Sticks: Sticks encourage pupils to make questions at all levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of
knowledge when working with texts. There are 32 sticks altogether. When pupils ask questions of
all colors, they cover all levels of Bloom’s classification of knowledge. At first, we start working in
groups, so that the pupils support each other.

72
 Critical thinking: A critical reader is a research reader who assesses the read text from
different aspects. With the information obtained, they are able to think critically, and to support
their reflections with examples and evidence. They are able to ask questions at various levels
and apply knowledge to new situations. They get accustomed to precision of expression and
orthographic correctness.

Strategy VŽN: With the question “What do we already know?”, I check pupils’ knowledge of
the planned content. I encourage pupils to ask different questions on the subject matter regarding
on the issue “What do we want to know?”. At the end of the teaching lesson, they ask the question,
“What have we learned?”. When asked “What more do we have to learn about?”, they write down
the questions that haven’t been answered yet and questions that have emerged anew.

Pauk’s strategy: It is suitable especially in texts that contain much detail. Greater emphasis
is on reading, especially on repetition with the help of keywords. Pupils divide a blank sheet
of paper into two columns. First, they carefully read the text; after the second reading, they
write down relevant information in the left column. Then, in the right column, they write down
keywords. Using the right column, they repeat the content.

PVPPP: One of the most effective complex teaching strategies for processing of text,
which enables a good understanding of the learning material. Using of this strategy stimulates
metacognitive awareness of the process. The pupil understands the manner of processing
information and he is able to control it, which is reflected in better understanding of the read. It
has five levels: skimming of the material, asking yourself, and reading, re-scanning, and reporting.

Six Hats method: With the use of the six thinking hats, pupils are prepared to more effective
thinking. Edward de Bono (2006) says that we have a tool to create a climate for clearer thinking,
improved communication and increased creativity. Pupils are divided into groups; each group
gets its hat and the task of how to process the read content.

WHITE HAT: neutral and objective, interested in facts and figures

RED HAT: emotional perceptive
BLACK HAT: cautious and careful, ‘devil’s advocate’s’ hat
YELLOW HAT: sunny and positive
GREEN HAT: connected with the fruitful growth, creativity and new ideas
BLUE HAT: cool, colors of the sky, it is above everyone else – an organizing hat (Bono, 2006).

Mind mapping: They represent a graphical representation of thoughts and ideas for the
pupils. While creating the mind map, they memorize up to 70% of the information. They are used
for making notes, repetition, reporting, etc. This technique is based on the immense capacity of
the brain to learn and process information with the help of associations.

  73
 The art of questioning: In class, I set up a relaxed atmosphere that stimulates critical
thinking skills. I use the following activities: working with the text, role playing, teaching the
methods of problem solving, research, cooperative learning, etc. My questions determine the
level or the complexity of mental activity of pupils in the learning process. They represent an
important aspect of the quality of the educational process. Different types of questions encourage
thinking activities of pupils at different cognitive levels. Encouraging pupils to ask questions is
one of the important objectives of teaching the effective thinking, as it promotes autonomously
reflective learner.

Reflection, evaluation: One of the most important segments of education is feedback on

the work done. The immediate feedback increases the motivation to learn and to succeed and it is
worth the time. My pupils write down two questions that have not been answered yet, one finding
that will affect their lives, and three things they have learned that day.

Conclusion

Reading is a complex activity that firstly follows the functional objectives, i.e. knowledge
of how to read, and secondly serves the objectives of usefulness and connectivity. Being able to
read is a basic knowledge of each individual in contemporary society.

By using a variety of methods and techniques of reading, I try to make reading pleasurable
for my pupils. I am very proud of the fact that all of my pupils have always finished the reading
badge.

For me, reading is like yoga, as it helps me to recharge my batteries and my spirit.

References

Edward De Bono: Lateralno razmišljanje, New moment, Ljubljana, 2006.

Meta Grosman: Razsežnosti branja, Za boljšo bralno pismenost, Karantanija, Ljubljana, 2006.
Sonja Pečjak, Ana Gradiša: Bralne učne strategije, Zavod RS za šolstvo, Ljubljana, 2012.
Sonja Pečjak: Ravni razumevanja in strategije branja, Založba Different, Trzin, 1995.
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/06/25-ways-to-develop-21st-century-thinkers.
html?m=0

74
New Trends and Challenges in
Today’s Europe

EDUCATION
 Abacus - mental arithmetic
◆

Sanela Nesimović
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Abacus is one of the oldest known devices for calculation that was used in ancient
civilizations. On it you could run mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, square root and grading. Work on the abacus was once in the curricula for mathematics
4th grade elementary school. Students of 4th and 5th grade were taught addition and subtraction
using the abacus. The latest curricula for mathematics are not in operation over the abacus. There
is no direct application of calculation using the abacus because children and adults use calculators
for that. Using the calculator, children (and adults) do not have to think about what they do.
Using the abacus they have to use both hands and in the beginning have a lot to think about,
and then the process of computing becomes just thought, mechanical. Children counting on the
abacus activate work brain synapses and so this work has a direct impact on their intelligence. In
some countries (such Serbia, Croatia, etc.) are organized private schools in which children from
5 to 14 years are being trained to count on abacus. Results of this work are amazing. Just aim of
this paper is to draw attention to the importance of the results that are achieved by using this
old, but valuable device. In this paper, the author will try to explain in a simple way how to apply
basic mathematical operations on the Japanese (Soroban) and Chinese (Suan Pan) abacus, which
could encourage some people to hold various workshops on this subject with children.

Key words: mathematics, mental arithmetic, abacus, calculation

Abacus – mental arithmetic

The abacus (Latin) or abacus (Greek) is one of the oldest known devices that was used by
many ancient civilizations to do basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division) and some complex (grading and root). In some countries of Asia and Africa abacus
is still actively used as an auxiliary device in the calculation. In some shops we still can find

  77
examples of sellers who use the abacus, not a calculator or computer, to calculate the amount that
the buyer has to pay.

There are various types of abacus. They are known as Chinese (Figure 1), Japanese
(Figure 2), Roman (Figure 3), Russian (Figure 4), school (known as the abacus, used to be an
indispensable part of school equipment first grade students, and today it is a rarity), etc. They all
represent a modification of the same devices and they are similarly used.

Figure 11 Figure 22 Figure 33 Figure 44

It is also known as abacus for the blind that have parts covered with a layer of rubber to
avoid unwanted movement of balls.

In China, Japan and Russia, there are still many schools that are actively using the abacus
first three years as part of the formal primary education, regardless of what they have more modern
and advanced techniques. This kind of work implies that children learn to manipulate numbers,
displayed numbers, create accurate impressions of the size the numbers which manipulate, thus
creating a good foundation for further mathematical education and education in general.

Neighbouring countries, Croatia and Serbia, have organized private schools in which
children age from 5 to 14 learn how to use the abacus, and they learn the techniques of mental
arithmetic. In some of these schools they are using a Chinese abacus, called Suan Pan, and in

1 Available on: https://www.google.ba/search?q=slike+abakus&rlz=1C2VSNC_enBA583BA583&biw=

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jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.e-cigserbia.com%252Fshowthread.php%253Ft%253D10208%3B60
0%3B374&usg=__aOkcCiP0MpJOeAmwdl9PbfGelFE%3D (Downloaded:20.6.2015. at 0.12.)
2 Available on:https://www.google.ba/search?q=japanski+abakus&biw=1024&bih=481&source=lnms&tb
m=isch&sa=X&ei=EFiUVcz8JqaAzAP_pqCgBA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgrc=NyfQsvkul0uI8M%3A
(Downloaded: 1.7.2015. at23.17.)
3 Available on: https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abakus_(ra%C4%8Dunanje)#/media File: RomanAbacus-
Recon.jpg (Downloaded: 19.6.2015. at 23.55.)

78
some Japanese, called Soroban. They work on programs that are very similar to each other. The
work is performed in groups. The first group are children aged 5 to 7, the other 8 to 10, and
the third from 11 to 14. It is continuous, several times a week, work. In the first phase of work,
children learn the skills of presenting numbers on a plastic or wooden abacus. Then they learn
how to add and subtract using the abacus. Also they learn visual computing to 100. Then learn
multiply and divide using the abacus. To overcome visual computing, after they have learned
to count using an abacus, then counted using paper that is drawn abacus. So then, they are
calculated using an abacus image. After that, they are counted visually, by moving fingers in the
air, and imagining the abacus in their minds. Through constant exercises children continually
improve the skills of visual computing. Counting they use both hands, while the usual school
abacus used only one. This leads to using both hemispheres of the brain and strengthening of
synapses in the brain that, if they are not strong enough, crumbling after 14 years of age. The
level of intelligence depends on the number of strong synapses. Training children in mastering
the techniques of mental arithmetic is achieving balanced development of the brain and
thought processes. This results in development of many skills, such as for example attention
and concentration, creativity, vision, analytical skills, photographic memory and so on. Children
become able to perform multiple tasks at the same time. On some web sites (e.g. see https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=vPn6BNP855E) you can watch a video in which children sing a song
while are calculated tasks. It’s just one of the many fascinating examples of the incredible abilities
of children who have mastered the techniques of mental arithmetic.

The final outcome of the learning techniques of mental arithmetic is that children perform
arithmetic operations entirely thought through, with some help of two fingers of each hand, but
without any additional use of paper and pencil. All children who are psycho - physical - motoric
on the level of his generation could without any major difficulties to achieve goals of this type
of education. The only restriction is the age of the child. We have already mentioned that it is 14
years. The working memory of children and adults are different. The child is able, in the course
of computing, to remember subscores and use them later, while adults do not have this ability.
By the age of 14, children have the visualizing ability. It is after 14 years lost and the results can
no longer be visualized. Adults can surmount only the first level, and these are technique of
calculating on abacus.

Calculating on the abacus contributes to the development capabilities of computing in general.

There was once work on abacus in our curriculum for mathematics in Bosnia and Herzegovina for
the lower grades of elementary school, but it is not included in them anymore. Considering that

4 Available on: https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abakus_(ra%C4%8Dunanje)#/media/File:Schoty_abacus.

jpg (Downloaded: 19.6.2015. at 23.59.)

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many students use textbooks of older editions, some of them are still treated using abacus lessons.
So students can read at least the name and know that there is a device for computing called abacus
and that is all. Unfortunately, many teachers are not trained to use the abacus.

In the world there are various competitions in computing on abacus (e.g. see https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=iEoWmYRwDuI). Often, competitors show that they can count faster
than those are calculated by using a calculator.

In this paper we will try in the simplest way to show how the Chinese and Japanese abacus
are used during the presentation of the natural numbers and zeros, and how to perform basic
mathematical operations on them.

1. Chinese abacus - Suan Pan

Chinese abacus is called Suan Pan, which means panel for computing. Abacus known to-
day was created in the 13th century.

Chinese abacus usually has 13 columns of balls, but can have more and less. Depending on
the size of abacus it will appear certain restrictions in computing, which are related to the size of
the numbers with which we count (Matić, Ševerdija, Škorvaga, 2009: 75-91).

Each ball has a specific value. Horizontally, there is one a barrier that in the columns is
separating the beads according to the principle 2 + 5 in one column.

Thus, in the first column from the right side above the obstacles are two balls whose values
5 and below obstacles are balls that have a value 1. In the next column, there are two balls whose
values are 50 and five balls whose values are 10.

First thing you need to learn while working on abacus is certainly to represent the numbers
on abacus and practice it. How it can present zero and the first twenty natural numbers shown in
the following table. In an analogous way, it could represent the other natural numbers.

80
 Displaying number begins from the right side. If the number you wish to introduce on
abacus, for example, has triple digits, then we can count three columns of balls, starting from

  81
the right side and then in the third column on the right present first hundreds, and then in the
second column from the right tens and finally in the first column on the right present units and
we can begin to represent a number of starting from the right side and display first units. The
outcome will be the same. 

If you look carefully at the table, we can immediately see that it is enough to learn to
represent a numbers from 0 to 9, and the other (double-digit) present digit by digit, same as when
we write numbers with the corresponding digits.

Explain how to present, for example, number 4829.

The number is four digit and this means that we need four columns of balls from the right
side, we will present each digit individually. Thus, in the mentioned four columns we will represent
digits 4, 8, 2 and 9, starting from left to right, and so we get a display of the given number.

Let us explain now how suan pan performs basic calculations.

1.1. Addition to the Chinese abacus

We will start by adding. It is important to pay attention to the choice of tasks that we solve
by using abacus and generally watch methodical approach to this problem. Examples of addition
could be examples of single-digit or multi-digit numbers and could be with or without a crossing
pass. All these examples have to be methodically arranged because knowledge necessary to solve
one task is an extension of knowledge to solve other tasks. They are actually arranged in a single
row and in that order tasks cannot be skipped.

If we want to add up the number 5 and number 3, we will present the first summand
5, and then we add in the same column value of the second addend. This is shown in the
following illustration.

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 This example is not a problem for us because the whole account is happening in one column.

However, if we add up the numbers 7 and 4, then will appear the case when adding crossing.

So, here we added the first addend 7 and the second addend 4, so we 4 show like 5-1, or we
add ball value 5 and took a ball value 1. When we do this, we get two balls in the value 5, so we
replace them with a ball in the value 10.

Similarly, we calculate with larger numbers.

If we want for example add up the numbers 762 and 45, then we will first display the
number 762, then we will add 40, then 5. In the tens column will appear 5 balls whose values are
10 and we will replace them with one button whose values are 50. Then we two balls values 50
replaced by one button values 100.

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 1.2. Subtraction on the Chinese abacus

Subtraction on abacus we perform in a similar way. For example, if we want to calculate

the difference 11-5, we will first present number 11, and then we a ball whose value is 10 replaced
with two balls whose values are 5. Then subtract another ball value 5.

While we subtract, we must take care that if we cannot conducted taking as we needed,
then we perform calculate in the same value. For example, if we cannot subtract 4, then we can
subtract 5 and add 1 (because -4 = -5 + 1). The important thing is to take care not to deviate from
the actual values.

84
 If we calculate the product 11x11, we will again present both factors starting from the left,
and among the factors we will leave one column unchanged, that us symbolically represents the
multiplication sign. We multiply in a way analogous to our written multiplication, and the resul-
ting intermediate products,, write down „to the right, as can be seen in the following illustration.
When multiplied by tens, then take care of the local value. The obtained result will be recorded
so that it will move up one place to the left compared to the previous result. Writing we perform
by adding the value that we get to the already existing, that is, we add them together.

1.4. Division on the Chinese abacus

Let us explain how we can divide on the Chinese abacus. Calculate for example, quotient
33: 3. Recording quotient 33: 3 we perform like the product, starting from the left. Skipping a co-
lumn, on whose site should stand equal sign and then write down the result that we get. We divide
on the same way that we divided in writing. Wedivide 3 tens by 3.The result is 1 and it should be
written, and then multiply the result that we get (1) with a divider (3) and the product 3 (1x3 = 3)

  85
write down starting from the right. This is shown in the illustration. Since we have 3 tens already
divided, we will reduce them for the last product we received (3-3 = 0). We continue the process of
division in the same way. 3 units divided by 3 is 1 and we write 1 on place where we started to write
the result of dividing. Finish the procedure of division as explained at the beginning.

86
 Explain an example in which, when we divided numbers, the rest of division appears. For
example, let’s calculate how much is 897:21. Perform analog recording of dividend and divisor on
abacus and take care of free columns in the way described above. The process division is completely
analogously to that in the previous example. The process is shown in the following illustration.

Note that for mastering the above procedures exercises necessary.

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 2. Japanese abacus - Soroban

Japanese abacus is called Soroban. It is similar to the Chinese, but his balls are not
distributed according to the principle 2 + 5 by columns, but on the principle of 1 +4. It also has a
horizontal barrier that separates the balls of different values.

For better viewing we will give table of the first twenty natural numbers and zero on Soro-
ban, like we did for the Suan Pan.

88
 If we would like to present for example number 4829, then the display looks like this:

So we perform presentation of the numbers analogously as we worked on the Chinese abacus.

Now briefly explain through examples how to Soroban used in the calculation.

2.1. Addition on the Japanese abacus

Explain the process of adding on the example 3 +4. First, we present the first summand.
The second summand we are unable to add immediately, but we have to show otherwise. We will
use balls in the same value. So, summand 4 will add like 5-1. This means that we will first add 5,
and then subtract 1. Because 5-1 = 4, we have actually added 4. Look at the following picture that
shows described account.

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 Now analyze example 7 + 6. First, we present the first sum on abacus. Considering that we
cannot add immediately balls value 6, we will do it in a way that we will add the same value, but
we will get that by calculation. So, how is 10-4 = 6, we will first add 10 and then subtract 4. Also,
we will not be able to subtract 4, so we will use the fact that analogously is -4 = -5 + 1, and we will
subtract 5 and add 1.

2.2. Subtraction on the Japanese abacus

Subtraction will be explained on the example 6-3. First we show minuend 6. Considering
that we cannot subtract balls in the value 3 directly, we will subtract the same value. We subtract
5 and add 2, which is in the end the same as if we took 3. The described procedure is shown in
the following illustration.

90
 Let’s explain the example 13-6. First, we present minuend. Then we will present -6 like -10
+ 4 and 4we will present like 5-1. The above we can see step by step in the following illustration.

2.3. Multiplication on the Japanese abacus

To explain the technique of multiplication on Soroban, we must first explain

L-Rmultiplication on paper (L and R are abbreviations for left and right, and that actually mean
that multiply begins on the left side).

The first example that we will analyze is 21x7. In a given product are involved three digits.
This information we will need later. We are writing in a way that is done below.

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 2 1

x 7

1 4

0 7

1 4 7

We have written factors one below the other. Then we draw three columns(3 columns for
those three digits that mentioned previously that we will need).Multiply from left to right, so the
first partial product that we get is 2(0) x7 = 14 and this result should be written starting with the
column that to us first came. The following intermediate product is 1x7 = 7, and as a result every
occasion this multiplication must be written like a two-digit, we will write 07 and the result will
be written in the following order with respect to the previous one, but we will move one position
to the right. How do we calculate all intermediate products, underline and adding the results?
The final product is 147.

Next example, which we will also analyze in writing is 357x82. First note that these factors
consist of 5 digits, and we will have so many columns.

3 5 7

x 8 2

2 4

4 0

5 6 x8(0)

0 6

1 0

1 4 x2

2 9 2 7 4

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 Every time when we multiply, we make sure that the result should have a record like a
two-digit number, so when we get a single-digit number we should add a zero in front. First
multiply 3x8, and 5x8, and 7x8, and the results should be written one below the other, each time
by moving one column to the right. Then multiply analogously with 2, but now the results begin
to write in the second column from the left and we will continue to write analogously results as
before. Underline and we add.

In a totally same way we calculate when we have numbers as factors with more digits than
the ones we had in our examples.

Now apply this to work on the abacus. We will use the first example 21x7. First we pre-
sent product 21x7 at the beginning of abacus. Then we will conclude that we have 3 digits in the
record of our factors, and we will results that we got, write in the last three columns of abacus.
The first product is 2x7 = 14, and the other 1x7 = 7, and they are written as was shown in the
illustration below.

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 2.4. Division on the Japanese abacus

Let us explain division by Soroban on the example 135: 7. Recording of results we get when
calculating in this task is very similar to what we have already explained for Suan Pan, so that
we will not spend much time in explaining. Balls of other colours could serve to help us. In our
example, these are the balls of blue.

94
 Conclusion

Work on the abacus used to be an integral part of basic education. Students generally had
no difficulty in mastering prescribed content, because to them they were interesting and different
from other educational content. They did not have available their abacus, but they had drawn the
frame abacus and they are drawing balls. Very often even the school itself did not have school
abacus on which the teachers would be able to demonstrate how it is used. However, teachers
had no difficulty in teaching their students these contents. Then it was decided that the contents
related to the abacus does not need to be part of the mandatory content that is taught in scho-
ols. When it was decided, it was considered probably that the abacus is obsolete device and that
children do not have any benefit from learning how to use it. Unfortunately, as often happens,
teaching materials are expected to be directly applicable in everyday life, and we ignore the fact
that children when learning specific contents develop logical thinking, as well as many other
capabilities. So many contents, and there belongs the work on abacus, are not directly applicable
to everyday life, but their importance is indisputable.

For the adoption of the concept of number and practicing basic arithmetic operations in
the classrooms they use a variety of teaching aids, which undoubtedly have their value, but can-
not lead students to the same degree as thought computation to which it can lead work on abacus.

This paper would like to draw attention to opportunities that are real, but they are deprived
to students, by the operation on the abacus left out of the curriculum. Unfortunately, the future
teachers will not be able to try on their own free activities to teach students to work on the abacus
when they themselves do not know how to use it.

There is no need to specifically emphasize the differences between the Suan Pan and Soro-
ban, when teachers generally do not know that they are kinds of abacus that differ in the number
of balls, but that use very similar method. Theneighbouring countries, as already mentioned,
have recognized the importance of mental arithmetic, but they organized that teaching in private
schools, which means it is available only to certain individuals and not to all students who are old
enough to reach the maximum of going through this type of training.

In addition to this work, for the purpose of return to work on the abacus in our schools, the
author decided to teach his students of final year of Pedagogical Faculty in Sarajevo for work on
abacus. Considering that this is not included in the Curriculum, the only option for now is that
such training is an optional course. Students have already showed great interest in this course.

  95
References

Matić,I., Ševerdija, D. (2009). Metodičkiaspektiabakusa 1. Matematikaiškola 52, 57-62

<http://www.mathos.unios.hr/images/uploads/62.pdf>
Matić, I., Ševeridija, D. (2010). Metodičkiaspektiabakusa 2. Matematikai škola 53, 106-111
<http://www.mathos.unios.hr/~imatic/maa2_web.pdf>
Matić, I., Ševerdija, D., Škorvaga, S. (2009). Numeričkaograničenjakineskogabakusa.
Osječkimatematički list 9, 75-91
<http://www.google.hr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&v
ed=0CBsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhrcak.srce.hr%2Ffile%2F74585&ei=w4S0U_
aUFKGm0QWkh4CQBw&usg=AFQjCNH-jNPc2pcO9_zQaosRI0FEVGJwQw&bvm=
bv.70138588,d.d2k>
Šporer, Z. (1990). Matematičkileksikonzanematematičare. Školskaknjiga. Zagreb.
Šporer, Z. (1981). Uh, ta matematika. Školsaknjiga. Zagreb.

Internet sources:

http://gkrkleca.com/razredni-projekti/16-razredni-projekt-abacus-soroban
http://www.fostersvensson.com/?p=15956
http://www.klokanica.ba/skolarci/slobodne-aktivnosti/svako-dijete-moze-mnoziti-i-dijeliti-na-
pamet-842
http://www.smartacus.rs/
http://www.svezabebe.ba/beba/novosti/promo/1158-akademija-za-djecu-brainobrain

96
 Parents’ and Educator Perception on Parents’ Cooperation with
Kindergartens in the North Sandžak Area
◆

Zehra Hasanović
University of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

For normal growth and development of a child, cooperation of preschool institution

(nursery, infant nursery) and family (parents) is significant. Good cooperation among these two
institutions, the harmonization is required. The aim of this study is to examine the cooperation
between family and preschool institution as substantial. Results of this research imply the
solutions to problems, and intentions for building strong connections and relations between
family (parents) and preschool institutions (educators). The study investigated 140 participants:
80 parents of the children attending preschool institution and 60 educators who are employees at
preschool institutions in the North Sandžak Area.

Key words: preschool institutions, parents, cooperation, partnership

Uvod

U ostvarivanju neposredne njihove saradnje posebna odgovornost je na vaspitačima,

(ali i na pedagozima, psiholozima, socijalnim radnicima i medicinskom osoblju). Ništa manju
odgovornost u procesu uspostavljanja dobre saradnje između porodice i predškolske ustanove
namaju i roditelji koji imaju obavezu, između ostaloga, upoznati vaspitače o stanju i aktivnostima
djeteta u porodici, o uslovima njegovog života i rada, o sposobnostima i mogućnostima njegovog
razvoja u porodici. (Ne)prilike u porodici su čest uzrok djetetove posebnosti u ponašanju što
je jasan znak da je djetetu nužna podrška i pomoć. Roditelji će pružiti potrebne informacije
vaspitaču kako bi se izbjegla mogućnost neiskrene ili maštom uslovljene dječije priče o stvarnom
stanju u porodici. Tako će roditelji i vaspitači međusobno razmjenjivati mišljenja o djetetu i

  97
njegovom ponašanju, kako bi se moguća neprimjerena ponašanja djeteta prevazišla. Roditelji
i vaspitači će komunicirati prilikom individualnih kontakata i roditeljskih sastanaka, posjeta
roditeljskom domu, te prigodnim edukativnim seminarima i tribinama. Najčešći vid saradnje
porodice (roditelja) i predškolske ustanove (jaslica i vrtića) je individualno informisanje koje se
obavlja prilikom susreta vaspitača i roditelja kada se međusobno upoznaju i razmijenjuju potrebne
informacije te dogovaraju metode i sadržaje zajedničkog rada svake od pomenutih institucija.

Saradnjom se obje strane približavaju se, razgovaraju, upoznaju i prave zajedničku

strategiju sa ciljem što kvalitetnijeg rasta i razvoja djeteta. Vaspitač i roditelji obostrano stiču
iskustva temeljena na iskustvima onoga drugoga. Iz predškolske ustanove, razgovore treba, ne
rijetko, nastavljati u krugu porodice djeteta koje ide u vrtić što će za dijete značiti mnogo.

Vaspitač će tražiti i inicirati razloge posjete u djetetov dom poput bolesti djeteta ili člana
porodice, proširenja porodice i sl. Prilikom posjete domu djeteta vaspitač će imati priliku
upoznati uslove u kojima dijete boravi i razvija se, te konačno porodicu djeteta.

U sveukupnosti života i rada (sadržaja) predškolske ustanove, posebno je značajna veza

(saradnja) predškolske ustanove i škole kako bi za dijete bio što bezbolniji prijelaz iz predško­
lskog u školski ambijent.

Kontinuitet praćenja i razvoja djeteta u njegovoj razvojnoj vertikali je razvijanje i jača­

nje saradnje između vaspitača predškolskih ustanova i nastavnika (učitelja) razredne nastave
škole koju će dijete pohađati nakon njegovog boravka u predškolskoj ustanovi. Ona može biti
direktna i indirektna.

Prvo se ostvari neposredna saradnja između predškolske ustanove i škole, a nakon toga se
nivo saradnje spusti na vaspitače i nastavnike (učitelje) koji će od naredne školske godine preuzeti
dijete iz vrtića. Saradnja se ostvaruje i na način da vaspitači organiziraju zajednicke posjete starije
vaspitne grupe školi i razmjenjuju svoja iskustva o problemima koji su zajednički. S drugu stranu,
nastavnici (učitelji) mogu organizovati posjete predškolskim ustanovama (vrtićima) s ciljem
razmjene iskustva o pitanjima opšteg interesa za djecu koja su učenici škole, a ranije su boravili
u toj predškolskoj ustanovi.

Ovom saradnjom vaspitači stiču potrebna iskustva koja doprinose njihovom kvalitetnijem
radu, a sa drugu stranu, nastavnici (učitelji) u školama bolje upoznaju djecu, te oblike, i metode
rada u vrtićima.

Od vaspitno-obrazovnih institucija za vaspitanje djece predškolske uzrasti društvo,

društvena zajednica, i posebno roditelji, očekuje da bude otvoreno prema vaspitno-obrazovnom
okruženju uključujući u svom djelokrugu rada sve faktore društva koji pokazuju interesovanje

98
uključujući porodicu. Zato smo mišljenja da je saradnja (partnerstvo) predškolskih ustanova
i porodice veoma važna kako bi se ostvario, prije svega jedinstven vaspitni uticaj na putu
ostvarivanja zacrtanih programskih sadržaja. Dijete veliki dio svojih dnevnih aktivnosti
provodi u porodici koja ostavlja snažan utjecaj na njegov razvoj. Utjecaj porodice ne prestaje
bez obzira na njegovo odsustvo iz porodice, odnosno njegovo prisustvo u predškolskoj
vaspitno-obrazovnoj ustanovi.

Važnost saradnje porodice i predškolske ustanove

Od vaspitno-obrazovnih institucija za vaspitanje djece predškolske uzrasti se očekuje da

budu otvorene prema vaspitno-obrazovnom okruženju uključujući u svom djelokrugu rada sve
faktore društva koji pokazuju interesovanje uključujući porodicu. Stoga cijenimo da je saradnja
(partnerstvo) predškolskih ustanova i porodice veoma važna kako bi se ostvario, prije svega
jedinstven vaspitni utjecaj na putu ostvarivanja zacrtanih programskih sadržaja. Dijete veliki dio
svojih dnevnih aktivnosti provodi u porodici koja ostavlja snažan utjecaj na njegov razvoj. Utjecaj
porodice ne prestaje bez obzira na njegovo odsustvo iz porodice, odnosno njegovo prisustvo u
predškolskoj vaspitno-obrazovnoj ustanovi.

O tome koliko ćemo imati uspjeha u vaspitanju djeteta u velikoj mjeri ovisi o usklađenosti
vaspitnih djelovanja porodice i predškolske ustanove. Neusklađenost i nesaradnja ove dvije insti­
tucije (porodice i predškolske ustanove) za posljedicu može imati izostanak pravilnog razvoja
djeteta i nepostizanje društveno postavljenih ciljeva. Samo zajedničkom akcijom, zajedničkim
radom porodice i predškolske ustanove možemo očekivati pozitivan ishod prepoznat u
ostvarenim ciljevima predškolskog vaspitanja. Vaspitno djelovanje u predškolskim ustanovama
nikako ne smije biti zamjena porodičnom, nego samo kontinuitet u vaspitanju djeteta. Vaspitni
rad u porodici treba osigurati podršku u porodici i da te dvije sredine imaju jedinstvene zahtjeve
koje će staviti pred dijete. Da ne bi došlo do vaspitnog disbalansa, ove dvije institucije moraju
neposredno sarađivati.

Predškolska ustanova je organizovanija od porodice, sadržajnija i stručnija. Programski

rad i stručnost vaspitnog osoblja je karakteristika vaspitanja djece u predškolskim ustanovama.
No, porodica svakako ostvaruje poseban uticaj na predškolsku ustanovu. Stoga je važno porodicu
(roditelje) upoznati sa programskim sadržajima, sadržaju, ciljevima i zadacima te svekolikim
mogučnostima vaspitnog rada u predškolskoj ustanovi, kako bi roditelji bili u stanju definisati
svoje ciljeve. Porodica (roditelji) na razne načine mogu pružati pomoć i podršku predškolskoj
ustanovi u realizaciji zacrtanih programskim sadržajima. Za Stevanovića (2001), ta bi se pomoć
mogla prepoznati u upoznavanju vaspitača s “osnovnim crtama temperamenta i navikama
djeteta, interpretiranju svojih kulturnih, civilizacijskih i vrijednosnih sudova koje žele prenijeti

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na dijete, predlažu programske sadržaje, pomažu u izradi odgovarajućih didaktičkih materijala
i izravno sudjeluju u realizaciji pojedinih programskih sadržaja” (Stevanović, 2001., str. 137.).

Sposobnost vaspitača da osigura saradnju sa roditeljima djece koja idu u predškolsku

ustanovu i da zadobije povjerenje roditelja kao put obostranog razumijevanja, je od posebne
važnosti. Kamenov (1999) smatra da bi “roditelji imali više koristi od saradnje sa predškolskom
institucijom ako nisu skloni da se uključe u njen život i rad, a čak i kada se uključe, njihovo
prisustvo stvara problem vaspitaču, jer mora da dijeli svoju pažnju između djece za koju je
prvenstveno odgovoran i roditelja kojima je potrebna pomoć kako bi se uspešno snalazili u
uslovima predškolske institucije” (Woodhead, 1979. prema E. Kamenovu 1999.).

Uspješnoj saradnji roditelja i vaspitača, smatraju Omerović i dr. (2009) “doprinose ljudske
kvalitete koje bi trebao posjedovati svaki vaspitač, sposobnost dubljeg uviđanja, empatija i tolera­
ncija“. S obzirom da je predškolska ustanova prva institucija s kojom roditelji uspostavljaju saradnju
u cilju pravilnog vaspitanja svog djeteta, to je razlog više za njeno uspješno funkcioniranje.

Metodologija istraživanja

Ono što je temeljilo realizaciju predmeta u ovom istraživanju jesu stavovi roditelja i
vaspitača na roditeljsku saradnju sa vrtičima na području Sjevernog Sandžaka. Tako bi predmet
ovoga istraživanja bio istraživanje, analiza i predstavljanje stavova:

Roditelja o komunikaciji roditelja i vaspitača, o potrebi razmjene informacija o djetetu s

obzirom na spol, dob i mjesto stanovanja, o sudjelovanju roditelja na roditeljskim sastancima, o
sudjelovanju rdoitelja u odlučivanju o važnim pitanjima života vrtića a sve s obzirom na pol, dob
i mjesto stanovanja.

Vaspitača o komunikaciji roditelja i vaspitača, o potrebi razmjene informacija o djetetu o

sudjelovanju roditelja na roditeljskim sastancima o sudjelovanju roditelja u odlučivanju o važnim
pitanjima života vrtiča, s obzirom na spol, dob i godine staža.

Glavna hipoteza: Ne postoji statistički značajna razlika u percepciji roditelja i vaspitača na

roditeljsku saradnju sa vrtičima na području Sjevernog Sandžaka.

Tehnike istraživanja

Tehnike korištene u ovom istraživanju su:

• Analiza pedagoške dokumentacije

• Anketiranje

100
 • Skaliranje
Statistička obrada podataka. Programski paket SPSS 16.0 (Statiscical Package of Social
Sciences-for Windows).

Instrumenti istraživanja

Tokom ovoga istraživanja koristili smo anketni upitnik i Likertovu petostepenu skalu
procene. U anketnom upitniku zatvorenog tipa sadržana su pitanja s ponuđenim odgovorima
iz kojih smo vidjeli spol, dob, školsku spremu i radno iskustvo, dok smo skalom procjene
dobili odgovore koji nas upućuju na faktore saradnje porodice i predškolske ustanove (vrtića),
komunikacija roditelja i vaspitača, mogućnosti pružanja valjanih informacija za roditelje, učešće
na roditeljskim sastancima, roditeljsko učešće u aktivnostima vrtića, kao i pitanja koja se donose
na razloge nedovljne saradnje vaspitača i roditelja.

Uzorak ispitanika

Uzorak ispitanika čini 60 vaspitača iz predškolskih ustanova (vrtića) sa područja

opština Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Tutin, Prijepolje, kao i 80 roditelja djece smještene u predškolskim
ustanovama (vrtićima) sa područja istih opština.

Analiza i interpretacija rezultata istraživanja

Tabela 1. Mjere centralne tendencije, varijabilnosti i distribucije frekvencije obilježja komunikacije

roditelja sa vaspitačem

Indikator N M SD 1(%) 2(%) 3(%) 4(%) 5(%)

KRSU1 80 4,59 ,74 2,60 0,00 0,00 31,20 66,20

KRSU2 80 4,46 ,75 0,00 3,80 3,80 35,00 57,40

KRSU3 80 4,46 ,51 0,00 0,00 1,20 33,80 65,00

KRSU4 80 4,46 ,51 0,00 0,00 1,20 33,80 65,00

KRSU5 80 4,58 ,50 0,00 0,00 0,00 42,50 57,50

KRSU6 80 3,79 1,36 8,80 13,80 10,00 25,00 42,40

Provjera pouzdanosti mjerne skale, po procjeni roditelja, od 7 indikatora komunikacije

roditelja sa vaspitačem Tabela 1, Kronbahovim keoficijentom ALFA= 0,751 ukazuje na dobru

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pouzdanost i unutrašnju saglasnost skale za ovaj uzorak ispitanika, bez obzira na mjernu skalu
manju od 10 stavki. Srednja vrijednost korelacije između parova vrijednosti na skali iznosi 0,39
(optimalna između 0,20 i 0,40).

Izračunata aritmetička sredina (M) svih indikatora od 4,39 pokazuje da je komunikacija

roditelja sa vaspitačem, po procjeni roditelja, veoma važna. Vrijednost standardne devijacije (SD)
od 0,78 ukazuje da je rasipanje oko aritmetičke sredine veoma malo, što potvrđuje i koeficijent
varijabilnosti (CV) od 17,77 a time i veoma dobru homogenost dobivenih rezultata za ovaj
uzorak ispitanika.

Analizom rezultata u Tabeli 1 vidimo da su roditelji odgovarali uglavnom pod 4 i 5 (slažem

se i potpuno se slažem), dok se dva roditelja (2,60%) uopće ne slaže sa ponuđenom tvrdnjom.
Dakle, zaključujemo da ispitanici (roditelji) u velikoj većini smatraju da je vaspitač uvijek spreman
saslušati roditelje i da roditelji mogu otvoreno razgovarati sa vaspitačem o djetetu.

Analizom rezultata u Tabeli 1 vidimo da su roditelji najviše odgovora dali pod brojem
5 (potpuno se slažem – 57,40%), dakle većina ih je zadovoljna informisanjem o napredovanju
djeteta od strane vaspitača, 35,00% se slaže, dok 3,80% roditelja nema mišljenje (neutralni su),
i 3,80% roditelja se ne slaže sa ponuđenom tvrdnjom. Dakle, zaključujemo ispitanici (roditelji)
većinom smatraju da su roditelji redovno informisani o napredovanju njihovog djeteta.

Analiza rezultata u Tabeli 1 pokazuje da su roditelji najviše odgovora dali pod brojem 5
(potpuno se slažu) (65,00%), 33,80% roditelja se slaže sa ponuđenom tvrdnjom, mali broj
roditelja (1,20%) je neutralno (nema mišljenje) o temama koje se tiču njihovog djeteta. Dakle,
zaključujemo da roditelji uvažavaju mišljenje vaspitača o temama koje se tiču njihovog djeteta.

Analiza rezultata u Tabeli 1 pokazuje da su se roditelji najviše izjasnili za odgovore pod

brojem 5 (66,20%), 31,20% ih se slaže, 2,60% je neutralno. Dakle, zaključujemo da roditelji
velikom većinom smatraju da je vaspitač spreman saslušati roditelje i da s njima može otvoreno
razgovarati.

Analiza rezultata u Tabeli 1 pokazuje da su se roditelji najviše izjasnili za odgovore pod

brojem 5 (57,50%), 42,50% ih se slaže, sa ponuđenom tvrdnjom. Dakle, zaključujemo da roditelji
velikom većinom smatraju da je vaspitač uvažava mišljenje roditelja o djetetu.

Analizom rezultata u Tabeli 1 vidimo da se većina roditelja (42,40%) potpunoslaže da ih

vaspitač pozove samo kad se pojavi problem, 25,00% ih se slaže, 10,00% je neutralno, 13,80% se
ne slaže i 8,80% se uopće ne slaže da ih vaspitač kontaktira samo kad se javi problem. Dakle,
zaključujemo da većina ispitanika smatra da ih vaspitač pozove samo kad se pojavi problem.

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 Analizom rezultata u Tabeli 1 vidimo da se većina roditelja (42,50%) se slaže da ih vaspitač
doživljava kao partnere, 37,50% se u potpunosti slaže, 10,00% roditelja je neutralno (nema
mišljenje), 5,00% se ne slaže i 5,00% se uopće ne slaže da ih vaspitač doživljava kao partnere.
Dakle, zaključujemo da većina ispitanika smatra da vaspitač doživljava roditelje kao partnere.

T-test

Tabela 2. Komunikacija roditelja sa vaspitačem

Parametri Spol N M SD Razl. M F Znač. t-vrijed. Znač.

KRSUZ M 23 4,31 ,50 -,11 ,156 ,694 ,826 ,411

Ž 57 4,42 ,54

Vrijednost t= -,826 i njegova značajnost Sig.= ,411 nam ukazuju da ne postoji statistički
značajna razlika u stavovima između roditelja s obzirom na njihov spol u percepciji komunikacije
roditelja i vaspitača. Dakle, na osnovu dobivenih rezultata zaključujemo da je potvrđena
podhipoteza da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika, po procjeni roditelja, o komunikaciji
roditelja i vaspitača s obzirom na spol, dob i stepen obrazovanja.

ANOVA

Tabela 3. Stavovi roditelja o komunikaciji sa vaspitačem – F-test

Parametri N df F Sig.

Komunikacija 80 3 2,646 ,055

Vrijednost F-testa i njegova značajnost (Sig.) pokazuju da ne postoji statistički značajna

razlika između roditelja s obzirom na dob.

Tabela 4. Stavovi roditelja o komunikaciji sa vaspitačem – upoređivanje značajnosti

DOB MD SE SIG.

18-25 godina 26-35 godina -,756* ,370 ,045

36-45 godina -,958* ,376 ,013

DOB MD SE SIG.

46-55 godina -,905* ,418 ,034

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26-35 godina 18-25 godina ,756* ,370 ,045

36-45 godina -,202 ,125 ,109

46-55 godina -,149 ,223 ,505

36-45 godina 18-25 godina ,958* ,376 ,013

26-35 godina ,202 ,125 ,109

46-55 godina ,053 ,231 ,820

36-45 godina 18-25 godina ,905* ,418 ,034

26-35 godina ,149 ,223 ,505

36-45 godina -,053 ,231 ,820

Napomena: nivo značajnosti od 0,05

* - postoji statistički značajna razlika na nivou p < 0,05

Na osnovu dobivenih rezultata Tabela 4 vidimo da postoje statistički značajne razlike

između starosne grupe od 18-25 godina i 26-35 godina, između 18-25 i 36-45 godina, te između
18-25 i 46-55 godina kada je u pitanju komunikacija roditelja sa vaspitačem. Razlika između
ostalih starosnih grupa nije statistički značajna. Dakle, možemo zaključiti da je djelimično
potvrđena podhipoteza da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika, po procjeni roditelja, o
komunikaciji roditelja i vaspitača s obzirom na spol, dob i stepen obrazovanja.

Tabela 5: F-test obzirom na stepen obrazovanja

Parametri N DF F Sig.

Komunikacija 80 4 ,704 ,592

Analizom Tabele 5 vidimo da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika između ispitanika s

obzirom na stepeno brazovanja a kada je riječ o prvoj podhipotezi.

Tabela 6: Upoređivanje značajnosti obzirom na stepen obrazovanja

STEPEN OBRAZOVANJA MD SE SIG.

OŠ SSS ,146 ,176 ,410

VŠS ,007 ,283 ,980

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 VSS -,023 ,191 ,906

MR i DR ,464 ,407 ,257

SSS SSS -,146 ,176 ,410

VŠS -,138 ,253 ,586

VSS -,168 ,142 ,239

MR i DR ,319 ,386 ,412

VŠS SSS -,007 ,283 ,980

VŠS ,138 ,253 ,586

VSS -,030 ,264 ,910

MR i DR ,457 ,445 ,308

VSS SSS ,023 ,191 ,906

VŠS ,168 ,142 ,239

VSS ,030 ,264 ,910

MR i DR ,487 ,393 ,219

MR i DR OŠ -,464 ,407 ,257

SSS -,319 ,386 ,412

VŠS -,457 ,445 ,308

VSS -,487 ,393 ,219

MR i DR ,487 ,393 ,219

Napomena: nivo značajnosti od 0,05

Dakle, na osnovu dobivenih rezultata zaključujemo da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika

između ispitanika s obzirom na stepen obrazovanja kada je u pitanju komunikacija roditelja sa
vaspitačem te je time potvrđen treći dio prve podhipoteze da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika,
po procjeni roditelja, o komunikaciji roditelja i vaspitača s obzirom na spol, dob i mjesto stanovanja.

Na osnovu dobivenih rezultata istraživanja možemo zaključiti da je potvrđena podhipoteza

da ne postoji statistički značajna razlika, po procjeni roditelja, o komunikaciji roditelja i vaspitača
s obzirom na spol, dob i stepen obrazovanja.

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 Zaključak

Saradnja kao i komunikacija porodice (roditelja) i predškolske ustanove je veoma važna.

Njome se otvara put usklađivanja vaspitnih uticaja individualnim i grupnim kontaktima. Na
vaspitačima je velika odgovornost u ostvarivanju neposredne saradnje sa roditeljima. Tu su, sva-
kako i pedagozi, psiholozi, socijalni radnici i ljekari. Vaspitači i školske službe informišu roditelje
(porodicu) o posebnim sklonostima (pa i nadarenosti) djece, neočekivanoj promjeni ponašanja
poznatog ili nepoznatog uzroka. Prilike u porodici su čest uzrok djetetove posebnosti u ponaša­
nju što je jasan znak da je djetetu nužna podrška i pomoć.

Roditelj će pružiti potrebne informacije vaspitaču kako bi se izbjegla mogućnost neiskrene

ili maštom uslovljene dječije priče o stvarnom stanju u porodici.

Dakle, na osnovu dobivenih rezultata možemo izvesti zaključak da je djelimično potvrđe-

na glavna hipoteza ovog istraživanja koja glasi: Ne postoji statistički značajna razlika u percepciji
roditelja i vaspitača na roditeljsku saradnju sa vrtićima na području Sjevernog Sandžaka.

References

Bašić, J., Hudina, B., Koler-Trbović, N., Žižak, A. (2005). Integralna metoda, Aliea, Zagreb.
Brajša, P. (2003.). Roditelji i djeca, Glas Koncila, Zagreb
Einon, D. (1999). Učenje rano.Oznaku Knjige. ISBN: 0816040141
Gudjon, H. (1994). Pedagogija temeljena znanja (93-107; 143-160). Educa. Zagreb
Lew, A. & Bettner, B. (1996). A roditelja vodič za razumijevanje i motiviranje djece. Sheffield,
Velika Britanija: Connexions Press. (ISBN: 0962484180).
Holt. J.(1974). Kako deca uče. Predškolsko dete. Beograd: 1974/4.341-343.
Ivic, I.(1969). Razvoj saznajnih funkcija u predškolskom periodu, Pedagogija, Beograd.
Kamenov, E.(2006). Vaspitno-obrazovni rad u pripremnoj grupi dečjeg vrtića, Dragon, Novi Sad.
Sally
Kamenov, E.(1987). Predškolska pedagogija, Knjiga I. Beograd: Zavod za uđbenike i nastavna
sredstva
Milanović, M. (1997). Pomozimo im rasti. MOZS. Zagreb
Mitrović, D. (1981). Predškolska pedagogija. Sarajevo: Svjetlost.
Omerović, M. i drugi. (2009). Predškolska pedagogija, Ofset, Tuzla.
Selimović, H., Rodić, N. i Selimović, N. (2013). Metodologija istraživanja, Edukacijski fakultet,
Travnik

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Seligman, M.(2005). Optimistično dijete. Zagreb. IEP
Stevanović, M. (2001). Predškolska pedagogija, knjiga I. Tuzla: Denfas.
Stojaković, P. (1999). Taksonomija vaspitno-obrazovnih ciljeva u kognitivnom području i njen
značaj za efikasniju individualizaciju učenja i nastave. U knjizi: Interaktivno učenje I.
Banja Luka: Ministarstvo prosvjete I UNICEF. 119.
Suzić, N. (2005). Pedagogija za XXI vijek. Banja Luka: TT-Centar.129.
Suzić, N. (2006). Uvod u predškolsku padagogiju i metodiku, Banja Luka: XBS.202140.
Prodanović, T., Ničković, R. (1980). Didaktika, Beograd, Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika.

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 Age Specifics in the Use of Free Time of Primary School Students
◆

Nusreta Omerdić & Mediha Riđić

University of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Samira Beba
Primary school „Turbe“, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Free time as the space of freedom of every individual and of satisfaction of one's own needs
becomes an important factor of education. The way young people will use their free time depends
also on whether an appropriate educational influence was used on them in the period of their
growing up. The aim of the research is to examine the way elementary school students spend
their free time and to present the importance of high-quality use of free time, regardless of age.
The sample of respondents consists of 202 students of primary school "Turbe". The results have
shown that students use their free time with quality, and that there is a statistically significant
difference in the way students spend their free time due to the school class and that with age the
high-quality spending of free time decreases.

Key words: free time, students, primary school, education

Uvod

Slobodno vrijeme je fenomen savremenog društva o kojem se mnogo govori. Slobodno

vrijeme je najlakše definirati kao prostor slobode svakog pojedinca i zadovoljavanja vlastitih
potreba. Arbunić (2004) slobodno vrijeme povezuje sa odsustvom obaveza i određuje ga kao
„odsječak vremena oslobođen svake nužnosti, a koji ostaje pojedincu na raspolaganje za zadovo­
ljenje ličnih, intimnih potreba u ostvarenju sebe kao unikuma.” Previšić (2000) slobodno vrijeme
definiše kao „vrijeme aktivnog odmora, razonode, pozitivna razvoja, socijalizacije, humanizacije i
stvaralačkog potvrđivanja ličnosti a njegova bitna obilježja su sloboda, dobrovoljnost, smislenost,
kreativnost, individualnost, amaterizam, inkulturacija, samoaktualizacija, samoaktivitet.“

108
Isti autor dalje navodi da je slobodno vrijeme prostor i mogućnost interakcije u procesima
individualizacije, socijalizacije i inkulturacije, dakle prostor samoaktualizacije i ostvarenja
ličnosti. Bitna karakteristika tako shvaćenog slobodnog vremena nije uzaludno gubljenje
vremena, nego kreativno osmišljavanje vremena koje pojedincu ostaje na raspolaganju nakon
ispunjavanja obaveza. S obzirom da je slobodno vrijeme univerzalna pojava modernog društva,
njegovo smisleno provođenje je pedagoška kategorija i važno područje odgoja i obrazovanja
(Previšić, 2000). Svoju definiciju slobodnog vremena dao je i Potkonjak (1989), koji za slobodno
vrijeme kaže da je to vrijeme izvan svih profesionalnih, porodičnih i društvenih obaveza, u
kojemu pojedinac po svojoj volji odabire sadržaje aktivnosti odmora, razonode i stvaralaštva.
Dakle, slobodno vrijeme je prostor slobode i dijete ga oblikuje prema svojim interesima i
zanimanjima radi zadovoljavanja ličnih sklonosti i razvijanja sposobnosti. Često učenici nisu
dovoljno osviješteni o mogućnostima korištenja, organiziranja i planiranja slobodnog vremena.
Shodno tome, veoma je važno mladu osobu osposobiti za odgovornost ličnog razvitka. Posebno
je učenicima nižih razreda potrebno pomoći oko organiziranja slobodnog vremena. Upravo u
tome je velika uloga obitelji, škole i šire društvene zajednice. Zajednička im je zadaća pružanje
podrške i pomoći, poticanje i usmjerava­nje te stvaranje povoljnih uslova za razvoj dječjih interesa
i sklonosti.

Slobodno vrijeme je svojim implikacijama i sadržajima postalo važan faktor odgoja i

obrazovanja.Savremeno društvo sa sobom nosi mnoštvo sadržaja koji ulaze u naš prostor slobode, a
koje sadržaje ćemo odabrati zavisi o mnogo faktora, prije svega od našeg odgoja za slobodno vrijeme.
„Izbor slobodnih aktivnosti posebno je bitan za mlade ljude koji su podložni raznim odgojnim
utjecajima. Za njih slobodne aktivnosti mogu biti izvor pozitivnog napretka, ali i nepovoljnih utjecaja
(Mlinarević, 2006). Posebno je važna uloga nastavnika koji preko predmetnih kurikuluma mogu
osmišljavati, poticati i kreirati slobodno vrijeme učenika i njihove aktivnosti u slobodno vrijeme.
Imajući to u vidu „zadatak nastavnika je usmjeravanje učenika u korištenju slobodnog vremena,
nenametljiv nadzor i kontrola slobodnog vremena, organizacija slobodnog vremena uz bogatstvo,
raznolikost, zanimljivost i atraktivnost ponuđenih sadržaja i aktivnosti koje će osvojiti učenika i
privući mu pažnju.“ (Rosić, 2005).Na osnovu istraživanja provedenog na 73 vannastavna programa
koja se bave razvojem socijalnih vještina djeteta došlo se do rezultata da se djeca koja pohađaju va­
nnastavne aktivnosti primjetno poboljšavaju u tri područja: na razboritost i izražavanje osjećanja i
stavova, lakše i bolje prilagođavanje ponašanja te primjetno poboljšavanje uspjeha u školi (Durlak
i dr., 2007). Upravo zbog važnosti koju ima slobodno vrijeme problem rada se odnosi na pitanje:
Jesu li roditelji i nastavnici u dovoljnoj mjeri uključeni u organizaciju slobodnog vremena učenika
osnovne škole?Cilj istraživanja je ispitivanje stavova učenika o provođenju slobodnog vremena,
motivacija i usmjeravanje učenika na kvalitetno korištenje slobodnog vremena. Pretpostavili smo
da postoji značajna razlika između mlađih i starijih učenika osnovne škole u korištenju slobodnog
vremena, te da s uzrastom opada kvalitetno korištenje slobodnog vremena.

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 Metode rada

U istraživanju su korištene metode:

Metoda teorijske analize, deskriptivna i statistička metoda.

Eksperimentalni pristup problemu

Na osnovu anketnog upitnika koji je sastavljen od 21 pitanja ispitivali smo na koji način
učenici osnovne škole provode svoje slobodno vrijeme. Anketiranje su vršile osobe koje su odgo­
vorne i upoznate sa načinom popunjavanja. U nižim razredima učenike su anketirale razredne
učiteljice, a u višim razredima predmetni nastavnici. Učenici su imali na raspolaganju 10 minuta
za popunjavanje ankete iz razloga da ne bi previše razmišljali o odgovorima. Učenici su anketu
popunjavali na dobrovoljnoj bazi. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u saglasnosti sa Upravnim odborom
Osnovne škole „Turbe.“

Uzorak ispitanika:

Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 202 učenika Osnovne škole „Turbe“ i to 101 učenik IV–ih
razreda i 101 učenik VIII-ih razreda. Od ukupnog broja ispitanika 96 (47,50%) je dječaka i 106
(52,50%) je djevojčica. Prema uspjehu, 3 (1,50%) je dovoljnih, 39 (19,30%) je dobrih, 61 (30,20%)
vrlodobrih i 99 (49,00%) odličnih.

Instrumenti:

U istraživanju smo koristili anketni upitnik. Prva grupa pitanja, njih ukupno 3, koja se
nalazi na početku upitnika, namijenjena je prikupljanju osnovnih sociodemografskih podataka
o učenicima koji su uključeni u istraživanje. To su: spol, razred, školski uspjeh na I polugodištu.
Zatim slijedi 18 pitanja na koja su učenici odgovarali petostepenom skalom Likertovog tipa i to:
1 (uopće se ne slažem); 2 (ne slažem se); 3 (nemam mišljenje/neutralan sam); 4 (slažem se) i 5
(potpuno se slažem).

Statistička analiza:

Prikupljene informacije su operacionalizirane sljedećim statističkim analizama:

Prvo smo izračunali osnovne deskriptivne parametre. T-testom smo ispitali da li se učenici
četvrtog i osmog razreda osnovne škole razlikuju u korištenju slobodnog vremena. Nivo znača­
jnosti p<0,01.

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 Rezultati i diskusija

Istraživanje na temu „Uzrasne specifičnosti u korištenju slobodnog vremena učenika

osnovne škole“ provedeno je u Osnovnoj školi „Turbe“ u Turbetu.

Tabela 1. Mjere centralne tendencije, varijabilnosti i distribucije frekvencije obilježja

Kvalitetno provođenje slobodnog vremena

1 2 3 4 5

Rb. Varijable N R Md % % % % %

1. Slobodno vrijeme provo- 101 IV 5,00 2,00 0,00 7,90 25,70 64,40
dim družeći se s prijatel-
jima 101 VIII 4,00 7,90 6,90 7,90 44,60 32,70

2. U slobodno vrijeme rado 101 IV 5,00 14,90 1,00 13,90 15,80 54,50
čitam neku knjigu ili ča-
sopis 101 VIII 2,00 33,70 21,80 21,80 13,90 8,90

3. U slobodno vrijeme 101 IV 5,00 6,90 7,90 6,90 27,80 50,50

pomažem ukućanima u
poslovima 101 VIII 4,00 7,90 5,00 16,80 40,60 29,70

4. Slobodno vrijeme provo- 101 IV 4,00 5,90 9,90 14,90 35,60 33,70
dim u šetnji ili izletu sa
prijateljima 101 VIII 3,00 9,90 25,70 23,80 26,70 13,90

5. Slobodno vrijeme provo- 101 IV 4,00 11,90 5,90 8,90 24,80 48,50
dim u vožnji biciklom ili
na rolama 101 VIII 4,00 12,90 13,90 13,90 41,60 17,80

6. Slobodno vrijeme pro- 101 IV 5,00 2,00 3,00 8,90 29,70 56,40
vodim igrajući se vani s
prijateljima 101 VIII 4,00 8,90 13,90 9,90 44,60 22,80

7. U slobodno vrijeme se 101 IV 5,00 7,90 7,90 9,90 11,90 62,40

bavim sportom ili hobi-
jima 101 VIII 4,00 11,90 13,90 9,90 26,70 37,60

8. Uključen/na sam u jednu 101 IV 5,00 13,90 6,90 11,90 12,90 54,50
ili više sekcija u školi
101 VIII 2,00 40,60 18,80 9,90 11,90 18,80

Napomena: N-ukupan broj ispitanika; R-razred; Md-medijana

Analizirajući Tabelu 1 uočavamo da učenici mlađih razreda osnovne škole (IV razred)
imaju pozitivnije stavove o korištenju slobodnog vremena u odnosu na učenike starijih razreda
osnovne škole (VIII razred). Učenici mlađih razreda rado čitaju knjige i uključeni su u jednu ili

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više sekcija u školi, dok većina starijih učenika nema pozitivne stavove za ove varijable. Očekivali
smo ovakve rezultate jer smo uočili da s uzrastom opada broj odličnih i vrlodobrih učenika.

Tabela 2. Mjere centralne tendencije, varijabilnosti i distribucije frekvencije obilježja

Nekvalitetno provođenje slobodnog vremena

1 2 3 4 5

Rb. Varijable N R Md % % % % %
Slobodno vrijeme pro- 101 IV 3,00 27,70 19,80 14,90 21,80 15,80
1. vodim igrajući igrice na
računaru 101 VIII 3,00 18,80 26,70 12,90 23,80 17,80

Slobodno vrijeme pro- 101 IV 2,00 35,60 19,80 15,80 12,90 15,80
2. vodim „surfajući“ na
internetu 101 VIII 4,00 10,90 12,90 12,90 33,70 29,70

Imam puno slobodnog 101 IV 2,00 39,60 14,90 8,90 15,80 20,80
3.
vremena i dosadno mi je 101 VIII 2,00 35,60 23,80 18,80 10,90 10,90

U slobodno vrijeme spa- 101 IV 1,00 58,40 12,90 7,90 6,90 13,90
4.
vam ili se izležavam 101 VIII 3,00 26,70 19,80 18,80 21,80 12,90

U slobodno vrijeme gle- 101 IV 2,00 38,60 13,90 13,90 19,80 13,90
5.
dam serije 101 VIII 2,00 39,60 14,90 10,90 22,80 11,90
Napomena: N-ukupan broj ispitanika; R-razred; Md-medijana

Kada je u pitanju obilježje nekvalitetno provođenje slobodnog vremena iz Tabele 2 vidimo

da su razlike između ispitanika male, ali da učenici osmih razreda više vremena provode „surfa-
jući“ na internetu u odnosu na učenike četvrtih razreda.

Tabela 3. Slobodno vrijeme – upoređivanje po razredima

Razl.
M
Parametri R N M SD F Znač. t-vrijed. Znač.
IV 101 4,08 0,74 0,80 ,123 ,726 7,526 ,000

Kvalitetno sl.vrijeme VIII 101 3,28 0,76

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 Razl.
M
Parametri R N M SD F Znač. t-vrijed. Znač.
IV 101 2,51 0,96 -0,33 3,125 ,079 -2,606 ,010

Nekvalitetno sl.vrijeme VIII 101 2,84 0,79

Napomena: R-razred; N-ukupan broj ispitanika; M-aritmetička sredina; SD-standardna devijacija; Razl.
M-razlika aritmetičkih sredina; F i Znač.- Levenov test jednakosti varijansi; t-vrijed. i Znač.- vrijednost
t-testa i njegova značajnost.

T-test je pokazao da postoje statistički značajne razlike između učenika mlađih i starijih
razreda osnovne škole u kvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena. Razlike nisu utvrđene
kada je u pitanju nekvalitetno korištenje slobodnog vremena. S obzirom da je analiza rezultata
pokazala da učenici mlađih razreda kvalitetnije provode slobodno vrijeme, očekivali smo razlike
između učenika za oba obilježja (kvalitetno i nekvalitetno provođenje slobodnog vremena). Iako
ne postoji statistička razlika između učenika u nekvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog vremena, na
osnovu aritmetičke sredine (M) uočavamo da su stariji učenici skloniji nekvalitetnom korištenju
slobodnog vremena.

Tabela 4. Slobodno vrijeme – upoređivanje dječaka mlađeg i starijeg školskog uzrasta

Razl.
M
Parametri Dječaci N M SD F Znač. t-vri- Znač.
jed.
IV 46 4,00 ,78 ,91 ,562 ,455 5,882 ,000

Kvalitetno sl. VIII 50 3,09 ,73

vrijeme
IV 46 2,76 1,07 -,08 5,221 ,025 -,463 ,644

Nekvalitetno sl. VIII 50 2,84 ,77

vrijeme
Napomena: N-ukupan broj ispitanika; M-aritmetička sredina; SD-standardna devijacija; Razl. M-razlika
aritmetičkih sredina; F i Znač.- Levenov test jednakosti varijansi; t-vrijed. i Znač.- vrijednost t-testa i
njegova značajnost.

T-testom smo izvršili upoređivanje mlađih i starijih dječaka osnovne škole u provođenju
slobodnog vremena. Rezultati su pokazali da postoje razlike između mlađih i starijih dječaka

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u kvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog vremena. Razlike nisu utvrđene između dječaka u
nekvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog vremena. Na osnovu aritmetičkih sredina (M) vidimo da
su dječaci četvrtih razreda skloniji kvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena, a dječaci osmih
razreda skloniji nekvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena.

Tabela 5. Slobodno vrijeme – upoređivanje djevojčica mlađeg i starijeg školskog uzrasta

Razl.
M
Parametri Djevojčice N M SD F Znač. t-vrijed. Znač.
IV 55 4,14 ,70 ,67 ,650 ,422 4,757 ,000

Kvalitetno sl.vrijeme VIII 51 3,47 ,74

IV 55 2,31 ,82 -,52 ,218 ,641 -3,260 ,002

Nekvalitetno sl.vrijeme VIII 51 2,83 ,82

Napomena: N-ukupan broj ispitanika; M-aritmetička sredina; SD-standardna devijacija; Razl. M-razlika
aritmetičkih sredina; F i Znač.- Levenov test jednakosti varijansi; t-vrijed. i Znač.- -vrijednost t-testa i
njegova značajnost.

T-testom smo izvršili upoređivanje mlađih i starijih djevojčica osnovne škole u provođenju
slobodnog vremena. Rezultati su pokazali da postoje razlike između mlađih i starijih djevojčica
u kvalitetnom i nekvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog vremena. Na osnovu aritmetičkih sredina
(M) vidimo da su djevojčice četvrtih razreda sklonije kvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena,
a djevojčice osmih razreda sklonije nekvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena.

Zaključak

Na osnovu rezultata istraživanja zaključili smo da učenici osnovne škole kvalitetno provode
svoje slobodno vrijeme. Rezultati istraživanja su nam pokazali da postoji statistički značajna
razlika između mlađih i starijih učenika osnovne škole u kvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog
vremena. Razlike između učenika nisu utvrđene kod nekvalitetnog provođenja slobodnog
vremena. T-testom smo utvrdili da postoji statistički značajna razlika između mlađih i starijih
dječaka osnovne škole u kvalitetnom provođenju slobodnog vremena, a da razlike ne postoje u
nekvalitetnom korištenju slobodnog vremena. T-test je pokazao da postoji statistički značajna
razlika između mlađih i starijih djevojčica osnovne škole i to za oba obilježja (kvalitetno i
nekvalitetno provođenje slobodnog vremena). Na osnovu rezultata istraživanja zaključili smo da
s uzrastom opada kvalitetno korištenje slobodnog vremena. Time je potvrđena glavna hipoteza
ovog istraživanja da postoji značajna razlika između mlađih i starijih učenika osnovne škole u
korištenju slobodnog vremena, te da s uzrastom opada kvalitetno korištenje slobodnog vremena.

114
 Ako želimo da imamo zdravo društvo moramo pomoći mladima u kriznom razdoblju
njihovog odrastanja da korisno provode svoje slobodno vrijeme uz preporuke:

Potrebni su dalji istraživački ali i aktivistički napori u osmišljavanju slobodnog vre-

mena mladih.

Škole bi trebale u svoje kurikulume uvrstiti odgojne teme o slobodnom vremenu učenika.

Organizirati redovne vannastavne aktivnosti za sve učenike prema njihovim interesova­

njima i sposobnostima, a ne samo za potrebe školskih priredbi.

Lokalna zajednica proširiti svoje djelovanje na školu s ciljem uključivanja učenika u razno-
vrsne aktivnosti, jer su se učenici izjasnili da bi rado učestvovali u akcijama npr.pošumljavanja,
uređenja okoliša i sl.

References

Arbunić, A. (2004). Roditelji i slobodno vrijeme djece, Zagreb, Pedagogijska istraživanja

Durlak, J., Weissberg, R. (2007). The impact of after-school programs that promote
Mlinarević, V. (2006). Slobodno vrijeme kao predikator poremećaja u ponašanju učenika, do­
ktorska disertacija, Zagreb, Sveučilište u Zagrebu
Potkonjak, N. (1989). Pedagoška enciklopedija, Beograd, Zavod za udžebenike i nastavna sredstva
Previšić, V. (2000). Slobodno vrijeme između pedagogijske teorije i odgojne prakse, Napredak 141 (4)
Rosić, V. (2005). Slobodno vrijeme – slobodne aktivnosti, Rijeka, Educo

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 The Third Way
◆

Nebojša Vasić
University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Apart from the traditional division "the teacher-centered" or "the student-centered educa-
tion" the third option is, according to my mind and experience, more promising, more effective
and more flexible. Namely, "the teacher-centered" education looks like an obsolete and worn-out
concept, while "the student-centered" is mostly recognized as contemporary approach which
must totally replace the old concept with predominant teacher's authority. The teacher-cente-
red notion encapsulates teachers as the focal points of education. In other words teachers are
organizers who rule the whole process of education, while students are mostly passive observers
which active participation is strictly limited. On the other hand "the student-centered" education
allegedly eliminates all major deficiencies of traditional authoritarian style fostering students'
participation in all phases of education. The focus is shifted from teaching to learning (from
teachers to students). The solution seems workable, efficient and self-evident - which is not the
case. Instead of two extreme positions the third option emerges as more efficient; "the quality-
-centered education". The purpose of my paper is to prove the benefits of the "third approach"
and define its major characteristics.

Key words: approaches, concepts, contemporary, the third option

Introduction

The third way deals with the set of dichotomies which reflect a tendency to sharply divide
opposite methodological trends without leaving enough space for compromising solutions. The
history of techniques and principles in language teaching (teaching methods) is a substantial
aspect of the knowledge base for teachers. Educators expand a repertoire of techniques which are
not reducible to one single method uncritically accepted as the most effective and overwhelming,
in other words stale and overly routinized (Prabhu, 1990). Seasoned teachers have at their disposal

116
a large, diverse stock of best practices (Arends, 1998) which encapsulates the unique qualities,
personal preferences and idiosyncrasies of their students. Despite all potential benefits from a
study of methods there is a latent threat in the assumption that the knowledge of methods is
mere prescription which should be followed by the book. Primarily all methods are per definition
decontextualized and, as such, they are detached from “a real life” in our classrooms. The way
of implementing certain methods depends on the teacher’s competences, the institutional
constraints, students’ back-up knowledge, learning outcomes, the number of lessons / lectures
etc. plus exigencies in the classroom (unprecedented moments which can’t be anticipated). The
third way implies potentials hidden in a creative and highly personal approach which refutes the
set of typical dichotomies and the rigidity of teaching methods. To exemplify the third way we
can start with the common notions of the conflicting and antagonistic strategies (the teacher-
centered vs student-centered education). Most contemporary teachers stick to the concept of
the student-centered education while conservative teachers find teacher-centered strategy more
profitable and effective. This dichotomy neglects “the third way” solution which is neither the
teacher-centerednor the student-centered but the quality-centered approach. The goal of this
paper is to promote “the third-way” strategy highlighting benefits from avoiding most common
dichotomies and empowering both teachers and students with more flexible approach which
is not closed in the strict theoretical frames. The study of methods is inspiring in spite of its
limitations and a radical criticism which tends to skip all theoretical frames as futile effort to
comprise a real life within dogmatic concepts. If we recognize the invaluable contribution to the
quality of both teaching and learning the study of methods encourage continuing educationin
the lifelong process of learning to teach (Larsen-Freeman, 1998).

Grammar-Translation vs Direct Method

We can start our topic with the comparison between the grammar-translation (the classical
method) and the direct method recently revived as a method which promotes learning how
to use a foreign language in communication. The grammar-translation method was first used
in the teaching of the classical languages, Latin and Greek (Chastain, 1988) which underlying
assumption (or rationale) is that through the study of the grammar of the target language
students will be able to cope with the grammatical features of their native language. The usage
of the target language is neglected as marginal, while grammar is treated as the focal point of
all languages which, combined with translation, serves as the very foundation of learning. The
direct-method insists on one “none-negotiable principle” – translation is not allowed, which is
fostered by the conviction that meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through
various visual aids and demonstrations (Diller, 1978) The following principles could be observed
as the marrow of the grammar-translation and the direct-method(GT and DM) which reflect the

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antagonism between the two methods. The “the-third way” (TW) potential solutions are added
after contrasting principles:

• (GT) An essential purpose of learning foreign languages is reading literature.

• (DM) The main objective is learning how to communicate (gaining communicative

competence)

• (TW) Both is needed (intensive reading is one of four major language skills), but the
accent is more on the communicative competence. Reading itself contributes effectively to
our communicative competence (through reading we enlarge vocabulary, subconsciously
assimilate grammar forms etc.) Reading is not waste of precious time if we know how
to incorporate inspiring and informative reading sessions into typical communicative
practice.

• (GT) The primary skills are gradually developed through reading and writing while
speaking, listening and pronunciation are rather irrelevant.

• (DM) Speaking and listening are of utmost significance. Pronunciation should be worked
on from the beginning of language instructions

• (TW) The third-way is comprehensible approach which combines all four major language
skills without neglecting the necessity to practice pronunciation as one of the vital parts of
language instructions.

• (GT) Students pay a lot of attention to analysing and assimilating the forms of the target
language.

• (DM) Forms of the target language are acquired as the result of the massive exposure
(primarily speaking and listening). Strict analysis of the language forms is needless – all
we need is gained through the process of acquisition.

• (TW) The prime principle is the quality of the target language – if it is easier to clarify and
analyse certain grammatical forms then it is highly recommended. Although the emphasis
is on the process of acquisition learning and analysing is not abandoned. Whatever
facilitates our teaching and learning process is welcomed.

• (GT) Deductive reasoning of explicit grammatical rules is predominantly used.

• (DM) Inductive reasoning (the bottom-up) is more efficient and more dominant then
deductive (the top-down procedure).

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 • (TW) There is no exclusive approach; the choice between deductive and inductive
reasoning depends on topics, the complexity of the content, the age of students, learning
outcomes etc.

• (GT) Translation is often used in the form of the contrastive analyses.

• (DM) Translation is almost never used; the target language is the only way of
communication in the classrooms.

• (TW) Translation is used whenever it is needed – to contrast language forms, adequately

understand idiomatic expressions, explain grammar etc.

• The above mentioned peculiar features of the grammar-translation and the direct-method
serve as the illustration of the “third-way approach” which in its contextualized form
seeks the most profitable ways of acquiring the target language without diminishing the
relevance of traditional learning (Jeremy, 2007).

Common Dichotomies

The following list contains the most frequent dichotomies which are stumbling blocks
in the history of teaching foreign languages (the whole spectrum contains polarities taken as
antagonistic tendencies and principles).

1. The nature of language (as one of distinguishing features in methodology and major
dichotomy) runs through the whole linguistics in the last decades. The notion of
language could be understood from its formal or functional aspect, meaning that formal
aspect relates to the traditional teaching while functional aspect (contemporary trend)
underlines the pragmatic nature of language, in other words its applicative usage in the
form of communicative competence. The third way accentuates functional aspect without
marginalizing its formal nature (grammar, analyses, elaborations, explicit clarifications,
memorizing rules etc.). The point is that the quality-centered education never dispels
certain techniques or language principles because it is in vogue or a fashionable trend. The
ultimate goal is to use “everything what works well” without ostracising methods (even
the most obsolete) in its totality or glorifying any particular method as the finite solution.

2. The nature of learning is either construe as analytic (cognitive, intellectual) or experiential

(related to progressive education going back to the work of John Dewey). The third
way embraces both concepts with preference towards experiential learning and an
adequate focus on the analytic nature of languages. Cognitive efforts are appreciated as
utterly meaningful and profound whenever we deal with demanding theoretical issues,
complexities and subtleties which can’t be resolved in solely experiential learning.

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 3. The goals of SL learning are mainly focused on either accuracy or communication (fluency).
The third way rejects all extreme and mutually exclusive approaches and rather seeks the
complementary nature of uncompromising views. The final assessment relies on the goals
of education in the concrete context without prescriptive and undeviating guidelines.
Teachers should define the most optimum solution regardless of all theoretical arguments
which, in its hyperbolical forms, unjustifiably expel momentous techniques and principles
in the name of dubious “bee-lines” in education (fiercely advocated by some teachers and
experts as the all-embracing and impeccable concepts). The relevance of communication
should not be stressed at the expense of accuracy if we are not willing to accept broken
English as the final result of purely communicative approach which sacrifices accuracy in
the name of fluency.

4. The type of syllabus could be considered from two different angles - whether the focus is
mainly on the system (grammar, phonology, vocabulary etc.) or whether it is focused more
on the skills (reading, speaking, writing, listening). The choice between the two aspects
(systems or skills) is rather artificial and arbitrary from the “third-way angle” because
of the fact that systems and skills are integrated in most current syllabuses. The focus is
rather flexible; it moves from one side to the other depending on learning outcomes. The
third way is more rational adjustment to the student’s need and learning outcomes than an
abrupt or radical shift from one polarity to its opposite counterpart.

5. If syllabuses are segregated English is taught as a separate subject, if integrated then

English is connected with other subjects (the content-based learning etc.). The third
way option tends to use main positive features of English as a segregated and integrated
subject; segregation implies an intensive focus on the target language while integration
incorporates different subjects in which English is used as the means of communication.

6. The process of learning could foster either cognitive (intellectual) or affective factors
(inducing positive emotions the level of stress is minimized while anxiety-free active
participation maximized). The third way approach liberates teachers and learners from one-
sided solutions seeking the most efficient mixture between the two more complementary
then mutually exclusive concepts.

7. The teaching process could be either transmissive (traditional ex-cathedra lecturing style)
or more dialogic (interactive). The third way is adaptable and contextualized which means
that both teaching styles have its place in the contemporary education.

8. The top-down strategy (deductive teaching) is more adequate for young learners while
the bottom-up strategy (inductive teaching) is more effective with secondary school and

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 university students. The third way never sticks to only one strategy; teachers themselves
should modify their teaching styles according to their knowledge and experience.

9. Bilingual teaching leaves the room for the native language whenever it is justified
(complexities and shades in translation contrasting analyses, certain grammatical topics
etc.), while monolingual approach insists only on the target language as the means of
communication between teachers and students. The third way solution finds convincing
rationale in both teaching principles.

Constructivism vs Direct teaching

In recent years the burning and still unsolved debate is related to the benefits of “constructed”
knowledge versus instructed knowledge (Rowe, 2006). The advocates of “constructed knowledge”
(constructivists) adamantly believe that the profound nature of learning requires individual
creativeness as the principal source of personal understanding, reflection and action. Predigested
information transmitted by a teacher and presented in a textbook (Zevenbergen, 1995) are not
presupposed as the mandatory stage for deepening the existing knowledge. On the other hand,
instructivists uphold the merits and efficacy of explicit or direct teaching. A structured course
is taken as the very foundation necessary for sequential and orderly manner, which is reviewed
regularly, assessed and practised. The opposing approaches are referred in the current professional
literature as “progressive methods” versus “traditional didactic teaching” (Adkisson& McCoy,
2006), or as “minimally guided instruction” and “explicit instructions”.

The underlying principles of constructivism were formulated by John Dewey, Jean Piaget
and Jerome Bruner who emphasized the relevance of firsthand experience and various sorts of
activities derived from the process of learning. The Russian psychologist Lew Vygotsky expanded
the concept of constructivism by collaborative social interaction which is achievable in the
zone of proximal development. Vygotsky introduced “social constructivism” with accent on
feedback, discussion and sharing of ideas, while Piaget’s “cognitive constructivism” underlines
the intellectual development (less on social interaction).

Constructivist nomenclature comprises the following set of terms; a class of students

has become “community of learners”; learning by doing has become “process approach” or
“experiential learning”; learning has become “knowledge construction”, while the support
provided by teachers, adults or more knowledgeable peers is expressed by the term “scaffolding”.
The constructivist concept (active learning) promotes new challenging roles of the teacher
such as facilitator and supporter, rather than controller (organizer or instructor). A pervading
assumption of constructivist rationale is that students are eager to learn (that they possess

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strong intrinsic motivation), but it is more likely that the level of motivation of most students is
average which will not suffice if teachers rely entirely on constructivism (experiential learning).
A constructivist “find-out-for-yourself ” approach is not fruitful when it comes to young learners
(basic literacy and numeracy learning). For most children demand to actively discover certain
rules, definitions or shades of meaning proves to be rather formidable and futile. Jonassen (1992)
developed a three-stage model of knowledge acquisition:

Stage 1 – initial language acquisition

Stage 2 – advanced knowledge

Stage 3 – expertise

Jonassen agrees that direct teaching is highly effective if it is related to initial knowledge
acquisition while the levels of advanced knowledge and expertise mostly benefit from a
constructive strategy. Higher-order critical reading (as well as profound comprehension) belongs
to advanced knowledge effectively transmitted by the strategy of the constructive teaching, while
establishing basic skills is realized and enabled by the direct teaching. Constructive approach as
the set of unstructured discovery-type activities is inefficient for the achieving learning outcomes
if students are not equipped with sound independent learning skills (Presley and McCormick,
1995). As the example of the harsh criticism referred to constructivism Delpit (1988, p. 287)
quoted one student: “I didn’t feel she was teaching us anything. She wanted us to correct each
other’s papers and we were there to learn from her. She didn’t teach us anything, absolutely
nothing.”If teachers insist on solely student-centered activities one of potential problems is
constructing misconceptions which are unnecessary diversions from desired learning outcomes.
Related to time-consuming constructivist strategy Kirnschner (2006, p. 80) points that: “As a
consequence, learners can engage in problem-solving activities for extended periods and learn
almost nothing.”According to Rosenshine (1986) the direct-teaching comprises the following six
major components:

• daily review
• clear presentation of new material
• guided practice by students
• immediate correction and feedback from teacher
• independent practice
• weekly and monthly reviews.
Direct instruction (DI) was initially devised by Engelmann at the University of Oregon
as a fast-paced method of teaching that includes intensive interaction between students and

122
teachers. In order to be effective DI procedures are founded on reinforcement, clear objectives,
regular error correction, modelling, high response rate and practice to mastery. All steps are
teachable and learnable if lesson contents are sufficiently reduced and transmitted in a way
which enables students to learn correctly. To avoid potential weaknesses of DI (they could be
too prescriptive, too highly structured and too rapidly paced) teachers must pay particular
attention to comprehension checks and feedback. To compensate potential weaknesses of DI
a much less structured form of direct teaching is introduced in the form of interactive whole-
class teaching which is particularly accepted in the United Kingdom and some other countries.
Interactive whole-class teaching engage all students as active participants which generates a high
level of attention enhanced by dialogue, asking questions and personal contributions which are
nor reduced to one-sided (ex-cathedra) style of lecturing. Without being constrained by rigidly
structured lessons interactive model comprises essential features of direct teaching and, as such, it
is delivered in digestible chunks of knowledge. All forms of direct teaching methods encapsulate
a repertoire of the following skills and competences (Peter, 2008, p.17):

• planning the content and method of delivery (including appropriate use of audio- visual
equipment and ICT)

• managing the available time efficiently

• presenting the content in an interesting and motivating way

• explaining and demonstrating clearly

• knowing when and how to explain key points in more detail

• using appropriate questioning to focus students’ attention, stimulate their thinking, and
check for understanding

• dealing with questions raised by students

• evaluating students’ learning and participation

• giving feedback to students.

Conclusion

Key issues related to suitability of direct teaching methods are harmonized with the core
values of the third-way approach (Peter Westwood, 2008, p.16):

• A teaching method must be selected for its suitability in a given context: No single method
of teaching can be used for all types of subject matter or for achieving all educational goals.

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 • Under what conditions are direct methods appropriate? Direct teaching is advocated for
the beginning stages of learning new information, skills or strategies.

• Strengths, weaknesses and applications of direct teaching: Direct methods have much to
offer if used in appropriate ways to achieve appropriate goals.

• Optimising and enhancing the effects of teaching methods: All teaching methods can be
made more effective by attending to particular aspects of implementation.

The third-way strategy of teaching is close to the concept of enhanced lectures if the
teacher succinctly presents topics and then engages students in open discussions, while the
closure includes consolidating and summarizing key points from the lecture. Eggen and Kauchak
(2004)claim that most of the structural (inherent) weaknesses in the strict lecturing style can be
overcome if the teacher-time is interspersed with short dialogic sessions (periods of questioning
and discussion). Accordingly, Ormrod (2000, p. 533) states: “The more students pay attention
and the more they engage in meaningful learning, organization, elaboration, and so on, the
more they are likely to benefit from the lectures they hear and the textbooks they read.” The
third-way avoids one-sided approaches and promotes the strategy of teaching which is based
on theoretical assumptions and immediate experience (a given context). There are no final or
impeccable methods; every single teacher should adjust his or her teaching style according to
personal competences and contextualized factors. Such “loose” approach acquires a profound
grasp of various (often conflicting) educational trends and creative thinking which is not
reducible to sheer acceptance of any single method. The application of principled eclecticism
primarily addresses the issue of learner’s needs and styles thus comprising interlanguage skills,
comprehensible input, negotiation of meaning and product oriented approach. The third-way
strategy is “method without methods”, having in mind that every single method is based on
certain exaggerated forms which inevitably suppress some other relevant aspect of teaching. The
principal structural flaw of all methods is their alleged all-embracing nature and we need just a
bit of immediate experience to realize that the way of teaching is above all radical concepts of
the “absolute truth”. Teaching is more than science or art and there are no short-cuts to the final
solutions, even if they are disguised in the form of scientifically and empirically based methods.
The third-way perspective recognizes potentials above the horizon of established or widely
accepted methods thus leading to one of the most challenging adventure of encouraging and
decoding explicit and hidden capacities of human beings.

124
References
Adkisson, C. & McCoy, L.P. (2006). A study of teachers’ perceptions of high school mathemat-
ics instructional methods. In L.P. McCoy (Ed.), Studies in teaching 2006: Research Digest
(pp. 1-6). Winston-Salem, NC: Wake Forest University.
Arends, Richard. (1998). Learning to Teach. (4thed.) New York:McGraw-Hill.
Delpit, L. (1988). The silenced dialogue: power and pedagogy in educating other people’s chil-
dren. Harward Educational Review. 58, 280-298
Diller, Karl C. (1978). The Language Teaching Controversy. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Eggen, P., &Kauchak, D. (2004). Educational psychology: windows on classroom (6thed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson- Merrill.
Harmer, Jeremy. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. (4thed.) Essex: Pearson Long-
man.
Jonassen, D.H. (1992). Evaluating constructive learning. In T.M. Duffy & D.H. Jonassen (Eds.)
Constructivism and technology of instructions. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kirschner, P.A., Sweller, J.,& Clark, R.E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does
not work: An analyses of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experi-
ential and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 4, 2, 75-86
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. (1998). “Learning teaching is a lifelong process.” Perspectives
XXIV/2: 5-11
Chastain, Kenneth. (1988). Developing Second Language Skills. (3rded.) San Diego, CA: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
Ormrod, J. (2000). Educational psychology: Developing learners (3rded.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill-Prentice Hall
Peter, W. (2008). What teachers need to know about teaching methods? Camberwell: ACER press
Prabhy, N.S. (1990). “There is no best method-why?” TESOL Quarterly 24/2: 161-76
Pressley, M., & McCormick, C.B. (1995). Advanced educational psychology for education, re-
searches and policymakers. New York: Harper Collins.
Rosenshine, B. (1986). Synthesis of research on explicit teaching. Educational Leadership,
43, 7, 60-69
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Issues and implications surrounding key findings and recommendations from the Na-
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Zevenbergen, R. (1995). Constructive approaches in mathematics education. Unicorn, 21, 3, 76-81

  125
 Computer Usage as a Factor that Enriches Motivation and Academic
Optimism among Nominally Gifted Students
◆

Anela Hasanagić
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Edin Tulić
Primary school „Sjenjak“, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Using of computers in the teaching process is not new in theoretical field, but when it
comes to practical application; unfortunately, it is not so much established. On the other hand,
students enjoy using new techniques and sources, they feel more interested and motivated
when they have opportunity to use computers in getting the knowledge. Purpose of this paper
was to examine whether the enriched computer usage in school setting is the factor that will
increase motivation and academic optimism among students in elementary school, with special
accent on nominally gifted students. Participants were students from fifth to ninth grades of
elementary schools in Kanton Tuzla, 285 of them. As instruments we used Questionnaires for
assessment of giftedness of children, (fulfilled by parents, children and teachers), in order to get
information about the giftedness of children. Out of 285 observed children, 19 of them were
nominally identified like gifted. Also questionnaires for motivation (author D. McInerney) and
academic optimism (SAOS and APS-R) were used. Results show that the enriched computer
usage in teaching process was effective in terms of increased motivation between first and
second measuring, academic optimism, but also the grades in courses Computer Technology
and Technical Culture. When observing gifted children, differences between first and second
measuring were statistically significant in all dependent variables. Among ungifted children
statistically significant differences were in academic optimism APSR, Computer Technology and
Technical Culture. According to these results, we can conclude that enriching teaching process
with computer usage had important impact on motivation, academic optimism, but as well on
success of students in two courses, and that this impact was more significant when it comes to
the gifted children. Gifted children were able to accomplish their abilities through the computer
usage, and therefore they felt more motivated and they had higher optimism.

Key words: gifted children, motivation, academic optimism, computer usage

126
 Introduction

Gifted children belong to a special group of children, who, according to the logic of
understanding of the needs of children and normal distribution, require a special approach
and a kind of inclusion. Unfortunately, in most cases, they do not receive special treatment
or individualized instruction that they need, with which they would be able to achieve their
maximum capacity. It is necessary to provide a supportive environment for gifted children in
which they will be able to create and realize their creative ideas. If they do not get that kind of
environment, they would not be able to develop their potential, and, in addition, these children
would tend to feel uneasy, unusable to the community in which they live. In this context, society
needs to pay particular attention to these children, and, on the other hand, for results it will have
multiple benefits.

Giftedness

The first interpretations of giftedness are coming out of China, from the 7th century, when
the gifted children were raised in special royal courts, while in Europe giftedness was spoken
of after the 19th century. However, the scientific approach to gifted children is related to Plato,
who believed that education should be adapted to capacities of the child, and that extremely
intelligent children should be educated to be philosophers or leaders. With the development of
science and the scientific method, the approach to talent is changing, so the first empirical study
of talent is related to Francis Galton, who did the genealogical study. He analyzed the families in
which the talent were occurring, and thanks to these studies concluded that the origin of talent
is exclusively hereditary.

However, the most important research of gifted people belong to Lewis Terman, who in
1921 began a longitudinal study of gifted children born between 1903 and 1911 and followed
them throughout their lives (according Stoeger 2009). Terman noted that there are only 1% of
individuals in the population that are talented, and he relied on IQ as a measure of talent.

With a completely different model of talent and general intellectual abilities comes
Howard Gardner, who primarily thinks that there are seven different and mutually independent
intelligences, and that each of them has a neurological basis. The seven types of intelligence,
according to Gardner are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial,
musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Gardner (1983) believed that every individual,
regardless of their IQ, may have some of these capabilities extremely developed and thus be gifted
in some of the areas (Gardner, 1983).

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 Eric Ogilvie (1892 - 1962), a researcher from the UK, in 1972, on the basis of his research,
proposed the areas that are specific to each individual and where each individual stands out
individually. These areas are: physical talent, skill in the mechanics, virtual and performing
ability, outstanding leadership and social awareness, creativity, high level of intelligence. In
percentage terms, Ogilvie identified 3% multi-gifted children and 36% of children who possesses
one peculiar or specific talent (George, 2005).

Joseph S. Renzulli (1978) in his research determined talent as specific interaction of skills,
intrinsic motivation and a high degree of creativity - this is called three-ring conception of
giftedness). Renzulli differs school (academic) talent (high IQ, the success of solving tasks and
reproduction of knowledge) and productive-creative talent (ability to apply knowledge in life
tasks, identifies talent and creativity). The total number of such talented individuals Renzulli
estimated at 30% of gifted children.

Giftedness is very inspiring and productive topic for experts and scientists from different
fields and as the result, theories and different conceptions of giftedness come out every day.

There are a lot of definitions of giftedness, as there are many theories and approaches as
well. According to some theories and approaches, giftedness is viewed like one-dimensional,
and thus considered to be gifted children are children only with high intelligence quotient (IQ).
According to the multidimensional approaches intelligence, it is necessary to distinguish gifted
and talents. The gifted are those who have a high general IQ, while talents are children who
developed specific ability, and in this group we can find mathematicians, writers, musicians, and
painters and so on. So, according to the definition of Čudina-Obradović (1991): “Gifted children
are those that are identified by a professional person as children who have above average ability
and are extremely successful in one or more areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic
skill, creative or productive thinking, leadership, arts and psychomotor skills.” Koren said:
“Giftedness is a set of human qualities that enable an individual to consistently achieve extremely
above average achievement in one or more activities (Koren, 1989).

When it comes to the origins of giftedness, again we meet with famous dilemma of nature
and nurture, where experts differ in the understanding of what has a greater influence in the
development of giftedness, nurture or nature. According to recent interpretations, it is considered
that the talent in some amount is up to nature, but that it requires stimulation so that it would be
developed, and the activity of the individual as well. Responsibility for the development of what
the nature gave to someone is on the parents, school and teachers. In this context, it is generally
accepted that fact that society is responsible, through its agents like the school, to take care about
talented individuals, in terms of recognition, identification and ultimately enabling conditions in
which talented individuals realize their capacities.

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 Motivation

Motivation is an essential prerequisite of any individual’s activities, and therefore even

of the achievement of any potential. When it comes to talented students, the motivation is one
of the most important factors of their success in learning. Under the motivation for learning is
understood condition in which the individual is motivated to learn, has a motive to study and to
learn something. The motivation for learning can be internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic).
To learn something, it is not enough just to repeat the material, but it is necessary that they
want and will to understand and adopt some material. Students who are interested in learning
achieved much better results than those who are less motivated or disinterested. When a student
is motivated, the effort and the level of the mind during learning is higher, the concentration
of attention increased, which leads to better learning outcomes. „The motivation for learning is
related to school achievement and positive attitudes toward school, better discipline and higher
satisfaction of both students and teachers” (the Vizek Vidovic et al., 2003).

Marinovic (2012) in a survey conducted over the students suggest that the ultimate success
of students was better when the students felt more efficient.

The basic rule for working with gifted children is to offer them to create on their own, and
to motivate them for the activity in which they show their superiority. To identify the talent in
children and to direct it in a proper manner is a challenge numerous teachers encounter. In such
cases, the role of the teacher is to encourage creativity and independence with gifted students, but
also to accommodate each project according to the student’s capabilities.

Academic optimism

Optimistic thinking is one of the most important things that a student can learn. Seligman
and his colleagues, in many years of research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania,
have shown that optimism generally prevents the occurrence of depression in all children. It
was also proved that, in addition to reducing depression, optimism greatly improves the success
of students in school, physical health, and developing psychological resistance that children in
puberty greatly needed, as pessimism unfortunately makes, but in the wrong direction.

Academic optimism is a general term referring to the content of student achievement after
controlling for socio-economic status, previous performance and other demographic variables
(Hoy & Tarter, 1997).

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 Academic optimism consists out of three components:

a) Collective efficacy, which is a judgment of teachers on how school as a group organizes

and plans a positive impact on students;

b) The academic importance, defined by high academic goals, primarily the learning
environment and respect for the students and academic achievements;

c) Trust in institutions, which indicates how the institution feels about the participation of
students and parents, who are working in the best interest of the school (Hoy et al., 2006).

Academic optimism is identified by Hoy and associates (Hoy et al., 2006). Subsequent
studies have shown that academic optimism has a positive and direct impact on student learning
in mathematics and other natural sciences. Hoy tried to identify academic optimism by using
instruments such as SAOS (School Academic Optimism Survey) and APS (Almost Perfect Scale).
Several studies of academic optimism, originally described by Hoy et al. (2006), determined that
the construct has a positive and direct impact on student achievement. As the academic optimism
increases, student achievement increases as well.

The use of computer technology in the classroom

The main objective of the using computers and computer technology in the educational
process is finding new methods to improve the teaching process in various scientific fields.
Miladinovic (2010) in his research notes that 20% of the exposed facts are adopted by sense of
hearing, 30-50% sense of vision, and 90% by speech and practical things. It is believed that at least
80% of people belong to the so-called visual type. Based on these studies, it can be concluded that
everything supports the use of visual aids to present educational content that students need to
acquire in the educational process, as well as their active participation in it is directly applicable
to practice what is learned during the teaching process.

The computer in the classroom has multiple functions. It is used to train motor skills
using the mouse and keyboard. It is also used as a teaching tool. Your computer can replace the
largest number of teaching equipment (TV, VCR, overhead projector, Bishop, tape). By using a
computer, shortcomings of traditional teaching can be avoided (Namesztovszki, 2006):

• The student is not a passive receptor, object classes, but learning actively, according to
their own pace. He is the subject of teaching.
• The student knows exactly what is in his answer right and what is wrong.
• Continuously receives feedback about the accuracy of its own responses, so student is
able to control him/herself.

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 Today’s schools have not kept up with modern technologies and gifted and creative children
find analog transmission of knowledge and information boring and discouraging. Such children
are used to stimulate great special-visual and audio effects out of school, and that, with the help
of a computer, can create their own world, which is exciting, and in which they are the ones who
decide and determine reality (ourselves our own masters). Modern technology is programmed
and digitized their mindset so that their classic analog teaching is not appropriate and, therefore,
is boring.

By using technology, the education becomes more interesting and attractive, because
one can learn anywhere, anytime, as well as to harmonize its educational path to the interests
and obligations. Computerization of our students should be guided by people that are experts;
because, if children and young people are led into the world of information in good manner, we
can expect that they will be able to use computers to promote their knowledge, competencies and
skills of their own breeding. If they are not raised and educated in that manner, then not only that
they will have a misuse of resources that exist, but we will have uneducated children and young
people ignorant in the use of these funds.

Methodology

This study has been done as an experimental project, with one experimental group. Two
measurements were done: the first measurement was the base-line measurement, before the
introduction of the independent variable, while the other measurement was used to measure the
effects of the inducing of enriched program.

The subject of this research is to examine whether the use of computer technology in
education contributes to the development of academic motivation and optimism of the school,
and, therefore, whether it affects the improvement of academic achievement, with particular
emphasis on the category of gifted students and their academic optimism and motivation.

Goals of research

The goals of this research are:

1. To analyze, identify and interpret how by using of the computer technology in education
we can develop academic optimism and motivation of the students in general.

2. To analyze, identify and interpret how, by using of the computer technology, we can
develop academic optimism and motivation among gifted and talented students.

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 Hypothesis

H1: The use of computer technology in the classroom, through presentations, videos,
interactive content, animations and simulations, but also using the internet as an inexhaustible
source of information will contribute to the development of academic motivation and optimism,
as well as academic success for all students.

H2: The use of computer technology in the classroom, through presentations, videos,
interactive content, animations and simulations, but also using the Internet as an inexhaustible
source of information will contribute to the development of academic motivation and optimism,
as well as academic success for gifted and talented students.

Participants

The participants were students of Primary School “Drina” Mihatovići and Primary School
“Sjenjak “ Tuzla, from fifth to ninth grade, as well as the parents and teachers of these students. The
research will be done on a convenient sample. All students participate in enrichment of program,
and those for which the parents give their consent to participate in research will be taken to
further processing. Students who, on the basis of parental talent assessment and evaluation of the
teaching talent, were found to have persistent characteristics of gifted children, will be taken to a
group of gifted students, and others will be taken to group of average students.

Instruments

a. The questionnaire for parents in order to assess the giftedness of children

The questionnaire consists of questions related to the ten areas (social competence - in
general, social competence - tolerance, motivation for studding and learning, spatial thinking,
logical thinking, language skills, sports skills, practical skills, musicality, creativity). In addition to
the seven most important forms of talent test covered, three so-called non-cognitive personality
traits that are very important in fostering talent: social competence in general, tolerance as part of
social competence and motivation. The authors of the questionnaire are Krafft & Semke (2008).

b. The questionnaire for children in order to assess the giftedness

The questionnaire consists of questions entirely related to the ten areas as in the previous
instrument. The authors of the questionnaire are Krafft & Semke (2008).

c. The questionnaire for teachers in order to assess the giftedness of children

The questionnaire for teachers consists of 48 questions that are categorized so that teachers
can make on the basis of assessment of students and to classify that. We used it in order to check

132
recognition of talents and giftedness in terms of checking assessments of parents. The author of
the questionnaire was Koren (1989).

d. Questionnaires academic optimism

In this study, we used two questionnaires academic optimism:

SAOS - (Academic Optimism of Schools) Measurement of Academic optimism at the

school level consists of three parts. The first part measures the sense of collective efficacy, the
second one trust of students and parents in the school and at the third one, the of degree academic
importance of school. By combining these three components, we can get the level of academic
optimism. The questionnaire is written Hoy Wayne (2005).

APS-R - Slaney et al. (1995; the Enns & Cox, 2002) have constructed their own scale of
academic optimism by placing determinants of perfectionism and high standards of order as the
important factors of it (preference neatness and a need for the organization). Later they realized
that the perception of the situation is also important when you set high standards, so they add it in
the revised scale (The Revised Almost Perfect Scale, APS-R). They introduced a third dimension
discrepancy concerning the negative aspects of the questionnaire are perfectionism. The authors
are Stoeber & Otto (2006).

e. Motivation Questionnaire
The motive for success is the primary variable in the tendency to take action. Of course,
variations between individuals are different, precisely the question we wanted to discover are
those variations. The author of the questionnaire is Dennis M. McInerney (2008).

The monitoring of the grades in school in subjects Computer Science, Technical Education
and GPA

The monitoring of the grades in subjects Computer Science, Technical Education and GPA
started before introducing the independent variable and ended at the end of the evaluation process.

Procedure

The first step of this research was the convening of a parental meeting, at which basic
information about the purpose of research were given to parents, taking care not to reveal
information that could possibly threaten the research and results. Then we distributed
questionnaires to parents to assess the presence of the characteristics of giftedness of their
children. That was the first step in identification of gifted students.

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 The second step was the identification of gifted students by teachers. So, the students that
were through the completion of the questionnaire by parents, assessed as gifted, were re-assessed
by the teacher, in order to determine whether that giftedness was really present, or it was the
result of subjectivity of parents.

Once we get the group average and gifted students (recognized by parents and teachers at
the same time), we started applying the questionnaire to the students themselves. Questionnaires
were applied to test motivation, two questionnaires for testing academic optimism, and as a
measure of success we have been taken grades in subjects Computer Science, Technical Education
and the GPA. The first measurement was used as a base-line. Enriching the teaching process of
gifted students for the subjects Technical Education and Information was reflected in the fact that
students expanded availability of content, we provided diverse materials, allow them to structure
their own and regulate their own learning. We made the atmosphere for as many opportunities
for student research and discovery with the goal of satisfying the motives of curiosity, students
were provided with specific periods when a student’s work is not assessed and evaluated, because
the fear of failure inhibits creativity and talent. We show the students that their “unusual” ideas
have value; we provided the option for gifted students that they often solve complex problems
and while they experience success and joy in the work, we ensure the availability of literature.
We also allow students as much as possible the use of equipment to participate in the design
and development of the school’s website, dealing with advanced programming in any of the
programming languages, making 3D animation, image processing, film processing, and sound
processing. In addition to these activities, the students were using advanced new software package
that did not have a chance to use, then create presentations, used the Internet for educational and
other intellectual purposes so that more express and encourage their creativity. The classes of
Technical Culture curriculum for gifted are enriched in such a way that we provided opportunities
for students to design and produce practical work based on their own ideas and thoughts, which
is when creativity largely came to the fore. We encouraged students to create new inventions and
innovations, where the students’ creativity greatly expanded and was manifested in several ways.

In addition to students, we allow a kind of competition that served as a stimulus for the
development of creativity and expression of talent. We tried to make the correlation between
subjects of Technical Education and Computer Science.

Enriching the teaching process in these two cases we conducted during the second half of
school year. Finally, in the last stage (the end of the semester), we re-applied the questionnaires for
the dependent variable, academic optimism and motivation, and we took into account academic
achievement in the subject Technical Education and Computer Science, as well as the overall
success (GPA).

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 Results and discussion

Today’s school do not go “in step” with modern technology and there for analog
transmission of knowledge and information boring and discouraging for students. Most of the
students use modern technologies out of the school to stimulate great special visual and audio
effects, and that, with the help of a computer, they can create their own world, which is exciting, in
which they are the ones who decide and determine reality (ourselves our own masters). Modern
technology has programmed and digitized their mindset, so that their classic analog teaching is
not appropriate and, therefore, is boredom.

Personalized education of creative and talented education is the key to the future. By using
technology, it becomes more interesting and attractive, because one can learn anywhere, anytime,
as well as to harmonize its educational path to the interests and obligations.

In order to examine whether there are effects in academic motivation and optimism, we
used a statistical method t-test for paired samples to measure the effects of enriched program to
all students, and then separately for the talented and untalented students.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the first and second measurements for the dependent variables
(all students)

Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error

tion Mean
Motivation I measuring 389,17 285 35,987 2,132

Pair 1 Motivation II
391,52 285 35,374 2,095
measuring

Academic optimism
59,93 285 8,563 ,507
APSR I measuring
Pair 2
Academic optimism
62,67 285 7,395 ,438
APSR II measuring
Academic optimism
78,17 285 7,630 ,452
SAOS I measuring
Pair 3
Academic optimism
77,95 285 10,947 ,648
SAOS II measuring

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 Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error
tion Mean
Grade Computer
3,9005 285 ,64911 ,03845
Science I measuring
Pair 4
Grade Computer
4,3199 285 ,65705 ,03892
Science II measuring
Grade Technical
4,1895 285 ,57825 ,03425
Education I measuring
Pair 5
Grade Technical
4,5632 285 ,46898 ,02778
Education II measuring

GPA I measuring 4,0311 285 ,52704 ,03122

Pair 6
GPA II measuring 4,2744 285 ,46202 ,02737

Table 2. The values of the t-test for dependent samples between the first and second measurement for
dependent variables.
Paired Differences Sig.
Std. Std.
t df (2-ta-
Mean Devia- Error
tion Mean iled)
Motivation I me-
Pair
asuring – Motiva- -2,344 17,744 1,051 -2,230 284 ,027
1
tion II measuring
Academic opti-
mism APSR I me-
Pair
asuring Academic -2,744 5,886 ,349 -7,870 284 ,000
2
optimism APSR II
measuring
Academic opti-
mism SAOS I me-
Pair
asuring Academic ,225 8,819 ,522 ,430 284 ,668
3
optimism SAOS II
measuring

136
 Paired Differences Sig.
Std. Std.
t df (2-ta-
Mean Devia- Error
tion Mean iled)
Grade Computer
Science I me-
Pair
asuring - Grade -,41933 ,41053 ,02432 -17,244 284 ,000
4
Computer Science
II measuring
Grade Technical
Education I me-
Pair
asuring - Grade -,37368 ,57264 ,03392 -11,017 284 ,000
5
Technical Educa-
tion II measuring
GPA I measuring
Pair
– GPA I measu- -,24333 ,34349 ,02035 -11,960 284 ,000
6
ring

From the results shown in table 2, we can see that there are significant differences in the
variables of motivation, academic optimism measured with APSR (t = -7,870; Sig = 0.000), the
success of the Computer Science (t = -17,244; sig = 0.000), the success of the Technical Education
(t = -11,017; Sig = 0.000), and GPA (t = -11,960; Sig = 0.000), after introducing the independent
variable Very similar results were obtained by Robinson & Snipes (2009) in school in Port Harcourt
Rivers State in Nigeria, carried out by the convenient sample of 122 respondents. It is shown that
the enhanced measures of practical application of course content had an effect on increasing of
academic optimism and academic motivation among the surveyed students. Enhanced measures
of application of the content have proven to be a significant factor in academic motivation among
all students. Based on these results, it is recommended that this type of education should be to
encourage the federal and state governments in Nigeria, because it promotes academic optimism
and motivate students to greater academic achievement. Academic optimism and locus of control
are central constructs in understanding the motivation of students. However, most researchers
have examined the relationship of academic motivation and optimism, as well as their impact on
student success in school and did not deal with factors that encourage academic optimism and
motivation. Research results (Brouwer, Meijer, Weekers, and BANEK, 2008; Bryant & Cvengros
2004; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999; Steed, 2002) suggest that the academic optimism increases when
the students have positive emotions, satisfaction with the adopted educational content and
when they have reduced negative emotions, which indicates that the motivation and academic

  137
optimism are in a joint concert and that the success of students is in many ways linked to and
dependent on these traits.

In this research, we wanted to know whether there are possible differences in the effects of
increased use of computer technology to the academic optimism and motivation among gifted
and average students. In this sense, we have, by using the t-test checked the effectiveness of the
introduction of enriched program specifically to gifted and average students. The results obtained
are shown in the following tables.

Table 3: Descriptive statistics of the dependent variables (gifted students)

Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error

tion Mean
459,39 18 31,228 7,361
Motivation I measuring
Pair
1 466,00 18 27,347 6,446
Motivation II measuring

Academic optimism 79,61 18 5,972 1,408

Pair APSR I measuring
2 Academic optimism 83,17 18 5,182 1,221
APSR II measuring
Academic optimism 97,56 18 5,992 1,412
Pair SAOS I measuring
3 Academic optimism 102,78 18 5,036 1,187
SAOS II measuring
Grade Computer Science 4,1111 18 ,34622 ,08161
Pair I measuring
4 Grade Computer Science 4,5556 18 ,25257 ,05953
II measuring
Grade Technical Educa- 4,3778 18 ,36389 ,08577
Pair tion I measuring
5 Grade Technical Educa- 4,7667 18 ,24495 ,05774
tion II measuring

138
 Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error
tion Mean
4,1667 18 ,34810 ,08205
GPA I measuring
Pair
6 4,4722 18 ,23962 ,05648
GPA II measuring

Table 4. The values of the t-test for paired samples of the first and second measurement by the depen-
dent variables (gifted students)

Paired Differences Sig.

Std. Std. (2-ta-
t df
Devia- Error iled)
Mean
tion Mean

Motivation I measu-
Pair
ring – Motivation II -6,611 6,089 1,435 -4,606 17 ,000
1
measuring

Academic optimism
Pair APSR I measuring
-3,556 1,756 ,414 -8,589 17 ,000
2 Academic optimism
APSR II measuring
Academic optimism
Pair SAOS I measuring
-5,222 4,845 1,142 -4,573 17 ,000
3 Academic optimism
SAOS II measuring
Grade Computer
Pair Science I measuring
-,44444 ,21205 ,04998 -8,892 17 ,000
4 - Grade Computer
Science II measuring
Grade Technical Edu-
Pair cation I measuring -
-,38889 ,26321 ,06204 -6,268 17 ,000
5 Grade Technical Edu-
cation II measuring

  139
 Paired Differences Sig.
Std. Std. (2-ta-
t df
Devia- Error iled)
Mean
tion Mean

Pair GPA I measuring –

-,30556 ,23382 ,05511 -5,544 17 ,000
6 GPA I measuring

As it can be seen, for gifted students, t-test values of all variables are statistically significant,
which means that gifted students showed improvement in all dependent variables in school
achievement as well as in motivation and academic optimism. These results have confirmed a
study by Detlef Urhahne and Dagiadi Alcazar Ortiz (2011) conducted at the Ludwig-Maximilians
University in Munich. The aim of the study was to show whether the gifted students differ from
regular students when performing creative tasks. In this study a total of 140 students from rural
and urban areas in Germany were included. Of the total number of students, 58 of them were
treated as gifted, a number of others have seemed average children. The study found that gifted
students experienced greater incentive for creative task and had higher self-efficiency for the
creative achievements of average students.

Table 5. Descriptive statistics for dependent variables of average students

Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error

tion Mean
384,44 267 31,053 1,900
Motivation I measuring
Pair 1
386,49 267 29,791 1,823
Motivation II measuring

Academic optimism APSR 58,60 267 6,930 ,424

I measuring
Pair 2
Academic optimism APSR 61,29 267 5,130 ,314
II measuring
Academic optimism SAOS 76,87 267 5,720 ,350
I measuring
Pair 3
Academic optimism SAOS 76,27 267 9,044 ,554
II measuring

140
 Mean N Std. Devia- Std. Error
tion Mean
Grade Computer Science I 3,8863 267 ,66257 ,04055
measuring
Pair 4
Grade Computer Science II 4,3040 267 ,67293 ,04118
measuring
Grade Technical Education 4,1768 267 ,58820 ,03600
I measuring
Pair 5
Grade Technical Education 4,5494 267 ,47749 ,02922
II measuring
4,0219 267 ,53619 ,03281
GPA I measuring
Pair 6
4,2610 267 ,47054 ,02880
GPA II measuring

Table 6. Values t-test for paired samples first and second measurements in the dependent variables
(average students)

Paired Differences Sig.

Std. Std. (2-ta-
t df
Devia- Error iled)
Mean
tion Mean

Motivation I measu-
Pair 1 ring – Motivation II -2,056 18,234 1,116 -1,843 266 ,066
measuring

Academic optimism
APSR I measuring
Pair 2 -2,689 6,061 ,371 -7,249 266 ,000
Academic optimism
APSR II measuring

Academic optimism
SAOS I measuring
Pair 3 ,592 8,910 ,545 1,085 266 ,279
Academic optimism
SAOS II measuring

  141
 Paired Differences Sig.
Std. Std. (2-ta-
t df
Devia- Error iled)
Mean
tion Mean
Grade Computer
Science I measuring
Pair 4 -,41764 ,42074 ,02575 -16,220 266 ,000
- Grade Computer
Science II measuring

Grade Technical Edu-

cation I measuring -
Pair 5 -,37266 ,58793 ,03598 -10,357 266 ,000
Grade Technical Edu-
cation II measuring

GPA I measuring –
Pair 6 -,23914 ,34956 ,02139 -11,178 266 ,000
GPA I measuring

As it can be seen from the table 6, the introduction of enriched program had statistically
significant impact on academic optimism APSR (t = -7,249; Sig = 0.000), the success of the
Computer Science (t = -16.220; Sig = 0.000), the success of the Technical Education (t = -10,357;
Sig = 0.000), as well as the GPA (t = -11,178; Sig = 0.000), while their motivation and academic
optimism measured by questionnaire SAOS kept unchanged. Analyzing these two groups
(group of talented and groups average) students (Tables 4 and 6), and comparing the results
of their variables between the two measurements, we conclude that a group of gifted students
had greater benefits from enrichment of curriculum, in terms of increased motivation, and
academic optimism measured SAOS questionnaire. In other words, gifted children undoubtedly
have a high potential for success in a variety of activities, but whether this potential will fail
to develop, or whether the child is able to achieve above-average success in a particular area,
depends on many factors, both internal and external. The internal factors of the most frequently
mentioned motivation, self-esteem, perseverance, a system of values, interests, place of control,
temperament, etc. (Joswig,1994, according to Vizek-Vidovic et al, 1997). This survey showed that
enriched programs are an important factor to stimulate optimism and motivation in students,
especially in gifted students, who in these cases generate greater benefit from enriched program,
than average students did. Recent research shows that these factors are responsible not only for
differences in performance between gifted and average children, but also for differences within

142
the group of gifted children. It is generally considered that, because of their characteristics, gifted
children are destined to high success in school and beyond (Čudina-Obradović, 1991).

Limitations and recommendations for future research

The main limitation of this study is the issue of research design, namely the thing that we
did not have control group, which in this case would have enriched classes, and the features of
which corresponds to the experimental group. In this study, we did not have the possibility of
introducing a control group, mostly because of space and time limitations, because we had the
only two schools, and we assumed that we would get a very small sample of gifted children, and
their continued division was incoherent. Also, when talking about a sample, there is a problem
called convenient sample, and not random, and that two groups of children (gifted and average)
were not equivalent in other characteristics. We took students who attend two schools in which
one of the researchers is employed, to avoid possible difficulties in order to enter to the schools
for research purposes.

Also, students of the mentioned schools have never been in a process of identification of
gifted students. The process of recognizing the gifted was made for this study, while identifying
itself was never executed, so that the sample of gifted students is questionable, even though
we tried to bridge this gap by setting two levels of identification (parents and teachers). As
recommendations for future research, it can be useful to have the information that it would be
very good to apply different approaches to work with talented students, and check measures
between different approaches in working with gifted children. It is known that there are measures
of enrichment, which were applied here, but also a homogeneous grouping of children who are
identified as gifted. In this sense it would be worth to make several groups of children, and watch
the progress of gifted children in the context of enriched programs or homogenous groups. The
process of this research it is a question about the scope of this academic work, as well as the
extent to which this work can help in solving the problems of gifted students. We believe that this
issue can make a wider and comprehensive research, because this term is linked by numerous
factors that can affect the outcome of this research. Assessment of the effectiveness of increased
educational program should be done for other participants, so that she could get a clearer and
more precise picture of the progress of talented students, as well as precise statistics.

Conclusion

Through this research we have tried to contribute to the study of the problems of the
gifted, to add at least one small piece of the puzzle called giftedness. Also, we tried to raise
awareness of how the teacher can, even in limited circumstances, such as in our schools, with

  143
little enthusiasm and initiative provide more for all students, and it is more often a stimulant,
that students recognize and use to progress. The research results indicate that the introduction
of enriched programs classes of Computer Science and Technical Education for all students,
especially for gifted students, was beneficial for the their motivation and academic optimism, but
as well as for their school achievement measured by grades in two courses (Computer Science
and Technical Education and GPA). It is obvious that the students respond to the opportunity
positively, accepting it, which is especially true for gifted students, who are able to see and use an
opportunity for expressing their creativity and other skills. When we look at gifted and average
students separately, the survey results show that gifted students achieve greater benefit from
enriched program than average students, who have made progress in academic achievement,
and academic optimism, according to the questionnaire APSR-R, but not in motivation. Gifted,
considered separately, have shown the progress in all dependent variables.

The final conclusion of this study is that the impact of increased use of computer technology
in teaching process greatly improved motivation, academic optimism, success in Computer
Science and Technical Education, as well as the GPA of all participants in the research, especially
in gifted students.

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 Mobile Learning and Teaching High School Students
◆

Nezir Halilović
University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The information revolution has completely changed the previous lives and habits of the
people. One of the fastest and most intense changes concerning the existence and use of mobile
phones in everyday life. Cell phones have become an integral and indispensable part of the life
of almost every man. This paper presents the results of research on how many cell phones and
smartphones, as well as more advanced generations of cell phones, are represented in the daily
lives of high school students, as well as whether and how using a cell phone for the purpose of
learning and regular classes. This paper presents the results of empirical research on a sample of
171 secondary school students. The results indicate that the cell phone has become an integral
part of daily life of students, as well as being used for the purpose of educational process in the
school and outside the school, but in alternative ways, as part of the regular school system.

Key words: mobile, smartphone, learning

Uvod

Prije samo deceniju autori Dryden i Vos su lucidno primijetili i izrekli sljedeću konstata-
ciju: „Samo kompjuter u vašem mobilnom telefonu ima više snage nego svi kompjuteri korišteni
tokom II svjetskog rata.“ [1] Ova izjava je stara 15 godinaa šta bi tek danas trebalo reći za aktu­
alne verzije mobitela i smartfona? No pravo pitanje je ko smije prognozirati kakvo će stanje i
mogućnosti mobitela biti za narednih deset godina. Nema dileme da su se mobiteli, a pogotovo
smatrfoni, uspješno integrisali u naše svakodnevne živote. Većina ljudi dan počinje sa budilicom
na mobitelu, na njemu provjerava pristigle e-mailove i status na društvenim mrežama, mobitel
služi kao podsjetnik obaveza, barem nekoliko aplikacija je dostupno da pomogne u rješavanju
svakodnevnih poslova, na njemu se već gledaju omiljene serije, emisije i filmovi, te se sa njim
nerijetko i liježe u postelju, itd. Ukratko, može se zaključiti da se od svih ljudskih izuma mobitel
najuspješnije integrisao u svakodnevne ljudske živote. O tim pojavama svoj stav su dali istaknuti

148
teoretičari. Tako Everett Rogers (1995.) je iznio ideju da se tehnološke promjene odvijaju linea­
rno, ukazujući na osnovne tendencije tog procesa, tj. da grupa ljudi usvoji određenu tehnologiju,
zatim ih još više usvoji tu tehnologiju, zatim još više, sve dok tehnologija ne postane sastavni dio
kulture. Međutim, ne slažu se svi sa tim pristupom, pogotovo u novim okolnostima nastalim ma-
sovnom primjenom informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija i pravom poplavom savremenih
IKT uređaja, prvenstveno mobitela i smatfona. Primjera radi, C. Cristensen u svome djelu The
Innovator’s Dilemma (1997.) ističe da se tehnološke promjene ipak dešavaju nelinearno, tj. da su
sve češće situacije da većina stanovništva skoro preko noći usvoji određenu novu tehnologiju, što
posebno važi za tehnologiju mobitela i smartfona. Dok je razvoj i usvajanje radio-uređaja, TV-
-prijemnika, video-rekordera, kompjutera i drugih uređaja uglavnom tekao linearnim putem, za
razvoj mobilnih telefona može se slobodno reći da je poremetio klasični linearni razvoj i odli-
čan je primjer nelinaeranog razvoja. Kao nijedan uređaj i nijedna tehnologija do sada, mobilni
telefoni su u rekordno kratkom roku prodrli do skoro svakog pojedinca i postali sastavni dio
njegovog života. Guissani (2006.) ukazuje na činjenicu je da danas u svijetu postoje brojne zemlje
koje imaju više aktivnih mobilnih telefona nego ljudi. Osim toga, još značajnija je činjenica da
mobilne telefone najbrže usvajaju mlade generacije, svejedno da li se radi o razvijenim zemljama
ili zemljama u razvoju, jer skoro svako dijete ima svoj vlastiti mobilni telefon.

Kada djeca jednom dođu do mobitela, nakon ispitivanja njegovih karakteristika i mogu­
ćnosti, oni ga počinju temeljito koristiti na mnoštvo inovativnih načina koje im mobiteli omogu-
ćavaju. U ovom radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja o tome koliko su se mobiteli integrisali u
svakodnevne živote učenika srednje škole, kada su došli u dodir sa njima, koliko vremena provo-
de uz njih i da li ih koriste u obrazovne svrhe i kako procjenjuju njihove efekte.

Kompjuterizacija mobitela - smartfoni

Činjenica je da se danas u svim poljima ljudskog života dominantno koristi univerza­

lni medij – kompjuter uglavnom potpuno opremljen LCD monitorom, zvučnikom, modemom,
pisačem, CD/DVD-om, itd. Kompjuter je najznačajniji i najpoznatiji predstavnik savremenih
informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologija. Pod pojmom informacijsko-komunikacijskih te­
hnologija danas se podrazumijeva širok spektar alata i tehnika koje se koriste prilikom kreiranja,
skladištenja i distribucije podataka (sirovih činjenica, brojki i detalja) i informacija (organizi-
rana, smislena upotrijebljiva interpretacija tih podataka) u svrhu kreiranja znanja (shvatanje i
razumijevanje nekog skupa informacija, kao i načina na koji se one mogu najefikasnije upo-
trijebiti), te uspostavljanja komunikacije putem tih alata i tehnika. U okviru njih razlikuju se
tri osnovne komponente IKT-a: kompjutere, komunikacijske mreže i sposobnost (know-how).
[2] Pod kompjuterom se podrazumijeva elektronski sistem kome se mogu davati instrukcije za
prijem, obradu, skladištenje i prezentovanje podataka i informacija. Najpoznatiji, najzastupljeni-

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ji i najprodavaniji kompjuteri na tržištu su mikrokompjuteri ili PC(personal computer), među
kojima se razlikuju desktop kompjuteri – miš, tastatura, monitor i centralna jedinica se mogu
smjestiti na radni stol; notebookkompjuteri – poznatiji kao laptop kompjuteri, koje karakteriše
lahka prenosivost, zbog čega se nazivaju još prenosivi (portabilni) i kod kojih su svi dijelovi,
osim štampača, čvrsto spojeni u jednu cjelinu; tablet PC kompjuteri – u obliku običnog papira
za pisma i težine do 1,3 kg, a kojima se upravlja pomoću elektronske olovke (pen) s mogućnošću
priključka na tastaturu, te hendheld (ručni) kompjuteri – koji se dijele na dvije kategorije: PDA
uređaje (personal digital assistants – lični digitalni pomoćnici) i Palm PC kompjuteri – veličine
običnog džepnog kalkulatora koji mogu stati u dlan (engl. palm) ruke. [2]

Kategorija ručnih kompjutera je predmet ovog rada i isti se uobičajeno koriste za vođenje
poslovnih kalendara, telefonskih imenika, adresara, elektronskih radnih tabela, kao rokovnik itd.
Njihove mogućnosti permanentno narastaju i danas se ta vrsta kompjutera sve više integriše u
mobilne telefone. Zbog toga se u ovom radu mobilni telefoni i smartfoni tretiraju kao hendheld
– ručni – kompjuteri, a označavat ćemo ih zajedno pod pojmom: mobiteli.

Mobiteli su nastali kao plod konstantnog progresa i zajedničkog rada stotina vrhunskih
eksperata okupljenih u razvojne timove. Sinergijom mnoštva drugih uređaja (telefon, digitron,
diktafon, kamera...) u jedan minijaturni, proizveden je univerzalni digitalni medij koji je ujedno
i kompjuter, i mobilni telefon, i televizor, i radio prijemnik i navigacija, itd.

U polju mobitela najočiglednije se ogleda značenje konvergencije, tj. objedinjavanja

mnoštva mogućnosti koje su pojedinačno imali stariji uređaji. Sve do pojave mobitela na svjetskom
tržištu su suvereno vladali relativno stabilni oligopoli – znalo se ko se bavi televizijom, ko ko­
mpjuterima, a ko telefonijom. Međutim, pojavom mobitela i njegovom ekspanzijom, tako reći
preko noći, nastaje jedan potpuno novi komunikacijski sistem koji se nazva medijamatika koja
postaje glavno obilježje informacijskog društva. Medijamatika nastaje kao rezultat kombiniranja
tehničkih, ekonomskih i političkih trendova digitalizacije, liberalizacije, konvergencije i
globalizacije u sektoru komunikacija. [3]

Osim brzog širenja, mobilne telefone karakteriše i izuzetno dinamičan razvoj i permane­
ntno unaprjeđenje karakteristika u svim pogledima. Razvoj tehnologije u ovom području je tako
dramatičan da se jako mali broj stručnjaka uopće usuđuje predviđati dalji tok njihovog razvoja.
Primjera radi, prije samo tri godine bilo je nezamislivo predvidjeti kakve će sve promjene mobilni
telefon izazvati u našoj kulturi, ali već danas putem mobitela se može poslovati, komunicirati,
informisati se, konektovati se na Internet, fotografirati, snimati fotografije, video-klipove, itd.
Osim toga, današnje muzičke i TV industrije se takmiče u nastojanju koja će prije i kvalitetnije
svoje sadržaje ponuditi na mobitelu. Sve veći broj omladine se upoznaje i druži putem društvenih
mreža koje svakodnevno prate putem svojih mobitela. Ono što se prije samo par godina činilo

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nevjerovatnim, danas je čista realnost, a malo ko može predvidjeti njen dalji razvoj. Naime, poznato
je da su izum i širenje telefona izazvali komunikacijsku revoluciju, ali pred naletom mobitela, šta
nekome danas znači „posjedovati fiksni telefon“, a veliko pitanje „da li nam je danas (kada imamo
mobitele i Internet) uopće potreban fiksni telefon?“ sve više dobija na težini, tako da se lahko može
uočiti tendencija da ljudi sve češće odjavljuju svoje fiksne telefone, jer su im suvišni.

Druga tendencija je još važnija, a to je situacija da se mobiteli sve više koriste čak i u
svakodnevnom druženju. Tako danas nije rijetka situacija vidjeti omladinu kako sjedi u kafiću, a
da svi koriste mobitele sa vrlo oskudnom međusobnom komunikacijom.

Jedina mjesta gdje se mobiteli ne smiju koristiti su škole i učionce, upravo ona mjesta u
kojima bi se učenici prvo trebali upoznati sa tim uređajima i njihovim mogućnostima, i gdje
bi trebali naučiti kako da iskoriste njihove mogućnosti za svoj individualni razvoj. Međutim,
očigledno je da se to ne dešava. Naprotiv, učenicima se revnosno zabranjuje korištenje mobitela u
učionicama, pa čak i školskim zgradama, a “prijestupnici” se uobičajeno kažnjavaju privremenim
oduzimanjem istih i pozivanjem roditelja na “informativni razgovor”.

Mogućnosti mobitela i SMARTFONA u učenju i nastavi

Ideja korištenja mobitela u obrazovne svrhe javila se vrlo brzo odmah nakon njihove
pojave, a već je istaknuto da su se mobiteli najbrže i najpotpunije adaptirali u živote pojedinaca i
usluge kompanija i to za svega nekoliko godina na globalnom nivou, tj. u svim zemljama svijeta.
Mobitele danas jednako vole i posjeduju djeca iz siromašnih kao i najbogatijih svjetskih država. Sa
druge strane, višestrukost upotrebe mobitela iz dana u dan stalno narasta, tako da je od početnog
(mobilnog) telefonskog razgovora, slanja poruke SMS, slike MMS, itd., današnji mobitel uspješna
„kreditna kartica“ kojom sasvim uspješno plaćate parking prostor, rezervišete karte u kinu itd.,
navigacija prilikom putovanja u nepoznate predjele, globalna digitalna biblioteka, itd. Tendencija
konstantnog povećanja mogućnosti mobitela je toliko izražena da je mogu pratiti samo stručnjaci
iz te oblasti.

Pa ipak, mobitel je u formalnom obrazovanju naišao na otvorene blokade i osporavanja do

te mjere je njihovo korištenje direktno zabranjivano (a negdje se još uvijek zabranjuje) u školama.
Tako, npr. po pisanju Associated Press-a (2006.) u svim osnovnim i srednjim školama u New
Yorku je zabranjeno korištenje mobitela, a u SAD-u 2008. godine. Razloga za to je mnogo a
najistaknutiji su:

Učenici su koristili mobitele za chat – dopisivanje slikajući pitanja sa testa i šaljući ga

svima, pišući drugim učenicima pitanja ili odgovore na njih i sl.

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 Učenici su fotografirali druge učenike i nastavnike u „nezgodnim“ situacijama u
svlačionicama, kupatilima i sl.

Učenici su razgovarali ili dopisivali se na časovima, itd.

Nema sumnje da su u pitanju sasvim realni problemi, ali oni su doveli do klasične situacije
da zbog problema nekolicine ispaštaju svi. Pri svemu tome, osnovni razlozi zabrane korištenja
mobitela uopće nisu onemogućili njihovu “zlopotrebu” u navođene svrhe. Kratak pregled sadržaja
na Youtube-u će pokazati koliko je samo neželjenih sadržaja iz učionice i školskog života završilo
na Internetu, a skoro svake godine se u zemljama iz našeg susjedstva redovno ponavlja afera sa
“otkrivenim testovima sa državne mature”, te poništavanje tih rezultata.

Uvažavajući činjenicu da se mobitel zaista može zlopotrijebiti u svakodnevnom školskom

životu i to na onoliko načina koliko sa sobom nosi i savremenih mogućnosti, ipak se ne smije
zanemariti ni činjenica da se sa savremenim mobilnim telefonima postigao dugo sanjani san:
konačno svako dijete ima svoj kompjuter, barem neku njegovu verziju. Naime, današnji savremeni
mobiteli su de facto pravi, moćni ručni kompjuteri, čije mogućnosti iz dana u dan očigledno sve
više narastaju i polahko dostižu, ako već i ne prestižu, mogućnosti klasičnih PC kompjutera.
Metamorfoza mobitela u kompjuter počela je onog trenutka kada se shvatilo da se handheld
kompjuteri, koje niko nije htio kupiti, mogu uspješno integrisati u mobitele (Anderson, 2007.).
Od tada do danas samo pratimo kojom brzinom se dešava taj razvoj i koje sve mogućnosti svaka
nova generacija mobitela integriše u sebe i stavlja na raspolaganje krajnjim korisnicima.

Prema procjenama nekih autora čak 95% svega vizuelnog što djeca od 5 do 13 godina
trebaju uraditi u školi može biti urađeno na današnjem mobilnom telefonu, s tim da se za uzrast
od 14 do 18 godina taj procenat redukuje na 80% školskih obaveza. [4] Uzmimo u obzir da svaki
novi mobitel ima displej na kome se mogu predstaviti svi sadržaji, od tekstualnih, grafičkih do
multimedijalnih, te sve veći broj mobitela ima konekciju na Internet, što ih pretvara u prave
male istraživačke centre. Ako se tome još doda i činjenicu da su djeca po svojoj prirodi mobilna,
da vole pokrete i istraživanja, onda se razumije koje sve mogućnosti mogu postići u svojim
istraživačkim igrama sa mobitelom, opremljenim dobrom kamerom, konekcijom na Internet i
nekoliko savremenih aplikacija. Pri svemu tome, oni taj uređaj uvijek sa sobom nose. Međutim,
činjenica je da se još uvijek zabranjuje njihovo korištenje u školama.

Jedan od razloga takvog stanja leži i u nepoznavanju mogućnosti mobitela u odgojno-

obrazovnom procesu. U tom pogledu, a s obzirom na mogućnosti mobitela koje se sve više
približavaju standardnom PC-u, a već je rečeno da ga u nekim segmentima i prestižu, može se
slobodno ustvrditi da je zabrana korištenja mobitela potpuno identična zavrani korištenja PC-a
u učionicama i školama!!!. Na tako radikalnu ideju se niko ne bi usudio jer je svjestan da bi se

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jako brzo našao pod kritikom javnosti. Nasuprot tome, svjedočimo kako se korištenje mobitela
u svakodnevnom školskom životu generalno zabranjuje, pa i sankcioniše. Međutim, također i
svjedočimo da usprkos svim zabranama mlade generacije i dalje koriste mobitele, između ostalog
i za potrebe svog učenja u školi i vanškolskim aktivnostima, a u ovom radu su predstavljeni
rezultati istraživanja u kojoj mjeri je to izraženo, te u koje svrhe. U suštini mogućnosti primjene
mobitela u odgojno-obrazovne svrhe ograničene su jedino maštom i znanjem korisnika.

Rezultati istraživanja o korištenju mobitela u učenju i nastavi kod učenika srednje škole

Istraživanje o realizirano je kao akcijsko istraživanje u Prvoj bošnjačkoj gimnaziji

Sarajevo u toku školske 2014/2015. godine. Istraživanje je realizirano ispitivanjem anonimnim
anketnim upitnikom sastavljenim od pitanja kombinovanog tipa (otvorena i zatvorena pitanja).
Anketiranje je obavljeno uz prisustvo istraživača koji ujedno i poznaje sve ispitanike. Ispitanici su
sa očiglednim zadovoljstvom pristali da se uključe u istraživanje. Istraživanjem su bili obuhvaćeni
učenici od prvog do četvrtog razreda i to ukupno 171 učenik, od čega je bilo 56 muških (32,7
%) i 115 ženskih (67,3 %). Uzorak se sastojao od 92 učenika prvog razreda (53,8 %), 20 učenika
drugog razreda (11,7 %), 43 učenika trećeg razreda (25,1 %), 16 učenika četvrtog razreda (9,4
%). Učenici obuhvaćeni uzorkom su po ostvarenim rezultatima jedni od najuspješnijih učenika
u učenju te od 171 učenika, njih 137 je odlično (80,1 %), 30 vrlodobro (17,5 %) i svega 2 učenika
(1,2 %) prolaze dobrim uspjehom. Velika većina učenika stanuje u velikom gradu, tačnije 142
(83 %), 18 ih stanjuje u manjem gradu (10,5 %), dok svega 2 učenika stanuju na selu (1,2 %).
U pogledu socioekonomskog stanja kod većine ispitanika je stanje povoljno, tako 42 učenika
(24,6 %) se izjasnilo da im je odlično stanje, 88 (51,5 %) se izjasnilo da im je stanje vrlodobro, 26
ispitanika (15,2 %) se izjasnilo da im je stanje dobro, samo 1 učenik (0,6 %) je istakao da mu je
stanje slabo, dok 13 ispitanika (7,6 %) nije odgovorilo na ovo pitanje.

Prvi susret sa mobitelima i smartfonima

Jedno od vrlo značajnih pitanja iz

upi­tnika se odnosilo na definiranje perioda
u kojem su učenici nabavili mobitel i počeli
ga koristiti o čemu govore rezultati iz Sl. 1.

Slika 1. Period nabavke prvog mobitela kod

učenika srednje škole

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 Grafikon otkriva da je većina učenika počela koristi mobitel na prijelazu iz razredne u
predmetnu nastavu, tj. na prijelazu iz 4. u 5. razred osnovne škole. U srednjoj školi već gotovo
svi učenici imaju mobitele i samo 2 učenika (1,2 %) njih je mobitel dobio tek u srednjoj školi.
Potrebno je istaći da iako je upitnik nudio i mogućnost da se zakruži period prije prvog razreda,
tj. obdanište, niko od ispitanika nije istakao da je dobio mobitel u tom periodu, kao ni u 9.
razredu osnovne škole. Ovi rezultati ukazuju da su roditelji popustljiviji djeci u periodu prijelaza
iz razredne u predmetnu nastavu, te da u tom periodu svojoj deci najviše nabavaljaju mobitele. U
principu, do 6. razreda, tj. čiste predmetne nastave, mobitele već ima 70,7 % učenika.

Jedan od ciljeva istraživanja je bio i utvrditi koliko roditelji izdvajaju sredstava za nabavku
prvih mobitela za svoju djecu.

Tabela 1. Cijena prvog mobitela

Valid Cumulative
 Vrijednost u KM Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 0-100 58 33,9 37,4 37,4
101-200 60 35,1 38,7 76,1
201-300 26 15,2 16,8 92,9
301-400 4 2,3 2,6 95,5
401-500 2 1,2 1,3 96,8
501-600 1 ,6 ,6 97,4
> 700 4 2,3 2,6 100,0
Total 155 90,6 100,0  
Missing System 16 9,4    
Total 171 100,0    

Istraživanje je pokazalo i da su roditelji šte-

dljivi kada je u pitanju nabavka prvih mobitela
djeci, te se djeci najčešće nabavljaju mobiteli (84,2
%) u vrijednosti do 300 KM.

Za razliku od mobitela nabavka prvih

smartfona je znatno novijeg datuma, baš kao i
njihov izum i dostupnost širim masama u pogledu
cijene. Na upit kada su nabavili prve smartfone
učenici su ponudili sljedeće odgovore:
Slika 2. Period nabavke prvog smartfona kod učenika srednje škole

154
 Rezultati nedvojbeno ukazuju da je nabavka prvih smartfona vezna za starije razrede
osnovne škole, kada su djeca znatno zrelija i odraslija.

Što se tiče cijene prvog smartfona stanje je sljedeće:

Tabela 2. Cijena prvog smartfona

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 0-100 5 2.9 3.1 3.1
101-200 14 8.2 8.6 11.7
201-300
40 23.4 24.7 36.4

301-400
39 22.8 24.1 60.5

401-500
17 9.9 10.5 71.0

501-600
14 8.2 8.6 79.6

601-700
9 5.3 5.6 85.2

> 700
24 14.0 14.8 100.0

Total
162 94.7 100.0

Missing System 9 5.3

Total 171 100.0

Dakle, najznačajniji broj roditelja svojoj djeci nabavlja smartfone u vrijednosti od 200
do 400 KM.

B. Vrijeme koje učenici svakodnevno provode uz mobitel

U anketnom upitniku ispitanicima su ponuđeni različiti intervali svakodnevnog korištenja

mobitela vidljivi iz table.

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 Tabela 3. Svakodnevno vrijeme uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid manje od
6 3.5 3.6 3.6
15’
15’ 2 1.2 1.2 4.7
30’ 6 3.5 3.6 8.3
45’ 9 5.3 5.3 13.6
1h 19 11.1 11.2 24.9
2h 30 17.5 17.8 42.6
3h 27 15.8 16.0 58.6
4h 26 15.2 15.4 74.0
5h 12 7.0 7.1 81.1
6h 12 7.0 7.1 88.2
7h 1 .6 .6 88.8
8h 6 3.5 3.6 92.3
više od 8h 13 7.6 7.7 100.0
Total 169 98.8 100.0
Missing System 2 1.2
Total 171 100.0

Tabela otkriva da najveći broj učenika srednje škole (60,4 %) svakodnevno i intenzivno
uz mobitel provodi od 1 do 4 sata vremena. U koju svrhu oni troše to vrijeme pokazali su slje-
deći rezultati.

C. Svrha korištenja mobitela

Kao što je poznato mobitel se koristi u mnoštvo različitih svrha i namjena. U nastavu ovog
rada su predstavljene neke od najčešćih namjena za koje učenici srednje škole koriste mobitel.

Tabela 4. Odmor i opuštanjeuz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Va - nikako 5 2.9 2.9 2.9
lid rijetko 7 4.1 4.1 7.0
ponekad 33 19.3 19.3 26.3
često 74 43.3 43.3 69.6
uvijek 52 30.4 30.4 100.0
Total 171 100.0 100.0

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 Dakle, 73,7 % učenika uvijek i često koristi mobitel u svrhu svoga odmora i opuštanja.
Koliko je mobitel efikasan za tu svrhu govore sljedeći podaci:

Tabela 5. Ocjena efekta odmaranja uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikakav 7 4.1 4.2 4.2
slab 8 4.7 4.8 8.9
prosječan 40 23.4 23.8 32.7
vrlodobar 63 36.8 37.5 70.2
odličan 50 29.2 29.8 100.0
Total 168 98.2 100.0
Missing System 3 1.8
Total 171 100.0

Iz tabele se vidi da učenici visokim ocjenama ocjenjuju efekat koji se postiže korištenjem
mobitela u svrhu odmora.

Sljedeća ponuđena svrha korištenja mobitela je bila igra i zabava:

Tabela 6. Igra i zabava uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikako 7 4.1 4.1 4.1
rijetko 35 20.5 20.5 24.6
ponekad 52 30.4 30.4 55.0
često 52 30.4 30.4 85.4
uvijek 25 14.6 14.6 100.0
Total 171 100.0 100.0

Rezultati ukazuju da ispitanici najčešće mobitel ponekad i često koriste za igru i zabavu.
Što se tiče ocjeneefekta igre i zabave uz mobitel ona je sljedeća:

Tabela 7. Ocjena efekta igre i zabava uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikakav 10 5.8 6.0 6.0
slab 13 7.6 7.7 13.7
prosječan 42 24.6 25.0 38.7
vrlodobar 61 35.7 36.3 75.0
odličan 42 24.6 25.0 100.0
Total 168 98.2 100.0

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 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Missing System 3 1.8
Total 171 100.0

Dakle, učenici visokim ocjenama ocjenjuju efekat igre i zabave uz mobitel.

Mobitel je nastao i ostao najznačajniji komunikacijski uređaj koliko se i danas koristi za tu

svrhu govore sljedeći podaci:

Tabela 8. Komunikacija uz mobitel

Valid
Frequency Percent Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid rijetko 4 2.3 2.3 2.3
ponekad 10 5.8 5.8 8.2
često 56 32.7 32.7 40.9
uvijek 101 59.1 59.1 100.0
Total 171 100.0 100.0

Dakle, kumulativno 91,8 % učenika uvijek i često koristi mobitel za komunikaciju. Efekat
koji se njime postiže za tu svrhu ispitanici su ocijenili na sljedeći način:

Tabela 9. Ocjena efekta komunikacije uz mobitel

Valid Per-
Frequency Percent cent Cumulative Percent
Valid slab 2 1.2 1.2 1.2
prosječan 13 7.6 7.7 8.9
vrlodobar 36 21.1 21.4 30.4
odličan 117 68.4 69.6 100.0
Total 168 98.2 100.0
Missing System 3 1.8
Total 171 100.0

Očigledno je da su ispitanici zadovoljni korištenjem mobitela u svrhu komuniciranja i

efekat ocjenjuju kao odličan.

Iako se u školi zabranjuje korištenje mobitela učenici su ispitani da li i koliko koriste

mobitel u svrhu učenja:

158
 Tabela 10. Učenje uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikako 8 4.7 4.7 4.7
rijetko 30 17.5 17.5 22.2
ponekad 48 28.1 28.1 50.3
često 75 43.9 43.9 94.2
uvijek 10 5.8 5.8 100.0
Total 171 100.0 100.0

Rezultati jasno ukazuju da najveći procenat učenika često koristi mobitel u svrhu učenja.
Što se tiče efekta učenja uz mobitel po ocjenama učenika srednje škole, on je sljedeći:

Tabela 11. Ocjena efekta učenja uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikakav 9 5.3 5.4 5.4
slab 12 7.0 7.1 12.5
prosječan 41 24.0 24.4 36.9
vrlodobar 71 41.5 42.3 79.2
odličan 35 20.5 20.8 100.0
Total 168 98.2 100.0
Missing System 3 1.8
Total 171 100.0

Dakle, ocjena efekta korištenja mobitela za potrebe učenja korespondira sa procentom

korištenja u tu svrhu.

I na kraju, s obzirom da je mobitel neizostavni dio poslovnog svijeta, učenicima je

ponuđeno da ukažu da li uopće i koliko koriste mobitel u poslovnu svrhu.

Tabela 12. Posao-biznis uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid nikako 115 67.3 67.3 67.3
rijetko 21 12.3 12.3 79.5
ponekad 16 9.4 9.4 88.9
često 13 7.6 7.6 96.5
uvijek 6 3.5 3.5 100.0
Total 171 100.0 100.0

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 Očekivano, s obzirom da se radi o učenicima srednje škole, rezutati su pokazali da najveći
broj učenika nikako ili rijetko koristi mobitel za poslovne potrebe, mada se uočava manji broj
učenika koji već u srednjoj školi svoje poslove završavaju mobitelom. Ocjena efekta tog korištenja
je sljedeća:

Tabela 13. Ocjena efekta učenje uz mobitel

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid .00 1 .6 .6 .6
nikakav 120 70.2 71.0 71.6
slab 6 3.5 3.6 75.1
prosječan 13 7.6 7.7 82.8
vrlodobar 19 11.1 11.2 94.1
odličan 10 5.8 5.9 100.0
Total 169 98.8 100.0
Missing System 2 1.2
Total 171 100.0

S obzirom da ispitanici u toj životnoj fazi jako slabo koriste mobitel za posao i biznis, i
efekat istog ocjenju kao nikakav.

Zaključak

U ovom radu je aktualizirano pitanje informacijske revolucije i implikacija iste na

procese učenja u školi i vannastavnim aktivnostima. Kao glavni predstavnik informacijsko-
komunikacijskih uređaja posmatran je mobitel kao svojevrsna verzija hend-held kompjutera
(ručnog kompjutera). Neosporna je činjenica da su današnje mogućnosti mobilnih telefona,
a pogotovo tzv. smartfona (pametnih talefona) daleko iznad mogućnosti ranijih generacija
PC kompjutera. Međutim, činjenica je da nema ni jedne škole u kojoj se u nastavi ne koriste
kompjuteri, kao što je činjenica i da skoro da nema ni jedne škole u kojoj se ne zabranjuje
korištenje mobitela u nastavi, pa i u školi!!!

Rezultati akcijskog istraživanja u elitnoj sarajevskoj školi su pokazali da, usprkos

zabranama korištenja, učenici veoma rano dolaze u dodir sa mobitelima i smartfonima, da uz
iste svakodnevno provode veliki dio svog vremena, kao i da ih koriste u razne svrhe među kojima
se ističe i svrha učenja. Dakle, usprkos formalnim zabranama potvrđeno je da učenici svoje
mobitele koriste za učenje, kako školsko, tako i vanškolsko, te da ispitanici pozitivno ocjenjuju
efekat korištenja mobitela za tu svrhu.

160
 Na taj način se potvrđuje očigledni nesklad između aktuelnog obrazovnog sistema i
svakodnevne nastavne prakse i realnosti.

Kako ćemo izaći iz tog nesklada ostaje da se vidi. Nema sumnje da se mobitel može na
mnoštvo načina zloupotrijebiti u školi i svakodnevnom životu, baš kao što nema sumnje i što
rezultati potvrđuju da se može upotrijebiti na ispravan način i na opću korist i zadovoljstvo.
Da bi se mobitel mogao pravilno koristiti u učenju učenika i svakodnevnoj nastavi u najmanju
ruku je potrebno educirati učenike kako sve mogu te uređaje koristiti za svoje potrebe. Na žalost,
naš obrazovni sistem je postavljen tako kao da ti uređaji uopće ne postoje, ili još gore, priznaje
njihovo postojanje, ali ih tretrira kao nešto ilegalno i samo po sebi loše. U korištenju tih uređaja
učenici su prepušteni sami sebi i snalaze se kako znaju i umiju, što već samo po sebi dovoljno
govori!!!

Ovaj rad i nije nastao sa ciljem da ponudi konačni odgvoor na ovo pitanje, ali rezultati koje
je istraživanje donijelo jasno ukazuju na očiglednu potrebu za dodatnim istraživanjima o ovom
pitanju na većim uzorcima, kao i na potrebu preispitivanja obrazovne prakse i našim školama, pa
i nastavnih planova i programa.

Literatura

Dryde00n, G. i Vos J. „Revolucija u učenju“. Zagreb. Educa. 2001. Pp. 21

Seen, J.A. „Informaciona tehnologija – principi – praksa – mogućnosti.“ Beograd. Pearson. 2007.

Nadrljanski, Đ., Nadrljanski, M., Tomašević, M. INFuture2007: „Digitalni mediji u obrazovanju

– pregled međunarodnih iskustava“. 2007. Pp. 540

Druin, A. „Mobile Technology for Children - Designing for Interaction and Learning“. Morgan
Kaufmann Publishers. Amsterdam • Boston • Heidelberg • London • New York • Oxford
• Paris • San Diego • San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo. 2009. Pp. 90.

  161
 Teachers' Competences for Educational Work
◆

Antea Čilić
University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Anita Klapan
University of Rijeka, Croatia
Maja Prnić
Mostar

Abstract

Competence is a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation and personal

characteristics enabling individuals to act actively and efficiently in a certain (specific) situation.
In the time of large social and technological change, teachers’ role change as well. Modern
changes in the overall nurture and education system require teachers to take new roles. The aim
of this paper is to explore teachers’ competence in the nurture-education process. The results
show that teachers are very satisfied with the functioning of working with students. Most of them
plan to work in accordance with the objectives and outcomes of each subject, using appropriate
methods and techniques; they are satisfied with the training courses, cooperation with parents
and the process of evaluating student achievement. A competent teacher should affect their work
on improving the overall quality of the school, as it would not only be a place of acquisition
and reproduction of knowledge, but also a place of interaction, communication, tolerance, and
freedom of expression and critical thinking.

Key words: competence, teacher, student, educational process, evaluation, quality schools,
academic achievements

Teacher competencies in the field of building curriculum classes

According to Matijevic (2010), curriculum is a project or a pedagogical document which

is prepared and drafted by experts in certain teaching area, and in which are specified learning
objectives, described conditions and equipment that is required to achieve those objectives and
planned models for monitoring and evaluation. Curriculum construction of modern school is

162
based on self-evaluation of management, efficiency and atmosphere of school staff. The modern
school curriculum, which clearly indicates the function of the school, and the development
of autonomy, with flexible organizational models, asks employees to work as a team with the
characteristics of teamwork. With the knowledge and skills that the process of education should
achieve, the school curriculum must include the value which the school should adopt, should
define the objectives to be attained by education schools (which along with cognitive, necessarily
including the value component), but also ways which they want to achieve, which is not limited
only to the ways of teaching and learning, but also include the relationships between school staff
(Jurcic, 2012).

Sekulic-Majurec (2009) describes the role of different social and political change and
participants in the educational process in the design, implementation and evaluation of school
curricula, it cites the key role of principals in the formation of the specific targets of school,
take care of the school culture and professional development of teachers. School evaluation and
self-assessment is the way to quality and excellence. Pedagogical standards and/or indicators of
quality and excellence are guidelines to assist in monitoring, assessment, self-assessment, and
evaluation of the effects of schooling. The objectives of the evaluation and self-evaluation of
teachers are associated with quality assurance of the teaching process and the teacher’s professional
development in order to achieve a high level of professional aspiration; openness to change; the
will to experiment in their teaching and openness to criticism and self-criticism; good knowledge
of all aspects of teaching the subject and educational areas. If we want to develop quality teachers
and improve their profession, it is desirable to promote mutual exchanges of successes in the
process of self-evaluation. Presenting strategies that the teachers use, and experiences they had,
they will learn from each other, creating a sense of pride and interconnectedness. Therefore,
constructive debates are welcome and are an integral part of evaluation and self-evaluation as an
active process (Buljubašić-Kuzmanovic, Kretic Meyer, 2008).

According to Domović (2009), contemporary needs and business requirements at the same
time look for, but also offer the possibility of continuous professional development and continuing
education in the form of three main groups of competences for teachers; work with information,
knowledge and technology, work with people and work in the community and for the community.

Teacher competencies in the field of organizing and managing the educational process

Teacher competencies in the field of organizing and managing the educational process
cannot be described as a system of rules, or can be developed only on the basis of respect
expressed and formally present rules. They acquire and develop learning and action, following
the procedures of teaching and students’ progress in learning. A competent teacher in the field of

  163
organizing and conducting educational process works with students, understand, prepares and
realizes, so that: A competent teacher tries to adapt teaching and learning, and to win over the
students according to their own possibilities, which are more conducive to the common cause
(education students). As important features, in competent organization and management of the
educational process stands out rational use of time and space, the implementation of teaching
that encourages students to the activity and learning (Jurcic, 2012).

The cooperation of teachers and students and the teacher’s guidance on the development
of human classes characterized by cooperation, understanding, friendship, mutual respect,
appreciation, communication as a prerequisite for the development of students’ competencies
and technological culture, moral and spiritual stability, or all that they could, to live, work and
enjoy the community, leads to quality in the organization and management of the educational
process (Previsic, 2000).

Teacher competencies in the area of determining

​​ the efficiency of achievement at school

A competent teacher is the one who understands the theoretical level and, in their practice,
applies the most important determinants of evaluation and assessment of students, and those are:
school to assessments of students’ success in learning derived from assumptions for learning
(skills, motivation, interest, work ethic, commitment, learning conditions and the like); the
level of students’ knowledge (reach degree of understanding and application, procedures and
propositions); evaluation criteria (fairness) and objectivity (in the forms and methods); continuity
and the public; written notes as a prerequisite for a number evaluation or as a descriptive grade;
interpretation of the results of student achievement in oral or written verification or practical
tasks completed and the possible elimination of the fear of school failure; some special features
in the process of determining the value of the students’ achievements in the course of cooperative
learning and for students with disabilities (Jurcic, 2012).

From the research results (Tot, 2010), an understanding of the purpose of evaluation
of teaching by students is apparent, but also the awareness that evaluation is carried out in an
appropriate manner. Testing and evaluation knowledge is an inseparable part of the unique
educational process. Teachers almost every day, check and evaluate the knowledge of their students,
without such control their educational achievement has at least two functions: a) to obtain information
about the kind of success students acquire and the government of the facilities (which allows them
to monitor their educational development), b) provided they obtain feedback on their teaching,
so they could more appropriately and more successfully design and implement (Grgin 1986).
The school assessment of knowledge is, by its nature, measuring knowledge. Each evaluation given
by the teacher has a function to control the students’ knowledge, his intelligence, general school

164
behavior, adaptation of school criteria (Fulgosi, 1980). The purpose of the evaluation of student
achievement is associated with selection to continue their education, motivation for learning,
focusing learning, correction of errors and evaluation of teaching and learning (Matijevic, 2004).

Teacher competencies in the field of design classroom atmosphere

School climate (atmosphere) is usually defined as a set of internal characteristics that

schools are different and that they affect the behavior of its members, and, thus, indirectly the
quality of educational processes and outcomes. There is a correlation between school climate and
a sense of trust between teachers and trust between teachers and principals (Domovic, 2004).

The teaching process is a joint work of students and teachers, and as such, should include
consultation, download of individual tasks, and the achievement of the agreed valuation performed.
Various research projects, development of class newspapers, going on picnics, learning games,
and correspondence with students from other schools, contribute to a climate that encourages
the achievement of the goals of human rights education. The result of such activities is usually
not possible to measure and evaluate tests of numerical estimates, but it should be borne in mind
that they are in life more important than the variety of information that are subject to evaluation
(Spajic Vrkas et al., 2004). The class atmosphere that a teacher can establish has a strong impact
on students’ motivation and attitude towards learning. Therefore, the art of establishing of a
positive classroom atmosphere is especially important. The class atmosphere which is generally
considered as one which best encourages pupils to learn is the one that is described as purposeful,
hardworking, relax, friendly, stimulant and tidy. Such an atmosphere facilitates learning time
as establishing and maintaining a positive attitude and motivation of students for the lesson.
With regard to the skill required to establish a positive classroom atmosphere, it is obvious that
this atmosphere is largely based on the implicit values ​​that pervade the teaching process - and
that is why the students and their learning is so important (Kyriacou, 1998). The school and
classroom climate are logically interconnected and in the “interconnection” “mutual relations”
are established, which means that for the study of classroom atmosphere it is necessary to know
the basic factors of school climate and vice versa (Jurcic, 2012).

Teacher competencies in the field of educational partnership with parents

One of the important features of an effective school is developing cooperation with parents.
There are many reasons why parents and teachers should meet more often and communicate the
objectives of education and development of children. Bakker et al. (2007) in Maricic et al. (2009)
distinguish three aspects of parental involvement in a child’s education: educational activities at
home, communicating with the school and participating in school activities.

  165
 Vizek Vidovic et al. (2003) suggest a number of practical tips for teachers to increase
the possibilities for good cooperation. For example, communication with parents should
be established at the beginning of the school year, not when there is a problem. Established
communication should be maintained throughout the school year through various forms,
including informal contacts. The teacher should also get to know each family by the students
through a discussion with parents, the student, the student entering the task of writing an essay
on the subject and the like.

According Maricic et al. (2009), parental involvement in a child’s education, attitudes

about the existing school system, and the expectations of changes are significant independent
determinants of parental general attitude towards schools effectiveness.

Methodological approach  

The aim of this study was to determine the competence of teachers in the educational
process. The study was conducted on a sample of teachers from Primary School Orebic. The sample
was special. In order to achieve the objective and tasks of research and perform the appropriate
conclusions, method of theoretical analysis and descriptive-analytical method were used.

The instrument of data collection was a questionnaire for teachers designed for the
purposes of this research, which consisted of 29 claims on the Likert scale of 5 degrees.

Results and discussion

Ensuring quality education that would effectively respond to the new needs and interests
of individuals and society includes the question of competence of teachers in the educational
work. This research led to the insight into the competence of teachers in the different segments
of the teaching process, and the ways in which teachers perceive themselves, interact with all
stakeholders of the school and contribute to improving the quality of school life. They were
further isolated presentation and analysis of key issues of competence of teachers were tested
with the questionnaire.

On the statement, “Planning the content and methods of work is guided by the objectives
and outcomes of the subject” almost all teachers agree. Thus, 48% completely agree with the
above statement, an identical number of teachers agreed with this statement while only 5% of
teachers disagreed with this statement. Teachers play a crucial role in the education of students,
and it is advisable to achieve the objectives using appropriate content and ways of working. All
teachers use methods and techniques appropriate to the case.

166
 All teachers had similar experience when it comes to everyday life and working experiences
connect almost all teachers. 52% of teachers agree that in planning and organizing they are fully
guided by educational standards. 33% of respondents agreed with the statement, 10% neither
agreed nor disagreed, while 5% of them did not agree with this statement. 43% of teachers in
the statement that claimed a possible vocational training and that they are satisfied with the
possibilities of further improvement responded to and agree and disagree. 14% of teachers
fully agree with this statement, while 33% of teachers agree with this statement. 5% of teachers
disagreed with the above statement. In the statement, “I believe that every student has their
own style of learning and progressing in accordance with their abilities because I approach each
student individually” obtained by the check results, 52% of teachers are in full agreement with
the statement, while 24% agreed. This finding was true for the teachers who agree to know and
use different ways of monitoring and evaluation work. Of these, 43% of teachers fully agree, 48%
of teachers agree, and 10% of teachers agrees and disagrees.

38% of teachers fully agree to use student achievement as an indicator of the efficiency
and effectiveness of their work, 43% of them agree with the statement, while 19% agree and
disagree with the statement. It is important to inform students about their achievements, but
also elements that need to be improved because it can be a stimulus for new developments or to
improve in those areas where the perceived shortcomings. All the teachers think that the goals
of their work aimed at improving the quality of learning and better student achievement, so this
claim is confirmed. Reply strongly agree yielded 76%, and 24% teachers disagree.

The results show that teachers are very satisfied with the functioning of working with
students. Most of them planned to work in accordance with the objectives and outcomes of each
subject, using appropriate methods and techniques, and to connect them with the amenities
of daily life. Also, teachers are satisfied with the training courses. It is important that teachers
are willing to constantly learn, upgrade the knowledge and the practical application thereof.
Lifelong learning is a prerequisite for the quality of work, as well as the overall educational
quality. Evaluation and monitoring of student progress and achievement is certainly one of the
indicators of quality, with which the majority of respondents in this study agree. Since the quality
of education may in part be predicted on the basis of the possibilities offered by the surroundings,
the first family, the paper highlights the importance of parental involvement in the educational
process, as well as a positive school climate that affects the behavior of all members and based on
common perception, behavior in school, as an important factor in the overall quality of school.

  167
 Conclusion

In education teacher has a very important role. With changing needs of students comes
changing role of teachers. The paper stresses the importance of competence in the construction
of curriculum, knowledge of technology, evaluation and self-evaluation of their work, social
competence, emotional competence, the importance of teachers ‘work with students with special
needs, teachers’ competences in the field of organizing and managing the educational process,
evaluation and assessment of students, Professional development of teachers. It also pointed out
that the establishment of a teacher classroom atmosphere can strongly affect the motivation of
students, and how, for the success of a child, competence of teachers in the educational partnership
with parents is important. The teacher should be prepared to meet the challenges faced by, and
be the initiator of changes in promoting understanding and tolerance. Without competent and
quality teachers there is no quality education, and, therefore, no good educational outcomes,
which lead to the conclusion that teachers should be open and willing to change and motivated
for lifelong learning and continuous professional development.

References

Buljubašić- Kuzmanović V., Kretić Majer J. (2008). Vrednovanje i samovrednovanje u funkciji

istraživanja i unapređivanja kvalitete škole, Pedagogijska istraživanja, br.5, str. 139-151.
Domović, V. (2004). Školsko ozračje i učinkovitost škole, Zagreb, Naknada slap
Fulogosi, A., Fulogosi, Lj. (1980). Faktorska struktura i konstruktna valjanost školskih ocjena,
Revija za psihologiju, str. 39-45
Grgin, T. (1986). Školska dokimologija, Zagreb, Školska knjiga
Jurčić, M (2006) Učenikovo opterećenje nastavom i razredno- nastavno ozračje, Odgojne
znanosti, Vol.8, br. 2, str. 329-346.
Jurčić, M. (2012.) Pedagoške kompetencije suvremenog učitelja, Zagreb, Recedo
Koch, L. (2008). Nemjerljive kompetencije učitelja, Odgojne znanosti, Vol. 10, br. 1 str. 23-38.
Kyriacou, C. (1998). Temeljna nastavna umijeća, Zagreb, Educa
Maričić, J. (2009). Roditeljsko zadovoljstvo školom i stav prema promjenama u školstvu :
uloga roditeljskih ulaganja i očekivanih posljedica promjena. Društvena istraživanja.
4/5(102/103) ; str. 625-648.
Matijević, M., (2010). Između didaktike nastave usmjerene na učenika i kurikulumske teorije. U:
Zbornik radova četvrtog kongresa matematike. Zagreb: Hrvatsko matematičko društvo
i Školska knjiga, str: 391-408.
Previšić, V. (2000). Suvremeni modeli i sadržaji obrazovanja i usavršavanja pedagoga U: Vrgoč,
H. (ur.) Pedagozi- stručni suradnici u inovacijskom vrtiću i školi. Zagreb: HPKZ.
Sekulić-Majurec, A. (2007), Uloga sudionika odgojno-obrazovnog procesa u stvaranju, provedbi i
vrednovanju kurikuluma. U: Previšić, V. (ur.), Kurikulum: teorije-metodologija-sadržaj-
struktura. Zagreb: Zavod za pedagogiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu – Školska knjiga,
351–383.
Spajić Vrkaš, V., Stričević, I., Maleš, D., Matijević M. (2004). Poučavati prava i slobode,
Istraživačko obrazovni centar za ljudska prava i demokratsko građanstvo, Filozofski
fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb.
Vizek Vidović, V., Vlahović- Štetić, V., Rijavec, M. i Miljković, D. (2003). Psihologija obrazovanja,
Zagreb, IEP- VERN

  169
 Singing Bowls – Sound Journey in a Kindergarten
◆

Mirsada Zećo
University of Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Contemporary psychological and pedagogical research have shown that a modern man
needs aesthetical contents which make his life more pleasant and of better quality. Regular
esthetical activity leads to balancing rational, emotional and creative components of every
human being. Musical upbringing is of a specific importance for kindergarten children. Music is
a phenomenon which does not only affect cognitive skills, but it is also a medium for creativity,
relaxation, therapy and harmonious development of individuals. Through music, we can transfer
many contents in authentic, creative and spontaneous way to kindergarten children. This article
encompasses both theoretical approaches to the importance and role of music activities in the
aesthetical upbringing of preschool children and description of the practical implementation
of the singing bowls as musical instruments. The concept of working with singing bowls was
developed by Peter Hess and Petra Emily Zurek, authors who had been recognized by the
European Association of Sound Massage Therapy. In kindergartens, the singing bowls become
toys which create sounds, inspire fantasy journeys and sound improvisations. On the example of
pre-school children (4-6 years old) we see that they are a great example of achieving all crucial
didactic and methodical postulates through holistic upbringing. The methods which have been
described in this article are relatively new in the Balkans and are seen as new trends in esthetical
upbringing. Serious commitment and stimulating upbringing environment directed towards
developing all potentials of children have become sort of an imperative for modern society.

Key words: musical upbringing, preschool children, singing bowls

Introduction

All of us who work with children have to know and understand where the child is at a
particular moment of their development and what are the factors influencing their development
(particularly important are psychological and social influences). There are many reasons why

170
we need to know child’s development: childhood is a period of fast and complex development,
experiences from early childhood influence later development; knowing the natural process of
early development helps to understand later complex forms of behaviour, in knowing child’s
development we become competent to introduce changes in a child’s life and solve problems
which childhood brings (whether on an individual plan or on a global one – upbringing,
educational, social).

The aim of this paperis to discuss musical education of pre-school children from the
perspective of the so-called sound pedagogy in accordance to Peter Hess and Petra Emily Zurek.
More and more authors are recognising that sound is an excellent medium for a holistic or
entire upbringing of children. With the help of sound or music, we are creating an encouraging
environment that influences the formation of a child’s personality on multiple levels – aesthetic,
mental and physical child development. Many researchers have confirmed that music has
influence on intelligence – particularly cognitive skills, fluency of ideas, language skills, flexibility,
analytical skills, perceiving spatial connections between sensitivity and intuition, experience,
inventions, imagination, development of creative abilities; and on a more significant level it
promotes personal and social competence and communication. With intense musical activities,
we are contributing to an overall personal development throughout the process of upbringing and
education, as it has already been mentioned, aspiring towards a holistic approach in upbringing
and education in the sense of developing all the child’s potentials as an imperative of today.

Unesco’s Delors report (1996) confirms that learning is no longer spoken of as individual,
but as a principle: a life-long learning or life-long education. Today’s man continually has to learn
or prepare for a permanent education. This attitude towards learning is primarily formed within
the family and then in educational institutions. Pre-school is by far one of the most tumultuous
periods in developing all the potentials, especially the creative – which has an irreplaceable
developmental function of the overall child’s personality.

Education through art

We are witnesses to a modern-day society of information technology and alienation is

one of the biggest problems. The author Read (2008), therefore, emphasizes how art is able to
give a child the consciousness in which an image and term, sensation and thought are mutually
connected and merged into a harmony with nature. The aim of art and its role in education
should provide the child an integral way to perceive experience where perception and feelings
move in a rhythm towards a fuller understanding of reality. The way in which a pre-school child
imagines the world and how he experiences it is similar to an artistic way of expression. The
authors Kamenov, Spasojević (2008) emphasize how objects and images which a child explores
contain sound qualities of concrete things and images, they have an emotional charge, they are
connected to rational discovery, intuition and imagination.

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 Fantasy, according to Gilfordu (2008), spreads across the domain of intelligence and is
also a requirement for developing creativity. The author Babić (1996) states the importance of
a creative act reflecting reality which is formed during the general development process after
the second year, becoming an inevitable opinion attendant, particularly of the creative. Fantasy
plays a special role between the ages of 3-6 and the child finds it difficult to separate it from what
they perceive. Towards the end of the pre-school period, children’s imagination has elements
of creativity which are especially important during the school period. The basis for a child to
develop its imagination is the child’s activity which is organised by kindergarten teachers in a way
which simultaneously nurtures individual expression.

Games are extremely important for children to develop their imagination. In accordance
with the child’s age, the child plays games which are based on a specific topic where they have
an opportunity to develop the game using their imagination. When it comes to imagination, it
is interesting how big individual differences between children are. The role of a kindergarten
teacher is to create an adequate environment for developing a child’s imagination, that is, the
requirements for developing a creative imagination, combating all negative consequences on
child development (aesthetic features and questionable quality).

Pre-school is a golden age for playing games making it priceless for a child’s development.
Through games the child explores without force or limitations around it. While playing, the child
learns a social, emotional and educational behaviour. For instance, exploring the sounds from its
environment and musically mimicking them creates a pre-requisite for entering a musical world,
developing a perception of hearing and sound sensitivity of a child.

Musical activities in kindergarten

The author Ferović (1995) indicates that, when working with pre-school children, the
teacher needs to emphasise musically-developmental pedagogical ways which will increase
children’s potential and creativity. It is certain that music leaves a strong impact on a child by
moving its limitations of possibility, ability, interests and knowledge.

Musical activities in kindergarten are performed through a well-thought of programme

event where music encourages and fulfils educational and certain therapeutical aspects, as it
relaxes, concentrates, releases energy, awakens interests, encourages creativity, that is, music as a
means of communication.

A special type of musical activities next to singing and playing, musical games and rhymes,
is listening to music.

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 Listening to music, as pointed out by Ferović (1995) encompasses the cognitive, emotional
and connotative factors of a person by simultaneously engaging the participation of intellect,
emotions, fantasies and willingness to act. In contrast, listening to music can be distinctively
passive and indifferent to children. Whilst listening to music, children develop an auditive
attention span which builds up through gradual and systematic practice, through the educational
process beginning within the family and continuing to pre-school institutions.

In comparison with all other musical activities, listening to music is surely the most
demanding (it is a big challenge keeping children’s attention), and connecting creativity in
aesthetic as it releases the imagination and sensebilises children to the tone, rhythm and dynamics.
Several researches (Bašić 1995; Ferović 1974; Ferović 1988) have confirmed how listening to
music effects the increase of abilities, imagination and creativity in art. If listening to music is
active and not passive – it can be a central activity in working with children. Musical activities
with singing bowls also comprehend to active listening and provide a lot of space for creative and
individual child development.

Concept of working with singing bowls

It is important to mention that sound pedagogy is recognised by the European Association

of Sound – Massage Therapy. Sound pedagogy has in fact evolved from sound therapy1, it was
specifically developed by Petra Emily Zurek in working with parents and children. The aim of this
method is holistic; the sound of the bowls along with its vibrations brings peace and harmony
into family relations.

Bowls, or otherwise known as small gongs are instruments originating from the Himalaya
region of India, China, Japan or Thailand and are differentiated according to their texture,
material used in production and they are a different shape.

New Peter Hess bowls are made on the model of the autochthonous from the Himalaya
region, a combination of twelve metals, shapes, techniques and the hitting strength causes good
quality vibrations and bowl sound. It is interesting that each bowl has many sounds and aliquots
depending on where we play and according to the principle of the Peter Hess method, any form
of therapeutical or pedagogical praxis can be used with three bowls: the largest (base), the middle
(universal, for all the organs) and the smallest (cordial).

The author Zurek (2011) emphasises how activities with singing bowls are prepared with
extreme care and creativity; instruments are arranged in a room and the sound emitted from

1 Peter Hess is the founder of the same institute whose work has significantly broadened the use of sound
therapy.

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them act as a type of massage2 and relaxation for the whole family. Experience from numerous
practitioners working with children of different ages confirms the success of this method and
give a lot of space for a child’s individual development and teacher training expertise.

The author Lampert (2006) stresses that activities with singing bowls, their specific sound
and vibrations are an excellent medium for children to adapt and socialise among each other in
kindergartens. This way, children focus their attention to others in the group as well as improving
their forms of expression. The next important step is to relax the children, they learn to handle all
the challenges of social behaviour, release anxiety and fear of being separated from their parents,
and learn to accept peace as a positive sign. Through soft sounds of the singing bowls and moments
when peace dominates, we calm the children to mildness in mutual communication, everything
that is missing from today’s society. In kindergartens, singing bowls are brought as toys for sound,
and imaginative journeys (emotional listening), sound massage and freer experimentation.

Experience from extended stay, as the author states, shows that it is possible to combine
sound and curriculum in order for the process of learning to improve. Learnt things become
quicker and are stored longer in the memory. In addition to this, singing bowls connect different
children and improve social contact between them. As the author points out, sound has united
children of different ages and levels of experience, mentally-physical health and ability.

Personal experience working with singing Bowls

In collaboration with Public Institution DjecaSarajeva (Children of Sarajevo), in

kindergarten Dječiji grad, Mojmilo, with pre-school teachers OgnjenkaMikavica and Alma
ĆorićSilajdžić and in a mixed group (4-6 year olds), we decided to perform a demonstrative
activity with singing bowls. This was an opportunity for children to experience listening to music
in a different way and for teachers to observe and become acquainted with sound pedagogy.
Taking into consideration the child’s age, experience, interests and needs, we set off into the world
of sound using the sound bowls, intending to integrate different areas of a child’s development.
The weeks topics were insects, specifically bees, so we connected the musical activities to the
topic.

This musical activity has the following tasks:

• to acquaint children with singing bowls which contribute to easier and faster
understanding of sound and sound vibrations,
• to develop auditive attention,

2 Peter Hess has primarily dedicated his activity with sound therapy to the singing bowls from where the
sounds massage method arose, and is adaptable to the individual needs of every person.

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 • to develop tactile senses,
• to develop fine motor skills,
• to encourage children to become musical (sound improvisation on singing bowls),
• to encourage creative activities for children,
• to impact children’s abilities with the help of the sound of singing bowls,
• to enable an aesthetic and artistic experience,
• to create a positive opinion about silence,
• to maintain the attention and motivation of children,
• to gather children and bring them together (mixed group, 4-6 year olds) with the help of
sound bowls,
• to integrate relaxation, joy, enthusiasm, enrich and elevate children’s emotional lives.

In the introductory part of the activity, the children were placed in a lying position with
their eyes closed as they listened to a storyby Hess (2006). This, as the author states, is a good
start for children to familiarise themselves with the sound of the instruments; more importantly
to auditively experience it (sound to story). As the weeks’ topic was a story about bees, we made
small alterations and tried to use the sound of the singing bowls to embellish all the dynamics
and tempo of the clouds in the sky and flying of the bees. While the children were lying down and
listening to the sound of the instruments they became relaxed and more easily released stress and
anxiety; thus from the earliest age they learn what advantages of deep relaxation is.

After the story, the children were very curious as to where the unusual and pleasant
sound came from, but once they saw the bowls, touched them and felt their vibrations, they
themselves wished to “play” them. To experience the sound in a tactile way, the singing bowls
would sometimes be played on the child’s palm, nose or stomach. The children waited patiently
for the moment when the bowl would come to them and excitedly feel that “prickly” feeling on
the skin, just like a bee.

The suitability of these instruments for improvisation was shown through a game where
the children played on bowls using a
balloon (enhancing the sound like a
resonator). Some children were able
to recognise tones, so comments
such as „This sounds like a piano!”
or „As if it’s playing!”

Musical activity motivated and

prepared children to work in centres.
In the Art centre, children in groups
made a large bee hive from bubble

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 wrap; in manipulative centres they
worked with plasticine, collage
paper and recycled materials.

Through this activity we gave

children the opportunity to explore
their senses, to perceive how refined
and effective they are, taking into
consideration that, if a child is
present in the moment, it learns
Photograph taken by Alma Terzić, senior year of the University to focus better. Authors Marty and
of Pedagogy in Sarajevo, department for pre-school education.
Sala (2006) emphasize that these
and similar activities lead to a broader perception of oneself and the environment, the world
which we live in; children gain more self-confidence and believe more in their perception, they
develop into individuals without prejudices and social conventions. This activity successfully
motivated children of all ages; we succeeded in uniting children of different psycho-physical
abilities (from the so-called typical population and children with special needs).

Conclusion

The topic of pre-school upbringing which encompasses the most intensive development
of a child is open to a whole social reality, a child’s life consists of all what he is experiencing. It
is a fact that musical activities contribute to an overall personal development in the process of
upbringing where we are aiming at a holistic approach in the sense of developing all the child’s
potentials.

The concept of working with singing bowls provides opportunity for the child’s
continuous development and teacher’s training expertise. Simple music playing on these melodic
instruments, their soft and subtle sound motivates teachers to include them in their daily
work. In kindergartens, singing bowls turn into sound toys encouraging children and adults to
experiment with sound which is heard through touch. Through sound journeys with singing bowls
children develop auditive attention, creativity and forms of musical improvisation. Encouraging
children to research sound, we achieve all the prerequisites for entering the world of music and
simultaneously, with self-activity, adopt new knowledge, check the acquired, develop the ability
and fine motor skills, and strengthen confidence. The sound of singing bowls has a therapeutical
effect as it creates a feeling of deep relaxation, harmonising and connecting children of different
ages and abilities together.

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 Mutual activities between parents and children play a special role, the sounds of these
instruments give space to strengthen relationships within the family; contribute to a good quality
in communication and decrease stress. Soft sounds of singing bowls and moments when peace
prevails indicate adults towards a better mutual communication. Sound pedagogy, according to
Peter Hess and Petra Emily Zurek, is the exact concept, liberal and encouraging for the overall
development of a family and society.

References

Babić, M. (1996). RazvojnapsihologijaI. Sarajevo: PedagoškaakademijaUniverziteta u Sarajevu.

Delors, J. (1998). Učenjeblago u nama. Zagreb:Educa.
Ferović, S. (1994). Muzikakaokomunikacija, Psihosocijalnapomoćdjecipredškolskoguzrastairod
iteljima u ratu, 20-31.
Hess, P. (2006). Klang und Klangmassagenach Peter Hess in Kindergarten und Schule, Berlin:
Impressum.
Hess, P. (2008). Singing Bowls for Health and Inner Harmony, Through Sound MassageAccording
to Peter Hess, Germany: DruckereiRindt GmbH, Fulda.
Kamenov, E., Spasojević, P. (2008). Predškolskapedagogija. Bijeljina: Pedagoškifakultet.
Marti, A., Sala, J. (2006). Awareness through the Body. India: Sri Aurobindo International
Institute of Educational Research.
Zurek, E., P., Hess, P. (2011). Klangschalen, mitallenSinnenspielen und lernen. Munchen:
KoselVerlag.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAjMDHv9UpA

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 Importance of Music in Education System
◆

Ivana Gojmerac
University of Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Many studies from field of education systems, neurophysiology and other sciences show to
us that music has big influence on human beings, especially on children and their cognitive and
psychophysical development. About good influence of music we also have evidences in neurological
researches on music and rhythm stimulation, which provide to us unbelievable information about
work of cerebral cortex during listening music and playing music instrument. Next to all those
incredible evidence of good influence of music, education system of Bosnia and Herzegovina
is created on opposite foundations which are guided with the idea that there is nothing more
important in school and life than math, languages and science. Any kind of art in this education
system is considered as subject that does not have any value for child development. Because of
that, numbers of weekly and year classes of music are lower and in most of those classes teachers
are doing math or some other subject. In this paper I will present series of research evidences
from deferent scientific fields like neurology, psychology and music pedagogy to demonstrate that
music is helpful for the acquisition of knowledge. In the end, this paper will also show results from
research which was held in Elementary music and ballet school “Novo Sarajevo” in 2015. Those
results show that more than 95% of students from all music departments have excellent scores in
subjects in general education and that music has big influence on their development.

Key words: music, education, learning ability, neuromusichology

Introduction

Music is one of the nine types of art, and it is the only type of art which was named after
deity (Greek: mousike techne – the art of Muse). The reason why music was so respected is

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because music has suggestive power. This fact is known from centuries, and thanks to this, old
civilizations, such as Ancient Greece, China, etc., understood great power of music, which can
affect character of one person or behavior of a group of people. Evidence of knowing all those
facts we can see in their Myths, which are full of stories about music and its affect on human
beings and deities. Satyr Marsija had power to enchant people with his fife and with power from
his mouth, and person who is playing his melodies today, still have power to fascinate people
(Dona, 2006: 32). Because of this, those cultures did not considered music just as a form of art
and entertainment like we do today.

As example of understanding the music we can point out Plato and his piece The Republic
where he highlights the importance of music for stability of society and republic and his attitude
about criterion of choosing and evaluating of music, where he rather takes ethics as a point of
view, then the esthetic. From this point of view, he shares music on good and bad music in all
its levels. He is considering all segments of music and writing about instruments, modes and
forms of playing. Some of instruments such as lira and kitara (Apolon’s instrument) have good
influence on character and behaving of human beings and other instruments, such as trigonon,
pektida and fife (Dionises instrument) are considered as instruments with difficult powers. He is
not approving Ionian and Lydian modes, but Dorian and Phrygian modes should be represented
and well kept, because Dorian modes was connected with courage and Phrygian was connected
with moderation. He is insisting on playing exclusively music forms which don’t upset and excite,
and forms which will in connection with other spiritual activities strength the spirit.

According to Plato, enjoying music is intolerable feeling, and it should not serve for
gratification of human senses in way of hedonism, to not incite passions and should be very
simple and incite harmony and order. Only in this way,
music could have good impact on human beings.

Ancient Greeks considered music not only

as type of art, but as one of the seven free arts (Artes
Liberales). Those seven free arts where divided in two
groups. Music was in group called “Quadrivium” with
arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Second group
called “Trivium” contained grammar, rhetoric and logic.
Place of music in this type of education system, we can
also see in its allegorical representation from medieval
manuscript (middle of the twelfth century) Hortus
Deliciarum by the Abbes Herrad of Landsberg (Picture
1). Music is placed in Quadrivium with three string

Figure 1. –Allegorical representation of music

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instruments, a harp and two lyres. Musik says: “I am Musik, and my science is comprehensive
and diverse” (Wigram, 2002: 19).

As you can see, music was very important part of education system in Ancient Greece and
power and importance of music was highlighted by many philosophers of that time, like Socrats
teacher, Damon, is speaking about unbreakable bond of music and its education dimension. Plato
also pointed that “Music is the best tool for education than any other”(Hebermayer, 2001: 13).

Scientific evidences

Today we can clearly see why old civilizations paid such attention to music and its effect
in education processes. Scientist from neuromusicology field, science that investigates music
effects on brain, discovered that, brain is responding bilateral in frontal, temporal, parietal and
occupational lobe on music stimulations. This means that different parts of cerebral cortex are
activated while music stimulations, which explains why people can learn and keep information
easier when they connect them with music.

Research which was led by three neuroscientists Thaut, Trimarchi and Parsons, show brain
activities on rhythm stimulations through its three components: meter, tempo and patterns. There
were activations in bilateral supramarginal gyrus (BA 40)1, right postcentral gyrus (BA 40), right
precuneus (BA 7), left superior temporal gyrus (BA 22, 42), right insula (BA 13), predominantly
right middle frontal gyrus (BA 6, 8, 10), primarily right medial frontal gyrus (BA 8, 9), right
inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45, 9), Crus of I posterior cerebellum, bilateral primary motor cortex
(BA 4) and bilateral anterior cingulate (BA 24, 32) (Thaut, 2014: 435).

Observing this research we can conclude that many parts of cerebral cortex show activities,
involved in language perception, processing and understanding; reception for touch, superior
sound processing, social-cognitive process, self memory, visual-spatially processes, aspects of
conscience, emotions, body homeostasis, perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive
functioning and interpersonal experience.

Many research in field of neuromusicology shows that music is power tool for improving
special-temporal reasoning. That is cognitive ability to observe in detail pictures and to recognize,
compare and establish relations between patterns and details of some subject. Temporal element
hires child ability to think in advance. This fact we can explain with action of playing some
instrument, where a child needs to play one note, than few of them, then line of few accords,
and in that point, a child needs to think in advance, so that he could be able to be in ahead of

1 BA – Brodmann area is region of cerebral cortex defined and nubered by German anatomist
Korbinian Brodmann

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music, to decide what to play next. Besides those activities, a child is using most of its senses
while playing some instrument, eyes for reading of notes, hand to play those notes, and foots to
synchronize and press the pedal. All these activities require a level of concentration, ability to
memorize, motor coordination and recognition of symbols. Because of all those activities, those
children have higher level of executive functions, a category of interlingua tasks, which includes
playing, strategizing and attention to detail and require simultaneous analyses of both cognitive
and emotional aspects. Both sides of cerebral cortex, plus frontal and occupation lobe participate
in achieving those activities.

A lot of scientist from this field (Gottfried Schlaug, Frank Wilson, etc.) point out that
playing music connects and develops motor systems of brain in the way that it couldnot be
achieved with any other activity. Dee Dickinson is pointing that parts of the brain which are
activated during playing instrument are the same areas which are engaged in analytical and
mathematic thinking.

Increase of all mentioned benefits, there are also other positive effects on brain development
which are caused by music education. Donald Hodges through research is indicating that some
parts of brain, such as planum temporale (important part of brain which performs a function in
understanding of language and sound signals in early stage of life) andcorpus callosum, (bridge
between right and left cerebral hemisphere which function is to transfer all information from one side
brain on another – picture 2) are bigger in musicians than in other human beings and he highlights
that it is even bigger in musicians who started their music education before the age of seven. It
has been proven that only with music we
can achieve all those mentioned aspects,
because artistic and aesthetic aspects of
playing instruments are different from
any other activities, including other
arts. Several random participants show
the same level of cognitive function and
neural processing at the start. Scientist
found that those who were exposed to a
period of music learning show activities
in multiple brain areas compared to the
others.
Figure 2. – Corpus Callosum

Besides the remarkable scientific evidence, just few education systems had music education
(playing instruments, singing in choir…etc) as part of it. In 1988, International Association

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for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) tested fourteen years old children from
seventeen countries in knowledge of natural sciences. Results of this testing show that USA, who
spent twenty-nine more longer period on learning of math and natural science than any other
country, was on fourteen place, and first three places went to Hungary, Japan and Netherland.
Question is: what those systems have that USA education system doesn’t have? Analysis of those
education systems shows that those countries have extensive music education in all schools as a
part of National curriculum, which starts with kindergarten, through elementary and secondary
school. Music programs in those countries are impressive and probably they are the reason for
high scores in the field of math and natural sciences.

The evidence initiated many other researches in field of music influence on educational
achievements, but also this was an initiating trigger for changing education systems in USA. There
are remarkable examples of academic achievements in those schools who integrate art subjects,
especially music in their curriculum. One of those examples is elementary school “Ashley River”
in Charlestone, South Carolina, which is an example of great music effect on learning process.
Almost one third of students of first grade have disorders in learning, but still they held high
level of academic achievements. This school is on second place in town, despite the fact that it is
situated in one of poorest part of town.

But most fascinating example of positive changes is school “Holy Hart/Mount Carmel”
which is situated in south part of Vernon mount in New York. In 1987, this school was on the
edge of totally closing because of very low results. But in 1992, organization “Education through
the music” started a project of music integration in education system of this school. They included
a conductor, dance teacher and classes of piano and violin. They integrated music and arts in
curriculum without sacrifice of any other subject. Only in one year they saw changes. Self-esteem
was increased and attitude toward school was changed. Because of those changes, teachers started
to use more music and arts in classes of social and natural sciences, reading and math. After four
years of this kind of education, school had remarkable success. Marks in reading and math moved
from annual average mark of 25 percent to 75 percent and more. They didnot make musicians, they
just changed their teaching methods where they integrated music as a tool in teaching through all
classes. In 1994, this school won a price among 55 000 other schools in USA.

That music is wonderful tool in education we also can see in work of psychologist Howard
Gardner, “Frames of Mind”, where he presented the Theory of Multiple Intelligence. He identified
nine different kind of intelligence which are developing through all our life. The bad news is
that school valued only two kinds of this intelligence: verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical.
The other eight kinds of intelligence, music intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial,
interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic intelligence are also very important, but they are

182
not required in schools. The good news is that musical intelligence is so powerful that through
playing some instrument, all other types of intelligence are developing.

Besides all the evidence and good practice from all over the world, education system in
Bosnia and Herzegovina is going to totally opposite direction. From 1995, number of music
and other art classes in elementary and secondary schools are reduced and in some schools for
children with special needs are totally kicked out. Explanation for those changes was that children
donot need those subjects in such extent, and that it will not help them in learning and life. This
kind of system promotes only some parts of human intelligence and practically hinder child
development. Besides this kind of national curriculum, schools also reduced extracurricular
music and art activities, and teachers donot use any kind of art as a tool in teaching in classes of
math, language and science even though they are encourage to do this through their education
and practice on Education Faculty. The bottom of this system is that teachers in earlier grades
have liberty to change music classes to classes for math or other subjects, with explanation that
this kind of activity will not help them in developing and learning. In some schools for children
with special needs, school curriculum does not provide any music classes, because they need
only classes which will help them to become independent from other people.

Looking at our education system and this kind of free relation of schools to curriculum,
we can see that music and other art forms are intended only for one small group of children. This
means that this small group of children has benefits to have better education which will support
and develop all their resources and abilities and give them good basics for better life quality.
This is discriminating fact which hits more than 95% of our population and more than 95% of
children donot have good conditions for developing their resources. This doesnot mean that all
children need to go to music schools, but that all children should have opportunity to play or sing
in their elementary and secondary schools. Their teachers should change their teaching methods
and use not only music, but also other forms of arts as a tool for teaching.

Methodology

In order to show that music has remarkable influence on learning abilities, we took data from
students who have constant music education. We randomly chose 134 students from Elementary
music and ballet school “Novo Sarajevo”, different ages (8-15), from five different departments
of this school (piano, wind instruments, string instruments, guitar and classic ballet). It is very
important to highlight that all those students are not excellent in playing their instruments, and
their grades are ranging from 5 – 1, so those are not extremely talented children. Only 62% of
those students are excellent in playing instrument. All those students are not from rich families.
They come from different layers of society, and some of them are from rural parts.

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 Students of instrumental department have classes of instrument two times per week and
two classes of solfeggio. From third grade, students of all instrumental departments have also
two times classes of choir or orchestra per week. This is 4 classes of music per week in younger
classes and 6 classes for older students. In department of classic ballet, students have every day
two classes of classic ballet (10 classes per week) and one class of piano and one of solfeggio,
which are 12 classes per week. Older students also have two classes per week of historical dances,
which are 14 classes per week.

Those data show us that from total number of tested students, 122 students have excellent
success in learning in elementary school, and 12 of them have averaged grade 4. Any student from
this group don’t have averaged grade 3, 2 or 1 (Table 1). If we look at their success in percentage,
we will see that 91,05% of children who have constant music education have excellent averaged
grade in learning in elementary school, and only 8,9% have grade 4 and no students with average
success of 3,2,1 or 0 (Chart 1). If we compare those data with official data (Ministry of education,
science and youth of Canton Sarajevo) of student success in learning from all elementary schools in
Canton Sarajevo in 2013/2014 school year, we will see that only 52,41% of students have excellent
averaged success in learning, and 23,92% with average success of 4; 11,32% with average success
of 3; 0,84% with average success of 2; 0,11% with average success of 1 and 0,17% of students who
were not rated (Chart 2). Taking average score of those two groups we can see that first group of
students has better average score - 4,91 and second group has 3,93 average score. So students who
have constant music education have better score for approximately 39%.

Table 1 – Average success in learning in elementary school

Number of
No. Instrument 5 4 3 2 1
students

1. Piano 25 22 3 0 0 0

2. Wind instrument 15 13 2 0 0 0

3. String instrument 34 33 1 0 0 0

4. Guitar 26 22 4 0 0 0

5. Ballet 34 32 2 0 0 0

6. Total 134 122 12 0 0 0

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Figure 1. Student success in learning Figure 2. Student success in learning (Canton Sarajevo)
(with music education)

Discussion

From all those data we can see that students with music education have batter success in
learning in elementary school in the field of math, language and sciences, even though they are
not excellent in playing instrument in music school. Beside this, through those classes children
are learning lots of other skills which are very important for life quality, like: team work, the
meaning of hard work, self-discipline, persistence and determination, building confidence,
development of creative thinking and learning how to use time. Those are benefits that just one
little percent of children from B&H have. If we take data only from Canton Sarajevo, we will see
that only 2,8% of children have those benefits and good quality of education. This doesnot mean
that all children should go to music schools and should be musician, but all students should have
proper music classes in their schools, where they could sing and play and through those activities
get opportunity to develop skills which will help them in learning and better life.

We urgently need to change teaching methods which main goal is just to learn data without
any development of one’s own opinion, creativity, social skills, motor ability…etc . Because of
this kind of education, in which we are making army of encyclopedia robots, we will have huge
problem in near future that our kids will have all those data in their mind, but they will not be
able to use it, to resolve problems and to make their own critical opinion.

We have already had reform of education system for elementary schools few times in
last 15-20 years, but we see that they are not successful. Where is the problem? This is not just
problem of education, but this is huge national problem which will hit as very soon. We need to
create useful knowledge and develop ability to use it with our children. We need to find a way and
a successful method which will lead us to better future.

  185
References

Dona, M. (2008). Filozofija muzike. Beograd: Geopoetika;

Gardner, H. (1993, a). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: BasicBooks;
Hebermayer, S. (2001). Prava muzika za vaše dete (preveo: Miloš Đerić). Čačak: Gradex Trade;
Huron, D. (2001). Is Music an Evolutionary Adaptation? Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences: The Biological Foundation of Music. 930, 43-61;
Izvještaj o uspjehu u učenju, vladanju i realizaciji godišnjih programa rada osnovnih škola Kantona
Sarajevo na kraju šk. 2013/2014. godine. (2014). Sarajevo: Ministarstvo obrazovanja,
nauke i mladih Kantona Sarajevo;
Large, E. W., Snyder, J. S. (2009). Pulse and Meter as Neural Resonance. Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences: The Neuroscience and Music III – Disorders and Plasticity. 1169,
46-57;
Randles, C. (2013). Atheory of change in music education. Music Education Research. 15 (4),
471-485;
Thaut, M. H., Trimarchi, P. D., Parsons, L. M. (2014). Human brain basis of musical rhythm
perception: Comon and distinct neural substract for metar, tempo and pattern. Brain
Science. 4, 428-452;
Wigram, T., Nygaard, P. I., Bonde, O. L. (2002). A comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy:
Theory, Clinical Practice, Research and Training. London: Jessica Kingsley;
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/8753.htm.

186
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe’

LITERATURE
 Towards a Typology of Literary Genres in Our Times

Srebren Dizdar
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The idea of literary genres and their subsequent application in diverse literary forms has
changed drastically since the time of Greek and Roman Classics. The paper tries to present various
attitudes towards this issue through history, while giving more space to the theoretical ideas of
Bakhtin, Derrida, Todorov and Genette, who, in different periods in 20th century, addressed
the need to offer more appropriate classification of emerging hybrid kinds of literature, where
the boundaries between traditional division on poetry, drama and prose mixed freely with both
fictional and factual elements, such as essays, diaries, letters, travelogues and biographies, as
well as any other forms of text understood as a document. With the introduction of multimedia
and other digital forms literary narratives have changed so much to the point of being almost
impossible to classify them in their most recent forms. That is why the paper wants to offer a
possible typology of literary genres that could correspond to the ever fluid situations of our times.

Key words: genre, hybrid forms, digital literature, typology

At a time when it was published, in 1915, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
caused many readers to feel deceived, since the last word in the title, ‘Anthology’, had implied it was
a collection of poems by diverse poets, having been selected and compiled by one or more editors.
However, contrary to the usual practice, it was the collection of free-form poems that collectively
narrated the epitaphs of the residents of a fictional small town of Spoon River, named after the real
river that ran near the town in Western Illinois (USA), where Masters had been born in 1868, and
in which collection their author presented two-hundred and twelve individual characters, while
providing at the same time two-hundred forty-four accounts of their lives and losses during his own
childhood experiences. In a sense, the term ‘anthology’ in itself had also been equally deceiving.
It came into English in the seventeenth century, from the Greek word, ἀνθολογία (anthologia that

  189
referred, primarily, to “a collection of flowers”), and which had indicated one of the earliest known
anthologies, the Garland (Στέφανος, Stephanos), the introduction to which compared each of its
anthologized, presented poets to a flower. During the period of the Middle Ages in Europe the
term ‘florilegium’ applied for an anthology of Latin proverbs and textual excerpts, but yet another
English term ‘Miscellany’, having also been derived from Latinword miscellanea, a collection of
writings on various subjects or separate writings collected in one volume, was widely used for
any such collection before ‘anthology’ came into existence. It is evident that in time a certain term
came into fashion and replaced the previous one, and such a practice continued to our days with
more or less consistency of its proper application or usage.

The same statement can be said about the quite an atypical book Nazi Literature in Americas
(La literatura Nazi en América in Spanish, originally published in 1996, English translation in
2008) by the late Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (1953-2003). As much as its title can
be regarded as highly peculiar, due to the adjective ‘Nazi’ that immediately revokes the times of
persecution and pain having been inflicted on millions of people during World War II; its unusual
format and a spectrum of topics that described an imaginary, fictionalized literary world of right-
wing authors, situated in the South America towards the end of 20th century, whose invented
biographies had been presented within the carefully constructed (non-existing!) magazines and
publishing house, and intertwined with their everyday activities, mostly related to family affairs
and meddling into politics. Bolaño was often compared to his more famous literary predecessor,
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges (1899-1986), who had also managed to cause quite a stir with
the titles of his short stories or full-length books, such as El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan
(The Garden of Forking Paths), which had originally appeared in 1941, or Historia universal de la
infamia (A Universal History of Infamy, first published in 1935, but revised by the author in 1954);
and even more so with his hoaxes and forgeries, where he would write reviews of nonexistent
writings by some other person.

These two seemingly unrelated examples can be complemented by a number of other titles
that often confuse critics and baffle the general readership, primarily due to their vagueness in
relation to their belonging to a certain type of literary genre. Since a few Latin American authors
had been previously mentioned, it would be interesting to quote here a renowned contemporary
Spanish writer Enrique Vila-Matas (Barcelona, 1948 -) during the acceptance speech of the XII
International Prize Romulo Gallegos in 2001, for his book El viaje vertical (The Vertical Travel,
Anagrama, Barcelona, 1999). He said on the occasion:

“One should go to a literature according with the spirit of the time, it should be a
mixed literature, crossbred, where boundaries are confused and reality can dance
on the border with fiction, and the rhythm erases the border. For some time now,

190
 I want to be a foreigner forever. For some time now, I think that more and more
literature transcends national borders to make profound revelations about the
universality of human nature” (Plata, 2011).

Such a statement could be surprising if one was ignorant of this author’s background.
Having originally studied law and journalism, Villa-Matas subsequently worked as an editor of a
film journal and a film critic before he started to write short stories and novels, as well as literary
articles and essays. They all caught immediately the attention of both academic critics and the
general readership for their provocative and unusual treatment of diverse topics, sparkled by his
extravagant and flamboyant imagination. The real breakthrough came with his book Historia
abreviada de la literatura portátil (Brief History of portable literature, Anagrama, Barcelona,
1985, English translation 2015), after which a number of short stories, novels, literary essays and
articles of all kinds followed. He freely travelled through his works in the most imaginative and
experimental manner combining the unthinkable topics with diverse aspects of his own attitude
towards metafictional writings in the late 20th century. In the History Villa-Matas introduced a
rather curious secret society, called the Shandies, after the surname of Laurence Sterne’s famous
character in his hilarious anti-novel Tristram Shandy (it had originally appeared in several
volumes from 1759 to 1767). Its international crowd of members included writers and artists like
Marcel Duchamp, Aleister Crowley, Witold Gombrowicz, Federico García Lorca, Man Ray, and
Georgia O’Keefe, who all shared a particular obsession – that related to the concept of “portable
literature.” It has been in their distilled credo of miniature: “What is reduced finds itself in a sense
liberated from meaning. Its smallness is, at one and the same time, a totality and a fragment.” This
kind of literary perpetuum mobile can be achieved through a system of cylindrical chambers and
lenses, a truly sophisticated machine whose invention was attributed to no less than the famous
German Jewish philosopher and cultural critic Walter Benjamin (1892-1940). The machine is
capable of purging any given text, and to reduce it to its most essential elements, almost as in
an ideal school situation in the future, where students will be able get the digested version of
the entire heritage of books on their portable gadgets illuminated by a brilliant blue light. Thirty
years ago it may have sounded fantastic and ludicrous, but the ever-present current mania for
‘smartphones’ and similar smaller and smaller high tech devices can well indicate that, perhaps,
it is only a matter of time when such an option or ‘application’ will be duly added to such an
intelligent piece of information technology.

Although based on real authors, the entirely imagined society of Shandies happened to
meet secretly in apartments, hotels, and cafes all over Europe in order to discuss what great
literature really was. For them, as well as for their original author, it should be brief, not too
serious, and often penetrating the depths of the mysterious and uncanny. Villa-Matas moves the
Shandies across the cultural capitals of Europe, but their adventures also took place in stationary

  191
submarines, underground caverns and African backwaters. Their journey can be compared
to Jonathan Swift’s hero Lemuel Gulliver from Gulliver’s Travels (1726, amended 1735), who
had travelled through imaginary and exotic lands in his own time only to indict severely the
human race in the book’s final chapter, when he arrived to the country of the talking horses
or Houyhnhnms, and realized that he resembled more the despicable race of Yahoos. These
crude, primitive, brutish or obscenely coarse persons are obsessed with “pretty stones” they find
by digging in mud, which can be easily compared to the utmost craze for materialism in the
early 21st century, especially for already mentioned technological gadgets. Just as a reminder,
Gulliver’s final voyage ended in December 1715, i.e. three hundred years ago, but some issues
he had addressed in his sarcastic account of the early Enlightenment period in European history
seem to be even more pressing than ever.

One of them concerned the quarrel between the ‘ancients’ and ‘moderns’, which Swift had
introduced in his short satire The Battle of the Books (written about 1697, published in 1704,
together with A Tale of A Tub). The battle between classic Greek and Roman writers against tier
contemporaries took place in St. James’s Library, but Swift did not pronounce a victory to either
side, although his sympathies might have been more on the side of science and reason and against
superstitious and limitations of the Antiquity. It is precisely during the Age of Reason that the
values of the classical heritage, which had been so successfully revived during the Renaissance,
became undermined and destabilized. In terms of literary production and the attitude towards
the legacy of traditional divisions of literature on poetry, drama and prose, or literary genres, it
was obvious that new trends would sooner than later establish a different attitude.

However, both creative authors of fiction at the outbreak of Post-Modernism in late 1970s
and in early 1980s, as well as their academic counterparts within Structuralist, Deconstructionist
and Post-Structuralist traditions, but also the others from the same circles, who followed in more
recent ‘–isms’; had not only questioned but, in many cases, engaged in re-thinking and re-shaping
the very concept of literary (and other related) genres of our times. When Julian Barnes published
his most widely acclaimed novel Flaubert’s Parrotin 1984 – one French commentator said:

“Is it a novel? Yes, if you want it to be. But Julian Barnes has invented a new literary
genre. His parrot is by turns a narrative, a chronicle, a critical work, and an intimate
journal. It is a boiling pot in which the author has mixed genres” (Guignery, 2006).

A reviewer Peter Brooks called it “a splendid hybrid of a novel, part biography, part fiction,
part literary criticism...” (Brooks, 1985). Gary Krist considered it “a literary improvisation...
combining stylistic elements from works as widely disparate as the critical biography, the medieval
bestiary and the trainspotter’s guide” (Krist, 1986). When discussing Barnes’s works, Joyce Carol
Oates expresses an opinion that one could write volumes about his books without exhausting it.

192
The novels are comprised of many separate stories (some chapter-length, some shorter) which
are connected — some more loosely than others - by themes of historical recovery, historical
decay, and rescue. Joyce Carol Oates called it “a gathering of prose pieces, some fiction, others
rather like essays” (Oates, 1989). This clearly invites both the contemporary authors of all kinds,
be they ‘creative writers of ‘fine literature’, or historians, philosophers, scientists, journalists, etc.,
as well as their interpreters, and, particularly, a readership at large, to adopt an ironic approach
to history as a genre. It created an open space for a blending of fiction and history, which became
known as metafiction.

Within the pages of Flaubert’s Parrot, Barnes combines first-person narrative, chronology,
literary and personal biography, autobiography, detective story, essay, literary criticism, literary
manifesto, travel guide (chapter 8), dictionary (chapter 12), written comprehensive examination
paper (chapter 14), and personal’s advertisement. And many more things ... Simply put, it has
been perceived not as a single, coherent, rounded literary form – or a particular kind or type
of uni-form, but a complex, cross-bread, hybrid multiple form that easily transgresses invisible
boundaries, having been set up from the time of Antiquity as preferable species within the larger
groupings of interconnected and inter-related literary products understood as ‘genera’. One must
make a useful comparison here with chess players all over the world, who have chosen as their
motto a Latin sentence: „Gens Una Sumus“. It literally means: „We Are One People“, or „We are
all of the same kind, we are all one family“!1 The motto, which had been adopted upon the
establishment of the World Chess Federation /Federation Internationale des Echecs, known as
FIDE from its French acronym/ on July 20 1924 in Paris, emphasises the fact that all the chess
players belong to the same family, since it is the noble game – or should we say, art – of chess that
makes them relatives.

Although chess might appear to most people as a highly formal game, based on a number
of rules that have been governed with a rather specific logic applied in any given game between
two players, in reality it includes endless number of combinations, and, in addition to a versatility
within the specific type of mathematical logic, it involves enormous amount of imagination, since,
when it comes to the best among the best, or grand masters of chess, without that element, this

1 Chess originated in India, where its early form in the 6th century was ‘chaturanga’, which translates
as “four divisions of the military” – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, represented respectively
by pawn, knight, bishop, and rook. In Persia, around 600 AD, the name became ‘shatranj’, and the rules
were developed further. ‘Shatranj’ was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia,
with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish “shatranj” was rendered as ‘ajedrez’ and
in Greek as ‘zatrikion’, but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian ‘shah’ (“king”).
The game reached Western Europe and Russia, from the 9th century and by the year 1000 it had spread
throughout Europe. – The official quote from FIDE’s s web page, which can be retrieved at: http://www.
fide.com/fide.html. Last time accessed on September 26, 2015.

  193
popular game would be just a long and boring sequence of already seen/played games of the same
kind. The same can be said of literature. Any work of literature does possess a kind of its inner
logic, but we think of it, primarily, as the product of a particular kind of artistic imagination.
However, the traditional understanding of literature had tried very hard to constrain, to impose
borders or boundaries on that elusive area of human psyche. One speaks here of ‘literary rules’,
which had been gradually invented in order to give its end-products the necessary decorum and
dignity. As in any other expression of human endeavours – be it architecture, music, visual, plastic
or any other arts for that matter – it reflects an inherent human desire in the long process of self-
transformation from a ‘primitive’ into a ‘civilised’ being to create a well-made artefact in order to
fulfil the fundamental principle of harmony and make order out of primal chaos or apeiron.2

One can assert that such a process eventually led to the invention of literary tropes, which
had been passed from a generation to another generation with ever more rigid rules about the
propriety of expression. The famous pair of literary theorists in 20th century, Rene Wellek and
Austin Warren, had devoted a whole chapter (Chapter XVII) in their Theory of Literature, where
they dealt at length with these issues and wrote: „Literary kinds ‘may be regarded as institutional
imperatives which both coerce and are in turn coerced by the writer“ (Wellek-Warren, 235). And
further down, on the same page:

„Theory of genres is a principle of order: it classifies literature and literary history

not by time or place (period or national language) but by specifical literary types of
organisation and structure. Any critical and evaluative – as distinct from historical
– study involves in dome form, the appeal to such structures“ (Wellek-Warren, 235).

This kind of restrictive attitude has been accepted, be it voluntary or in the process of
‘coercion’ by tens of thousands of writers throughout history. Nevertheless, there have always
been authors who defied such rules, even when yet another fresh form, such as a novel, emerged
on a vibrant literary scene. One may think again of Laurence Sterne and his confusing book
Tristram Shandy „which effectively subverted the constructional principles of novel as a genre by
a series of devices that fundamentally disturbs the narrative conventions of the book“ (Macksey,
xi-xii). No wonder that Enrique Vila-Matas found inspiration for his secret society of Shandies
in this book, having tried to promote his own view on novel-writing:

2 Apeiron (ἄπειρον) is a Greek word meaning “unlimited,” “infinite”, or “indefinite”, which has continued
to intrigue different philosophers and thinkers in general ever since the ancient Greek philosopher
Anaximander, from 6th century BC, whose work had been mostly lost, proposed that the beginning or
ultimate reality ( ἀρχή or arche) is eternal and infinite, or boundless (apeiron), subject to neither old age
nor decay, which perpetually yields fresh materials from which everything we can perceive is derived.
Mary Shelley calls it “Ordering out of chaos” in her motto for the novel Frankenstein, where she says:
“‘Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of voice, but out of chaos.’ It is a
reflection from the similar maxim by Heraclitus: „Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the
fairest harmony.“

194
 “One should go to a literature according with the spirit of the time, it should be a
mixed literature, crossbred, where boundaries are confused and reality can dance
on the border with fiction, and the rhythm erases the border. For some time now,
I want to be a foreigner forever. For some time now, I think that more and more
literature transcends national borders to make profound revelations about the
universality of human nature.”

He continued to do so in his other books as well. In 2008 he published “Dietary Fickle”, which
increasingly favours a formula that blurs the boundaries between fiction, essays and biographies.
The book is a journal or kind of literary guide that allows glimpses of the internal architecture of
his work and combines the experience of reading with the experiences of life, personal memory
and the ideas of a literary essayist. But, the most daring of his entire experimental fiction came
in 2010 as Dublinesca (published in Spanish by Seix Barral, 2010,and in English translation as
Dublinesquein 2012).

This particular Vila-Matas’ book is full of allusions, references, cameos, and digressions
on a number of diverse literary figures, as well as massive references to fictitious writers, which
not only proved his vast knowledge of literature together with his ability to intertwine into his
narrative various if at times rather patchy strands from other works. Although such a technique
is a real feast for academics and true connoisseurs of literature, the majority of readers in our time
will not be able to understand it, even less to enjoy in its meandering and hybrid composition
that create the major problems of identifying its nature apart from being a parody of almost
everything ‘stable’ in the literary world. Such a practice caused a rather fruitful exchange of ideas
on the need for a different typology of genres in our and future times. If we paraphrase the chess
motto and try to extend it to the domain of literature, one can safely state: „Genera literaria multi
et diversi sumus ... Sunt ... (We are multiple and diverse literary genres …, or, rather, Literary
genres have been multiple and diverse …)! How come?

Contradictory approach by Jacques Derrida

To start with, such a proposition requires a careful elaboration. On one hand, this was clearly
a rebuttal to the opening sentence by Jacques Derrida in his much-quoted essay “The Law of Genre”:

“Genres are not to be mixed. I will not mix genres. I repeat: genres are not to be
mixed. I will not mix them” (Derrida, 1981: 55).

Whenever the famous French philosopher claims that he is not going to do something,
one can only expect that he will do the opposite! His statement wants to provoke, or to cause
some deeper concerns about the issue under his critical scrutiny. Derrida, in fact, responded
to the apparent contradiction in Maurice Blanchot’sformulation of the text’s autonomy and its

  195
relationship to Literature. It was Maurice Blanchot, who, in Le Livre à venir (The Book Ahead,
1959), had written:

“The book alone is important, as it is, far from genre, outside rubrics ... under which
it refuses to be arranged and to which it denies the power to fix its place and to
determine its form. A book no longer belongs to a genre; every book arises from
literature alone, as if the latter possessed in advance, in its generality, the secrets
and the formulas that alone allow book reality to be given to that which is written.”

“Every text participates in one or several genres, there is no genreless text; there
is always a genre and genres, yet such participation never amounts to belonging.
And not because of an abundant overflowing or a free, anarchic and unclassifiable
productivity, but because of the trait of participation itself . . .” (as quoted in Perloff, 3).

In Derrida’s explanation, a text’s lack of definiteness, or deficiency, which can be, perhaps,
understood as a particular indeterminacy; has been preserved in, somewhat, contradictory claim
that the text, in fact, emerges from a complex relationship between literary texts and genres, in
the process thatpresents such an absence of determinacy. For Derrida, literary or any other texts
do not belong to a genre, as in a taxonomic relation; in his view, texts participate in a genre, or
more accurately, several genres at once. Genres are not understood as given or fixed categories
that classify or clarify or even structure texts, rather, the very act of ‘participation’ suggests
something, for Derrida, something more like a performance than a replication or reproduction.
It is an active process, for, in an endless continuum, textual performances, taken as both an
individual situation, or as the sum total of all such instances, repeat, mix, stretch, and potentially
reconstitute the genre(s) they happen to participate in.

Derrida’s standpoints are important, in particular, from the point of view of the time and
critical attitudes contained in them. It is well-known that Derrida (1930-2004) developed a kind
of semiotic analysis known as deconstruction, a critical outlook that is primarily concerned with
the relationship between text and meaning. Without going into further details, suffice it to say his
numerous books and texts critics the theoretical limitations of structuralism, and that he emerged
as one of the leading post-structuralisms and post-modern philosophers between late 1960s and
the early 1980s. His views had in turn inspired a number of other thinkers from France, as well
as from other parts of the world (such as the Yale school in USA and major philosophers, such
as Paul de Mann, Geoffrey Hartmann and J. Hillis Miller), who further elaborated on typology
of genre. One should refer here to Tzvetan Todorov and his interesting ideas, as expressed in his
texts, notably in “The Origin of Genres” and Fantastic.3

3 Tzvetan Todorov, Introduction à la littérature fantastique (1970), translated by Richard Howard as The
Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre in 1973. The edition used here has been published by
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1975.
196
 Contributions by Todorov and Genette

Bulgarian-born theorist Todorov (1939 - ), who has written extensively on this subject
within the more recent French theoretical, as well as Anglo-American traditions, refers to
two main lines of critical approaches to genre. He labels them as ‘Theoretical’ and ‘Historical’
approaches, which can be best seen in the Neoclassical and Structuralist theoretical literary
traditions. Why such a division? Most critics use a variety of abstract, analytical categories in
order to classify whatever literary text(s) come in the focus of their scrutiny and within the
framework of certain theoretical approaches that define genres (Todorov, Fantastic 13-14). Instead
of dealing with concrete texts or any given, actual practice, such critics base their deliberations on
a priori categories, and, subsequently, apply these categories to texts for the ultimate goal – their
classification. Another great name in more recent critical and theoretical tradition in English,
Northrop Frye had devised a system of archetypal themes and images, and classifies literary
texts according to such criteria in his widely influential study Anatomy of Criticism. Historical
approaches want to see their examined texts in specific, particular

historical circumstances. For them, genres emerge ‘from an observation of literary reality,’
meaning that these texts exist historically within particular literary contexts, and critics sing
such a method identify genre categories based on perceived structural patterns in texts (Todorov,
Fantastic 13-14). Their method can be determined as inductive one, where reasoning from specific
observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, this method is referred to as a
“bottom up” approach, whereas the opposite one, the deductive method, starts from the more
general in order to reach the more specific conclusions. In his other work, Todorov insists that
the word “genre” can be used to designate “only those classes of texts that have been historically
perceived as such” (Todorov, “Origin”, 198). He does not exclude theoretical or ‘abstract analysis,’
or its usefulness for a complex definition of what he prefers to call “types” of genres, but refuses to
perceive genres as ‘eternal’, fixed’ or ‘non-changeable’ literary forms. If one would like to ‘classify’
Todorov’s approach, it can be certainly described as historical in this way.

Another quite important French theorist Gérard Genette (1930 - ) tried to clarify with his
enormous scope of erudition the actual reasons for confusion within the Neoclassical and later
taxonomies on these issues. In many of his brilliant books, from late 1960s to the early 2000s,4
Genette traced the origins and consequent development of the main theoretical notions on genre.
He showed how Neoclassical literary taxonomies have had their basis in the famous literary triad
of lyric, epic, and dramatic, which is mistakenly attributed to Aristotle but is actually more the

4 One could mention here a series of essays, collected in several volmes as Figures I-V (1967-2002), as
well as among others, Introduction à l’architexte, (The Architext: An Introduction, 1979), Palimpsestes:
La littérature au second degré, (Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree, 1982); Nouveau discours
du récit, 1983 (translated as Narrative Discourse Revisited, 1988); Seuils, 1987 (translated as Paratexts.
Thresholds of interpretation, 1997); and Fiction et diction (Fiction and Diction, 1991).
  197
product of Romantic and post-Romantic poetics (Genette, The Architext: An Introduction, 6-12).

This triad has traditionally been used to define the literary landscape:

1. the novel, novella, epic (epical);

2. the tragedy, comedy, bourgeois drama (dramatic);
3. ode, hymn, epigram (lyrical) (Genette, 49).

The triad evolved naturally to reflect biological and social evolution, which was used as a
useful analogy with the similar processes that had been taking place in humanities for, at least,
several centuries. Genette explained that:

“To Bovet, as to Hugo and the German Romantics, the three ‘chief genres’ are not
merely forms ... but rather ‘three basic ways of imagining life and the universe,’ which
correspond to three stages of evolution, as much ontogenetic as phylogenetic...”
(Genette, 56).

It was in the works of German philosopher Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) in the late
eighteenth century that the primacy or the singularity of literary texts had been placed on the
pedestal. Romantic poetry, as developed first in German lands, and afterwards spread to Britain,
France, Italy and other countries in the Western world, was perceived as the ideal example for the
purpose, since Schlegel wrote:

“Only Romantic poetry is infinite as only it is free. . . . The genre of Romantic poetry
is the only one that is more than a genre: it is, in a way, the very art of poetry [;] in a
certain sense, all poetry is or should be Romantic” (as quoted in Threadgold, 112).

It appears that within a given historical era, different periods will mark stages of generic
evolutionreflecting an “epic world,” a “lyric consciousness,” and a “dramatic milieu” (Genette,
62). Genette recognizes this approach, among others, in Hegel, in Victor Hugo and Karl Viëtor.
For the last one, “the three major genres express three “basic attitudes”: the lyrical express feeling,
the epical knowledge, the dramatic, will and action (Genette, 62). He concludes that:

“The whole history of the theory of genre [within the literary tradition] is imprinted
with these fascinating patterns that inform and deform the often irregular reality of
the literary field” (Genette, 45). Genres as dynamic and situated (social) actions

It becomes quite clear that Neoclassical taxonomies try to organize relations between
literary texts as they try to make the ideological character of genres as universal rather than seeing
genres as emerging from and responding to a concrete social, cultural and historical context.

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Such an ahistorical and abstract concept of genres becomes a kind of a fixed and non-changeable
dead end. It does allow anyone interested in dealing with these issues within the more recent
literary, linguistic, and rhetorical genre studies to treat genres as dynamic, specific and situated
actions. That is why a certain shift occurred among scholars in 1990s. One cannot claim that
the heated discussions on ‘literary’ genres have been exhausted; rather, it opened way to more
dynamic and different recent approaches to Genre Studies (other than ‘Literary’). Nowadays, one
can distinguish a variety of research within a spectre of disciplines:

1. Systemic Functional Linguistics (what is often called the “Sydney school” of genre study),
2. Historical/corpus linguistics,
3. English for Specific Purposes, and
4. Rhetorical/Sociological Genre Studies (what is often termed “North American” genre study),
5. Folklore studies,
6. Linguistic anthropology,
7. Film and TV studies, etc.

After many academic gatherings and well-made publications established these disciplines
on an equal footage with those that had preceded them up to late 1980s, one can simply say
that their ultimate goal of tracing how this dynamic, inter-related history has informed current
understandings and syntheses of genre and its implications for writing instruction and writing
program development, as seen in their pedagogical or educational aspects (Bawarshi, 13).

However, there seems to be an urgent need to re-think some traditional notions on literary
genres, or, even more, their subspecies. Simply said, even the radically re-definition of traditional
divisions of genres is no longer valid or applicable!!! Why? Because the new era – that one of
the global communications – effaced or blurred the boundaries between the traditional ‘textual’
genres by gradually replacing them with ever newer and newer virtual forms. They happened to be
electronic, or, even more specifically, strange hybrids of (hyper-)texts and endless combinations
of visual, auditory and graphic elements, having been designed within the diverse media of
information technology.

Blurring of boundaries and creating new hybrids of ‘Literature’

The recent decades of both writing creative literary works and their respective critical
interpretations, and/or theoretical deliberations what could have been included under such a
label; had mostly effaced invisible boundaries between ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms of literature. The
same can be said of yet another traditional division within the prose works: fictional and non-
fictional ones. However, one can seek possible answers while asking, sometimes, even simplistic
questions. Here is one of them: What was ‘fiction’? And here is the possible answer:

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 In the variety of sources that dealt with literary scholarship within the English-written
critical books, fiction usually included short stories, fables, fairy tales, novellas and novels if
having been composed in prose, or diverse forms of poetry and plays, which had been marked by
verse; and, in the case of drama, a dialogue, at least until the more recent times, when these two
latter genres opened up for prose as well. The main difference between fiction and non-fiction
was seen in the domain or territory they seemed to occupy. Whereas fictional works were made
up, invented or imagined by their authors, since they had not dealt with events, people or any
other factual element that could label them as ‘real’, even when they came dangerously close to
the surface level of reality in their precise or accurate renderings, or even mere descriptions of
people or events that had actually existed.

On the other hand, non-fiction focused on the people, events, places, and ideas deemed
to be real or ‘true’ to actual facts. To put it more bluntly, fictional works belonged to the area of
‘fine arts’, whereas the non-fictional ones were confined to the vast category of everyday, non-
exciting (if not often rather boring!), somewhat ‘plebeian’ documents of all kinds. It was often
emphasised that such an version or representation could be either correct or not, or it could give
either a true or false account of what it was dealing with within the types of non-fiction, such as
autobiographies, biographies, diaries, travelogues, memoirs, journals, histories, almanacs, essays,
reports, letters, memos and newspaper articles; as well as, literally, any kind of text that the authors
of such accounts had earnestly believed them to be truthful at the time of their composition. The
initial confusion in a number of experimental Post-Modernist fictional works from 1970s on
only added to the sense of confusion that readers and critics alike felt when confronted with the
first works of Salman Rushdie, Angela Carter, Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes, Martin Amis, A.S.
Byatt, or, later on, of Hanif Kureishi, Jeanette Winterson, and many more who embraced readily
such an attitude to fiction-writing. However, even the most daring experiments remained mostly
within the region of literary text, but the new technology soon challenged their literary artefacts
with their enormous varieties of possibilities. It was the beginning of the era of Globalization
and Internet. It was the era of ‘visual culture’, as Professor W.J.T. Mitchell astutely observed in his
essay at the outset of 21st century:

[visual] studies is not merely an indiscipline or dangerous supplement to the

traditional vision-oriented disciplines, but an interdiscipline that draws on their
resources and those of other disciplines to construct a new and distinctive object
of research. Visual culture is, then, a specific domain of research, one whose
fundamental principles and problems are being articulated freshly in our time
(Mitchell, Showing seeing: a critique of visual culture, 165).

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 Pictorial turn

It soon turned out that mere fictional or non-fictional texts were just a suitable starting po-
int for interesting experiments in terms of literature. As if the overall course of events somehow
led to this situation. At the time when some authorsspoke of ‘literature of exhaustion’ in 1960s,
and when there were no signs of any new directions literary production might take in the near
future, there were much discussion of ‘textuality’ in the contemporary critical reflections. Bur-
geoning theories of linguistics, semiotics, rhetoric and other interrelated disciplines interpreted
‘society as a text’, which, according to Richard Rorty, meant a new, linguistic turn in the overall
history of philosophy. Rorty saw the history of philosophy as periods when certain dominant
issues had been in focus, only to be replaced by new ones. For him, the ancient and medieval
philosophy had dealt, primarily, in things, whereas from seventeenth to nineteenth century phi-
losophers were mainly concerned with ideas.

The majority of contemporary theories centred on words but with considerable plausi-
bility, claiming that one had to consider Nature and its scientific representations as ‘discourses’.
In response to these ideas, one of the most prominent proponents of visual culture in our age,
W.J.T. Mitchell (1942 - ), literary critic and theorist of visual culture, described yet another shift
in the domain of the sphere of public culture and a number of disciplines of the human sciences
as ‘pictorial turn’.

W.J.T. Mitchell: “Pictorial turn”

Mitchell traced various lines of thought in 20th century on this subject, ranging from
Charles Peirce’ssemiotics and Nelson Goodman’s‘languages of art’, to the works by Wittgenstein,
Derrida, Foucault, to mention only those more famous ones he had referred to. Having established
a proper academic dialogue and commenting on diverse attitudes on theories on representation,
Mitchell underlines that his understanding of ‘whatever the pictorial turnis’ should not be seen
as return to a naive mimesis or a renewed metaphysics of ‘pictorial presence’, but, rather, as “a
postlinguistic, postsemiotic rediscovery of the picture as a complex interplay between visuality,
apparatus, institutions, discourse, bodies and figurality” (WJT Mitchell, The PictureTheory, 16).

It is important to see diverse practices of observation, or spectatorship, as equally deep

problem as various forms of reading, which includes decipherment, decoding, interpretation; and
“that visual experience, or ‘visual literacy’ might not be fully explicable as the model of textuality”
(WJT Mitchell, The Picture Theory, 16.). It was, definitely influenced by two intertwined sets of
processes – globalization and internet.

Historically, the word internet was used, un-capitalized, as early as 1883 as a verb and
adjective to refer to interconnected motions. One hundred years later, its initial definition or

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usage began its unprecedented expansion in order to become the first global mega-system of
cyberspace. It soon initiated major changes in human perception of reality, since ‘virtual reality’
created environment that could simulate physical presence in places in the real world or imagined
worlds, primarily through visual experiences on computer monitors or similar screens. Despite
the accelerated pace and overall domination of information technology and its diverse products,
particularly gadgets that had become indispensable objects in everyday use, similar to what wrist
watches used to be in the past; the previous forms proved to be much more resilient.

It should be taken into account what happened in similar circumstances in the process of
transformation that affected different ‘products’ of a kind, when, for instance, radio had become
replaced by film, and film, in turn, by television. The new technology transformed the old and
produced a hybrid. Both continued to exist, but each one of them in a new, transformed way. The
same was happening with the development and dissemination of visually-designed ‘artefacts’.

New visual forms

With the new possibilities of digital technologies and the creativity of millions of Internet
users caused many new forms of fiction to evolve over a rather short span of time. They included
traditional films, comic books, and video games, but also developed interactive computer games
or computer-generated comics. Different new forms evolved, such as Podcast(= Playable On
Demand + cast), with a variety of possibilities, as expressed through hybrid forms, such as vidcasts
andnetcasts. In turn, they gave rise to a podcast novel, serialized audiobook, podcast audiobook,
and, even to SMS Novel and SMS poetry. They also included quite unexpected electronic forms,
which have been, primarily, used for communication such as e-mails, professional forums,
audio- and video-conferencing, webinars, and diverse types of virtual laboratories. In contrast to
solitary talented authors of the past, the new technology enabled virtually anyone with enough
skills and ideas to start the new creative space on their own called weblog, or simply blog.

Blog fiction

Blog apportions some virtual space and its creator shares his/her entries or ‘posts’ with
a number of other users ready to follow it. Until 2009, blogs were usually the work of a single
individual. Sometimes they attracted a small group, and often covered a single subject. They
developed a specific type of blog fiction, where a story is delivered through a blog either as ‘flash
fiction’ or ‘serial blog’, but more recently, a collaborative fictionbegan to emerge in numbers. It is
written by different authors, who produce a story in a sequence. Some of them used imaginative
advertisements on their respective web sites, having quoted or referred to some famous names,
thus giving the familiar phrases or expressions fresh, new meanings. If one is not aware that “I
blog, therefore I am!” refers to the French philosopher René Descartes, than “To blog or not to

202
blog – that is the question!” cannot be mistaken for anyone else but William Shakespeare. In the-
se small cameo visual and textual hybrids, Shakespeare carries a tablet, listens to something on
headphones, and even speak in some kind of video clip! Such a blend might appear both humo-
rous, but also well-known, only presented in a new form that is available to anyone having these
technological gadgets at his/her disposal.

Textual and multimedia elements = Piction

Although the basis for such developing virtual forms of fiction remains safely in the
narrative; or in the story per se, in addition to textual elements or parts, these entries often appear
in a variety of multimedia forms. Depending on imagination, technological and other constituent
segments, they cannot be simply labelled as ‘books’, since there is a blooming industry of e-books
anyway, but a new term should be proposed. Due to their obvious postmodernist hybrid nature
and inclusion of both fictional and non-fictional elements, the possible answer is to be found
elsewhere. Since these products rely a lot on visual, pictorial backdrops, because a mere text is
certainly not good enough to express their versatility, and since they often combine film or video-
clips, photos, or comicsin quite unusual techniques of collage and pastiche; one can propose yet
another mixed or hybrid term – piction. It is, definitely, a hybrid term, consisting of: ‘pictus’ +
‘fictus’. The word refers both to a ‘pictus’ (painted thing, picture) and a ‘fictus’ (made-up, feigned,
false, fictitious, ‘non-real’); or, rather, it does aspire to cover such multimedia presentations or
accounts that bring forth such kinds of creative works, embedded both in fiction and non-fiction,
but also outgrowing them by a diversity of interconnected mosaic-like pieces. Of course, other
hybrid names came to mind. If one tried to join ‘literature’ and ‘picture’, the result might be not
so successful – ‘pictuliture’, or ‘literpicture’. Perhaps an analogy to abbreviated terms such as ‘Brit
Lit’ or ‘Chick Lit’ could be offered as ‘Pict Lit’, but it did not sound quite right either.

Without going into more recent theories of pictorial semiotics or iconography, or a

number of other equally applicable critical schools of thinking on these issues, suffice it to say
that ‘piction’ embraces all these evolving forms of virtual genres and their sub-genres in order to
remain as open and flexible as possible. Since, due to the nature of technological mastering of all
combined elements, the objective is not to strive towards an exquisite, elevated, ‘high’ piece of art,
one may also easily exclude possible theoretical considerations, such as transformed Formalist
notions of ‘literariness’ or ‘picturerariness’ as modes of identification.

A fusion of multiple features

The emphasis is on a fusion of multiple features, where their combination produces a

new unity, or work. As much as one can easily recognise certain segments or parts in the new
hybrid, they tend to lose their original characteristics and create, hopefully, something else.

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In such a process there is no dominant or prevailing segment. Nor does it necessarily favour
pictorial over textual elements. Besides some common well-known features that had been made
readily available from the overall legacy of humankind nowadays understood as pertaining to
this yet elusive ‘global culture’, any regional or distinctly local features are freely mixed in. They
add a specific, easily noticeable flavour of both the author’s personality, his/her individual and
collective background and make the pictional work, in a broadest sense, original, or, at least,
different from other similar products. Pictional authors relied on these features when creating
this unique hybrid.

They mix into their structure many elements of short stories, fables, fairy tales, novels,
plays, poetry, but they also use components from comics, feature films, graphics, TV clips or
any other video-material, computer programmessuch as Power Point presentations or similar
templates that integrate text and picture(s), often combined with music scores either borrowed or
of their own. Since all these elements have been compressed in appropriate technological form,
they can also be labelled as ‘digital fiction’, or, more appropriately, ‘digital piction’.

A string of digital images combined or interlaced with larger or smaller segments of texts,
then, become a creative backdrop for this new, evolving mosaic of hybrid forms. It may be yet
as early to start categorising them, or, even worse, to make presumptuous theories of their true
‘nature’ or directions they could or should take in a foreseeable future.

A few things seem to be certain at this point: the digital age has already managed to
transgress the imposed boundaries between diverse forms of artistic expression and to ‘pack’ the
distinct products of its own into a whole array of, perhaps, not so ’great’ forms, but, in any case,
vibrant and interesting. They continue to grow and to find potentials and possibilities there where
the traditional fictional forms had never dared to experiment. Or pictorial forms, for that matter.

How should we study these evolving new forms?

Digital literature and its ‘genres’ and ‘sub-genes’ will demand a different set of methods,
devices and critical apparatus in order to include both its traditional, ‘textual’ elements– modes
and literary genres in poetry, drama and fiction – as well as its ‘virtual’ forms in an endless variety
of combinations offered for critical introspection. It will have to analyze its formal, technological
features (quality of visual, graphic and audio elements), but also their content-matter. The
horizon of expectations will be compared to the level of success among ‘digital’ recipients (not
readers!!!), the quality of works in certain future ‘digitalized’ periods, responses of respondents
through social networks – but also through critical reviews, articles, monographs, smaller and
larger studies of new genres.

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 Eventually, a new typologywill necessarily need to arise that will discern between ‘the
best’ or ‘canonical’ works, and those labelled as ‘failures’ or unworthy, ‘digital trash.’ In turn,
these ‘rejects’ will also have their fans, who will continue to conquer this subversive cyberspace
territory as an alternative to the most dominant, popular and well-sold digital forms, as it had
happened for centuries in traditional oral or textual cultures, where the ‘high’ forms co-existed
with the ‘low’ ones.The new evolving string will start from sets of Sub-Canonical works, include
the best or accepted Canonical works, and they all will produce an enormous diversity of ever
new multimedia forms. At given point, the ‘rejects’ will strike back and become the main/-ers/,
thus perpetuating the never-ending story of creative artistic forms in the digital ages of the future.

How and when this will happen? There seem to be several potential scenarios, if not the
true answers at hand. One of them tends to ignore the technological advancement and to keep to
established forms, as a kind of vintage collector who only cares about specific period or type of
product. No doubt there will be enough people who will continue to read books on paper, or, in
a slightly modified situation, as e-texts. That will secure for a while new titles of a limited number
of professional writers in the usual sense of a word.

“What is to be done?”

The majority will succumb to new trends and fashionable hybrid productsthat will,
eventually, become the common thing, as five centuries ago, when printed texts had totally replaced
handwritten manuscripts. It should be remembered that these two textual traditions were, at times,
nicely illuminated with a limited number of pictures, although the industrial manufacturing of
books gradually eliminated the need for colourful illuminations. They had been considered rather
costly and were replaced with sketches and black-and-white drawings, not unlike caricatures
highly popular in British editions in 18th and 19th century. They survived in comic books, in
much the similar manner as coloured pictures found their way into books for children.

Although they are still printed in millions of copies and still enjoyed by children of that
age, it is unlikely they will be able to endure the competition with technological gadgets, such as
tablets, minicomputers, orsmart phones. Or, as some more recent breakthroughs in information
technology predict, interactive Google glasses, or even more sophisticated electronic gadgets
that will adapt to our neural or bodily functions in order to make their usage not only ‘user-
friendly’, but bodily-friendly, although being directed towards these tiny portions of our brain,
where millions of such hybrid visual inputs/signals will be processed at unimaginable speed, this
relieving us from long hours/days/nights/months/years ... of study or ... reading!

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 The (already) lost battle

Once the use of electronic devices becomes more prevalent in schools against the
traditionally printed textbooks, the battle for traditional modes of literature will be lost. It
cannot be predicted with any certainty if this new sub-genre will eventually come into existence
and produce a number of digital forms worthy of analysis and critical deliberation. If by any
reason that cannot be seen at the moment, it does not develop and cause enough qualities to be
considered as an academic point of interest, it may remain as yet another experiment that has
been lost in virtual cyberspace.

By that time into so distant future, one might expect, the whole new typology of cybergenres
will have to be invented, defined and theorized about. And all these marvellous intellectual
musings of the past which had dealt with the issues of ‘literary’ vs. (broadly taken) social and
linguistic genres will be safely kept in easily accessible virtual depots or storage repositories for
obsolete, ‘antique’ artefacts. The only question is: Will there be anyone interested (or ‘literate’
enough) to consult them? Even for the sake of sheer curiosity?

References

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to Generic Experimentation. Trespassing Journal: an online journal of trespassing art,
science, and philosophy.2.
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Michael Holquist. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Bawarshi, Anis S. and Mary Jo Reiff. (2010). Genre: an introduction to history, theory, research,
and pedagogy. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press and the WAC Clearinghouse.
Bawarshi, Anis. (2008). Genres as Forms of In[ter]vention. Originality, Imitation, Plagiarism:
Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. Ed. Caroline Eisner and Martha Vicinus. Ann Arbor:
MI: University of Michigan Press. 79-89.
Bazerman, Charles, Adair Bonini and Débora Figueiredo. Eds. (2009). Genre in a Changing
World. Fort Collins, CO: The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press.
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  207
 Reification of Grendel as a Post-Anarchist in
the Contemporary World

Timucin Buğra Edman

Istanbul Aydin University, Turkey

Abstract

Grendel is known as the predecessor of the most petrifying and rebellious monsters in En-
glish Literature. In spite of the conventional signification, Grendel actually stands for anti-globa-
lization movement. Being the successor of tyrannical King Hrothgar, the so-called hero Beowulf
anticipates the danger Grendel causes. This monstrous creature is neither man nor animal, thus
belongs to nowhere in the realm of Herot. Existing as a total misfit, Grendel tries to survive in
this very hostile world. Though his struggle is not entangled with will to power, his will to survive
demarcates the sovereignty of the King. What is worse, Grendel is not given any chance to live wi-
thin society nor on his own. For the perpetuity of the nation, Grendel and all his reflections must
be terminated. This bizarre hybrid creature ‘which’ “thrives without authority and repression,
and rids itself of both inward- and outward- directed ressentiment” becomes the public enemy
to resurrect against the contemporary world as the new generation anarchist (Kang, 2005, 90).

Key words: post-anarchism, tyranny, anti-globalization, rebellion

‘’Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities’’.
Voltaire

The predecessor of Britain’s great literature, Beowulf remains a timeless classic in its quali-
ty as well as valiant motives.Of primary interest is the antagonist, Grendel: a rebellious character
that has previously lain dormant in the story. Torn into pieces and cursed for many centuries,
this character has been tormented. Scholars have debated Grendel for centuries, accusing him of
being a primordial antagonist who commits atrocities. Nevertheless, this essay purports the idea
that Grendel is not a kind of a monster to be lynched. Instead, this unique ancient being revivifies
208
itself as the first post-anarchist hero to stand against tyranny. That is to say, the essay is an exami-
nation of the character Grendel and it is an examination of the story as post-anarchism, as well.
Besides, the essay is problematizing the understanding that Grendel is solely evil. To gather the
bits and pieces of these ideas up, it is better to start with the very definition of post-anarchism.

Jason Adams states that post-structuralism is “a radically anti-authoritarian theory that

emerged from the anarchistic movements of May 1968 and which developed over three decades,
finally emerging in the form of an explicit body of thought: ‘post-anarchism’” (Rousselle, Duane
& Evren, Süreyyya 2014, 5-6). Therefore, this essay also tries to create an affinity between the
anarchic soul that Grendel has and contemporary Seattle post-anarchist protests in 1999.

According to the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel was an exceptional ‘living-thing’ that once
dwelled in his territory. Born as neither human nor monster, his identity is in question. Primarily,
Grendel’s identity is described in contrast with human qualities. His monstrous physiology is a
stark distinction. Never does the author describe Grendel by his own nature, however. Traditio-
nal binaries, like good and evil, are utilized to declare him a guilty antagonist. As an anarchist,
Grendel threatens the system and established values. Beowulf presents such a monarchic structu-
re that King Hrothgar’s words are ranked with God’s words. In such a world in which the tyran-
nical leaders form their values and laws by legitimizing these alleged rules through God and re-
ligion still exists. Traditionally speaking, today “anarchism is widely accepted as ‘the’ movement
behind the main organizational principles of the radical social movements in the twenty-first
century”(Rousselle, Duane & Evren, Süreyyya 2014, 1). In today’s world, the general tendency
is to see anarchism as an enemy to democracy. Nevertheless, this essay shows just the opposite.
Since we are living in a post-modern world where conventional meanings are lost, Grendel can
be understood as post-anarchist hero.

As a post-anarchist work, Grendel’s identity as monster or human is not merely an asses-

sment of human qualities. Instead, Grendel’s description as monster is a result of his disagre-
ement with the egotistic maneuvers of the tyrant King Hrothgar. King Hrothgar’s tyranny evoked
Grendel’s resistance. Moreover, Hrothgar’s desire for power extended beyond the border of his
own country. Hrothgar’s Kingdom was an unjust land, completely tyrannical. In this dictatorial
mastership, Hrothgar did not want to tolerate any existence that did not submit to his system. His
name became synonymous with his country. Without King Hrothgar, both the authority of the
God and his kingdom would be amorphous:

Conceived a son for the Danes, a new leader

Allowed them by the grace of God. They had lived,
Before his coming, kingless and miserable;
Now the Lord of all life, Ruler
Of glory, blessed them with a prince, Beo,
  209
 Whose power and fame soon spread through the world.
Shild’s strong son was the glory of Denmark;
His father’s warriors were wound round his heart 20
With golden rings, bound to their prince
By his father’s treasure. So young men build
The future, wisely open-handed in peace,
Protected in war; so warriors earn
Their fame, and wealth is shaped with a sword

Then Hrothgar, taking the throne, led

The Danes to such glory that comrades and kinsmen
Swore by his sword, and young men swelled
His armies, and he thought of greatness and resolved
To build a hall that would hold his mighty
Band and reach higher toward Heaven than anything
and then he whose word was obeyed
All over the earth named it Herot (Burton, 1999, Anonymous, Kindle Locations 342-351).

Victory by sword created their glory and wealth. Herot became known as the reflection of
heaven. Such a heaven relied on bloodshed and the shadows of many warriors while they were
waiting in Valhalla. In the bliss of this glory, Hrothgar could not tolerate any obstacles, especially
one as bizarre as the creature, Grendel. The god was protecting Hrothgar and his ‘holy’ throne
against Grendel’s attacks, but not Hrothgar’s warriors. Every day and night, Grendel stalked their
flesh and blood. This cannot be counted as violence, however, since “the state is an organization
of violence, a monopoly in what it is pleased to call legitimate violence. Besides, if Grendel were
an anarchist or revolutionist, in that sense “[r]evolution [i]s not the substitution of immoral for
moral, or of illegitimate for legitimate violence; it is simply the pitting of power against power,
where the issue is freedom for the winners and enslavement of the rest” (Gardner, 1989, 119).

Though King Hrothgar tried to destroy Grendel many times he wasn’t successful nor had
he a son as an heir to complete this task. Thus, Hrothgar was vulnerable, his kingdom in need of
an heir. Enter Beowulf. At the optimal moment, Beowulf enters the stage. Beowulf was meant to
capture the monster, Hrothgar. He was strong, stronger than anyone on the earth was. His foe
was Grendel,

A powerful monster, living down

In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient
As day after day the music rang
Loud in that hall, the harp’s rejoicing

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 Call and the poet’s clear songs, sung
Of the ancient beginnings of us all, recalling
The Almighty making the earth, shaping
These beautiful plains marked off by oceans,
Then proudly setting the sun and moon
To glow across the land and light it;
The corners of the earth were made lovely with trees
And leaves, made quick with life, with each
Of the nations who now move on its face. And then
As now warriors sang of their pleasure:
So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall
Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend,
Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild
Marshes, and made his home in a hell
Not hell but earth (Burton, 1999, Anonymous, Kindle Locations 361-364).

Hrothgar and his warriors rejoiced over the creation of humankind. They were proud of
their triumphs and their power. Yet there was another evil power, Grendel. If God was responsi-
ble for all creations, then he must have been responsible for Grendel’s creation as well:

The Almighty drove

Those demons out, and their exile was bitter,
Shut away from men; they split
Into a thousand forms of evil—spirits
And fiends, goblins, monsters, giants,
A brood forever opposing the Lord’s
Will, and again and again defeated
(Burton, 1999, Anonymous, Kindle Locations 380-384).

Both good and evil are evident in the world of Beowulf. Every tyrannical system, in
fact, claims to descend the rights and power to rule a country through the god. From this
perspective, whoever rebels or strikes against the system automatically becomes the evil force.
As such, Grendel, though only rebelling against tyrannical force, is considered ‘evil.’ Hrothgar, on
the other hand, represents God’s authority on earth, preserving god’s creation against evil forces.
Both view their power as that which God has allocated to them, however. Therefore, in a world
where God’s will is equal to the King’s orders, the kingdom should be a refuge for humankind as
if the Herot were under the protection of the King and thus the God’s. With Herot as that refuge,
Grendel could never harm Hrothgar,

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 Though he livedIn Herot, when the night hid him, he never

Dared to touch king Hrothgar’s gloriousThrone, protected (Burton, 1999, Anonymous,

Kindle Location 433).

Beowulf ’s coming is portrayed as the coming of a perfected soul who never yields and
ready to take Hrothgar place:

As he was loved by the Geats: the omens were good,And they urged the adventure on. So
BeowulfChose the mightiest men he could find,The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteenIn all,
and led them down to their boat;He knew the sea, would point the prowStraight to that distant
Danish shore (Burton, 1999, Anonymous, Kindle Location 467).

The number of Great warriors presents another connection between Beowulf and his
emergence as the person who is descended of Jesus Christ:

Being a multiple of 7, 14 partakes of its importance and, being double that number,
implies a double measure of spiritual perfection. The number two with which it is combined
(2x7) may, however, bring its own significance into its meaning, as it does in Matthew 1, where
the genealogy of Jesus Christ is divided up and given in sets of 14 (2x7) generations, two being
associated with incarnation (Meaning of Numbers in the Bible The Number 14. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 13, 2015).

Having exposed Hrothgar, Beowulf, and their connotation through dogmatic signifiers,
we will now explore Grendel as a post-anarchist rather than an evil character.

Evren and Duane have another explanation for the very term of Post-anarchism:

[A] political logic that seeks to combine the egalitarian and emancipative aspects
of classical anarchism, with an acknowledgement that radical political struggles today are
contingent, pluralistic, open to different identities and perspectives, and are over different issues
– not just the economic ones (Rousselle, Duane& Evren, Süreyyya 2014, 5).

Considering Grendel’s fluid identity, neither monster nor human, post-anarchism fits
his character. Grendel is simply in need of freeing himself by exploring his identity. Hrothgar
finds his identity in the sword. When he becomes weak against a more powerful opponent, he
does not hesitate to take advantage of Beowulf, a valorous and invincible warrior. This tendency
reminds the reader of the term homo economicus: “the characterization of man in some economic
theories as a rational person who pursues wealth for his own self-interest” (What is the homo
economicus? (2008, September 29). Retrieved October 13, 2015.

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 In other words, to preserve his own power, Hrothgar allows Geat warriors to
intercede on his behalf. He does not tolerate Grendel or his pursuit of justice. Grendel,
on the other hand, cannot tolerate Hrothgar’s ploys while the rest of the world is in pain.
Impossibility of having a fixed definition of the term anarchism emerges as soon as one tries to
settle anarchism down as a stable theory. One might start with the names of Bakunin, Kropotkin,
Proudhon and Godwin and ends up with Deleuze and Foucault who have sometimes been
interpreted “if he were a petty-bourgeois nihilist, who, having deconstructed everything ends
up with nothing to hold on to”(Rousselle, Duane & Evren, Süreyyya 2014, 13). Therefore, there
is no meaning left in labeling Grendel as a rebellious anarchist who does not conform to the
formalities of tyranny. Grendel cannot be seen from one perspective. Grendel cannot be seen
as solely evil as the ‘good’ in Beowulf is dogmatic tyranny. Thus, the others – or in Grendel’s
situation misfits or outlaws – will always find their meaning in contrast with pre-established,
self-serving systems. We can identify others in real-life that are similar to Grendel as a pioneer
of post-anarchy. For example, “the legendary protest against the World Trade Organization
in November 1999” dramatized their resistance to the entire world (Sheehan, 2003: 7– 23
in Rousselle, Duane; Evren, Süreyyya, 3). Since France in the 1960’s, few people predicted a
protest of that magnitude. The general opinion was that most people were happy and satisfied
with global tyranny and its outcomes. The 1999 WTO protests in Seattle revealed that wherever
and whenever there is a tyranny, exploitation or injustice, there will be always ‘Grendels’ to
overthrow this despotism. Thus, Grendel cannot be destroyed or labeled as evil. He cannot be
limited to cliché understandings of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Instead, we must look beyond this simplistic
dichotomy, examining Grendel in light of recent world events and a post-anarchist perspective.
Though villainized by the circumstances of the story, Grendel serves as the savior, overcoming
the tyranny of Hrothgar, ushering in justice for all. As Voltaire states, those who make people
believe the absurdity that Grendel is a pure evil actually contribute to Grendel’s lynching.

References

Gardner, J. (1989). Grendel (Vintage books ed.). New York: Vintage Books.
Meaning of Numbers in the Bible The Number 14. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2015.
Raffel, B. (1999). Beowulf. New York: Signet Classic. Kindle Edition.
Rousselle, D., & Evren, S. (Eds.). (2011). Post-anarchism: A reader. London: Pluto Press. Kindle
Edition. What is the homo economicus? (2008, September 29). Retrieved October 13, 2015.

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 Afrocentric Visions in Jean-Marie Gustave
Le Clezio’s Onitsha

Asim Aydin
Karabuk University, Turkey

Abstract

There are many possible versions of one single reality as long as there are different
cultures that create different civilizations that affect the minds of individuals who are bought up
with different value systems. The subject matter of this paper is purely and simply on African
continent. Africa and its blackness have been created and recreated from the viewpoint of
different cultural perspectives. The African continent, beginning with its rediscovery as a matter
of colonial and imperial concerns and interests, became a place mostly identified with perceived
inferiority, weakness, vulnerability, savagery, primitiveness, or at least backwardness, political
instability, and conflicts from a Eurocentric perspective. It is aimed to depict the picture of Africa
and blackness by consorting to the viewpoint of Afrocentrism. This paper will demonstrate how
Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio represents the image of Africa in his novel Onitsha and determine
to what extent it matches the theory of Afrocentrism.

Key words: colonialism, Afrocentrism, Africa, Egypt, Europe, imperialism

There are many possible versions of one single reality as long as there are different cultures
that create different civilizations that affect the minds of individuals who are bought up with
different value systems. The subject matter of this paper is purely and simply on African continent.
Africa and its blackness have been created and recreated from the viewpoint of different cultural
perspectives. It is aimed to depict the picture of Africa and blackness by consorting to the
viewpoint of Afrocentrism. This paper will demonstrate how Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
represents the image of Africa in his novel Onitsha anddetermine to what extent it matches the
theory of Afrocentrism.

214
 The African continent, beginning with its rediscovery as a matter of colonial and imperial
concerns and interests, became a place mostly identified with perceived inferiority, weakness,
vulnerability, savagery, primitiveness, or at least backwardness, political instability, and conflicts
from a Eurocentric perspective. John Mcleod (2000) in his Beginning Postcolonialism puts forward
his own viewpoint related to how the Western nations endeavored to justify themselves:
[I]t is right and proper to rule over other peoples, and by getting colonized people to accept
their lower ranking in the colonial order of things-a process we can call ‘colonizing the mind’. It
operates by persuading people to internalize its logic and speak its language; to perpetuate the
values and assumptions of the colonizers as regards the ways they perceive and represent the
world (p.18).

As the counter discourse in opposition to the Eurocentric vision, Afrocentrism was

promoted to develop a new vision that would focus on Afrocentric values. To define the term
Afrocentrism simply, it is a way of seeing the world from an African point of view. The theory is
aimed to place Africa in a central position, especially when referring to the African culture and
history, by this means, to prevent misrepresentation. William Cobb (1997), a professor of history,
takes this argument a stage further and claims that “Afrocentrism represents (literally) a type of
black Reconstruction. The objective is to counter the Eurocentric mythology which has been
passed off as the history of the West” (p. 125).

A distinguished Afrocentric critic, Molefi K. Asante, who is seen as the “Godfather of

Afrocentrism” and “the most influential, widely quoted Afrocentric writer today” (Howe, 1999,
p. 230, 231) defines the role of an Afrocentrist as it is quoted in Clarence E. Walker’s (2001) We
Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument about Afrocentrism:

The Afrocentrist seeks to uncover and use codes, paradigms, symbols, motifs,
myths, and circles of discussion that reinforce the centrality of African ideals and
values as a valid frame of reference for acquiring and examining data. Such a method
appears to go beyond western history in order to revalorize the African place in the
interpretation of Africans, continental and diasporan (Qtd in Walker, 2001, p. xviii).

One of the leading figures in the development of Afrocentric thought, Cheikh Anta Diop,
a Senegalese historian puts forth:

Both the biological origin of humanity, and the emergence of civilization,

took place in Africa. Egypt was the cradle of the latter, was specifically a black or
Negro civilization, and was the fullest flowering of a cultural system unifying the
whole African continent... Ancient Greece and hence all European civilization –
took almost everything of value usually claimed to be theirs from this antecedent
African-Egyptian culture. Africa...must recover the glories of its ancient past,
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 rejecting the colonial and racist mystifications which has obscured those glories, and
progress to the future by drawing on the lessons of the old Nile valley philosophies
(quoted in Howe, 1999, p. 165-166 ).

The representatives of the movement stress the fact that African heritage has to be explored
because it has been erased by Eurocentric propaganda as being insignificant and nonexistent.

Jean-Maria Gustave Le Clezio, as the Africanist, has been the product of a transformation
from being a born European to becoming an African fan because he was born in Nice, France and
he moved to Nigeria, like his boy-protagonist Fintan who accounts for experiences in Onitsha,
Africa in his novel Onistha. Having had the opportunity to live in both opposite and distinct
cultural settings, Le Clezio had the chance to compare and contrast both continents and their
social, cultural, historical and political differences. He came to a point where he understood
that European imperialism, imperial expansion over Europe and its process of dehumanizing
colonization of Africa had been a fact which, by the time he went to Africa, had already come to
an end. As a man who knows both sides of the coin showing both Africa and Europe, he found
the opportunity to compare and contrast both European and African approaches which were in
conflict with each other.

In his outstanding novel, Onistsha, Le Clezio takes his subject matter from a boy’s
perspective through which he offers a new perception of Africa devoid of biased opinions. His
protagonist, Fintan is an innocent child who is by nature cleansed of all preliminary partial
approaches to Africa being a primitive land.

Clezio assigns Fintan the task of writing his diary which will be enriched by every
significant word he learns in African language, every encounter with blacks who were suffering
great traumas, but who, as he understands, are philosophical in depicting a world of faith, social
integrity and decency in their daily life.

Fintan creates a fictitious character called Esther, who initiates a long journey to experience
the African way of life in Africa. His character comes to Africa in 1948, as Fintan writes at the
very beginning of his story “SHE JUMPS ON THE DOCK AND WALKS IN THE FOREST” (Le
Clezio, 1997, p.35). Although for Fintan, Esther stands for his mother Mau, he gradually identifies
himself with Esther, and as she does, he leaves back the Surabaya, the pleasant ship of whites that
brings them to Africa and he walks into the deep forest of dark and unknown Africa. Clezio
introduces Africa as a land of ambiguity which creates more of horror to Fintan than comfort
and relaxation. With a child’s instinct, Fintan is afraid of Africa. It is the naive fear of child Fintan
whose basic response to Africa is due to probable dangers from wild animals, natural threats and
possible inhuman and violent black behavioral patterns. In his diary, he writes,

SHE ARRIVES IN ONITSHA. A HUGE HOUSE IS READY, WITH A

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 MEAL AND A HAMMOCK. ESTHER LIGHTS A FIRE TO SCARE
AWAY THE WILD ANIMALS... ESTHER WATCHES THE STORMS
ABOVE THE FOREST. A BLACK MAN HAS BROUGHT HER A CAT.
I AM HUNGARY, SAYS ESTHER. THEN I’LL GIVE YOU THIS CAT.
TO EAT? NO, IN FRIENDSHIP (p.36).

Fintan’s long journey also accounts for both whites and blacks who co-inhabit the area. Blacks
are given in full opposition to white existence. Africa has been accounted for by such Europeans
who have created horrible stories. For intstance, Florizel terrorizes Mao and Fintan because

[h]e would tell terrible stories about Africa, stories of children kidnapped and sold
on the marketplace cut up in little pieces, stories of ropes stretched taut across the
road at tonight to trip up cyclists, who were then also turned into meat pies; then the
one about a parcel addressed to a rich businessman in Abidjan which, when it was
opened at customs, was found to contain the hacked-up pieces, wrapped in brown
paper, of the body of a little girl, hands and feet and head (p.29).

Being a naive child, Fintan is first shocked by the stories attributed to terrorizing and
violent primitive blacks. However, Clezio educates his readers, like he initiates Fintan. He
gradually invites his readers to understand that Africa has long been colonized by white man.
Its black peoples have long been tormented; the distinction between the Europeans has been
as striking as the distinction between white and black as of binary oppositions. He also implies
that rather than these binary opposites which create camping and segregation, through Fintan,
he invites his readers to the real Africa where African people have created very rich stories, very
colorful cultures and very impressive sounds besides a glamorous landscape that offers complete
tranquility to those who are willing to see rather than preferring to keep blind.

It is clear that he associates his destination, Africa with his father, when he says “I don’t
want to go to Africa” (p. 6). However, as he gets more used to Africa, he begins to understand
who his father is and why he is in Africa. Fintan gradually feels empathy with his father. The more
he listens to him, the more he loves Africa and feels compassion about it as he grows: Fintan
listened to all these names, he listened to the voice of this man who was his father, and he felt
tears in his eyes, without understanding why (p. 97).

Le Clezio offers Africa from an African point of view as a reality which is a rich historical
and cultural heritage. It does not suggest anger, but it invites readers to understand by listening to
sounds, hearing what Africans are saying and grasping the myth of Africa as being respectful to
all living and nonliving beings, with their habitats and geographical distances. As Fintan learns,
readers learn African signs and symbols, connotations rather than denotations and appreciate
what great civilization Africa has been able to produce.
  217
 Clezio as a writer combines his memories with a European-constructed picture of deviated
Africa and comes up with a new depiction of Africa as a land which has suffered much from
imperialism and colonialism. In his long voyage, Fintan depicts the origins of African civilization.
He instinctively grasps Africa with all his senses and it comes natural to him, intuitively:
Fintan breathed in the odor. It entered him, soaked into his body. Odor of this dusty earth, odor
of the very blue sky, the gleaming palm trees, the white houses. Odor of women and children
dressed in rags. Odor which possessed the town. Fintan has always been there; Africa was already
a memory (p. 20).

As mush as he breaths the African air, he feels connected to it deep down inside:

When will we be there? Fintan was aware of a growing impatience. He wanted to

arrive, there, at that port, at the end of the journey, at the end of the coast of Africa.
He wanted to stop, to penetrate the dark line of the coast, cross rivers and forests, to
Onitsha, it was a magical name. A magnetic name. There was no resisting it (p.33).

A long journey reminds Le Clezio’s reader of the necessity of creating a new Africa with
its past and future with a healthy present. Africa itself has a great capability to tell its own story
and enlighten its own past. He strives to remind his readers to open up their perceptions and
concentrate on the potentials of Africa with all its sounds and sights which color its myth. Before
all one has to hear about the African drums, as Fintan hears: “at night there was the beating
of drums” (p. 65). The drums are not threat of primitive people but they are the sounds of a
harmonious totality of the black folks of Africa who speak out the same language through the
beating of drums. The drums are the sounds coming from the past, the sounds of “the ancestors,
the initiated” (p. 71). Those who are alien to the beating of the drums, those are lonely in Africa
and who are not familiar with the drums, take them as a threat for their survival and their
reaction becomes an immediate offence and violence. Therefore, the drums are connected with
the “brutality of the colonial rule … [and] the psychological and emotional condition of the
colonizer” (Decoorne, 2013, p. 38). They are also connected with the African past and rich source
for a colorful African culture to which Europeans are completely alien.

Fintan’s long journey, therefore, has to begin from a distant past. As an ignorant boy, he
invents a myth of his own that he associates with Africa. He situates his mother in his story
and reveals his mother’s condition as being alien to this culture: Onitsha, this unknown world,
where nothing would be like anything she had experienced-not the things, not the people, not
the odors, not the color of the sky-not even the taste of water (Le Clezip, p. 51).

As Fintan’s father is much concentrated with the African past, he also gets his son involved
in the myths which began with queen of Meroe. As he examines why queen of Meroe has led her
people to the Nile and settled there. The new world which the people of Meroe sought would

218
be in the inner depths of Africa. Their experience of Exodus defines their role as transferring
an ancient culture and civilization to inner parts of Africa where a long history of common
experience would be established.

In order to create real images of Africans, Clezio follows Asante’s method of offering real
black ‘agents, actors and participants rather than as marginals” who are depicted as having a
historical past enriched by common experiences, values, shared identities, traditions and
languages (Asante, 2009, p. 2). Clezio, like Asante believes that he, as a writer, must highlight “the
central role of African subject within the context of African history, thereby removing Europe
from the centre of the African reality” (p. 1). This reality can best be created by myths which
“tie all relationships together, whether personal or conceptual” (p. 4). The myth of the people of
Meroe and their withdrawal to a new land at a new time depicts real human suffering, effort and
experience for survival and to re-establish a new culture defined in a new geography. That is why
Clezio depicts the Meroe experience as beginning from Egypt in the year 350, transporting all
their outstanding intellectuals and artists of the time to the new location. There, they establish
a new culture on the rich background of their Egyptian origins. The construction of the Meroe,
however, becomes a new threat, especially to the British, who have been dominating the Niger
region with the armed forces and troops of the British Empire.

Fintan becomes a part of the solid African landscape with its abundance of cultural
richness as well as natural beauty. He begins to appreciate the African culture which was once
alien to him. As long as he begins to see the beauty and reality of the culture and its people, “It
seemed to him that he was born here, by this river, under this sky; that he has always known this
place” (Le Clezio, p. 151). Fintan as a boy learns, eliminating his prejudice against Africa and
Africans, that both must be respected: “Fintan stopped his flailing. He took a bit of the red earth
into his hands-a light dust, home to a larva, precious as a gem” (p. 154). The larvas of termites
which were once alien to him have become ‘precious as a gam’ to him, which marks a complete
change from alienation to co-existence.

Another effort put by Clezio in making a culture apparent and its people visible is his account
of the long journey of a myth that begins in Egypt and that continues in Niger. The myth, again as
discussed, is a collection of stories that account for the efforts of a people in confirming that they
existed which is also evidential with the cultural products that they have created. This long journey
is accounted through the research and dreams of Geoffroy whose effort in making a people visible
ends in his complete “obsession with Egypt” (p. 141), exhaustion, his final illness and unfortunate
death. However, it is through his efforts that the myth is transferred to the oncoming generations.
The myth is the embodiment of signs and signifiers like “the plumes of the wings and tale of the
falcon” (p. 141). The expression of “the word strength” (p. 103) the symbols or signs rather may
seem primitive since they do not conform to the western science of letters. However, the signs

  219
are there explaining direct references to nature and the human response to natural phenomenon.
The signs, therefore, increase the amount of credibility of a nation that once existed and they are
the tokens like any cultural production which has been handed to the present from an ancient
past. They are imbedded in the geography, sealed with history, reminiscent of a culture that once
existed. As long as the visible features of a culture are there, it endures no matter how “deaf and
dumb” it may seem like Oya, the last queen of Meroe. Deafness and dumbness are to be attributed
to those who defy and reject to perceive the fact the culture is still there and it cannot be torn away
from the earth where it flourished. As long as the culture endures, the colonizer vanishes. This is
the Africanist perception which is articulated by Sabine Rodes:

“honor, signorina! Have a look about you! The days are numbered for all of us,
all of us! The empire is finished, signorina, it’s crumbling on every side, turning to
dust; the great ship of empire is sinking honorably! You speak of charity, don’t you,
and your husband lives in his dream world, and meanwhile everything is crumbling
around you! But I shan’t leave. I shall stay here to see it all, that’s my mission, my
vocation, to watch the ship go under” (p.143).

Sabine Rodes, the British secret agent whose actual name is Roderich Matthews explains
that the British Empire, one of the major colonizers of the underdeveloped world is falling apart.
However, as it falls apart he is determined to execute his mission till the very end to witness that
everything also falls apart in Africa. The metaphoric ship of the British Empire, he believes, will
drag an entire African civilization with itself, in its whirlpool. However, he is mistaken according
to Clezio, and Africanists. The wreckage of the British Empire has long rusted and there are no
slaves anymore to strip off its rust as it is mentioned at the beginning of the novel:

Maou joined Fintan on the deck. “Why are they doing that?” Fintan asked. “Poor
souls,” said Maou. She explained that the blacks’ job was to remove the rust from
the ship in order to pay for their own and their families’ transportation to the next
port. The banging obeyed an incomprehensible, chaotic rhythm, as if it were they
now who were causing the Surabaya to move on through the sea (p.24).

By the end of the novel, there is no trace of either Surabaya or the British Empire anymore.
They have left traces of destruction, but they have become invisible as a colonial power signifier.
What is left behind is a waste land in Africa where

There is no more shore, no more land, only the rafts of islands lost in the swirling
of the water. There on Bonny Island the huge petroleum companies-Gulf, British
Petroleum-have sent their geologists to explore the river mud. Sabine Rodes saw
them arrive one day on the quay strange, bright red giants dressed in colored shorts
and caps. No one had ever seen anyone like them on the river. He said to Okawho-

220
 but he might have been speaking to himself-, the end of the empire.” The foreigners
set up camp to the south, at Nun River, Ughelli, Ignita, Apara, Afam. Everything
is going to change. Pipelines will run through the mangrove; there will be a new
town on bonny Island; the world’s largest cargo ships will come here; there will be
towering chimneys, warehouses, giant reservoirs (p.172).

A long journey has been taken since the exodus from Egypt. Africa has been devastated
by Eurocentric colonist mentality and greed. It seems as if Africa has lost every possibility
of emerging out of nothingness. Yet, Clezio implies with the birth of Oya’s child that there is
anticipation “when it will be possible for everything to be born again” (p. 176). The rebirth Clezio
anticipates is through accepting the principles of Africanism, one of the most significant of which
is that Africans have to decide on which way to follow:

It is the African Afrocentric perspective which liberates Africans in deciding on their own
future. Africa should not follow what Hegel believes: Hegel opines that Africa only hears the echo
of the majestic march of world civilization across Europe and through which the absolute spirit
fulfills and realizes itself (Chukwuokolo, 2014, p. 29).

It must overcome all destruction that has been caused by colonization. The dialectical
inter-phase that occurred during European colonization left Africa and its diaspora wrecked
psychologically, economically, culturally, politically and otherwise (p.24).

It has to learn how to emerge. This can be done if Africans understand. This does not mean
that we should throw away the values that we have but that we should adopt tradition with a new
ideology that will take our experiences of the past 300 years into cognizance. This will predispose
us with knowing what we want and being serious to say not to what we do not want (p. 35-36).

As a coclusion, Le Clezio, taking advantage of his dual experience, both in Europe and in
Africa comes forth with a new vision. He believes unless one lives in Africa, one cannot integrate
the European mentality with the African experience. His apporoach is that one has to come closer
in order to see Africa clearly. For this reason, he offers African visions in order to make his reader
see details in Africa. He considers his reader a patient suffering from hypermetropia so he offers
a converging lense which he believes will give a clear vision of Africa. With this lense, he expects
his readers to see every bit of detail as close as possible. He begins from the Egyptian myths to
Egyptian exodus. He gives every detail through the eyes of Geoffroy from tribal celebrations to
disasters, from architecture to climatic phenomena, from natural details to the details of March
of both European and African civilizations. With Le Clezio’s lense, his readers can see Africa in
detail but Europe which he naturally has the potential to see remains at a distance. In his novel,
only distorted European images appear. His Europeans, who have clear images as long as they are
in Europe, become blurred and deformed images of actual Europeans.

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References

Asante, M.K. (2014). Afrocentricity. www.asante.net/articles/1/afrocentricity/ (accessed:

05.02.2014).
Chukwuokolo, J. C. (2014). Afrocentrısm or Eurocentrism: The Dilemma of African Develop-
ment. www.ajol.info/index.php/og/article/.../40958 (accessed: 20.08.2014).
Cobb, W. (1997). Out of Africa: The Dilemmas of Afrocentricity, The Journal of Negro History,
Vol. 82, No. 1(winter, 1997):122-132.pdf, (accessed.18.06.2014)
Decoorne, E. (2013). Perpetuating the African Myth: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and
J.M.G. Le Clezio’s Onitsa. lib.ugent.be/.../RUG01-002060329_2013_000... (Accessed
5.03.2014)
E. Walker, C. (2001). We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument about Afrocentrism. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Howe, S. (1999). Afrocentrism Mythical Pasts and Imagined Homes. London/New York: Verso.
Le Clezio, J.M.G. (1997). Onitsha, translated by Alison Anderson. Lincoln/London: University
of Nebraska Press.
Mcleod, J. (2000). Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester/New York: Manchester University
Press.

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 The Cleavage between Satire and Irony in J. Austen’s Novels

Yildiray Cevik
International Balkan University, Macedonia

Abstract

Jane Austen is identified to cherish the style of Aristophanes or Moliere in her designation
as a social comedy writer. Her conformity to comedy originates from the conception that an
ironic writer is to make the reader reflect on the rules of social propriety while teaching a moral
lesson. Irony and satire as types of comedy in general are far from being reconcilable elements
in her works, for her ironic sense of the irresolvable incongruity between pretense and actuality
is employed in the service of morality. Austen examines moral platitudes in the light of her own
ironic, rather than satiric, perceptions of reality. Being an affirmative novelist, positive values
abound in Austen’s works. Irony is the yardstick by which she measures the adequacy of moral
positions in her novels. Austen rather draws the restricting boundaries of moral perceptions in
a mocking, funny way keeping her distance from ‘wry-humor’. Hence, this paper deals with how
Austen forms her unique conception of ironical comedy and how she keeps the cleavage between
satire and irony through striking examples in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

Key words: satire, irony, comedy, criticism, morality

Introduction

Jane Austen novels provide a constant engagement of the readers into the judgments that
are expected to derive from the implicit hints about the characters. Jane Austen does not present
ready-made judgments, inevitable features of the characterization. The characters are depicted
to offer incorrect or limited view of a particular person in which the use of irony and authorial
presence become essential to get into the profound analysis of the events and situations. The
limits in which the reader takes part in the utilization of the irony and satire varies in accordance
with the depth of the knowledge Austen presents for each character. “Enough distance is placed

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to prevent the reader from viewing the heroine uncritically, but so much as not to lose the reader’s
sympathy for [the characters]” (Erdogan, 2003, p. 6). Austen suggests irony through the scarcity
of knowledge for the characters, in particular for those who are placed as secondary characters
that add varieties to the continuation of the novels through additional events and information.
The discrepancies of between the reader’s knowledge and that of the characters are the foundation
on which ironies are established. Her conformity to comedy originates from the conception that
an ironic writer is to make the reader reflect on the rules of social propriety while teaching a
moral lesson. In doing this irony is the yardstick by which she measures the adequacy of moral
positions in her novels. Austen rather draws the restricting boundaries or moral perceptions in a
mocking funny way keeping her distance from “wry-humor”. As for satire, Austen uses ridicule
and wit to criticize harshly in “Juvenalian” rather than “Horatian” manner. The division of satire
is applied in Pride and Prejudice whereas irony is majorly utilized in Sense and Sensibility.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility does not present a plot through which irony is seen as an
indispensable element; rather, Austen utilizes irony in the characterization of secondary figures.
Since secondary characters are not privileged to speak out for their matters, ironic tone exists
with the narrator’s remarks and clues. Erdogan (2003) in her dissertation notes that the narrator
utters statements of inferences and conclusions to be drawn by the reader. Sense and Sensibility
reads many opinions of explicit definitions and implied interventions whose evidence lies in
reader’s ability to understand the story. In this connection, Goonerate remarks; “The reader’s
participation in both the comment and action is a prerequisite for understanding the moral and
social complexities …” (1980, p. 120). As an example, Austen prepares the reader of Sense and
Sensibility for the exploitation of ironies by working on class-conscious society in which social
status through marriage for women renders them vulnerable for abuses, which are ironically
displayed as not too important at all.

Austen provokes the readers to consider different conducts, and this conduct is attained
through the use of irony. By applying irony, the novel imposes readers to be “skeptical about
characters, events, and attitudes” (Erdogan, 2003, p. 36). As Nash remarks, Austen opts to evade
from surfacing a single view, but contradictory ones leading readers into deeper thoughts (1980).
Although not explicitly imposed, ridicules through irony urge readers to laugh with Austen.
Sense and Sensibility is plotted with the help of characters vainly using observation, rational
analysis and commentaries that do not help out resolutions. To put it concrete terms, money and
marriage are viewed in ironic tones that both invite the readers to reflect and make fun of the
characters, which is not aimed at in satire that insult or humiliate in public. It is so as it is handled
in the social and economic conditions of the era.

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 Mrs. Ferrars came to accept the affair between Lucy and Robert in which Lucy employed
her smart tactics. Yet, it is seen that Lucy is rarely displayed as an admirable character whose
actions are based on selfishness. In this connection Austen makes irony in her story:

The whole of Lucy’s behavior in the affair, and the prosperity which crowned it, …,
may be held forth as a most encouraging instance of what an earnest, an unceasing
attention to self-interest, however its progress may be apparently obstructed, will do
in securing every advantage of fortune, with no other sacrifice than that of time and
conscience (Austen, 2010, p. 339).

As we see from the lines, the tone is positive, and most encouraging; however, Lucy’s
behavior is not so at all, which makes an irony without ridiculing the character. Austen leaves the
reader with the ironic lesson learned from Lucy, although she is not appreciable in her conducts.
As Nash (1980) states, Austen struggles to enliven the attraction of the characters through irony
rather than damaging their motive for existence and function in the novel.

In a similar token, Robert is drawn “as a person and face, of strong, natural insignificance”
(Austen, 2010); while choosing a toothpick case, he spent a lot of time examining and arguing
on the case, ignoring the people around him and presenting a source of irony in this scene. As
Kuwahara states (31), Austen indulges the readers into the inconsistency between reality and
appearance, which slights him in character leaving a room for his recovery in weakness. Thus,
Austen’s strategy in the novel is to cherish the hope for recoverability of the points of criticism.
The potentiality of the hope is enlivened in that the ironies are in the form of delusions from
external circumstances without control. For example, Austen creates the dual outlets for similar
cases as Elinor stands for sense and Marianne for sensibility.

Austen is neither a moralist nor a comedy writer in the full sense. The best illustration of
this can be seen in Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen both depicts the series of incidents through
which Marianne grows into maturity and reveals the comic situations in which the bourgeois
middle class are dealt with as a result of their over-sentimentality

In the novel, if Marianne, who represents sentimentality, and Elinor, who stands for
common sense, did not have other features, they would lose their credibility in depicting
human characteristics. However, Marianne, seen to achieve her success in artistic and literature
endeavors, struggles to compensate for her weaknesses. The novel exploits the idea that characters
are required to render the due significance not only to attain emotional accruement, but also to
reason and obtain common sense in societal connections. Austen exploits humor and irony as
the Victorian middle class and members of regency hold financial and marital status very highly,
and vanity, inconsistent relationships in their relations.

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 Austen depicts the view point against wealth and marriage in the society of that period.
She is not the writer that categorically ridicules societal weakness in those points; on the contrary,
she conveys her tolerance to the reader in a humorous politeness. Thus, by doing so, Austen’s
tolerating irony, not ridiculing satire, comes to the foreground.

Pride and Prejudice

Austen desired to cut away from the encircling limits of the sentimental novel, the style
considered proper and sufficient to grasp the creative skills of a woman writer. She hesitated to
speak out her satire on feminist issues. As an acknowledged novelist, Austen discovered that
although she had to put on the claims of the conservative literary establishments, she could
play through the world of satire in Pride and Prejudice. As a dancer in the traditions of the
satiric trickster (Wylie, cited in Erdogan 62), Austen crosses her comedic message by existing
in the conservative tone of her novel and by depicting a satiric subtext which is at cross with
conventionality. On this point Fraiman calls it “counter narrative” that is achieved through the
depiction of the ideal female to present actually “dissident tracks” (cited in Erdogan, 2003). In the
novel such “dissident tracks” are portrayed through a female character whose words and behavior
are criticized while the heroine holds an untarnished role model (Wylie, cited in Erdogan, 2003).

Mrs. Benet in Pride and Prejudice is formed as “a dissident track” reflected as a truth telling
female source of satire. Mrs. Bennet appears to be material for ridicule due to her mindlessness.
The author’s veiled satire is present as long as polemical failure to understand someone else’s
discourse or pathos charged life has been appropriated through false languages labeled for things
and events (Austen, 1999, p, 403). As an example, Mrs. Bennet says to her husband: “You do not
know what I suffer” (p, 5) which originates from her imaginary sufferings of a privileged female
restricted in the patriarchy. Her trials to receive sympathy from her husband make her stupid
regarding the entails of the patriarchy. Mr. Bennet’s privileged position makes it hard for him to
identify with the vulnerability of his family members in a system created by the patriarchy. In
addition, Mr. Bennet is supposed to “remain powerless nothing left to do other than suffer at the
cost of feminine disenfranchisement” (Austen, 2010, p. 24). In this case Austen’s satire to ridicule
the patriarchy through female characters becomes obvious. Mrs. Bennet is aware that the legal
custom of the entail dictates that she and her children maybe destitute because she has failed to
produce a son and an heir (Wylie, 64). Thus the loss of position looms over her; her happiness is
overshadowed by the treat of entail, which leads to the loss of husband, wealth, position in society
accompanied by her humiliation. Mrs. Bennet’s complaint in this regard calls for the viability of
the concept of “reason”. Austen satirizes that “what society defines as reasonable and rational is
that which benefits the patriarchy”. Female anxieties which do not result in masculine good are
defined as irrational and folly.

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 Despite the criticism of patriarchy, Austen satirizes that Mrs. Bennet is expected to secure
a position in society. The Bennet girls, ignored of the basic cooking and housekeeping are tasked
to attract Prince Charming of wealth and prestige. Their future is dependent on the chance that
each will attract a wealthy gentleman. Mr. Bennet’s ill fate being married to such a woman creates
somehow sympathy in readers. However, Mr. Bennet’s humorous situation in his wife’s ignorance
is “not the sort of happiness which a man would wish to owe to his wife” (Austen, 2010, p. 236).
Austen depicts a desperate woman of waving thoughts and makes us question in a satiric way the
system of patriarchy and gentry that has produced this character.

Austen’s novel is basically connected with “the social fabric of late eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century England, a patriarchal society in which men held the economic and social
power” (Whitaker, 2005, p. 43). In an often satirical portrait of the men and women attempting to
gain a livelihood, Austen “subtly and ironically points out faults in the system, raising questions
about the values of English society and the power structure of the country” (Whitaker, 2005, p.
46). Pride and Prejudice includes many points of social realism, and it deals with combining the
bourgeoisie and the aristocracy in the period of the Napoleonic wars and at the beginning of the
industrial revolution. It is also focused on a discussion which enforces its plot and introduces
the core of the protagonist. Interested in the balance between pragmatism, or the necessity of
securing a marriage, and idealism, particularly Elizabeth’s romanticism and individualism,
Austen dramatizes her heroine’s struggle to find a place within the conservative social institution
of marriage (Erdogan, 2003). The exact character of this balance does not prove obvious, and
despite what seems to be a happy marriage, it may not be entirely possible to reconcile Elizabeth’s
independence and naturalness with Mr. Darcy’s conservatism and conventionality (Erdogan,
2003). The novel proceeds toward a strong balance and a change in the basic traits of these
characters that will result in an agreement of the world- views that they represent.

Jane Austen thoroughly humbles her patrician hero. Darcy is subjected to a series of what
Mrs. Bennet would call “set-downs” at the hands of the anti-Evelina, Elizabeth Bennet; and
through his love for Elizabeth, and the shock he receives from her behavior, he comes to see
himself as he really is and to repent of his pomposity and pride. Toward the end of the novel
Darcy is forced to admit to Elizabeth:

“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a
child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was
given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit ... my parents ...
allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for
none beyond my own family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world, to
wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such
I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you,

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 dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard
indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to
you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my
pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased” (Austen, 2010, p. 369).

But Darcy’s humiliation and attainment of self-knowledge do not constitute the whole
story of Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen does not allow her anti-Evelina to rout her patrician
hero completely.

In discussing Sense and Sensibility it was noted that an ironic reversal of attitude toward
the traditional deluded “sensibility” heroine and her sensible counterpart takes place in the
novel. A similar conduct is noted in Pride and Prejudice in Austen’s treatment of Darcy and his
relationship to Elizabeth Bennet. Once Darcy has been humbled, Jane Austen turns her irony
on Elizabeth. She shows that Elizabeth, in her resentment of Darcy’s conscious superiority, has
exaggerated his faults and failed to see that there is much in him that is good. Elizabeth proves to
have been blind and prejudiced in her views on the relationship between Darcy and Wickham,
too willing to accept Wickham’s stories because they so nicely confirmed her own feelings about
Darcy. When she reads the letter that follows Darcy’s first proposal, she is forced to admit that her
resentment has led her to be foolish and unjust.

Though Elizabeth exonerates Darcy’s conduct in relation to Jane and Bingley and to Wickham,
she cannot excuse the manner of his proposal to her. In justice, also, she is forced to recognize in
that the performance of a man made ridiculous by vanity. He was vain enough to think that his
social consequence made him personally desirable. Just as vanity drove reason away in Elizabeth’s
case, so too has it acted in Darcy’s: he proposed to Elizabeth, one remembers, against his reason. So
the problem of Darcy’s manners remains, as does that of the Bennets’ conduct. Elizabeth and Darcy
can find no satisfactory personal relationship until these two problems are solved.

Conclusion

Marriage itself has a social extension in Jane Austen’s novels that one must always expect
to appear. Marriage is never a matter of personal recognition of individual worth only, important
and indispensable as that is. One can presume that the “promise of the introduction” of any Jane
Austen novel takes in the assimilation of the couple into a larger context. Jane Austen sees man,
“not as a solitary being completed in himself, but only as completed in society” (Austen, 2010, p.
19). Elizabeth by having her marriage accepted by others sees to it that her personal judgment of
Darcy effectively replaces the crude judgments of him that temporarily prevail. As soon as Jane
and Mr. Bennet understand that Elizabeth loves Darcy and is marrying him because she loves
him, not because he is rich, they rejoice in her engagement. Elizabeth’s mother, however, knows

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nothing about love’s relation to respect, reason, and affection. Mrs. Bennet is the poor man’s Lady
Catherine. Marriage is good because every girl needs a husband to support her; it is the custom.
Marriage to a rich man, since it implies indescribable wile, shows the greatest respect for custom.
Pride and Prejudice dramatizes the possibility of an ordered world in which people are frustrated
when they cannot see or when they refuse to recognize what is real in the world about them.
Conversely, in this ordered world people who see reality and act reasonably in relation to it find
fulfillment and happiness (Wiesenfarth, 1967).

References

Austen, Jane, (2010) Sense and Sensibility. Dejavu Publishing. Istanbul.

Austen, Jane. (1999) Pride and Prejudice. Wordsworth Classics. Clays Ltd.
Erdogan, Gokcen. (2003) “Control of readers in Jane Austen’s Novels: Emma and Sense and Sen-
sibility”. Unpublished MA Thesis. METU, Ankara.
Lascelles, Mary. (1989) Jane Austen and her art. Oxford University Press. London.
Nash, Geoffrey. (1980) Notes on Pride and Prejudice. York Press, Hong Kong.
Mansell, Darrel. (1972). The Novels of Jane Austen. The Macmillan Press, London.
Moler Keneth L. (1986) “Pride and Prejudice and Patrician Hero”. Jane Austen’s Art of
Allusion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 74-108. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 29
Dec. 2012.
Wiesenfarth, Joseph. (1967) “The Plot of Pride and Prejudice.” The Errand of Form: An
Assay of Jane Austen’s Art. New York: Fordham University Press, 1967. 60-85.
Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Russel Whitaker. Vol. 150.
Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 29 Dec. 2012.
Document URL
Zelicovici, Dvora. “Reversal in Pride and Prejudice.” Studies in the Humanities 12.2 (Dec. 1985):
106-114. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Russel
Whitaker. Vol. 150. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 29 Dec. 2012.

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 Immigrant Voices through Doyle’s the Deportees

Laila Shikaki
Birzeit University, State of Palestine

Abstract

In Ireland, a land colonized over and over, Roddy Doyle writes about life, mostly from the
point of view of white Irishmen. In The Deportees, a collection of short stories, immigrant issues
in Ireland are used for Doyle as a vehicle for discussion. Instead of focusing on what it means to
be Irish and how to sustain the elements that have made the Irish people known to the rest of the
world, Doyle focuses on Ireland’s immigrants. Through the medium of his writing, Doyle uses
different approaches in writing about immigrants in order to be authentic. This paper will look at
the immigrants of two of Doyle’s short stories “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner”, and “Black
Hoodie”, through the point of view and narration of two very different white Irishmen. Using
similar writing style, different topic choices, and his way of dealing with assimilation, and racism,
I argue that Doyle’s writing is an addition to the Irish Literature cannon, enabling Irish readers to
engage in dialogue about what it means to be Irish without being indoctrinated as they have been
years ago, by the likes of Yeats and Joyce.

Key words: Ireland, immigrant, Doyle, white, identity, voices, Irish, police,
discrimination, race

When it comes to immigrant issues, readers will find words such as “assimilation,” “identity,”
and “racism” relevant and valid for discussion. In immigrant literature, the point of view of the
immigrant, who seldom has voice, is often shared as the author explores ideas of culture and
assimilation through using the voice of the immigrant. In the American canon, many immigrant
authors have shared stories of their homeland. Junot Diaz comes to mind when thinking about
Latin American immigrants, while Khaled Hosseini is an example of Afghan writers who carry
elements of their culture in their writing.

230
 In Ireland, a land colonized over and over, Roddy Doyle writes about life mostly from the
point of view of white Irishmen. In The Deportees, a collection of short stories, immigrant issues
in Ireland are used for Doyle as a vehicle for discussion. Instead of focusing on what it means to
be Irish and how to sustain the elements that have made the Irish people known to the rest of the
world, Doyle focuses on Ireland’s immigrants. Through the medium of his writing, Doyle uses
different approaches in writing about immigrants in order to be authentic. This paper will look at
the immigrants of two of Doyle’s short stories “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner”, and “Black
Hoodie”, through the point of view and narration of two very different white Irishmen. Using
similar writing style, different topic choices, and his way of dealing with assimilation, and racism,
I argue that Doyle’s writing is an addition to the Irish Literature cannon, enabling Irish readers to
engage in dialogue about what it means to be Irish without being indoctrinated as they have been
years ago, by the likes of Yeats and Joyce.

Instead of using the point of view of the immigrant living in Ireland, Doyle chooses the
narrator of “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner” as Larry Linnane, a white and moderate Irish
family guy as his protagonist. Doyle paints a happy picture of a modern family consisting of three
daughters and a son. Throughout the short story, Larry is described in terms of his family and the
life they share: “what Larry really loved was the way the girls brought the world home to him.” Larry
would listen to his daughters discuss men and even sex. Larry is also described as someone who is:
“modern, successful, Irish. And that was exactly how he felt when he listened to his daughters” (3).
What begins as a comfortable happy story about an Irishman living a good life slowly becomes a
pivotal story with a moral about racism and how people suddenly become biased.

Throughout the very first few pages of the story, the reader is taken inside the mind of an
Irishman having to deal firsthand, and for the first time, with a “black fella” (3). Having heard his
daughter speak about a man, Larry is shocked to realize that this man is an immigrant seeking an
asylum. The narrative intensifies as Larry starts to question his discomfort about the fact that his
daughter is seeing a black man. Larry is confused and unable to pinpoint the reason he is upset
that his daughter had: “met him, and danced with him and god-knows-what-elsed with him” (5).
As the story develops, we are caught inside the mind of a middle aged man’s dilemma with racism
and identity. As Larry hears more about “Ben”, he converses with himself after realizing that his
wife “Mona” has none of his issues regarding her daughter’s acquaintance.

Throughout the thoughts of Larry that he shares with his wife, as well as his monologues,
we are slowly introduced to the character of the immigrant, Ben. Although we are hearing the
thoughts of Larry, we are introduced to the interactions that immigrants face as they live their
daily lives in a land that clearly, in the minds of the natives, does not belong to them. In a very
charged scene, we finally meet Ben. But before we are able to “see” him, we are taken into the
bedroom of Larry, where we watch him debate what to wear: “He’d decided against the suit.

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The young fella would probably be in a tracksuit” (10). Such instances of negative assumptions
continue when Larry finally meets “Ben” who comes in a “fuckin’ suit” (11).

Larry continues to demonstrate attitudes of a man who has never imagined himself
having to defend his morals. After meeting Ben, Larry feels as if he himself was the one being
interviewed by his daughter’s man. He is taken aback by his feelings of inferiority, until he finds
another thread to hold onto it—Ben’s perfume. Larry thinks: “A man with a smell was hiding
something. That was what Larry believed” (12). Here, again, Larry uses anything he could to have
the last word. I argue that Larry is not able to handle Ben’s smell because his smell is not “Irish”.
It is not a smell that Larry is used to, much like the fact that Larry, for the first time in his life, is
feeling vulnerable in his own house. Even when Ben takes Larry’s side addressing his daughter:
“Stephanie, your lack of respect for your father shocks me” (15). Larry is slightly amused, but
is again taken aback when Ben addresses him this time, saying: “And your language...I will not
listen to this profanity,” adding: “I find it most offensive” (16).

Just as Larry’s point of view is starting to change about Ben, having seen him as a “small,
handsome, intelligent man” (12), he is faced with a bigger dilemma: meeting a man who seems
to be more moral than he is. Having told Larry to use better language in his own house might
be an indication of Ben not accepting the Irish way of life, which is known to many foreigners
through the medium of fiction and pop culture, but also Larry’s conversation, to be profane.
Larry responds in a way that is normal for him, by cursing. He shouts: “You fuckin’ what?” (16)
telling him to leave his house. Mona, Larry’s wife, saves the situation and asks Ben to stay and
eat her dessert. As Ben stays and the conversation gets back on track, we finally get a better
understanding of Ben’s background. As Ben answers questions about his life in Nigeria, he
mentions his sister who has disappeared.

As we hear the story being told by Ben: “It happened after I left Nigeria,” we see Ben’s body
language painted to us by Larry: “He could see anger and hurt, a face trying to control itself. The
eyes wet, the makings of sweat on the forehead. Each breath a decision.” Here again we are taken
inside Larry’s thoughts where he thinks of a program he had watched about Latin American
women who go: “searching every morning for the bodies of their husbands and sons” (19). Larry
continues to relate to Ben as he remembers feelings of sympathy with the women he watched on
the television. Larry begins to respect Ben by not interrupting his story or asking him any more
questions. As they wait, Ben finally explains how his sister: “spoke her mind,” and how that can
be: “a dangerous activity. In some places and at certain times” (21).

As Larry listens to Ben’s story, we see his description and thoughts of Ben slowly adjusting.
He wants to say something in response to Ben’s story, but he is suddenly short of words. As
everyone is silent, Larry thinks of what will make him happy: “To hear his kids talking and

232
laughing. To fill the room with their noise. To prove that they were all alive and solid” (21). These
thoughts make me believe that Larry, although sympathetic to Ben’s difficult life, only cares for
his own. He does not wish that Ben’s issues would be resolved, either because he is unaware of
solutions, or simply because he does not care. He appears to be sympathetic, but I believe he is
more uncomfortable than sympathetic.

The atmosphere starts to get back to normal when Ben asks for the last piece of dessert and
begins to talk about his brother who was in prison but is now freed. When Larry asks him why he
won’t live back in Nigeria like his brother, even Larry’s youngest son, Laurence, is uncomfortable:
“It was Laurence who’d kicked him” (22), saying: “You told him to go back to Nigeria” (23). When
Larry explains his curiosity, Ben understands and begins to explain why he wants to stay in
Ireland, a message sent not only to the household of Larry, but to Irish readers as well.

Ben begins, at first, by explaining why he hasn’t gone back to visit Nigeria: “The journey
would be too expensive.” Later, Ben lists the reasons he wants to stay in Ireland: “I want to live
here... For now, I want my children to live as children do here. I want them to take comfort for
granted. I want money in my pockets. Is that wrong, do you think?” This is the most we hear
from Ben. Although his words were interrupted by thoughts of Larry looking at his daughter,
Stephanie, who introduced Ben to the family; when Ben spoke of his children, we get an insight
into the thoughts of the immigrant, asylum-seeking Nigerian.

The last piece of dessert which Larry wanted, but Mona gave to Ben, has significance. I
believe it is the bond that connects Larry with Ben. It is the piece that finally lets Larry believe that
not everything in his house, including his daughters, will forever remain his. Ben accepting and
enjoying the last piece is a sign of immigrants finally enjoying some Irish delicacy and hopefully
acceptance and assimilation. I argue that because Larry saw how his wife and daughters were
accommodating to Ben, and in his realization was the bigger realization that he has to come to
terms with the fact that his entire household is appreciative of their relationships, he blurts out:
“I’m sure yis’ll make a very happy couple.” And then we read about his feelings at that moment: “he
meant it. He could see his grandchildren— he had to blink fast, to keep his tears to himself ” (24).

Although we are not sure if Larry’s tears are happy tears or tears of fear and worry, we
suddenly learn that Ben and Larry’s daughter Stephanie are not actually dating. When Stephanie
states that she is not seeing Ben, Larry says “what?” but then he adds: “After all that?” (24). His
statement leads us to think that Larry was actually trying very hard to please his daughters, his
wife, and also himself. It seems that Larry is upset that all of his hard work— trying to come to
terms with his daughter’s relationship with a Nigerian, was not fruitful since Stephanie is not really
intending to start a relationship with Ben, or have children with him. Larry is not happy that he has
stopped being a bigot, or that he has hosted an immigrant trying to find happiness in his country.

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 Much can be said about Larry’s psyche at that moment, but the ending of this story says
much more about the bond these men have made. When Larry met Ben, the first thing he
noticed about him, other than the fact that he was wearing a suit, is his smell. What started as a
suspicious curiosity later became a real curiosity. Now that Larry knows that Ben is not pursuing
his daughter, he asks him for the name of the perfume: “The scent—The perfume; whatever the
fuck. What’s it called?” Ben answers: “Towering Ebony” which comes loaded with meaning to
us, readers. Ebony is dark/black in color, just like many of the immigrants in Ireland. The word
“towering” is what should catch the reader’s eye. Does it describe the state the immigrants will
reach? Their aspired dreams? Or is the perfume’s name coincidental?

In “Reading and Writing Race in Ireland: Roddy Doyle and ‘Metro Eireann-” an article
by Maureen T. Reddy, she argues that: “Ben and Larry connect most convincingly not as fellow
citizens or as potential father-in-law/ son-in-law, but as fellow consumers, as Ben knows where
to shop and can guide Larry to the purchase he now wants to make”, adding that: “The object of
exchange between the men shifts from a woman to a (far safer) cologne” (381). Although I agree
that the topic of cologne is less intense than the discussion of future grandchildren, the brining
up of the issue is intense nevertheless, especially with a name such as “Towering Ebony.” Whether
Larry thought much about the name of the perfume, one is not able to tell, but Larry does show
a second sign of assimilating with the Nigerian immigrant. While the first sign is the dessert the
two men share, the second sign is Larry wanting to know about the perfume. He not only asks
Ben about the name of the perfume, but also whether he’ll be welcomed in the stores that: “sell
the African stuff ” (26).

What we know of Ben through Larry is not little. We do know much more about Larry than
Ben at the end of this short story, but I argue that the knowledge we get from Larry is beneficial
for the readers. For an Irish public, known for its exclusiveness and obsessiveness with creating
an “Irish” identity, what Doyle achieves is not minimal. He plays by the Irish rules — by writing
from the point of view known and liked by the Irish, but he flips it around. He initially introduces
us not to the immigrant, whom we might not know much about, but: “we do, however, know
what it is like to be Larry... and to undergo a kind of conversation experience around issues or
race and nationality through contact with immigrants, especially those from Africa” (Reddy,
384). And that is why I think Doyle succeeds in adding a new element to the Irish writing and
canon. He delivers subtle messages to the Irish through writing stories about people they know,
but in the end it is actually about the immigrants.

In addition to this, Doyle’s stories: “ask non-Irish readers to make a bigger leap of
imagination, as the Others remain Other but are asked to sympathize with those to whom
they are Other and to make allowances for them as they develop a more progressive radical
consciousness” (Reddy, 385), which is the case of Ben who is very patient with Larry. Because

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of such conversations that can go between the Irish readers and separate conversations between
non-Irish readers, one hopes that a conversation can eventually occur between these two. In
Doyle’s works, especially The Deportees, I see this occurring. With Doyle’s trickery in using the
white Irish to voice the immigrants’ thoughts is a beginning of a dialogue.

While Larry in “Guess Who’s Coming to The Dinner” was a middle aged man coming
to terms with racism as an adult, in Doyle’s “Black Hoodie”, we meet a younger white Irishmen
who seems to know more than Larry about racism and discrimination. What we learn about this
unnamed narrator, we learn through his words, but mostly actions, especially toward the end of
the story. The story begins with a very charged sentence: “My girlfriend is Nigerian, kind of, and
when we go through the shops, we’re followed all the way” (130). This sentence indicates from
the start that there is an immigrant to be spoken about or heard from in this story. Unlike “Guess
who’s Coming to The Dinner”, the focus in this story is on the Nigerian immigrant who does not
get mentioned by name.

The focus of “Black Hoodie” is not only on black immigrants, but on the discrimination
that the younger generation faces in Ireland, especially if this generation is a minority in society,
whether in terms of skin color, or place of origin. The narrator who is very knowledgeable to
his age, which one can assume is between 16-18 years, is aware of the discriminatory looks he
and his Nigerian friend arouse when they walk together. Because he has befriended her and has
witnessed firsthand experiences of being treated differently because he is with a black girl, he
seems to be interested in the subject of prejudice. He tells of how cops in Ireland are taught to say:
“‘move along’ in 168 different languages” (130).

The Narrator’s insight into the minds of the Irish policemen is coupled with his knowledge
and critique of the Irish society in general. He begins his criticism of his teacher, and their
“Transition Year” and continues to criticize the policemen themselves. This attitude of his is
shared by his Nigerian friend, who seems educated as well. He says about her: “She always talks
like that, like she’s on the News or something. I like it—a lot” (134). As we learn from Larry about
Ben, we learn from this unidentified narrator about the Nigerian girl. We learn that she is smart,
and we learn that she is informed. She begins a project, that he names “Black Hoodie,” where she
tells their teacher: “We are all labeled and stereotyped...Automatically: We don’t have to say or do
anything. Even you are, Miss” (134). She seems to be aware about her situation as an immigrant,
but also as an adolescent.

When she tells her teacher that her project will “advise retail outlets on stereotyping of
young people, and best practice towards its elimination” (135), we as readers start to believe that
this story is moving its focus from discrimination against Nigerians because they are blacks and
aliens in Ireland, to becoming a story about the youth and how misunderstood and mistreated

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they are. Yet Doyle has other plans. Doyle slowly shifts the focus of his story in order to shock
his readers. He takes us along with the teenagers as they execute their plan to steal from shops.
“Business is brisk,” the narrator reflects. “The manager of the Spar near the school is a bit freaked
when we bring back the stuff we’ve just stolen. But she’s quite impressed when she sees the CCTV
footage of her security muppet walking after Ms Nigeria’s arse – true – while I’m right behind
him, the hoodie off, taking four packs of microwave popcorn...” (136). The story includes another
friend of theirs who sits in his brother’s wheelchair pretending to be crippled, using him as bait
to prove how adults mistake a kid sitting as a wheelchair as an innocent shopper, while accusing
the colored immigrant.

As we are about to be led that this is a story about youngsters showing the adults how
they should be treated, our “delinquents” are caught and taken into prison. Here, the heart of the
story begins. Here, in these sections, we learn how a young colored immigrant is actually treated.
Instead of having a racist narrator tell the story, like the case of Larry, our narrator is not racist, but
he is about to meet the policeman who is. As our narrator and his two friends are taken into jail,
we hear: “Shut your sub-Saharan mouth” (141), as the first sentence the policeman tells the girl.
She, knowledgeable of her rights, replies: “Excuse me? She says,” “but it’s not really a question,” our
narrator thinks (142). Another case of unjust treatment is when the policeman asks the kids to
call their parents, but tells the Nigerian immigrant: “The jungle drums in your case, love” (141).

In this story we learn how personal stories become universal. We see how our narrator,
who is clearly in love with a girl in his class: “I said she was Nigerian, kind of. I didn’t mean she
was kind of Nigerian. I meant she’s kind of my girlfriend” (130), becomes more politically aware
as the story unfolds. He is, of course, nervous and scared in prison, especially when he is being
videotaped for the police records wearing his hoodie, which is a sign of trouble, as he mentions in
the beginning of the story. He writes of how he feels when being recorded: “I’m wearing a hoodie.
I must be guilty” (144), but our narrator does not crumble under pressure; he tells the officer
about his project and he gives examples of other stores who accept their stolen goods, giving
money to the teenagers in return.

As our narrator tells the story, we see two moments of awareness or change occurring.
The first moment is the pride he feels about being strong in prison: “I wish Ms Nigeria was with
me. I think, she’d be impressed. I know I am.” These words are normal for a teenager in love to
say, but what comes after these words are what is more important, especially for our discussion
about Doyle’s writing. The narrator adds: “I’m going to do Law after the Leaving” (147). Here it
seems that our narrator is not only interested in impressing his lady friend, but he is interested in
doing something to help his society as well. What begins as a cynical view of the world around
him suddenly becomes something larger than that. The second important moment is when our
narrator has the urge to do something about the racist policeman.

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 Our young narrator has the support of his father, who tells him: “You know best...I’m with
you” (148), when his son informs me that he has something important to do as they leave the
prison. For two paragraphs we hear the thoughts of the narrator facing the policeman. “I’m going
to report you,” he finally tells the police officer after he had asked for his name. I believe this
move is done purely out of the rage he feels for himself and the girl he admires. I don’t think he
confronts the cop in order to impress the girl. When she answers on his behalf, he thinks: “I’m a
little bit annoyed. I mean, I love her voice and the way she talks and that. But this is between me
and the Fed,” and then we hear: “so I wish she’d just shut up for a bit, and like, admire me — just
for a minute” (148), which does not negate the fact that he wanted to do something to change the
situation. He was inspired to do this because of the girl he likes, but it is not the only reason that
moved him to make the decision.

I believe that Doyle uses the immigrant Nigerian girl as a catalyst. The move the narrator
takes in asking for the policeman’s name, albeit small, is very important for the narrator, but also
for the readers themselves. It is important for the young narrator to learn about the prejudiced
world he lives in and to be inspired to do something about it. Just like Ben is a catalyst for Larry
to convince him to come to terms with his daughter marrying a black man, this girl succeeds in
making the unnamed narrator not only realize how unjust his country is, but to do something
about it as well. The differences between the two reactions in these two stories could be attributed
to age. While Larry is a middle aged man who has seen Ireland change, the narrator in the second
story is a young kid who has only seen Ireland as the land of immigrants and racism.

In analyzing the narrators of both “Guess Who’s Coming to the Dinner” and “Black
Hoodie,” one is immersed in a writing that: “seeks to dis/locate language from those signifying
processes (symbolism, mythologies, descriptions, etc.) by which a national Irish identity had
traditionally been produced” (Piroux, 51). Doyle uses a conversational tone in order to convey
his message. In his subject matters, the way Doyle chooses subject matters that are simple yet
complex, and through his slang and conversational matter, we get a closer look at the Ireland that
the immigrants experience and live in.

Through the focus on their daily life, Doyle creates situations of racism that can be
universally understood by the Irish, but also the entire world. Minorities are treated as second
class citizens, and what Doyle manages to do is: “keep the focus and terms of reference of his
stories within the day-to-day concerns and awareness of his characters, articulated in their own
words without any mediating authorial voice” (Donnelly, 19), which creates a space where the
immigrant and Irishmen can meet in between. Whether they will converse about cologne, like
the case of Larry and Ben, or fall in love like the case of the two teenagers is up to the reader to
decide.

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 The topics Doyle uses for his stories are what make his stories believable. He creates
situations that can be imagined. His characters are well crafted and his dialogue absolutely realistic.
Doyle’s writing, his take on the immigrant life, and his ways of dealing with topics not discussed
much in his country, makes his voice a voice to be heard and appreciated. As Ake Persson writes
in “Between Displacement and Renewal: The Third Space in Roddy Doyle’s Novels,”: “Through
the use of the third space, formulating a resistance to hegemonic forces, Doyle’s novels are a
crucial part of the ongoing transformative process in Ireland” (Persson 70), a process well-crafted
by Doyle.

References

Donnelly, B. “Roddy Doyle: From Barrytown to the GPO.” Irish University Review. Vol. 30 (2000):
17-31. Web. 12 May 2013.
Doyle, R. The Deportees and Other Stories. New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Book.
Persson. A. “Between Displacement and Renewal: The Third Space in Roddy Doyle’s Novels.”
Nordic Irish Studies. Vol. 5 (2006): 59-71. 15 May 2013.
Piroux, L. “”I’m Black an’ I’m Proud”: Re- Inventing Irishness in Roddy Doyle’s “The Commit-
ments.” College Literature. Vol. 25 (1998): 45-57. Web. 13 May 2013.
Reddy. M. T. “Reading and Writing Race in Ireland: Roddy Doyle and “Metro Eireann.”” Irish
University Review. Vol. 35 (2005): 374-388. Web. 12 May 2013.
White, E. J. “’you’re Very Welcome’: Considering the African Diaspora, Race and Human Rights
in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Irish Studies. Vol. 24 (2009): 15-26. Web. 11 May
2013.
Hughes, E. “Art, Exiles, Ireland and Icons.” Fortnight publications. Vol. 295 (1991): 9-11. Web. 12
May 2013.
Ferguson, M. E. “Reading the Ghost Story: Roddy Doyle’s “The Deportees and Other Stories.” The
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies. Vol. 35 (2009) 52-60. Web. 13 May 2013.
Garvery, A. “He’s Still Plain Mr. Doyle.” Fortnight publications. Vol. 301 (1991) 33. Web. 14 May
2013.

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 Miss Julie: A Psychoanalytic Study

Sonali Jain
Bharati College, University of Delhi, India

Abstract

Sigmund Freud theorized that ‘the hero of the tragedy must suffer…to bear the burden of
tragic guilt…(that) lay in rebellion against some divine or human authority.’ August Strindberg,
the Swedish poet, playwright, author and visual artist, like Shakespeare before him, portrayed
insanity as the ultimate of tragic conflict. In this paper I seek to explore and reiterate the dynamics
of human relationships that are as relevant today as they were in Strindberg’s time. I propose to
examine Strindberg’s Miss Julie, a play set in nineteenth century Sweden,through a psychoanalytic
lens. The play deals with bold themes of class and sexual identity politics. Notwithstanding the
progress made in breaking down gender barriers,  the inequalities inherent in a patriarchal
system persist in modern society.  Miss Julie highlights these imbalances. My analysis of the play
deals with issues of culture and psyche, and draws on Freud, Melanie Klein, Lacan, Luce Irigaray
and other contemporary feminists. Miss Julie is a discourse on hysteria, which is still pivotal to
psychoanalysis. Prominent philosophers like Hegel and the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan have
written about the dialectic of the master and the slave – a relationship that is characterized by
dependence, demand and cruelty. The history of human civilization shows beyond any doubt
that there is an intimate connection between cruelty and the sexual instinct. An analysis of the
text is carried out using the sado-masochistic dynamic as well the slave-master discourse. I argue
that Miss Julie subverts the slave-master relationship. The struggle for dominance and power is
closely linked with the theme of sexuality in the unconscious.To quote the English actor and
director Alan Rickman, ‘Watching or working on the plays of Strindberg is like seeing the skin,
flesh and bones of life separated from each other. Challenging and timeless.’

Key words: psychoanalysis, slave-master, sado-masochism, narcissism, hysteria,

culture, psyche

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 Introduction

Sigmund Freud theorized that ‘The Hero of tragedy must suffer…to bear the burden of
what was known as ‘tragic guilt’… (that) lay in rebellion against some divine or human authority’
(Freud, 1950, p. 156).

August Strindberg, the Swedish poet, playwright, author and visual artist, like Shakespeare
before him, portrayed insanity as the ultimate of tragic conflict. Strindberg is a trailblazer as
a playwright where he submits incisive personal experience into his naturalistic and later, his
expressionist plays, as well as in his novel Inferno.Not only does he not limit himself to a nineteenth
century ideal of an artist, but his work transcends time as he portrays human existence.

‘Filthy…’, ‘a heap of ordure…’, ‘debauched…’, ‘will surely nowhere find an audience that could
bear to see it…’, ‘totally repellent…’, ‘repulsive…’ This is how critics responded to Froken Julie (Miss
Julie) when it was published on 23 November 1888. In this paper I seek to explore and reiterate
the dynamics of human relationships that are as relevant in contemporary times as they were in
Strindberg’s era. I propose to examine Strindberg’s Miss Julie through a psychoanalytic lens.

The life and times of Strindberg

August Strindberg was born in 1849 in Stockholm, with nine siblings, and believed that
he was unwanted. He experienced grave deprivation and exclusion in his family, imbibed his
father’s shame and fears, and also the squalid subservience of his mother. As a result, he became
oversensitive, deeply craving for his parents’ unconditional love.

He married three times and got engaged at the age of sixty to a young actress called Fanny
Faulkner. Shortly before his death, he was asked in a questionnaire which qualities he valued most
highly in a woman. His answer was ‘motherliness’. Several of his plays drew upon the problems of
his marriages and reflected his constant search in self analysis.

To follow Strindberg’s life, it is imperative to look closely at his marriage with Siri Von
Essen, Baroness Wrangel, to whose house Strindberg was taken by a friend because the Wrangels
were keenly interested in theatre and wished to meet him. Coincidentally he found himself in a
house where he had spent much of his youth, where he had experienced the loss of his mother
and his father’s remarriage.

Strindberg did not see Siri von Essen as the Baroness Wrangel but as Virgin Mother.
He found the idealized parental figures, a love object with whom he could identify and whose
admiration he sought. He married Siri and the marriage rekindled intense pre-oedipal and
oedipal conflicts concerning longing for reunion with the mother, distrust of the parental objects,
rebelliousness against the authority of the father, and insecurities over his sexual identity.

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 After thirteen troubled years, his marriage to Siri von Essen ended in 1891. Strindberg
moved to Berlin after having divorced Siri, where he met the Austrian journalist Frida Uhl whom
he married next. This marriage lasted two years. Haunted by guilt about deserting his children
and attacked by his critics, Strindberg became possessed of a persecution mania. Between the
years 1892 and 1897 he experienced several psychotic episodes. He longed for a reunion with the
maternal, at the same suffering from an extreme primal guilt.

Setting of the play Miss Julie

The play is set on Midsummer’s Eve, a festival of pagan origin in Northern Europe, which
has particular charm of its own when the sun does not set. It is a night on which with the scents
and sounds of the intense Northern summer drive people mad. In Miss Julie the pagan fertility
ritual is in marked contrast to the sterility of the world of Miss Julie, where she is an unwanted
child, where the bitch is shot for running with the gatekeeper’s dog, a metaphor for keeping class
conflict and hierarchy in place. It is interesting to see how the play works in terms of space. The
kitchen forms an important space, for that is where all activity takes place in the play. The kitchen
is the domain of the working classes. Also, it is a place where another kind of appetite is satisfied.
In the play, a pantomime is set as if ‘the actress was really alone in the kitchen’.

There are only three characters in the text that are present on stage. Miss Julie is the Count’s
daughter and the mistress of the house, Jean the valet and Christine the cook. It is also a world
where the only progenitor, Miss Julie’s father, is absent.

The dancing peasants punctuate the action in the play, reinforcing the imminent danger
in Miss Julie’s act of indiscretion. We are not given a glimpse of the bedroom – the sexual centre.
We are given a frolicking chorus of villagers and farmers instead. It is interesting to note that in
drawing the curtain on the bedroom, the playwright plays upon the spectator’s desire to see the
sexual act, which unconsciously carries the excitement/burden of witnessing the primal scene.

The peasants sing about ‘two women in the wood’. Earlier, there is a hint of Miss Julie ‘with
her lady friend’. The song hints at Miss Julie’s unconscious wish to unite with the primary object,
i.e., her mother in her mind. She goes through the seduction and plays out her sexual wishes
almost with a childlike innocence, as if acknowledging sexual wishes even in the mind would be
dirty and lead to disapproval from the Mother. At the same time there is an unconscious wish to
be the ‘man to the mother’ (Bollas 2000).

Culture and Psyche

Miss Julie is a discourse on hysteria, which is still pivotal to psychoanalysis. My analysis of

the play deals with issues of culture and psyche, and draws on Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein,

  241
Jaques Lacan, Luce Irigaray and other contemporary thinkers. I also take up the dialectic of the
master and the slave – a relationship that is characterized by dependence, demand and cruelty.
The history of human civilization shows beyond any doubt that there is an intimate connection
between cruelty and the sexual instinct. An analysis of the text is carried out using the sado-
masochistic dynamic as well the slave-master discourse. I argue that Miss Julie subverts the slave-
master relationship. The struggle for dominance and power is closely linked with the theme of
sexuality in the unconscious.

The play deals with bold themes of class and sexual identity politics. Notwithstanding
the progress made in breaking down gender barriers, the inequalities inherent in a patriarchal
system persist in modern society.  Miss Julie highlights these imbalances.

Slave-Master discourse

Miss Julie takes up the theme of the Darwinian battle between the sexes, and a love hate
bond.It is a play about the slave master discourse. The slave, because of his subjectivity and loss,
has some chance of reflecting and recognizing his own desire: the master has far less chance of
recognizing his desire because he pressures the slave to recognize his ‘demand’ for enjoyment.
For Lacan the slave master relation is universal, one in which we have invested either as slaves
in some voluntary sense or as masters. The idea and practice of being a slave is always entangled
with the idea of being a master and vice versa.

For a psychoanalytic reflection the text it is important that one look at what this master
slave discourse actually entails. In the play, Miss Julie is the mistress while Jean is the slave. The
text subverts the master slave relationship through its economical handling of characters and
their complex relationships with each other. The struggle for dominance and power is closely
linked with the theme of sexuality: seeking and bestowing sexual favours. At many levels,
particularly at the sexual level, Jean acts as the master, subjugating Miss Julie, while she acts
out the role of a slave.

The relationship between Christine and Jean is an equal one; interestingly, Christine is
aware of Jean’s reaction to Miss Julie but in a typical patriarchal manner, is willing to tolerate
Jean’s philandering as long as he returns to her in the end. The play begins with a conversation
that establishes the complicity between Jean and Christine. Jean and Christine are immersed in
half amorous banter with frequent references to the absence of Miss Julie and her wild sexuality
almost like her bitch in heat. Ironically Miss Julie’s bitch is called Diana and in Roman mythology,
Diana is the Goddess of Virgins. Christine also mentions that Miss Julie is menstruating (p. 3)1

1 All page numbers refer to the translation by Helen Cooper; Strindberg (1992/1888).

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 Jean: Miss Julie is wild tonight, completely wild.
Christine: He’s back, is he?

Jean introduces Miss Julie as a woman who wishes to dominate men, subjecting them to
her sadistic will. Her fiancé has walked out on her, because of her wish to ‘train’ him, her urge
to crack the whip. However, once the engagement is broken, she is too ashamed to show herself
in public and seeks confinement in the home with the servants in disgrace. The whip is a phallic
symbol that signifies Miss Julie’s masculinity and identity as a master while the references to her
bodily functions – her sexual urges and her menstruation – establishes her vulnerability as a
sexual being, and as a woman.

Miss Julie walks into the kitchen and flirtatiously asks Jean for a schottische with her (p. 6).
Julie’s manner is coquettish, intent on teasing Jean but not expressing a direct sexual wish. Jean
too engages with her in a mock romantic fashion speaking in French and setting a sentimental
scene of seduction, even kissing her foot. Miss Julie is delighted by Jean’s performance and tells
him that he should have been an actor. She acts innocent when points out the dangers of gossip,
and even jeers at him. Jean insists that this flirtation ought to stop for fear of discovery by the
Count-Father.

As the sequence of events unfolds, Jean and Julie express their desires and their fantasies to
each other. Miss Julie and Jean start playing out the slave master dialectic. Miss Julie tries to wake
Christine because she envies Jean’s fiancé. Christine’s name being close to the word ‘Christian’ has
its own connotations. Christine is the punitive, disapproving mother in Miss Julie’s unconscious.
She babbles about the authority of the Father in her sleep i.e., the Count’s boots which also stand
for his class, power and sexuality. With Christine sleeping, Miss Julie can be even more brazen
in expressing her wish. Jean half protests by calling her ‘Miss Julie’. Strindberg constantly keeps
us reminded of her social class and also her virginity, her ‘innocence about sexuality’. Jean tells
Miss Julie that he must polish the Count’s boots, indirectly asserting his consciousness about his
social class.

According to Luce Irigaray, ‘red blood’ signifies a tangible relationship between men and
women, a matriarchal role for women and indeed menstruation is a signifier of womanhood.
To refer to Luce Irigaray’s ‘When the goods get together’ in This Sex Which is Not One (1985),
it is significant to note the rejection of phallocentrism of Freud and Lacan, despite having been
Lacan’s student. Irigaray employs Marxist and Psychoanalytic concepts and vocabulary, calls
women ‘goods’ to be exchanged between male members of society: brother, father, husband…
and thus, there is no interaction between the female sex. Irigaray strongly emphasizes the bonds
of womanhood. She critiques Freud rather strongly for regarding female sexuality as ‘virility
complex’ and accuses him of transferring his own bias.

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 Trappings of Narcissism

Jean’s story about the outhouse transforms Miss Julie into a narcissistic listener. She is
fascinated by the narrative, which has her as the heroine and perhaps this is the best moment of
narcissistic satisfaction that Miss Julie manages in the course of the play. Jean’s reminiscence has
all the trappings of a fairy tale: the servant who falls in love with his mistress at first sight, the
seven brothers and sisters, the forbidden garden with apple trees, the bed of alder leaves cleverly
puts Miss Julie under his spell. The fantasy does reveal Jean’s fervent desire to live a life of the rich.
Money is what which will give him a sense of omnipotence.

The story is not entirely false as it contains the seed of Jean’s wish to transcend his social
class. In the unconscious, it also means getting more love from the Father, psychoanalytically: the
Count. Jean’s story is ironic, his description of the filthy outhouse (p.16):

I had never been inside the manor house, never seen anything except the church –
but this was more beautiful.

Jean’s comparison degrades churches and castles just as effectively as it mocks the foul
outhouse. Positions in space reflect positions in class and gender. Jean’s lies in filth, while Miss
Julie walks on the rose terrace. He is not only the figure humiliated by his masters but a servant
who can see their undersides.

Dreams as signifiers

Jean’s and Miss Julie’s dreams are also important signifiers. Miss Julie relates a recurrent
dream (p. 12) :

… I’m on top of a pillar. I’m sitting there, and I see no possible way of getting down. I
feel dizzy when I look down but I know I must get down. I haven’t got the courage to
throw myself. I can’t hold on. I long to be able to just fall but I don’t fall. I know I won’t
have any peace until I’m down, no rest until I’m down, down to the ground. I also
know that once I am down I’ll want the ground to open and for me to sink, sink…

Jean’s dream (p. 13) runs like this;

I dream that I am lying underneath a tall tree in a dark forest. I want to get up up
to the top and look around me across the bright landscape where the sun shines. I
want to plunder the bird’s nest up there with the golden eggs. I climb and climb but
the trunk is so thick and slippery and it’s so far to the first branch. I know that if I
could only reach that first branch I could climb up to the top step by step. I haven’t
reached it yet but I will reach it, well, in my dreams.

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 At the manifest level, the dream reflects Miss Julie’s ambiguous attitude towards her social
class. It isolates her and puts her up on a pillar, far from the ground though it gives her visibility
and power. However, at the immanent level, the dream reflects Miss Julie’s ardent wish to return
to the mother’s womb, to fuse with the primary object i.e., the mother. One thinks of the ground
as ‘mother earth’, an all embracing, and loving, benevolent mother. The dream also hints at a
possibility that Miss Julie is embarrassed about her sexual conduct and sexual desires and feels a
strong sense of shame, enough to sink into the ground/ experiencing a strong death wish. Guilt
and shame shall be taken up later in the paper.

Jean’s dream is also about his wishes. He wishes for an experience of fulfilment, which will
make everything seem bright. Once again at the manifest level, the dream signifies Jean’s desire
to transcend his social class and plunder a high class by sexually possessing Miss Julie. However,
at the immanent level they are homosexual wishes, if psychoanalytically analysed. Images of a tall
tree, the thick and smooth trunk are sexual images. He ‘desires’ the Father, the source of power
and class. In Lacanian terms, Miss Julie is only his object of ‘demand’.

Miss Julie’s Trauma

After the seduction of Miss Julie by Jean, she is at Jean’s mercy. She pleads with him to call
her by her name ‘Julie’, trying to establish equality between them. She talks about her trauma
after the seduction in her anxiety not to be punished by her family, and society at large. In the
unconscious, she has dared to express desire and has seduced the Father. Jean says that it is
impossible to continue to stay at the manor. He fantasises about travelling to Italy and setting up
a hotel there (pp. 20-21):

Jean (enters agitated): There you see. And you heard. Do you think it’s possible to
stay here now?
Miss Julie: No. I don’t think so. But what can we do?
Jean: Escape from here.
Miss Julie: Escape yes, but where to?
Jean: To Switzerland, the Italian lakes – have you ever been there?
Miss Julie: No. is it beautiful there?
Jean: Eternal summer: laurels, orange trees, …
Miss Julie: But what do we do there?
Jean: I’ll set up a hotel. First-class service for first class customers.
Miss Julie: A hotel?
Jean: That’s living, believe me: new faces all the time, … while the money keeps
rolling in. That’s living.
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 Miss Julie: Yes, for you, but what about me?
Jean: You will be the mistress of the house; the jewel in the crown. … I’ll fiddle the
bills and you’ll cover up with your sweetest smile. …
Miss Julie: That’s all very well but Jean – you must give me courage. Say that you love
me. Hold me.
Jean: I want to – but I daren’t. Not in this house any more. I love you Miss Julie, I do …
Miss Julie: Julie – say Julie. There are no barriers between us any more, Say Julie.

When Miss Julie pleads that she has no money to elope with Jean, he is completely cruel
and unsympathetic, and says that his story about the rose terrace was entirely fabricated. Miss
Julie is traumatized.

A trauma is an important impossibility and refers to an experience in a person’s life that

he has not been able to sufficiently symbolize or to put into language. In his theory of repression
Freud says that if somebody were the victim of trauma that they have repressed, some aspect of
their repressed experience would return. When Miss Julie is faced with Jean’s accusation that she
has acted like a ‘beast and a ‘whore’, both extremely patriarchal terms, she is prostrate.

Miss Julie’s submission to Jean reflects Strindberg’s notions of evolution. He suggests

that Miss Julie must fall to Jean, because he was convinced that women are inferior to men.
As Strindberg has noted in the Preface to the play Miss Julie he has ‘added a little evolutionary
history [to the play] by making the weaker steal and repeat the words of the stronger’.

Hysteria

Strindberg’s anger is apparent in Miss Julie’s continued humiliation. Her mother’s anti
male ideas are portrayed as ridiculous and her duplicity as a familiar tale. Jean thinks that Miss
Julie is ‘sick’, a diagnosis we are meant to agree with. This scene blames Miss Julie’s illness on her
family history. Strindberg was interested in psychology and depended heavily on it in delineating
his characters in his naturalistic plays. Miss Julie and the Countess are models of the hysteric as
popularly conceived of in the nineteenth century. Symptoms of hysteria are to keeping wanting
and craving, also waiting. When we think of hysteria we think of people, who are troubled by
their body’s sexual demands and repress sexual ideas; who are over identified with the other, who
express themselves in a theatrical manner: who daydream existence rather than engage it.

Miss Julie is only interested in those people who do not reciprocate her feelings, thereby
always experiencing pain. There was also the disease which the nineteenth century referred to
as ‘nostalgia’. ‘Hysterics suffer from reminiscences. ...wanting is central to a Freudian theory of
hysteria’ (Mitchell 1999, p. 25).

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 Freud first tackled hysteria in the 1880’s. Strindberg was influenced by the French
psychiatrist Charcot who was investigating hysterical affliction’s via hypnosis. Theories of hysteria
in the nineteenth century were based on sexual disturbances. It was theorized primarily by both
Freud and Charcot that women became hysterics when they repressed their sexual desires.

The character of Miss Julie is etched as one of a ‘hysteric’: a sensitive and hungry little girl
who wanted and craved for love, but did not get unconditional maternal care in infancy. There
is disappointment with her mother who failed to make her feel safe, sated and prized. As she
approached the oedipal phase, where she began to experience desire for the father, she did so
by devaluing her primary object – her mother – and turned her intense love towards her father.
Her father was perceived by her as extremely exciting. She could not compete with her mother
in trying to win the father and hence was trapped in a dilemma. As a result of this fixation, Miss
Julie finds men strong and exciting and moves away from homosexual wishes (which are perhaps
there in her unconscious) to hyper-sexualised, heterosexual love and desire. She sees women,
herself included as weak and insignificant.

Miss Julie manipulates her sexuality and her wiles and uses sex defensively because she is too
afraid of the abuse of power by men. The Countess is also portrayed as hysteric. To make up for the
lack of the phallus, i.e., her lack of power – she was a commoner by birth and from a very simple
background – she raised Miss Julie as a boy (note the irony-‘Miss’) and taught her to hate men.

… She had an aversion to marriage. So when she met my father and he proposed to
her, she told him she couldn’t be his wife but he could be her lover. First, my father
resisted because he wanted the woman he loved to be respected the same way he
was. But he adored her, so he gave in and accepted her condition….my parents were
living in sin, so they were rejected…then I came into the world against my mother’s
wishes as far as I can make out. I was allowed to run wild, I was taught everything
boys are taught. I was to be the living proof that a woman is as good as a man. I wore
boy’s clothes, learned how to groom, how to harness, how to shoot, even how to
slaughter. That was horrible (p. 28).

Miss Julie’s actual act of intercourse with Jean also seems like a dissociated, hysterical
experience in the play. She does not own up to any sexual desires despite having being coquettish.
Here one notices splitting on the part of Miss Julie – the virtuous helpless mistress on the one
hand and the seductress on the other hand. Both parts are kept away from each other. For her
there must be love because from her mother she has imbibed that sex is dirty, and there is guilt
associated with it.

The play uses the metaphor of filth and dirt both signifying sexuality in the unconscious.
Jean recounts that the Countess was ‘most at home in the kitchen and the cowsheds but a one

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horse carriage wasn’t elegant enough for her.’ Miss Julie has dirt under her painted nails. Also,
when she comes down dressed to travel, Jean points out that her face is dirty. He tells Christine
how she went around with ‘dirty cuffs’. Dirt stands for the unbridled sexuality of women in which
they are not conscious of class barriers.

Sado-masochistic dyad

In the beginning Miss Julie tries to assert herself as the mistress of the house and tries
to seduce Jean. If one looks closely at Miss Julie’s unconscious patterns, there are processes of
regression in her which must be acted out again and again via her sexuality. Once her weakness
and her sexually uninhibited nature are brought to the fore, Jean denies her, torments her and
has power over her. His element of aggression is extremely high and Jean and Miss Julie get
embroiled in a sado –masochistic dyad.

It is important to understand why Miss Julie is masochistic. The term masochism applies
to any passive attitude towards sexual life and towards the sexual object. In its extreme instance,
satisfaction becomes conditional upon suffering physical or mental pain at the hands of the sexual
object. It is not certain whether masochism is a primary phenomenon or whether it gets sparked
off by sadistic pleasure turned inwards towards the self. It can often be shown that masochism is
nothing more than an extension of sadism turned round upon the subject’s own self who, thus,
to begin with, takes the place of the sexual object.

Miss Julie’s trauma is her oedipal wish which she tries to actualize throughout her life.
In his theory on repression Freud says that if somebody were the victim of a trauma that they
had repressed, some aspect of their repressed experience would always return. Masochistically
imploring her servant to at once punish her for passion and help her out at the same time. She hates
and desires Jean at the same time. Through Jean, Miss Julie wishes to touch upon her own anger
at the self. For her, as stated earlier, passion becomes punishment socially and psychologically.

Miss Julie’s masochism, i.e., her pathetically allowing Jean to hurt her, and dominate her,
is at a deeper level, her own anger directed at herself. It is her sense of shame and rejection more
than the impending humiliation which Miss Julie anticipates that makes accept punishment at
the hands of Jean. Miss Julie allows Jean to treat her badly because deep down she wants to
punish herself for desiring Jean who is not her equal. This helps her deal with her intense guilt
and she feels closer to the father structures in her mind.

I would like to quote from Freud’s paper ‘A Child is Being Beaten’ (1919). Freud elaborates
how fantasies and self punishment are actually a desire to feel most loved, special and wanted by
one’s father. Sigmund Freud maintains that every pain contains in itself the possibility of a feeling
of sexual pleasure.

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 According to Freud:

… the first phase of beating phantasies among girls, then, must belong to a very
early period of childhood. The child being beaten is never the one producing the
phantasy, but is invariably another child, most often a brother or a sister if there is
any. This first phase of the beating phantasy is therefore completely represented by
the phrase: ‘My father is beating the child’. I am betraying a great deal of what is to be
brought forward later when instead of this I say ‘My father is beating the child whom
I hate.’

Profound transformations have taken place between this first phase and the next. It
is true that the person beating remains the same (that is, the father); but the child
who is beaten has been changed into another one and is now invariably the child
producing the phantasy. The phantasy is accompanied by a high degree of pleasure.
Now, therefore the wording runs:

‘I am being beaten by my father.’

Freud adds that:

… if the child in question is a younger brother or sister, it is despised and hated: yet
it attracts to itself the share of affection, and this is a spectacle the sight of which
cannot be avoided. One soon learns that being beaten, even if it does not hurt very
much, signifies a deprivation of love and a humiliation. The idea of the father beating
this hateful child is therefore an agreeable one. It means ‘My father does not love this
other child, he loves only me.’

The pleasure attaching to this phantasy is both sadistic and masochistic. This infantile
perversion persists throughout in both Miss Julie as well as in Jean.

The play is not time bound. It is a remarkable encounter of two people who love and hate
themselves and each other in such an intense crucible of event and emotion. One is never quite
sure of the roles of slave/ master. Indeed there is pleasure in Miss Julie’s humiliation, but one gets
completely enmeshed in this sado-masochistic dyad.

Shame and Guilt

The theme of guilt pervades the play. Throughout the play, Miss Julie is aware of the presence
of Christine and her ‘rightful claim over Jean’. The beheading of John the Baptist is a symbolic
castration. Guilt is an important concept in psychoanalysis, which Miss Julie experiences rather
intensely. According to the psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, the infant’s world is threatened from the

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beginning by intolerable anxieties, whose source she believed to be the infant’s own death instinct.
These ‘persecutory’ anxieties, which are felt in the infant’s own bodily needs as well as from the
external frustrations to those needs, are overwhelming to the infant, and in order to combat
them, the infant resorts to defences. Through primitive defences—projection, denial, splitting,
withdrawal, and ‘omnipotent control’ of these objects—the infant puts threatening, ‘bad’ objects,
outside herself and into the external world; simultaneously, she preserves the ‘good’ objects, both
within herself and externally, by splitting them off from their malevolent counterparts (Klein 1986).

Perhaps the most fundamental of these processes were projection and introjection, which
describe the infant’s first, primitive attempts to differentiate himself from the world, inside from
outside, self from other, based on the prototype of oral incorporation (and spitting out) and the
infant’s relation to his first, nurturing/frustrating object- the mother’s breast. The first objects
were not the mature, ‘whole’ objects of oedipal development, but primitive ‘part’ objects whose
existence for the infant was determined solely by its function in the infant’s world.

Using the Kleinian model, Miss Julie has in course of maturation, ‘bad’ and ‘good’ objects,
and that through processes of progressive internalization, these fragmentary objects were taken
into the self, and became forerunners of the superego. Klein emphasized that this process (of
introjection, projection, and re-introjection) was continuous and cyclical, leading to increasing
synthesis as Miss Julie gradually attained greater degrees of reality testing, differentiation, and
control over her own psyche.

Klein (1986) divided pre-Oedipal development into the “paranoid/schizoid” and

“depressive” positions. She located the paranoid/schizoid position in the first months of an
infant’s life, a time in which the infant was in helpless thrall both to the outside world and to his
own instincts. Deprivation, the experience of need, and frustration, even though emanating from
the infant’s own body, were perceived during this phase as persecutory, and the infant responded
by putting them outside of himself, ‘projecting’ or throwing them away.

The early objects—beginning with the breast—were experienced alternately as ‘good’ or

‘bad’ according to whether they were perceived as nurturing or destructive; and again partly on
the model of the breast, the infant took in (introjected) or dispelled (projected) them according
to their relative safety or danger.

In this way, Miss Julie took in and preserved those feelings in the external world that were
felt as ‘good,’ while expelling from herself those destructive feelings directed ‘into’ the object that
threatened the relation with the object. In the depressive position Miss Julie is able to bridge
the gap between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ objects, between her own experiences of love and hate, which
created them. Her awareness gradually grows to encompass the object world outside herself. She
becomes aware of her own destructive impulses and, fearing the loss of Jean’s love, attempts to

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inhibit them, to preserve, protect, and even resurrect the object that she continually destroyed in
unconscious fantasy. Her anxious awareness of her aggression toward the object/mother (which
Klein called guilt) takes the better of her, and subsequent efforts to contain her own anxieties
by curtailing these impulses (efforts Klein termed reparations), are unable to lead Julie to an
increasing tolerance for ambivalence.

In a pantomime Jean does some calculations in a notebook as Christine enters. Christine

reminds Jean that he promised to join her at church that morning. The sermon is on the beheading
of John the Baptist. Jean also confesses to Christine that he and Miss Julie have been intimate.
Christine expresses disbelief that Miss Julie who has been so proud with men, even having her
dog shot for copulating with a mongrel, could do a thing like that.

The sun rises, marking the end of Midsummer Eve. Miss Julie fantasizes about men’s
annihilation and the fantasy reveals her most violent, desperate, punitive and revengeful self.
This fantasy is set off by the scene of the decapitation of the greenfinch, an act that links up with
Christine’s mention of the execution of Saint John the Baptist, the famous Biblical allegory. The
decapitation is a symbolic castration in psychoanalytic thought. Miss Julie implores Jean to kill
her as well, identifying completely with the greenfinch.

The Father

It is interesting to note that both the figures of the mother and father are absent from the
heart of action that is the stage. There is a detailed and deliberate set of stage directions, which
also introduce the most important signifier in the play –the Count’s boots. The boots signify not
only sexuality, but also the absence and the presence of the Count/ Father, simultaneously.

These innumerable power rehearsals between Miss Julie and Jean are reduced to a joint
submission to the Count. The Count-unseen and unheard is a supreme magical authority. It
expects Jean’s return to servitude/slave and Miss Julie’s extinction for transgressing her limits. She
is hypnotized and proceeds towards death holding a razor in her hands.

Conclusion

Strindberg wrote with unprecedented candour about sex. In Miss Julie he has excelled in
depicting people driven by love, envy, jealousy and hatred into a nightmarish state of madness.
In Miss Julie, he cut the classical three-act construction to a single act, focused on a triangular
relationship in which a whole spectrum of suicidal and homicidal emotions is depicted.

There are several opinions on the theme as well as on the structure of the play. To summarise
them would be as follows: Alice Templeton (1990) calls Miss Julie a naturalistic tragedy. She

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discusses the misogyny of Strindberg in the context of the preface to the play. John Greenway
(1968) deals with the important theme of hypnotic suggestion and situates the play in the context
of the advent of science in the nineteenth century. Sprinchorn (1968) also analyses Strindberg’s
treatment of naturalism and tragedy in Miss Julie.

In conclusion I would like to argue that August Strindberg is not a misogynist. There is
colour in his creative excitement, he experienced anger with colour, and called it the strongest
of all spiritual emotions. Strindberg enjoyed the whole package of madness. As Helen Cooper
observes, ‘Strindberg the Misogynist actually took women very seriously’ (Strindberg 1992/1888,
p. x).

As Strindberg himself observes, ‘… and if I had to define my present stand point it would
be: Atheist, Christ- hater, Anarchist…P.S. Woman being small and foolish and therefore evil,
should be suppressed like barbarians and thieves, she is useful only as an ovary and womb, best
of all as a cunt’ (p. vii). In the same breath we also experience his ‘misogyny’ when he says…
‘Actually, my misogyny is purely theoretical, and I can’t live a day without deluding myself that I
warm my soul in the glow of their unconscious vegetable existence.

He impatiently rejects nineteenth-century notions of fixed dramatic characters according

to their types. ‘My hypothesis,’ his mentor Nietzsche once wrote, ‘is the subject as multiplicity’.
Strindberg agrees: ‘Since they are modern characters, living in an age of transition, more
urgently hysterical at any rate than the age which preceded it, I have drawn my people as split
and vacillating, a mixture of the old and new’. Again: ‘My characters are conglomerations of past
and present stages of civilization, bits from books and newspapers, scraps of humanity, rags and
tatters of fine clothing patched together as is the human soul.’

His preface to Miss Julie is the classic declaration of early modernism that human nature
is mysterious, contradictory, ambivalent and indecisive. It is possible, for example. To experience
both feelings of hatred and of lust towards the same person, as Strindberg himself did with all his
wives and lovers. The self as an arena of conflicting emotions, instincts and drives is a premise
common both to Nietzsche, whom Strindberg admired, and Freud, whom he anticipated.

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References

Bollas, C. (2000). Hysteria. London: Routledge.

Freud, S. (1919). A Child is Being Beaten. In Collected Papers II, London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1950). Totem and Taboo. (J. Strachey, Trans.) Abingdon: Routledge. (Original work
published 1913)
Greenway, J. L. (1968). Strindberg and Suggestion in Miss Julie. South Atlantic Review, 51(2), pp.
21-34.
Irigaray, L. (1985). This Sex Which Is Not One. (C. Porter, Trans.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press.
Klein, M. (1986). The Selected Melanie Klein. J. Mitchell (Ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin. pp.
176-200.
Lacan, J. (1979). The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-analysis. London: Penguin.
Mitchell, J. (1999). Mad Men and Medusas. London: Penguin.
Sprinchorn, E. (1968). Strindberg and the greater naturalism. Tulane Drama Review, XIII, 119-
129.
Strindberg, A. (1992). Miss Julie. (H. Cooper, Trans.) London: Methuen. (Original work pub-
lished 1888)
Templeton, A. (1990). Miss Julie as “A Naturalistic Tragedy”. Theatre Journal (Baltimore), 42(4),
468-480.

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 Avanguard or Bunt - Ionesco- s. Beckett

Almedina Čengić
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

The process of distancing themselves from what was created two and a half thousand years
ago, in the fifth century BC, certainly initiated a long period of denial deviations and then strictly
by the rules. With regard to the concept of avant-garde literature, and you recognize the global
discontinuous, but with a constant presence; we can only confirm that every new and different
approach to the literary text, with its treatment, meant something new. What characterizes the
mid-twentieth century is the emergence of avant-garde drama, but also its immediate develop-
ment during the XXI century. Since the literature, and drama, are consequently pursuing socio-
-political events and major changes in the level of human activity, it is expected that this kind of
literary texts are in search of new tendencies that are not fully recognized until then. With the
advent of writers Norsemen, H. Ibsen and Strindberg A, avant-garde drama has received the di-
rection of its orientation. A significant turnaround in the way of writing, the structure of drama,
description and presentation of characters are present in each segment of the innovators, but
not brought to the final effect, which will be later explicitly shown. Completion of the First and
Second World War has not, unfortunately, marked the end of a human catastrophe, but, on the
contrary, initiated a new type of conflict called “cold war”. Starvation, murder, bloodshed, perse-
cution, displacement, were replaced by decades of quiet fear of a new war zone, somewhere in the
world meridians, which will be locally determined, but the purpose of further global aspirations
and policies of the great powers. This situation directly initiated rebellion in man and his need
to live in peace. The most convenient way for the public pronouncement of protest against the
suffering of humanity was just a drama, which, as a genre, clearly and loudly protested against the
false benefactors and dignitaries who still aspire only to their own interests. Eugene Ionesco and
Samuel Beckett emerged on the literary scene of the mid twentieth century and the public, thro-
ugh their literary texts, rebelled against all the annoying rules that artificially determined man
and his life. Key plays, the great The Bald Soprano and Waiting for Godoo, talk about a new way
of telling and drama, through all true human values, appeal to the world, which is riding a new
cataclysm. They will talk about the absurdity of the rules at the expense of suffering, exchange

254
offer and the promise of a new, better life and the world. The text of these great dramas will force
a man to see things from own perspective.

Key words: avant-garde, the absurd drama, Ionesco, Beckett

Introduction

The process of distancing themselves from what was created two and a half thousand
years ago, in the fifth century BC, certainly initiated a long period of denial and strict tolerances,
rather than the rules. Aristotle’s Principles that directly determine the pattern, by which the
dramatic text is modeled in its structural, compositional, motif and content basis, initiated the
global schematic approach to the writing of this genre. The statement that the drama stopped in
its continuous time line and development after the ancient, more precisely, the Greek period, and
that its intensive transformation was initiated and accomplished in the last century, twentieth
century, is the hypothesis in this paper. What characterizes the mid-twentieth century is the
emergence of avant-garde drama, but also its immediate development during XXI century.
Since the literature, and thus drama, has a reciprocal-effect, pursuing socio-political events and
major changes on the level of human activity, it is expected that this kind of literary texts were
looking for new tendencies that were not fully recognized until then. Modern European theater
developed very rapidly, which was caused by constant and unstopped changes, based on the
negation of what preceded it.

With the advent, writers Nordic, Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) and August Strindberg
(1849-1912), the avant-garde drama has received the direction of its orientation. A significant
turnaround in the way of writing, the structure of drama, description and presentation of
characters are partially implemented at present by these innovators, but not brought to the final
effect of awakening the individual, which would later explicitly show. The range of the production
diversity in the creative performance of these writers was both seeking a new way of writing, and
directing the entire constellation of their contemporaries and followers who will offer new forms
of drama, drama as the term in a narrow sense, the avant-garde drama, psychological drama, the
drama of the absurd.

The drama has, in its problem-orientation turned to new thematic sections. In her artistic
process, it reveals the former social classes, going to retrospective sequence to the individual and
personal problems which make the core of dramatic action.

From the literary-critical point of view, it has repeatedly been proven and confirmed
that, precisely Ibsen and Strindberg, with their dramatic texts in European literature, set up a
solid foundation of the new avant-garde drama.

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 “It’s useless expectation and trivial chatter”

At the political level, at the turn of two centuries, the world was in turbulent turmoil
related to changes in the political and social order. Humanities illusions about the world, the
family and the man at all, are disturbed and worn. There is a sense of alienation in all planes of
human activity, from the individual, to the society, as ironic-skeptical attitude towards life. The
connection between individuals and communities is broken and it remains isolated; they are left
to themselves, their hopelessness and depravity. The only possible way is out into dream, fantasy
and hallucination. Such attitudes represent intellectuals-artists who explore the humanity and
increase our awareness of the causes of their madness. They frantically seek salvation for man as
an individual and unstoppably rush in two greatest human bloodsheds.

Completion of the First and Second World War has not, unfortunately, marked the end
of a human catastrophe, but on the contrary, initiated a new type of conflict called “cold war”.
Suffering, murder, bloodshed, persecution, displacement, death, continued in an atmosphere of
latent fear of a new war zone, somewhere in the world meridians, which will be locally determined,
but prompted solely by interests and aspirations through a policy of major world powers. This
situation directly initiated rebellion in man whose needs and desires focused on how to live in
peace. The most convenient way for the public pronouncement of protest against the suffering of
humanity was just drama, which, as a genre, clearly and loudly protested against false benefactors
and dignitaries, who are still coveted by their own achievements. With a clear idea and aspiration
to the problem of survival of man as an individual at the center of the events, they initiated the
need to overcome the culture of what is usually daily, and its intellectual strength to overcome
the crisis and open the door of new and promising artistic visions, which are able to awaken the
human underworld and save the world.

The term refers to the process of destruction of traditional drama schemes by which to
build and develop action itself, the dramatic conflict, in an effort to be as substantial display of
tragic alienation, hopelessness and the chaotic situation in which he found himself as a man.
European intellectual circles, which were hot-new artistic direction in XX mid-century, had
shown prospects of a better future, because the question of existence of man and humanity is not
offered positive responses.

The man was after two world cataclysm brought in a hopeless situation of absurd (absurd
occurs in everyday interruption of communication; when people around cannot understand
what is essential, their speech becomes idle chatter and talk stop). Absurd, which is determined
as a negative determinant of human communication, is initiated by a nihilistic attitude regarding
all previous suffering as a result of world conflicts that have marked the twentieth century. Thus,
man is inertia again brought to the uncertainty that has threatened its existence. Antagonism who

256
continued to press mankind has escalated, but in another form. On the horizon is a new conflict of
uncertain outcome, the Cold War. The classical notion of the theater and the stage action strongly
opposes “anti-theater” which violates all conventions and traditions in writing, shareholding
structure, plot, causal relationship actions, music and stage effects, the characterization of the
characters in the play non-existent. Comedy and tragedy are not subject to determinate which
are recognizable in drama Letters. The concept of the comic often exceeds the limits of the
tragic comprehension and tragic in its basic meaning translates into comical. Aimlessness and
senselessness take supremacy over reason in “absurd situation”, which is in dramatic texts realized
allegoric applied in verbal clashes characters who do not have a direct conflict, but the dramatic
conflict initiated in terms of its own internal discontent and rebellion personality.

Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994) and Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) are the literary scene in
the fifties of the twentieth century and the public, through their literary texts, rebelled against
annoying rules that artificially determined man and his life. The key play of the avant-garde La
Cantatrice chauve 1950 (anti), and four years later En attendant Godot text 1954 (a tragicomedy
in two acts), have made the imbalance and unexpectedly terminated the connection with all that
has, in the conceptual sense, determined the classical form of drama. These texts will present
a completely new way of telling and drama through denial of all false human values, appeal to
the world, which is riding a new cataclysm. They will talk about the absurdity of the rules at the
expense of constant suffering and sacrifice, which are just ideas and illusions.

In the theater of Beckett’s dramas in turn immediately after the release of the performance
seen as top achievements of the new “direction” commonly called “anti theater” or “theater
of the absurd”. So on this day along with Ionesco and Adam considered the most prominent
representative of this type of theater. His drama “conquer the world”, were shown again and
always displayed on all the world’s leading stages, and their success with audiences and theater
critics such that it provides a high position in the broadest sense of the entire history of drama
and the European theater (Solar, 2001, p. 85.).

The coincidence that both these writers come from the end edge of the European
continent, may be another indication that dramatic literature initiates a new generation of writers,
just the territory that until then had significant influence in the development of the drama. In
contrast, in a reciprocal and effect the process, these writers and their most representative works
are placed in the cultural centers of Europe, namely the leading cultural and artistic confluence,
half of the twentieth century, Paris. Their stay in that environment initiated their most productive
and the most representative creation. The intellectual superiority of these authors has not
been determined, even language barriers, so that their texts are not represented as works that
determine national, religious or territorial affiliation, but on the contrary, they are written in
French, bridging internal barriers to the creation of a universal text and its global message.

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 Beckett’s entire literary work can be understood as a kind of continuation of the avant-
garde, with which it connects diatribe literary tradition and many technical procedures of the
literary formation that seemed to astonish the reader, but can also be understood as a continuation
of the so-called high modernism with which it connects in a new way realized stylistic integrity,
insight into the fundamental problems of contemporary reality and some procedures, such
as internal monologue and of consciousness. Beckett is pushing, it may be safe to say today,
achieved a synthesis in which and makes little sense to talk about influences (Solar, 2001, p. 86).

Theater art, through new terminology concepts theater of the absurd, anti-theatre, in its
ideology consciously rebels against the conventions of classical theater and drama and theatrical
art is dominated by “drama” that will become, primarily, “an illustration of the absurd and revolt”.
Ionesco talks about the absurdity that is not derived from personal attitude of the individual
and his experience of the world and the environment, but paragraph of the wider population
group, and Beckett focuses on the communication aspect of which is defined by dialog form or
rather monologues that are in dramatic actions achieved through the plot. Specify the action in
these texts there. The passage of time is absolutely irrelevant and does not follow the sequence
of scenes, scenes or acts, which are in the text but the form does not have a dramatic function.

The final explosion shatters language in dust and ashes. In contrast fluidity - a process
many times later used - cliche and automatisms, Ionesco reveals, as Rokanten before root
chestnut, monstrosity gaps: gaps of language and being, as soon as the rationality collapsed.
Soaked ridicule his action brings us to the discovery and at the same time destroys the worrying
picture of the gaps that will author, by his own admission, “really sick with dizziness and pain”.
The reality has turned into a monster. The fact that Ionesco refers to “a monstrous situation (...)
that we carry in ourselves” and “sickness” that forced him to spring “on the sofa with the fear that
they will sink into nothingness” reminiscent obviously on Sartre (Ionesco, 1965, p. 107.).

Language of the avant-garde drama, the drama of the modern era, is primarily a product
of unformed, raw thoughts of the writer who, in verbal gradation, does not respect the principles
of sequence replica. Thought pronounced at the scene by an actor has extra-textual function and
allegorical meaning, mainly in the global understanding. The text itself is shaped in the form of
word or sentence units, and often acts as a disconnected idea or set of incoherent phrases, so that
only the overall interpretation gives its meaning, or, as the author calls it, “anti-meaning”.

Beckett indeed is more interested in the constant change of identity of a human being
than the realfacts about lifeof his character ....Absurd in Beckett is always natural, arising from
the situation and from the author’s experience of the world, convincing, but steadfastly absurd.
Absurd, according to Beckett, is obviously not fit, an unusual dialogue, but at the core of human
life ... (Ćirilov, 2001, p. 11.).

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 The names of the characters and their function in the drama of the absurd are generalized.
Character traits of the characters are an assumption that may result from the personal experience
of the reader or viewer of drama, but are reduced to a metaphorical meaning that it can recognize
the different forms of defining. Ionesco prefers anonymity in the allocation of a small selection of
representative Family name (Mr. / Mrs. Smith and Mr. / Mrs. Martin, the maid Mary) to globally
initiating the universal problem of family and society, and general alienation, initiated within the
framework of blindly following the traditions. (The Bald Soprano is a satire on English society,
and when the bar was related only to the English, because the most important thing is to talk, and
the saddest thing is you do not know what we’re talking. Ionesco).

Ionesco’s nihilism is a result of accumulated discontent and revolt, sent directly to the
human subconscious, which is closing its eyes to fears of the Holocaust and the suffering of
humanity, “necessarily” trying to comply with the fictitious and outdated traditions, within the
framework which concerned the personal views and opinions, and the purpose they were purely
personal interests. The intellectual class and aristocracy are increasingly going along with the
ideology of the petty bourgeoisie which took control advent of capitalism. Global alienation of
the individual and society, even after the two world wars, has been unable to stop the further
suffering and to recognize the human need for peace in a world that has rushed in a new silent
cataclysm.

Abstract-Theater. Pure-drama. Anti-theme, anti-ideological, anti-social-realists, anti-

philosophical, anti-psychological gutter, anti-bourgeois; rediscovery of a new free theatre. -
Such thinking leads Ionesco abstraction, finding impossible purity. But do not be fooled, this is
theorizing a posteriori, the author cannot avoid the need of attributing his work and nihilistic
avant-garde status, which rises. The most commonly recognized that his characters are “some
sort of common citizenship, philistine man is the template idea, slogan, complete conformist:
the conformism of course his automatic language that reveals (...) The Smiths and the Martins
are no longer able to speak, is more do not know how to think. In the final analysis this is the
interpretation prevailed both in the East and the West. Is criticism influenced the writer, is the
author influenced the criticism? Probably both are possible simultaneously and complement one
another, even indiscernible (Ionesco, 1965, p. 104.).

Ionesco, knocking principles of theatre determinants, in the texts deprives theater and
performing arts in general, certain “traditional structural and thematic forms”, and caricaturing
performing arts and all the elements that determine, opening space for activities and a whole new
vision in setting up and solving Dramatic problems for his contemporaries and followers.

When Beckett in an interview stated that he seems to be interested in literature before

him mainly for power and knowledge, and he is interested in ignorance and powerlessness, it is

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indicated that at the turning point. Of course, he already knew and understood their predecessors
to Own Source overestimated the role, but he was aware that it was his work on the so distinct
and unique way warned of some typical feelings and dilemmas of our time that even exceeded
the framework of literature and theater and entered, could almost say, in our everyday life. Some
of his characters and their behavior as they became symbols of at least one frequent today “state
of mind” and the way in which to treat this condition; “Waiting for Godot” became the saying
which indicates hopeless and vainly expectation of someone or something that we might be saved,
although it too is not believed and meaningless conversations in which the parade supposedly
serious and scholarly discussions of scientists, philosophers and politicians have become almost
fashion that not only mimics the literature, but in some ways even “street” (Solar, 2001, p. 85.).

Becket irritates human subconscious using religious terminology and concepts, but
remains at the sole notion of life and death in the human psyche. He deliberately does not go
beyond that which is not real experience of earthly life. His characters are set as the polarities
between the extremes that are synthesized whole. (Vladimir-East, Tarragon-West; Vladimir
male, Tarragon / one-woman; Laky-luck, Poco-misery; boy who keeps sheep-Abel-well, boy who
keeps a goat-Cain-evil and a final category Godot - conception of God as a force whose voice
remains a mystery.) The uncertainty that oscillates between the extremes in Beckett’s texts has
the function to maintain balance in the mundane world. Any disruption of this harmony leads
inevitably to chaos. God’s word-voice, which is not heard, is supposed to reward a man after all the
suffering in this world, because it would be in his proclamation violated the perfection of cosmic
harmony positioned between the extremes of Eros and Thanatos (birth and death). The man,
as far as trying to rationally define the meaning of their existence and activities, remains only
in the spheres of futile attempts and absurd seeking for answers in a vicious circle of nonsense.
Sandwiched between religious determination, equality, happiness and misery, good and evil; he
remains the only witness to the earthly life and his ultimate task is to “hold”.

    Titles Bald Soprano and Waiting for Godot, in its linguistic embodiment of contradictions
carry allegorical meaning; «The Bald Soprano» - giant, famous singers without hair, itself a phrase
antonym; and the use of iterative, verb form, present continuous, «waiting» in the title, which had
hitherto been beyond legality drama; determine absurd that connotes not the real understanding
of the world in the underworld and the human mind, thus the term drama of the absurd or anti-
drama fully corresponds to the new dramatic form which will open the way to modern drama.

Why am I writing?

Why am I writing? I wonder though I had long, long ago began to write. I was thirteen
years old when I wrote the first theater piece. With twelve years I wrote poems, and with eleven
I wanted to write a memoir: the two sides of the school exercise books ... There is, first, the first

260
astonishment: understanding the awareness of life, joy and amazement before the front light, pure
amazement without trial in the world. Another astonishment is stuck in first. The Court further
amazement, the statement that evil exists. This evil, our private life, is the biggest enigma. I will
not discuss this unsolvable problem, I will only say that for me as a writer general misfortune is
my personal, intimate thing. Modern man sticks per irreparable. Mail us no other choice, since
we are condemned to death, be merry. But let›s not be gullible. Perhaps there is only one way out.
Again it contemplation the perplexity to the fact that we exist (E. Ionesco, 1965, str.133.).

«What is true and what is improvised,» it is impossible to say, and it becomes irrelevant to
extremes in a chaotic world that treats new art. All that is written becomes exclusively a product
of the author›s ideas and his experience of the world around him. Drama does not pander to
social norms, society, and then the man himself as the first unit of the whole, seeking and trying
to recognize themselves in multiplied and intricate sequence presented assumptions offered
through artistic vision. In such a chaotic atmosphere of constant and radical changes, in which
the man founds himself accepting the modern way of life, hopelessness and fear of new suffering,
have become part of everyday life, and the struggle for existence basic and ultimate goal.

Conclusion

Eugene Ionesco and Beckett Samuel, sweeping spatial, temporal and cultural constraints,
write openly about the problem of man and humanity set with the absurdity of their own lives. The
modern world brings with it progress at all levels of human activity, but the man is increasingly
isolated, resulting in his complete alienation. The dynamics of living conditions is asocial, making
it increasingly isolated. Thus it becomes “hunted” individual which can be manipulated. Turned
to himself without the possibility of real insight into the situation in which he found himself with
fear and concern for every future moment of his own life, he becomes a puppet manipulated by
which the global world. Through drama, as the most explicit literary form, these writers have
tried to awaken the conscience of mankind, initiate the rebellion that will make a barrier for the
cataclysm that threatens man in the near future. Only time will tell if they managed to do that, but
their drama today intensively attracts the viewer’s attention while doing the most representative
international theaters, nearly always initiating the audience to think...

References

Ćirilov Jovan, 2001, Antologija, Pre i posle kose, Savremena britanska drama, Zepter book world,
Beograd
Beckett Samuel, 1981, Čekajući Godoa, Nolit, Beograd
Beckett Samuel, 2006, Čekajući Godoa, BH Most, Sarajevo

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Jonesko Ežen, 1965, Pozorišno iskustvo,Vuk Karadžić, Beograd
Jovanović R. V., 1984, Pozorište i drama, Vuk Karadžić, Beograd
Kenner Henry, 1961, Samuel Beckett – A critical Study, Grove Press, New York
Selenić Slobodan, 2002, Dramski pravci XX veka, FDU, Beograd
Solar Milivoj, 2001, S. Beckett, U očekivanju Godota, pogovor, Mozaik knjiga, Zagreb 2001.
Solar Milivoj, 2003, Povijest svjetske književnosti, Golden marketing, Zagreb

Online sources

www.kupindo.com › ... Ežen Jonesko

https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ćelava_pjevačica
https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugène_Ionesco
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett
www.egs.edu/library/samuel-beckett/biography/

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 Gothic Indictment in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto

Samet Güven
Karabuk University, Turkey

Abstract

Known also as the age of revolutions, 18th century witnesses the rise of bourgeoisie, and
the fall of aristocracy. The new classes, rising up on the social ladder, were too greedy and violent,
and the emerging paradigm with its new individuals became the subject matter of the founder of
the gothic tradition in literature. Having come to power with no background, the new ruling clas-
ses discarded the past, and ignored everything related to the previous paradigms. Having seen
the great schism, the new greedy individual, and the spiritual lacuna in his age, Walpole tries to
find a solution to the problem: he tries to combine man’s present with his past, his subconscious
with his conscious, and he also sees that restoration of aristocracy is much better than the chaos
and disorder of the new capitalist paradigm.

Key words: gothic, 18th century, Walpole, aristocracy

Gothic as a genre emerged on account of the transition period from the feudal to the ca-
pitalist, and its rise is a reaction against Enlightenment rationality. In other words, Gothic deals
with the irrational side of man and his place in society. The Gothicists voiced not only the social
problems, but also the spiritual lacuna occurring as a result of the paradigmatic shift. The eigh-
teenth century was “a time when enlightenment was seen as possible, the rational explanation
of natural and human activities formed an agenda in the service of which most of the European
intellectuals of the age worked” (Punter 7). Known also as the age of revolutions, 18th century
witnesses the rise of bourgeoisie, and the fall of aristocracy. The new classes, rising up on the
social ladder, were too greedy and violent, and the emerging paradigm with its new individuals
became the subject matter of the founder of the gothic tradition in literature. Having come to
power with no background, the new ruling classes discarded the past, and ignored everything
related to the previous paradigms. Having seen the great schism, the new greedy individual, and

  263
the spiritual lacuna in his age, Walpole tries to find a solution to the problem: he tries to combine
man’s present with his past, his subconscious with his conscious, and he also sees that restoration
of aristocracy is much better than the chaos and disorder of the new capitalist paradigm.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is the first gothic work, and the author highlights
the chivalric tradition against the new vulgar system to show the problems of his time. This ro-
mance is about the lord of the castle of Otranto (Manfred) and his family (Matilda, Conrad, and
Hippolita). It starts on the wedding day of Manfred’s sickly son, Conrad who is about to marry
Isabella. Just before the wedding ceremony, a huge helmet coming from above crushes Conrad
to death. This mysterious event reminds Manfred of the old prophecy which tells “that the castle
and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be
grown too large to inhabit it” (17). Terrified that this old prophecy may come true, he decides
to prevent it by marrying Isabella himself, and he attempts to divorce his current obedient wife
Hippolita, who can no longer give birth to a proper heir to his throne. However, Manfred’s ende-
avors are distracted by a series of supernatural events, by the arrival of the real Prince Theodore.
Hence, the story ends with the restoration of aristocracy.

In his work, Walpole puts emphasis on feelings of numinous dread over reason, and it is
regarded as a reaction to Enlightenment. The work can be accepted as building a bridge between
past and present, between spirituality and rationalism. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to
analyze how The Castle of Otranto deals with the problem of spiritual lacuna together with inhe-
ritance and property rights by taking Marxist idea of historical progress into consideration, and
the interaction between the “ancient” and the “modern”. Finally, Walpole’s political message that
the political power belongs to aristocracy will be overtly expressed.

As the fourth Earl of Oxford and youngest son of Robert Walpole, Horace Walpole had a
long and prolific life. He became a Member of Parliament for twenty-six years. He wrote various
essays, and he had deep interest in Gothic architecture. Additionally, Walpole initiated a literary
genre which became popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus, he is considered as
the pioneering author to his followers such as Charles Maturin, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis,
Mary Shelly, and Bram Stoker. Like Walpole, British gothicists voiced in their works the schism
between the two worldviews, and the need to amalgamate them.

The term Gothic was used to refer to an architectural style before it started to be used in
literature. Walpole attempted to recreate a feudal atmosphere in his country house, Strawberry
Hill. He decorated pointed arches, and added stained glass windows. His obsession with the Go-
thic architecture made a great contribution to the genre he was to initiate since his house inspired
him to write The Castle of Otranto:

[t]he typical Gothic novel featured an ancient and mysterious castle, well stoc-
ked with dungeons, crypts, and secret passages. It featured a villainous nobleman,

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 and a pair of virtuous lovers. It also featured at least one, but preferably multiple,
spectral, ghostly, or otherworldly entities, replete with a wide range of supernatural
special effects. Too, the Gothic novel usually featured an ancient secret, prophecy,
or manuscript whose arcane and forbidden knowledge was the source of or illumi-
nated the horror (Colavito 40).

Walpole’s house at Strawberry Hill belonged to artificial origin of this kind, and The Castle
of Otranto was a direct result of his obsession with gothic architecture. This building also repre-
sents his longing for the past, since he thinks that past is better than the changing, threatening
present. In addition to his Strawberry Hill, another factor that inspired Walpole to write this
romance was his dream, and he explains it saying,

Shall I even confess to you, what was the origin of this romance! I waked one mor-
ning, in the beginning of last June, from a dream, of which, all I could recover was,
that I had thought myself in an ancient castle (a very natural dream for a head filled
like mine with Gothic story), and that on the uppermost banister of a great stairca-
se I saw a gigantic hand in armour. In the evening I sat down, and began to write,
without knowing in the least what I intended to say or relate. The work grew on my
hands, and I grew fond of it--add, that I was very glad to think of anything, rather
than politics. In short, I was so engrossed with my tale, which I completed in less
than two months (Walpole 83).

His dream influenced his writing style which would later be labeled as Gothic. Although
Walpole did not use the term “Gothic”, he certainly made a great contribution to its popularity by
giving in the second edition of his book the subtitle “A Gothic Story”.

Walpole preferred to use the pseudonym “William Marshal” who claimed to be the trans-
lator of an Old Italian text found “in the library of an ancient Catholic family in the north of
England” (5) in the first edition of the book. However, he revealed his true identity in the second
edition by expressing his intention to write his work. In his book The Gothic, David Punter high-
lights the importance of the prefaces as “significant to the originating moment of Gothic fiction
as the text itself. If the first preface looks back to the past through the pretence of the discovered
manuscript, the second preface combines a gesture towards the past with strong claims for inno-
vation” (177).

Walpole formulated his gothic machinery by combining the genres like romance, tragedy,
legend and fairy tale into The Castle of Otranto. He explains what he means by the term “Gothic”
in the preface to the second edition of the book as

… an attempt to blend the two kinds of romance, the ancient and the modern. In the
former, all was my imagination and improbability; in the latter, nature is always in-
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 tended to be, and sometimes has been, copied with success. Invention has not been
wanting; but the great resources of fancy have been damned up by a strict adheren-
ce to common life. But if, in the latter species, Nature has cramped imagination,
she did but take her revenge, having been totally excluded from old romances. The
actions, sentiments, and conversations, of the heroes and heroines of ancient days,
were as unnatural as the machines employed to put them in motion (9).

The quotation suggests that Walpole’s main intention is to interact the “ancient” with the
“modern” rather than inventing a new genre. Although Walpole did not intend to create a new
genre, he became the initiator of Gothic literature by combining the past and the present. He
inserts imagination into old heroic romances, and “originates a genre in which the attractions
of the past and of the supernatural become similarly connected, and, further, in which the su-
pernatural itself becomes a symbol of our past rising against us” (Punter 53).This combination
becomes a formula, forming the basis of Gothic novels, and it has become the inspiration for the
prospective gothic works.

Walpole’s preference of archaic superstitious Catholic community in Otranto lets him re-
introduce the supernatural phenomena. According to Markman Ellis, “[t]he novel is actively cre-
dulous in the supernatural. The supernatural is categorically an unnovelistic aspect of the gothic
– it cannot be reconciled with the empirical observation of the novel” form (29). The function of
supernatural elements is to restore the violated orders of the society by giving the castle to its real
owner. For example, a painted portrait steps out of its frame angrily and walks when Manfred
plans to marry his son’s bride, Isabella. Moreover, “three drops of blood [falls] from the nose of
Alfonso’s statue” (97), and this shows that Manfred’s intention agitates the founders of the chival-
ric traditions of the Middle-Ages, and Walpole inserts romance elements of past and present to
highlight the present problems which he sees as caused by Enlightenment rationalism.

In the English Civil War, Charles I was defeated after fighting against the army of the Ho-
use of Commons. These people were called Roundheads since they were bald to show their re-
actions to the aristocracy, followed Oliver Cromwell who ruled England for almost twenty years,
and who took the title Lord Protector of the Commonwealth by using his military power. As a
politician, Walpole knew what happened to Britain under the reign of Oliver Cromwell who gave
an end to aristocratic hegemony. In other words, Walpole was aware of the fact that:

[t]here were profound changes and innovations in England and Wales during the late
1640s and the 1650s. The king was tried and executed, the monarchy and the House of Lords
were abolished, a republic or commonwealth was established, a succession of regimes and con-
stitutional forms came and went, and, in the absence of a state church, Protestant plurality and a
range of other secular and religious ideas flourished. Church and crown lands were sold off and
a militarized England and Wales swept on first to establish control over Ireland and Scotland and
266
then to embark on expansionist and quite successful foreign, commercial and colonial policies
(Gaunt 86).

Walpole’s knowledge about the reign of Cromwell is just an inspiration for him to write
such a political story. Additionally, his depiction of Manfred in The Castle of Otranto can be tho-
ught of as the depiction of Cromwell since both of them came to the power illegally for Walpole.
For this reason, the narrative of his work turns around the subversion of Manfred’s illegitimate
reign over the castle. Walpole implies that Manfred, just like Cromwell, is cursed due to his unfair
ownership of the castle.

Walpole’s nostalgia for the lost feudal past was a general interest developing as opposed to
rationalism, and the plot seems to argue for the continuation of the class values of a feudal pa-
triarchy. Although Walpole lived a century before Karl Marx, Walpole’s concept of progress about
history can be related to Marxist idea of historical progress that “history as proceeding through
a series of conflicts between opposing ideas leads to the development of a new historical stage”
(Booker 72). Contrary to Marx’s theory, Walpole does not want history to progress since this me-
ans the change in the class structure of a society. His concept of history is a stagnant one: for he is
an aristocrat, he is still in favor of aristocracy. For this reason, he reacts against the subversion of
the established system by the 18th century bourgeoisie in The Castle of Otranto.

Walpole’s choice of faux medieval setting refers to his time. By creating a fictitious medie-
val world, he forms a sense of antiquity for the eighteenth century audience to discuss feudalism,
aristocracy, and especially religion, which are the institutions attacked by bourgeoisie. In other
words, The Castle of Otranto presents what the eighteenth century England is through what it is
not. The themes of Catholicism and feudalism are used to inspire fear in the 18th century bour-
geois readers whose mistrust of superstition and ultimate tyranny, whose scare of a descent into
feudal barbarity are all used by Walpole to create horror and dread.

The helmet which causes to the death of Conrad refers to the prospective danger
of rationalism. As a rationalist individual, Manfred tries to use his human power against the in-
explicable powers, yet he cannot cope with them. For this reason, Walpole associates the helmet
with the side effects of the Enlightenment, and he describes it in the romance as; “an hundred
times more large than any casqued ever made for human being, and shaded with a proportio-
nable quantity of black feathers”(19). In addition to this huge helmet, there are other interesting
enormous items such as part of a leg, a gigantic sword, and big armour. When these parts are
combined, a gigantic medieval knight will come into existence. By this way, Horace Walpole
shows the power of the established system, aristocracy.

Furthermore, the castle depicts the chivalric and heroic attitudes of the Middle Ages which
are about to disappear due to the paradigmatic shift. For this reason, Walpole uses romance

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elements to take the audience back to the Middle Ages. In The Handbook to Gothic Literature,
Victor Sage elaborates that “his [Walpole’s] Gothic story was ostensibly set back in the remote
past in an age of superstition when emotions were freer and manners more direct and barbarous
than in the eighteenth century” (82). On purpose, Walpole depicts the past as a nightmare, for
he wants to scare the bourgeois audience. In other words, his world of feudal past represents the
symbolic and anachronistic reenactment of the concerns of the eighteenth century.

Despite its negative image for Walpole, feudal system had some moral values. Yet, it is
not aristocracy that is going corrupt, but bourgeoisie that is corrupting aristocracy. To illustrate,
Manfred shows how rationalism of the Enlightenment can be subverted and ill-used by attemp-
ting to marry his deceased son’s fiancée, Isabella who is much younger than himself after divor-
cing his wife, Hippolita. His intention to marry Isabella is against the morality of aristocracy. For
this reason, Walpole depicts Manfred in his work as “one of those savage tyrants who wanton
in cruelty unprovoked. The circumstances of his fortune [have] given an asperity to his temper,
which was naturally humane; and his virtues were always ready to operate, when his passions
did not obscure his reason” (33). Manfred’s corruption also affects the moral values of an ari-
stocratic character like Frederick who decides to marry Manfred’s daughter, Matilda who is also
far younger than himself. Through the unethical deeds of these characters, Walpole depicts the
corrupting effect of bourgeoisie on aristocracy.

In Walpole’s faux medieval setting, authority seems to be shared between the Aristocra-
cy and the Church. Manfred remains outside this system since he is neither an aristocrat nor a
religious man, that is, he is portrayed as a typical bourgeois character obsessed with the idea of
progress rather than natural rights. This means that he reacts against the tradition of inheritance
by disturbing the order when his reason is obscured by his passion. He is so obsessed with power
that he does not take the warning into consideration with the death of his son. This event incre-
ases his resentment of the Divine Order. Instead of accepting the present divine hierarchy, he
denies God and relies on his human abilities like the 18th century capitalist individual. Manfred’s
defiance of the long established institutions like church and aristocracy is a reaction against the
repression of these institutions on the individual for they give no chance to the ones who try to
climb the social ladder. Yet, Walpole, by restoring the established order at the end, shows that he
is against the new age and the new individual. He sees no virtue in both the age and in the indi-
viduals like Manfred. Moreover, such individuals have the power to corrupt the virtuous ones.

In contrast to Manfred, Theodore is a virtuous peasant hero who is the grandchild of Al-
fonso, and thus the true heir to Otranto. Theodore’s adventures form the romance part of the
story since he belongs to the feudal order. He reminds the agricultural society wiped away by
the urbanization, and Walpole is against this rapid change. He is presented as chivalrous in both
speech and deed, however, he is the symbol of naiveté, and he shows simple minded heroism for

268
the complex problems he encounters. Additionally, divine powers help Theodore to challenge
Manfred. This shows that God intervenes with worldly deals to provide justice which is about to
vanish in the new rationalist society with the decrease in belief on divine powers.

When Isabella’s father, Frederick comes to the castle to save his daughter, he defies Man-
fred; “[f]ifty foot guards with drums and trumpets closed the procession, which wheeled off to
the right and left to make room for the principal Knight. As soon as he approached the gate he
stopped; and the herald advancing, read again the words of the challenge” (65). Although Isabel-
la’s father, Frederick, behaves like a noble hero, he begins to turn into villainy since his passion
overcomes his reason as he is attracted by the charms of Manfred’s daughter, Matilda. He forgets
his enmity towards Manfred when they make an agreement on their daughters in terms of mar-
riage. Frederick’s attitudes show the tendency of the individual corruption in the 18th century.
This shows that the influence of the age is not just limited to the rising bourgeois, that is, aristo-
crats are also affected by the materialistic worldview of the age.

Children suffer for the past sins of their fathers as it is stated in the first edition of the work;
“that the sins of fathers are visited on their children to the third and fourth generation” (7). In the
first place, Manfred suffers for the sins of his ancestors since he kills his own daughter by mistake,
and then he becomes repentant by leaving the Otranto Castle to its real owner, Theodore. Man-
fred’s children, Conrad and Matilda, suffer for the illegitimate reign of their father. While Conrad
is crushed to death by a huge mysterious helmet coming from above, Matilda is murdered by
his own father. By this way, Walpole implicitly warns bourgeois people since he regards them as
usurpers just like Manfred in his work.

In The Castle of Otranto, Walpole amalgamates the past and the present. While Manfred
represents the new paradigm, Theodore belongs to the ancient paradigm. Theodore becomes the
new prince of Otranto, however, he takes over a wreck since “[a] clap of thunder at that instant
shook the castle to its foundations” (112) at the end of The Castle of Otranto. As a member of
aristocracy, Walpole supports the perpetuation of the established system since he believes that
aristocracy is better than the new system. For this reason, Manfred symbolized as a new para-
digm is beaten by the aristocracy, and his fall brings a sour conclusion.

As a result, Horace Walpole presents the moral dilemmas of his age which are the results of
rapid social and individual changes. He realizes a definite spiritual emptiness and lack of foresi-
ght in his age as a statesman and the son of a prime minister. Therefore, he reveals the historical,
political and individual problems of his age in The Castle of Otranto. He shows the negative sides
of burgeoning capitalist system. Since his age witnessed the clash between the ancient (aristocra-
cy) and the modern (bourgeoisie), he saw the need to take a side. As an aristocrat, he sided with
aristocracy and lampooned bourgeoisie. Yet, Walpole’s resistance against historical progression,
which he reveals through The Castle of Otranto, gave birth to a new genre, the gothic literature.

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References

Booker, Keith M. A Practical Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism. New York: Longman,
1996.

Clery, E.J. “The Genesis of “Gothic” Fiction”. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Ed.
Jerrold E. Hogle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres, 2002.

Colavito, Jason. Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge, and the Development of the Horror Genre. Jef-
ferson: McFarland & Co, 2008.

Ellis, Markman. The History of Gothic Fiction. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press, 2000.

Gaunt, Peter. The English Civil Wars 1642-1651. Wellingborough: Osprey Publishing, 2003.

Heiland, Dona. Gothic & Gender. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Punter, David and Byron Glennis. The Gothic. New York: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Punter, David. The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day.
London: Longman, 1980.

Sage, Victor. “Gothic Novel”. The Handbook to Gothic Literature. Ed. Marie Mulvey Robets. New
York: New York University Pres, 1998.

Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Walpole, Horace. Letters of Horace Walpole Volume II. Ed. Charles Duke Yonge. New York: G.P.
Putnam’s Sons, 2004.

270
Transnational Identity in Robyn Rowland’s Australian/Turkish Poems:
This Intimate War – İçli dışlı bir savaş: Gallipoli/Çanakkale 1915

◆
Catherine Akça
Kafkas University, Turkey

Abstract

World War I was a cataclysm. Such global carnage, devastation and waste could not but
result in international, international and individual change. One of the premises upon which war
is sustained is the “otherness” of the enemy, attributed to various national, ethnic, geographical,
social or cultural factors. This presupposes that the opposing force perceives its own identity as
different from that of the enemy in some crucial way, sufficient to negate any variety in group
affiliations within its own ranks, and to obscure the significance of characteristics held in common
with the antagonist. The intensity of the experience of war, the need to validate the sacrifice
involved, political imperatives and contingent propaganda all tend to reinforce perceptions of
self-identity and “otherness” during the conflict, and in its aftermath. Where war is international,
issues of national identity will predominate. During WWI, the Gallipoli Campaign set Allied
invaders against Ottoman Turks. Between 1915 and the evacuation of the Allied troops in January
1916, both sides sustained terrible casualties and horrendous loss of life. The history, memories,
commemoration and mythologisation of the Anzac troops, from Australia and New Zealand,
and of the Turks at Gallipoli were to contribute to the forging of the post-war national identities
of their respective countries. However, identity is both a multi-facetted construct and a process in
flux, in which the present interacts with the past. Imperatives change, perspectives too. Cultural
identity, the sense of belonging to a particular group, may transcend national boundaries; myths
may be reworked. A century after the Gallipoli campaign, this paper examines poems from
Robyn Rowland’s This Intimate War: Gallipoli/Çanakkale 1915, in the light of the contemporary
trend to move away from the mythologizing of the Gallipoli story on a national basis towards a
more inclusive transnational approach based on shared experience and values.

Key words: Gallipoli, Anzac, Turkey, identity, Rowland, poetry

  271
 War pits human against human at horrific human cost, yet it is most often underpinned by
notions of “otherness”. Rightly or wrongly, the foe is portrayed as alien and therefore threatening.
Combattants may be differentiated on various national, ethnic, geographical, social or cultural
grounds. In warfare on an international scale, whatever its cause or justification, the concept
of national identity, with its associated distinguishing features and values, frequently idealised
under the pressure of circumstances or as a result of political propaganda, often serves to unite
and motivate the military and civilians alike. This is what Guibernau (2004) defined as the
psychological dimension of national identity, a “‘felt’ closeness uniting those who belong to the
nation,” when their “unique character” and “qualities” (p. 135) are threatened by an enemy. Thus,
in his sonnet “The Soldier,” written at the outset of the First World War, Rupert Brooke (who
was to die of septicaemia en route to Gallipoli), depicted a paradiscal England and a notion of
“Englishness” worth fighting and dying for:

... There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. (3-8)

There are no grey skies or smoking chimneystacks, no battlefield slaughter here.

However, no matter how important a role the concept of national identity may play, or
be made to play, where conflict is on a global scale the reality remains much more complex. For
instance, on the one hand, international warfare promotes alliances between peoples, which are
driven by strategic or moral imperatives, and which transcend differences in national or cultural
identity, at least for the duration. Yet, on the other hand, paradoxically, there may be as many
similarities as differences between antagonists. For instance, in his poem “The Man He Killed”,
Thomas Hardy conveyed the bewilderment of a soldier who, after shooting his “enemy” to save
his own life, reflects:

Yes; quaint and curious war is!

You shoot a fellow down
You’d treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half a crown. (17-20)

Here, the focus has shifted from national differences to class similarities.

Nonetheless, regardless of this complexity, the intensity of the experience of war, the need
to validate the sacrifice involved, political imperatives and contingent propaganda all tend to
reinforce perceptions of self-identity and “otherness” during a conflict, to the extent that one force

272
perceives itself as different from its enemy in some crucial way, sufficient to negate any variety in
group affiliations within its own ranks, and to obscure the significance of characteristics held in
common with the antagonist.

Returning to the relationship between national identity and warfare, it should be noted
that this may be reciprocal. While nationalistic feelings clearly contribute to warfare, conflict
itself may influence the dynamics of national identity. This process may run contiguous with a
conflict, or it may develop and continue over time, as experiences, reports, analyses, accounts,
impressions and memories of the period are transposed into histories or assimilated into works
of culture. Thus, Kendall (2013), in discussing the poetry written by British and Irish poets
during and following the First World War, described how the conflict continues to pervade “the
language and culture – our deepest sense of ourselves as a nation” (p. xxx), even though the Great
War is no longer a living memory.

The impact of warfare upon the dynamics of national identity became apparent at a more
fundamental level in the Gallipoli/ Çanakkale arena of the Great War, where the conflict and its
subsequent memorialisation, and indeed mythologisation, contributed to the forging of a new
national identity for three of the combattant nations: Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. In
parenthesis, it is also interesting to note here a link with the Irish desire to achieve nationhood.
The high mortality rate among Irish troops, who fought as part of the British Army in the Gallipoli
Campaign, inspired the following lines in “The Foggy Dew,” a ballad written in 1919 by Canon
Charles O’Neill, which recounted the 1916 Irish Rebellion against British rule:

Right proudly high over Dublin town

They flung out the flag of war.
‘Twas far better to die ‘neath an Irish sky,
Than at Suvla or Sud el Bar. (9-12)

In brief, the Gallipoli/Çanakkale conflict unfolded as follows. The Gallipoli Peninsula

lies on the northern bank of the Dardanelles Strait, which provides maritime access to the
Sea of Marmara and Istanbul and, beyond, through the Bosphorus Strait to the Black Sea. In
February, 1915, British and French ships starts bombarding Turkish defensive positions along the
Dardanelles, with the aim of forcing a way through to Istanbul, and ultimately opening up a route
through the Black Sea to the Russian Empire. On 18th March, 1915 the full Anglo-French force
of 18 battleships and support vessels carried out its main attack on the strait, but was repelled by
the Turks who inflicted severe losses upon their enemy, in the renowned victory of Çanakkale
(“World War 1”, n.d.).

Over the next five weeks, allied commanders made preparations for a land campaign to
neutralise the Turkish defences along the Dardanelles Strait. On 25th April, 2015 French and

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British troops began to land at Cape Helles (Seddülbahir), suffering terrible losses in the process.
Likewise, many of the Australian and New Zealander (Anzac) troops, who disembarked under
fire at Anzac Cove (Arıburnu), on the same date, were killed or wounded in their landing craft
or on shore. The Anzac landing was made further north than planned, so that those soldiers
who came ashore were confronted by steep cliffs rather than a flat beach. Evacuation from the
peninsula was considered, but rejected as unfeasible. On the opposing side, the Turkish defenders
lacked strength in numbers and had limited ammunition. The Turkish position was saved by the
foresight of the commander of the 19th division, Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk), who ordered the
troops of the 57th Regiment “to die” (as cited in Cameron, 2013, p. 10), rather than yield up the
high ground at Chunuk Bair (Conk Bayırı), which he perceived as crucial to the defence of the
area. Stalemate ensued, with the attackers unable to advance and the defenders unable to repel
them. Trench warfare, with ferocious hand-to-hand fighting, continued through eight months of
searing summer heat and freezing winter cold. Terrible sanitation compounded the battlefield
losses with deaths from disease. Deteriorating conditions finally led Britain to order evacuation
of the peninsula, which was completed between December, 1915 and January, 2016 (Fighting
Australasia, 1917; “The Gallipoli Campaign,” n.d.).

In the course of the Gallipoli Campaign, both sides suffered horrendous losses, estimated
at a total of around 150,000 deaths and a total of up to 500,000 casualties. More than 80,000 Turks
are believed to have perished. The casualty rate was at its highest among Anzac troops, at 80%
for both Australian and New Zealand combattants (“Gallipoli Casualties,” n.d.; Slade, 2003; “The
Gallipoli Campaign,” n.d.).

As alluded to previously, new concepts of Australian, New Zealand and Turkish identity
took shape in the aftermath of the Gallipoli/Çanakkale battles. Gallipoli, albeit in reality a distant
locus of death and defeat, came to represent “the psychological birthplace of both Australia and
New Zealand as nations” (Slade, 2003, p. 780); and thus, for the people of both countries, became
a place of secular pilgrimage to “a source of core identity” (Hyde & Harman, 2011, p. 1343). In
1991, Anthony D. Smith asserted that nationhood and cultural identity involve, inter alia, “a
named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths and historical memories
...” (as cited in Guibernau, 2004, p. 127). Slade (2003) has observed that the word “myth,” as
associated with Gallipoli, follows Barthes’ usage of the term: “Myth is a system of communication
... a message ... a type of speech chosen by history ...” (Barthes, 1957/1972, pp. 107-108). Myth
“makes us understand something and it imposes it upon us” (p. 115). “Myth does not deny
things, on the contrary, its function is to talk about them; simply, it purifies them, it makes them
innocent, it gives them a natural and eternal justification, it gives them a clarity which is not
that of an explanation but that of a statement of fact” (p. 143). Used in this sense, myth is not
incompatible with history in its contribution to the formation of cultural identity. Thus, out of
the carnage of Gallipoli emerged the cultural construct of “Anzac”, described by Seal (2007) as “a
conflation of history and myth” (p. 136).

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 The Great War was the first war in which Australian and New Zealand troops participated
as citizens of self-governing nations within the British Empire (Slade, 2003). Contemporary
eye-witness accounts described the valour and other qualities of these troops in terms which
shaped the Anzac myth. The novelist and counter-espionage agent Compton Mackenzie depicted
the Australian troops in language which associated them with the mythical heroes of ancient
Greece, a comparison reinforced by the proximity of Gallipoli to Troy: “There was not one of
those glorious young men I saw that day who might not himself have been Ajax or Diomed,
Hector or Achilles”  (as cited in Pringle, 1997, p. 97). The commander of the Mediterranean
Expeditionary Force, Sir Ian Hamilton, made the same comparison, and further described the
Anzacs as “a radiant force of camaraderie in action” (as cited in Pringle, pp. 97-98). One of the
earliest propagators of the Anzac myth, the Australian war correspondent and historian C.E.W.
Bean, directly associated the Australian Gallipoli campaign with the birth of a modern nation
and characterised the Anzacs as different from the other troops (Slade, 2003). For instance, in
Anzac to Amiens (1946), Bean wrote that: “Anzac stood, and still stands, for reckless valour in a
good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never
own defeat” (as cited in “Anzac Spirit,” n.d.).

In the aftermath of the Great War, the development of the Anzac myth, through historical
accounts, cultural artefacts and the media (Broadbent, 2009), in turn, led to the assimilation of
the aforesaid characteristics into the Australian and New Zealand constructs of national identity.
The enduring impact of Gallipoli upon the national consciousness is made explicit, for instance,
in the programme commemorating Anzac Day in 2006: “The spirit of ANZAC, with its human
qualities of courage, mateship and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our
sense of national identity” (as cited in Seal, 2007, p. 137).

Taylor (1987) highlighted a difference in emphasis between two collections of Australian

poetry about the Great War, which is illustrative of the ways in which cultural memory may be
shaped, and of the process of purification by myth which Barthes (1957/1972) describes. The
poems in the anthologies were written at an interval of 50 years apart. The poetry written by
Australian soldiers at the time of the War “displays ... a profound disillusionment with war, with
politics, with patriotism and with authority” (p. 58). In contrast, the later poems, all written
after 1970, reinforce the Anzac myth by depicting the Australian soldiers as innocents led to the
slaughter, naively obedient to the call of Britain, the old colonial authority, which proved to be
unworthy of their sacrifice (Taylor, 1987).

This notion of Australian innocence, already a part of the Anzac myth, was considerably
strengthened by Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli, much influenced by the official history written by
C.E.W. Bean. The film emphasized the separateness of Australian identity from British identity,
which it portrayed negatively, and focused on egalitarianism and mate ship as thedistinguishing

  275
features of the former (Haltof, 1993). Interestingly, the historical enemy, Turkey, played no
prominent role in Gallipoli. The film is a prime example of the role cultural artefacts may play in
the shaping of cultural memory, and thus in the evolution of a nation’s sense of identity. Mersin
(2011) has shown how the same phenomenon is observable in Turkish films about the War of
Independence and national heroism, in which certain motifs, such as the value of being Turkish
and the elevated character of the Turks, were promoted in the interests of reconstructing national
identity. Amongst many examples, Mersin cited the 1951 film Allahaısmarladık, in which the
enemy General Thompson, veteran of Gallipoli, characterised the Turks as an honourable, brave
and heroic people (Mersin, 2011).

As with Anzac, the qualities of bravery, resilience and determination displayed by the
Turks at Çanakkale and Gallipoli quickly achieved mythic status. Within a few short years, the
same characteristics, by now explicitly associated in the mind of the populace with being Turkish,
inspired the Turks to further sacrifice and heroism in the struggle to overcome the forces of
imperialism and forge a new national identity. Under the leadership of Atatürk, a legend in his
own right, the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923) was fought to a successful conclusion,
culminating in the founding of the modern Republic of Turkey on 29th October, 1923. The
Gallipoli/Çanakkale battles now lie at the limits of living memory, but the spirit of Çanakkale
has long since passed into legend and continues to pervade the Turkish cultural memory and the
national consciousness.

According to Barthes (1957/1972), mythical concepts “can come into being, alter,
disintegrate, disappear completely” (p. 119). Köroğlu (2007) discussed the phenomenon
of “belatedness” (xvi-xvii), whereby writers are affected by the political, socio-cultural and
psychological climate of their own period, which influences their interpretation of war, and
thus may change how it is remembered. Indeed, in recent years, the traditional Anzac myth
has begun to take new shape. The original emphasis on values associated with national identity
has begun to be replaced, in some quarters, by a new approach to the experience of Gallipoli
from the perspective of transnationalism. In a cinematic context, Hjort has defined “affinitive
transnationalism” as “a history of interaction giving rise to shared core values, common practices”
(as cited in Hillman, 2011, p. 25). An example of a work which adopted such a perspective is the
Turkish director Tolga Örnek’s 2005 documentary film, Gallipoli: the Frontline Experience, which
Simpson (2007) described as breaking new ground “in its attempts to abandon the baggage of
national mythmaking on both sides of the trenches in favour of a more experiential approach to
the battle” (p. 86). Örnek achieved this by using the diaries, letters and photographs of ten ordinary
soldiers from opposing sides of the battlefield - British and Anzac, as well as Turkish. Through
its rendering of their shared experience of trauma and tragedy, of the valour displayed by both
sides, and of the mutual respect generated, the film exemplifies what Hjort has called the “deep
transnational belonging” that may occur when “elements of deep national belonging ... overlap

276
with aspects of other national identities” (as cited in Hillman, 2011, p. 35). Hillman has also
highlighted a number of other literary and cinematic works which adopt a similar transnational
perspective, including Louis de Bernières novel Birds Without Wings (2004) and Wain Fimeri’s
TV documentary Revealing Gallipoli (2005). Similarly, Fewster, Başarın and Başarın (2003) have
explored changing perspectives on the relationship between Australians and Turks, arguing that
where the original Anzac myth was selective in its approach to history, the legend has now been
redefined to include Turkish soldiers, with a new emphasis on the shared fate of the soldiers
as “fellow sufferers rather than sworn enemies” (p. 11). The sociologist Brad West has shown
how the increasingly popular annual Anzac pilgrimage to Gallipoli has opened the eyes of the
visitors to the realities of Turkish bravery, to the Turkish side of the story and to Turkish culture.
In West’s view, “a new dialogic mythology” has emerged out of these encounters between Turks
and Australians, grounded in “the collective memory of the two nations as innocent martyrs”
(as cited in McKenna & Ward, 2007, pp.148-149). The same notion of transnational belonging is
encapsulated in the words of Atatürk, which are inscribed on a Turkish monument to the Allied
fallen at Gallipoli, as well as on the memorial to Atatürk in Canberra:

... There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they
lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their
sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our
bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become
our sons as well. (as cited in “Atatürk”, n.d.)

Elsewhere, Bennett (2014) has highlighted a growing trend in historical scholarship to

adopt a transnational approach to the Gallipoli Campaign, characterised by an “anti-war tone ...
and ... emphasis on the universal experience of war, supported by the unvarnished words of the
common man revealed through letters and diaries” (pp. 642-643). D.W. Cameron’s book Shadows
of Anzac. An Intimate History of Gallipoli (2013), incorporating diaries and letters written by
both Allied and Turkish troops is one example of this. The current shift in emphasis in relation
to the Gallipoli story, away from the cultural nationalism associated with the traditional Anzac
myth towards transnationalism, provides further evidence that conceptions of identity evolve
dynamically, as the present interacts with the past. Imperatives change, perspectives too. Cultural
identity, the sense of belonging to a particular group, may transcend national boundaries; myths
may be reworked.

This Intimate War: Gallipoli/Çanakkale 1915- İçli Dışlı Bir Savaş: Gelibolu/Çanakkale 1915
is a collection of poems by the Irish-Australian poet Robyn Rowland (2015). In launching the
collection, Gorton asserted that Rowland “has taken on the role of shaping how we perceive
the past” (2015, para. 2). The emotional force generated by the poems works at a level which
transcends the national by evoking what Scartes (as cited in McKenna & Ward, 2007) has

  277
called “the community of suffering” (p. 148) of the ordinary individuals involved on both sides
in the Gallipoli/Çanakkale conflict. In other words, Rowland’s poems address aspects of deep
transnational belonging. The remainder of this paper will examine This Intimate War, from
this perspective. It is worth noting, in passing, that the transnational focus of the collection
is sharpened by the presence of the Mehmet Ali Çelikel’s Turkish translation of the poems,
juxtaposed with the English on alternate pages of the volume.

Robyn Rowland is an Australian, of Irish origin, with a Turkish sister-in-law. Although this
background may have inspired, to some degree, the transnational perspective in This Intimate
War, the sense of affinitive transnationalism which pervades the work seems rather to reflect the
writer’s ability to empathize, her humanity and a fine poetic sensibility.

The belief that the Anzacs, although part of the aggressor force, went innocently to war at
Gallipoli – a notion which permeates the traditional Anzac myth – is maintained by Rowland in
this work. However, this attitude reflects her condemnation of the British imperialistic ambitions
which culminated in the carnage at Gallipoli/Çanakkale, rather than any nationalistic sentiment.
Indeed, Rowland absolves all of the colonial troops of responsibility in “The Folly of Myth:
Prologue, 1915” (pp. 20-29): The British “... carried their empire with them – the defeated, the
colonised, / the unaware ...” (p.22, I, 31-32). Moreover, in “Children of Gallipoli,” (pp. 42-45),
she proves the validity of her position, by quoting the contemporary recruitment posters which
betrayed the naive into signing up for a war in which they would have to invade another’s soil:
“Posters told the colonies it was to stop the, Germans. / ‘Free trip to Europe,’ they blared, ‘full of
adventure and interest’” (5-6).

Thus in “Green Road” (pp. 68-73), the speaker is not an Anzac. Rather, the voice heard
is that of an Irish soldier, who had hoped to be granted freedom and nationhood in return for
fighting honourably for Britain at Gallipoli, but emerges disillusioned and enraged by the poor
planning: “there must have been clear springs somewhere - / if anyone in charge had a map” (44-
45); by the loss of so many comrades: “Most of us were dead in the many ways of war. / Most of
us wearing the green never got back” (56-57); and, ultimately, by a sense of betrayal: “Will they
pay that honour-price now? / do you think? Will I have my own country / when I get back to it?
The Turks have theirs” (74-76).

As the previous quotation illustrates, Rowland’s work acknowledges the relationship

between Gallipoli/Çanakkale and national consciousness, but does so from a transnational
standpoint. For instance, “Anybody Left? Anybody Left? No?” (pp.80-85) refers to impact of the
conflict upon the evolution of both Anzac and Turkish national identities. The poem deals with
the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula. Its title works on two levels, reflecting the logistics of
the withdrawal, while at the same time evoking the horrible truth that a generation of young
men was wiped out by the Great War, in Gallipoli and elsewhere. Part of the poem describes
278
how, as they reach ship, the surviving Anzac soldiers contemplate, in anguish, the scene “... where
friends, brothers, sons and fathers / are buried or dusted to vapour in ways too cruel for memory
/ Yet they take away a sense of knowing who they are – Anzacs” (p. 82, 48-50). These lines hint at
the way in which the purifying force of myth would, over time, process the horrors of the defeat
at Gallipoli out of the collective cultural memory, particularly in Australia, allowing the emergent
national consciousness to focus primarily upon the qualities of the Anzac troops and, eventually,
to adopt these characteristics as its own. With respect to cultural identity, in the same poem,
Rowland also documents the invidious position of the indigenous Australian aborigines. Denied
all rights of citizenship, they even had to claim to be half-caste in order to be able to sign up; but,
as bodies were needed at the front, the recruiters turned a blind eye to their colour and enlisted
them: “for a country that gives them no vote, / no citizenship, no rights over their children, /
only equality here in sharing death” (p. 82, 35-37). Maintaining its transnational perspective, the
poem also links Gallipoli with Atatürk’s vision of an independent Turkey, thus acknowledging
the Turkish version of the spirit of Çanakkale/Gallipoli and its importance in the foundation of
the modern Republic of Turkey. Moreover, by paraphrasing Atatürk’s words, Rowland reminds
her international reader that Turkish soldiers too fought bravely at Çanakkale and Gallipoli,
under conditions of great hardship and, importantly, that the Turks were not the aggressors there:

He speaks of the honour of his men, so ill-equipped

except with valour, who took a second victory from invaders.
Out of the dust of Gelibolu, out of its blood-black soil,
his vision of a new country flowers, a freer order,
a modern Turkey, stronger, that one day he will raise,
phoenix from the flames. (p. 84, 76-81)

The same, typically transnational, respect for the bravery and determination of the Turks,
and for Turkish culture, with a further acknowledgement that the Turks were the innocent party,
appears in “The Folly of Myth: Prologue, 1915” “Yet still they misunderstood a deep culture
- / soldiers ill-resourced but clever, dedicated, / who would lie down and die to defend their
homeland” (p.22, II, 2-4).

If one had to select but a single poem to illustrate the transnational qualities of This Intimate
War, “Close” (pp.36-41) would be a fine candidate. The poem conveys the physical proximity of
the soldiers – close enough to throw notes and food to one another in the trenches, to share dark
humour: “... you are too, weak to advance, too strong / to retire, and we are the same, so what shall
we do about it?” (p. 36, 17-18); close enough to kill one another hand-to-hand, by the “upward
lunge of a bayonet driven home” (13); so close that that they could look into one another’s eyes,
making it harder to kill; so close that their dead were “shared” (21). Out of this interaction,
comes the epiphany: “that’s when we know them, suddenly, smooth hands, / voices, smiles, they
are boys, like us, young” (24-25). Rowland does not articulate the nationality of the speaker, nor
  279
does she need to, for here she is concerned to convey the truth that the horrors of Gallipoli were
experienced by all of the young men there. So, she reveals how they shared the same fundamental
emotions and values – the languages might have been different, but the laughter, the music, and
the longing for home were the same. To demonstrate that the combattants shared the same basic
humanity, she retells the real story of the soldier who left his trench to carry a wounded enemy
back to his own lines, despite the odds on their survival:

... and he will probably

be shot returning and our soldier die anyway
and still he does it because
bravery isn’t to do with this but with finding
himself again in some small act, some care. (p. 38, 29-33)

Though her powerful imagery, Rowland shows how the soldiers from either side were
united in hardship, in injury, in sickness, and in fate: “... now i know him in the trenches best, /
his ribs thin like mine, his bandaged foot, / that cough at night, the black sleepless shape of his
death” (43-45). She shows how they shared the same fears, the same perplexity and the same
obedience to command, and how this created a bond that went deeper than mere camaraderie:
“i love him now, my enemy. i know him” (52). On a technical note, the use of lower case letters
here and throughout the poem, including for the first person pronoun, reinforces the impression
of homogeneity created. By the end of the poem, the reader has been brought to realise that even
the adjective “close” is redundant. The intertwining of the soldiers’ experiences – above all their
experience of death – transcends everything else, nationality and enmity included: “... we have no
boundaries anymore. / we are killing ourselves in this intimate war” (p.40, 59-60).

Gallipoli was part of a global war, in which politicians pursued policies and nations
held stakes. However, throughout this collection, Rowland gives the “intimate” perspective of
the ordinary individuals brought into terrible proximity by the war, whom Gorton (2015) has
described as vulnerable in the face of history. Thus, in several of the poems, as in “Close,” the voice
is that of a trooper, who might be Anzac or Turk or Irish, but whose nationality loses definition in
the charnel house of Gallipoli, where death is an indiscriminate leveller, a place of “bodies heaped
so you couldn’t tell / what country they were from, scattered about, / half-buried...” (“Green Road”,
p. 72, 61-63). In “thank heavens” (p.18), for example, which describes with breathless urgency,
the moment of a charge from the trenches, to kill or be killed, and the shock of the killing, the
charging soldier is a composite figure of indeterminate nationality and fate. His cry of “sweet
jesus, allahu akbar, mary mother of god” (3) reflects both the diversity of faiths present and,
more significantly, reveals how the universal instinct to turn to “god” at moments of great crisis
reduces religious differences to irrelevancy. Once again, the use of the lower case throughout the
poem assists its meaning, by heightening the sensation of urgency. At the same time, in “no god,

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No!” (14), the lack of capitalization not only reinforces the impression of transnational religious
expression, but is also consistent with the desecration of faith - “faith is everywhere like bloodied
green grass” (1) - by a level of carnage which has rendered it redundant, except as a battlefield
cry, screamed out until the crisis has passed or, from the alternate perspective, until the soldier
has been slain: “sweet jesus, allahu akbar, mary mother of god / it wasn’t needed for long” (19-
20). Then again, in this poem of conflated perspectives, faith seems to operate on another level
too, that of faith in authority: “sweet jesus, allahu akbar, mary mother of god / yes sir, sergeant,
commander, captain, lieutenant, / necessary as breath when the voice screams attack! /obey,
obey, obey ...” (3-6). Rowland addresses this issue more explicitly in “Luck” (pp. 86-89), where an
Anzac survivor describes how blind faith in authority filled the void left by the loss of spiritual
belief and kept him going when all around seemed senseless:

... Kept the faith. Lost something /

deep that never restored itself. But faith –
that had to go with you. Belief in command,
that they know the purpose. This gives you strength. (2-5)

The impact of the Gallipoli conflict upon religious belief is also addressed in “The Dead”
(pp 78-79). Here, Rowland demonstrates how even the representatives of religion were reduced
to helplessness, when confronted with “the brutal harvest” (4) of thousands of young men they
could not minister to, could not bury. Again, the perspective is transnational. Core values are
shaken on both sides of the battle line. In this poem, Rowland employs a technique of narration
in parallel, which she uses frequently in This Intimate War to convey the mutuality of various
deep emotions generated in individuals, on all sides of the conflict, who were exposed to the
same circumstances:

... The Imam sighed –

surely it was not intended,
so many children of God dead.
.................................................
...It hurt his very bones.
.................................................
... the priest..............................
... watched Chaplain, Hindu, Jew, bewildered.
It pained him in the chest. A knife there.
It simply cannot have been meant by God,
This wasteful slaughter.... (6-8, 17, 19, 30-33)

Through the technique of parallel narration, the practical differences between people of
different nationalities emerge as matters of detail, whereas in much that really matters they are
revealed to be fundamentally the same.
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 Another powerful example of Rowland’s use of this technique in This Intimate War occurs
in “Children of Gallipoli” (pp. 42-45), which deals with the loss of childhood innocence, with the
sacrifice and the sacrificing of youth. In consecutive stanzas, Rowland tells tales of the English,
Australian and Turkish boy soldiers, some as young as 13, who fought and were maimed or, more
often, died at Gallipoli (and on the Somme). Most went naively into battle, seduced by tales of
heroism and dreams of adventure, expecting to return home. Only the Turkish were prepared
for reality: “We came to die for our country” (40). Here, as is the case with many of the poems
in the collection, Rowland draws inspiration from the narratives of those who fought in the
campaign, from contemporary photographs and from newsreels too, sometimes quoting directly,
sometimes reproducing a picture in words. This produces an effect of historical veracity, and
renders the tragedies of the past more immediate. Jim Martin died at 14 from typhoid and heart
failure; İsmail Hassan’s mother dyed his hair with henna, like a sacrificial goat, offering him up
to death for the sake of their homeland; the corpses of the chubby-cheeked schoolboys, who had
charged out of the trenches into machine-gun fire, fell back into the lap of drill sergeant Azman,
who had had but one night to train them, and whose words are quoted: “I couldn’t forget the
images of their rosy faces ... / Everyone was crying” (51-52). There is terrible poignancy in the
fact that the photos which the poem describes are all of the future that many of the children in
them would ever have. Dedicating her poem to all the child soldiers, Rowland reminds the reader
that this was a tragedy played out across all of the nations involved at Gallipoli. The final stanza
draws all of the individual stories from all of the separate nations together into a single harrowing
image of human tragedy:

Every country had them. They left no wills,

no children to grandchildren, no mark on the earth
but some fading photo ...
...................................................................................
... Just the image of a boy
dead in the trenches. Not humped like an older man.
The boy still flings himself down as if to sleep on his back,
hands thrown back like a baby, head lolling a little
tucked into the trench. In his hand where a rattle might be,
a grenade. (53-55, 57-62)

For C.E.W. Bean (as cited in Pringle, 1997) the Anzac soldiers were heroic figures, men of
special prowess, great courage and distinctive character, who represented the ideal of Australian
manhood. Thus, the traditional Anzac myth took root in the national consciousness as principally
a masculine construct. In parenthesis, it should be observed that is less true of Turkey, where
from the outset, the Çanakkale narrative gave more prominence to accounts of the role played

282
by women in the national defence (Fewster, Başarın & Başarın, 2003). In This Intimate War,
Rowland acknowledges that the desire to be a hero is part of the masculine psyche, and that this
played a part in leading young men of all nations to war: from the British, who “...longed for
ancient valour. / Bred on the classics, lusting for another Troy” (“The Folly of Myth: Prologue,
1915, I, 24-25), to the colonial boys who signed up for adventure (“Children of Gallipoli”), to
the Turks urgent for “... some idea of history, some vision of a hero / ... / ... Men full of the
strange energy / they call ‘war’” (“when he was young, once,” pp. 90-93, 7, 31-32). As previously
discussed, Rowland’s poems convey the reality of the universal male experience at Gallipoli: the
fighting, the horror, the suffering, the incomprehension, the killing and the dying. On the other
hand, she gives equal prominence to the contribution of woman to Çanakkale/Gallipoli, and to
the female perspective, which is lacking in the traditional Anzac myth.

In “when he was young, once,” the speaker is a woman whose husband has returned from
Gallipoli as a psychologically scarred amputee. Through the poem, with its terrible refrain - “Not
this ... Not this ... Not this” - Rowland shows how his tragedy is hers too. The woman remembers
their courtship and marriage, “her happiness, certainty of a future,” (24) and sets them against
the reality of the present: “everything had gone now that she knew. / Everything changed. / She
didn’t want this / Not this” (27-30). Here, the female voice is that of a wife and lover. Elsewhere,
again using the technique of parallel narration, Rowland evokes the mothers, sisters, wives and
lovers, from all of the countries involved in the conflict, who supported the war effort: from
behind the lines, as munitions workers or on farms; or at the front, by carrying ammunition; or
as nurses tending to the wounded and dying (“Production Lines, pp.54-57; “Mopping Up”, pp.
46-53). Again, the poetry is underpinned and validated by memories and words drawn from
the diaries and letters of named women who experienced these aspects of the war directly. For
instance “Mopping Up” is preceded by a quote from nurse Ellen Newbold La Motte (1873-1961):
“Thus the science of healing stood baffled before the science of destroying” (p. 46). Her words
resonate throughout the poem and are echoed in the final stanza:

They learned a deeper pain in nursing – not for health,

but to refit an armed force with patched-up husbands and sons,
knowing that though ripped apart in body and mind, as soon as flesh was
repaired they’d shrug up their rifles and packs, strap their faces
into the resignation of obedience, and go back to be shattered again. (101-105)

In terms of the female perspective, perhaps the strongest images of all are those Rowland
creates of a mother, suspended in the agony of grief for a dead son; remembering the child;
powerless to help, comfort or resurrect the man:

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 Plum jam – his favourite – rests thickly in the spoon
she holds, has been holding now for two hours.
It slips along her hands, her veins, dripping.
..................................................................
... She wants to go there,
look up at the impossible height and shiver,
dig like an animal among the rough cliffs
with her bitten nails and bare teeth,
among the bones on the sandy beach in the shallows,
find him and stick him back together.
...................................................................
‘We couldn’t find enough of Charlie to bury him.’
The thought of his fear pierced her, cut her throat,
took her voice and she doesn’t want it back.
(“Second skin, pp. 94-97, 3-5, 9-14, 26-28)

Typically, these poems emphasize the universality of the female experience of Gallipoli/
Çanakkale and how the deep emotions aroused in women by the conflict transcended differences
in nationality. By depicting their self-sacrifice, their guilt at surviving, their bravery, their
compassion, their dread, their loneliness and, above all, their grief, Rowland shows how women
on both sides belonged to the same “community of suffering.” Moreover, she depicts how such
depth of emotion might lead ordinary women to question and to challenge the rationale of war,
at least inwardly, in contrast to the soldiers who were conditioned and driven by circumstances
to place their faith in command:

What if they’d all stopped the production line of death,

left filling-factories empty, stayed unskilled with munitions,
stopped birthing the shredded bones of young men?
What if they had – at that point in history – said ‘no’?
(“Production lines”, 59-62)

One day we will trade with them again, marry their sons
that are left, and will it somehow have been right?
(Second skin, 31-32)

Of course, it is Rowland herself who asks these rhetorical questions from her perspective
as a woman looking back at Gallipoli. No matter that the Allied and Turkish troops shared their
breath across the trenches (“Close”, p. 38), no matter that their fates were closely intertwined, or
that there was deeply felt empathy and respect between them, the slaughter continued brutal and
unrelenting until the evacuation – for this was war and they were enemies, and a soldier had to

284
kill or be killed. No matter how much a woman might have questioned or grieved, she would
have screamed her protest silently, for her country was at war and she could not deny her men
the munitions that might keep them alive. This was the contemporary reality of Gallipoli. It is
not possible to change history but, over time, it is possible to alter perceptions by hearing and
transmitting all sides of a story, and showing that the truth is multi-facetted. The evolution of
the Anzac myth to include the Turks as fellow heroes and fellow sufferers, rather than enemies,
is evidence of this. Rowland prefaced This Intimate War with the words of a Gallipoli veteran:
“We’re friends until the day we die and not just that – our families, our sons, grandsons ... it was a
long time ago”. The spirit here is transnational, inclusive, and cognizant that shared experiences,
deep emotions and fundamental values may draw people together, at a time and on a level where
national differences have become unimportant. This does not mean that the carnage at Gallipoli
has “somehow become right”. Rowland’s collection is not about changing the past, but about
shaping the future. “The Folly of Myth: Prologue, 1915 (pp. 20-29) makes this clear.

The poem, in three sections, gives an historical account of the naval battle at Çanakkale
and the eight months war at Gallipoli, within the framework of a visit to the Naval Museum in
Çimenlik Kalesi, repository of the spirit of Çanakkale, with three ten year old boys. The poem
draws together many of the issues that have already been discussed in this paper in relation to
other works in the collection. Rowland shows how myth can drive history, but how ignorance of
the history of another culture can produce catastrophe. She evokes the classical education of the
officers of the British imperial naval force, which had gathered at Tenedos, ready to sail into the
Dardanelles Strait. She describes how they conceived of their expedition as a second Trojan War
and of themselves as proudly following in the wake of the ancient Greek heroes. Then, she depicts
the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula, after the debacle of Çanakkale, and compares the River
Clyde, from which the troops were disembarked, to the Trojan horse. There follows “a blaze of
scarlet loss, a shredding wind of bullets” (p. 28, III, 24-25) – and eight months of carnage which
provide devastating evidence of the folly of myth. In contemplating this narrative, and given that
Rowland prefaces her collection with the following quotation from John Berger - “... the past is
not for living in; it is a well of conclusions from which we draw in order to act” - the reader is
drawn to make a connexion with the traditional Anzac myth, with its emphasis on masculine
prowess and heroism and its classical referencing, and to perceive the dangers it might hold.
This interpretation is further strengthened by the framework around the historical narrative.
The three small boys are already drawn to the masculine vision of heroism. As they play in the
grounds of the Castle and pose for photographs, the minds of the ten year olds, only a year or
two younger than some of the child soldiers of Gallipoli, turn to: “...wars and heroic deeds. / Troy
is just down the road. Bone-house of heroes. / When my boy stood there he saw Achilles and
Hector, / armies over a hundred thousand, blood on their spears” (p. 20, I, 12-15) On the other
hand, the speaker, parent of sons; probably - given the emotions expressed - but not explicitly, a

  285
woman; probably, but not explicitly, Rowland herself, had reacted quite differently to the visit to
Troy “... At that crumbled gate / Priam watched his son’s body dragged ragged behind horses. / I
prayed to any god that my sons navigate manhood without war” (16-18). Similarly, at the end of
the poem, the speaker, watching the small boys play on the grass, answers, from the future, the
question posed in “Second skin” by the bereaved mothers of Gallipoli (p.96): - No, the conflict
will never prove to have been right – “...You think of waste. And you know - / there never was a
need for another Troy” (p. 28, III, 49-50).

Towards the end of the collection, in “Ways of Seeing” (pp. 98-111), Rowland takes as her
subject the Gallipoli sketches and paintings of L.F.S. Hore, Sidney Nolan and Fehmi Kokut Uluğ,
artists of British, Australian and Turkish nationality respectively, which helped to inspire This
Intimate War. She prefaces this haunting series of poems with another quote from John Berger
which, as the above discussion has sought to illustrate, may be applied equally well to her own
work: “The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is
more urgent than what differentiates them” (p. 98).

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Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies. (A. Lavers, Trans.). New York, NY: The Noonday Press.
(Original work published 1957).
Bennett, J. (2014). ‘Breaking out of the nationalist/ic paradigm’: international screen texts on
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Broadbent, H. (2009). “Loving Gallipoli” (and the role of the Australian media). A brief survey
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0Full%20version.pdf
Brooke, R. “1914 V: The Soldier.” Retrieved from
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lian national identity. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 01956051, 21(1), 27-36.
Hardy, T. “The Man He Killed.” Retrieved from
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trieved from http://press.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/gallipolli.pdf
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War I. New York, NY: Tauris. Retrieved from
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McKenna, M., & Ward, S. (2007). ‘It was really moving, mate’: The Gallipoli pilgrimage and
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Çanakkale 1915. Istanbul: Bilge Kültür Sanat.
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288
 Multiperspectivism in The Iliad of Homer and The Siege
by Ismail Kadare

Fatma Dore
Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey

Abstract

This work will demonstrate that multiperspectivism is clearly manifested in two great
books of European literature – that of Homer’s The Iliad and Ismail Kadare’s The Siege – and it
will argue that their multiperspectivism could be of use in defusing real tensions in the continent
of Europe today. This work will claim that multiperspectivism in literature on a character level
is connected not only to an extradiegetic and heterodiegetic narrative technique, but also to the
sympathetic depiction of characters with differing and conflicting agendas. It will also show that
the realism and its concomitant complexity of character inherent in the two works are tied to
their multiperspectivism. The multiperspectivism of the two works will be shown through an
analysis in The Iliad of the characters of Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector and Priam and in The
Siege of the characters of Tursun Pasha and the unnamed Albanian chronicler. It will then reveal
that, as a 2013 scientific study has intimated, greater empathy is seemingly created in readers of
multiperspective works and that such empathy could be useful in helping to defuse real problems
in contemporary Europe.

Key words: multiperspectivism, Homer, Kadare, literature, narrative technique

Introduction

In her great work of history, Rome on the Euphrates, the writer Freya Stark (2012) notes
that “[t]he demarcation line of Occident and Orient shifts, one may observe, continually” (p. 2),
and her work itself expresses the fact that movement of this line often depends upon conflicts
of arms. The two battles that underlie the two works of literature examined in this paper can be
regarded as having taken place on the fault line between East and West. It is to be noted though

  289
that, as for the first, the Siege of Troy, it is questionable as to whether a conflict similar to that in
Homer’s The Iliad even took place around this ancient city, although the Siege of Shkodra of the
1470s, whose first part inspired Ismail Kadare’s The Siege, was a historical occurrence.

Yet, whilst these battles, if both of them did indeed take place, could be seen to represent
in their times something not dissimilar to the cultural division of peoples Samuel Huntington felt
would define our post-Cold War times in his seminal 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations: And
the Remaking of World Order, this paper asserts that these two battles in their literary incarnations
in The Iliad and The Siege can play a role in breaking down the differences between peoples. This
is because this paper will demonstrate that multiperspectivism is clearly manifested in these two
great books of European literature, and it will argue that their multiperspectivism could be of use
in defusing real tensions in the continent of Europe today. This work will demonstrate that both
books manifest multiperspectivism through their sympathetically portraying, by their mainly
extradiegetic narration techniques, the conflicts dealt with within them from the viewpoints of
both groups of combatants. It will then show that multiperspectivist literature engenders greater
levels of empathy in its readership, and such empathy would be a beneficial one in the Europe of
today, a continent that is increasingly threatened by bigoted monperspectivist narratives.

Multiperspectivism and Narrative Techniques

Katie Terezakis (2009) notes that “multiperspectivism” is one of the “ideas with relatively
new status...in culture and philosophy, or the post-modern age” (p. 114). Nevertheless, the
concept that different people have different perspectives is as old as humanity itself. What is
new is the idea that a single “truth” does not exist that is separate from the necessarily limited
and potentially flawed perspective of the individual. For this paper, multiperspectivism is not
really meant in this philosophical sense, but rather as meaning a representation of different
characters which are properly “humanize[d]” (Hansen, 2011, p. 163) whilst manifesting differing
perspectives, and thus as is used by Hans Lauge Hansen in his 2011 article “Multiperspectivism
in the Novels of the Spanish Civil War”.

Britta Martens (2011) regards such multiperspectivism to be connected with a specific

kind of narration techniques – that of intradiegetic narration (p. 206), which, as will be seen,
is narration by a character in a literary work. However, it is the argument of this paper that
multiperspectivism on a character level is only meaningfully possible with precisely the
omniscient narration technique Martens implies prevents it.

In her study of narrative fiction entitled Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics, Shlomith
Rimmon-Kenan (1989) defines “[a] narrator who is, as it were, ‘above’ or superior to the story he
narrates” as “extradiegetic” (p. 94), whereas the converse type is an “intradiegetic narrator” (p.

290
94). Rimmon-Kenan also reveals that “[a] narrator who does not participate in the story is called
‘heterodiegetic’, whereas the one who takes part in it, at least in some manifestation of his ‘self ’
is ‘homodiegetic’” (p. 95). Thus, it is the case that when the narration is “both extradiegetic and
heterodiegetic” the implication of “their being absent from the story and their higher narratorial
authority in relation to it” is what “confers on such narrators the quality which has often been
called ‘omniscience’” (Rimmon-Kenan, 1989, p. 95).

It is this type of technique that can offer mutliperspectivism as defined above since the
“omniscience” of the narration allows for the motives, thoughts words and actions of each character
to potentially be seen in an unbiased manner, whereas homodiegetic narration, in particular
when it is also intradiegetic, cannot. This stems from the reliability of the narration, Rimmon-
Kenan (1989) stating that an “extradiegetic narrator, especially when he is also heterodiegetic, is
likely to be reliable” whereas the opposite is true for intradiegetic ones “especially when they are
also homodiegetic” since “they are also characters in the fictional world” and “[a]s such, they are
subject to limited knowledge, personal involvement, and problematic value-schemes” (p. 103). It
is noteworthy here that the narrator of The Iliad is both extradiegetic and heterodiegetic and The
Siege is almost wholly narrated in a extradiegetic and heterodiegetic manner, the only exception
being for the pieces by the unnamed intradiegetic and homodiegetic Albanian chronicler. That
his narration is both very short and can be shown to be reliable on the broader points by points
that tie in with the extradiegetic narration1, his perspective is also to be analysed in this work
without real prejudice to the point of multipespectivsim being best connected to an omniscient
narration technique.

Nevertheless, this paper argues that what really provides a work of literature with
multiperspectivity is not that it simply depicts all of the characters from an omnipotent viewpoint,
but that it portrays characters with differing and conflicting agendas sympathetically. Moreover, it
must be stressed that this sympathetic portrayal does not depend upon their actions, but the way
in which their motivations are depicted.

One further point needs to be made in this section. In order to contextualize the work of
Homer dealt with in this paper, it is to be noted that Calvino (2009) points out that, in contrast
with The Odyssey, the “epic heroes, such as Achilles and Hector in The Iliad, do not have folktale
adventures...with monsters and magic spells” (p. 16). With this remark, Calvino is stressing the
realism of the work, and if the gods – who admittedly form a very important part of the book –
can be ignored, what is left is a work that is marked by its realism2. Moreover, The Siege of Kadare
is also a realistic piece of literature (Lively, 2008).

1 For instance in the digging of the tunnel and the use of the horse to find the hidden watercourse.
Compare Kadare 120-3 with 131-2, and 212-6 with 229.
2 And, of course the gods, if regarded as anthropomorphized figures, themselves behave in a “realistic
manner”.

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 Realism also has an intimate tie with mulitiperspectivism, especially when it is both
extradiegetic and heterodiegetic, because, by not rending characters as either simplistic heroes
or villains, the reader is able to sympathize with more than one character in the work – whilst
holding certain reservations about them – and in particular to sympathize with characters that are
in opposition to one another. Moreover, it is arguably the case that the flawed yet comprehensible
nature of realistic characters can actually make them more endearing to a reader who may
be repelled by the tedium of simplistic people of virtue who are not subjected to the internal
struggles and difficulties or complex and conflicting motives faced by humanity in real life.

The Iliad and Its Characters

The Four Characters

The characters that are to be examined for the multiperspective approach of The Iliad are
the Achaeans Achilles and Agamemnon and the Trojans Hector and Priam. These four have been
selected as they represent the leading heroes and supreme monarchs of both sides. Yet, it should
not be supposed that an examination of other characters would be irrelevant to the examination
undertaken in this work. A consideration of space is the only reason for limiting the study to just
these four characters.

Achilles

The first character to be examined will be Achilles, as although he is not present for large
parts of the narrative, he is the most significant character in the work. This is because in The Iliad,
it is the instigation, consequences and ending of this character’s wrath that form a backdrop to all
else that occurs within the text. As Manguel (2007) notes, “Achilles’ anger...in Homer’s telling,...is
the driving force of the war, without which there would be no story”3 (p. 57).

Not only is Achilles a figure manifesting fury, but he is also the greatest slaughterer in the
poem4. Indeed, at one point he even seriously antagonizes the river god Scamander by filling “the
great deep-swirling river”5 (Hom. 20. 88) with a great many corpses (Hom. 22. 242-50), yet Achilles

3 Indeed, it is claimed that “at the heart of the Iliad lies a much shorter poem – now lost to us – called The
Wrath of Achilles” (Calcutt, 2001, p. VI). The question as to whether there was such “an original nucleus” is
debateable however (Ridgeway, 2014, p. 631).
4 In the dispute Achilles has with Agamemnon, the latter calls the former “the most violent man alive”
(Hom. 1. 171), but as vicious arguments can cause those involved in them to hyperbolize, this remark of
Agamemnon’s need not be regarded as reliable testimony. Nevertheless, it is borne out by the rest of the
poem; so much so in fact that Lewis Carroll makes a play on words with the English pronunciation of his
name as “a kill-ease” (qtd. in Manguel, 2007, p. 55).
5 The translation of The Iliad that has been used for this paper is that by Robert Fagles, who “has been
widely praised for his accuracy and modern ring” (Manguel, 2007, p. 133). The author of this paper, despite
being no expert in Ancient Greek, agrees with Manguel in regarding the Fagles translation as “among the
best and most graceful” (Manguel x).
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still awakens a sense of sympathy for himself in the reader6, and this sense is awakened almost at
the beginning of the poem. In Book 1, Achilles becomes involved in a dispute with Agamemnon,
the supreme commander of the Achaean forces. This reveals two positive elements to his
personality that endears him to the reader. He becomes involved in the dispute to benevolently
protect the prophet Calchas (Hom. 1. 101-8), and, in the course of the dispute, which becomes
so intense that Agamemnon makes clear his intention to deprive Achilles of his slave girl Briseis
to make an example of him (Hom. 1. 217-21), Achilles refrains from taking Agamemnon’s life in
deference to the will of the gods (Hom. 1. 229-256), revealing his piety. Moreover, as the poem
progresses, other aspects to Achilles’ character are made manifest. Manguel (2007) uses him as
one of two examples of the “pleasing complexity” manifested by “Homer’s heroes” affirming that
“the psychology of Achilles...is rewardingly bewildering” in that he is “sulking, egotistical, brave,
faithful in his love, lacking compassion towards his victims but capable of magnanimity” (p. 55).
Whilst not all of these are positive attributes, a sufficient number exist for Achilles to maintain
the reader’s sympathy for at least large parts of the narrative.

In order to comprehend the mutliperspective nature of the work, the specific concerns
of Achilles as he regards them need now to be examined. And, the main ones for him in the
poem are two. To contextualize the first, one fact that is established early on in the work has to be
recognized. It is that Achilles’ life will, in his own words, be “short”7 (Hom. 1. 417). In return for
only having a limited lifespan, he feels that “Olympian Zeus, thundering up on high,/should give
me honor” (Hom. 1. 418-9). This point is expanded upon in Book 9, where Achilles relates that:

Mother tells me,

the immoral goddess Thetis with her glistening feet,
that two fates bear me on to the day of death.
If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies . . .

true, but the life that is left me will be long,

the stroke of death will not come on me quickly
(Hom. 9. 497-505).

6 The term “the reader” will be used in reference to the recipient of The Iliad throughout this work. Yet,
unlike with The Siege, the original audience for the work was unlikely to be a “reader” of any kind at all as
it is the case that “Homer was long known to the Greek world solely, or chiefly, through public recitation”
(Jebb, 2002, p. 74). In addition, dealing with the question of “the reader”, this paper uses the pronoun “he”
for the generalized reader without any intention of gender bias. The lack of a universally accepted gender-
neutral pronoun in English continues to be an annoyance.
7 This point is reconfirmed in the last book, Book 24, when Achilles’ mother Thetis tells him “[y]ou don’t
have long to live now, well I know:/already I see them looming up beside you—death/and the strong force
of fate” (Hom. 24. 159-61).
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 As Achilles’ life is destined to soon be at an end, it is clear which of the two options he has
selected, and following his bitter argument with Agamemnon, this fact explains his plea to his
mother, “[t]he radiant queen of sea-nymphs” (Hom. 24. 115) Thetis, to use her influence with
Zeus to allow destruction of the Achaeans “so even mighty Atrides can see how mad he was/to
disgrace Achilles, the best of the Achaeans!” (Hom. 1. 489-90). Thetis succeeds in getting Zeus to
accede, albeit reluctantly, to this request (Hom. 1. 590-635). Thus, Achilles feels that, as he does
not have too much time left until his death, he deserves acclaim whilst he still lives.

The second concern of Achilles is to avenge the death of his “dear comrade” (Hom. 18.
94) Patroclus – “the man I loved beyond all other comrades” (Hom. 18. 95) – at the hands of the
Trojan hero Hector. At the moment he learns of the slaying of his special friend:

A black cloud of grief came shrouding over Achilles.

Both hands clawing the ground for soot and filth,
he poured it over his head, fouled his handsome face
and black ashes settled onto his fresh clean war shirt
(Hom. 18. 24-7).

His resolution is that “Hector’s battered down by my spear/and gasps away his life, the
blood-price for Patroclus” (Hom. 1. 107-8), and this resolution is fulfilled by him after his
slaughter of numerous other Trojans. It is true that Achilles is excessive in his anger, performing
human sacrifice on twelve captive Trojans (Hom. 21. 29-36, 23. 200-8) and commencing to
dishonour the corpse of his enemy. Nevertheless, his grief is one that, if it does not somewhat
excuse his behaviour, at least makes it comprehensible to the reader.

Agamemnon

Modern depictions of Agamemnon have tended to show him as nothing more than a
rapacious manipulative king, much as Achilles describes him in their argument at the beginning
of The Iliad as the “most grasping man alive” (Hom. 1. 143). Moreover, in the mythological
tradition, he is infamous for having been willing to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to Artemis
to enable the sailing of the fleet to Troy. Yet, whilst negative aspects to his character are evident
in The Iliad too, much as with Achilles, these are counterbalanced by positive factors that create
sympathy for his position, and allow the reader to give regard to Agamemnon’s concerns.

For instance in Book 3, a picture of Agamemnon appears that is quite unlike a figure of
greed. Here, Agamemnon appears as a commander concerned for the welfare of his forces in
being willing to abide by the result of the duel between Menelaus and Paris (Hom. 3. 143, 327-
45), which, whilst it would result in the Achaeans being rewarded, would not result in the more
profitable sack of the city that Agamemnon could seemingly desire. In fact, Agamemnon even

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demands that the Trojan’s honour the agreement when Paris has been removed from the duel
by Aphrodite (Hom. 3. 534-9) rather than use the incident as a new casus belli. Other positive
elements to Agamemnon include his manifestation of great gifts of leadership in marshalling the
troops (Hom. 4. 266-86) and his manifestation of a formidable fighting form (Hom. Book 11).
Yet, he also magnanimously allows a truce for the burying of the dead (Hom. 7. 471-5), is willing
to listen to the advice of others (Hom. 14. 131-3), and is generous to his troops (Hom. 17. 286).
Moreover, he is pious (Hom. 8. 273-6), and is able to arouse the sympathy of Zeus through his
prayers (Hom. 8. 280-2). In addition, Agamemnon is depicted sympathetically as a man with
true fraternal feelings which are revealed when his brother Menelaus is shot by Pandarus (Hom.
4. 168-9,173-7).

One other aspect to Agamemnon that makes him a character worthy of sympathy is that
he is able to recognize and seek to rectify his great mistake in his treatment of Achilles. His
repentance for his actions begins as early as Book 2 where he rues what he has done exclaiming
“[i]magine—I and Achilles, wrangling over a girl,/battling man-to-man. And I, I was the first/to
let my anger flare” (Hom. 2. 448-50). In Book 9, he is anxious to make generous reparations to the
Myrmidon hero. His self-critical and magnanimous action wins him the sympathy of the reader.

As a figure worthy of sympathy, Agamemnon’s specific concerns as king are now to be

looked at in order to reveal his perspective in the poem. His main concern is that the war, which
has lasted for nine years (Hom. 2. 345), should not be in vain. Early in the poem he exclaims
“what a humiliation it would be/to hold out so long, then sail home empty-handed” (Hom. 2.
348-9). To this general outlook is added the specific family concern of Agamemnon himself, who
wishes to enable his brother “to avenge the groans and shocks of war they’d borne for Helen”8
(Hom 2. 681-2). However, having presided over an army that has achieved relatively little on the
plain of Troy over such a great length of time, the king is burdened by the weight of this office.
This is especially clear at a point in the poem when the affairs of the Achaeans are at a particular
nadir. In his own perspective, as he reveals to Nestor, Agamemnon is in fact:

The one man,

past all others, Zeus has placed in troubles,
year in, year out, for as long as the life breath
fills my lungs and the spring in my knees will lift me.
...
War’s my worry, the agonies of our Achaeans.
How I fear for our comrades, fear the worst!
My mind is torn, I’m harried back and forth,

8 In his anger, Achilles claims the army is only at Troy “to please you, to fight for you, to win your honor/
back from the Trojans—Menelaus and you” (Hom. 1. 187-8 – my italics).

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 the heart inside me pounding through my chest
and the sturdy legs beneath me giving way
(Hom. 10. 101-4, 106-10).

Thus, the reader views an aggressive war from the perspective of its commander, and
sees a man who has presided over little success for a great length of time, and who is deeply
ground down by his responsibilities. It is understood from the poem, moreover, that failure for
Agamemnon as commander would be particularly humiliating (Hom. 14. 100-2). Thus, the only
way, from the position of Agamemnon, that the situation can be resolved is if his army “take” the
“broad streets” of “Troy” (Hom. 2. 389, 388).

Hector

Moving over to the Trojan side, the multiperspectivism of The Iliad is produced by its
depiction of the Trojans as equally, if not indeed more, deserving of sympathy than the Achaeans.
The Trojan champion, Hector is depicted in a manner that engenders the sympathy of the reader.
In fact, his credentials are even given a divine endorsement, as Zeus himself states, following
Hector’s death, that “the immortals loved Prince Hector dearly,/best of all the mortals born in
Troy . . ./I loved him at least” (Hom. 20. 81-3 – original italics).

Hector, much like the heroes on the Achaean side, manifests qualities that make him
attractive to the reader, and thus cause the reader to regard him sympathetically. He is a formidable
commander (Hom. 5. 568-72) and warrior (Hom. 11. 348-60) of great strength (Hom. 12. 516-
37); in addition, he is an effective orator (Hom. 8. 576-630). Yet, there are two places in the epic
where Hector provides a particularly important multiperspective window on events through
revealing his own specific concerns.

The first is in Book 6, and here Hector reveals what is truly at stake for the Trojans in the
war. The reader learns of the “loyal wife” (Hom. 6. 445) – “white-armed Andromache” (Hom. 6.
441) – he is married to, in addition to his “baby” who is his “son, the darling of his eyes” (Hom.
6. 473-4). In the city of Troy, Hector is begged by the wife he loves so much to make his defence
from inside the fortress of Troy (Hom. 6. 511-20). The reader also has profound sympathy for
Hector at this point, as he wishes to accede to her request, yet knows that his position in the
Trojan forces and his own true identity simply do not allow for it (Hom. 6. 522-9). Even so, the
thought of Andromache being made captive following his death is something that causes him
greater grief than any other of the agonies that he reckons will befall Troy (Hom. 6. 533-53).
Additionally, as a true man of family, he is a “loving father” (Hom. 6. 562) who kisses his son
(Hom. 6. 566). Hence, the danger of the war initiated by the Achaeans to a family on the opposing
side is made evident. Hector’s concern is thus understood to be to defend his hearth and home or
die in the attempt. The second of his concerns is seen in Book 22, when he is dying as the result

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of Achilles having mortally wounded him. He pleads that a proper burial be granted him, yet sees
his wish spurned (Hom. 22. 399-424).

Priam

When Priam first appears in the epic, he immediately engenders the sympathy of the
reader. This is because rather than wallowing in self-pity and holding Helen responsible for the
tribulations that have befallen his kingdom, he manifests regal hospitality, and makes Helen feel
welcome amongst himself and his advisors (Hom. 3. 195-200). He gains further esteem from the
reader when, from the walls of his city, he views the champions of the Archives with undisguised
respect (Hom. 3. 200-5, 220-3, 231-40, 269-72).

Through the eyes of their king, the reader is introduced to the perspective of the city
under siege and one that is fearfully uncertain of its destiny. Thus, when Priam is called down to
the plain to solemnize the truce between the two armies, Homer states that “[a] shudder went
shooting through the old man” (Hom. 3. 309). Another important concern of Priam is when his
mourning is also deep and painful (Hom. 24. 195-7), that, he must persuade his killer Achilles
to return the body of his son. This leads to a scene of great pathos; indeed, Manguel (2007) has
described it as “one of the most moving, most powerful scenes I know” (Manguel 6).

Before closing the section on The Iliad, it is noteworthy that the visit of Priam to Achilles
in this final book of the epic poem inspires Achilles to make this existentialist cry:

So the immortals spun our lives that we, we wretched men

live on to bear such torments—the gods live free of sorrows.
There are two great jars that stand on the floor of Zeus’ halls
When Zeus who loves the lightning mixes gifts for a man,
now he meets with misfortune, now good times in turn.
When Zeus dispenses gifts from the jar of sorrows only,
he makes a man an outcast—brutal, ravenous hunger
drives him down the face of the shining earth,
stalking far and wide, cursed by gods and men
(Hom. 24. 613-22)9.

By separating the cause of human suffering from any possible human action and by making
his cry as an act of solidarity with the father of his greatest enemy, Achilles reveals the need for
multiperspectivism – that is that all people unavoidably belong to a suffering humanity and share
in its pains.

9This cry is similar in tone to the considerably more laconic existentialist cry of William Shakespeare’s
King Lear upon the heath when he exclaims “[a]s flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;/They kill us for
their sport” (Shakespeare, 2004, s. 4.1.36-7).

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 The Siege and Its Characters

The Two Characters

The characters that are to be examined for the multiperspective approach of The Siege are
the Ottoman commander Tursun Pasha and the unnamed Albanian chronicler who narrates
the “[t]wo-page sections between chapters [that] fill the reader in on developments inside the
fortress” (Tayler, 2008). It is to be noted that the Albanian chronicler is depicted as a character
that represents the defence as a whole and will be treated as such in this paper. Much as with
The Iliad, limiting the scope to just these two characters does not mean that an investigation
into other characters would not reveal greater multiperspectivism in the work, but that rather
considerations of space in this work are once again of primary importance.

Tursun Pasha

Tursun Pasha engenders sympathy in the eyes of the reader not for heroism, but for the
weight of his responsibilities and his real fears that trouble him, as will be seen below. Yet, nothing
makes him a figure worthy of empathy one more than his eventual suicide, and his existential
thoughts as he dies. Having taken an overdose of a “sleeping draught” (Kadare, 2009, p. 313), the
text states that:

Thoughts crowded into his mind untidily. He would have liked to have thought a
sublime thought, but he could not. So that’s it, then, Ugurlu Tursun Tunxhaslan Sert
Olgun Pasha! he said to himself. Then, before asking God for his mercy, he reflected
on his life and wondered if it was really necessary to invent such a long name for a
life that was so short (p. 313-4).

Tursun Pasha is the commander of the great Ottoman army. As such, his objectives are
those of his Sultan, and the Quartermaster reveals that “[t]he Padishah’s priority at present is
to force the Balkans into submission” (Kadare, 2009, p. 33-4). He is leading an army involved
in a mission of religious conquest. It is stated that “[h]e had come to the end of the earth to
topple [the] sign” of “the cross” (p. 8). Yet, the specific concerns of Tursun Pasha involve a broad
burden of responsibility not felt by the others under his command. Only he seems to be aware
that “in many cases an army may begin to fail not on the field of battle, but in mundane details of
unexpected importance, details no one thought about, like stench and filth for instance” (p. 7-8),
and as such he has to consider “work on the drains” (p. 8) as well as to trouble himself over how
strategically the fortress is to be taken (p. 14-5, 17).

The responsibilities are felt heavily by Tursun Pasha, who privately exclaims “Allah! Why
hast Thou made us thus?” (p. 18). The responsibilities of his position are also revealed much later
in the book, when it is stated that:

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 He had put a ring of iron around the fortress, but he was as much in its grip as the
defenders were....[H]e was short of time. The campaign could go on to the middle
of autumn at the latest, but no longer. The first frost usually brought the order to
withdraw (p. 248).

Most significantly for the novel, from the perspective of Tursun Pasha it is revealed that
the commander of the great army is himself personally in as precarious a position as that of the
fortress he is besieging. He has “attained a rank” within the Ottoman system in which “it was
impossible to stand still” (p. 13). Consequently, “[h]e was condemned either to rise even higher,
or else to fall” (p. 13). He belongs to a social system in which deadly competition is a modus
operandi. Tursun Pasha is fully aware that:

The Empire was growing by the day. Whoever could prove himself the most energetic and
courageous could have it all. Thousands of ambitious men were clawing their way like wild beasts
towards wealth and fame. They were driving others aside, often by intelligent manoeuvring, but
even more often by plot and by poison (p. 13-14).

Tursun Pasha has himself “felt the ground moving under his own feet”, and suspects
“hidden circles” of “plotting against him” but has been unable to find out who they are (p. 14),
and he even seems to fear being murdered on the campaign (p. 42). This sense of suspicion leads
him to regard his technically prestigious position as being akin to a poisoned chalice. Near to
the beginning of the book Tursun Pasha is revealed to be constantly musing over the question of
whether “his leadership of the army had been won for him by his friends or his enemies” (p. 9).
He believes that his star had been waning at court, and that “the Sultan was giving him one last
chance” to prove himself by making him commander of the army (p. 14). Hence, victory in the
campaign is not merely for Tursun Pasha obviously desirable as head of the army, but much more
significantly, it appears to be requisite for the continuance of his life, or at least life as he knows
it. This perspective is borne out by a piece of dialogue towards the end of the book between the
Quartermaster and Saruxha:

“If [Tursun Pasha] doesn’t win the campaign, his star will dim for good,” the
Quartermaster said.
“Do you think so?”
“I’m sure of it. If he’s beaten, the best he can hope for is banishment for life. As for
the worst . . .” The Quartermaster drew a line with his forefinger under his throat
(p. 225).

Moreover, it explains why, after the second assault has failed, Tursun Pasha is aware that
“[h]is own path ended at the foot of these ramparts” (p. 302), and it also explains his desperate
decision to “take part” in one final assault personally (p. 303).

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 It also means that from the perspective of Tursun Pasha, not only has he to deal with the
great responsibilities of his office, but he also is understandably plagued by paranoia, which is
to him “like one of those mysterious diseases no one knows how to cure” (p. 14). It affects the
way in which he commands, as in relation to the loss of the crack serdan geçti troops that he
precipitously launched into battle he is unsure “whether he sent these soldiers of death into battle
out of necessity, or whether he had sacrificed them to others’ jealousy” (p. 83). In addition to all
of this, the reader comes to learn that Tursun Pasha is a man afflicted with self doubt. It is stated
that “[i]n his mind he felt a combination of clarity and void that scared him stiff ” (p. 84).

Albanian Chronicler

The Albanian side, through the unnamed Albanian chronicler, receives the sympathy of
the reader for its courageous determination in the face of overwhelming odds. The Albanian
chronicler expresses their “determination to fight to the end” (Kadare, 2009, p. 64), and towards
the end of the book, he describes them as being “dazed by the merciless heat and... dying of thirst.
But it spite of that we held on” (p. 267). The sense of incredible difficulty faced by the Albanian is
heightened by the Albanian chronicler’s realization that the defenders are effectively completely
isolated (p. 3). One particular part of the Albanian chronicler’s broken narrative engenders
sympathy in the reader, and that is related to how the enemy is regarded. After he has revealed
that the Albanian defenders have achieved the collapse of the siege tunnel, the possibility of
rescuing the Ottoman troops trapped and dying underground is rejected for practical reasons
(p. 173). Yet, emotionally and understandably the possibility of a rescue followed by a prisoner
exchange is also rejected as “after the horrors inflicted on those of our women that they captured,
our men are outraged” (p. 173-4). Indeed, the Albanian chronicler proclaims that “[m]ost of us
have been made bitter by death and have lost all inclination for forgiveness and mercy” (p. 174).
Nevertheless, it is at this point that the sympathy of the reader is engendered for the Albanian
side since, in contrast to what the Albanian chronicler has just written, he depicts the Albanians
as compassionately recognizing the humanity of their foes. He states that:

When their groans began to fade away our brothers nevertheless prayed for the souls of
those unfortunate men. For several nights in a row we lit candles and burned incense over the
path of the tunnel (p. 174).

The predominant perspective of the defenders of the fortress as expressed by the Albanian
chronicler is one of fear. This even takes on a metaphorical dimension when the Albanian chronicler
relates that “[t]he cross that rises above our chapel seemed very pale, as if it had gone white with
fear” (p. 63). The sense of fear is engendered by the sheer size of the assaulting Ottoman force. The
Albanian chronicler describes the army as consisting of “so many” people, “as many as the pebbles
on a beach” (p. 64). The sense of fear is also manifested by his relation of the first assault:

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 [W]hen we saw them come upon us like a torrent of molten steel, screaming and
waving their weapons, with the emblems and the instruments of death they had
threatened us with for so long, reckoned we would never again see the life of day (p.
89).

Moreover, after the failure of the assault, the defenders sense of fear does not evaporate but
is intimated by the Albanian chronicler in regard to the building of the siege tunnel, which is “like
a two-headed snake, forever slithering forwards beneath our feet” (p. 132). The fear of having
their water supplies cut off is a very real one too (p. 189-90, 229), and it is a fear that comes to be
realized.

The concern of the defenders is also that the fate of their country and culture is tied to their
defence. The Albanian chronicler exclaims during the assault that “many times we thought we
were lost and would drag all our own people and our whole land down with us” (p. 89), as “our
castle” is “the first defence against the invasion” (p. 4). They are fighting in defence of “the eagle
and the cross” which they pledge will never “be removed from our firmament” (p. 20). They feel
that “someone had to stand up and face this maniacal horde. As we have been chosen by history
for this role, and we have accepted it, that means it is our fate and our cross” (p. 292). In fact, the
Ottomans are regarded as an existential threat that “would also rule over time itself ” if successful,
and as such their success “would really be the end of the world” (p. 64); that is, the world as the
Albanians themselves understand it. This is because, for the Albanian chronicler, the Ottomans
represent “Asia in all its mysticism and barbarity” and is “a dark grave ready to swallow us all”
(p. 63). Moreover, the loss of this world is for them more frightening than the loss of their own
lives (p. 63-4). This is especially significant in that the Albanian defenders regard it as a fight
to the death. The Albanian chronicler explains that “[o]f the citadel and the army, one will be
annihilated” (p. 39), and whilst with the Ottoman failure this prediction does not turn out to be
fulfilled, it is fulfilled in terms of its commander and thus epitomizes the fundamental difference
in perspective between him and the Albanian chronicler.

Conclusion

This paper has demonstrated that The Iliad of Homer and The Siege of Ismail Kadare
are both multiperspective works of literature. It has first examined the link between both the
narrative technique and realism of the two works and multiperspectivism. It has then revealed
how multiperspectivism works within the two texts by examining significant specific characters
on either side of the major conflicts taking place between them.

Before bringing this paper to an end, the possibility of these works of literature having a
beneficial effect on human relations will be briefly looked at. To explain how, it is to be noted that
in the autumn of 2013, the result of a study produced some striking headlines; for instance The

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Guardian newspaper proclaimed that “Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds”
(Bury, 2013). The article below then explained that:

Psychologists David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano, at the New School for
Social Research in New York, have proved that reading literary fiction enhances the
ability to detect and understand other people’s emotions, a crucial skill in navigating
complex social relationships (Bury, 2013).

To understand this in more depth, the work of Kidd and Castano (2013) itself will be
examined. In their report own on their own study, they write that that “[u]nderstanding others’
mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social relationships that characterize human
societies” and reveal that “what fosters this skill...is known as Theory of Mind (ToM), in adults.”
They also state that “[t]he capacity to identify and understand others’ subjective states...allows
successful navigation of complex social relationships and helps to support the empathic responses
that maintain them.” They observe that J. Bruner regards “subjectification” as resulting from an
engagement with “literary fiction” because “reality” (Kidd, 2013) is presented by such fiction
“through the filter of the consciousness of protagonists in the story” (Qtd. in Kidd). Particularly
noteworthy in regard to this paper, the authors of the report also reveal Bruner’s conviction that
“literary fiction” also “triggers” what they describe as “multiple perspectives” which is “perceiving
the world simultaneously from different viewpoints” (Kidd), and add that this is one of the “features”
that “mimic those of ToM” (Kidd). Having explained the process of their study, the authors also
state that “literary fiction, like many stimuli drawn from the real world, is heterogeneous and
complex”, characteristics that define both The Iliad and The Siege. Their study shows that the
reading of such literature “relative to nonfiction, improves performance on an affective ToM task”
and “that this effect is specific to literary fiction” (Kidd). In short, the “results” of their study “show
that reading literary fiction may hone adults’ ToM, a complex and critical social capacity” (Kidd),
and suggest “that reading literary fiction may lead to stable improvements in ToM” (Kidd).

As such, it is apparently the case that the reading of multiperspectivist literary works
such as The Iliad and The Siege promote greater levels of empathy in the reader. Moreover, a
lack of empathy is seen as a significant negative factor in many large-scale problems affecting
contemporary Europe. Alistair Burnett feels, for instance, that even journalistic coverage of
the migrant crisis of 2015 has been “lacking in empathy” and that this lack is reflected in a
monoperspectivist coverage of the migrants, leading to Burnett’s (2015) comment that:

In many reports you could be forgiven for forgetting many of these migrants are
fellow human beings who have risked their lives to escape Syria, Iraq, Eritrea or
Sudan and make their way to Europe to seek sanctuary.

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 Farid Hafez (2014) deems a “lack of empathy” as being responsible for Islamophobia
in Europe, which is causing the continent to give “up its own ideals and values” rather than
“accommodate a new religion and give it an equal status to other faith communities.” Moreover,
the final example to be given here concerns a real war that is happening within Europe today, and
could be regarded as taking place on a new “demarcation line of Occident and Orient”, and that
is the conflict in the Ukraine. A lack of empathy can be regarded here as having worsened the
conflict. As Paul Robbinson (2014) reveals:

The response of both Russia and Western states to the crisis in Ukraine has been to
throw insults at one another and to resort to conspiracy theories. To many in the
West, Russian behaviour in Ukraine is the product of a deliberate plan of imperial
expansion; to many Russians, the civil war in Ukraine is the result of a long-term
American strategy to destabilize and weaken any potential rivals. Within Ukraine,
the current government views the war as solely the consequence of Russian
aggression, whereas the rebels view themselves as victims of government barbarity.
No matter who you are, somebody else is entirely to blame. No effort is made to
understand, let alone empathize with the other side’s point of view.

Interestingly Robinson (2014), feels that the way out of this impasse is through “strategic
empathy” which “does not require that one concede that the other side is right”, but instead
“through a better understanding of others’ actions” the “chances of pursuing successful policies”
are raised. Robinson finishes his piece with the comment that “[m]oral certitude may be
emotionally satisfying, but strategic empathy is far more likely to lead to peace” (Robinson,
2014), and it is therefore possibly the case that, the reading of the two works of fiction that deal
with bloody conflicts and that have been examined for their multiperspectivism in this paper,
could, ironically, actually help to create such empathy.

References

Burnett, A. (2015). “Europe’s Migrants: Urgency and Empathy Needed”. Article for The Huffingdon
Post United Kingdom Website. 30-08-2015. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.
co.uk/alistair-burnett/europes-migrants-urgency-and-empathy-needed_b_8055286.
html
Bury, L. (2013, October 8). Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds. The Guardian.
Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/oct/08/literary-
fiction-improves-empathy-study
Calcutt, D. (2001). The Wrath of Achilles. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.
Calvino, I. (2009). Why Read the Classics? Translated by Martin McLaughlin. London: Penguin
Books Ltd.

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Hafez, F. (2014, December 19). Muslim Minorities: A Challenge to European Democracies.
The Religious Freedom Project of the Berkeley Center Website. Retrieved from http://
berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/muslim-minorities-a-challenge-to-european-
democracies
Hansen, H. L. (2011). Multiperspectivism in the Novels of the Spanish Civil War. Orbis Lit-
terarum 66:2, 148-166.
Homer. (1998). The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd.
Jebb, R. C. (2002). Homer: An Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Bristol: Thoemmes Press.
Kadare, I. (2009). The Siege. Trans. David Bellos. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
Kidd, D. C. & Castano, E. (2013). Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind. Science342
(6156) pp. 377-380.
Lively, A. (2008, May 18). The Siege by Ismail Kadare. The Sunday Times. Retrieved from http://
www.zemrashqiptare.net/news/id_3317/rp_0/act_print/rf_1/Printo.html
Manguel, A. (2007). Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey: A Biography. New York: Atlantic Month-
ly Press.
Martens, B. (2011). Browning, Victorian Poets and the Romantic Legacy: Challenging the Personal
Voice. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Ridgeway, W. (2014). The Early Age of Greece. Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rimmon-Kenan, S. (1989). Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. London: Routledge.
Robinson, P. (2014, December 31). The Need for Strategic Empathy. Irrussianality Website. Re-
trieved from: https://irrussianality.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/the-need-for-strategic-
empathy/
Shakespeare, W. (2004). King Lear. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited.
Stark, F. (2012). Rome on the Euphrates: The Story of a Frontier. London: I. B. Taurus and Co Ltd.
Tayler, C. (2008, May 31). Under Siege. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.
com/books/2008/may/31/fiction3
Terezakis, K. (2009). Engaging Agnes Heller: A Critical Companion. Lanham: Rowman & Little-
field Publishers, Inc.

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 Are we What We Buy and What We Consume?:
Crisis of Identity in Hanif Kureishi’s The Decline of the West

Ali Güneş
Karabuk University, Turkey

Abstract

This paper explores in Hanif Kureishi’s short story The Decline of the West the harsh
economic recession or what he calls in the story “a financial crash” and its inevitable crippling
negative impact on the social life in general and on individual life in particular, especially in
the wake of the collapse of Wall Street back in 2008, which has obviously changed the way of
living for millions of people across the world, specifically in Western societies in Europe and
North America. In so doing, the paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, it debates
that the capitalism as an economic system has radically transformed not only the traditional
commercial and financial system, but it has also given rise to the construction of consumption
culture, which has eventually altered the ways people across the world used to live, together with
their perception of life and identity. This view of identity has closely been related to personal
happiness, satisfaction, comfort, and freedom, along with the social status and prestige in one’s
life. As the second part of the paper argues, however, this view of identity has faced far-reaching
crisis in the wake of the economic downturn since 2008 as represented in the life, view and
identity of Kureishi’s fictional character Mike in the story after he is fired from his job in a bank.
Having lost his job, Mike finds himself financially unable to keep his personal material comfort
and satisfaction, meet the demands of his family and maintain his social status and prestige as in
the past. Hence his sense of self and stability falls apart; he loses his soul, as well as his vision of
“the future” and eventually wants to “die” to rid of his psychological frustration and chaos.

Key words: capitalism, consumer culture, materialism, financial crisis, identity

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 This paper explores in Hanif Kureishi’s short story The Decline of the West (2010) the harsh
economic recession or what he calls in the story “a financial crash”, along with its inevitable
crippling negative impact on the social life in general and on individual life in particular, especially
in the wake of the collapse of Wall Street or global financial crisis during 2007-2008, which
has obviously changed the way of living for millions of people across the world, specifically in
Western societies in Europe and North America. In doing so, the paper is divided into two parts.
In the first part, it debates that the capitalism as an economic system has radically transformed
not only the traditional commercial and financial system since the Industrial Revolution in
the eighteenth century, but it has also given rise to the construction of consumption culture,
which has eventually altered the ways people across the world used to live, together with their
perception of life. This perception of life has closely been related to personal happiness, material
satisfaction, comfort, freedom and more choices, as well as to the social status or prestige in
one’s life: that is, this view of life has become a lifestyle, a way of living, an identity thoroughly
associated with the level of prosperity and possession in the postmodern period. In its second
part, however, the paper argues how this view of identity has faced far-reaching crisis in the wake
of the economic downturn since 2007 as represented in the life, view and identity of Kureishi’s
fictional character Mike in The Decline of the West after he is fired from his job in a bank. Having
lost his job, Mike finds himself at once financially unable not only to keep his personal material
comfort and satisfaction and maintain his social status and prestige but also to meet the demands
of his family as in the past. Once he finds himself incapable of upholding his level of “buying”
and “spending” power, therefore, Mike feels insecure and lost, so that his sense of stable self falls
apart, and he loses psychologically both his soul and firm ground under his feet, as well as his
vision of “the future”, and eventually he wants to “die” to rid of his psychological disturbance and
frustration and chaos (Kureishi, 2010, p. 405).

Consumerism, unquestionably entwined with capitalism, is one of few crucial issues

which visibly affects the daily life in the postmodern society, constantly shaping and re-shaping
social structures and institutions, along with habits, perceptions and identities by imposing its
hegemonic and controlling grip on individuals and group lives and behaviours (Lasch, 1979;
Smith, 1986; McKibben, 1989; Suzuki , 1997; Baudrillard, 1998; Beaud, 2001; Emerald, 2004;
Malpas, 2005; Dittmar, 2007a; Todd, 2012; Chotiudompant, 2013 and Jansiz, 2014). As OED
defines it, consumerism is an act of “the buying and using of goods and services” or “the belief
that it is good for a society or an individual person to buy and use a large quantity of goods
and services” (2010, p. 312). For Encyclopaedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, it is “a way
of life combining high level of material affluence with an emphasis on symbolic and emotional
meanings associated with shopping and possessions” (2005, p. 538; emphasis added). Douglas
and Isherwood (1996) succinctly describe consumerism as the possession of a product for the
purpose of meeting certain needs as well as a part of social system which explains the desire to

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work for retaining goods with the aim of forming a relationship with other people in society (Qtd
in Jansiz, 2014, p. 78). Finally, Suradech Chotiudompant (2013) argues that “consumerism is a
crucial issue nowadays because we need to consume not only to meet our basic needs but also to
satisfy our wants, which are increasingly complex and hard to distinguish from the former. We
need to consume…to create our identity, to state our political standpoint or to quench our insatiable
desires” (p. 83; emphasis added). As seen in these definitions and arguments above, consumerism
in the first place is merely linked to the satisfaction of basic material needs and demands of
everyday life in which individuals simply buy and consume certain goods and use services as
part of their daily lives and in which individuals basically also tend to accumulate material goods
for the future to secure their lives. In this respect, consumerism is simply defined and shown as
an inevitable act and part of life in its normal routine way to sustain life activities by meeting our
basic needs, along with satisfying our desires in life.

However, as the critics above and many others elsewhere point out, consumerism is
not a naïve activity or issue in life to deal with in its ostensible meaning, but has deep social,
cultural, and ideological meanings generated by capitalism particularly as for the identity politics
and formation because the “high level of material affluence” with its “symbolic and emotional
meanings associated with shopping and possessions” on both social and personal levels is clearly
identified, not only with the material standing of a particular society, but also with the lifestyle
and way of life of an individual personal (Fromm, 1978; McCracken, 1990; Rose, 1996; Arnould
and Thompson, 2005; Vignoles, Regalia, Manzi, Golledge, and Scabini, 2006; Kasser and Kanner,
2004; Malpas, 2005 and Dittmar, 2007b). Consumerism or consumer culture, which is very much
stimulated by capitalist economic system worldwide through various means of communications
such the advertisements such as TV, mass media, billboards, internet, online-shopping and so on,
obviously bombard us every day to buy and consume commodities more and more by creating an
interactive relationship in the markets: we depend on the commodities in the market just as much
as the commodities in the market depends on us as individuals. In this inseparable relationship,
what we buy and consume eventually shapes our way of life, organize our lifestyle, perception
of life and our world view, as well as our social status and prestige in the late capitalist mass
consumer period even sometimes beyond our knowledge and control, so that goods and services
that we purchase and use give shifting and constant new meanings to our life and make us feel
good and happy in our daily lives (McKibben, 1989; Cook, 1992; Andersen, 1995; Suzuki, 1997
and Cross, 2000). As for this “symbolic” and ideological meanings behind consumerism, which
obviously create a sense of who we are, for example, James B. Twitchell (2002) argues that “The
one unambiguous result of modern capitalism, of the industrial revolution, and of marketing…is:
In the way we live now, you are not what you make. You are what you consume” (p. 1). Moreover,
Danielle Todd (2012) also sees a profound relationship between consumerism and identity
politics and formation which, she argues, is firmly “tied to the creation and production of a sense

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of self ”, and for her, “products are imbued with a greater significance than what their primary
function may be.” In her view, “Today, it is virtually impossible to buy any product not embedded
with certain symbols of identity acquired by the buyer knowingly or otherwise. Recognizing this,
it is possible to draw the conclusion that consumption functions as a way to create a sense of self ”
(p. 48). In The Consumer Society, finally, Jean Baudrillard (1998) regards consumerism as the
system of sign in the Saussurian and Lacanian sense or as a kind of motivation that he argues has
its own language or code in which the identities of postmodern consumers are programmed and
constructed without being sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious of this “language”
and “code”:

The circulation, purchase, sale, appropriation of differentiated goods and signs/

objects today constitute our language, our code, the code by which the entire society
communicates and converses. Such is the structure of consumption, its language,
by comparison with which individual needs and pleasures are merely speech effects
(pp. 79–80).

This quotation clearly tells us that commodities we buy and the way we use them are not just
simple products, but they have their own “language” and “code” which allows us to communicate
with the outside world and vice versa, in which we are located into the pool of various complex
meanings and relationships through the way we purchase and the way we consume. In the
first place, how we are seen by the outside society is, in fact, decided and constructed as in the
symbolic order of Lacan by the “language” and “code” of “goods” which we buy and consume,
yet in this process, the great truth behind the “language” and “code” of “goods” is never told, but
the “language” and “code” of “goods” knowingly or unknowingly construct us as subjects in a
way that we get used to leading this kind of life in time. Hence there seems no escape from the
“language” and “code” of “goods”, as well as from their untold own ideology always imposed on
consumers.

In the second place, what is suggested in the quotation above is that consumption on the
personal level creates a sense of who we are and thus is closely bound up with our innermost
desires and “pleasures” as in the Freudian pleasure principle: the continuous pursuit of pleasure
and happiness in the commodities we buy and consume in our daily lives. What we consume causes
us to feel ourselves personally in different ways. The goods we consume, the clothes we wear, the
house we own, and the car we drive visibly touch our subconscious realm – feeling, emotion and
aspiration – and thus influence the way we feel and act. Such a feeling boasts our subconscious
desires and gives us a sense of identity in which we perceive the life in accordance with what we
purchase and what we spend. In this view of identity, there is always stimulating to spend more
and more to remain in the intensity of happiness and satisfaction. These commodities become
part of us and vice versa. As Baudrillard (1998) argues, therefore, the postmodern consumer

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is apparently placed under the influence of such a feeling into an “array of sham objects, of
characteristic signs of happiness, and then waits . . . for happiness to alight’ (p. 31).

Likewise, “sham objects” also become the source of “happiness” and “pleasure” for Mike
in Kureishie’s The Decline of the West. He represents Mike in a way that he acts in line with
the demands of capitalism and consumer culture, in which he immensely enjoys the power of
“buying” and “using goods”. Simply, Mike’s philosophy of life is that “Everyone should have what
they want whenever they want it” (Kureishi, 2010, p. 407). Since he is working for a bank and
makes good money, therefore, Mike noticeably becomes able not only to meet his own personal
and family needs and make himself and family comfortable and happy whenever he wants but
also to achieve a kind of social standing and prestige that position him at once into a discernible
social situation where he is given an identity and placeas an individual by the others outside.
What is of vital importance for Mike with his material affluence in the late capitalist period is
to keep his current level of unavoidable power of buying and consumption in which he will able
to manage to continue personal happiness, satisfaction, and freedom and keep his good social
standing and esteem in his life. That is, Mike has ideologically been taughtby the postmodern
economic system and consumer culture in the 1980s and 90s that “capitalism was flourishing
and there was no finer and more pleasant way to live but under it, signing and spending” (p. 404;
emphasis added).

In The Decline of the West, Mike works for a bank. He has a good job and makes good
money, even though he aged 45, works twelve hours every day. The money he earns avails him
of opportunity to lead a luxurious, comfortable material life, a life in which he is able to satisfy
not only his own basic needs but also that of his family in line with the demands of consumer
culture in the early decade of the twenty-first century. As soon as the story opens, the reader is
immediately given the impression about the life Mike and his wife Imogen lead. Once he arrives
home in the prosperous outskirts of London from his job in the bank, for example, Mike is
always used to looking forward to “the door into the warm hall, hearing voices of his wife and
children, and seeing that the cat come down the stairs to rub itself against him” (p. 401). He has
a five-storey house with “off-street parking, overlooking a green” (p. 401), and also he, together
with wife, has decorated a “hyper-shiny dining-room table where he liked to have supper and
talk with his friends” in their spare times (p. 402). In addition to this, Mike is “seriously planning
more work on the garden as well as the rest of house”, and he had already built “a shed” for “the
boys to play music in, fitted with a TV, drum-kit and sound system” (p. 402). Moreover, why
Mike urgently desires to enlarge his garden has two reasons. First, “As [Mike’s] boys liked to point
out, other children at their schools lived in bigger places; their fathers were the bosses of record
companies or financial advisors to famous footballers. Mike, in corporate finance, was relatively
small-time,” and secondly, his friends have been constantly “improving their properties. It was a
natural law: you never lost money on a house” (p. 402). As seen in the quotations above, having

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a comfortable and luxurious house evidently stands for personal material power, happiness and
satisfaction. Hence it is this stimulation that psychologically forces him to go ahead and expand
the scope of what makes him and his family happy and satisfied in their lives. What is more, these
quotations also suggest that there is an implicit social and ideological pressure on Mike and his
children in that he strives to give a message to the outside world about his identity and social
standing that he has enough material power and affluence to accommodate himself properly
into an acceptable place in his social and cultural environment. As in the Marxist world view,
it is the spirit of time – social, cultural and political factors – which knowingly or unknowingly
constructs the human identity, and thus Mike feels himself obliged to carry out what is socially,
culturally and ideologically demanded of him in the early decade of the twentieth-first century:
that is, he should achieve “continuous material improvement” (p. 404).

As for Mike’s social material position, another sign of “continuous material improvement”
in The Decline of the West is that his two sons - Tom and Billy- are part and product of consumer
culture. Their education and the goods they demand give an idea about the family’s material
position, and Kureishi portraits them in a way that they become representatives of almost all
the children across the world today. Mike’s sons are “attending private schools” (p. 404), which
puts him and his children at once into a different but higher social status achieved by Mike’s level
of earning and consumption because today not many families are able to afford to send their
children to “private schools” in the world. “As well as attending private schools”, Mike’s sons also
take “tennis, Spanish, piano, swimming, signing and karate lessons” in accordance with their
status, and they, like children of well-off families, “frequently attended the cinema, the theatre
and football matches” (p. 2). Given the fact that private education institutions have dramatically
increased, along with the increase in the number of their students in recent years across the
world, the situation of Mike’s children is not surprising and unusual but part of the general state
of affairs in the postmodern era. In order not to fall behind other children around him, Mike feels
it necessary to participate in the competition for the education of his children. Sending children
to “private schools” sometimes overtly and sometimes covertly means good education and then
good job in the future, so that many families tend to send their children to “private schools”,
even though it requires hard work and a respectable amount of income and material wealth to
achieve this purpose. However, the deep meaning and implication behind is that the education
at “private schools” also illuminates the power of money and spending of a particular family
associated with its social identity, position and prestige because “private schools” become a sign
of who Mike is; he is judged and categorized in a way that he is different from the others, who are
unable to send their children to “private schools”. Finally, the demands of Mike’s sons never end.
Like children of many contemporary families, they are in a music band and thus want to take
the “guitar lesson”, yet they first need “guitar, an amp and a microphone”(p. 407).As seen in these
quotations above, what Mike, now unemployed, is required to do for his sons entails the material

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affluence and consumption, yet all these objects - “private school”, “guitar lesson”, “guitar, an amp
and a microphone” - have their “language” and “code” in the Baudrillardian sense which give an
ideological and cultural message to the outside world about Mike’s lifestyle and identity, along
with that of his sons.

It is not only Mike’s sons who enjoy a luxurious life but also his wife Imogen who also
becomes a sign and “language” of high material standard through her life style in The Decline of
the West. As soon as the story begins, Imogen immediately gives the reader an impression as if she
was a queen and had servants at her service all round to clean her house and cook for her. First,
she is seen in the hall as “carrying gin and tonic”, and the reader learns that she is used to having
“bath” everyday as part of her life at home (p. 401). Moreover, the narrator tells us that Imogen has
“never knowingly ingested anything non-organic” (p. 402), and she always “appeared to dress in
diamonds and gold when at lunch with her friends” (p. 406) and continuously asks her husband
for “a new computer” (p. 407). As seen in these quotations above, Imogen is different from a
traditional woman who had satisfied herself with what she had, who had not been demanding
and who had led a normal simple life, yet Imogen’s life apparently seems comfortable, luxurious
and expensive, and she seems to have been captivated by this kind of life. Without a certain
level of money, the life she leads is not possible. Not only does it require money and material
prosperity, but it also entails continuous spending or consumption.

Having taken all these quotations above into consideration, Mike, as an annoying sculptor
in The Decline of the West refers to, is “the cult of money” (p. 404): he earns money and spends it
extravagantly. It is what he is culturally and ideologically required to do by capitalist consumer
culture: in the eyes of an annoying sculptor, Mike is what he earns and what he spends. Mike’s way
of life and worldview, together with that of his family, have been shaped very much by this culture,
which has constantly inculcated them with an idea that “there was no finer and more pleasant
way to live but under it [capitalism], signing and spending.” Under this perception of life, Mike
and his family members have continuously desired to improve further their material affluence
and conditions not only to satisfy their basic material needs but also to retain their social position
as culturally and ideologically requested by the postmodern world view. This shiny and luxurious
lifestyle is very colourful, talismanic and captivating, and what Mike buys and how he consumes
is obviously imbued with a greater significance than their primary meanings and functions may
be. That is, the way he purchase and the way he consumes function as a means to create a sense of
Mike’s self, in which he is called “the cult of money”, or he just calls himself “the Delivery man” (p.
407). These attributions evidently form Mike’s world view and the identity assigned to him, and
he, like many of us, is just a mechanical money-making machine, which replaces his true spiritual
identity inside. As for this view of identity, Adem Caylak (2011, December 12) argues that “the
production relationship of capitalism and the system of its values regard everything in life from

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the materialistic point of view and [thus] ignores what should dominate human life – morality
and virtue”, and in such a system of relationship, he continues to state that “being just and good
is not given priority; instead, earning much money and attaining power are accepted as success
in today’s world.” In such a view of identity, Mike is nothing but the one who helps capitalism to
sustain and further improve its existence in an enthralled way because the level of consumption
is, in fact, the measure of the economic system – his value is what we buys and consumes. In
addition, as in Baudrillard’s words above, each goods Mike buys and each activity he conducts
become “signs”, “codes”, and “language” or what I call an ideology by which he communicates
with the larger outside world; he gives the outside world different messages where he fits with the
social, cultural and political structure of the outside physical world. Besides, whether or not they
are aware of it, the identities of Mike and his family members are also very much constructed and
controlled by the capitalist consumerist lifestyle, so that Mikeis psychologically, culturally and
ideologically shown and mesmerized in the 1980s/90s that “capitalism was flourishing and there
was no finer and more pleasant way to live but under it, singing and spending” in the globalized
postmodern world.

However, this “finer and more pleasant way to live” under capitalism by “singing and
spending”, gets into serious trouble at once when “capitalism was cracking under the weight
of its contradictions as the Marxists had predicted”, and Kureishi radically questions the view
of the fragile identity constructed by the forged perception of capitalism and of its ingrained
consumer culture through the life and views of Mike in The Decline of the West: that is, “If there
was no comfort, what then were consolations of capitalism?” (Kureishi, 2010, p. 408)For the
continuation of their existence, as seen here, capitalism and consumer culture had to advertise
and propagate implicitly the ideology of “comfort” to show that the capitalist economic system
was able to achieve a constant stable growth, low unemployment and low inflation, which would
have made individuals happy, comfortable, and prosperous in their lives. Hence it is obvious
today and represented in the story that this ideology has gradually become in time a way of life
and eventually a view of identity, forcing individuals unconsciously to buy and consume goods
more and more so as to be comfortable and happy in their lives, even though sometimes they did
not need to do so. Thus, Kureishi illuminates in his short story how this perception of ideology
or way of life and identity Mike has experienced excessively so far in his life are, in fact, false,
lie, fragile and vulnerable. Mike eventually comes to realize this fact once he is fired from his job
in the bank and forsakes almost everything behind: that is, the promise of constant stability by
capitalism has been a big veiled lie.

Indeed, there is a close relationship between the dismissal of Mike from his job in the bank
and the financial crisis which took place in 2007/8 with a wave of bank nationalisations across
North America and Europe possibly due to international trade imbalances, the higher credit
rate, the deterioration in export earnings and weak stock markets, lax lending and so on (Wolf,

312
2010; Sorkin, 2010; Stigliz, 2010; Peters, 2012). This financial crisis, though it had started mainly
in North America and Europe, has eventually turned into a global financial crisis, throwing
economies around the world into a great recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s (Wolf,
2007; Reinhart and Rogoff, 2009). Among many crippling negative impacts of this recession on
the economics around the world are deep uncertainties, panic and worry about the future, yet
what has been alarming for some time is the sharp increase in the rate of unemployment after
many employees across the world had been sacked from their jobs, leading them not only to
lose their proper income but also to be deprived of their power of “buying and spending”, which
had given them a sense of who they are in the capitalist market economy. Eventually, there has
been a major shock to the consumer culture, which not only sustains the capitalist economy
on track but also gives an impression to the consumers that the economy is moving steadily in
its stable way. This economic slump was also a blow to the identity because consumer culture
had often propagated through various means of advertisements the view that there has been
close relationship between money and identity or between the “buying and spending” power and
identity since the advent of the capitalist economic system in which consumers are identified
with what they buy and what they consume. Hence when this relationship becomes unbalanced,
the capitalist economic system, which mainly dominates the economies today around the world,
momentously suffers a situation of crisis and paralysis. Once the basis of this view is significantly
undermined and crumbled across the world, therefore, consumers finds themselves in a state
of identity crisis and thus become very fragile, restless, hopeless and pessimistic about future in
their lives; their existence and expectations fall apart and crumble away, leaving their place to a
sense of misery and fragmentation in life (Jansiz, 2014).

In The Decline of the West, similarly, Kureishi represents such kind of fragmented and
crippled identity through the life of Mike in the wake of his dismissal from his job in the bank.
Mike, like many employees across the world, becomes the victim of the “financial crash” of 2007-
2008 when “the financial system was out of control” in the British society in the early decade of
the twenty-first century (Kureishi, 2010, pp. 407, 401). When the story of The Decline of the West
opens, the reader learns at once the news that Mike has been fired from his job in the bank. As
soon as he enters home, he appears to the reader in shock and crisis; he wants to “give his wife the
news straight away”, yet she does not pay attention to him but continues her life as usual (p. 401).
With the crippling and disturbing feeling of his dismissal in his mind, he strives to get involved
in things to remove himself from the psychological disturbance, so that he immediately gets “a
frozen meal from the freezer” and puts it “in the microwave. Waiting for it to heat up, he poured
himself a glass of wine” and blankly stands “at the long windows which overlooked the garden”
(p. 401). Moreover, Mike cannot control himself but desires to engage himself further with other
activities, so that he “switched on the garden lights and, looking out at the new deck where last
summer they’d held barbecues” (p. 401), and then Mike sees “three £20 notes Imogen had left
for the cleaner. Mike picked one of them up and looked at it closely. How had he never noticed

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what sardonic little Mona Lisa smile the blinked-up monarch wore, mocking even, as if she pitied
the vanity and greed the note inspired” (p. 402). As seen in these quotations above, it is obvious
that Mike seems very much confused, frustrated, fragmented and fallen apart in views because
the means - job and money - which had added meaning to his life and identity in various ways
have gone out of his hand, leaving him in a great limbo. He strongly feels an urgent need “to be
cheered up tonight” for letting his frustrating and disturbing feeling disappear (p. 403), so that
Mike endeavours to keep himself busy doing other things just to drown his sorrow. In addition,
his frustration also increases further once he looks at one of £20 notes and then perceives for
the first time “language” and message which communicate with him. The paper money simply
stands for exchange of goods, yet at the same time it is closely associated with the power of
“purchase and spending”, together with a sense of who we are and of social status. Thus, Mike, in
this “sardonic” and “mocking” situation, perhaps comes to realize the real meaning lying behind
the paper money: that is, the paper money is not naïve but actually a sign which provides us
knowingly and unknowing with a sense of self: we are actually what we buy and what we consume,
yet this sense of identity, as in the case of Mike, is a false identity in which he also becomes the
victim of consumer culture under the perception that he is free and comfortable and has more
options when he buys and consumes.

Mike’s crippled sense of identity may derive from three reasons. First, now he feels unable
to sustain his own personal luxury and comfort. Although he had worked hard and long hours,
he, like many people around the world, had enjoyed it fully. But now he comes to realize that
his luxurious and comfortable life was fake and apparently subjected to fragility, so that what
capitalism and consumer culture have pledged – “comfort”, happiness and satisfaction – was
deception and illusion. Secondly, he is a father and has responsibility for his family because
his two sons and luxury addict, acquisitive wife are so demanding in their way of life and thus
always want to have whatever they want - a new “guitar, an amp and a microphone”, as well as “
a new computer”, and so on. These demands obviously put him under huge burden and pressure
because he is unable to fulfil their habitually never-ending demands since he is unemployed now
and is also in debt; he is psychologically intimidated and worried about his material weakness
because he has already declined in his power of “buying” and “spending”, even though his family
does not know yet. The third reason behind his frustration and crush is also the view that Mike
seems to have lost his social status and standard in society. This situation is clearly seen in his
rumination, while roaming aimlessly from one room to another in his house: “there in the semi-
darkness, gripping and ungripping his fist, he wondered whether he might go mad with fury. He
knew he would be shut out now from the company of those he knew and liked, becoming a sort
of ‘disappeared’” (p. 405). As seen clearly in this quotation and in many others throughout the
story, the “financial crash” causes obviously not only the collapse of the dream-like polished life,
but it also gives an idea that what individuals - identity or social status- have gained through the

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material improvement and purchasing is not a real but a transitory and false one, so that once
individuals encounter reality and lose a bit of what they have materially gained, they immediately
find themselves in panic and crisis and lose their sense of security and their centre of self in life.
Hence Mike realizes “how easy it was to fall…suddenly [it] would be best…to die” for making
away with his psychological frustration and unhappiness instead of living in such a crippling
misery and frustration of his downfall (p. 405).

Eventually “the financial crash” leads Mike and his friends to think of different alternatives
until the economic downturn recovers because they seek to survive the crisis as much as possible.
For example, some of Mike’s colleagues state “their intention of becoming gardeners until the
recession lifted; apparently the only requirements were an empty head and a desire to develop
your muscles. Others had said they might be forced into teaching. Mike, at forty five, had no
idea what he would do. First he had to lose everything” (p. 403). As seen in this quotation, there
may be possibility to turn back to the traditional way of life in which there seems not much risk.
One can earn his/her living as long as his/her muscles are strong enough to work. But what is
so dangerous today is that people, like Mike, cannot manage to do so because their abilities are
dulled and thwarted very much by the capitalist market economy in which they are considered
machines to consume. Mike, for instance, has fallen apart in his view of life, as well as in “his idea
of future” (p. 401), so that he cannot recover himself and decide what to do “until the recession
lifted.” It is loss of his sense of ability and centre, yet towards the end of the story, Mike also starts
to think of finding “a smaller place, sharing the household duties, like everyone else” in life (p.
408). That Mike and his colleagues, like many other people across the world, think of alternative
way of life and earning in the postmodern era because capitalism is full of its “contradictions” and
thus is unreliable, fragile and vulnerable to outside negative forces. In this respect, the traditional
way of life seems an alternative, even though it is not an easy option today. What was the reason
which has forced the current capitalist economic to undergo crisis and recession? The answer
is given by Mike in the story: “…like many people, Mike had also worried whether the present
catastrophe was punishment for years of extravagance and self-indulgence; that that was the debt
which had to be paid back in suffering” (p. 404; emphasis added). It is easily seen in Mike’s own
life, as well as in the lives of his family members. As the narrator informs the reader, for example,
Mike’s house is full of “paint cans broken children’s toys, a decade’s worth of discarded purchases
and bags of credit card receipts” (p. 405; emphasis added). Alone this quotation is, in fact, enough
to show us the level and magnitude of consumption in the postmodern period.

In conclusion, consumerism in its simplistic naïve meaning is closely related to what

Zygmunt Bauman (2007) calls “a happy life”, and “indeed, the society of consumers is perhaps the
only society in human history to promise happiness in earthly life, and happiness here and now
and in every successive ‘now’; in short, and instant and perpetual happiness” (p. 44). Thus, today
individuals pay much attention to the charm of this temporary “happiness”, so that consumerist

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society, entirely bound up with the view of capitalism based on the perpetual “profit”, always
stimulates the idea that the more we buy commodities and the more we consume them will
uphold our happiness and satisfaction in life. However, consumerism, as Jean Baudrillard and
Danielle Todd have argued above, is far beyond the mere act of “buying” and “consuming”; it is a
way of life; it is an ideology in which commodities we buy and consume have symbolic meaning,
“language” and “code” which actually not only tell us who we are as a person but also fits us into
society and culture where we are judged and branded in the eyes of the others. In this respect,
our identity is constantly constructed and re-constructed by what we buy and what we consume,
so that we are stimulated in a perpetual way to spend more and more on commodities since they
will ultimately enable us to increase not only personal happiness and satisfaction but also social
status as seen in the life of Mike in The Decline of the West. As discussed above, on the other hand,
this kind of identity and social status is subjected to be fragile and vulnerable to possible negative
conditions in the economic system. As Kureishi represents it in the story through the life of Mike,
possible negative economic imbalances may bring about disappointment, anger, frustration,
worry about the future and a sense of weakness once the power of “buying” and “consuming”
declines. When his power of “buying” and “consuming” declines, Mike immediately panics and
y starts to feel lonely, desolated, and insecure and in his life, and this feeling cause him to be
crippled and fragmented in his view, and relationship not only with his family members but also
the people around him.

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 Seeing Is (Not) Believing: Struggle for Redemption in Ian McEwan’s
Novel Atonement and its Film Adaptation

Srebrenka Mačković
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Film represents the most popular art-form of our age, and, since the primary basis for any
film is a written text in the form of script or screenplay, it is not surprising to notice how these
two art forms have become closely intertwined and dependent of each other, especially when
understood in terms of their commercial exploitation as industrial commodities. This paper tries
to discuss these issues by focusing on the novel Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan, a brilliant
contemporary British author of the new generation, and its film version, directed by Joe Wright
(2007). The emphasis of the analysis lies in a comparison between the novelist’s use of narrative
techniques that revolve around the central idea of doubtful acts of seeing, which blur the vision
of his characters and lead to a number of tragic events; as well as subsequent attempts to redeem
themselves by re-inventing the past through a creation of credible yet unreliable threads of
narratives in order to transpose fictional ending(s) into believable (his)tory. It is the intention of
the paper to present how such complex problems have been addressed and resolved in the film
version, which also helped explain the novel as its creative inspiration.

Key words: adaptation, atonement, re-inventing the past, unreliable narrator

Introduction

It almost goes without saying that film represents the most popular art-form of our age,
and after over a century of film-making.

main cinema is still telling and retelling stories, and most of those stories are still
being (or have been) appropriated from literary or dramatic sources, and adaptation
has always been central to the process of filmmaking since almost the beginning
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 and could well maintain its dominance into the cinema’s second century (Welsh,
2007, p. 14).

Since the primary basis for any film is a written text in the form of script or screenplay,
it is not surprising to notice a continuous and close relationship between film and literature,
which has been so many times perceived as one of the main resources for creative inspiration in
a number of films based on literary adaptations.

Many film-makers, particularly directors, as well as the writers of plays and fiction, believe
that “whatever can be told in print in a novel can be roughly pictured or told in film because both
films and novels tell long stories with a wealth of detail” (Monaco, 2000, p. 27). That is why writing
a remotely good novel or any other piece of literature today often means watching it screened
in a few months, and that shows how these two art forms have become closely intertwined and
dependent of each other, especially when understood in terms of their commercial exploitation as
industrial commodities. Although, within the Western context, literary adaptations are perceived
mostly as ‘European products’, because “European heritage cinema is the one that predominates,
representing a deliberate marketing ploy for exports (Hayward, 2006, p. 13), Hollywood cinema
is the one that, in the words of Catherine Constable (2004), “represents a new form of ‘vernacular
modernism’“ (p. 51).

A rather fertile ground for the development of this relationship was provided when writers
started “seeing novels and stories as pictures“ (Connor, 2004, p. 63). In other words, even in
the early decades of film-making when silent movies had been made, a strong visual impact
on a wide screen in dark cinema halls produced in cinema-goers a strong mixture of emotions
and intellectual response. Some authors of fiction have tried to achieve the same results. This
approach to writing was, perhaps, best explained by Joseph Conrad in his preface to The Nigger
of the ‘Narcissus’ (first published in 1897), where he ‘defined’ the very essence of fiction by stating:

My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make
you hear, to make you feel -- it is, before all, to make you see. That - and no more,
and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there according to your deserts:
encouragement, consolation, fear, charm - all you demand; and, perhaps, also that
glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask (Conrad, p. 11).

When viewed from the perspective of film studies, Conrad’s phrase ‘to make you see’,
assumes, as George Bluestone (1957) pointed out,“an effective relationship between creative artist
and receptive audience because novelist and director meet here in common intention. One may,
on the other hand, see visually through the eye or imaginatively through the mind.” (Bluestone, p.
1) Having in mind some of the facts already stated in the text above, one can conclude that the line
that separates novels from films and writers from directors is very thin and that its root difference
lies in “the percept of the visual image and the concept of the mental image” (Bluestone, p. 1).
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 Although films and novels are now considered to be rather closely intertwined, and
almost overlapping industries, it is a mistake to believe that, due to that phenomenon, it is an
easy task to adapt every novel into film. The main reason for such a claim lies in the fact that
current, mostly postmodernist authors, tend to be innovative, so they often invent new writing
techniques and approaches that often confuse readers and directors, making their job of adapting
almost impossible. One of those difficulties can be recognised in Connor’s statement that “some
postmodernist narratives appear to depend on the voice rather than on the eye, or, more precisely,
to make the voice hard to encode either as a way of seeing or as itself something seen“ (Connor,
p. 63) Ian McEwan, a brilliant contemporary British author of the new generation, is one of the
best representatives of such a writing style. He is also interesting because of his perception of
time, since his text is “characteristically interwoven with a diversity of timescales. The narrator’s
consciousness subtly modulates between memory, daydream and conventional narration”
(Morrison, 2003, p. 69). In addition to that, his work is distinguished by the fact that it “disrupts
the idea of narrative as something whose job it is to illustrate the controllability and knowability
of events in time” (Morrison, 2003, p. 68).

Atonement is Ian McEwan’s eighth novel that tells a warm story about love, war, suffering,
and, most of all, as the name itself predicts, atonement or expiation for something sinful or
wrong. The plot of the film is divided into four parts, corresponding to the four parts of the
novel, and some scenes are shown several times from different perspectives. The story follows the
development in lives of the three main characters -- Briony (a central character) and Cecilia Tallis,
two sisters coming from a wealthy family from Southern England, and Robbie Turner, the son of
their father’s housekeeper. The first part in both the book and in its film version shows the family
gathering on a hot summer day in the Tallis’s mansion. Cecilia and Robbie have recently come
home from Cambridge, where both of them are studying. It is obvious that they are gradually
falling in love, but Briony, a thirteen year old girl with a vivid imagination and some literary
aspirations, happens to be confused about the true nature of their relationship. She has also been
fond of Robbie, but after a few scenes that she had witnessed when observing her sister and
the handsome young man at the fountain in front of the house, and, particularly, in their act of
making love in the library, she thinks that Robbie is a sexual maniac. Her perception is reinforced
by the explicit indecent words in a letter Robbie has asked her to deliver to Cecilia. Although
Robbie wrote several drafts of the letter as a way to apologise to Cecilia for the precious vase he
had previously clumsily broken, he gave Briony the version charged with his erotic fantasies.

When he realised his mistake, Robbie goes to the mansion upon the invitation extended to
him by Cecilia’s brother Leon to a dinner organised for the family friends and relatives. During
the dinner some unpredicted events happened due to a sudden escape of two young cousins, the
twins Jackson and Pierrot, who stayed with the Tallis family because of their parents’ divorce.
During the search for them in pitch darkness Briony saw the twin boys’ sister, her fifteen years
old cousin Lola Quincey, being raped in the woods. Without too much thinking or being certain

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about the man she had seen on top of her cousin, she immediately accused Robbie, who has just
managed to bring the boys safely to the mansion. By wrongly charging someone with a crime,
Briony becomes, as Gussow pointed out “the catalyst for the events that follow“ (Gussow, par. 9).

History – Memory – Writing

While writing Atonement, McEwan was particularly interested in the relationship between
history, memory and writing. He tried to achieve this goal by using a complex metafictional frame,
which becomes apparent in the novel’s epilogue, when Briony, aged 77, publicly confessed her
confusion between life and the life of fiction. It was almost at the end of this entangled narrative
that readers are allowed to discover that “three main parts of the novel are in fact an account
written (and re-written) by Briony herself when she was much older“ (Bentley, 2008, p. 149). The
consequences of her confusion are both tragic and irreversible except in the realm of fiction. She
attempts to use fiction to correct the errors that fiction had caused her to commit, but, as “the
chasm that separates the world of the living from that of fictional invention ensures that at best
her fictional reparation will act as an attempt at atoning for a past that she cannot reverse (Finney,
2002, par. 4). As seen from such a viewpoint, Atonement as a constructed narrative appears to
be duly concerned with “the dangers of entering a fictional world and the compensations and
limitations which that world can offer its readers and writers“ (Finney, 2002, par. 4). The ending
is highly surprising, if one takes into consideration the usage of third-person narration for most
of the text, which creates “an ironic distance towards Briony’s over-romanticized emotional and
aesthetic responses to the events she observes” (Bentley, p. 149). This ironic narrative framework
in which an external narrator “comments on the beliefs and behaviour of an earlier self ” (Bentley,
p. 149) is very similar to the narrative framework of Bildungsroman. In that way, the whole novel
represents an attempt to atone for actions by writing about them, and turning them into a narrative.

Transcending difficulties of turning entangled narrative into film

Due to Ian McEwan’s complex narrative technique and his perception of time, it is obvious
that Joe Wright, the director of film adaptation of Atonement, faced a truly difficult task, especially
because of the time sequence of what had happened and what did not happen, and the film’s
limitation to a comparatively shorter frame of narration. In order to transcend these issues, Wright
used various filming techniques to clarify his vision, because, despite these limitations, film, as
Monaco pointed out, “naturally has pictorial possibilities that novel doesn’t have“, (Monaco, p. 27)
and many pages of written text can be perfectly depicted in a single short scene.

The most notable method that he employs in the film version in order to resolve McEwan’s
entangled narrative technique is a great number of close-ups, with a special emphasis on eyes.

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Eyes are of particular relevance to this film, since they can be perceived as effective means of
presenting diverse situations where characters are in a position to witness what happens in front
of them. That is why a camera focuses on eyes using them as a powerful detail in the rather
successful cinematic technique of close-ups, a type of standard shot, which compactly presents
within the visible screen frame a person or an object. In Joe Wright’s attitude to directing
close-ups are used to express various things – they are present in highly dramatic scenes, they
announce the shift in time, and they demonstrate the ‘eyes wide shut’ effect that suggests that the
voice is one to listen, and not the eyes, because eyes might be deceiving. Those eye close-ups are
specifically applied on Briony, whose eyes are always wide open, as if she wants to grasp the entire
view in its totality. In fact, her eyes are so open that one at first wonders if she has trouble seeing
things properly. In any case, her somewhat strained eyes seem quite unnatural for a young girl
of her age. However, she is still not able to see clearly and every situation that she witnesses, she
interprets wrongly. On the other hand, these close-ups are used to mirror her soul and her state
of mind. That is why they seem childishly playful at the beginning, but afterwards, her look is
fearsomely deep and lost, and her eyes are incredibly, almost unearthly sad.

Eyes close-ups are also used to bridge the time gap and they are accompanied by the film
technique of cutaways and flashbacks/flashforwards. The first part of the film ends with Briony
standing on her window, watching Robbie being taken away. The camera zooms slowly her whole
body, then her face, and ends with the close-up of Briony’s eye. After that, the cut is made, and
the story continues four years later, with Robbie in the army at the outbreak of World War II.
This part of the film is characterized by numerous shifts in time and space – he constantly swings
between reality and dream, and between past, future and present. He is writing Cecilia letters, he
is reading hers, he remembers their first kiss, and the sentence that constantly repeats is: “I’ll find
you; I’ll marry you and live without shame”. It seems as if he was answering the last words she
had told him when he was being taken away to prison: “I’ll wait for you, only you. Come back!”
(McEwan, 2007, p. 187).

It is stated in the novel that “I’ll wait for you was elemental. It was the reason he had
survived” (McEwan, p. 264). This part is highly confusing both in the novel and the film, because,
on one hand, it seems as if Robbie was dying, but on the other one, as one continues to read the
book or watch the film version, the evidence was provided by the author/director that he had
survived. Such a development with a mounting tension of suspense will not become clear until
the very ending, when one can finally figure it out with some level of certainty. At the ending
of the third part of the film, the close-up device is used again to provide the time shift, and this
close-up is the most powerful one in the whole film. It ends with a close-up of Briony’s beautiful,
young face, and the fourth part begins with an image of an old-wrinkled lady, Briony again, just
more than fifty years older.
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 It is not just Wright who employs eyes close-ups in dramatic scenes. McEwan also uses
eyes to mirror characters’ feelings: in the imaginary atonement scene, Cecilia’s eyes are described
as “dark and enlarged, by fatigue perhaps. Or sorrow” (McEwan, p. 264). A novelist also uses
verbs with expressive visual dimension, such as ‘see’, ‘look’, ‘watch’, ‘observe’, ‘perceive’ etc., like in
the scene where Cecilia and Robbie are arguing by the fountain:

‘You idiot! Look what you’ve done!’

He looked into the water, then he looked back at her, and simply shook his head
as he raised his hand to cover his mouth… He glanced towards the basin and
sighed (McEwan, p. 29).

Another enormously important technique that Wright employs is the repeating of the
scenes; showing the same events from different perspectives. The first scene that is repeated is the
one by the fountain. Briony stands at her window and watches how Robbie seemingly assaults
her sister and pushes her into the fountain. She is quite scared and all things that are happening
in front of her eyes are quite vague. When viewed from a different perspective, it appears that
Robbie has only tried to help Cecilia. She does not want him to do anything of a kind. The
precious vase that she was holding fell into fountain and broke, so she jumped into fountain to
take it out. Since Briony is far enough from them, she cannot hear what is going on between
them, and she must rely only on her eyes in order to process the situation in her imaginative
mind. It soon becomes obvious that she believes in what she sees, or, rather, imagines what she
sees, which is confirmed in yet another repeated scene. This time it is the scene in the library
when Briony, after reading a very upsetting letter written by Robbie to Cecilia, finds him hurting
her sister. Moments before, she had found her sister’s earring in front of the library, which was
a clear signal to her that Cecilia was being dragged by force into the room. When viewed from
the different perspective, the two of them were taken over by sexual desire, and made passionate
love while declaring love to each other. The last scene viewed from two different perspectives is
the one in which Briony sees her cousin Lola being raped by the lake. Once again, it is dark and
Briony is far away; she happens to see a young man on top of Lola, and is earnestly convinced that
the man that she is unable to identify due to pitch darkness is Robbie. Much later, in both the film
and the novel, when she sits in the church on Lola’s wedding, the flashback comes to Briony, and
she realizes that she had accused a wrong man.

All of the flashbacks and different perspectives are accompanied by the sound of the typing
machine. At the beginning, it is not quite clear who sits behind it, but after the scene in the
church, it becomes obvious that it has been Briony. The confusing thing about the narrator or
the typist behind the typing machine is that while telling the story from different perspectives,
the ‘other’ voice is somewhat judgmental towards the first voice. It seems as if the first voice was
Briony, who tells the story from her imaginative, childish viewpoint, whereas the other voice

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belongs to someone more familiar with the situation – either to Robbie or Cecilia. Later on, it
becomes evident that it is a perspective of the same person but at a different age, which is quite
logical because as people grow they tend to observe things, events and people differently. Briony
did that with a purpose of showing her regret, but also to explain herself in a way by showing
that she was just an innocent child with vivid imagination, overprotective of her sister, and that
she was not aware of the situation, or their consequences. “How old you need to be to know
the difference between right and wrong” – Robbie screamed at her in her imaginary atonement
scene. That is the question that she asked herself every day of her life, because she well knew that
her delicate age was not a good enough reason to comfort her after everything that she had done.

Another technique that the director probably uses to lessen Briony’s mistakes and show
her unawareness of the whole situation is the handling of lightning in the scene. All the events
that are foggy in her mind are characterized by dim lights or complete darkness around her,
thus representing the confusion in her head. The lights in the library are shut off and she can
hardly see Robbie ‘attacking’ her sister. Similarly, when she sees Lola in the woods, darkness is
all around them and the only light there comes from the flash-light. The director smartly plays
with the lightning devices in dealing with tricky situations, when he wants viewers to assume
the same conclusion that Briony has reached. However, due to the fact that the film director
withholds the possibility of bringing the camera lens closer, or giving other cinematic proofs that
can make the scene less ambiguous, he is able to keep the tension and suspense until he decides to
do otherwise. Once Briony ‘figures out’ what is happening in the dark, or convinces someone in
what she thought she saw, the light immediately focuses her face. In the woods, she tells Lola that
she saw who had attacked her and keeps saying: “I know it was him, I know it was Robbie”, while
Lola looks at her and repeats that she is not sure. When she says “I saw him with my own eyes” for
the tenth time and Lola nod her ginger-haired head approvingly, Briony’s face gets illuminated.
But the scene that is ’richest with illumination’ is the one in the Church during the wedding
ceremony. It was in that moment that, in the series of flashbacks, Briony finally realizes who had,
in fact, attacked Lola, and has to face herself with the terrible burden that she had destroyed both
her sister’s and her lover’s lives and prospects for happiness.

In Atonement, special attention is dedicated to small details that are probably not visible
to a viewer who is not that much into analysing the film. One of those details is the scene when
Briony is in the St. Thomas’s hospital and remembers Robbie. She starts scrubbing her hands so
hard that it seems that her skin will fall off. The implication of her act is that it seemed as if she
was washing away the sin (her sister’s and Robbie’s blood) off her hands. It is also very interesting
to observe in the film version how the character of Briony is shown at three different life stages
– first in her childhood, then in her youth, and, finally, in her old age. In the film she is played
by three different actresses, but Briony at every stage of her life in the film has the same hair-cut.
Even the hair-clip in the hair is the same and in the same place.

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 Another detail that should be taken into consideration relates to the broken vase. The vase
first broke when Cecilia and Robbie had an argument in front of the fountain. It disintegrated
into numerous pieces that it was impossible to find them all and put them back together into a
harmonious composition, as it was before it had broken. In the same manner, Briony’s memory
is broken and she spends her whole life putting the pieces of her memory together in order to
perceive and finally understand the whole ‘picture’. It serves as some kind of leitmotif of the
novel, because, when things are falling apart in her life, when she remembers something that
she perceived in a wrong way, a new part of the broken vase in the water appears on the screen,
just as a part of a jigsaw puzzle ready to be placed on the right spot. In a similar manner, at the
beginning of the fourth part of the film, one can see old Briony giving an interview, and her face
is on fifteen screens, thus, again, creating some kind of puzzle, as if every monitor shows one
piece of memory, one truth, that in the given moment comes to the right place and she can see
everything clearly.

When all things fell into the right place, and all the memories were arranged, all the
confusing scenes became much clearer – the purpose of different perspectives of the same event,
the confusing atonement scene in Cecilia and Robbie’s home, the whole second part of both
novel and all Robbie’s flashbacks. At the end, it is evident that he was dying and he was delusional,
and that is the reason for all the shifts in time and space and all the reminiscence, and that Briony,
the story-teller was not able to ‘kill’ him, too. Instead, she kept him alive, because otherwise

how could that constitute an ending? What sense or hope or satisfaction could a
reader draw from such an account? How could that constitute an ending? What
sense or hope or satisfaction could a reader draw from such an account? Who would
want to believe that, except in the service of the bleakest realism? I couldn’t do it to
them (McEwan, p. 171).

At the very end of the film, while talking directly to the audience, Briony removes the veil
of fiction: she is an old, crushed lady, dying from vascular dementia, who clearly feels that before
her definite loss of memory and subsequent death she needs to tell the whole truth, “without
rhymes, embellishments and adjectives”, as she states. She has confessed her sins, first in the
book, and then in front of the whole nation. She blames herself for everything that had gone
wrong in the lives of her sister and Robbie, and, as a way of definitely redeeming her mistakes, she
gives them happiness that they deserved in her novel. In her wish to come to terms with herself
as both a human being and an author, Briony makes Robbie to be a free man, free of all charges,
because she changed her testimony: Robbie and Cecilia got married and lived happily ever after.
It is questionable whether Briony’s atonement is effective enough, considering the fact that both
her sister and Robbie died, and she never got the chance to undo all the wrong things that she
had done to them, but the important thing is that she, as the years went by, became aware of her

326
poor judgment and all the mistakes that she had made. Unfortunately, both of her ‘victims’ were
dead by then.

It is also important to take into consideration the fact that after they died, she had to
live for fifty more years constantly thinking about them and suffering. Thus, the imaginative
atonement scene can be viewed as Briony’s inner struggle, and the questions that Robbie asks her
are, in fact, the questions that Briony asked herself every day of her life. The only thing that was
left for her was to, in the manner of Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, write about it, make her story
heard and seek her redemption on paper. However, if the Ancient Mariner made the people listen
attentively to his story in order to grasp its moral and seek for their inner redemption, Briony
asks them implicitly to watch closely and not to always believe what they think they see either on
paper in the book, or in the film scenes.

On the other hand, a number of versions Briony writes can be also understood as both her
punishment and penitence. It was through such a process that she slowly but painfully realises
that her seeing cannot necessarily be equated to believing, because what happens in front of one’s
eyes can be misleading and often contrary to what one thinks he or she has seen. At the end of the
day one is faced as a creative artist with the obvious choice of making the final decision about the
ultimate predicament in his or her artefact. McEwan lends his voice to Briony’s understanding
of the situation when pronouncing that an author cannot achieve atonement in the novel,
although this attempt resembles the role of God in reaching the decision on the fictional destiny
of characters and altering them at his/her own will:

The problem these fifty-nine years has been this: how can a novelist achieve
atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God?
There is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled
with, or that can forgive her. There is nothing outside her. In her imagination she
has set the limits and the terms. No atonement for God, or novelists, even if they
are atheists. It was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The
attempt was all (McEwan, p. 371).

It seems to me that Joe Wright in his film adaptation underwent the same process, but the
result was his version of the story is set in “such a way that the modern-day audience is able to see
beyond the time and setting of a story – and into the story itself ” (Atonement trailer – First Look).

It remains doubtful whether or not one can take his words for granted, but, after all, one
definitely must read both the book and see the film version in order to decide whom, if anyone, to
believe. As for myself, I have chosen to believe in both the story and its fictional tellers, whoever,
in the end, they may be.

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References

Atonement trailer – First Look. As retrieved from:www.wildaboutmovies.com/movies/

AtonementMovie-AtonementTrailer.
Atonement. (2007). Feature film. UK. Colour, Length: 123 minutes. Screenplay by: Christopher
Hampton (based on the novel by Ian McEwan). Directed by: Joe Wright. Main Roles:
Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. Produced by: Tim Bevan. Working Title Films.
Bentley, N. (2008). Contemporary British Fiction: Edinburgh Critical Guides.Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.
Bluestone, G. (1957). Novels into Film. Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Connor, S. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Postmodernism. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Conrad, J. (1979). The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’, Typhon/ and other Stories. Harmondsworth,
Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd.
Finney, B. (2002). Briony’s Stand Against Oblivion: Ian McEwan’s Atonement. California State
University official website. as retrieved from: http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/McEwan.
html.
Gritten, D. Joe Wright: a New Movie Master. Telegraph.co.uk. As retrieved from: http://www.
telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/3667434/Joe-Wright-a-new-movie-master.
html.
Gussow, M. Atoning for his Past. The Age. As retrieved from: http://www.theage.com.au/
articles/2002/05/03/1019441435182.html.
Hayward, S. (2006). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. London & New York: Taylor & Francis
Routledge.
Head, D. (2002). The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction, 1950 – 2000.Cambridge,
New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore & Săo Paulo: Cambridge University
Press.Leitch, T. (2007). Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind
to The Passion of the Christ. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lev, P, Welsh, J., eds. (2007). The Literature/Film Reader: Issues of Adaptation. Lanham, Maryland:
Scarecrow Press, Inc.
McEwan, I. (2007) Atonement.London: Vintage Books.
Messud, C. The Beauty of Conjuring. The Atlantic Online. As retrieved from: http://findarticles.
com/p/articles/mikmtha/is_200203/ai_kepm377377/.
Monaco, J. (2000). How to Read a Film. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Morrison, J. (2003). Contemporary Fiction. London & New York: Taylor & Francis Routledge.

328
 Critique of Authority in Julian Barnes' History of the World in 10½
Chapters, England, England and the Porcupine

Azamat Akbarov
International Burch University, Bosnia and Herzegovina
&

Elma Šahbegović
International University of Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This paper explored three Julian Barnes’ novels A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters,
The Porcupine and England, England and the critique of authority in them. It showed his attitude
towards different authorities. Although Barnes dealt with almost any authority, we focused on
only three: religion, political system and England. These authorities governed humans during
history and the consequences of their decisions affected most of the people on earth. Not so long
ago, Great Britain controlled over one fifth of the world. Moreover, many bloody wars were going
on during its rise and during its fall. Religion, during all of history, was a cause that whether
made people happy or was a cause that ruined them. The wars were fought and peace was sought
in its name. Because of it, people advanced or were wrecked. And in the end, political systems
made huge changes in politics of every country in the world. Some of them were good and some
bad. Nevertheless, they all had its positive and negative sides. Who suffered the most, were
the common people. Barnes’s dealing with the authority is very brave. He questions England’s
authority, the highest religious authorities, political systems, literary authorities. In a clever and
witty way, he points to good or bad sides of these authorities. In addition, his remarks are correct
ones. He is not writing just fiction. He adds philosophy and criticism to it. With Barnes, nothing
is ordinary and nothing is what it seems. Everything has its other side of the coin. Even the truth
is not the same. But, in the end, we make our own answers and our own truth.

Key words: critique, authority, religion, political system, England

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 Introduction

There are many aspects of Julian Barnes’ writings that could be explored. However, the
issue of authority is the most controversial one. Barnes deals with the authority very often and it is
an aspect that is very interesting to him. He questions every existing authority, since it represents
a kind of a control over human beings. Death controls human lives in a way, since every living
being is going to die, eventually. Barnes explores the question of human will in our lives, since
any authority binds our free will, especially the religious authority. Each authority, religious or
literary, claims to be telling the truth. Barnes gives the other side of every truth he deals with
and claims that we all have our own truth. Julian Barnes is a novelist who cannot write a novel
without dealing with important human questions. His novel Nothing to be Frightened Of deals
with human attitude towards death. He gives his own explanation, but does not insist that his
opinion is the correct one. Life, death, religion, love, memory are only a few examples of what he
writes about. Moreover, any story is different when told by at least two different persons. He likes
to point that out in his fiction and other works. He is an innovative, bold and smart novelist, and
his each book deals with different subject. Anything can be expected from him.

When talking about Barnes’ work, we must mention postmodernism. The most prominent
postmodern characteristic is skepticism and irony towards everything in our world. Every
possible notion, thought, movement, belief is questioned. Postmodernists explore and observe
the sacred texts and beliefs as any other non-sacred texts and beliefs in the world. They question
every authority, cultural and political norms and give completely new way of looking at them.
Postmodernists reject many affirmed and accepted facts that make our world. Jacques Derrida
termed it as deconstruction. Deconstruction actually means that everything around us is relative,
which means that the truth is relative for every person. Although it might seem that postmodernism
breaks all the rules and treats nothing with respect, this is not true. Postmodernism celebrates
the liberation of the man as a being who is now free to choose what to believe in. Postmodernism
breaks all the borders, but still does not destroy them. Postmodernism shows the other side of
the coin; it shows that there are surface things and notions that could be celebrated too. A king
is as important as a servant.

Barnes does not write about history in terms of research, historiographic facts, he writes
about history which explores the new, alternative views of historiographic facts. He offers another
truth. This is very postmodern since the basic task of postmodernism is to give another point of
view of the same truth.

History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters: religion as authority

A History of the World in 10½ Chaptersis usually considered as Julian Barnes’s second
postmodernist masterpiece after Flaubert’s Parrot, displaying as much heterogeneity in style,

330
form and approach, and attracting as much critical attention. The two books are also linked in
that Barnes’s original idea was to take up again Braithwaite’s narrative voice: ‘I was going to write
Geoffrey Braithwaite’s Guide to the Bible. Which would be the entire Bible, restructured for handy
modern use, with the boring bits cut out, written by an agnostic skeptic rationalist.’

Barnes’ intention is to show us that even the Bible should comply with fictional
conventions, suggesting that religious texts need to be stripped off the privilege and authority
they have. Barnes also wanted to point out that even religion is not the same for all of us and
that it can also be criticized.

The best example for this is chapter three, “The Wars of Religion”, where we again have
the woodworm, but not as a protagonist, but as a legal case. In the sixteenth-century France, the
woodworms were put on trial in absentia for the blasphemy of having eaten away the leg of a
Bishop’s throne. Because of that, the leg broke and the Bishop fell down “like mighty Daedalus from
the heavens of light into the darkness of imbecility” (Barnes, 2005, p. 77). While the prosecution
argues that the woodworms are guilty and never mentioned in the Bible as the “clean” and
therefore are Devil’s creatures, the defense, on the other hand, argues that since the woodworms
are not mentioned in the Bible as the “unclean” or Devil’s, there is no evidence that they were
not among the “clean”. Thus, the Bible is used to both defend and condemn the woodworms. The
woodworm in the bishop’s throne means decay in religion, it suggests that there ‘something is
rotten in the state of Denmark’. There is something rotten in religion, in its system. The entire
chapter “The Wars of Religion” supports this claim, since the clerks want to excommunicate the
woodworm from the church. This absurd trial to the woodworm suggests the absurd state the
church got into. The woodworms were expelled from the church and had an annual penance.
The churchmen even formally summoned the woodworm to the trial. They were given seven
days to leave the church and move out. However, in the end, some termites ate the paper with
the woodworm sentence, so that the closing words were unreadable as if the woodworms had
their revenge showing that even that could be destroyed. The woodworm represents decay, the
inevitable end of everything, since nothing is perfect and is subject to decadence. Everything has
to have its weak side. Decadence is inevitable and nothing can be preserved for good.

Almost every chapter contains words such as ‘woodworm’, ‘the Noah’s Ark’, animals’, etc.
The repetition of these words suggests that everything is connected and intermingled. It is very
difficult to separate one from the other. We would say that religion and historiography are very
much connected in this novel since, as Barnes pointed out, you cannot have one without the
other. Your religion is what you believe in and your history is based on what you believe in.
Although this does not have to be true for each and every aspect of our existence. Historians try
to do their job objectively as much as possible. On the other hand, we have the Bible, we have
our religious history, which should be considered an ultimate truth, but we do not believe in it
entirely. And, in the end, as Barnes suggests, we can create our own history and our own religion
if we want to.
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 The Porcupine: political system as authority

The Porcupine is Barnes’ first novel to appear first in a language other than English.
“Mr. Barnes has taken for his subject the changes in Eastern Europe, the transformation from
Communism to whatever you wish to call the passionate, confused, ambivalent regimes which
now prevail. Bulgaria was his rough model—indeed; the book was first published in Bulgarian.
Todor Zhivkov, the deposed head of state, sent for a copy to read in his prison cell (Lejeune, 1992).

Every age has its heroes and traitors. Some of them are considered heroes in one system
and traitors in another and the same thing happened to J.B. Shaw’s St Joan. She was considered a
sinner, an infidel, and was sentenced to death. However, she was proclaimed a saint five hundred
years later. A heretic in one time, a saint in the other:

“Proof that the movement to which your grandfather dedicated his life
slaughtered him as a traitor. Proof that the same movement decided twenty
years later that he was not, after all, a traitor but a martyr. Proof that the
same movement did not think to inform anyone of this substantial change
of status for another thirty-four years. Maria wanted to be reminded of that?
A loyal Communist becomes a Trotskyist terrorist and then a loyal Communist
again. Heroes become traitors, traitors become martyrs. Inspirational leaders
and helmsmen of the nation become common criminals taken with their hands”
(Barnes, 1993, p. 102).

Communism forbade the Church. Now after the Changes, Peter Solinsky, the main
character, saw people going back to the Church. He saw many people, young, old, and “people
like himself ” (Barnes, 1993, p. 137). However, he needed a confirmation that what he was doing
was fine and “when no-one challenged his credentials, he began to walk slowly up the narrow side
sidle” (Barnes, 1993, p. 137). Religion was something he needed, or it was just something else that
brought another system and he had to follow it like others. Unless he wanted to be prosecuted.
We could say that it was both: “The assembled flames were hot on his face. He retreated stiffly,
like a wreath-laying general, and stood to attention. Then his fingertip discovered his forehead,
and unprotestingly he continued the sempiternal gesture, crossing himself, from right to left, in
the Orthodox fashion” (Barnes, 1993, p. 137).

In the last paragraph of the novel, there is an image of an old woman who stands in the
rain holding the picture of the First Leader. “Rain bubbled the image, but his indelible face
pursued each passer-by. Occasionally, a committed drunk or some chattering thrush of a student
would shout across at the old woman, at the thin light veering off the wet glass. But whatever the
words, she stood her ground, and she remained silent” (Barnes, 1993, p. 138). The dignity of the
old woman and her placement at the end of the novel give some weight to the suggestion that

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Barnes sees no progress in the movement from communism to a freer society (Moseley, 1997, p.
156). However, in a way, she also represents the old school and the belief in the original ideas of
Communism, which are now lost.

England, England: England as authority

Barnes wrote this novel as a critique of the British national identity. Barnes uses a widely
known postmodernist idea of imitation of reality in this novel. The only difference is that the
imitation became a reality for many people. The theme park in England, England is what reality
has turned into. Imitation. The ‘Essential Beauty’ (Larkin, 1962). The only thing people want
to accept as reality. Barnes is trying to say that reality, as a naked, true, real reality is no longer
desirable, but the other reality, the better reality, the perfect reality. The theme park represents
this. It consists of what people want England to be. People do not want the real England with all
its pros and cons. They want the King Arthur England, the fairy tale England. And, eventually,
England becomes England, England, and a project which celebrates the idea of simulacrum.

The artificial replaces the real with the entertainment as the only thing that matters. The
real is no longer praised. The truth has become something else. The appearance is what should
be kept. The leader of the theme park England, England, the respectful Sir Jack Pitman is not
what he seems to be. The novel begins by describing Sir Jack Pitman as a great man. He is “a
big man in every sense of the word/ Big in ambition, big in appetite, big in generosity” (Barnes,
1998, p. 29). He is a man who is so innovative that he moves all the other people around him.
A true Englishman, even titled Sir, he is a person bursting with energy, a patriot. Full of ideas,
smart, gentleman, but, still, there is something wrong with him and his “larger-than-life charm”
(Barnes, 1998, p. 30). He is a pervert who, although being over sixty, is pretending to be the baby
Victor. Knowing that, he still requires respect from his co-workers and demands perfection from
them. Here, Barnes is trying to point out that the nation wants a person who looks perfect as the
leader; they are not interested in whether he is really a decent person or not. The appearance is
what matters. People are not aware that a wrong person is leading their country. Yet, the small
number of those who do question such people end up without a job. In the end, the whole country
literally turns into a giant theme park.

Conclusion

This paper deals with Barnes’ attitude towards authority. The primary sources were his
novels A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, The Porcupine and England, England.

In the first novel, we explored Barnes’s attitude towards a religious authority, namely, the
Holy Bible. Barnes argued that we do not know the entire truth, when it comes to the Bible stories,

  333
and he used the story about Noah and the Flood to prove it. He assumed that a woodworm
could tell the story. Moreover, he also argued that we could not prove what actually happened.
Therefore, his story could be also true.

The Porcupine deals with a country where Capitalism replaced Communism and it follows
the changes that happened to the country. We chose this novel in order to display Barnes’s attitude
towards a political system as an authority. He argued that a political system as an authority brings
good and bad things to a country and its people. He also showed that ordinary people suffer the
most. What means to be loyal to a political system? Was Peter Solinsky a traitor and a coward?
However, Barnes has more respect for Stoyo Petkanov, a former imprisoned leader, because he
stayed true to himself. He also says that every new system brings its own new rules.

England, England is intended to be a critique of the British society. Barnes argues that
England has become a giant theme park and that people do not want to see the reality as it is, but
the better reality. It is no longer important who runs the country, or what kind of a person you
really are, as long as that person looks good and talks good. We tried to point out that Barnes
criticizes his own country as an authority. It is a controversial novel, which faces the British with
what they will become unless they become more careful.

Barnes’s dealing with the authority is very brave. He questions England’s authority, the
highest religious authorities, political systems, literary authorities. In a clever and witty way, he
points to good or bad sides of these authorities. In addition, his remarks are correct ones. He is
not writing just fiction. He adds philosophy and criticism to it. With Barnes, nothing is ordinary
and nothing is what it seems. It all has its other side of the coin. Even the truth is not the same.
But, in the end, we make our own answers.

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334
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 Universal Impeccability of Humanity, A Discourse
Analysis of Maxim Gorky’s Her Lover

Zeliha Işık
Karabuk University, Faculty of Letters, Turkey

Abstract

Although we differentiate and name anything we give an eye to, what the science we study
and try to understand and be part of it is the rest of one’s self, and it is a whole indeed even
if it seems it has fallen into branches such as linguistics, sociology, psychology, anthropology,
physics, pharmacology, genetics, economy, politics, education and so forth, any aspect regarding
human being. Primary concern of this study are the symbols as mediators between the things
and us are just ways of building the bridges or breaking one’s connections between human self
and the other (anything). As a result, it has been concluded that we mention about science as
wide as our horizon, namely, our lives are constructed according to the dreams in human beings’
head leading the world whirling fast. In order to understand what is going on around us and
why it is as it is, we should deconstruct what is already constructed in the society, so in this
paper in the frame of discourse analysis of Maxim Gorky’s short story, Her Lover, a few aspects
of human beings will be discussed in order to prove what matters actually is humanity and we
study all the branches of literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, politics and linguistics to
understand human beings. Although it is human beings that matters, for the sake of social system
human beings happen to be overlooked. Accordingly, Teun A. van Dijk’s discourse analysis and
related social and psychological interpretations will be used to have a good grasp of ourselves in
our small world via Maxim Gorky’s short story Her Lover. After brief background information
about discourse analysis and the models used accordingly, Her Lover will be analyzed through
the featured fictional character of Teresa and Mr. Student in the story.

Key words: discourse analysis, semiotics, stigma, phenomenology

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 Introduction

In this study Maxim Gorky’s short story Her Lover will be discussed in terms of social
and psychological determinants in human lives and the interpretations of the communications
and lack of communications between the characters of the short story Her Lover. How and why
our social realities are constructed in the way as it is and in case of being magnified, therefore
crystallized, a model of lost or wasted lives of vast majority has been issued through the fictional
character of Teresa in the analysis of Her Lover. As most of the great authors Maxim Gorky
was quite talented with capturing pictures of reality and seeing the depths of the inner world of
people. Looking with a keen eye to the dark atmosphere of Russia in the late nineteenth century,
Gorky could see the souls and minds of the people in the lower strata of Russian society. He
was a Marxist-socialist writer, and he was the voice of lower classes in his writings, and it is
called socialist realism. Maybe Gorky’s struggle was to enlighten and unblind people to have a
classless society with mutual recognition of “self ” regardless of any so-called supremacy over
the other. Maxim Gorky’s collection of short stories Sketches and Stories has been published in
1898 long before Russian Revolution (1917) and even then he could see social classes are not just
about having commodities but they are actually based on power in the shape of money, ethnicity,
education, gender, and so on. The subject matter of this work does not concern only the people
in nineteenth century, but all humanity, which makes Maxim Gorky the great writer of all times.
As there is no text or discourse which can be seen detached from ideologies, the discourse of
Marxist-socialist Gorky’s short story Her Lover illuminates how modern life has turned human
beings into “self-sufficient”, distanced and lonely creatures (Gorky, 1898, p.172). One way or
another people find a way out for living. According to social structure they live in, people are to
determine the framework of their life. The majority of the people may agree with communism,
capitalism or some other social structures, but the point is that people confine themselves into
the living conditions of that social structure in which their perception is restrained accordingly,
which affects their psychology in the end. In a society, if people are valued for their possessions
and split up into classes, the people who belong to a certain social class are programmed to be
stranger to the others. For example, middle class cannot recognize the people of working class
and their living conditions, because the first condition of perception and knowing properly is to
experience. Using simple words and telling an ordinary story, Gorky has depicted the depths of
psychology, ideology and their miserable lives of working class through the fictional characters
Teresa and Mr. Student in his short story Her Lover. The main idea of this short story is to show
how cruel to discriminate or marginalize people and go after only one’s own comfort as a result
of individualization. Creating such fictional character as Teresa and Mr. Student, Gorky actually
discuss “loneliness, lack of communication, in modern industrialized Russian society, which was
actually a general view in the early decades of the twentieth century under the label of modernist
perception of identity” (Gunes, 2013, p. 104). Gorky has been the man of his time and our
motivation to study his writings is that we know “sociopolitical climate does not only shape
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daily life but also literary texts” constructed within that climate, therefore analyzing this work
of Gorky, it is aimed to discover “ideological framework” and reality-fictionality relations Her
Lover provides (Solak, 2011, p. 3). Since Teresa is regarded as a representative of lower middle
class person in theory, her experiences will be discussed from various angles as much as we could
perceive “because, in a way, we perceive so little” (Noe, 2008, p. 660). How we perceive the things
can be explained with what we experience and even if all the facts may be in view openly, people
are blind to them until they experience (Kelly, 2008, p. 683).

It is certain that even a simple person who is not equipped with blessings of the world has
to only be examined in the frame of sociology, anthropology, psychology, linguistics, cognitive
and social psychology and the other branches concerning human beings, only then that simple
person may be understood truly, which means “no quality is so simple as to be grasped in its
totality in a single act of sensory consciousness” (Noe, 2008, p. 661). From the understanding of
Maxim Gorky, it is aimed to have a good grasp of our current state of “fallen into the abyss of self-
sufficiency and conviction of our own superiority” (Gorky, 1898, p.170). For a more systematic
way of analysis on the short story of Maxim Gorky, Her Lover, related theories and approaches
along with the models used and their interrelations are going to be discussed and we will have
concluded that human beings live in a delusional world formed by their perceptions within the
boundaries of their capacity and their head leading the world whirling fast. Since what is going
to be discussed is Gorky’s short story Her Lover as a narrative form, the study is focused on
“discourse as a specific textual form of language use in the social context” and also power in
language variation and style (Van Dijk, 2012, p. 19).

Method: Discourse and Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis is a research method to unveil the hidden meanings in a genuine text
that can be written or verbal indicating the whole scope of the text, that is, giving the descriptions
of the “setting, context, participants, social roles, norms, values and structures”, and the linguistic
features and layers of the language exchanged between the agents (Barker and Galasinski, 2001,
p. 63). What meaning is imposed or coded by whom in what “construction units” are studied
in detail to detect the intended meaning on the spot correlated with social, political, cultural,
psychological dimensions (Galasinski, 2001, p. 63). We know that “no quality is so simple as to be
grasped in its totality in a single act of sensory consciousness” other than that discourse universe
of human beings who are sophisticated creatures by nature is almost impossible to know “in a
glance”, therefore, discourse analysis is an inclusionary method correlating with social, political,
psychological, cultural and other aspects concerning with human beings (Noe, 2008, p. 661).

In Van Dijk’s essay “Social Cognition and Discourse” he mentions that although we know
that rhetoric is rooted in thousands of years, discourse analysis has been discovered in twentieth

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century when semiotics has been founded, which is in close relation to discourse analysis (Van
Dijk, 1990, p.163). According to Chris Barker and Darius Galasinski, discourse “are regulated
ways of speaking about a topic which delimit the sayable and unsayable” (Barker and Galasinski,
2001, p. 2). In his essay “Structures of Discourse and Structures of Power” Van Dijk emphasizes
the importance of discourse genres and their contributions to social control (Van Dijk, 2012, p.
28). If we make a definition of discourse, it is understood that we can use discourse to introduce
new information, exchange information and communicate, therefore have a social status, that
is, language is coded with stable meanings as structuralist claim (Barker and Galasinski, 2001,
p. 12). Deciding on the position and the function of the language is the solution for many issues
that is why Derrida and Wittgenstein also reflect upon this issue. Although they, as Foucault
does, “conceive of it as an autonomous rule governed system”, language has been accepted “as a
mediating figure between” and they argue that “in the context of social usage, meanings can be
temporarily stabilized for practical purposes” (Barker and Galasinski, 2001, p. 3). To put it in
different way, we can say that we use fixed grammar rules in our service to construe “things in
the world and to engage in the world building”, which makes language “both old and new” (Gee,
2011, p. 16). Therefore, rather than the meanings attached to the symbols, it can be inferred that
meaning is produced on conditions depending on setting, participants, social roles and many
more aspects.

In the discourse analysis method Van Dijk introduces there are two levels; syntactic and
semantic discourse analysis. At the same time, Van Dijk’s discourse analysis model has two parts,
one of which is macro level interpretation and the other is micro-level interpretation. We can say
without going deep into the subject that in macro-level of interpretation Van Dijk uses semantic
analysis while he uses syntactic analysis in micro-level interpretation (Doruk, 2013, p.115).

Teun A. Van Dijk stresses the importance of competence over discourse as a social
requirement. Discourse control defines the social status of people, which is only achieved by
managing the exchange of power. In his essay “Structures of Discourse and Structures of Power”,
Van Dijk formulates the “central” and essential words in interrogative form as “who can say or
write what to whom in what situations?” or “Who has access to the various forms or genres of
discourse or to the means of its reproduction?” (Van Dijk, 2012, p. 21). He clarifies his well-
formulated questions giving an example of social situation:

The less powerful people are, the less they have access to various forms of text or talk.
Ultimately, the powerless have literally “nothing to say,” nobody to talk to, or must remain silent
when more powerful people are speaking, as is the case for children, prisoners, defendants, and
women. In everyday life, most people have active access as speakers only to conversation with
family members, friends, or colleagues on the job. Occasionally, in more formal dialogues, they
may speak to institutional representatives, or with job superiors, but in that case they have a more
passive and reactive role (Van Dijk, 2012, p. 21).

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 As we come closer to the discourse analysis of Her Lover, as a theoretical basis of discourse
analysis it is both necessary and helpful to mention that we are to narrow the general framework
into more specific as introducing discourse genres and power as a social control. In his essay
“Structures of Discourse and Structures of Power”, Van Dijk has listed the discourse genres and
a typology of the ways power is enacted by discourse as a form of “social interaction such as
commands, threats, laws, regulations, instructions” and generally the source of their sense of power
is economic and they have a preferential voice in making “predictions, plans, scenarios, programs,
and warnings, sometimes combined with different forms of advice” (Van Dijk, 2012, p.28).

As “an influential narrative” form, Her Lover is going to be analyzed basically by the help
of Van Dijk’s discourse analysis model at two levels; macro-level interpretation and micro level
interpretation with secondary references to Edmund Husserl’s philosophy of phenomenology,
Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma, Roland Barthes’ theory of semiotics, and related social and
psychological interpretations. While syntactic discourse analysis is used micro-level discourse
analysis, semantic, rhetorical and semiotic analysis will be helpful in our macro-level analysis.
While analyzing the featured fictional character Teresa in our target study Her Lover, social
position of Teresa and male dominance she was subjected to and communication exchanged
between Mr. Student and Teresa will be analyzed in terms of “cultural difference”, “class
discrimination”, “gender differences”, “verbal abuse”, “symbolic racism” and “lexical choice”, and
the causality relationships focusing on especially the article of Van Dijk “Structures of Discourse
and Structures of Power” as a reference (Van Dijk, 2012, p. 33). We will have a chance to see
Teresa and Mr. Student’s ‘lived’ but ‘devalued’ lives in a magnified way so that what has been
experienced could shed light on our lives to make it worthwhile and we may gain insight into the
lives of otherized people, which enables us to perceive their condition.

Critical Discourse Analysis of Her Lover

Macro Level

Critical discourse analysis is a transdisciplinary method examining so many aspects

concerning human being with scrupulous attention to detail starting from more visible meaning
to hidden or implied ones. In macro level the titles of the text, foreword, opening statements or
the first paragraph of the text and the context, main event, background are discussed (Solak, 2011,
p. 4). In general terms the message of the text is figured out in the frame of sociopolitical context.

Thematic Analysis

Using information filtering, editing and generalization, the intended meaning of the text
can be constructed in a way and in order to get the main idea of the text, the title, forewords

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or the first paragraph of the text are examined (Doruk, 2013, p. 116). It is important to assess
whether the whole information about the main event has been provided and how rather than
what is provided because how the main event is presented determines the meaning.

Maxim Gorky has used the narrating “I”, the protagonist and a third person (she, her),
the antagonist. As for the title of the story for which Gorky has used “Her Lover” implies that
the agents of the story are of no importance but they are ordinary people with common fate.
Although the actors of the story are known as “Mr. Student” who has experienced everything in
person with “Teresa” for the title Gorky has used feminine possessive pronoun “her” and a general
name of the partner of a romantic relationship “lover” as if the emphasis is intentionally laid on
the story being more of an issue to humanity rather than the agents. The opening statement of
the story “an acquaintance of mine once told me the following story” is a saying in a distanced
manner and we understand that the writer is free from bias and has an edge to the following
story (Gorky, 1898, p.168). In the short story of Gorky, Her Lover a forced interaction between
two persons is narrated through the fictional characters Mr. Student and Teresa. As a story teller
Mr. Student is the one who introduces the frames of this forced interaction, so to speak, sets the
scene, therefore the reader is constrained to look from the view point of Mr. Student, that is,
since we know that reality is something and how it is perceived is something else, at the same
time the reader is restricted to the one facet of the reality seen by Mr. Student. In order to lend
credibility to the narrated story, first person narrator has been used as a reporter of a supposed
experience. In brief, it is a story of two young people who know each other by sight and share
equal conditions in the same dormitory for which they probably pay the same amount of money,
and yet one feels superior to the other and denounce her for being unworthy.

The first sentence of the first paragraph starts with the use of generalizing and
marginalization by Mr. Student, the narrator towards Teresa. Mr. Student uses a phrase implying
it was an unfortunate or unexpected action to live close by Teresa saying “I happened to live
alongside one of those ladies whose repute is questionable” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). “One of those
ladies” is used to refer to Teresa who has been subjected to marginalization and the following
words “whose repute is questionable” are clearly judicial without any proof for her dishonesty
(Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Without any actual meeting with Teresa and exchanging the information
about themselves, Mr. Student assumes Teresa as a bad person to be avoided. When analyzed, the
only apparent difference which makes one be called Mr. and the other be called simply Teresa is
educational opportunity creating the differences between social classes. The narrator’s choice of
words against Teresa and distant way to address to her give clues about their sense of self and the
underlying reason why they have been imprisoned in such a role in their life. It is highly probable
that these underlying reasons shaping and confining people into a role in the society have been
the main interest of Marxist and socialist Maxim Gorky.

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 Schematic Analysis

Schematic analysis deals with how the information studied in thematic analysis has been
introduced because the way the story is told leads you to a certain cognitive perspective, besides
that background information of sociopolitical climate and the context are studied in schematic
level to see the construction of the story clearly (Doruk, 2013, p. 120). What has been chosen to
tell and what has been ignored help writer deliver the main point no matter how it seems far from
ideological text (Solak, 2011, p. 6).

Situation Analysis

In situational analysis the story line is studied and analyzing the one chosen as a narrator
and the perspective, the intended meaning has been aimed to be understood. Socialist Gorky
naturally takes sides with working class people who are deprived of humanely living conditions
and treatment in the presence of middle class; however, the story is told from the perspective
of Mr. Student as a someone who has been “persuaded of his universal impeccability” within
the social class who has much better welfare level than working class; and in doing so unfair
treatments against working class could be reported by Mr. Student in person as it were a confession.
Therefore, Gorky ensures that the crime against humanity has been told by the offender, Mr.
Student for the avoidance of doubt, and that the story seems more reliable.

The story teller Mr. Student begins to tell the story about the person from working class he
has interacted by stressing her ethnicity and social class as if this information is enough to have
knowledge about Teresa personally. In the following sentences, the narrator implies that they
are from different worlds and while he, Mr. Student is respectable and superior to Teresa by all
means and Teresa is unwanted and disturbing creature. If you stay in a hotel, hostel or somewhere
like dormitory you inevitably live alongside someone, which is normal enough not to use the
phrase “happen to”, however Mr. Student uses this phrase to emphasize the unfortunateness and
involuntariness of the state (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). In the following sentence, Mr. Student goes
on saying “she was a Pole, and they called her Teresa” just after saying “one of those ladies
whose repute is questionable” as ifbeing aPole explains certain things for having a “questionable
repute” or for being classified among “those ladies” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Although the story is
told by the first person narrator, meaning he is the one who experiences everything in person,
Mr. Student says “they called her Teresa” in order to distance himself from Teresa implying he had
nothing to do with her, or they never had something in common; therefore, Mr. Student became
distanced enough not to call her by name (Gorky, 1898, p.168). In sociology this situation can be
explained with Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma. The definition of stigma is “an attribute that
is deeply discrediting” for Goffman and is “a mark or attribute that links a person to undesirable
characteristics/stereotypes” for Jones et al. and stigma is experienced when people tend to

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“distinguish and label human differences” and link people to “undesirable characteristics” and
finally otherize labeled persons, which leads them to face with unfavorable results (Link and
Phelan, 2001, p. 367). The attitude of Mr. Student against Teresa is an example of stigmatization,
which we encounter in the whole story.

We see that the narrator avoids telling something good about Teresa saying “she was tallish,
powerfully built brunette” in doing so Mr. Student refers to the manly qualifications which are
repellent for a young woman and the narrator goes on describing Teresa:

…with black, bushy eyebrow and a large coarse face as if carved out by a hatched the bestial
gleam of her dark eyes, her thick bass voice, her cabman-like gait and her immense muscular
vigour, worthy of a fishwife, inspired me with horror (Gorky, 1898, p. 168).

The narrator Mr. Student who implies that he is allegedly indifferent to Teresa at every
turn can see “the bestial gleam of her dark eyes” and he is familiar with “her cab-man like gait”
and “immense muscular vigour”. Finally, the narrator sizes up the girl from top to bottom and
deem Teresa worthy of being a “fishwife”. The narrator adds that he is “inspired with horror”
meaning simply he is terrified. However, the narrator uses the verb “to inspire” which is used
to express positive and favorable or admirable cases. Mr. Student implies that every single bit
of Teresa’s body has been originally aggregated to be ugly skillfully yet to inspire with horror
(Gorky, 1898, p. 168).

With all these descriptions we can see how the narrator despises and even hates Teresa
without actually knowing her and describes her inborn appearance seemingly objectively and
frostily. In fact, the statements the narrator uses are all controversial and the narrator tries to create
a protagonist and antagonist encouraging readers to have a certain judgments against Teresa. The
narrator goes on identifying Teresa as an evil character to be avoided saying “I never left my door
open when I knew her to be at home” although the entire knowledge the narrator had about
her is the impressions about Teresa’s appearance which is distorted by his prejudice. In his mind
the narrator has a certain judgments against Teresa and for this reason whatever happens the
narrator interprets according to his prejudices, for example; the narrator assesses Teresa’s gentle
gesture as a misdeed in saying “sometimes I chanced to meet her on the staircase or in the yard,
and she would smile upon me with a smile which seemed to me to be sly and cynical” (Gorky,
1898, p. 168). Through the perceptions we all construct cognitive categories and sometimes we
link these cognitive categories to stereotyped beliefs. Our perceptions of the realities are closely
related to our experiences and the formation process of cognitive categories is related to the
both experiences and the society in which we live and get shaped. Therefore, we can say that
the motivation of the actions of Mr. Student is that lacks of experience causing him misperceive
a certain facts, and as a result of this misperception, his tendency to labeling, stereotyping or
discrimination has been issue. If we look from the view point of Teresa, the stigmatization she
344
exposes to because of the misperception of Mr. Student causes her taste of bitter things in the
world, which makes her seem more and more miserable to the self-sufficient rest.

The narrator gives the intended meaning clearly in the last two paragraphs and criticizes
himself and the desperate situation of humanity as a member of middle class:

Well, well, the more a human creature has tasted of bitter things the more it hungers after
the sweet things of life. And we, wrapped round in the rags of our virtues, regarding others
through the mist of our self-sufficiency, and, persuaded of our universal impeccability, do not
understand this (Gorky, 1898, p. 172).

Maxim Gorky points the roots of this social problem and states that the real dignity and
supremacy is to stop being selfish and to ask for social well-being for everyone since all human
are the same and deserves the same humanely rights saying:

And the whole thing turns out pretty stupidly and very cruelly. The fallen classes, we say.
And who are the fallen classes, I should like to know? They are, first of all, people with the same
bones, flesh, and blood and nerves as ourselves. We have been told this day after day for ages.
And we actually listen and the devil only knows how hideous the whole thing is. Or are we
completely depraved by the loud sermonizing of humanism? In reality, we also are fallen folks,
and, so far as I can see, very deeply fallen into the abyss of self-sufficiency and the conviction of
our own superiority. But enough of this. It is all as old as the hills so old that it is a shame to speak
of it. Very old indeed- yes, that’s what it is! (Gorky, 1898, p. 172).

Interpretation

In this story Maxim Gorky has tried to depict the unfair class distinction and social
interaction between the people who belongs to these two different social classes. Gorky clearly
criticizes the people confining their perceptions within their individualized lives and discriminate
other people who do not share the equal opportunities with them. Because of Gorky’s ideological
and political standing, we see that this social message is weaved in the plot line stressing Mr.
Student’s consistent rude and inhumanely manner against Teresa. Against Mr. Student no
misbehavior has been mentioned throughout the story but he has reported how badly mistreated
to Teresa and then he expressed his regret and stupidity so the main theme of the story is that
working class has been treated unjustly. Gorky stresses on the individualized world people
construct for themselves and create some value and ideals through which they classify others.
Tragic and meaningless difference between the middle class and “fallen classes” is criticized by
the narrator in the end lowering the boom on middle class “and we, wrapped round in the rags
of our virtues, regarding others through the mist of our self-sufficiency, and, persuaded of our
universal impeccability, do not understand this” (Gorky, 1898, p. 172).

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 Micro Level

After getting thematic outline of the story, every single wording and the rhetoric and
persuasion strategies used in the formation of the text are of great importance alongside linguistic
features in terms of employing dominant ideological power. Whatever is stated is evaluated
considering characteristics of the agent such as gender, age, educational status, social class,
ethnicity, or ideological background. The preference of active sentence structure over passive one
or simple sentences over complex ones imply the intended meaning of the text “social context”
(Solak, 2011, p. 8).

Word Choice

Every word has its own character and associations. In discourse analysis it is accepted that
every word choice and sentence structure is resulted from a specific sociological and ideological
standing and reality is always reflected and reproduced within particular social norms since
“there is no neutral language, there can never be an account of how reality really is” (Edgar &
Sedgwick, 2001, p. 18). The writer consciously or unconsciously takes a side and chooses words
accordingly, and from Gorky’s writing it is understood that he takes a position on working class
blaming middle class for being blind and cruel against the people who do not share the same
opportunities with theirs. In order to stress the difference between two social classes, the writer
prefers to use pronoun “I” and “she” and the narrator introduces “she” in contempt and in a
distanced manner, so it is understood that “actor”, “sayer” and “assigner” so to say the power
holder is Mr. Student and Teresa is passivized (Van Leeuwen, 2008, p. 33):

...they called her Teresa. She was a tallish, powerfully-built brunette, with black, bushy
eyebrows and a large coarse face as if carved out by a hatchet- the bestial gleam of her dark eyes,
her thick bass voice, her cabman-like gait and her immense muscular vigour, worthy of a fishwife,
inspired me with horror. (Gorky, 1898, p. 168).

Mr. Student mentions Teresa as “one of those ladies” and he goes on stating that “she was
a Pole”; so it can be said Teresa is evidently marginalized and stressing that she is polish is an
example of symbolic racism. This overall marginalization can be explained with stigmatization
in broad terms. So many chosen words implying worthlessness of Teresa which are indication of
disgust and contempt against her can be listed as such in bold:

a. “…one of those ladies whose repute is questionable” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Mr. Student
is the one who introduces Teresa to the readers and he reduces Teresa to a position from
an ordinary, normal person to “those” namely stigmatized person who belongs to a certain
group. He creates a clear contrast between himself and Teresa. He also stresses that Teresa’s

346
reputation is questionable, and in doing this he meant he is one of the well-regarded ones
beyond question while Teresa’s repute is questionable since they are polarized.

b. “…they called her Teresa” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). We see that Mr. Student is interested
in Teresa enough to know her name and physical appearance in detail but in saying “they
called” he distances himself from Teresa implying that he has nothing to do with her and
they were never close to call her by name.

c. “powerfully-built brunette, with black, bushy eyebrows and a large coarse face as if
carved out by a hatchet- the bestial gleam of her dark eyes, her thick bass voice, her
cabman-like gait and her immensemuscular vigour, worthy of a fishwife, inspired me with
horror” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Mr. Student describes Teresa as ugly as possible attributing
to undesirable characteristics and he may do that to legitimatize his maltreatments against
Teresa. Using the words like “carved out by a hatchet” he also implies that she is not a
human being but a beast.

d. “…with a smile which seemed to me to be sly and cynical.” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Even
a polite smile of Teresa makes Mr. Student uncomfortable without actually knowing her
real intentions. It is so clear that Mr. Student is stigmatizing her.

e. “…with bleary eyes, tousled hair and a particularly hideous grin” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168).

f. “’How d’ye do, Mr. Student’ and her stupid laugh would intensify my loathing of her.”
(Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Teresa is enacting a distanced and respectful to Mr. Student. Although
she does not know his name she says “Mr.” out of respect and she greets kindly whenever
she encounters with Mr. Student. However, Teresa’s courtesy is assessed as irritative by Mr.
Student because Mr. Student regards Teresa as no match for himself but an inferior one.

g. “…so I endured.” (Gorky, 1898, p. 168). Mr. Student treats Teresa as if she were a tainted
or undesirable subject and he tries to make it seem as if there is a hierarchy between
themselves and he is superior to Teresa. Actually they share the same dormitory in which
they are both free to stay or leave from, but Mr. Student enacts he fits to the dormitory or
in a way he owns the dormitory and treats to Teresa as disturbing and unwanted person.
Mr. Student takes the role of person enduring so to say someone holding power and puts
Teresa in a position of disturbing and unwanted.

h. “Deuce take you” (Gorky, 1898, p. 169). Mr. Student expresses his intensive hatred
against Teresa wishing devil would take her. He probably believes that the most appropriate
place for Teresa is the hell.

  347
 i. “’A sorrowing little dove!’ more than five feet high, with fists a stone and more in weight,
and as black a face as if the little dove had lived all its life in a chimney, and had never
once washed itself ” (Gorky, 1898, p. 169). Mr. Student satirizes and despises Teresa’s saying
of “A sorrowing little dove!” stating that a workers stone hands and black face do not fit
in the picture of a little fragile dove as if working so hard in bad conditions were a choice
and Teresa preferred to be tough and dirty worker in life. Mr. Student and the others who
belongs to the same social group are in the opinion that feeling like a dove is something
they deserve and Teresa is just not valuable enough.

Rhetoric and Persuasion Strategies

Effective language use is the key factor in discourse analysis because you may magically
achieve a certain portrayal of the things as wanted just using language skillfully. When we engage
in language practices, our performance in those practices such as business meeting, family dinner,
marriage or friendship determine who is “acceptable” or “socially good” or who is “winner” or
“loser”. James Paul Gee mentions political nature of the language through which social goods in
a society is distributed and whenever we speak we risk being seen as a “”winner” or “loser” (Gee,
2011, p. 7). In Her Lover, the language Maxim Gorky has used is designed to give the message
that there are unjust social structures in which lower working class terribly suffer and are not
treated humanely while propertied classes are privileged in all ways. The unfair differences
and treatments are portrayed in the short story of Gorky very skillfully and the story has been
reported by Mr. Student who belongs to privileged class and Mr. Student openly reports how
badly he has treated to Teresa while Teresa behaves respectfully and kindly towards him since Mr.
Student regards her as a “fallen class” and a worthless person. The readers do not get the message
from how Teresa feels for being insulted or oppressed but from direct expressions of Mr. Student
who stigmatizes Teresa and uses violence against her, so there is no doubt that there are certain
social classes and Teresa has been maltreated as someone from the fallen class. In the end, Mr.
Student has admitted that he has regretted not recognizing Teresa as his equal but marginalizing
her. It is all clear because of being reported by Mr. Student and the whole story seems like a
confession of the crime against lower working class. The language used in the story conveys the
feelings and perceptions of the characters and if the story had been narrated by Teresa who is
regarded as a fallen person in the society, her words would not have been trusted or honored.
Gorky has allowed the story to be narrated by the socially powerful person Mr. Student so that
the story gains credibility and has a strong impact on the readers. The readers are informed about
the hatred, contempt, discrimination, unjustness and maltreatment which are enacted against
Teresa but not felt by Teresa, and this is very important for credibility of the message. In spite of
all maltreatments Teresa goes through, we witness only one outbreak of Teresa when she reminds

348
Mr. Student of her being “a human creature like the rest of them” and dreaming about a partner
should not be crime since “no harm was done to any one by” her “writing to him” (Gorky, 1898,
p. 170). The fact that Teresa is not after the equal rights with “the rest of them” in terms of
social, political or financial welfare but all she wants is to feel or dream like all the other human
creatures. Teresa requests to be recognized as a human and this emphasizes how inhumane the
class discrimination is.

Results

In this study the short story of Maxim Gorky, Her Lover has been analyzed using Teun
van Dijk’s method of critical discourse analysis. Since we believe that it is the perfect matching
of the content and the method, we have applied critical discourse analysis on Her Lover which
we regard as a protest against capitalism and bourgeoisie. Critical discourse analysis and the
nature of language have been introduced in the section of method and it has been discussed that
the method of critical discourse analysis deals with explaining how language works and what
can be achieved using language skillfully. We do not use language just to exchange information
but we “do things” with language or we can “be things” through language (Gee, 2011, p. 2). We
have examined the language of Her Lover to disclose how Gorky has protested capitalism and
takes sides with working class, Teresa. We have discussed that Gorky could manage to verbalize
how middleclass maltreat to working class and how differently Mr. Student who belongs to
middleclass and Teresa who belongs to working class perceive the world, which affects their
development of sense of self. Using Van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis, we have examined the
language used in Her Lover in two levels: macro level and micro level. It is aimed to prove that
human beings are mistaken terribly by focusing on just their lives but not empathizing with
others. It has been concluded that people should recognize each other in every aspect to be
healthy socially, psychologically, philosophically and in terms of other aspects regarding human
beings because they are just parts of a whole. In the example of Teresa and Mr. Student we have
given insight into the social and psychological state of two persons being perfect stranger to the
inner worlds of each other in despite of sharing the same dormitory. In Gorky’s saying “persuaded
of our universal impeccability”, people just focus on doing the right thing just for themselves
and confines themselves into their own life standard, therefore, we inevitably “fall into the abyss
of self-sufficiency and conviction of our own superiority” (Gorky, 1898, p. 170). Analyzed Her
Lover, it has been inferred that attributing a meaning to the things which are supposed to be in
service of humanity rather than human beings itself and disregarding people cannot keep up
with those values and ideals makes us forget what really matters, and in doing so, we make fool
of ourselves as Gorky says “”the whole thing turns out pretty stupidly and very cruelly...In reality
we also are fallen folks, and, so far as I can see, very deeply fallen into the abyss of self-sufficiency
and the conviction of our own superiority.

  349
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Van Leeuwen, T. (2008). Discourse and practice: New tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

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New Trends and Challenges in
Today’s Europe
◆

LINGUISTICS
 Stereotypes and Gender-marked Usage of a Language in
Textbooks of Language and Literature

Bernes Aljukić & Sead Nazibegović

University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The main goal of this work is to research and analyze the presence of gender marked
stereotypes in Bosnian language and literature coursebooks that are available to us. On the trail of
similar researches of the 90s about grammar models in which it is usually perceived that language
resources of male gender are dominant in taking position of the doer, while female gender are in
the position of the object or marked as passive reciver of the verb action, this will be our starting
point in our work giving priority to the analysis of the gender marked verb forms – mainly
to perfect participle active and verb tenses and moods. With the use of discourse analysis we
separate and analyze examples of gender marked stereotypes and at the same time recognize
gender marked type of communication of the author of the coursebooks and students to whome
the book is intended to.

Key words: coursebooks, stereotypes, gender

Kategorizacija i stereotipi

Kategorizacija je proces kojim bi trebalo da se olakšava interakcija čovjeka sa stvarnošću.

Dirven (2002: 76–84) ističe da se klasično aristotelovsko viđenje kategorije temelji na pretpostavci
da svi članovi kategorije dijele zajedničku osobinu ili više njih po kojima je ta kategorija
prepoznatljiva. Takav objektivistički pristup kategoriji sve njene članove promatra ravnopravnim,
a međusobne granice različitih kategorija omeđuje čistim i preciznim graničnicima, pri čemu su
svojstva članova kategorije binarnog tipa. U takvom pristupu ostaje nedorečen status članova
kategorije koji imaju manje očigledna svojstva te kategorije (npr. ako je slatkoća svojstvo
kategorije voća, hoće li limun biti u toj kategoriji?). Složenost takvih odnosa donekle se precizira

  353
kognitivnim pristupom kategorijama kojim se naglašava hijerarhijska neravnopravnost članova
kategorije, odnosno razlika između prototipnih članova kategorije (prototipova) koji su nosioci
najočiglednijih svojstava kategorije i perifernih članova kategorije koji imaju neka od tih svojstava.
Prototipovi i radijalni članovi povezani su motivacijskom niti pripadajuće kategorije.

Budući da je svijet oko nas dinamičan i ispunjen brojnim preklapanjima, Fox (2011:
151–59) u konceptu kategorizacije prepoznaje nedorečenost u vezi sa složenošću ljudskoga
iskustva, nedosljednošću i nedovršenošću informacija. Problem kategorizacije postaje posebno
složen kada je riječ o složenim skupinama ljudi gdje do izražaja dolaze nedostaci obiju teorija:
objektivističke (koja ističe precizne granice) i prototipne (koja naglašava neravnopravan status
članova kategorije). U procesu kategorizacije i konceptualizacije autorica (ibidem) vidi korist u
skraćivanju vremena potrebnog za procesiranje informacija o vanjskom svijetu, no mišljenja je
da takve prečice često zamagljuju značajne razlike unutar kategorije.

U interakciji sa stvarnošću posebno mjesto zauzimaju stereotipi. Riječ je o reduciranim,

uvriježenim predodžbama. Uglavnom se promatraju negativno, s izuzetkom u studijama kojima
su stereotipi polazne tačke istraživanja, odnosno u kojima se promatraju kritički.

Lewandowski (2014) u vezi s tim ukazuje na to da su stereotipi teorijski konstrukti kojima

se opisi i interpretacije pripisuju društvenoj skupini, a ne pojedincu. U tom smislu, stereotipi su
procesi obezličavanja pojedinca.

Talbot (2003: 470–71) uočava da su stereotipi procesi oblikovanja klasifikacijskih shema,

slično kognitivnom procesu koji neki teoretičari nazivaju „socijalnim strojopisom“. Iako su ti
procesi slični u tome što odvajaju svojstva koja su prepoznatljiva za neku kategoriju od onih
koja nisu, razlika je u tome što je socijalni strojopis obilježen većom objektivnošću i manjom
negativnošću u odnosu na stereotipe – koji su prepoznatljivi po reduciranju, pojednostavnjivanju
i naturaliziranju. Tipiziranje ljudi odvija se u skladu s kulturološkim klasifikacijskim shemama,
pri čemu se određena osoba promatra kao skup takvih klasifikacijskih detalja. Procesi kakvi
su stereotipi i socijalni strojopis imaju cilj održavanja socijalnog i simboličkog poretka, a oba
su obilježena strategijom odvajanja normalnog i uobičajenog od njihovih antonima. Stereotipi
naglašavaju esencijalističke razlike i njima se takve razlike fiksiraju, pri čemu se „normalna“
svojstva uvrštavaju u „imaginarnu zajednicu“ koja simbolički protjeruje sve što je drukčije. Ta­
lbot (ibidem) uočava da su stereotipi o upotrebi jezika kao prezentacijska praksa središte zamisli
o „pučkoj lingvistici“ prepoznatljivoj po pogrešnim stavovima da su skupine žena i muškaraca
homogene. U potrazi za razlikama u govornoj praksi tih dviju skupina obično se teži nepostojećoj
„fiksiranoj“ razlici, koja proizlazi iz „statičnog i pretjeranog dualizma“. Autorica (ibidem) pose­
bno ističe jezični stereotip fenomena suficita, odnosno viška informacija koje ženski govor,
tobože inherentno, nosi. Cameron (1985. u: Talbot 2003: 476) prepoznaje glavne pučke poglede
354
na razlike u konverzacijskoj praksi između muškaraca i žena te izdvaja stereotipno označena
svojstva ženskoga govora:

• isprekidanost govora (jer je ženama teže komunicirati u muškom svijetu i jeziku);

• nedovršenost rečenica;
• neusklađenost s logičkim načelima;
• potvrdni iskazi predstavljaju se kao pitanja (u čemu se vidi težnja za odobravanjem);
• žene govore manje od muškaraca u rodno različitim skupinama;
• žene koriste kooperativnu strategiju u konverzaciji, a muškarci natjecateljsku strategiju.

Eckert i McConnell-Ginet (2003: 85–9) zaključuju da su stereotipi u takvim istraživanjima

više od „laži“ o jeziku – riječ je o pretjerivanjima koja su sociolingvistička stvarnost i za koja
postoje razlozi njihova postanka i provođenja u praksi.

Poseban vid jezične upotrebe kao odraz pripadnosti društvenoj kategoriji predmetom je
sociolingvističkih istraživanja još od druge polovine prošloga stoljeća. Takva istraživanja potvrdi­
la su da se posebnim načinom upotrebe jezika može iskazati pripadnost određenoj društvenoj
kategoriji, odnosno očuvati društveni prestiž. Ta istraživanja ujedno su pokazala da u jeziku
nema inherentnih ideoloških oslonaca jer se različite konverzacijske prakse drukčije vrednuju u
različitim zajednicama, što npr. pokazuje odnos jezičnih fenomena u britanskom i američkom
engleskom jeziku.

Weatherall (2002: 134–35) prepoznaje da je u klasičnim sociolingvističkim istraživanjima

fokusna društvenoj klasi, no taj se koncept mijenja uvođenjem „radnih zajednica“ (engl.
communities of practice) radi izbjegavanja tretiranja socijalnog identiteta kao nečega statičnog
i fiksiranog te roda kao homogene kategorije identiteta. Radne su zajednice skupine ljudi koji
aktivno sudjeluju u zajedničkom ostvarenju ili projektu i određuju se u skladu sa zajedničkim
aktivnostima, čime se ublažava veza između identiteta i jezika, a obuhvata heterogenost
i dinamičnost rodnog identiteta u mreži s drugim identitetima. Takav pristup u obzir uzima
postojanje varijacija i unutar samih zajednica i odmak je u odnosu na poimanje sociolingvističkih
varijabli kao pasivnih označivača socioekonomskog položaja pojedinca u skupini. Autorica
(ibidem, 98–106) u vezi s kategorijom roda ističe Garfinkelovu studiju o Agnes, transrodnoj osobi
koja je o ženskome rodu (koji je odabrala) morala stjecati jezičnu kompetenciju znatno drukčije
negoli ostale pripadnice te kategorije. Ta studija, pored ostalog, posebno je oslikala jezične
strategije izbjegavanja izravnosti i jedna je od najuticajnijih studija kada je riječ o promatranju
roda kao „radne kategorije“ (engl. doing gender).

Coates (1989) prepoznaje da se savremeni pristupi analizi rodnih razlika udaljavaju od

binarnih stereotipnih tvrdnji o razlikama muškoga i ženskoga govora prema konkretnijim i
blažim, dakako i znanstveno relevantnijim tvrdnjama o jezičnim osobitostima određenih skupina

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žena i muškaraca u posebnim okolnostima u „govornim zajednicama“. Time se izbjegavaju
pretjerana uopćavanja o rodnim razlikama u jezičnoj upotrebi i sužava analitički prostor, što
rezultira preciznijim i jasnijim rezultatima.

Ženski govor

Istraživanja o razlikama i sličnostima ženskoga i muškoga govora započinju u prvom

desetljeću dvadesetoga stoljeća, no temelj savremenim istraživanjima postavlja Robin Lakoff 1970-
ih godina. Njenim radom uspostavlja se tzv. paradigma deficitarnosti u analizi jezičnih rodnih
različitosti – Language and Woman’s Place (1973) bio je utemeljen na tezi da žene komuniciraju
drukčije negoli muškarci te da takvim načinom komuniciranja odražavaju i održavaju svoj
podređen položaj u društvu. Taj je rad naglašavao potrebu promjene u jezičnoj praksi. Govor je žena
u tom djelu predstavljen kao slabašan, kolebljiv i trivijalan, obilježen nizom jezičnih eufemističkih
sredstava te sličnim logički nepotrebnim elementima, kao i suvišnim kvalifikatorima uz pridjevske
riječi. Navedeni rad, kasnije objedinjena monografija radova, bio je predmetom negativne
kritike zbog manjka empirijskih istraživanja. Tim se radom iznosi popis deset pretpostavljenih
inherentnih jezičnih obilježja ženskoga govora, koja obuhvaćaju razlike u izboru i učestalosti
leksičkih sredstava, sintaktička pravila te intonacijske i druge suprasegmentalne obrasce:

Leksički graničnici ili popunjivači (čiji bi pandan u južnoslavenskim jezicima nastalim na

novoštokavskoj osnovici bile poštapalice) – (you know, sort of, well, you see – znaš, tako nekako,
pa, vidiš i sl.).

• Privjesna pitanja – Ona je vrlo lijepa, zar ne?

• Uzlazna intonacija na deklarativnim iskazima.
• „Prazni“, „ženski“ pridjevi – božanstven, šarmantan, sladak, ljupko i sl.
• Precizniji nazivi za boje – magenta (nalik ljubičastoj), morsko plava, lavanda i sl. (muška­
rci ih, smatra Lakoff, rijetko koriste smatrajući ih irelevantnim jer odstupaju od klasičnih
muških zanimanja).
• Pojačivači – Volim ga toliko puno; Meni je veoma drago da te vidim.
• Hiperkorektna gramatika, tj. dosljedna uporaba standardnih gramatičkih oblika.
• Uljudnost i neizravnost (npr. izbjegavanje potencijalnog neslaganja sa sugovornikom).
• Izbjegavanje jakih nepristojnih riječi (uporaba eufemizama).
• Emfatički naglasak – To je bila ZADIVLJUJUĆA izvedba (Holmes 2001. u: White 2003: 4;
Eckert i McConnell-Ginet 2003: 158; Lakoff 2004: 19–75, prilagođeno).

Tim objedinjenim gledištima na osobitosti ženskoga govora pridodati se mogu i tvrdnje

da žene, pored ostalog, manje pričaju viceve u spontanoj konverzaciji te da su u govoru sklone
izravnome citiranju (O’Barr i Atkins 1980. u: Coates 2004: 108).

356
 U pogledima na takve jezične fenomene, naročito s feminističkog aspekta (koji se smatra
varijacijom kritičke diskursne analize i često kritički promatra zbog zastupljenih predrasuda,
površnosti i sklonosti „kontaminacije“ rezultata istraživanja) posebno mjesto imali su
specijalizirani seminari u kojima se naglašavalo kako je važno mijenjati slabašni ženski govorni
stil. Takvi projekti uglavnom nisu nailazili na pretjerano oduševljenje niti su ostvarivali značajne
rezultate, a najveći je nedostatak bilo to što se vjerovalo da žene svoj status mogu promijeniti
promjenom načina komuniciranja.

Kritičkodiskursni pristup (na koji se najvećim dijelom oslanja i ovaj rad) naglašava
neravnopravan status članova analizirane skupine i ciljano se bavi takvim primjerima koji
zadovo­ljavaju temeljna načela diskursne analize opisana u Van Dijk (1997). U mnoštvu takvih
analiza ističe se podređen status žena, prepoznatljiv čak i u definiranju kategorije žene prema
nedostajućim fizičkim svojstvima koja se prepoznaju kod muškarca. To naglašava Fox (2011),
a slično tome Mizokami (2001) prepoznaje da se u dominirajućim paradigmama uočava da se
muški govor predstavlja objektom težnje jer je društveno efikasniji u odnosu na ženski.

Metodologija istraživanja i analitička polazišta

U mnoštvu različitih, često površnih i kontradiktornih istraživanja razlika muškoga i že­

nskoga govora zanimljivom se čini analiza koju su Macaulay i Brice proveli 1990-ih godina. Pre­
dmetom analize bile su pasivne konstrukcije i gramatičke uloge subjekta i objekta, kao i glagolske
kategorije u udžbenicima sintakse. U tom istraživanju uočeno je da sintaksički tekstovi pokazuju
muškarce kao aktivne vršitelje radnje, za razliku od žena koje su bile ili promatrači ili primatelji
radnje subjekta. Autorice uočavaju sličnu pojavu u udžbenicima sintakse 1970-ih godina ističući
znatno veći broj muških likova u takvim ulogama čime se održavala asimetrija međusobnih
odno­sa (Eckert i McConnell-Ginet 2003: 208).

Istraživačka metodologija zastupljena u ovom radu utemeljena je na „suživotu“ diskursne

i korpusne analize. Bitno je istaknuti da se u odnosu na stereotipe o razlikama govora žena i
muškaraca, uzete kao polaznu tačku istraživanja, bavimo njihovom zastupljenošću u udžbenicima
gdje se realiziraju kao cjeloviti, gramatički ispravni (vještački i dekontekstualizirani) primjeri
rečenica (u spontanoj konverzaciji rijetki su gramatički potpuni primjeri rečenica te se odatle,
npr. u konverzacijskoj analizi, prednost daje TCU jedinicama naspram rečenicama). Iako
prednost dajemo kritičkoj diskursnoj analizi, nije nam namjera donositi kritički sud o kvaliteti
udžbenika (dijelom ili u cijelosti) niti kompetenciji njihovih autora. Odabir specifičnih primjera
iz korpusa istraživanja prvenstveno ima cilj razvijanja kritičkog pogleda na jezičnu stvarnost.

Cilj je analize uočavanje rodno označene upotrebe jezika u autorskom obraćanju učenicima,
prvenstveno u oblicima rodno označenih imenica i upotrebi glagolskog pridjeva radnog. Literatura
o jeziku i rodnim razlikama skoro dosljedno potvrđuje upotrebu jezičnih sredstava u muškom

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rodu i za označavanje ženskoga roda. Taj je primjer posebno prepoznatljiv u administrativnom
diskursu, što ponekad rezultira oksimoronskim konstrukcijama nalik istoimenoj knjizi naslova
Kad student zatrudni (2008). Čini se da je pretpostavljena „univerzalnost“ muškog roda razlog što
se u nastavnoj praksi uočava da do izražaja dolazi pogrešna upotreba glagolskog pridjeva radnog
u skupinama ženskih osoba, npr. *Došli smo umjesto Došle smo i sl. Posebno slikovite primjere iz
korpusa detaljnije smo analizirali, što je propraćeno zaključcima u kojima izdvajamo informacije
o rezultatima jezičnih sredstava koja su predmetom analize u datom udžbeniku.

Analiza korpusa i zaključci

1. Ž-Č2 (str. 47) donosi tekst „Telefoni razgovaraju“. Riječ je o primjeru kategorizacije prema
prepoznatljivim osobinama kategorije – „namirisani sjajnocrveni telefon“ žali se na vlasnicu koja
satima razgovora sa svojim prijateljicama, što je razlog da ima glavobolju od njihovih ogovaranja.
Crni, stari, prašnjavi telefon žali se na „viku, psovanje, prosipanje piva i otresanje dima s cigareta“,
a „šašavi plavi telefon“ stidi se zločeste djece koja krišom zovu nepoznate ljude. Izdvojeni primjer
razumijevamo u vezi s istraživanjem Aries i Johnson (1983. u: Eckert i McConnell-Ginet 2003:
123–4) u kojem su jezične rodno označene razlike muškaraca i žena uočene i u telefonskim
razgovorima. Pokazalo se da su žene sklonije telefonskim razgovorima s bliskim prijateljicama
češće negoli što su muškarci sa svojim prijateljima. Pokazalo se da čak polovica broja žena i svega
19% muškaraca imaju dnevne ili sedmične telefonske razgovore u trajanju više od 10 minuta.
Četvrtina broja žena i 14% muškaraca imaju takve razgovore bar jednom mjesečno. Analizom
se tih razgovora pokazalo da su žene općenito usmjerene prema uspostavljanju društvene veze
i intimnosti, dok su muškarci više individualistički nastrojeni i natjecateljski usmjereni. U tom
istraživanju pokazuje se da su muškarci skloniji obavljanju zajedničkih socijalnih aktivnosti.

U navedenom primjeru iz udžbenika do izražaja dolazi stereotipna veza između žena

i ogovaranja. Ogovaranje kao govornu praksu Cameron i Kulik (2003: 67–9) promatraju kao
aktivnost kojom se jačaju međusobne socijalne veze žena, podjednako kao što o nepristojnom
muškom načinu konverzacije promišljaju kao konverzacijskoj strategiji očuvanja međusobnih veza
i norme heteroseksualnosti. Ističu da je na razini svakodnevne komunikacije prepoznatljivo da su i
muškarci skloni ogovaranju (iako se takva govorna praksa obično tako ne imenuje kada su muškarci
u pitanju), ali da se na simboličnoj i ideološkoj razini ta govorna praksa više vezuje za žene.

U hrvatskoj literaturi zapažen je trag o toj temi ostavila Lada Badurina (2008) koja je
opovrgnula stereotip da žene više tračaju od muškaraca, pri tome uočavajući da ženski „dokoni“
razgovori u mnogome nalikuju uobičajenom obliku trača.

Ogovaranje je govorna praksa prepoznatljiva po isticanju svojstava odsutne osobe ili

potencijalno neugodnih događaja koji se na nju odnose. Tu govornu praksu muškarci često prate

358
homofobnim i nepristojnim riječima kojima se omalovažava odsutna osoba, radi uspostavljanja
vlastite heteroseksualne norme muškosti i nadmoći (Cameron 1995: 175).

U udžbeniku Ž-Č2 imperativ se javlja u 2. licu jednine (dakle, nije rodno označen);
dominiraju izravna pitanja; rodno označeni glagolski pridjev radni ne uočavamo; lekcije o
subjektu i objektu nisu zastupljene u tom uzrastu.

2. MM-SHJ12 (str. 83) donosi primjer predstavljen ilustracijom u kojem se od učenika

traži objašnjenje nastalog nesporazuma:

Navedeni primjer razgovora dvaju dječaka nalazi se u dijelu udžbenika o tvorbi riječi.
Imenice sa sufiksom –ar označavaju zanimanja, stoga nesporazum nastaje na semantičkoj razini
budući da je objekt razgovora u komšiluku stolar, koji se doživljava prvenstveno kao papučar.
Ženski internetski forum ana.rs (dostupno u augustu 2015.) obiluje primjerima u kojima se
negativne konotacije spomenute imenice pripisuju pasivnom muškarcu koji nema autoritet,
odnosno trpi poniženja i vječito klima glavom. Nije neobična simbolička veza muškarca i papuče
koju šutaju, podjednako kao i primjeri da je muškarac nosilac takve obuće. Takav je status nosioca
obuće donekle u vezi s odnosom prototipnog člana kategorije (cipele) i radijalnog (papuče).

U udžbeniku MM-SHJ12 imperativ je češće u 2. licu množine, a javlja se i u jednini; više je

primjera glagolskog pridjeva radnog u muškom rodu u primjerima o aktivnim vršiocima radnje;
rjeđe se daju naporedni rodni oblici tog glagolskog pridjeva (npr. susreo (la)), što je prepozna­
tljivo i u obradi glagolskih vremena i načina gdje se obično navode samo primjeri u muškom
rodu (npr. budem stigao, pretrčao bih i sl.); udžbenik nema lekcije o subjektu i objektu.

3. MŽ-NJ5 jedan je od udžbenika u našem korpusu koji je prepoznatljiv po dosljednoj

upotrebi glagolskog pridjeva radnog u muškom rodu u obraćanju učenicima, preciznije učeniku,
uz našu pretpostavku da je riječ o obliku imenice u muškom rodu koji se primjenjuje i za ženski
rod, dakle omnirodno. No, kada je riječ o isticanju negativnih osobina, uočljiva je asimetričnost
u tome što se pri navođenju takvih osobina preciziraju oba roda, npr. (str. 39):

Tvoji drugari, ali i drugarice, veoma mnogo psuju.

Nemali broj dječaka i djevojčica kradu.

Mills (2003: 139–43) tvrdi da su najradikalniji primjer neuljudnosti psovke, u vezi s kojima
se ističu izraženi rodni i drugi stereotipi, tim više što se takav oblik konverzacijskog ponašanja
često ohrabruje kod dječaka, a zabranjuje djevojčicama. Takva se upotreba jezika općenito dovodi
u vezu s muškarcima i smatra neprikladnom za govor žena i djece, mada je stupanj tolerancije viši
ako su u pitanju dječaci. Upotreba tabuiziranih izraza u novije vrijeme nije neobična ni za mlade
djevojke, mada korpusna istraživanja obično pokazuju prevlast u korist muškaraca u uporabi
takvih riječi, dok se kod žena češće uočava postupak eufemiziranja neuljudnih izraza, ponekad
fonetski bliskih vulgarnoj riječi.
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 Kuiper (1991. u: Holmes 2013: 66) uočava da se upotreba „prljavog jezika“ može dovesti
u vezu s ojačanjem društvenih veza u muškim skupinama, a Tannen (1994: 40–6) u analizi tog
konverzacijskog fenomena u obzir uzima uobičajeno pučko vjerovanje da među muškarcima
sukob obično vodi do prijateljstva. Neki od dokaza
da se verbalni agresivni ispadi ne bi trebali uvijek
interpretirati jednoobrazno, odnosno kao dokaz
dominacije, nepristojnosti i sl. jesu pri­mjeri upotrebe
„teških riječi“, npr. psovki u razgovoru bliskih
prijatelja, pri čemu se tim vidom konverzacije zajedno
krše socijalne norme i potvrđuje bliskost među
sugovornicima.

U udžbeniku MŽ-NJ5 u lekciji o objektu više

je primjera u kojima su vršitelji radnje ženskoga roda;
glagolski pridjev radni dosljedno se primjenjuje u
oblicima muškoga roda.

4. ŽŽM-Č1 udžbenik je u kojem se imperativni oblici najčešće javljaju u drugom licu

množine, a brojni su i primjeri imperativa kao poticaja na obavljanje radnje u prvom licu množine
(uradimo, bojimo i sl.). Imenice u muškom rodu koriste se u općenitom značenju, prvenstveno
imenica učenik i nazivi zanimanja (najčešće u množini) po kojima se imenuju grupe učenika
za grupni oblik rada. Glagolski pridjev radni daje se u naporednim oblicima, s izuzetkom da su
oblici u ženskome rodu na prvom mjestu.

5. U M-Č5 imperativ se također javlja uoblicima prvog i drugog lica množine, s izuzetkom
zastupljenih primjera upotrebe infinitiva u toj funkciji (npr.: Pjesmu dva puta pročitati).
Pitanja se najčešće ostvaruju u prisnijem obliku glagolskih oblika prvog lica množine (npr.: Šta
saznajemo o...). Stereotipno označeni dijelovi teksta ovog udžbenika prepoznatljivi su u dijelu
o interpretaciji pripadajućeg teksta koji naglašavaju aktivnosti isključivo u vezi s dječacima,
prvenstveno znatiželju i hrabrost da se boravi na tajnovitim i strašnim mjestima.

6. ŽŽ-NJ6 dosljedno provodi naporednu upotrebu rodno označenog glagolskog pridjeva.

Imperativni oblici češće se javljaju u drugom licu jednine. Imenice koje označavaju zanimanja
javljaju se samo u muškom rodu.

7. ŽŽ-NJ5 sve zadatke predviđene za učenike prati imperativnim i drugim glagolskim

oblicima u drugom licu jednine. Oblike glagolskog pridjeva radnog u toj funkciji ne uočavamo.

8. U M-NJ2 dosljedni su imperativni i drugi glagolski oblici u drugom licu množine.

Uočavamo da u glagolskom pridjevu radnom u obradi glagolskih oblika i drugdje u udžbeniku

360
izostaju naporedni oblici za ženski rod, s izuzetkom lekcija o glagolskim pridjevima. U udžbeniku
prepoznajemo više primjera u kojima je riječ o muškim vršiteljima radnje.

9. M-NJ7 oblike glagolskog pridjeva radnog pokazuje u naporednim oblicima, pri čemu
se sufiks za ženski rod postavlja u zagradu uz pripadajući primjer muškoga roda (npr. (str. 12)
Jednom sam se iznenadio (-la) na času. Nahranio (-la) sam gladnu mačku. i sl.). Imperativni i
drugi glagolski oblici javljaju se podjednako u jednini i množini.

10. ŽŽ-Č7 udžbenik je u kojem se u uvodnom dijelu autorice obraćaju „učenicama i

učenicima“. Glagolski oblici u cijelom udžbeniku dati su u množini muškoga roda. Imperativni i
drugi glagolski oblici prepoznaju se u množini i rjeđe u infinitivu.

11. Udžbenik ŽŽM-Č6 kao i većina udžbenika u našem korpusu obiluje primjerima
imperativa i drugih glagolskih oblika u drugom licu množine. Nazivi zanimanja navode se u
oblicima muškoga roda (prvenstveno imenica nastavnik). Iz ove čita­nke posebno izdvajamo
lekciju o stripu koja donosi ilustrirani primjer pripovijetke Majka Zije Dizdarevića (str. 169). Dio
stripa ovdje naveden detalj je kada otac majci javno upućuje kritiku što izlazi na ulicu „bez vale“
(u trenutku kada im strada najmlađi sin u naletu automobila) i obično se interpretira kao slikovit
primjer podređenog statusa žene u patrijarhalnom društvu.

12. Ž-NJ7 udžbenik je koji u oslovljavanju prednost daje imenici učenik prema kojoj se
usmjerava i upotreba glagolskih oblika (u drugom licu jednine). U uvodu udžbenika do izražaja
dolazi asimetrija uočljiva po tome što se u potpisu naglašava autorica a u obraćanju sugovorniku
(tj. korisniku udžbenika) koristi se imenica učenik. U lekciji o pisanju etnika ravnopravno se
navode muški i ženski oblici. U obradi glagolskih oblika (načina i vremena) dosljedno se navode
naporedni oblici za ženski rod. Isto vrijedi i za primjere rečenica u kojima se uočava ravnopravna
pojavnost muških i ženskih vršilaca radnje. To prepoznajemo i u ilustracijama koje su često
predstavljene u rodnom paru.

13. ŽŽ-Č5 udžbenik je koji u uvodnom dijelu pokazuje nedosljednost prepoznatljivu

po tome što se autorice obraćaju „učenicama i učenicima“ na samom početku, no u nastavku
udžbenika to se ostvaruje u jednini i upotrebom lične zamjenice ti. U cijelom udžbeniku
dominiraju glagolski oblici u drugom licu jednine. Ne prepoznajemo rodno označenu upotrebu
glagolskog pridjeva radnog, a vrlo rijetko se susreću primjeri imperativa u prvom licu množine.

14. Koncepcija udžbenika Ž-NJ1 takva je da teorijski dijelovi prednjače nad onima u
kojima se učenicima izravno obraća ili se traži rješavanje postavljenih zadataka. Uočavamo
obraća­nje u drugom licu jednine koje nije rodno označeno. Usporedbom s udžbenicima za niže
razrede osnovne škole uočava se da (nama dostupni) udžbenici za srednju školu manje izravno
komuniciraju s učenicima.

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 15.Udžbenik Ž-Č3 u uvodnom je dijelu prepoznatljiv po dosljednom navođenju
naporednih oblika za muški i ženski rod. U odnosu na druge udžbenike u korpusu, zastupljeni su
naporedni oblici svih pridjevskih i imenskih riječi (npr. Slobodno se obrati učitelju/učiteljici. Budi
siguran/sigurna u to. i sl.). Tu pojavu uočavamo dosljedno u cijelom udžbeniku, podjednako kao
i zastupljenost i muških i ženskih vršitelja radnje.

16.ŽŽ-Č7-1 ne donosi primjere rodno označenog glagolskog pridjeva radnog. U cijelom

udžbeniku obraćanje učenicima odvija se imperativom jednine i množine, pri čemu se prepoznaje
veća zastupljenost imperativa u prvom licu množine. Mišljenja smo da se tim postupkom gradi
prisnija veza s učenicima.

17. U Ž-Č3-1 u uvodnom dijelu učenicima se obraća rodno označenim imenicama u

množini (učenici/učenice). Iako je riječ o jednoj autorici udžbenika, uočavamo da je potpisana
u množini (autori), što smatramo lapsusom. U
ostatku udžbenika imperativ i drugi glagolski oblici
javljaju se u drugom licu jednine. Zanemariv je broj
primjera rodno ravnopravnih imenica kojima se
označavaju zanimanja.

18. Obraćanje u drugom licu jednine

prepoznajemo dosljedno u udžbeniku Ž-Č3-2.
Iako se ne navode rodno ravnopravni oblici i ne
susrećemo rodno označeni glagolski pridjev radni,
uočiti se može da u primjerima ima podjednako
zastupljenih i muških i ženskih vršilaca radnje
(posebno izdvajamo lekciju o rodu imenica).

19.U udžbeniku Ž-NJ7 uočljivo je da u poglavlju o tvorbi riječi (imenica koje označavaju
vršitelja radnje, str. 24) dominiraju muški oblici (uz našu pretpostavku da je riječ o omnirodnoj
upotrebi). Isti udžbenik donosi podatak o neobičnim imenima, pri čemu se naglašavaju neobična
ženska imena: Azija, Amerika, Italija, Đermanija i sl. Obraćanje učenicima je u drugom licu jednine.

20. Slično većini udžbenika u našem korpusu, Ž-BJ5 donosi primjere naporedne upotrebe
rodno označenih riječi. To se prvenstveno odnosi na pridjevske riječi. Također donosi stereotipno
označen primjer rodnih razlika (str. 10) u razgovoru dječaka i djevojčice o automobilima: dječak
djevojčicu naziva glupom i čudnom zato što ona ne voli automobile. Dakako, taj je tekst propraćen
didaktičkim uputama o uljudnom ponašanju. U vezi s tim upućujemo na Weatherall (2002:
15–29) koja analizirajući kogniciju i seksistički jezik upozorava da se pitanja rodnih različitosti
provlače u svim područjima ljudskih zanimanja, a da su osobito ilustrativna čak i u dominaciji
muških naziva za automobile u odnosu na ženske nazive automobila.

362
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 Comparison of Numerals of 1, 2 and 10 in North Caucasian
Languages as a Root Word

Yücel Oğurlu
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Istanbul Commerce University, Turkey

Abstract

The main aim of this research was to analyze writing of the numerals, their pronunciation
in Caucasian languages and their development and change. This analysis was based on the list of
“Zompist figures in 5000 languages”. We found significant information from this list in order to
compare numerals one (1), two (2) and ten (10). We concluded that Caucasian languages spoken
from the Eastern to the Western Caucasus for the numeral one (1), all Caucasian languages use
(z) and (s) sounds, for the numeral two (2), (k) and (q) sounds are common and for numeral
ten (10) the sharp (s`) or (z) sounds are common sounds. Secondly, all the numerals in different
languages have been advanced in the process of time by adding new suffixes to the root words.
The words are modified with plural forms of the words with suffixes over time. Thus, the language
has separated from root and other relative languages.

Introduction

Languages are compared to each other in order to determine the similarities and differences
between languages. For such studies, comparing main/root words is a valid method in comparative
linguistics. When languages are compared, new words are not taken into consideration or newly-
coined words from the current dictionaries. Quite the contrary, we analyzed basic daily words
that are used throughout centuries by the people who use the language on the daily basics. Some
of those words are: pronouns, the attractive forces on the earth and in the sky, or basic necessities
and numerals. Therefore, we would like to start with interesting and significant observations.
The numerals are also one of the root words and they are the words that humanity is using from
the very early times.

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 In this study, writing of the numerals and their pronunciations were based on the list of
study of “Zompist` the figures in 5000 languages” and transferred the same with some minor fixes1.
Here, we would like to express that there is an appropriate corpora of materials for comparison.
However, not all the numerals are included in the analysis but only first two numerals one (1) and
two (2) and numeral ten (10) .2

Therefore, in the next paragraph we will present a family tree of Caucasian languages in
order to give a general idea to the fresh readers who are not very familiar with the topic.

Caucasian Languages Family Tree

Table 1. Source: Nikolayev, Sergei&Starostin, Sergei, a North Caucasian Etymological

Dictionary, Moscow 1994.

According to Starostin`s family tree of Caucasian languages in Table 1, all of these languages
are coming from the one main ancestor. In the proceeding tables we are going to present several
Caucasian languages and their pronunciation:

A. Numerals in Northwest Caucasus Group

Numeral 1 2 10

Ubikh za t'qva Zhe

Abaza ak'i gh-bà jza-bà

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 Numeral 1 2 10

Kabardey- Cerkes ze t'qe p's'e

Adige ze Tq'e ps'e

Table 2 Source: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numerals in 5000 Languages

http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

B. Numerals in Northeast Caucasian Group

1. NakhGrubu

Numeral 1 2 10

Chechen s`a' shi' itt

Ingush Saw shi' itt

Table 3: Source: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numerals in 5000 Languages”

http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

2. Numerals in Daghestan Language Groups

Avar-Andi-Dido 1 2 10
Sub-group
Avar so ki-go ans`-go

Andi se-w che-gu nos`o-gu

Botlih se-b ke-da has`a-da

Godoberi se-b ke-da has`ada

Camalal seb echida as`ada

Bagulal se-b ke-ra has`a-ra

Tindi se-b ke-ja has`a-ja

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 Avar-Andi-Dido 1 2 10
Sub-group
Karata se-b ke-da has`a-da

Ahvah che-b ke-da as`ha-da

Hvarshi has qIwene u~s`in

Dido sis qIano os`i-no

Hinuh hes qo-no os`i-no

Bejta hõs qona as`ona

Hunzib he~s qan.u ass`en

Lak-Dargi
Sub-Group
Lak sa ki as`

Dargwa sa kel wes`-al

Lezgi (Alpan)
Sub-Group
Archi os qIwe wis`

Xinalug s`a k'u ya`az

Lezgian s`a qwed s`ud

Tabasaran sa-b q'u-b yis`u-b

1 Zompist`in http://www.zompist.com/Numerals.shtml anasayfasi adresindeki sitesi farklı dillerdeki

rakamlara ulaşma konusunda en derleyici ve yeterince güvenilir bir kaynaktır. ‘5000 dilde rakamlar’. Bkz.
Numerals in Afro-Asiatic and Caucasian Languages, http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian
2 OGURLU, Yucel, (2015), (2015), Kuzey Kafkas Dillerinde Kök Kelimelerden Üç Rakamın (1, 2ve 10)
Leksikolojik ve Semantik Açıdan Karşılaştırılması, ‘Yeni Turkiye, Kafkaslar Özel Sayısı, YTSAM, Ankara.

368
 Avar-Andi-Dido 1 2 10
Sub-group
Agul sad qIu-d yis`u-d

Rutul sa qIwad yis`i-d

Tsaxur sa qIo-llä yis`i-llä

Kryts säd qwad yis`i-d

Budux sad q'ad yets'ed

Table 4: Source: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numerals in 5000 Languages”

http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

From the table above, it is obvious that we compared only (1), (2) and (10), of all Caucasian
languages spoken from the Eastern to the Western Caucasus.

- For the numeral one (1), all Caucasian languages use (z) and (s) sounds,
- For the numeral two (2), (k) and (q) sounds are common,
- For numeral ten (10), the sharp (s`) or (z) sounds are common sounds.

Secondly, all the numerals in different languages have been advanced in the process of
time by adding new suffixes to the root words. The words are modified with plural forms of the
words with suffixes over time and so the language has separated from root and other relative
languages. For example, while ak’ı is the numeral (1) in Abkhazian is quite plain, the numeral
(2) is ghbà and the numeral (10) JZa-Ba, are with the suffix of (ba) such as in many Dagestanian
languages and also Georgian language as the plural form of words with (ba) and (bi). So, we can
consider the roots of those two numbers as (ghi) and (jza).

In the same way, in the words of numeral 2, (q`u- b) and numeral (10) (yis`-ub) in Tabassaran
language, the sound (-b) expresses plural. In fact, the sound (-b) as an additional plural expression
is still alive in Georgian language. Adygei-Abkhazian as one of those languages from the North-
West edge of the Caucasus and Tabassaran language from the North-East edge of Caucasus from
other subgroup are taken into consideration. It is known that there is no any known contact
between those languages throughout history. Therefore, it is hard to explain these semantics and
morphological similarities only on the basics of the relativity of those languages which are carrying
only common traces of these root terms. Similarity is not morphological or lexical only. There is
also semantic similarity and it is quite interesting. The similarities are presented in Table 5.

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 Numerals 2 10

Tabassaran q'u-b yis`u-b

Abaza gh-bà jza-bà

Table 5: Source: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numbers in 5000 Languages”
http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

Here, we can notice another example for semantic relations of numerals with the similar
arguments in languages of Avar sub-group:

Numerals 1 2 10

Avar so ki-go ans`-go

Andi se-w che-gu nos`o-gu

Botlih se-b ke-da has`a-da

Table 6: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numbers in 5000 Languages”
http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

Most probably, those suffixes for the numerals were added later, during the hundred years
development end evolution of the languages in order to express an exaggeration or plurality as in
the other Caucasian languages. Here in Table 6, Avar-Anti-Dido in Sub-Group, sounds of (go),
(gu) and (da) are possibly added to the root of the numeral later, not from the very beginning of
the development. The root of the numeral must have been (ke`-) (2). Similarly those additions
must also have been added to the root word.

Numerals 1 2 3

Lak sa ki as`

Dargwa sa kel wes`-al

Table 7: Mark Rosenfelder, “Numbers in 5000 Languages”
http://www.zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian

Likewise, in Dargilanguage, while the numeral (1) maintained plainly with the letters and
sounds as (sa), numeral two (2) (ki) in Lak language maintained in same way and (kel) in Dargi
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maintained with a small change. And numeral ten (10) in Dargi is (wes`-al) in Lak (as`). The
sounds of (-l) and (-al) suffixes are suggestive of multiple crops in today`s Avar language . Possibly,
suffixes of -l and -al in two numerals in Dargi inherited from the proto Caucasian language times.

The same way can be applied to the numeral two (2) (qIo-llä) and numeral ten (10) (yis`i-llä)
in Tsakhur language. Suffix (-llä) is plural from Avar language as the suffix (-al) still exists in the
language. Today this differentiated groups, one remaining Avar-Andigroup, and the other in Lezgin
subgroup are remnants from a previous common history before separating from each other.

In the languages of Lezgian sub-group (-d), (-b) or (-llä) is added, whereby suffixes must
also be subsequently added to the root word for expressing the exaggeration and plurality. The
thesis about (-b) or (-llä) is the same with the suffix (bi), (-al) and (-l) that we elaborated and
explained above.

Conclusion
There is general understanding that for numeral (1), all North Caucasian languages have
(z) and (s) letters or voices. Next, for numeral (2) (k) and (q) letters or sounds are noticed. For the
numeral ten (10) sharp (s`) letter or sound is noticed. Hence, all of those languages differentiate
with some suffixes or prefixes according to their own semantic composition of the language.
Itindicates that all those words take their roots from a Proto Caucasian language with the roots of
sa, qaves`aproto-words. Many Caucasian languages root words are enriched by adding (-d), (-b)
or (-llä) suffixes. Those suffixes possibly added subsequently to the root word for expressing the
exaggeration and plurality. The suffixes of (-b) or (-llä) (bi), (-al) and (-l) must be derived from
plural suffixes of proto Caucasian language.

References

Nikolayev, Sergei & STAROSTIN, A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary, Moscow 1994.
Mark Rosenfelder, Zompist, Numerals in Afro-Asiatic and Caucasian Languages, http://www.
zompist.com/mide.htm#caucasian
Yücel Oğurlu, (2011), A General Overview on the Languages Spoken in Northern Caucasus and
Their Relations, (Общий Взгляд На Употребляемые На Северном Кавказе Языки И
Языковое Родство), Uluslararasi Kuzey Kafkasya Sempozyumu 2011, Ali Emiri Kon-
ferans Salonu, 17-18 Haziran 2011, in Tarih Bilinci. Tarih ve Kultur Dergisi, Sayi: 19-20,
s.9-21.
Yücel Oğurlu, (2009), Dağıstan Halkları ve Dilleri / Daghestan Nations and Their Languages,
(Dagestan Völker Und Deren Sprachen), Yeni Fikir Dergisi, S. 2, ISBN: 1308-9412
Yücel Oğurlu, (2015), Kuzey Kafkas Dillerinde Kök Kelimelerden Üç Rakamın Leksikolojik ve
Semantik Açıdan Karşılaştırılması, ‘Yeni Turkiye, Kafkaslar Özel Sayısı, YTSAM, Ankara.

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 Strategies of Translating English Names into Albanian

Zamira Alimemaj
University of Vlora, Albania

Abstract

Translation is an activity which is carried out in a given cultural context. Translation has
many challenges every translator faces with. Generally speaking, nouns are divided into common
and proper names. Proper names refer to a specific referent that is; these names serve to distinguish
a particular individual from others, for instance, Peter, Mike, Alice. Common names, on the
other hand, refer to a class of individuals such as man, woman, and boy. It is noteworthy that
distinction between these types of nouns gets blurred in some cases. Since it is outside the scope
of this paper to present a full account of this issue, the present study tackles only personal names,
which fall into the proper noun category. There is no doubt that translating personal names
should not be assumed to be an easy issue in as much as it can turn out to be very troublesome
in practice and needs very sensitive decision-making on the part of the translator within the
translation process. A growing body of research shows that different translation procedures are
applied in the process of translating personal names. One of them is the problem of translating
proper names from one language to another. It is very complicated because the translator should
consider all peculiarities of the proper names such as sex, geographical belonging, history,
specific meaning, and playfulness of language, phonemic and grammatical formation, and
cultural connotation. The focus of this study lies on the translation of proper names from English
into Albanian language and especially the problems of the orthography of these names.

Key words: orthography, source, target, language, Albanian

Introduction

If linguistic diversity is the very condition of the existence of language, then translation
is integral to the existence of language. Translation is not a secondary thing; it is the beginning
of civilization. Think of what linguistic diversity would be without translation: there would be
no trade, no diplomacy, and no communication―a pretty miserable life. One should try to

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understand the world from translation outwards rather than constructing grand theories about
what was in the beginning, and then assigning translation its position. It just makes everything
much more interesting. The translation of proper names has often been considered as a simple
automatic process of transference from one language into another, due to the view that proper
names are mere labels used to identify a person or a thing. Contrary to popular views, the
translation of proper names is a non-trivial issue, closely related to the problem of the meaning
of the proper name. One of the most famous translation theorists Peter Newmark pointed
out: “Any old fool can learn a foreign language, but it takes an intelligent person to become a
translator” [1] (1969). This statement suggests that, besides the knowledge of a foreign language,
a translator needs special knowledge and skills which constitute his intelligence or competence.
Since culture and translation are increasingly linked, cultural knowledge is an essential part of
the translator’s intelligence. Translating involves not just two languages, but a transfer from one
culture to another. Each culture has its own ways of behaving, which is why translators need to
be well versed in the history, customs, habits and traditions of the source and the target cultures
they are mediating between. In this sense we can use “cultural transposition” as a cover-term for
the various degrees of departure from literal translation that one may resort to in the process of
transferring the contents of a source text into the context of a target culture. Some of the most
straightforward examples of the basic issues in cultural transposition are offered by place-names
and proper names. Translating names is not usually a major concern, but a brief look at the
question provides a simple introduction to what are often complex problems.

Theories about the translation of names

The translation of proper names is one of the most difficult areas any translator usually
faces while translating different kinds of texts. Simply, proper names are not like other words
translation of which can be easily found in dictionaries. Generally, they “occupy an exceptional
position with regard to the language system because of their minimal integration to it” (Manini
1996, p. 161). Thus, special attention needs to be paid to the translation of proper names since
this kind of activity is a real challenge for all translators.

In translating a name there are, in principle, at least two alternatives. Either the name can be
taken over unchanged from the source text to the translated text which is called foreignaization,
or it can be adapted to conform to the phonic/graphic conventions of the translated language
which is called domestication.

The former, foreignization, aims at preserving all the cultural elements, while the
latter, domestication, brings the text closer to the readers by leaving out many of the cultural
elements. Gergana Apostolova who indicates a variety of aspects to consider while translating
propernames says:

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 “The transformation of names in translation is rooted deeply in the cultural
background of the translator whichincludes phonetic and phonological
competence, morphologicalcompetence, complete understanding of the context,
correct attitude to the message, respect for tradition, compliance with the current
state of cross-cultural interference of languages, respect for the cultural values and
the responsibilities of the translator. The process reaches from an ear for aesthetic
sounding to the philosophical motivation of re-naming” (Apostolova, 2004, p.14).

Many translator theorists such as Newmark, Davies, Hagfors, etc. have written about
this problem expressing different ideas. When proper names appear in a literary text, we can
evaluate their presence having in mind different aspects: 1) the use of special names, 2) the use of
meaningful names, 3) interpretation of names, 4) the contribution to characterization, 5) allusions
in proper names, 6) text function or effect they create, etc. Most of us may simply think that
proper names are usually not translated; however, after we compare translations with the source
texts (ST), we can observe that translators do various sorts of things with proper names. There are
translation theorists who think that that Proper names are never translated, which seems to be a
rule deeply rooted in many people’s minds. Yet looking at translated texts we find that translators
do all sorts of things with proper names: non-translation, non-translation that leads to a different
pronunciation in the target language, transcription or transliteration from non-Latin alphabets,
morphological adaption to the target language, cultural adaptation, substitution, and so on. It is
interesting to note, moreover, that translators do not always use the same techniques with all the
proper names of a particular text they are translating. The translation of proper names has often
been considered as a simple automatic process of transference from one language into another,
due to the view that proper names are mere labels used to identify a person or a thing. This is
exactly what Vendler purports when he writes that:

“Proper names have no meaning (in the sense of ‘sense’ and not of ‘reference’), which is borne
out by the fact that they do not require translation into another language” (Vendler1975:117).

In his view, proper names are to be treated as labels, which are attached to persons or
objects and the only task of the translator is to carry them over, or transfer them, from the source
language text to the target language text.

Dealing With English Names in Albanian Language

Languages have particular personal names, some of which are deeply rooted in the culture
of the speakers of the specific language; consequently, they can pose unique difficulties in the
comprehension of culture-specific texts. It is interesting to note that some personal names have
specific connotations, and omitting this implied information results in unacceptable translation.

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Albanian language has its own phonological system, which comprises 7 vowel phonemes and 29
consonant phonemes. It is written in the Latin alphabet decided upon in 1908 at the Congress
of Manastir. The Albanian language has an elaborated system of grammatical forms, a binary
declension system: definite and indefinite, it retains the case forms (it has five cases), three
genders (masculine, feminine and neutral); the latter is going out of use and is used only with
a certain category of verbal nouns. Word order is generally free but the most common form is
subject + verb + object. The vocabulary of the Albanian language consists of certain layers. Native
words date back from an ancient Indo-European period (ditë, natë, dimër, motër, etc.), or are
formed in a later period out of Albanian words (ditor, dimëror, i përnatshëm).

Another layer consists of words borrowed from other languages as a result of the contacts
the Albanian people have had with other nations over the centuries. Words have been borrowed
from Greek, both ancient and modern, from Latin and Romance languages, from Slavonic and
Turkish. Despite the numerous borrowings, Albanian language has retained its originality as
a separate Indo-European language. Thus, the main aim of the present article is to analyse the
translation strategies that are applied for the translation of proper names from English into
Albanian, trying to present the problems they cause in the orthography of standard Albanian,
and find out the ways how to deal with these items and to highlight some tendencies that could
be useful for any translator. First, the theoretical considerations deal with different aspects
of proper names in literary texts translation. Then, principles of adapting proper names are
discussed as provided by The Congress of the orthography of Standard Albanian we have treated
proper names in general. In general, proper names cover several categories: names of persons,
animals, companies, geographical places, zodiac signs and festivals. The definition given in The
Oxford Concise English Dictionary (2001, p. 1146): a proper name is “a name for an individual
person, place, or organization having an initial capital letter”. In real life, proper names usually
seem meaningless simple labels signaling reference. For example, the name Nick has nothing
essential in itself and serves only a denotative purpose. Still, in real life “proper names may be
non-descriptive, but they are obviously not non-informative” (Nord, 2003, p.183).

Davies’ translation strategies

Many translation theorists have presented different translation strategies. One of them is
Eirlys E. Davies. (Davies’s translation strategies have been chosen while analyzing proper names
in the translated texts from English into Albanian.)She lists her own translation strategies taking
into consideration translations of cultural specific items including proper names. Her list consists
of seven strategies: preservation, addition, omission, globalization, localization, transformation
and creation.

1) preservation occurs when a translator transfers the term directly into the translated
text with no further explanation
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 2) addition, when a translator “decide[s] to keep the original item but supplement[s] the
text with whatever information is judged necessary” (Davies 2003, p.77). In this case additional
information can be inserted within the text or in a footnote, gloss, introduction and notes

3) omission, when translators decide, as Davies writes,

“to omit problematic culture specific items altogether, so that no trace of it is found in the
translation” (Davies, 2003, p.79). Davies argues that, when “[…] the inclusion of a problematic
culture-specific item might create a confusing or inconsistent effect it is better to omit it,” (Davies,
2003, p.80).

4) globalization,“the process of replacing culture-specific references with the ones which

are more neutral or general” (Davies 2003, p.83).

An opposite strategy to globalization is what Davies calls 5) localization, when translators

“try to anchor a reference firmly in the culture of the target audience” (Davies 2003, pp.83-84).
Davies states that this strategy also includes phonological and grammatical adaptation of names
and the use of gender endings.

The last Davies’s strategy is called 6) creationand means a creation of a cultural specific
item which “is firmly or totally different from the source text or is not present in there” (Davies,
2003, pp.72-89).

This strategy is rarely used and often includes an idea of compensation; for example, a
translator can omit puns or alliterations in one place and put them elsewhere.

Davies’s translation strategies have been chosen while analyzing proper names in the
translated texts from English into AlbanianThree groups of translation strategies are distinguished:
Proper names (used here interchangeably with the expression ‘proper nouns’) can be dealt with
in a number of ways in translations. First, a proper noun can be transported wholesale from
the target text (allowance being made for possible transliteration or transcription depending on
the languages concerned). Second, it can be partly transported from the source language (SL)
and partly translated. Thirdly, it can be replaced with more or less different names in the target
language (TL). Finally, it can be dispensed with altogether. In the following I shall further refine
this classification.

Translation strategies used in Albanian language

1) Preservation occurs when a translator uses the names as in the original language; for
example names like Harry, Brown, Bill are left in Albanian translation with no changes.

But Albanian Language is written according to phonological principals, i.e. words are
written as they are pronounced. So when translators use preservation strategy there is a real

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vogue in Standard Albanian. We see that the most perceptive traces of the influences of English
are seen in the orthography. It is becoming a common practice the simultaneous publishing
in two languages, either English or Albanian, ex. Universiteti i Njujorkut, or University of New
York. In its written form Albanian is undergoing a process of mechanical reorientation to the
English orthography. Our traditional written form was adapted to the orthography of neo-Latin
languages, which was also used even in proper names, but now we see a number of cases when
the rules are broken. According to Albanian orthography the proper names are to be written with
Albanian spelling. Nowadays this rule is widely violated. A number of English names are used in
Albanian as they are used in their original orthography, for example, Shakespeare, Dan Brown,
Jack London, etc. Sometimes translators use the adaption of these names to the system of the
Albanian language, but this process is not going very smoothly. For example some names can be
used as they are pronounced in the original language but with Albanian spelling as, Shekspiri,
Xhek Landën, etc. by producing a number of irregularities and a real mixed language.

Another problem is that in the Albanian alphabet there is no letter like the English W.
When it appears in various occasions it is spelt like in the original language [dabelju] or as it
consists of two V, [dubelve] or [dopio ve]. So we are faced with the problem to find a solution for
a new letter in Albanian language. One of the Albanian translation theorists, Xhevat Lloshi, says
that “there is a new letter to be added to the Albanian alphabet” (Lloshi, Studio Albanica, pp.52,
2005) There is a real confusion in practice, as it is clearly demonstrated by the everyday necessity
to mention famous names for example, ex-president of the United States of America, George W.
[dablju] Bush, the writer Dan Brown [braun] etc. In this case the English letter W is read like
the Albanian letter U. But in some other cases it is read and written like the Albanian letter V,
.for example, Waterloo is used in translated texts either Vaterlo, or Uotërlo, or Uotërlu. The other
hard example is the spelling of the internet system www. It is read as [dubel v].

Even the morphological rules of the Albanian Language are distorted. A particular case
is the use of the proper nouns without case endings, as they appear in English language. So
in Albanian of nowadays we can find cases like the following Bush tha… It is identical with
the English Bush said…instead of Bush-i tha… or Sipas Bush……is identical with the English
According to Bush…, but according to the principals of Standard Albanian , it should be written
Sipas Bushit …or Sipas Bush-it….We see that the names are written without case endings.

2) Transformation which involves alteration of the original, for example Colombus

(English) is used as Kolombi in Albanian translations, Teodor (English) is used Theodhori
(Albanian) etc. The pronunciation of the original proper names sometimes is very complicated
for the Albanians. Therefore, when proper names are adapted, they are easy to pronounce and
become similar to the Albanian proper names. The adaptation of proper names is widely used in
textbooks for pupils, this because of the phonological principals of the Albanian language. They

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also includes phonological adaptations of letters that do not exist in the Albanian Alphabet as for
example the English W.

3) Localization, when translator uses a reference in the target language, for example, we
find Engjellushe instead of the English name Angel or Gjon Pali instead of the Italian name Papa
Giovanni-Paolo. Another example is the Albanian word Londer for London, the Albanian Mikel
for Micheal, Albanian Gjon for John etc.

Furthermore, there are some examples which seem to have clearly descriptive elements in
them; however, these are not translated but adapted phonologically. Or not. Again, this proves
some inconsistency of the translator. For example, Cinderella (used in folks) is sometimes either
adapted phonologically as Sindërella, or replaced by another folk name which is so dear for
children, Hirushja. Historically, Albanian Language was in close contacts with other languages,
with Latin and neo-Latin languages, with Greek, with Slavonic and Turkish languages. During the
relations with them, Albanian elaborated solutions to preserve its nature regardless of the intense
influence from foreign languages. But Albanian doesn’t have a long experience in confronting
English language and the cultural complex it represents. Other European languages in the recent
decades were considering the consequences of the English impact through globalization.

4) Literal translation As Davies (2003, p.75) states, if :

“A name contains clearly recognizable descriptive elements, translators often opt to

preserve the descriptive meaning of a name rather than its form, and use a literal translation”.

Thus, some translators of English into Albanian language are seen acting like Davies
suggests; for example the proper name “You-Know-Who” in Harry Potter is translated into
Albanian directly as “Ti-e Di-Kush” or “Ai-Qe-Nuk-Duhet-Përmendur”. Another example is
the name of Shakespeare’ birth town “Stratford-on-Avon” which is translated into Albanian as
“Stratford-mbi-Avon” or “Stratfordi mbi lumin Avon” ( lumi=river). Snow-White (name for a
girl) is translated Borëbardha. In this case the translator has used literal translation because this
name contains common meaningful words.

Principles of the orthography in standard Albanian

The Congress of the orthography of Standard Albanian has approved certain principles
that the translators should comply with. According to “Rules of Spelling and Punctuation of the
Albanian Language” (1981, pp. 71) we can read: “Foreign Proper Names are written according
to the principals of phonology and morphology of the Albanian Language. Their original form
should be written in brackets. Ex. Shekspiri (Shakespeare).

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 If foreign proper names have got aj, ej, oj, uj in their pronunciation they should be written
with j in Albanian language” (pp. 92) ex. Byron (English) Bajron (Albanian).

“When proper names are translated from foreign languages into Albanian They are
inflected for case and a case ending is added to them.(Drejt. P. 129,§ d).

Ex. Byron (English), Bajroni, Bajronit, Bajronin (Albanian), Clinton (English), Klintoni,
Klintonin, Klintonit.

“If proper names that are translated into Albanian have got au, eu, aw, they should be
written with au or eu.”, for example, Brown (English) Braun (Albanian).

The pronunciation of the original proper names sometimes is very complicated for the
Albanians. Therefore, when proper names are adapted, they are easy to pronounce and become
similar to the Albanian proper names.

Conclusion

As a conclusion we can say that the translation of proper names is a challenge for translators.
To translate efficiently it is not enough to be well linguistically educated. Cultural education is
also very important. A good translator has to consider the intended audience because different
audiences require different strategies.

Lastly, the Albanian translators have to obey the translation principles that have been adopted
by Congress of the orthography of the Albanian Language. By applying different translation
strategies, they find appropriate ways to render proper names into the Albanian language. For
further research, it would be interesting to find out to what degree the Albanian translators
adapt proper names in accordance with the Decisions of the Congress of the Orthography of the
Albanian Language. Of course, it remains a constant source of debate whether translators are
entitled to interfere with the original, make changes, or be strict with the phonological rules of
the Albanian language. It seems to me that here we have a new field of studies: to see what is the
influence of the globalization on the Albanian language in order not to risk too much to lose a
part of our inherited identity.

References

Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë. Drejtshkrimi i gjuhës shqipe 1973

Apostolova, G., (2004). Names of Authors and Fictional Names.
Davies, E. E., 2003. A Goblin or a Dirty Nose? The Translator: Studies in Intercultural
Communication, 9 (1), pp.65-100

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Hagfors, I., 2003. The Translation of Culture-Bound Elements into Finnish in the Post-War
Period. Meta, 48 (1-2), pp.115-127.
Jaleniauskiene, E. The strategies for translating Proper Names in Children’s Literature, Studies
about languages, 2009, No, 15
Lloshi, Xh. Facing the globalization: the case of the Albanian Language, Studia Albanica
2/2005,p.49
Manini, L., (1996) “Meaningful Literary Names. Their Forms, Functions, and their Translation”
The Translator: Studies in InterculturalCommunication, 2 (2), pp.161-178.
Newmark, P., (1988). A Textbook of Translation. London and New York: Prentice Hall.
Nord, Ch,. (2003), “Proper Names in Translation for Children: Alice in Wonderland as a Case in
Point”. Meta, 48 (1-2), pp.182-194.
The Oxford Concise English Dictionary (2001, p.1146)

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 Verb Errors Made by Bosnian Learners of English

Emina Jelešković
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Verb errors represent one of the most prominent error types among non-native speakers
of English. Verb phrases constitute the semantic nucleus of sentences. Therefore, any deviation
from grammatical rules which govern their usage will render our speech ungrammatical. The
paper examines verb errors detected in fifty English essays written by fifty Bosnian students
during the freshman year of their university education. All the participants were ESL students
from Bosnia and Herzegovina with the same period of English education within the primary
and secondary school system. The methodology applied is based on error analysis. Verb errors
were identified, classified and analyzed, whereupon suggestions were made to ESL students and
lecturers. Markin 4.0 software was used to speed up the error classification process and provide
statistical data. The analysis has shown that the most frequent verb errors made by Bosnian
learners of English include errors in the choice of tense, subject-verb agreement and verb choice.
The data collected offer an insight into the most frequent problems encountered by Bosnian
learners of English pertaining to the use of verbs, as well as potential solutions which can be
applied in the preparation of effective teaching strategies and material.

Key words: verbs, verb errors, error analysis, verb tense

Introduction

Verbs are defined as words which denote action, state or occurrence. Verb phrases
constitute the semantic nucleus of sentences. Therefore, any deviation from grammatical rules
which govern their usage will render our speech ungrammatical. However, when compared to
the research of errors in the use of articles and prepositions, there has been little work on verb

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errors in non-native speakers of English. Rozovskaya et al. (2014) hold that there are two reasons
for that: first, verbs are more difficult to identify in the text, and second, they are more complex
linguistically, since they fulfill several grammatical functions.

Many researchers have shown that verb errors represent one of the most prominent
error types among non-native speakers of English (Lee and Seneff, 2008). Having conducted an
analysis of English sentences produced by ESL learners, Taylor (1975) found that there were nine
types of errors related only to the combination of the main verb and an auxiliary. In the Japanese
Learners of English corpus, errors related to verbs are among the most frequent categories (Izumi
et al., 2003). Malaysian students of English as a second language find subject-verb agreement
most challenging, since it has proved to be the most prominent verb form error detected in their
writing (Wee et al. 2010).

The theoretical framework of this the paper is error analysis, the approach that highlights
the importance of trial and error in SLA. James (2013) defines Error Analysis as a branch of
applied linguistics which implies the process of determining the incidence, nature, causes and
consequences of unsuccessful language (p. 1). Prior to the emergence of error analysis in 1960s,
learners’ errors were dismissed as irrelevant, even annoying and distracting in the process of
learning a language, and the teacher was to make as little fuss about it as possible (Corder, 1967, p.
148). Later on, linguists became aware of the that learners inevitably make errors, which can be
observed, analyzed and classified to reveal the nature of the system operating within the learner
(Brown, 2000, p. 218). Unlike the contrastive analysis approach which preceded it, error analysis
does not aim at predicting difficulties learners will encounter in SLA, but rather at describing
influences which are evident in the language learning process, errors committed by learners
and emphasizing the importance and benefits of feedback on these errors. Moreover, it became
obvious that, in addition to interlingual transfer, which is a significant source of errors especially
at the first stages of SLA, intralingual transfer also represents a major factor in second language
learning (Brown, 2000, p. 224). The intralingual transfer refers to errors and overgeneralizations
made within the target language itself once the learner has made progress in SLA. It is also called
Interlanguage (Selinker, 1972), which suggests the halfway position it holds between knowing
and not knowing the target language (Brown, 2000, p. 224), and the learners’ idiosyncratic dialect
of the target language standard (Corder, 1971, as cited in Brown, 2000, p. 224). Therefore, the
advanced theories of L2 learning introduced by Corder and Selinker de-emphasised the role of
the environment and gave greater recognition to learner-internal factors (Ellis, 1992, p. 3).

Corder (1967, p. 167) emphasizes the significance of learners’ errors in the following
manner: firstly, they are important to the teacher since they tellhim how far towardsthe goal the
learnerhas progressed; secondly, they provide to evidence of how language is learned or acquired,
what strategies or procedures the learner is employing in his discovery of the language; thirdly,

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and most importantly, they are indispensible to the learner himself, because we can regard the
making of errors as a device the learner uses in order to learn.

Methodology

Error analysis methodology developed by Corder (1974) consists of the following steps: (1)
collection of a sample of learner language; (2) identification of errors; (3) description of errors;
(4) explanation of errors; (5) evaluation of errors. However, the fifth step, the evaluation of errors,
is considered as a separate issue by most researchers and it will not be considered in this paper.
The sample of Bosnian learners of English as a second language was collected and analyzed. Verb
errors were identified and described, whereupon an explanation was offered in relation to the
negative transfer from L1 and negative intralanguage transfer within the target language itself.

Research objectives

The goal of the analysis is to detect and describe errors in the use of verbs in English
sentences written by Bosnian learners. Given the fact that insufficient research was conducted
on the topic of errors made by Bosnian learners of English as a second language, this analysis
focuses on verbs as crucial elements in language comprehension and production. The overall
goal is to improve the feedback process by specifying the most common problems and challenges
Bosnian students face in the acquisition of English, whereby the quality of the teaching process
and didactic methods should be improved as well.

Hypotheses

In both languages, English and Bosnian, verb tenses are generally divided into three main
categories: present, past and future. However, there are noteworthy differences in verb features
in the two languages. Bosnian is a highly flective language with suffixed often denoting multiple
grammatical categories. The number of verb tenses and their characteristics are significantly
different. In Bosnian language, verbs have the following grammatical features: person, tense,
mood, gender and number. In English tense/time and aspect intersect (Cowan, 2008, p. 351),
whereas in Bosnian verb aspect and transitivity are lexical-grammatical properties (Jahić et al.,
2000). Passive sentences are an important part of every English language teaching syllabus and
are emphasized in ESL writing courses, given the fact that they frequently occur, especially in
news reports and academic writing (Cowan, 2008, p. 396). On the other hand, even though
passive voice is present in Bosnian language, it is not as widely and frequently used as in English.

Considering the aforementioned distinctions between the two languages, it may be

expected that Bosnian learners of English will face challenges in mastering English verb tenses,
as well as in the use of passive voice. Therefore, the following hypotheses have been stipulated:

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 1. Significant presence of verb tense errors, in particular those related to verb tenses which
are not in use in Bosnian language (for example, present perfect tense);
2. Significant presence of passive voice errors.

The sample

This paper examines verb errors detected in fifty English essays written by fifty Bosnian
students of English as the second language. The participants were freshman students enrolled in
Freshman English course at International University of Sarajevo (IUS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
during 2014/2015 academic year. Freshman English course is a required university course for all
students at IUS regardless of their study program or department. The participants had the same
period of English language learning experience within the primary and secondary education and
school system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were asked to write a comparison and contrast
essay of 350-400 words. Two topics were offered. The students had one hour to finish the essay.
The collected essays were reviewed and verb errors analyzed.

The instrument

The instrument used in the data analysis is Markin 4.0 software , a Windows program which
provides a comprehensive set of tools enabling the teacher to mark and annotate student essays. The
software offers four different tools: annotations, comments, feedback and grade. Markin 4.0 was
used to speed up the error classification process and provide statistical data. Verb errors identified
in the sample were classified in the following categories: verb tense, passive voice, subject-verb
agreement, verb choice, modals, verb complement, verb omission and redundant use.

Results and Discussion

Having classified the verb errors detected in the essays written by freshman students of
IUS, the following results were obtained (Table 1).

Error type Percentage

Verb tense 34
Subject-verb agreement 28
Verb choice 18
Verb omission 8
Passive voice 5
Redundant use 3
Verb complement 2
Modals 2
Table 1: Types of verb errors and their presence in Bosnian learners’ writing.

384
 The most frequent verb error was the use of wrong verb tense (34%), followed by subject-
verb agreement (28%). Taken together, these two error types amount to almost two thirds of all
verb errors made by Bosnian learners of English in the analyzed sample. Errors in verb choice
are also significantly present with 18%. Verb omission errors (8%) were detected slightly more
frequently than errors in passive voice (5%), with errors in redundant use of verbs (3%), verb
complements (2%) and modal verbs (2%) being least present. Considering the research of verb
tense problems faced by many ESL learners, as well as the differences between Bosnian and
English verb tenses, it comes as no surprise that this type of verb error is predominant among
Bosnian learners of English as well. Further analysis of verb tense errors in their essays showed
the following distribution of this error type (Table 2).

Verb tense errors Percentage

Present continuous tense 32
Present perfect tense 22
Simple present tense 14
Simple past tense 11
Past perfect tense 7
Future tense 7
Infinitive 7
Table 2: Verb tense errors and their percentage.

The most frequent verb tense error made by Bosnian learners of English was the misuse of
present continuous tense (32%). Errors in the use of present perfect were also dominant (22%),
with simple present tense errors (14%) and simple past tense (11%) following. Errors in the use
of past perfect tense, future tense and infinitive form of verbs (7 %) were not as frequent as
the aforementioned verb tense errors. Therefore, we can conclude that the first hypothesis, a
significant presence of verb tense errors, has been confirmed.

Such distribution of verb tense errors can be explained by the fact that English verb
tense system is not the same as Bosnian verb tense system. Both have verb tenses which the
other language lacks. In English, there are two present tenses (simple present tense and present
continuous tense) and two perfect tenses which denote present actions as well (present perfect
tense and present perfect continuous tense). On the other hand, in Bosnian there is only one
present tense, which can be used in several different contexts. Therefore, it is not surprising
that Bosnian ESL learners face difficulties in using the correct present tense of the verb. In the
collected sample they used present continuous tense not just when the context required that
tense, but also when simple present tense or present perfect were required, like in the examples
following examples: I am living in Europe; Some people are thinking that good luck is better than
hard work; They are usually holding classes at right time.

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 Most frequent verb error was the use of present continuous tense in the context in which
simple present tense was required (Students are choosing to continue their education; Universities
are using old and out of time equipment). Present perfect tense was used in the context in which
simple past tense was required (I have come to university last year). Simple present tense was used
instead of simple past tense or present perfect tense (Last month a man shoots on government
army; I study here since 2013). Other types of verb tense errors made by Bosnian learners of
English included errors in the use of simple past tense, past perfect tense, future tense and
infinitive. The overall conclusion related to the verb tense errors detected in their writing is that
Bosnian students do not take into consideration the differences between Bosnian and English
verb tense systems. In addition, they tend to ignore the importance of adverbs as clue words
which modify certain verb tenses in the recognizable way.

The second most frequent verb error detected in the sample was subject-verb agreement.
In most cases, Bosnian learners of English either failed to use third person singular marking
in simple present tense (He like newspaper; My brother join them often; It is sad that technology
control everything now; Afterwards he or she usually give a couple of days for study time; If he want
to accomplish something), or used third person singular verbs with plural nouns (for people who
wants to be more informed that isn’t enough; Students doesn’t get used to the studying; Some people
does not have good luck). Other examples include the following subject-verb agreement errors:
I think there is more disadvantages than advantages of studying at state university; On private
university there is no arrogant professors; employment rate are slightly over 25 percent.

Errors in verbs choice were also significantly present, for example: She knows English;
Life also serves us some tasks; Lectures are mostly handled on foreign language; In school we are
thought a lot of different things. Verb choice errors detected in the analyzed sample illustrate both
interlingual and intralingual transfer which is present in the writing of Bosnian learners of English.
Given the fact that the level of English proficiency of the Bosnian ESL learners who participated
in the research differed from pre-intermediate, to intermediate and advanced level, this was to be
expected. Students who were still at the pre-intermediate level made more interlingual errors by
using verbs which are Bosnian equivalents in the context in which other verbs were required in
English (like in the following examples: They are using books which are written by professor who
keeps that course; But for that we need to know foreign languages). On the other hand, students
at the advanced level made intralingual errors, usually due to overgeneralization, i.e. by using
English words they acquired in a wrong context (for example: Private university utilizes English
speaking classes; Students are very often tired and can’t take pressure so they leave college and try to
hire somewhere; They leak frustrations on students).

Verb omission errors detected in the sample mostly refer to the omission of auxiliary verbs
(Some countries, because of various reasons, neglecting education in general; Because immediately

386
after the news starting their favorite TV show; The internet bringing much more possibilities than
it was earlier). However, sentences which completely lack verbs were also detected (Part-time
studying bad effects on students; It worth it).

Even though the initial hypotheses stipulated significant presence of passive voice errors,
based on the fact that passive sentences are not as widely present in Bosnian language as in
English, errors in the use of passive voice were not predominant errors in the analyzed sample.
Nevertheless, such errors were detected. In some cases passive voice structures were incomplete
(When they born they have everything what they need; For me, the best way to be inform are
smartphones), while in others passive voice was used in the context in which it was not required
(Newspapers can’t print all the news that were happened last day).

The verb errors detected in the writing of Bosnian learners of English offer an insight into
the most frequent difficulties and challenges they face in the SLA process. The general observation
is that students should be reminded of the importance of verbs and verb phrases for English
grammar and proficiency. Since the practical aspect of error analysis is its function in guiding
the remedial action teachers should take to correct an unsatisfactory state of affairs for learner
(Corder, 1981, p. 45), the results obtained in this research should be used as the guidelines for
the teachers to improve their teaching methodology and strategies. This should be achieved by
carefully designing a grammar unit within which specific aspects of grammar would be taught.
Taking into account the fact that predominant type of verb error was the misuse of verb tenses,
English verb tenses should be the essential segment of the grammar unit. For Bosnian learners
of English, it will be important to relate English verb tenses to Bosnian verb tenses, by pointing
out the differences between the two languages. English teachers should also remind students of
the importance of adverbs, as clue words which should guide them to a better understanding of
the use of verb tenses.

Limitations and recommendations for further research

Over the years, many linguists have pointed out limitations of error analysis approach.
The main argument voiced against error analysis was that the lack of certain errors does not
necessarily imply the lack of problems and challenges students face in mastering certain
aspect of grammar, but rather the avoidance of such challenging constructs in their writing.
Other arguments refer to the danger of putting too much focus on learners’ errors, whereby
correct utterances would go unnoticed, as well as to the overemphasis on production data in the
classroom, while comprehension data, which are equally important, may be overlooked (Brown,
2000, pp. 218-219).

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 However, according to Corder (1981), there are two justifications for the study of learners’
errors: the pedagogical justification (a good understanding of the nature of errors is necessary in
order to eradicate them), and the theoretical justification (a study of learners’ errors is part of the
systematic study of learners’ language and necessary for understanding the SLA process).

Therefore, error analysis should be applied in ESL classrooms in order to facilitate the
learning process by gaining insight into the most challenging issues the students face, whereupon
they would be provided with timely feedback which would be related to the relevant grammar
aspects and, thus, be very specific. Different types of errors made by Bosnian learners of English
are yet to be analyzed thoroughly in order to improve the existing curriculum in primary,
secondary and tertiary education. In future, additional analysis will be required to improve
English proficiency of Bosnian learners at all levels of our educational system.

More specifically, at International University of Sarajevo, where English is the official

language of instruction, errors made by Bosnian learners should be analyzed in detail, whereupon
a grammar unit should be incorporated in Freshman English course. That unit should be based on
errors detected in students’ writing, so that specific feedback would be provided, while grammar
lectures would be focused on the most challenging issues. Therefore, error analysis of other
aspects of student writing should also be conducted with the aim of gaining a comprehensive
insight into the specific errors Bosnian students make in the use of English.

Conclusion

Errors are a necessary part of language acquisition process. The making of errors is
a strategy employed both by children acquiring their mother-tongue and by those learning a
second language (Corder, 1967, p. 167). There is a language learning mechanism which accounts
for the process by which learners construct a mental grammar of the L2, which is manifested in
errors of a uniquely developmental nature (Ellis, 1992, p. 3). Therefore, error analysis approach
is useful for SLA studies.

So far, there has been no significant research on errors made by Bosnian learners of
English. This paper attempts to shed light on verb errors made by Bosnian freshman students at
International University of Sarajevo. The students had several years of English learning experience.
However, verb errors are still present in their writing. The predominant verb errors detected were
errors in the use of verb tense and subject-verb agreement, followed by errors in verb choice,
verb omission errors, errors in passive voice, redundant use of verbs, verb complement errors
and errors in the use of modal verbs. With regard to verb tense errors, errors in the use of present
continuous tense are predominant, followed by errors in the use of present perfect tense, simple
present tense, simple past tense, past perfect tense, future tense and infinitive form of verbs.

388
Considering the foregoing, the first hypothesis, a significant presence of verb tense errors, has
been confirmed. On the other hand, the second hypothesis, a significant presence of passive
voice errors, has not been confirmed, given the fact that, even though passive voice errors were
detected, they were not predominant. This can be perhaps explained by the aforementioned
“avoidance strategy”, whereby students simply avoided the verb structures they found difficult
and challenging.

Freshman students at IUS need to be reminded of the importance of verbs within the
sentence structure. In addition, English language teachers need to be aware of the significance of
students’ output for the teaching process. Bosnian learners of English should also be reminded
of the differences in the verb tense systems of Bosnian and English language, as well as of the
importance of specific adverbs which modify verbs and occur in the relevant verb tenses.
Freshman English course should include a grammar unit which will particularly focus on verbs
and VP structure. The grammar unit should constitute at least one third of Freshman English
classes. The list of textbooks used for the course should be adjusted accordingly. Detected errors
represent a useful guide for English teachers at IUS to design effective teaching strategies and
chose the best material available.

References
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). New York: Longman.
Corder, S.P. (1967). Significance of learners’ errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics
9: 147-159.
Corder, S. P. (1974). Error Analysis: Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition. London:
Longman.
Corder, S.P. (1981). Error analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cowan, R. (2008). The teacher’s grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (1992). Second Language Acquisition and Language Pedagogy. Clevedon, Philadelphia,
Adelaide: Multilingual Matters
Izumi, E., K. Uchimoto, T. Saiga, T. Supnithi, and H. Isahara. (2003). Automatic error detection
in the Japanese learners’ English spoken data. In The Companion Volume to the
Proceedings of 41st Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics,
pages 145–148. Sapporo, Japan.
Jahić, Dž., S. Halilović & I. Palić. (2000). Gramatika bosanskoga jezika. Zenica: Dom štampe.
James, C. (2013). Errors in language learning and use: Exploring Error Analysis (first published
in 1998 by Pearson Education Unlimited). New York and London: Routledge

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Lee, J. and S. Seneff. (2008). Correcting misuse of verb forms. In Proceedings of ACL-08: HLT,
pages 174–182, Columbus, Ohio: Association for Computational Linguistics.
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Quirk, R, S. Greenbaum, G. Leech, & J. Svartvik. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the
English Language. London: Longman.
Rozovskaya, A., D. Roth and V. Sirkumar. (2014). Correcting grammatical verb errors. In
Proceedings of the 14th Conference of the European Chapter of the Association for
Computational Linguistics, pages 358–367. Gothenburg, Sweden.
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language
Teaching, 10: 201-231.
Taylor, B. (1975). The use of overeneralization and transfer learning strategies by elementary and
intermediate students in ESL. Language Learning 25: 73-107.
Wee, R., J. Sim and K. Jusoff. (2010). Verb-form errors in EAP writing.Educational Research and
Review Vol. 5 (1), pp. 016-023. Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/
ERR2

390
 Cross-Linguistic Transfer of L1 to L2:
Evidence from Turkish/Bosnian and English

Nudžejma Obralić
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

It has been hypothesized that the cross-linguistic transfer while learning a second
language is recognized as one of the main obstacles that learners face while learning a second
language or struggle to reach learning outcomes. It was generally recognized as a reason for
failure due to the linguistic errors. Therefore, we decided to conduct a study and find out to
what extents differences and similarities, markedness, native language transfer, avoidance, first
language influences, underuse and overuse impact a second language acquisition of Turkish and
Bosnian learners while learning English. The two main languages taken into the consideration as
L1 are Bosnian and Turkish, whereas L2 is English. The main purpose of the study is to analyze
the cross-linguistic influences of Turkish and Bosnian while learning English language and to
point out its importance for learning a second language. The paper itself can be used as a useful
resource for the future researches done on the language subject in linguistic.

Key words: cross-linguistic influence, syntax, markedness, overuse and underuse, avoidance

Introduction

The fundamental factor in SLA is the role of the first language. In order to find what factors
mostly impact the students’ achievement, it was necessary to investigate the students’ background
predisposition for learning a second language. This paper deals with the most fundamental factor
in development of an L2 / English andthe role of the first language / Bosnian and Turkish.Both
first and second language learners face the same problem – how to map form and function
to produce meaningful utterances based upon their language experiences (N. Ellis 2002).

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The final outcomes are determined by perceived similarities and differences. Crosslinguistic
influence is one of the major factors while learning second language. Crosslinguistic influence
is a phenomenon which has been an interest of many researchers and scholars since 1940s and
1950s. American linguists were among the first to discuss on crosslinguistic influence or transfer.
Many linguists would agree that the crosslinguistic influence of a learner of one language on that
learner’s knowledge or use of knowledge exist. Sharwood Smith (1986) defined crosslinguistic
as a theory, neutral term that is appropriate for referring to the full range of ways in which a
person’s knowledge of one language can affect that person’s knowledge of one language and use of
another language. G. Ioup (2005), suggested that L1 influence has a huge impact on L2 learning
outcomes. ‘’A number of researchers have concluded that L1 influence is responsible for some
of the age-related effects…some have found that it produced a positive impact, while others
have documented a negative influence’’ (p. 428). He cited Mode (1976) who said that similarities
between L1 and target language might have a debilitating influence. Bialystok (1997) pointed out
that the correspondence between structures in the native language and target language was the
best predictor for success.

Odlin (1989) in his book states that CLI research had flourished in the study of word
order, revitalization, negation, vocabulary, segmental phonology and speech acts. Many experts
claimed that Terry Odlin documented the historical development of the concept of language
transfer, explored the role of transfer in discourse, semantics, syntax, phonology, and writing
systems, and examined the way language transfer interact with linguistic as well as cultural,
social, and personal factors in second language learning and use. It once again implies that CLI
is an extremely important factor in second language acquisition.

The research on CLI is divided into observable influences: directly and indirectly in many
linguistic domains. Direct influence concerns structure and meaning, whereas indirect influence
concerns concept and discourse. Both Turkish and Bosnian differ markedly from English. In this
paper the direct influence will be observed by Contrastive analysis. However, (Jiang, 2004) says
that phenomena includes negative effects of incomplete translation equivalents and false friends,
and mixed effects of cognates.

Thus, we will start with false friends. One of the most used examples of false friends is
Turkish word is ’apartman’ which refers to an apartment block but not the ‘apartment’. Another
challenge students meet is the literally translation. For example, the production of ‘‘köpek balığı’
‘will be ‘dog fish’ which stands for the English word ‘shark’. Bosnian students are very likely to
say: ‘Ona je uvijek na mojoj strani.’ Their production is: ‘She is always on my page.’ instead of ‘She
is always on my side.’. ‘She is always on my page.’ carries another discourse meaning that she and
her friend understand each other very well and they get along with each other. Therefore, we can
agree with Kellerman (1984) that limited transfer of multiple meanings of polysemous words,

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particularly in idiomatic usage appears. Ortega noticed that Odlin (1989, 2005) together with
Travise (1986) dealt with that transfer in the area of word order in production and comprehension
Gilsan (1985). Many would agree that syntactic transfer is the main issue that researchers want
to deal with.

Approaches in Linguistic Transfer

There are three main sub-disciplines comprised in order to analyze approaches in linguistic
transfer: Contrastive analysis, error analysis and theory of translation. The knowledge of native
language plays an important role for second language acquisition and might have negative as
well as positive consequences while learning second language. It differs according to learner’s
background, proficiency level and different areas of L2.

Contrastive analysis (Stockwell, 1965) helped a lot in understanding that systematic L1 -

L2 comparison leads a researcher to a prediction when negative transfer might occur. It is mostly
defined as systematic, synchronic comparison of two languages aiming at establishing explicit
similarities and differences expressed in terms of correspondence and equivalence between
the elements of L1 and target language. According to Scott Jarvis and Aneta Pavlenko (2007),
syntactic transfer involving both production and underproduction has been found in various
other areas of grammar, including the use of relative clauses (Schachter, 1974), articles (Master,
1997), prepositions (Ijaz, 1986, Jarvis and Odlin, 2000), cleft and pseudo-cleft constructions
(Aronsson, 2001). Previous studies presented how word order in L2 might be influenced by the
structural differences of the word order in L1. Ludmila Isurin stated that some studies reported
that L2 acquisition is affected by the SVO (subject-verb-object) ordering in L1 (Zobl, 1982),
others suggested that the production of simple declarative sentences in English is not strongly
influenced by the structural nature of L1 (Fathman; 1976; Fathman and Lo Coco, 1989). Gurel
(2004) has done research on the similarities and differences between Turkish as L1 and English
as L2. In his research the participants were native speakers of Turkish language who were adults
immigrated to North America and have been living there. Findings implied that Turkish overt
pronoun ‘o’ was attributed binding properties of the English overt pronoun ‘s/he’. While learners
transfer from L1, it was in most cases considered positively regarding Bosnian. However, in case
L1 and target language do not share similar features, like Turkish and English, it might cause
negative and reflective incomplete reaching to learning outcomes.

Negation in Bosnian language is achieved pre-verbally (ne+verb). For example, ‘Ja

ne želim da idem u kino.’ In Turkish language negation is achieved in-verbally (verb+ma/
me+suffix), for example, ‘Ben sinemaya gitmek istemiyorum.’. Whereas, in English negation is
done post-verbally. The word not is added at the end of verb or auxiliary, e.g. ‘I do not want to
go to the cinema.’

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 Many researchers claim that similarities might in many cases mislead a learner. Henning
Wood, German researcher, defined this principle as Crucial Similarity Measure. However,
we notice that not only similarities can mislead but the features of a language can call for
misperception of similarity. An example for misleading can be the fact that Turkish learners
would mostly use the Present Continuous tense instead of the Present Simple tense. For example,
‘I live in this house. /Ben bu evde yaşarım’. Learners mostly say: ‘I’m living in this house’. It is
because ‘Ben bu evde yaşarım.’ has completely another connotation and means ‘I might/might be
able to live in this house. ‘

On the other hand, Bosnian learners would use the sentence in the correct form: ‘I live
in this house. /Ja živim u ovoj kući.’ What is a specific data that Bosnian learners are likely to
say: ‘I didn’t saw those people.’ because of the negative transfer from L1: /Ja nisam vidjela te
ljude./Another example is that Turkish students will use the preposition de/da incorrectly. This
preposition de/da stands for ‘in’, ‘at’ or ‘on’, whereas in Bosnian there are equivalents for ‘in’ – u
or ‘on’ – na similar to English.

Emotions in Turkish are not used with ‘be’ for the reason that they are mostly verbs.
Therefore, they would produce a sentence such as: ‘When I was a child, I scarded of dogs.’. In
Bosnian, emotions are not always verbs, so, in English and Bosnian emotions are expressed in
the same way, for example, ‘Kada sam bila dijete ja sam se bojala pasa. /When I was a child I was
scared of dogs./

Another important segment in crosslinguistic field goes beyond L1 and L2 formal

correspondence. It is considered to be a learner’s awareness and perception of the similarities
and differences between L1 and L2. They are required to construct an interlingual identification.
It was defined by Terance Odlin (2003, p.454) who stated that it is the judgment that something
in the native language is and something in the target language are similar. L. Ortega underlined
the three factors which influence interlingual identification: the nature of the specific L2
phenomenon and the universal forces that shape its natural development, learner’s perceived
distance between the L1 and the L2 and their intuitions of what is transferable or not and their
relative proficiency level. For Kellerman (1984) the impact of learner perceptions are considered
as prototypes. As an e.g both Bosnian and Turkish learners have difficulties using the past simple
tense: ‘The girl gaved the money to his friend.’; The students comed to school late this morning.’
The shift away from the cataloguing of external L1 and differences and towards analyzing actual
learner language contributed to the emergence of notion of inter-language (Selinker, 1972). In
terms of similarities in linguistic structures in English and Bosnian language a positive transfer
is reached, while differences between Turkish and English cause an interference which is known
as negative transfer.

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 In the research done by Kenneth Hyltenstam (1977) the negative transfer is also visible. He
investigated 160 participants, people from different countries learning Swedish. The aim of his
research was to investigate the way they use negation. Three native Turkish people, among six of
them, benefited from similarities between Turkish and Swedish language. What causes curiosity
is the question how much a learner can rely on the similarities between L1 and L2.

Another example of negative transfer is when students literally translate from L1 to L2 and
meanwhile they do not apply concepts. It is well-known that Turkish is agglutinative language.
Tense formulations, pronouns and most non-content words are attached to the back of the words.
E.g. Ev+in+de, literally translated as house+his/her+in. Here, the negative transfer is noticed.
However, in Bosnian language, the word formation is similar to English one. E.g. u njegovoj/
njenoj kući – /in – his/her – house./

In Turkish language there are mostly no plural pronouns. For example, ‘Paris’te birkaç
arkadaşım var.’ /I have some friend in Paris./. For this reason, Turkish students tend to produce
sentences such as ‘There are a lot of student in the park.’ or ‘I like carrot.’, whereas, in most cases a
plural meaning is understood from a number, quantifier and context. However, plural nouns are
used in Bosnian language, for example, ‘Imam nekoliko prijatelja u Parizu.’ / I have some friends
in Paris./

It has been also noticed that Turkish and Bosnian students underuse or overuse some
forms in L2. Among Turkish learners the underuse of prepositions in general is attested. Turkish
students produce instance of zero prepositions, e.g. ‘Emir went the market place.’; whereas the
preposition ‘to’ is underused. Many would agree that a reason for the underuse is the post-
position of a preposition in a noun phrase, e.g. ‘Yeni okul-a gitti.’ Bosnian students do not face
these difficulties. Overuse is noticed in terms of prepositions again, e.g. ‘She hugged to him.’. In
this case, the preposition ‘to’ is overused. The reason for this use has been motivated by semantic
transfer.

In Turkish language almost everything is possessed. What’s more interesting is that the
possessor and the thing being possesses is attached by a suffix. For example, ‘Ali’nin anahtarı
araba’da kaldı.’- Ali’s key’s left in the car. It is easy to notice that the suffix is used on both Ali and
the key. This is the reason Turkish students usually confuse and tend to produce sentences such
as: ‘John’s father’s works in the hospital.

Studies on language transfer in SLA were predominantly carried out in the field of syntax
(Gass, 1996). Therefore, our concern is morpho-syntactic. Bosnain syntax is exactly the same as
English syntax. However, Turkish syntax completely differs from English one.

- ‘She visited her uncle two days ago.’ - (S+V+O+A)

- ‘O dayısını iki gün önce ziyaret etti.’ - (S+ O +A+V)
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 - ‘Ona je posjetila svog amidžu prije dva dana. - (S+V+O+A)

Therefore, Turkish learners are most likely to face difficulties while forming a sentence.
It shows how L1 influence can cause incorrect production. Another thing that can cause an
incorrect production is the fact that Turkish and Bosnian grammar are more flexible than English
grammar. Subjects, verbs and objects can sometimes go in different places as well. For example, Ja
volim tebe. /I love you./; Volim te ja. /Love you I./ and Tebe volim ja. /You love I. /. Same stands
for Turkish language: Seni seviyorum. /I love you./; Seviyorum seni ben./Love you I./ and Seni
ben seviyorum. /You love I/. The place of the word in the sentence depends on the importance
of the emphasized word. This phenomena is also considered as a negative influence applied in
L2 because a learner tends to make the same word order as in L1. However, there is no adjective
order in Turkish or in Bosnian. E.g. ‘I bought a long black dress.’ can be translated as ‘Ja sam
kupio jednu dugu crnu haljinu.’ /I bought a long black dress./ or ‘Ja sam kupio jednu crnu dugu
haljinu.’/I bought a black long dress./ Meanwhile, in Turkish language it is the same: ‘Ben uzun
bir siyah elbiseyi satin aldım.’ /I bought a long black dress./ or ‘Ben siyah uzun bir elbiseyi satin
aldım.’ /I bought a black long dress./. The reason for the different positions is what is to be more
emphasized and which adjective is more important. Another issue that is the case when subject
is omitted. E.g. ‘Babamın ceketini ütüledim.’. Learners would literally translate ‘Father’s trousers
ironed.’ instead of ‘I ironed my father’s trousers.’. In this case the subject is omitted because ‘the
doer’ of the action is indicated by the verb. It is similar to pronouns which are used differently.
In another word, personal as well as possessive pronouns are attached to the back of the words;
because Turkish language is agglutinative language. Therefore, students do not see them as
separate words. In Bosnian language, pronounsare also attached to the head word and the verb
indicates the doer of the action. For example, E.g. ‘Ispeglala sam očevu jaknu.’.

As Jim Miller (2008) focuses on the relation between heads and modifiers, he labels these
relations dependencies. Dependencies are central to syntax. Sentences are composed of words.
Words are grouped into phrases where there is a head word controlling other words which are
called modifiers. The head might have one or no modifiers. In order to interpret a clause or
sentence in written language or a series of clauses in spontaneous speech, we have to pick out
each head and the words that modify it. In English, nouns are modified by different types of
words such as adjective, prepositional phrases and relative clauses.

For example, ‘She is the old teacher’. The word teacher is the head and ‘the’ and ‘old’ are
its modifiers. Modifiers actually convey extra information related to the head. Therefore, ‘the’
is referring to a specific teacher or obvious from a particular context, while the modifier ‘old’ is
an extra information which defines the head. However, in the example ‘She is old’, the word old
is an adjective phrase with no modifier, which shows that a head word does not need to have a
modifier in order to form a phrase. E.g. ‘She lives in a small house.’ In this case, house is modified

396
by the indefinite article the and by the adjective small. E.g. ‘She lives in a small house which
they bought five years ago.’ In this example, house is a head modified and preceded both by the
indefinite article ‘a’ and adjective ‘small’ as well as the relative clause: e.g. which they bought five
years ago. English language imposes a strict order on the head of a noun phrase and its modifier;
all modifiers either precede or follow the head. In Turkish language, for example, adjectives
precede the head of the noun. E.g. O çalışkan bir öğrencidir. /He+hard working+a+student./. The
adjective çalışkan precedes the head of the noun öğrenci. In Bosnian language adjectives precede
the head of a noun as well. E.g. On je jedan vrijedan učenik. /He is a hardworking student./
The relative clause precedes the head in Turkish (buraya daha önce gelen), whereas in Bosnian
language a relative clause follows the head (koju je dobila od tetke); e.g. Buraya daha önce gelen
kız benim akrabamdı; e.g. Ona je ponijela haljinu koju je dobila od tetke.

When it comes to the prepositional phrases, it is important to mention there are no

prepositions in Turkish language, but postpositions. While in English a preposition precedes
its complement to form a prepositional phrase (e.g. My house is on the hilltop.), in Turkish a
postposition follows its complement to form a postpositional phrase. E.g. Arkadaşım ile geçen
gün önemli bir konu hakkında konuştum. The postposition ila /with/ is preceded by arkadaşım /
friend/. E. g. Nekoć sam razgovarala s prijateljicom o jednoj važnoj temi. The preposition s /with/
is followed by prijateljicom/friend/and forms a prepositional phrase.

Different languages have different orders of head and modifiers for they are typically
grouped inside clause. Language change, or rather speakers change their pronunciation (often
unaware of the change), speakers re-interpret chunks of syntax and structure of words, and they
create new syntactic constructions, introduce new words and extend or even change the meaning
of existing words.

Markedness and transfer is another very important source of universal influence while
learning second language. L. Ortega (2009) stated that markedness has been used to denote a
closed set of possibilities rank from simplest and most frequent across languages of the world,
or unmarked to most complex and most rare, or marked. The markedness relationship is
implicational and unidirectional. It concerns correlation. Markedness is seen in different areas
of morphology, phonology and syntax. In most cases learner are asked to transfer L1 forms if
those forms are marked and unusual. Granger (2002) and Cobb (2003) stated that there are
noticeable differences in the frequency of use for the forms investigated across L1 groups, and
that the L1 induced underuse or overuse of certain forms may be typical at different stages of L2
development for certain L1-L2 groups.

Errors of commissions are noticeable in speaking and writing while using L2. Negative L2
transfer does not always cause misunderstanding. It is just a case of avoidance. Avoidance as a

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systematic case of L1 and it was first introduced by Jacqueline Schachter (1974). It is a case where
relative clauses are avoided and replaced by simple structures which carry the content. Here
are some examples of relative clauses: ‘Putnici koji nisu imali kartu nisu mogli putovati. /Bileti
olmayan yolcular yolculuk yapamadılar. / The travelers who did not have a ticket couldn’t travel.’

Therefore, relative clauses have the same position in Bosnian and English, whereas in
Turkish language they differ. Relative pronouns like those in English /who, which and that/ as well
as Bosnian /koji-koja-koje/ are not used in Turkish language. Instead, the suffix ‘en’ or ‘an’ is added
to the verb. Apart from syntax which according to Jim Miller enables human beings to compose
complex message and it is neutral with respect to ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ English, French and so on.

Conclusion

Crosslinguistic influence is one of the major factors while learning second language. In
most cases learners stick to the principle that what works in the L1 may work in the L2 because
human languages are fundamentally alike. However, what sounds correct will probably be
incorrect in L2. In this study we have shown that Bosnian learners might be more successful
in learning English than Turkish learners. The crosslinguistic influence of L1 to L2, in terms
of syntax provides the predisposition for better acquisition of L2. According to Chomsky, the
learner must take a very limited input in L2 and construct a clean grammar of the language being
learned. The final product would be the language in which redundancies will be minimized at all
costs. We believe that this paper itself can be used as a useful resource for the future researches
done on the language subject in linguistic.

References

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Print, Developmental Psychology, 33, pp. 429-440.
Cobb, T. (2003).Analyzing Late Interlanguage with Learner Corpora: Quebec Replications Of
Three European Studies. Canadian Modern Language Review,59,393-423.
Ellis, N.C. (2002). Frequency Effects in Language Acquisition: AResponse to Commentaries.
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Granger, S., Hung, J., and Petch-Tyson, S. (eds) (2002). Computer Learner Corpora, Second
Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Ioup, G. (2005). Age in Second Language Development. In E. Hinkel (Eds.). Handbook of
Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 419-435). Mahwah, NJ.
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Jiang, N. (2004). Semantic Transfer and its Implications for Vocabulary Teaching in a Second
Language. Modern language Journal, 88, 416-32.
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Keenan, E. And Comrie, B. (1977). Noun Phrases Accessibility and Universal Grammar.
Linguistic Inquiry, 8,63-99.
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Second Language Acquisition, New York: Routledge.
LudmilaIsurin (2005). Cross Linguistic Transfer in Word Order: Evidence from L1 Forgetting
and L2 Acquisition, Cascadilla Press, Somerville
Master, P. (1997). The English Article System: Acquisition, Function, and Pedagogy, System,
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Miller, J. (2008). An Introduction to English Syntax, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.
Odlin, T. (1989). Language Transfer: Crosslinguistic Influence In Language Learning. New York:
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Schachter, J. (1974). An Error in Error Analysis. Languages Learning, 24, 205-214.
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Spanish. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

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 Using Blogs to Promote Student Interaction and
Learning in EFL Classes

Izela Habul-Šabanović
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This paper addresses the application of a class blog in an EFL (English as a foreign
language) teaching context in order to promote student interaction and learning. A weblog, or
blog, is an interactive homepage easy to set up and manage, which permits publishing online.
Although it was not initially provided for pedagogical purposes, a blog has a great potential to
be used as a tool in EFL classes, especially to motivate students to engage in online exchanges,
thereby expanding their language study and learning community beyond the walls of a physical
classroom. This small scale action research explores the usefulness of incorporating a blog project
into an EFL class as it provides an effective means of facilitating greater learner interaction and
reflection on language skills development. A class blog was envisaged as an out-of-class project
aimed at motivating students to practice language skills and communicate with others via this
new computer-based learning platform outside the classroom. The participants for this study
were the third and fourth year students (n= 52) of the Pedagogical Faculty in Sarajevo attending
an EFL elective course. The research mainly focused on the students’ attitudes and perceptions
of using a class blog to support their English language learning and foster student interaction in
an online learning community. The project lasted for two semesters and data were collected from
students through a questionnaire at the end of the term. The results of the questionnaire reveal
that students had an overall positive attitude towards using a class blog as an appropriate medium
for practicing both their language and social skills.

Key words: blogs, EFL, student interaction and learning, online learning community,
students’ attitudes and perceptions

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 Introduction

Modern information and communication technologies not only influence the ways in
which we share and gather information, or communicate, but they also inevitably bring about
changes in the ways we learn and teach as well. The invention of Web 2.0 applications (e.g. Wikies,
blogs, social networking, etc.) has emphasized the interactivity and social aspect of technology
usage, so it has fundamentally changed the way people interact on the Internet, making them
contributors of information, instead of consumers. The Internet users are thus enabled to create
its content independently, publishing their own thoughts and opinions and exchanging their
experiences with other people from all over the world, thus creating a new online platform for
virtual interaction and collaboration.

Web 2.0 technologies have a great potential to introduce innovations in foreign language
teaching, especially English, which no doubt can be considered as the language of modern
information and communication technologies. Unlike the traditional education model mostly
relying on the ‘talk and chalk’ method, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) supported
with these cutting-edge and sophisticated, but still user-friendly technologies, offers numerous
opportunities to promote students’ active and autonomous learning and foster their critical
thinking and social interaction. The teaching and learning process is thus replaced outside the
walls of a traditional classroom into a cyber space of a virtual learning environment, where all
communication takes place via computer, whether in real or asynchronous time.

This paper explores the use of a blog, as a representative example of Web 2.0
technologies, in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching, emphasizing its great potential for
the improvement of the quality of interaction between EFL teachers and students and the raise
of motivation to learn English. This paper first provides some background information and a
brief overview of the relevant literature on the educational value of blogs in EFL teaching. We
start with the definition of a blog, its basic characteristics and types, and explore the numerous
possibilities for its application in EFL teaching. This paper also reports on a research project
where a class blog was integrated into an EFL course at the university level, along with the survey
targeted to examine the participants’ perception of the learning experiences afforded by the use
of a class blog as a means to support social interaction and learning motivation, and also to
supplement in-class learning activities.

Blogs

A blog (short for weblog) is a frequently updated website which mostly functions as a
personal online journal. It is ‚easy-to-create’ and ‚easy-to-maintain’ (Pinkman 2005: 14) since
it requires only a minimum technical background and basic access to the Internet to make
use of a software that enables users to create, design and maintain their own blog with ease.
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Hosting websites such as Blogger.com, first introduced in 1999 and offering a free-of-charge
and simple automatized procedure of creating a blog, have made this effective medium of
communication even more popular. According to Godwin-Jones (2003: 14), 'they offer a great
deal of flexibility and the potential for creativity in the construction of the site, yet still feature
the ease of use of a template-based system.’ Blogs differ from other types of computer-mediated
communication (CMC), i.e. they are unique websites in the form of electronic journals where
authors post their writings in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top, and
thus create a new topic for discussion for each post (Richardson, 2006) and they are innovative
in that they require interaction, i.e. 'for blog users, or bloggers, the computer is simply the medium
for communication'(Pinkman 2005: 14). Kennedy (2003: 1) defines blogs as 'part Web site, part
journal, part free-form writing spaces [that] have the potential to enhance writing and literacy skills
while offering a uniquely stylized form of expression.'

Huffaker (2004: 1) distinguishes these basic features of a blog: (i) instant publishing of
text or graphics to the Web without sophisticated technical knowledge, (ii) ways for people to
provide comments or feedback to each blog post, (iii) the opportunity to archive past blog posts
by date, and (iv) hyperlinks to other bloggers. A typical blog is thus a combination of text, images,
audio, video and other multimedia contents, also including links to other blogs, web pages and
media related to its topic. These specific features distinguish blogs from other forms of CMC,
especially because they support creative expression and provide new opportunities for people
to present themselves online and share their experiences, opinions or creations with millions
of other internet users worldwide. Ever since they first appeared in 90s, having the form of a
personal online diary at the time, blogs have evolved in more sophisticated forms mostly due to
the advancement of ‚tools’ for arranging the web content. Blogs have become popular platforms
for presenting new ideas, online discussion and exchange of thoughts, therefore their number
and purpose is growing fast every day, e.g. blogs of popular magazines and TV broadcasts, blogs
of public people, blogs of political campaigns, commercial blogs, travel blogs, etc.

Based on their specific features, blogs can be distinguished in different types, e.g. individual
or collaborative, personal or thematic, etc. Some authors, like Herring et al. (2005: 6), suggest a
somewhat different classification, according to the primary purpose of a blog: (1) a personal
journal, presenting the author’s personal life and attitudes, (2) a filter, in which the author offers
links and commentaries on the contents of other web pages, (3) a knowledge log or k-log, in
which the basic content consists of information and observations focused on an external topic, a
project or a product, and (4) a mixed blog, which combines the functions of the three previously
mentioned types.

Blogs have a great potential to be effectively and purposefully applied in education,

especially in language teaching, 'because of their multimedia features, simple web publishing,

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interactivity, and ability to support cooperative and autonomous learning' (Ahluwalia et al. 2011:
30). Campbell (2003) suggests three types of blogs that could be used in language teaching:
(1) the tutor blog, lead by the teacher and whose content refers to the curriculum, information
about the course, useful links to other related contents on the internet, assignments, homework,
etc.; students can also make comments on their teacher’s posts; (2) the learner blog, lead by
individuals, or smaller cooperative groups of students, and representing students’ own online
space for individual expression, and, at the same time, a great opportunity to practice reading
and writing through managing a personal blog or posting comments on other students’ blogs; (3)
the class blog, as a common online space for teachers and students, for out-of-class discussions,
supporting project learning, and even international exchanges while connecting with other
students and teachers from all over the world.

Blogs in EFL education

Although blogs were not initially intended to satisfy pedagogical purposes, their simple
user-friendly interface makes them an effective medium in educational settings, especially in the
foreign language classroom. Carney (2009: 299) suggests that 'theoretically speaking, blogs offer
promise in several key areas of language education including motivation, authenticity, collaboration
and literacy.' Generally, blogs foster interaction and collaboration between teachers and
students as they provide a viable online space for exchange and discussions. Teachers are given
opportunities to design their course in an innovative and creative way, and therefore motivate
and encourage their students for additional learning, critical thinking and research even outside
the classroom. Blogs can also enhance the sense of community between students while they
exchange information about themselves and their interests, and respond to their classmates’
posts. Blogging also provides opportunities for shy students to ‚be heard’ in class discussions on
blogs.

Assuming the fact that blogs have only recently gained their popularity in education, the
possibilities and the results of their application have not been sufficiently explored yet (Pinkman,
2005, Carney, 2009). However, the number of studies indicating their usefulness is growing fast.
For example, Huffaker (2004) suggests that the effectiveness of blogs in education is achieved by
their promotion of critical literacy skills, including reading, writing, self-expression, reflection
and creativity. Campbell (2003: 1) confirms the educational value of blogs by stating that 'similar
to an open journal, the accumulation of writings and other content creates both a record of learning
and a resource for others.' Many authors report about the positive attitudes of students towards
the use of blogs in English language teaching, e.g. Ahluwalia et al. (2011) and Blackstone et al.
(2007). Teaching and learning via blogs are not limited by time and space, since communication
can be asynchronuos, and, what is more, learning becomes more autonomous and independent,

  403
more student-centered and adapted to his/her needs and interests. According to Weiler, (2003:
74): 'Weblogs can become an extension of the classroom, where discussions and collaborations
continue long after the bells have sounded and students have left for home. This makes Weblogs
an excellent vehicle for student-centered learning.' Lee (2011: 102-103) reports about promoting
learning autonomy and intercultural competence through blogging in education: 'Overall, students
found that blogging supported self-directed learning, as they individually and socially constructed
meanings to develop their intercultural knowledge and skills. According to the post-survey findings,
blogging promoted learner autonomy through self-regulation and self-management.' Blogs can
also be beneficial for teachers, e.g. they provide opportunities for better communication and
cooperation with students, easier and faster exchange of information and teaching materials,
possibilities for work with students who are not able to attend regular classes for whatever reason,
the use of blogs as an electronic portfolio for students’ writings and easier assessment of their
progress, possibilities for cooperation with parents and other teachers, etc.

Blogs have numerous advantages for their usage in EFL teaching and it is up to teachers
and their skillfulness and creativity, bearing on mind their own and their students’ needs how
to make best use of blogs in their teaching. Many authors offer some useful ideas on how to use
blogs in English language teaching, e.g. for practice in reading and writing (Zhang, 2009, Ducate
and Lomicka, 2008, Ward, 2004), for study in literature (Morrison, 2008), to foster reflection
and social interaction and cooperation (Ray & Hocutt, 2006), as a journal run by teachers and
students, providing space for comments, reactions and reflections on what has been done in
class to be published; an online space to exchange intercultural projects and represent an online
community of teachers and students (Dieu, 2004), etc.

Keeping in mind the idea that effective learning environments require some form of social
interaction, blogs can be a good example since they provide its users a sense of connection with
their peers (Richardson, 2003). Many researchers have pointed out the importance of active
exchanges with others to enhance student performance and satisfaction (Gunawardena & Zittle,
1997; Moore & Kearsley, 1996; etc.). According to Richardson (2003: 5), blogs are 'a way to
communicate with students ..., ‚manage' the knowledge that members of the school community
create’. Blogs also provide space to deliver course content, including syllabi, assignments, links,
or other updates (Downes, 2004; Roberts, 2003). Thus, while posting on their blogs, educators
and other users potentially create an on-line resource for their peers to refer to for guidance
(Campbell, 2003).

According to Moore and Kearsley (1996), there are three types of interaction that allow
students to achieve effective learning in distance learning environments: (i) learner – content
interaction, (ii) learner – instructor interaction, and (iii) learner – learner interaction. While
focusing on these three types of interactions, teachers may overcome potential shortfalls

404
caused by a ‚transactional distance’ in such learning environments, which is due to the fact that
teachers and learners do not interact in the same physical and temporal space. All three types
of interactivity promote engaged learning and help develop collaborative learning experiences.
Gunawardena and Zittle (1997), researchers in the area of social presence and computer-mediated
conferencing, refer to the collaborative aspect of computer-mediated learning as ‚social presence’,
which is defined as the experience of immediacy and intimacy in social exchanges and found to
be a strong predictor of student satisfaction with the class.

Based on these findings, the current study focused on the creation of an online learning
environment via a Class blog that offers opportunities for learner-learner interaction and creates
an atmosphere in which students are motivated to learn and become part of a learning community
with their classmates.

Methodology

Rationale of the study

This project was initiated as a small scale action research study. The author implemented a
blog project into an elective EFL course in order to fulfill the following objectives:

• To determine the usefulness of using blogs to foster social interaction between students
and encourage out-of-class learning.
• To provide students with a suitable platform to express their attitudes and opinions,
engage in critical thinking and discussion with others, while reflecting on topics that had
been covered in class and repeated on our Class Blog.
• To motivate students for autonomous learning and additional reading or research on
topics discussed.
• To provide insights for other EFL professionals into the possibilities of using blogs in the
foreign language classroom.
Generally, the EFL course goals were as follows:
• To increase students’ motivation to learn and use English as much as possible.
• To develop students’ confidence in using English more, both in-class and out-of-class.
• To improve students’ English language skills – speaking, writing, reading and listening,
and strengthen their ability to use English more efficiently.
• To provide more practice in grammar and vocabulary as well.
• To develop students’ communication skills and encourage interaction and cooperation
among them both in in-class and out-of-class activities.
• To encourage students for autonomous learning and taking the responsibility for their
own progress in learning English.

  405
 • To enhance their critical-thinking and creativity.
• To improve their web searching skills and make them use new technology tools both for
their English learning and professional needs.
• To improve their English for Academic Purposes, providing more practice in academic
writing, research skills in the field using new technology, discussion strategies and formal
oral presentations.

Participants and context

The participants were 52 third-year and fourth-year Bachelor level students of the
Pedagogical Faculty in Sarajevo, at the Department of Elementary School Teaching and the
Department of Preschool Teaching. They were all females; their average age was 20-22, and their
mother tongue Bosnian. They learned EFL and it was a compulsory General English course at the
first year of their studies with only 2 lessons (2 x 45 minutes) per week in both semesters. At the
third and the fourth year it was one of their elective courses, also represented with only 2 lessons
(2 x 45 minutes) per week each semester. It was a mixed-level group related to their proficiency
in English. Although their average level of English was pre-intermediate to intermediate, there
were some of them either below or above this level. Our lessons were held in the computer lab,
fully equipped and with a stable internet connection.

Procedure

The concept of a Blog was first introduced to the target group of students through a Power
Point presentation, providing details about its design and usage, explaining the basic rules for
successful blogging and posting comments on a blog, and discussing the benefits of using a blog
in language teaching. For the purpose of this project, a special Class Blog - ‚Let Us Learn English
Online’ - was designed and used. The students were instructed how to access our Class Blog and
its content and how to post their comments.

After the introductory session, the project was conducted as an out-of-class project. Our
Class Blog was used for further discussion and posting comments on various topics, based on
what we did in-class. The students were also encouraged to do some individual research and
study independently at home, using the links provided on our Class Blog. The students were
responsible for writing at least one comment on their own for each topic of discussion, and
commenting on at least two or three of their classmates’ comments. The contents of their entries
were to be based on provided topics of discussion and expressing their personal attitudes and
opinions. The project lasted for two semesters. At the end of the project period, the students were
asked to complete a questionnaire anonymously to evaluate the Class Blog project.

406
 The Survey Instrument

In order to collect data on the students’ attitudes and perceptions of using a class blog
to support their English language learning and foster student interaction in an online learning
community, the researcher designed a post-project questionnaire to be completed at the end
of the term. There were 20 items in total on the survey instrument, mostly focusing on student
perceptions of social interaction (Statements 1-9 and 11-13) and learning via a Class Blog
(Statements 10 and 14-17), but also including a few statements (Statements 18-20) aimed to
determine overall class satisfaction. Respondents were asked to mark their agreement with
the statements on five-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly
disagree). All of the 52 students completed the questionnaire.

Results and discussion

Results of the survey, as presented in Table 1, indicate that overall student perceptions
of social interaction and learning via a Class Blog as well as class satisfaction were positive, i.e.
most students agreed or somewhat agreed with the statements describing high levels of social
exchange and learning via a Class Blog.

Statement 1(%) 2(%) 3(%) 4(%) 5(%) NA(%)

(1) A Class Blog is an excellent medium

84.61 7.69 1.92 1.92 3.84 0
for social interaction.

(2) I think there was a lot of interaction

38.46 42.30 13.46 1.92 1.92 1.92
between the participants in this course.

(3) I felt comfortable introducing myself

and conversing with other students via 65.38 26.92 0 1.92 5.76 0
our Class Blog.
(4) This interaction enabled me to form a
sense of being part of an 71.15 15.38 5.76 1.92 3.84 1.92
online learning community.

(5) I felt comfortable to actively partici-

76.92 11.53 3.84 3.84 3.84 0
pate in our course discussions.

(6) I really enjoyed the exchanges with

82.69 7.69 1.92 1.92 5.76 0
other students.

  407
 Statement 1(%) 2(%) 3(%) 4(%) 5(%) NA(%)

(7) I am satisfied with the quality of ex-

65.38 23.07 5.76 1.92 3.84 0
changes that occurred in this class.

(8) The discussions we had in our Class

75 17.30 1.92 0 5.76 0
Blog were valuable to me.

(9) I felt that my point of view was ac-

knowledged by other participants in the 38.46 44.23 7.69 3.84 3.84 0
course.

(10) I learned a lot from other partici-

57.69 32.69 1.92 3.84 3.84 0
pants in the course.

(11) I got to know the other participants

44.23 40.38 9.61 3.84 1.92 0
better through our online discussions.

(12) I learned to value other points of

73.07 19.23 0 3.84 3.84 0
view.

(13) I am satisfied with the level of social

69.23 23.07 3.84 1.92 1.92 0
interaction in this online course.

(14) I was able to learn through the me-

73.07 17.30 1.92 5.76 1.92 0
dium of a Class Blog.

(15) I think that my level of learning Eng-

65.38 17.30 9.61 3.84 3.84 0
lish has improved in this online course.

(16) I was stimulated to do additional

reading or research on topics discussed 55.76 30.76 5.76 5.76 1.92 0
in our Class Blog.
(17) The diversity of topics presented in
our Class Blog prompted me to partici- 53.84 34.61 5.76 3.84 1.92 0
pate in the discussions.

(18) Overall, our Class Blog met my

67.30 25 0 3.84 3.84 0
learning expectations.

408
 Statement 1(%) 2(%) 3(%) 4(%) 5(%) NA(%)

(19) Overall, I enjoyed having been a

86.53 5.76 1.92 1.92 3.84 0
member of this class.

(20) As a result of this experience, I

would like to participate in another on- 80.76 9.61 3.84 1.92 3.84 0
line course in the future.

(19) Overall, I enjoyed having been a

86.53 5.76 1.92 1.92 3.84 0
member of this class.

(20) As a result of this experience, I

would like to participate in another on- 80.76 9.61 3.84 1.92 3.84 0
line course in the future.
1 – ‘strongly agree’; 2 – ‘somewhat agree’; 3 – ‘undecided’; 4 – ‘somewhat disagree’; 5 – ‘strongly disagree’;
NA – ‘no answer’

The following results relate to assessments of student perceptions of social interaction

via a Class Blog. As for the statements with the highest percentage of responses ‘strongly agree’,
84.61% of students strongly agreed that a Class Blog is an excellent medium for social interaction
and 82.69% of students really enjoyed the exchanges with other students. Seventy-five percent
of respondents strongly agreed that the discussions on our Class Blog were valuable to them
and 76.92% of students felt comfortable to actively participate in our course discussions.
Furthermore, 73.03% of students strongly agreed that they learned to value other points of view
and 71.15% of students strongly agreed that this interaction via a Class Blog enabled them to
form a sense of being a part of an online learning community. Besides that, 65.38% of students
strongly confirmed that they felt comfortable introducing themselves and conversing with other
students via our Class Blog, with the same percentage of those who were satisfied with the quality
of exchanges that occurred in the class. Overall, 69.23% of students were satisfied with the level of
social interaction in this online course. These results seem to indicate that our structured online
discussions via a Class Blog positively affected student perceptions of social interaction between
the participants of this EFL class. Our Class Blog has proved to be a useful tool to foster student
active participation and personal involvement in our class discussions and to make them feel that
they are part of a learning community. Generally, the results may imply student perceptions of
high overall class interaction and class satisfaction.

Nevertheless, there were two statements related to student perceptions of social interaction
via our Class Blog which were not equally ranked with a high percentage of responses ‘strongly
agree’ compared to the other statements of this category. Namely, 42.30% of students somewhat
  409
agreed with the statement that there was a lot of interaction between the participants of this
course, whereas 38.46% of students strongly agreed with that. Similarly, 44.23% of respondents
somewhat agreed that they felt their point of view was acknowledged by other participants in
the course, but still 38.46% of them strongly agreed with that. Besides that, 44.03% of students
strongly agreed with the statement that they got to know the other participants better through these
online discussions, whereas 40.38% of students somewhat agreed with that. These percentages
are particularly noteworthy in that students perceived that the amount of interaction between
the participants in this online course was slightly lower than expected and they were not fully
satisfied with the level of acknowledgement of their points of view by other participants. These
results could be explained by the fact that this was a pilot project mainly envisaged as an out-of-
class activity to support English language learning and foster student interaction, and it lasted
only for two semesters. Class Blog discussions followed our in-class activities and they obliged
students to spend some extra time outside the classroom to prepare for and actively participate
in a purposeful online exchange with their colleagues. Obviously, they perceived this new type
of activity as something completely different from what they were used to do, not only in their
English classes, but in other study courses as well. Although it was a positive change and they did
their best to become active members of an online learning community via our Class Blog, they
need more time and opportunities to get used to this innovative EFL approach. Although students
confirmed that they enjoyed the exchanges with other group members and that the online class
discussions were valuable to them, they still did not value our Class Blog as highly in terms of
peer-to-peer learning opportunities. The results indicate that most students strongly agreed that
they learned to value other points of view (73.07%), but they still need more confirmation and
acknowledgement from their peers, and more opportunities to get to know them better.

The following results relate to assessments of student perceptions of learning via a Class
Blog. Generally, 73.07% of students strongly agreed that they were able to learn through the
medium of a Class Blog and 65.38% of students strongly agreed that their level of learning
English improved in this online course. Besides that, the results indicate that our Class Blog
motivated students to learn since 55.76% of students strongly agreed that they were stimulated to
do additional reading or research on topics discussed and 53.84% of students confirmed that the
diversity of topics presented in our Class Blog prompted them to participate in the discussions.
It is also noteworthy to observe that 57.69% of students strongly agreed that they learned a lot
from other participants in the course, which is a clear indication that our Class Blog was valued
highly in terms of providing opportunities to learn from others. These results seem to support
the idea that a Class Blog could be used as an appropriate medium for English language learning
and practice in EFL classes.

The results related to the overall class satisfaction reveal that students had a positive
attitude towards using a Class Blog to foster their learning and social interaction with their

410
peers. Specifically, 67.30% of students strongly agreed that our Class Blog met their learning
expectations and 86.53% of students enjoyed having been a member of this class. As a result
of this experience, 80.76% of respondents strongly agreed that they would like to participate in
another online course in the future.

Conclusion

As has been stated above, the aim of this small scale study was to assess the attitude of a
group of EFL students towards the integration of a Class Blog in the EFL classroom and its potential
to enhance social interaction between students and support their EFL learning. The results of
the evaluation questionnaire not only showed the positive response of all students in the group
towards using a Class Blog in the EFL classes, but also confirmed that they are more motivated and
interested in learning when engaged in meaningful tasks with the authentic material.

A Class Blog has a great potential to be used as a tool in EFL classes, providing opportunities
to motivate students to engage in online exchanges with their peers and expand their language study
and learning community beyond the walls of a physical classroom. Students experience a greater
feeling of learning and achievement as they are given chances to learn both by themselves and
from their peers. They are expected to construct their own knowledge and become responsible for
their own progress, but they also share a common goal with the others in the group. A Class Blog
provides them a unique opportunity to enjoy rich and repeated exchanges with their classmates
which may enhance students’ overall class experience, being part of a larger learning community
and enjoying the class in general. At the same time, the teacher gets a new role, as he/she is no
longer a presenter of information, but a facilitator to assist and direct his/her students.

A Class Blog has proved to be a powerful teaching and learning tool in a modern EFL
classroom and it can be effectively used to promote student interaction while they actively
participate in an online learning community. Besides, a Class Blog offers numerous opportunities
for EFL learning and language skills development. The results showed that most students are
motivated to learn if they are provided with authentic tasks and resources, and given opportunities
to express their creativity, sociability and productiveness.

However, it seems important to point out that the present study is of an exploratory
nature which limits its generalizability to other settings and student populations. Therefore, to
determine whether or not blogs indeed foster social interaction and student motivation to learn
beyond the classroom, more research needs to be done. Nonetheless, it is hoped that this paper
will provide some insights into numerous advantages of using blogs in EFL classes and inspire
foreign language teachers to make use of this interesting and authentic medium of computer-
based communication.

  411
 Appendix A. Survey Instrument

QUESTIONNAIRE

(1 = strongly agree; 2 = somewhat agree; 3 = undecided; 4 = somewhat disagree; 5 = strongly

disagree)

No. QUESTION 1 2 3 4 5

A Class Blog is an excellent medium for social inter-

1.
action.
I think there was a lot of interaction between the
2.
participants in this course.
I felt comfortable introducing myself and conversing
3.
with other students via our Class Blog.
This interaction enabled me to form a sense of being
4.
part of an online learning community.
I felt comfortable to actively participate in our course
5.
discussions.

6. I really enjoyed the exchanges with other students.

I am satisfied with the quality of exchanges that oc-

7.
curred in this class.
The discussions we had in our Class Blog were valu-
8.
able to me.
I felt that my point of view was acknowledged by
9.
other participants in the course.

10. I learned a lot from other participants in the course.

I got to know the other participants better through

11.
our online discussions.

12. I learned to value other points of view.

I am satisfied with the level of social interaction in

13.
this online course.
I was able to learn through the medium of a Class
14.
Blog.

412
 No. QUESTION 1 2 3 4 5

I think that my level of learning English has im-

15.
proved in this online course.
I was stimulated to do additional reading or research
16.
on topics discussed in our Class Blog.
The diversity of topics presented in our Class Blog
17.
prompted me to participate in the discussions.

18. Overall, our Class Blog met my learning expectations.

19. Overall, I enjoyed having been a member of this class.

As a result of this experience, I would like to partici-

20.
pate in another online course in the future.

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414
 The Use of Collocations by B1, B2 and C1 Level Students of English as
L2 at the University of Zenica

Edina Rizvić-Eminović & Kamiah Arnaut-Karović

University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The paper presents a research into the use of collocations by B1, B2 and C1 level students
of English at the University of Zenica conducted by analysing student’s examination papers.
Collocations represent an important segment of the knowledge of a foreign language and its
vocabulary. They appear in many different forms and learning them might be seen as the most
difficult task of L2 learning. Difficulties in using collocations appear even at advanced levels of
language learning. A preliminary study into the use of collocations by B2 level students of English
showed that the students used proper lexical collocations in about 60% and proper grammatical
collocations in about 50% of the cases. In view of those results, a research was conducted among
B1, B2 and C1 level students of English at the English Department of the University of Zenica
to investigate their use of collocations. Student translations were analysed with a focus on the
different types of collocations. The translations were produced as a part of their final examination
in the Contemporary English courses 1 through 8 corresponding to the different CEFR levels
analysed. We assumed that the results of the students in all four years of the English studies would
be consistent with the results of the preliminary study, and that there would be no significant
difference between the use of grammatical and lexical collocations.

Key words: collocations, lexical collocations, grammatical collocations

Introduction

Definitions of collocations are numerous. All of them imply “some kind of syntagmatic
relation of words” (Nesselhauf, 2004: 11). The simplest definition would be the one by McCarthy
& O’Dell (2006) who state that “a collocation is two or more words that often go together” (p.
6). “Collocations are semantically arbitrary restrictions which do not follow logically from the
  415
propositional meaning of word” claims Baker (1992: p. 47). They represent the “co-occurrence
of words at a certain distance” (Nesselhauf, 2004: 11), however, frequent co-occurrence, more
frequent than randomly combined words in a language. They are “a type of word combination…
that is fixed to some degree but not completely” (Nesselhauf, 2004: 12). Gelbukh et al. (2013: iii)
restrict the definition of collocations to lexical relations only. Some examples are: give a lecture,
make a decision, and lend support. In addition to the term collocation, they use the term ‘restricted
lexical co-occurrence’ to describe “expressions in which one word chooses another one to convey
a particular meaning in an unmotivated, unpredicted way” (Gelbukh, 2013: 4).

The definition of collocations adopted in this paper is the one proposed by Benson et al.
(2010) that collocations are words that “regularly combine with certain other words or grammatical
constructions” (xiii). They are recurrent and semi-fixed, which implies that idiomatic expressions
are excluded. Collocations are divided into grammatical and lexical. Lexical collocations consist
of a combination of two lexical words. Grammatical collocations consist of a dominant word,
usually lexical and a preposition or a grammatical construction.

Words paired in a collocation are referred to as collocates. Collocates are “co-selected by

the speaker or writer and they are not a chance co-occurrence” (Cheng, 2012: 77). The collocates
of a word are words which most frequently appear several words to the left or right of that word,
the number of words ranging from four to seven, depending on the author.

Citing Firth’s understanding of the term collocation, Taylor (2012: 106) notes that
“collocation is a matter of “mutual expectancy” (Firth 1968 [1957]: 181), of “the company
[that a word] keeps” (p. 179)”. Taylor (ibid) further adds that “very often, the use of a word
or expression generates expectations as to the surrounding words in the discourse”. According
to him (Taylor, 2012), the knowledge of collocational preferences constitutes an aspect of “an
idiomatic command of the language” (p. 107). The knowledge of collocations is also referred to
as ‘collocational competence’ (Mukherjee (2009) in Cheng, 2012: 172). Second language learners
have to acquire this knowledge and their intuition in this regard is usually unreliable.

Collocations are highly important in language studies. Meaning of words cannot be

established by examining them in isolations. Cheng (2012) notes that a “collocation is a good
guide to meaning” (p. 8) as collocations may reveal meanings of words which are often associated
with specific contexts. O’Keeffe (2010: 203) notes that collocations help us explore the different
senses or uses of words, which usually appear in different phraseological patterns and structures.
Additionally, O‘Keeffe refers to ‘semantic prosodies’ or the specific meanings that collocates can
take on (2010: 66) in different contexts.

Elaborate procedures have been developed within the field of corpus linguistics in pursuit
of the frequency of words occurring together. Computerized or manual, small-scale, corpora are
set up to that end given that a single pairing of words is usually not sufficient (Viana, 2011: 23).

416
 The principle of language economy teaches us that perfect synonyms or words that can
be used interchangeably in any context hardly exist in any language. Big and large, for example
are synonyms in English. However, “you prepare a big (#large) surprise for someone and pay a
large (#big) amount of money for something” (Taylor, 2012: 108). Consequently, collocations are
important for language teaching because of the principle of “more frequent = more important
to learn” (Leech in Meunier et al., 2011: 12). More frequent words are thus more useful to the
learner both for comprehension and for production. Collocations have a great deal of relevance to
language teachers in preparing teaching materials, designing tests or explaining subtle differences
in language use.

Some studies have shown that it is important to study collocational patters, even of more
frequent words. Although such words are commonly considered easy or well-known, a study
such as that of Nesselhauf (2004) has indicated that a group of Norwegian learners of English
have not mastered them even at an advanced level.

The importance of collocations for Bosnian learners of English is stressed in Riđanović’s

contrastive grammar of English and BCS (2007), particularly in the context of adjectives which
may be attributed to nouns. One such example is the use of heavy with rain in English, and the
inadequacy of its most frequent translation equivalent teška with kiša in BCS (p. 11). Riđanović
(2007) dedicates an entire chapter to the ‘company that words keep’ (pp. 352-61), which abound
with examples of contrastive differences in the use of collocations in the two languages.

Studies investigating the use of English collocations among BCS learners are rare, however,
almost non-existent since the field of corpus linguistics has not yet become established among
linguists in the region. This paper is thus among the first to present the results of an analysis of
the collocation comprehension and production among different learner levels.

Difficulties in using collocations appear even at advanced levels of language learning.

Nevertheless, learners need to be aware of frequent collocations or exceptions. A preliminary
study into the use of collocations by B2 level students of English conducted by the authors
showed that the students used proper lexical collocations in about 60% and proper grammatical
collocations in about 50% of the cases. In view of those results, this research was conducted
among B1, B2 and C1 level students of English at the English Department of the University of
Zenica to investigate their use of collocations. Student translations were analysed with a focus
on the different types of collocations. The translations were produced as a part of their final
examination in the Contemporary English courses 1 through 8 corresponding to the different
CEFR levels analysed. We assumed that the results for the students in all four years of the English
studies would be consistent with the results of the preliminary study, and that there would be no
significant difference between the use of grammatical and lexical collocations.

  417
 Given that there is insufficient research into the use of collocations by BCS learners of
English as L2, and having attested constant difficulties the students encounter in producing
collocations at all levels, the authors have set out to carry out a study with the aim to:

1. Quantify the use of correct or appropriate collocations, both lexical and grammatical,
among the target group of English as L2 students;

2. Identify the types of collocations that present the most difficulties for students of the
different levels analyzed;

3. Establish whether there is any difference in the comprehension of English collocations

when translating them from English to BCS and their production when translating them
from BCS to English;

4. Identify, where relevant, the contrastive differences between the two languages that
might contribute to the incorrect use of some types of collocations;

5. Offer a classification of collocation mistakes that might help BCS teachers of English in
teaching collocations;

6. Establish the possible intralinguistic factors that affect the use of appropriate collocations;

7. Based on the results of the above analyses, attempt to make predictions regarding the
appropriate use of the different types of collocations among the BCS learners of English
in general;

The secondary aim of the study is to:

1. Collect a corpus of mistakes in using collocations (the so called deviant collocations) to

be used in further investigations and contrastive analyses of the two languages.

The results of the study have implications for teaching collocations at the university level.
By quantifying the data, the study offers an insight into the types of collocations which seem to
be the most difficult to acquire to BCS learners of English and enables generalizations about the
collocation comprehension and production of BCS learners of English as L2.

Methododology

The study is set up within the frameworks of Applied Linguistics as defined in Cook (2009:
1). It identifies and analyzes a specific practical problem of language, that of the comprehension
and production of collocations by B1, B2 and C1 level students of English as L2.

It also touches on some principles of corpus linguistics, as it includes a collection and

analysis of a learner corpus.

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 Collocations are generally studied by analyzing both large computerized corpora and small
learner corpora. This paper is a result of collecting a small-scale corpus of learner translation of
collocations comprising 169 collocations analyzed in a total of 1395 instances of use.

The learners are students of English in the first, second, third and fourth year of studies
at the English Department of the University of Zenica. The corpus of student translations was
analyzed with a focus on the different types of collocations. The translations were produced as a
part of their final examination in the Contemporary English Language (CEL) courses 1 through
8 corresponding to the different CEFR levels analyzed and cover a range of topics. Based on the
University Curriculum of the English Language and Literature studies, the students completing
the CEL1, CEL2 and CEL3 courses are B1 students. The students completing the CEL4, CEL5 and
CEL6 courses are B2 students, and the students completing the CEL7 and CEL8 courses are C1
students. The CEL7 examination papers have not been included in this study though, since under
the CEL7 course syllabus the students are not required to produce any translations as a part of
their final exam in the course.

The papers were selected randomly from the groups of papers in CEL1 through CEL8,
CEL7 excluded, regardless of the student score and grade. The papers analyzed were written over
a time span of eight years, from 2008 to 2015. The collocations were extracted manually. The
study therefore relies on the production data. A total of 349papers have been analyzed.

All types of collocations were analyzed, both grammatical and lexical, identified in the
student written translations. The lexical collocations included the following 6 combinations: verb
+ noun; adjective + noun; noun + verb; noun 1 + of + noun 2; adverb + adjective; verb + adverb.
The grammatical collocations included the following 8 combinations and structures: noun +
preposition; noun + to infinitive; noun + that clause; preposition + noun; adjective + preposition;
adjective + to infinitive; adjective + that clause; verb + preposition.

Not all combinations were identified in all of the groups of papers. Average correct or
appropriate use was calculated for each of the above combinations within the groups of lexical
(LC) and grammatical collocations (GC). Then the average was identified for the group of LCs
and the group of GCs separately to establish whether there is any difference in the use of the two.
The results indicate in percentage only the average correct use, as the numbers for the incorrect
use would be redundant. This procedure was applied first to quantify the correct use of LCs
and GCs in the student translations from English to BCS, namely to identify the degree of their
collocation comprehension. The same procedure was then applied to the translations from BCS
to English to identify the degree of the student collocation production. Once all the averages
were obtained for all the CELs courses individually, the average LC and GC comprehension and
production were calculated for each of the CEFR levels analyzed, namely B1, B2 and C1.

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 Results

As shown in Table 1 below, the analysis of the student written translations as a part of
their final examination paper in CEL 1 through CEL8 (CEL7 excluded) comprised a total of 169
collocations, analyzed in 1395 instances of use. The results are presented separately for the lexical
and grammatical collocations. A total of 60 collocations were extracted at all of the three levels
and analyzed in 634 instances of use in the student translations from English to BSC. This data
refers to the collocation comprehension. The data referring to the collocation production, on the
other hand, included a total of 109 collocations analyzed in 761 instances of use. Since the syllabi
for CEL1, CEL2, CEL3 and CEL4 do not incorporate translation from English to BCS into the
final examination, the lines provided for those courses remain empty.

Table 1. Numbers of lexical and grammatical collocations, as well as instances of their use for each Con-
temporary English course

E → BCS BCS → E
LCs GCs LC Inst. GC Inst. LCs GCs LC Inst. GC Inst.
CEL1 - - - 6 5 69 54
CEL 1Σ - - 11 123
CEL2 - - - - 9 4 104 27
CEL 2Σ - - 13 131
CEL3 5 5 94 72 7 5 50 36
CEL 3Σ 10 166 12 86
B1Σ 10 166 36 230
CEL4 - - - - 7 5 60 74
CEL 4Σ - - 12 134
CEL 5 7 10 70 100 12 7 120 70
CEL 5Σ 17 170 19 190
CEL 6 12 5 120 50 14 5 74 28
CEL 6Σ 17 170 19 102
B2Σ 34 340 50 426
CEL 8 12 4 96 32 14 9 60 45
CEL 8Σ 16 128 23 105
C1Σ 16 128 23 105
Note. E = English; BCS = Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; LCs = Lexical Collocations; GCs = Grammatical
Collocations; Inst. = Instances; CEL = Contemporary English Language; CEFR = Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages; B1, B2, C1 refer to CEFR levels; Σ = the total number of
collocations or instances.

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 Table 2 below was produced by analyzing the percentages of correct collocation use for
each of the six types of LCs and eight types of GCs referred to in the Method section and iden-
tified in the texts assigned for translation. Not all of the types of collocations were identified,
however, in all the different CEL translation assignments. As in Table 1, the empty lines are due
to the lack of translation assignments from English to BCS in some CEL courses.

Table 2. Percentage of correct collocation comprehension and production per Contemporary English
courses and the corresponding CEFR levels

CEFR Course & Comprehension (%) Production (%) χ for CEFR

level course χ LCs GCs LCs GCs level
CEL 1 - - 46.37 59.01
CEL 1χ - 52.69
CEL2 - - 48.04 22.22
CEL 2χ - 35.13 36.32%
B1 CEL3 29.78 59.72 6.0 19.44
CEL 3χ 44.72 12.72
CEL4 - - 48.33 62.16
CEL 4χ - 55.25
CEL 5 65 59.8 29.4 30.5
CEL 5χ 62.4 27.45
B2 CEL 6 58.3 75 26.8 32.5
CEL 6χ 66.65 29.65
CEL 8 67.5 87.5 69.45 71.68 48.28%
C1
CEL 8χ 77.5 70.56 74.03%

Note. LCs = Lexical Collocations; GCs = Grammatical Collocations; CEL = Contemporary English
Language; CEFR = Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; B1, B2, C1 refer to
CEFR levels; χ = the average.

Figures 1 through 4 below present the data extracted from Table 2. Figure 1 compares the
correct use of GCs and LCs in the student translations from English to BCS, measuring their
comprehension at B1, B2 and C1 level. It indicates that the students’ comprehension of GCs is
better than their comprehension of LCs by about 50% at B1 level, by only 6% at B2 level and by
20% at C1 level.

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 Figure 1. Comparison of comprehension of LCs and GCs for different CEL courses
Note. LCs = Lexical Collocations; GCs = Grammatical Collocations; CEL = Contemporary English
Language.

As opposed to the previous figure, Figure 2 compares the correct use of GCs and LCs in
the student translations from BCS to English, measuring their production. It indicates that the
average students’ production of GCs too is better than their production of LCs. The difference in
the case of production, though, is less significant than in the case of comprehension and ranges
from about only 0.1% at B1 level, through 7% at B2 level to 2% at C1 level.

Figure 2. Comparison of production of LCs and GCs for different CELs

Note. LCs = Lexical Collocations; GCs = Grammatical Collocations; CEL = Contemporary English
Language.

Figure 3 compares the average percentage of comprehension and production of both LCs
and GCs at the different levels analyzed. It shows that, at B2 and C1 levels students are more
successful in comprehending than in producing collocations by about 12% and 7% respectively.

422
They are almost equally successful in comprehending and producing collocations at B1 level, the
difference being a mere 0.5% in favour of the production.

Figure 3. Comparison of comprehension and production for different CEFR levels

Note. CEFR = Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; B1, B2, C1 refer to the CEFR
levels analyzed in the study.

Figure 4 compares the students’ overall competence in LCs and GCs at the different levels
when using them both when translating from English to BCS and vice versa. It indicates that, in
general, students are more competent in using GCs at all levels than in using LCs, the difference
ranging from about 22% at B1 level, through 6% at B2 level to 11% at C1 level. These results are
contrary to the results of the preliminary study.

Figure 4. The percentage of correct use of LCs and GCs at B1, B2, and C1 levels

Discussion

In view of the aims set in the study as well as the results obtained in the course of the analyses,
numerous observations can be made and conclusions drawn referring to the aims of the study.

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 As shown in Figure 4 above, the students display greater competence in both the
comprehension and the production of GCs at all the three levels analyzed. What is significant
is that these results are not consistent with the results of the preliminary study, where B2 level
learners showed a better mastery of lexical collocations by about 10%. A conclusion may be
drawn that, when analyzing collocations, it is important to include more collocations as well
as instances of their use and to set up a larger scale corpus when making generalizations about
student collocation competence. One of the drawbacks of the study, however, may be that it
lacks elicitation tests for students. Such tests would serve as a control test for this study and the
correspondence of the results of such tests would make this study more reliable. The students’
greater competence in the comprehension of GCs at all the three levels may be ascribed to the
fact that GCs contain combinations such as noun + to infinitive or noun + that clause, which
are commonly translated with clausal constructions into BCS and hardly contain an alternative
translation. Their efforts to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty… is translated as
…Njihovi napori da izbave stotine miliona ljudi od siromaštva… Or assumptions... that China
only supports dictatorship is translated as pretpostavke… da Kina samopodržava diktatorstvo. The
same is the case for the production of GCs as in snaga da istraju, the only translation of which is
with clausal construction the strength to endure. Lexical collocations, on the other hand, consist
of different combinations of lexical words. Poor vocabulary has been identified as the reason for
lower success rate in the comprehension and production of lexical collocations. This conclusion
also applies to the third aim set in the study.

Based on the results of the correct translation of both LCs and GCs, the following ranking
list of the top three combinations for the comprehension of LCs may be made:
1. adverb + adjective, as in equally important (BCS: jednako važan);
2. verb + noun, as in its aid brings no benefit to ordinary people (BCS: njena pomoć ne
donosi nikakvu korist ljudima);
3. adjective + noun, as in free flow of information (BCS: slobodan protokin formacija).

In terms of the comprehension of GCs, the combinations are ranked as follows:

1. verb + preposition, as in stared at him (BCS: zurio u njega),
2. adjective + that clause, as in I was aware that Black would… (BCS: Bila sam sigurna da
će Black…);
3. noun + that clause, as in assumptions... that China only supports dictatorship.

In terms of the production of LCs, where the success rates are generally much lower than
in the case of GCs and do not exceed 40%, the list is as follows:
1. adjective + noun, as in široki konsenzus (E: broad/wide consensus);
2. verb + noun, as in udahnuti život (E: breathe life into);
3. verb + adverb, as in silom ukloniti (E: remove forcibly).

424
 The ranking list for the production of GCs is as follows:
1. noun + that clause, as in nada da će moj budući svijet biti oblikovan… (E: the hope that
my future world would be shapes);
2. noun + to infinitive, as in snaga da izdržim (E: strength to endure);
3. adjective + that clause, as in oduševljena što može doći (E: delighted that she could come).

The most difficult for production seem to be the constructions containing a preposition,
as in the verb + preposition combination (e.g. učestvovati u događaju, translated incorrectly as
participate *at an event) or the preposition + noun combination (e.g. u to vrijeme, translated
incorrectly as *in that time).

These ranking lists may be applied to all the target levels. However, the success rates are not
identical at all three of them. In view of the extensiveness of the study, the authors believe that
the above ranking lists apply to the collocation competence at B1, B2 and C1 level BCS learners
of English in general, which is a conclusion that refers to the sixth aim of the study.

The following paragraphs contain the conclusions drawn in respect to the final four aims
of the study, based on the analysis of the mistakes the students made in the comprehension and
the production of collocations.

The reasons for the mistakes are varied. For example, a single translation equivalent in BCS
covers two or three expressions in English that may or may not be synonyms or near-synonyms.
Synonymous expressions in English usually have certain shades of meanings, for which reason
some synonymous expressions are not always mutually interchangeable in all the contexts. The
usual mistakes found in the corpus are related to the following:
• Poor comprehension of these shades of meaning;
• A single translation equivalent in BCS that can cover different contexts with the same
expression in L1.

One example is the English pick up/lift/raise/elevate and BCS podići. In BCS the single
expression podići may be used in different contexts. However, in English, the three above-stated
verbs are not always mutually interchangeable. Therefore, the following phrase was translated in
some cases with an incorrect near-synonym: podići kofer? raise/?carry a suitcase. These collocations
are marked as semantically questionable not because they are not possible in English, but because
they might be acceptable and fit into different contexts other than those found in the corpus.

Another example is the phrase: transform the impulses into sound. The synonyms change
and convert are found in the corpus. However, these two cover much broader contexts in English,
whereas the expression transform is more appropriate for the texts referring to physics and physical
phenomena. In some cases, however, the synonymous pairs were mutually interchangeable and
completely acceptable, such as in lažna brada and false/fake beard.
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 Another reason for the student mistakes was their poor command of vocabulary. The
students employed the following strategies in translation:
• Complete omission of the expression;
• Replacing the word with a similar word not a synonym or near-synonym but an expression
with much a broader meaning (sometimes a hyperonym)

The examples for this claim are phrases such as gole pesnice (E: bare fists) translated as
bare? hands; veličanstveni predjeli (E: magnificent landscapes), translated as magnificent? areas/
country/fields; or sredstvo komunikacije (E: means of communication) translated as ?instrument/
device/tool/type of communication.

• Literal translation

For the petrified and fixed expressions the learners offered literal translations, as in
netaknute prašume (E: virgin rainforests), which was translated as ?untouched/intact rainforests.

• Paraphrasing or descriptive translation

Compounding is a very productive morphological operation in English which is not the

case in BCS. BCS makes much more use of phrases. An example is the phrase hrana bogata
vlaknima (E: fiber-rich food), which was translated in the majority of cases as food rich with fibers
or višenamjenski kućanski aparat (E: multi-purpose appliance), translated as an appliance for
multiple purposes.

As indicated above, the results for GCs are generally better. Nevertheless, a certain
percentage of mistakes mostly refer to usage of prepositions and prepositional phrases. One
significant difference between the two linguistic systems refers to the realization of transitive verbs
whose direct objects are realized by PPs not NPs. BCS and English show a number of differences in
the case of some very frequently used transitive verbs. While some transitive verbs in English take
PPs, such as: laugh [AT smb.]/wait [FOR smb.],in BCS the same verbs take NPs: smijati se [kome]/
čekati [koga]. Therefore, frequent mistakes in the corpus in reference to GCs were the following:

• The omission of the required preposition in English which can be ascribed to literal
syntactic transfer from BCS.

On the other hand, there are some BCS transitive verbs that take PP objects whereas their
English equivalents take NPs. For example, the English equivalents of BCS odgovoriti NA/sastati
se SA/pasti NA have a different syntactic realization and require an NP answer [NP]/meet [NP]/
fail [NP]. In such cases, the learners’ translation most frequently involved:

• insertion of the preposition into the English translation, as in *answer ON the

question/*meet with friends/*fail ON/AT the exam
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 Some verbs in BCS are intransitive, but usually followed by PP adverbial. Their English
equivalent is a typical transitive verb requiring an NP object. In such cases, the English transitive
verb was usually converted into intransitive (following the BCS pattern) and the preposition was
inserted, as in zakasniti NA voz (E:miss the train), translated as *miss ON the train.

The reasons for the above strategies may be ascribed to the following factors:
• Poor vocabulary;
• Poor comprehension of the shades of meanings of synonyms or near-synonyms;
• Poor production caused by literal transfer of collocations from L1.

The most common mistakes identified in the corpus will serve as a basis for future elicita-
tion tests in this field. Finally, the fact that the student overall collocation competence increases
with the increase in the student level indicates that a more extensive and longer exposure to lan-
guage as well as a better command of the language in general contributes to a better command
of collocations.

References

Baker, Mona (1992). In Other Words. London: Routledge.

Benson, Morton et al. (2010) The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English: Your Guide to Collo-
cations and Grammar. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Cheng, Winnie (2012). Exploring Corpus Linguistics, Language in Action. London: Routledge
Cook, Vivian, and Wei Li, eds. (2009). Contemporary Applied Linguistics, Language Teaching and
Learning, V1, London: Continuum International Publishing Group
Gelbukh, Alexander and Kolesnikova, Olga (2013). Semantic Analysis of Verbal Collocations with
Lexical Functions. Berlin: Springer.
McCarthy, Michael and O’Dell, Felicity (2005). English Collocations in Use. UK: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.
Meunier, Fanny et al. (2011). A Taste for Corpora. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company.
Nesselhauf, Nadja(2004). Collocations in a Learner Corpus. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Ben-
jamins Publishing Company.
O’Keeffe, Anne and McCarthy, Michael, eds. (2010).The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguis-
tics. London: Routledge.
Riđanović, M. (2007). Praktična engleska gramatika. Sarajevo: Šahinpašić.
Taylor, John, R. (2012). The Mental Corpus, How Language is Represented in the Mind. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Viana, Vander et al. eds. (2011). Perspectives on Corpus Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
Publishing Company.
  427
 Generic and ESP Acquisition Skills in Social
Science Students

Danica Pirsl & Amela Lukač-Zoranić

University of Novi Pazar / Serbia

ABSTRACT

Active Scheme of Work is just best practice in planning, but, as usual, in practice there
is often an overlap between the sections. Before agreeing on the active teaching methods, the
teaching team will first need to agree on the learning required. This includes deciding on the
prior learning required for early success, and the learning required for high achievement.
Foremost, identification of Critical Skills (Generic Skills) is a must. These are the skills required
for success with assignments, essays, coursework, and other assessments. They are sometimes
called Generic Skills. They are usually high-order skills on Bloom’s taxonomy e.g. evaluation,
synthesis, analysis etc. They do not appear in the content of the Syllabus or Unit Specification, but
might be mentioned in it elsewhere. For example, in a humanities subjects Critical skills might
include: Synthesis: planning coherent and well structured essays or answers to exam questions;
thinking of examples and evidence relevant to a question or point of view; defining technical
terms as a matter of course in essays and exam questions; Evaluation: Giving both sides of the
argument; quoting evidence for each substantial point made; giving examples to support points
of view; using ‘means and ends’ to justify a judgment. We identify the Critical skills that are vital
for success by referring to: Syllabus/Unit Specifications, The nature of the subject, Examiner’s
Reports, External verifier’s comments, A Curriculum Audit and the Difficulties that students
commonly encounter. Therefore, it appears as a must to teach and stir generic and ESP acquisition
skills in social science students as a function of their overall academic achievement and further
inclusion in their respective professional discourse communities.

Key words: active teaching, generic skills, acquisition skills, social sciences

428
 Generally speaking, the process of deciding what to teach is based on consideration of
what the learner in the social sciences should most usefully be able to communicate in the foreign
language. In ESP, According to Mackay and Mountford (1978), when needs are clear, learning
aims can be defined in terms of these specific purposes to which the language will be put. The
result is that almost immediately, teaching can be seen to be effective in that the learner begins to
demonstrate communicative ability in the required area. What Mackay and Mountford suggest is
only the realm of Goal-oriented syllabus and there is no place to processes-oriented one in such
an interpretation of the learner needs. We know goal-oriented approach focuses on the selection
of language by reference to the ends of learning, but the process-oriented approach focuses on
the presentation of language by reference to the means of learning and allows the ends to be
achieved by the learner by exercising the ability he or she has acquired. It seems that any type of
approach necessitates the acquisition and later on advancement of certain competences of social
sciences learners which need to be defined.

Key competency definitions

• Collecting, analyzing and organizing information

• Implies the capacity to find the information, sort it out so as determine the informational
value of the primary sources and then to present the body of knowledge in the most
efficient way.

Communicating ideas and information

• Implies the capacity to communicate effectively with others using the range of spoken,
written, graphic and other non‐verbal means of expression.

Planning and organizing activities

• Implies the capacity to plan and organize one’s own work activities, using time and
resources management skills, sorting out priorities and monitoring one’s own performance.

Individual and team working skills

• Implies the capacity to interact effectively with other people both on a one‐to‐one basis
and in groups, including understanding and responding to the needs of a client and
working as member of a team to achieve a shared goal.

Using mathematical ideas and techniques

•Implies the capacity to use mathematical ideas, such as numbers and space, and techniques
such as estimation and approximation, for practical purposes.

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 Solving problems

• Implies the capacity to apply problem‐solving strategies in purposeful ways, both in

situations where the problem and the desired solution are clearly evident and in situations
requiring critical thinking and a creative approach to achieve an outcome.

Using technology

• Implies the capacity to apply technology, combining the physical and sensory skills
needed to operate equipment with an understanding of scientific and technological
principles needed to explore and adapt systems.
(Source: Moy, P. 1999. The Impact of Generic Competencies on Workplace Performance.)

Competences for Next Generation Employability

Central research questions regarding the development of basic domain-specific

functional competencies are: 1) How and to what extent do domain-general and content-free
cognitive capacities shape the effects of schooling and the development of these basic functional
competencies? 2) What are the relationships between (selected) school-curriculum-specific skills
and the development of these basic functional competencies? These two research questions are
not only interesting from a theoretical/analytical point of view, but are also directly relevant
to the field of applied education. Implications for the assessment agenda are as follows: The
assessment of basic (subject-) domain- and demand-specific competencies that are sensitive to
learning and institutional efforts needs to be complemented by analytically oriented measures of
domain-general and more culture fair capacities that enable the acquisition of domain-specific
competencies through interactions with environmental stimuli and learning opportunities.
These content-free areas will be complemented by more specific content-related variables and
stage-specific outcome measures. The major focus thus lies on analyses of the developmental
trajectories and interactions of the corresponding competencies, capacities, and skills along with
assessments of their relevance for future educational and occupational careers as well as for life
satisfaction. To find out what overall generic competences are we enlist the following:

Generic Competences
1. Capacity for analysis and synthesis
2. Capacity for applying knowledge in practice
3. Planning and time management
4. Basic general knowledge in the field of study
5. Grounding in basic knowledge of the profession in practice
6. Oral and written communication in your native language
7. Knowledge of a second language
430
 8. Elementary computing skills
9. Research skills
10. Capacity to learn
11. Information management skills (ability to retrieve and analyze information from
different sources)
12. Critical and self-critical abilities
13. Capacity to adapt to new situations
14. Capacity for generating new ideas (creativity)
15. Problem solving
16. Decision-making
17. Teamwork
18. Interpersonal skills
19. Leadership
20. Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team
21. Ability to communicate with non-experts (in the field)
22. Appreciation of diversity and multiculturality
23. Ability to work in an international context
24. Understanding of cultures and customs of other countries
25. Ability to work autonomously
26. Project design and management
27. Initiative and entrepreneurial spirit
28. Ethical commitment
29. Concern for quality.

Active Scheme of Work is just best practice in planning, but, as usual, in practice there
is often an overlap between the sections. Before agreeing on the active teaching methods, the
teaching team will first need to agree on the learning required. This includes deciding on
the prior learning required for early success, and the learning required for high achievement.
Students are presupposed to have acquired in their previous schooling most of these generic
skills and that once they enter the arena of university level studies they are automatically ready to
analyze their social sciences curricula contents, to synthesize the offered facts, to apply obtained
knowledge in their prospective social sciences career, to professionally transmit their knowledge
to younger generation. They have to be able to communicate orally and in writing so as to be
able to maybe, write their first scientific papers. They must develop the trait of being critical and
cautiously approach facts when doing their scientific-research study projects in bachelor, master
and obligatory, in their doctoral level studies. To achieve so many goals and to prove to be good,
diligent and competent students they need to develop their personal and interpersonal skills.

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 Table of generic competences
Analytical, systemic, critical,
reflective, logical, analogical,
Cognitive
practical, team, creative and
deliberative thinking
Time management, problem-
solving, decision-making

Methodological
Instrumental Learning orientation (in ped-
agogical framework, learning
strategies); planning
PC as working tool;
Technological
Use of databases
Oral communication skills;
Language written communication skills;
foreign language proficiency
Self-motivation; diversity and
interculturality; resistance
Individual
and adaptation to environ-
Interpersonal ment; ethical sense
Interpersonal communica-
Social tion; teamwork; conflict
management and negotiation
Objectives-based manage-
Organization ment; project management;
quality orientation
Systemic Creativity; enterprising spirit;
Enterprising spirit
innovation
Achievement orientation;
Leadership
leadership

Teacher adaptation to the European higher education area is another challenge posed
by the process of European convergence. It means that the university lectures must undergo
a thorough adaptation. The Bologna Process requires teachers to program the entire subject,
prepare teaching materials in advance and act as a tutor to students. In the area of planning,
this implies the effective use of teaching time and planning in detail how to make best use of
the time available for each group and subject. Thus, one avoids creating programs which are too
“ambitious” and impossible to complete in the time allotted. The contents of the programs and
each learning activity should be assigned a certain duration. Moreover, the teacher should reflect
a time scale for contents and activities in terms of dates. Establishing what to do in the time
available and when to do it constitute the essence of programming.

432
 When creating teaching material it is important to decide in advance what material is the
most appropriate for each subject. This helps students and stimulates them to work harder. The
material must be varied: books with exercises, manuals for lectures, CDs with the slides used in
lectures, audiovisual material, etc. To obtain effective teaching-learning process students need
the support and guidance of the teacher and this is one of the main roles of an instructor. This
guidance can be aimed at the entire group in class time or it may aim at a more individualized
form outside of class time (office hours, via e-mail, etc.). Unlike lectures, in classroom tutorials we
are not transmitting theoretical knowledge to students, but instead we are offering them guidance
about how to use a particular computer software, how to search for bibliography on the Internet,
how to structure research. Furthermore, tutorial work conducted outside of class time is usually
individualized ― or aimed at a small number of students working in a group; the teacher must
adopt the role of facilitator, supporter, progress checker and guide while students must learn to
accept their own responsibility in the process of autonomous and teacher independent learning.

Conclusions

The knowledge-workers of the twenty-first century require the ability to jump between
fields of technical specialization and capture the key issues quickly. A base-level of familiarity
with scientific concepts and processes reduces the time taken to master new areas where
emerging tasks and work processes occur. Generic skills are not just restricted to their usefulness
in the prospective workplace of the social sciences students but are equally required across the
spectrum of living experience in today’s world. Emerging work place described above demands
a set of new generic skills for maintaining employability.

In addition to job-specific technical competencies, there is a requirement of a set of

generic skills, which are generic to a cluster of occupations in order to perform competently as
knowledge worker. Generic skills are required by all workers. However, the extent by which these
skills need to be possessed varies from one occupational grouping to another. The varying levels
of generic skills use needs to be determined, to further guide in developing educational content
rich in job-specific and generic skills formation.

The good amount of research studies undertaken in studying generic skills are guideposts
in formulating educational policies and initiating pedagogical reforms that can bridge positive
consequences to the learning outcomes and achievements of the future workforce. While no
single list of generic skills can be concluded as conclusive to one job or sector in this constantly
changing economic and social landscape, the dominating skills sets and competencies required in
21st century occupations must be consigned to the learner. Doing this needs to utilize appropriate
teaching and learning methodologies, integration models and skills formation adapted by
educational systems and institutions, at all educational levels. The possession of generic skills,

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then, will be a flexible passport of the workforce to move from one job to another, and ticket to
enter any given condition and environment within 21st century requirements.

Finally, what is it that we can expect from the students and the teachers as well, in the area
of generic skills to be applied in social sciences? If all goes well, if students acquire knowledge
and if this knowledge is properly valued by the competent teaching staff, then our mutual goal of
creating competent, highly organized, highly motivated students is going to be realized.

This is also a good opportunity for a higher education institution in a country such as
Serbia, to widen its horizons, to present itself in the vast labor market as a prospective country to
offer higher education degrees to the local, but also to the international social sciences students.
This holism of generic skills and the requisite capacity to deploy them seamlessly in appropriate
ways in changing conditions and contexts means that in a significant sense one’s generic skills
capacity is a reflection of the kind of person that one is. Thus, having well-developed generic
skills may have the effect of improving self esteem and self-confidence. In other words, graduates
may be more likely to see themselves as competent people and be perceived as competent by
others (including prospective employers). For example, there is evidence of a demand amongst
graduates themselves for a greater emphasis on a broader general education in those skills areas
which can be seen to make for a “competent person”.’ It has also been written about moving from
academic competence to operational competence. Development of generic skills (or practice
knowledge) is important because a student may thus be considered competent for job selection
and initial work.

References

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Business School Press.
H. Holec. (1987). The learner as manager: managing learning or managing to learn? In Wenden
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Kearns, P. (2001). Generic Skills for the New Economy. Australia: NCVER.
Mackay R., & Mountford. (1978). A. English for Specific Purposes. Longman group Ltd.
Majumdar, S. (2001). On-line Collaborative Learning. Proceedings of the Career and Technical
Education Annual Convention & IVETA at New Orleans, USA. 13-16.
Mayer Committee. 1992. Putting general education to work: The key competencies report. AEC/
MOVEET, Melbourne.
Moy, J. (1999). The Impact of Generic Competencies on Workplace Performance. Australia:
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Nonaka, I. (1998). The Knowledge-Creating Organization. Knowledge Management, USA:
Harvard School Press.
Pirsl, D. (2010). English in Physical Education and Sport. University of Nis publishing, Nis,
Serbia, 222pp.
Pirsl, D. (2011). Rhetorical and metadiscoursal patterns in the scientific discourse in the register
of sport. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. International University of Novi Pazar.
Serbia
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Washington, DC: US Department of Labor; (ED 332 054).
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swissenschaft,Sonderheft 8 (pp. 89–106). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
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Kalcher, & K. Lauermann (Eds.), Sprache leben. Kommunizieren & Verstehen (pp. 23–
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Weinert, S. 2006. Sprachentwicklung. In W. Schneider & B. Sodian (Eds.), Kognitive Entwicklung
(Enzyklopädie der Psychologie C/V/2, pp. 609–719). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Weinert, S., Asendorpf, J. B., Beelmann, A., Doil, H., Frevert, S., Hasselhorn, M., & Lohaus, A.
(2007). Expertise zur Erfassung von psychologischen Personmerkmalen bei Kindern im
Altervon fünf Jahren im Rahmen des SOEP (Data Documentation 20). Berlin: Deutsches
Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW).
Weinert, S., Ebert, S., & Dubowy, M. (2010). Kompetenzen und soziale Disparitäten im
Vorschulalter. Zeitschrift für Grundschulforschung, 1, 32–45.
Wertsch, J. (1996). Die gesellschaftliche Bildung des Bewußtseins. Marburg: Bdwi. Wirth, J., &
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Geschlechtern. Unterrichtswissenschaft, 30, 136–157.

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 Teachers’ and Students’ Perception on Authentic
Materials in the Teaching Process at ELS

Almasa Mulalić
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Student is at the center in the teaching process in second language teaching and learning
today. This is because teaching methodology has evolved throughout the years from teacher
centered to student centered methodology. Also, communicative language approach to language
teaching has placed students at the center of the teaching process. Therefore methodology,
curriculum and the teaching materials also have been in line with the students needs. One of
the most challenging tasks of any language teacher is to capture the attention and motivate
student to learn second language. The development of meaningful authentic teaching material
can enhance students understanding and motivation. The main aim of this research is to examine
the teachers’ and students’ perception on authentic materials at the English Language School
(IUS). All teachers (100 %) considered that it is very important for students to read text when
learning English language. (52%) of the students considered that it is very important for students
to read text when they learn English. However, (30%) of the student are of the opinion that
it is important and (17%) of them considered that it is pretty important to read English texts
when the study the language. The overall result of the survey showed that there is a great need
to reconsider authentic materials in English language learning and teaching, because of their
positive contribution in language acquisition.

Key words: authentic material, language teaching, methodology, curriculum

Introduction

There are a number of researches that indicate differences between authentic materials
and the materials that are specifically written to be used for the teaching purposes. For example,

436
Eisenchiles (2011) found that there is disparity in Spanish language textbooks and actual language
regarding giving advices. It is indisputable that language learning materials differ from authentic
materials in regards to grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. According to Richards and
Renandya (2002) in many cases course books do not respond accordingly to students needs.
This is the reason why many researchers argue that authentic materials should be used for the
purpose of second language teaching. Teachers can use authentic materials in many different
situations. Block (1991) cited Allwright (1982) and claimed that teachers can use authentic
materials intended for the native speakers use, such as advertisements, newspapers, menus etc.

Authentic materials started to be used in the 1970s with the development of Communicative
Language Teaching. According to Larsen-Freeman (2000:129), one of the characteristics of
the communicative language teaching is the use of authentic materials. It is necessary to give
language learners opportunities to learn the language the way it is actually used in the real world.
Widdowson claims that (1990; 67) “It has been traditionally supposed that the language presented
to learners should be simplified in some way for easy access and acquisition. Nowadays there are
recommendations that the language presented should be authentic”.

Definitions of Authentic Materials

Nunan (1985:38) defines the concept of authenticity as follows:

„Authentic´ materials are usually defined as those which have been produced for
purposes other than to teach language. They can be culled from many different
sources: video clips, recordings of authentic interactions, extracts from television,
radio and newspapers, signs, maps and charts, photographs and pictures, timetables
and schedules. These are just a few of the sources which have been tapped’’.

According to Martinez (2002), authentic materials are materials that are prepared for
native speakers and are not designed to be used for teaching purposes. It is very important for
students today to be able to use the language they learn effectively. This can be achieved when
students are exposed to real life materials and language situations.

Pros for Use of Authentic Materials

Views on use of authentic materials and their effectiveness in the language classroom differ
to a great extent. Some researchers caution against the use of authentic materials, while others
on the other hand encourage and promote use of it. Use of authentic materials in the language
classroom accelerates students’ classroom knowledge and their capacity to use the language in

  437
the real life situations. The usefulness of authentic materials has been acknowledged through
several empirical studies. For example in the study of Bacon and Finneman (1990), Miller (2005),
Otte (2006), Thanjaro (2000), it has been acknowledged that oral language developed to a great
extent through the use of authentic materials in the classroom. There is also a research done
by Besardo (2006), in which he concluded that reading skills have improved in a number of
students through the use of authentic materials. They also noticed that learners self satisfaction
and motivation increased after the introduction of authentic materials. By using authentic
materials students feel that they are exposed to a real language, thus the motivation. Peacoc (1997)
specifies the importance of using authentic materials in the language classroom. First of all, they
prepare learners for real life, than, they meet learners’ needs, they also affect learners‘motivation
positively, and most importantly they encourage teachers to adopt effective teaching methods.
Authentic materials also present authentic information about culture. In order to learn language
successfully beliefs about target language culture play an important role towards the success in
language learning. When authentic materials are used there is a greater possibility to introduce
target culture to the learners as well. Once this is achieved students will have broader opinion
about different cultures and they will try to understand others which will bring higher potential
in language learning. Authentic materials therefore, help learners realize the relationship between
the language presented in the classroom and the language used in real world situations.

Among other advantages of authentic materials, one of the most important advantages of
using authentic materials is that it increases motivation and reflects positively on the learning
process. In addition, Melvin and Stout (1987:55) state that learners who work with authentic
materials have an interest in the language that is based on what they know it can do for them in
the future.

According to Carter and Nunan (2001, p.68) authentic materials are the kind of texts that
are not designed for teaching aims. Guarentio and Marley (2001), Shrum and Glisan (2000) also
argue that authentic materials help increase the learners motivation in language learning.

Otte (2006) researched the effects of aural authentic materials on listening comprehension
skills of the students who studied at a university in the USA. In this study he found out that
authentic materials developed listening comprehension skills among students. In another study
done by Harmer (1994) positive effects of authentic materials are that it helps learners produce
better language. It also makes them more confident when they find themselves in the real life
situations to use the language.

This problem with EFL textbooks is further evidenced by research in the recently thriving
field of Corpus Linguistics. For example, both Mindt (1992) and Kennedy (1998) have stated:

438
A comparative study of authentic language data and textbooks for teaching English as a foreign
language has revealed that the used of grammatical structures in textbooks differs considerably
from the use of these structures in authentic English. (Mindt, p. 186)

Arguments against Use of Authentic Materials

Although there is much evidence that authentic materials are useful in language learning
process, some researchers argue that the use of authentic materials does not help learning. In
accordance Killickaya (2004) claims that authentic materials add a burden on teachers since
these materials contain difficult vocabulary and sentence structure which is difficult to explain
to the students. These materials need to be simplified in most cases for the students to be able to
understand them. Mihwa (1994) did a research on authentic texts and found out that the level of
comprehension of weak ELS learners was not affected by the text.

Martinez (2002) claimed that authentic materials are sometimes too culturally biased that
become challenge to understand whole writing process. Usually there are too many different
structure mixed in one article. Students with low proficiency level will be able to process all the
information at the same time.

Research Questions

In this particular research two general questions are of interests to the researcher.

1. What are teachers’ perceptions towards the use of authentic materials in teaching
English as a foreign language?
2. What are students’ perceptions towards using of authentic materials in learning
English language?
3. How can the use of authentic material be integrated in teaching English as a
foreign language?

Method

The data was collected in 2015, fall semester at the English Language School at International
University of Sarajevo. Researcher used survey method to collect data. Questionnaire was
distributed to 18 ELS instructors in order to determine their perception on authentic materials.
The English Language School is an integral part of the university, whose main purpose is to
prepare students language-wise to study in and English medium academic environment in as
short a time as possible, focusing on the actual use of the English language, rather than rote
memorization of grammar rules and out of data uses. The 25 hour per week ELS program is

  439
intensive and quite through, with an academic bent and focusing on developing the reading,
listening, speaking and writing skills of the students along with a large vocabulary that will
benefit the students in later studies. At IUS, a student’s overall academic success hinges on his/
her achievement in ESL. Similar questionnaire was distributed to the students at the beginning
of the fall session to the first year students at IUS students in order to determine their perception
on the authentic materials in ESL. Researcher used quantitative research method. According to
Mertens (2005) quantitative data means data collection procedures which include

Researcher used questionnaire to collect data. Hosein (2010) claims that “Questionnaires
are designed to make quantification and interpretation of the results easier (p.166).

Data Presentation and Analysis

Authentic materialsare texts produced by native speakers for non-teaching purposes.

These materials reflect the real world language. Such materials include TV commercials, films,
news items, weather forecasts, radio talks, interviews, articles, train timetables, advertisements,
brochures, and application forms.

Data collected from the questionnaire will be presented here. The first question: Do you
think it is important for students to read texts when they learn English, professors showed the
following opinion. All teachers (100 %) considered that it is very important for students to read
text when learning English language.

1 a. Very im- Professors(18) a. Very impor- Students (23)

Do you think it is important to read
Do you think it is important to read

portant tant
texts when you learn English?
texts when you learn English?

b. Important very important b. Important Very important

c. Pretty im- (100 %) c. Pretty im- (52.2%)
portant portant Important
d. Not that d. Not that (30.4%)
important important Pretty impor-
e. Not impor- e. Not impor- tant
tant at all tant at all (17.4%)

From the table above we can conclude that (52%) of the students considered that it is very
important for students to read text when they learn English. However, (30%) of the student are of
the opinion that it is important and (17%) of them considered that it is pretty important to read
English texts when the study the language. This is very surprising because students should be

440
aware of the importance of reading in the target language in order to gain native like proficiency
in English language. This shows that English language teachers should bring up these issues in
the language classroom and elaborate on the importance of the reading tasks when it comes to
reading and language acquisition.

The second question from the questionnaire inquired about professors’ and students’
preferences towards different reading materials in language teaching and learning. From the table
bellow it can be deducted that professors thought that their students most preferred material in
language learning is news. Students also had high preferences towards listening to news when
learning the language. Professors also thought that students learn language by watching movies and
very high numbers of professors tick this item in the questionnaire (18 times). However, students
showed different preferences towards movies. Only 9 times this item was ticked by the students.
This showed that teachers’ believes and what students do, do not actually match. There was also
mismatch in the item related to war crime materials. Professors were of the opinion that students
like to read about war crime (9 times), however students did not read much about war crime when
it comes to learning English (5 times). Tree students preferred classics to read, while only one
teacher was of the opinion that students might be interested in this kind of learning material.
What would you like to read about? List four topics.

2 a. News arti- Professors a. News arti- Students

about when learning the language? List four topics.
What do you think students would like to read

cles, politics cles, politics

and current news (12 times) and current news (10 times)
events in history (9 events in history (6
society times) society times)
b. Music movies (18 b. Music movies (9
c. English times) c. English times)
speaking classics (1time) speaking classics (3time)
countries and war crime (9 countries and war crime (5
cultures times) cultures times)
d. History love (9 times) d. History love (11 times)
e. Movies music (8 times) e. Movies music (10-
f. Sports speaking coun- f. Sports times)
g. Classics tries (8 times) g. Classics speaking coun-
h. War/Crime h. War/Crime tries (6 times)
i. Love i. Love

The third question was on the preferences regarding authentic and created materials, thus
it yielded the following results when it comes to teachers and students. (56%) of the teachers
preferred textbooks in their classrooms and (45%) of the teachers preferred authentic materials
in their classrooms. The results regarding the students showed similar results in which (60%) of
the students preferred text from the textbooks and (40%) of the students preferred authentic texts.

  441
 3 Which do a. Texts from Professors Which do a. Texts Students
you prefer to the textbook Texts from the you prefer to from the Texts from
use in your b. Authentic textbook (56 study? textbook the text-
classroom? texts %) b. Authentic book (60
Authentic texts %)
texts (45%) Authentic
texts (40%)

The fourth research questions; How do you normally decide which text to use in class,
teachers questionnaire showed the following results. Teachers usually select materials that are
supposed to be read in the English language classes (70%). While only (11%) of the professors
provided different choices for the students among which students would be able to choose
materials to read. Similar results are shown when it comes to students. (13%) of the students
stated that they were presented with several different texts and themes and choose from these for
reading, and (66%) stated that teachers decided what they are supposed to read.

4 A. You choose Professors A. You choose Students

How do you normally decide which texts to use

a theme and a theme and

How do you normally decide which texts to use

you’re your You present then your You are pre-

students finds students several teacher finds a sented with
a text that different texts text that suits several differ-
suits that and themes and that theme. ent texts and
theme. they choose B. You are themes and
B. You present from these. presented with choose from
in class?

in class?

students with (11%) several differ- these. (13%)

several differ- ent texts and
ent texts and You decide themes and Your teacher
themes and what students choose from decides what
they choose are to read. (70 these. you are to read.
from these. %) C. Your teach- (66 %)
C. You decide er decides
what students Other (19%) what you are Other (21%)
are to read. to read.
D. Other D. Other

The fifth research question; to what degree is the following important to you when you
choose a text showed the following results. Professors and students had similar opinion when it
comes to the length of the text. Professor and students considered that the length of the text is not
of the consideration in the process of language learning. The percents for each item were almost
equally divided among professors and students.

442
5 The length of Professors The length of a Students

important to you when you choose

important to you when you choose

To what degree is the following

To what degree is the following
a text is very important text is very important

a text? Grade your answer.

a text? Grade your answer.
a. Very Im- (18%) a. Very Im- (8%)
portant important portant important
b. Important (35%) b. Important (34%)
c. Pretty im- pretty impor- c. Pretty im- pretty impor-
portant tant (18%) portant tant
d. Not that not that impor- d. Not that (30%)
important tant important not that impor-
e. Not impor- (26%) e. Not impor- tant (21%)
tant at all tant at all

The author is very important The author is very important

a. Very Im- (6%) a. Very Impor- (22%) impor-
portant important tant tant (26)
b. Important (28%) b. Important pretty impor-
c. Pretty im- pretty impor- c. Pretty im- tant (30%)
portant tant (50%) portant not that impor-
d. Not that not that impor- d. Not that tant (22%)
important tant (11%) important
e. Not impor- e. Not impor-
tant at all tant at all

The topic is very important The topic is very important

a. Very Im- (67%) impor- a. Very Impor- (56%) impor-
portant tant (33%) tant tant (22%)
b. Important b. Important
c. Pretty im- c. Pretty im-
portant portant
d. Not that d. Not that
important important
e. Not impor- e. Not impor-
tant at all tant at all

The Language very important The Language very important

is a. Very (100%) is a. Very (78%)
Important Important important
b. Important b. Important (22%)
c. Pretty im- c. Pretty im-
portant portant
d. Not that d. Not that
important important
e. Not impor- e. Not impor-
tant at all tant at all

  443
 The genre is very important The genre is very important
a. Very Im- (11%) a. Very Impor- (26%)
portant important tant important
b. Important (44%) b. Important (22%)
c. Pretty im- pretty impor- c. Pretty im- pretty impor-
portant tant (39%) portant tant (30%)
d. Not that not that impor- d. Not that not that impor-
important tant (6%) important tant (22%) all
e. Not impor- e. Not impor-
tant at all tant at all
The year it very important The year it was very important
was published (17%) published is (22%)
is important a. Very Impor- important
a. Very Im- (17%) tant (17%)
portant pretty impor- b. Important pretty impor-
b. Important tant (50%) c. Pretty im- tant (26%)
c. Pretty im- not that impor- portant not that impor-
portant tant (18%) d. Not that tant (35%)
d. Not that important
important e. Not impor-
e. Not impor- tant at all
tant at all

The sixth question in the survey regarding the preferences regarding use of the text in
English language learning produced the following results. Professors had high preferences (13
times) for the item on answering questions about certain episodes in the text, and (14 times)
on finding the theme and discuss it with the students. However, students had different and tick
on the less items in the questionnaire that their professors. Students showed less interest on the
reading tasks by listing only few items regarding their interest when it comes to work on the
given texts in the classrooms.

6 a. Answer ques- Profes- a. Answer questions Students

How would you like/prefer to work with

How would you like/prefer to work with

a text? You may put more than one X.

a text? You may put more than one X.

tions about sors about certain epi-

certain episodes sodes in the text a. 1 time
in the text a. 13 times b. Find the themes b. 9
b. Find the b. 14 times of the text and times
themes of the c. 7 times discuss them c. 6
text and discuss d. 2 times c. Translate words times
them e. 10 times from the text/ex- d. 4
c. Translate f. 0 plain difficult words times
words from the g. 9 times in English e. 2
text/explain dif- h. 10 d. Looking up differ- times
ficult words in times ent verbs and acting f.0
English i. 8 times them out

444
 d. Looking up j. 2 times e. Write a summary g. 6
different verbs of the text times
and acting them f. Write a reading h. 1 time
out log while you read i. 4 times
e. Write a sum- a text j. 1 time
mary of the text g. Write an essay
f. Write a read- about e.g. what
ing log while you find interesting
you read a text in the text
g. Write an essay h. Write the ending
about e.g. what of a text/ write an
you find interest- alternative ending to
ing in the text a text
h. Write the i. Use the themes of
ending of a text/ a text to write your
write an alterna- own story
tive ending to a j. Other
text
i. Use the themes
of a text to write
your own story
j. Other

Conclusion and Recommendations

From the results shown in this research it can be concluded that all teachers (100 %)
considered that it is very important for students to read text when learning English language.
While on the other hand students were not of the same opinion because only (52%) of the
students considered that it is very important for students to read text when they learn English.
This shows that there is a great need to indicate to the students that without plenty of reading
there is no possibility for them to improve their language skills.

Professors thought that their students most preferred material in language learning is
news. Students also had high preferences towards listening to news when learning the language.
Professors also thought that students learn language by watching movies and very high numbers
of professors tick this item in the questionnaire. However, students showed different preferences
towards movies. Only 9 times this item was ticked by the students. This showed that teachers’
believes and what students do, do not actually match. There was also mismatch in the item
related to war crime materials. Professors were of the opinion that students like to read about war
crime, however students did not read much about war crime when it comes to learning English.
Tree students preferred classics to read, while only one teacher was of the opinion that students
might be interested in this kind of learning material.

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 Authentic materials are useful and beneficial in language teaching and learning. It tends
to motivate students and make them relevant to the materials they are using in their English
language class. With such materials students develop positive educational attitudes. Authentic
materials also provide students with the authentic and meaningful learning. This may help
students in developing their autonomous learning and enable them to learn independently.

Some teachers claim that using authentic materials in language classroom takes up too
much time. Indeed, if an institution has proposed the materials that have to be covered during
one school year teachers should speak to relevant administrators in the school about relevant
authentic learning materials because students will benefit from authentic materials by being
exposed to language as it is really used.

References

Authentic texts or adapted texts – That is the question! The use of authentic and adapted texts in
the study of English in two Swedish upper secondary schools and a study of student and
teacher attitudes towards these texts. Konstantinos Daskalos Jeppe Jellum Ling

Block, D. (1991). Some thoughts on DIY materials design. ELT Journal, 45(3), Oxford University
Press.

Carter, R., & Nunan, D.(Eds.), (2001). The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of
other languages. Cambridge University Press.

Guariento, W. & J. Morely (2001) Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom. ELT Journal,
55 (4), 347-353.

Harmer, J. 1994. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.

http://dspace.mah.se/bit/handle/2043/1964/authenticandadapted.pdf retrieved on September 7,

2015.

Kennedy, G. (1998). An Introduction to Corpus Linguistics. London & New York: Longman.

Kilickaya, F. (2004). Authentic materials and culture content in EFL classrooms. The Internet
ELT Journal, 10(7).

Mihwa, Y.(1994). The influence of authentic versus edited texts on the reading comprehension and
online reading behaviors of beginning Korean and Japanese ESL students. Dissertation
Abstracts International, 55 (10), 3123B. (UMI No. 9507419)

Mindt, D. (1996). „English Corpus Linguistics and the Foreign Language Teaching Syllabus.” In J.
Thomas & M. Short (Eds.), Using Corpora for Language Research (pp. 232-247). London
& New York: Longman.

446
Otte, J. (2006). Real language to real people: a descriptive and exploratory case study of the
outcomes of aural authentic texts on the listening comprehension of adult ESL students
enrolled in an advanced ESL listening course. Dissertation Abstracts International.

Paltridge, B. (2001). Genre and the language learning classroom. Michigan: University of Michigan.

Peacock, M. (1997). The effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners, ELT
Journal: English Language Teachers Journal 51 (2) 144 – 156.

Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology In Language Teaching: An Anthology of

Current Practice. New York: Cambridge University.

Shrum, J., & Glisan, W. (2000). Teacher‘s handbook: contextualized language instruction. Boston:
Heinle & Heinle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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 Using Corpus in Enhancing Reporting Verb Patterns in Teaching/
Learning Process

Samina Dazdarević & Fahreta Fijuljanin & Aldin Rastić

International University of Novi Pazar, Serbia

Abstract

Knowing which patterns are associated with different reporting verbs is one of the biggest
single grammar challenges facing learners. Using electronic language corpus is a good way of
teaching all those other reporting verbs apart from ‘say’ and ‘tell’ which have a variety of structures
(verb + obj + that, verb + ing, etc) e.g. promise, advise, deny, etc. Giving the students a long list
of verbs with structures is confusing and also very boring. With the help of a corpus, students
acquire knowledge and skills in the language they are studying. Corpus linguistics can thus be
seen as a learning model where students take responsibility for their own learning. The Corpus of
Contemporary American English (COCA) currently comprises more than 450 million words of
text and is equally divided among spoken, fiction, popular magazines, newspapers, and academic
texts. COCA offers a setting of problem-based learning where the students’ discoveries and
interaction with a corpus give them a learning curve very much triggered by their own activity
and motivation. Further, by being exposed to authentic data, students are given a more nuanced
encounter with language than traditional grammars are able and are given the opportunity to
evaluate data and draw their own conclusions. From a pedagogical point of view it is quite evident
that the integration of corpora in language teaching/learning is beneficial to students.

Key words: reporting verb patterns, teaching/learning, corpus, COCA

Introduction

For EFL/ESL learners, reporting verbs represent a complex and confusing group of verbs
for reporting spoken statements and questions that is often non-definitive. Its ‘never-ending’
feature and numerous following structures make this group one of the most challenging and

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difficult to enhance. Facing this fact, teachers are obliged to ease the learning and discover
innovative teaching solutions. Nowadays, corpus approach has proven as an excellent linguistic
tool that enables innovations for teachers and students discovering a whole new world of
authentic patterns of language in its contemporary usage. Corpus approach is a representation of
approaching to the natural language and derivation of a set of abstract rules. Thus, corpus paves
a path from data to theory, from an example to definition, from practice to theory. We annotate,
abstract and analyze certain linguistic structures. We tend to apply a scheme to the text using
structural markup and a part of speech tagging as well as mapping of grammatical terms. We
examine, probe and evaluate statistical data.

The first part of this research represents coherence between corpus approach and
learning process in classroom as well as a unique possibility of corpus assistance in overcoming
grammatical structures for EFL learners. Our foreground task is to determine and prove the
usefulness of using corpus approach in order to solve the problems that EFL learners face.

Grammar, as it is well-known, often represents the most challenging task for non-native
speakers of English encounter. The following part deals with new ideas of incorporating corpus
resources in learning and teaching grammar in EFL classrooms. In the last part of the paper, the
research is taken on the COCA corpus intended to represent a method of integrating corpus
models of certain reporting verbs in spoken and written English.

Corpus Approach Assistance in Educational Process

Computer-aided language learning has proven to be one of the most effective tools in
education process. Due to technology and computers, classes nowadays should be a part of
modern-equipped technological facility. Teaching, especially in primary and secondary public
schools, is one of the areas where technology still tends to have a greater impact. Thus, corpus
linguistics as one of the technology-based tools is found to be very useful in teaching and learning
process. The core burden is being carried by the EFL teachers who often find integrating corpus-
-based activities a challenging task. Among many reasons why corpus-based teaching should
be used in classrooms is the fact that corpus is a kind of evidence that offers which language
processes are most likely to be used and encountered by native speakers using real-life examples
rather than those made up by the teacher. It also:

• Helps teachers to improve teaching activities

• Makes textbooks authentic
• Makes ‚real English’ available
• Helps students to learn lexical patterns, collocations, semantics from natural discourse
• Helps student to develop their own research skills etc.

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 It is important to acknowledge that Dazdarevic et. al. (2015:7) mention how Payne (2008)
sees the traditional pedagogical approach to teaching grammar through a process:

1. the teacher presents information to the student,

2. the learner practices with this information,
3. the learner produces new content.
In contrast, in a corpus based approach, the learner
1. observes a grammatical phenomenon of the language,
2. hypothesizes as to how this grammatical phenomenon works, and then
3. experiments to see if their hypothesis is correct

One of the best known uses of corpora in the language classroom is certainly concordancing.
According to Dazdarevic et. al. (2015:7), a concordancer works much the same way as an internet
search engine. It is a kind of a program that searches a whole corpus for a wanted and selected
word or phrase. The program then presents every instance of that word or phrase occurring in
the corpus in the format of key-word-in-context (KWIC) in the center of the screen surrounded
by 4 or 5 words that came before and after the searched word.

The following work aims to show the use of concordancing in the classroom as a teaching
technique which students can effectively use through their research in language patterns.

Learning Real Grammar

Both teaching and learning are complex processes that have been and will be changed
and improved as the human intellect and capability are progressing. There is no perfect and best
approach, method or technique to teaching that would satisfy every criteria of ideal methodic in
classrooms. But there are different and various solutions for using certain approaches to teaching
and learning grammar, vocabulary and for improving listening and speaking skills. In the first
place, teacher should be familiar with those approaches and their theoretical (dis)advantages
and then be capable to adapt and apply his knowledge according to particular situation. When it
comes to teaching grammar, we have many methods used, examined and tested from early periods
till today. Traditional and structural grammar instructions had given the main basis for what
we today call modern teaching of grammar. There are also audio-lingual, direct and functional
approaches that influenced educational process at the time, as well as universal grammar by
Chomsky. Along with cognitive, humanistic and discourse-based approaches, corpus-based is
considered to be one of the leaders in contemporary educational thought and practice. Corpus-
based grammar teaching seems to become essential tool in representing grammar structures of
natural language use and different language variations in contextual communication. Corpus-
based learning grammar has been popular amongst teachers since the very publication of the

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Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (Biber et al. 1999). As it was said in the
introduction of the work by Biber’s et al., the LGSWE adopts a corpus-based approach, which
means that grammatical descriptions are based on the patterns of structure and use found in a
large collection of spoken and written texts, stored electronically, and searchable by computers. It
complements previous grammatical descriptions by investigating the linguistics patterns actually
used by speakers and writers in the late twentieth century.

Why do grammar teachers need corpus-based studies? That was one of the questions that
Biber and Conrad asked in their research work related to the corpus. First of all, they mentioned
the authenticity of the information represented in textbook students are using during their
studies. Unfortunately, they claim that ‘no special source of information for textbook writers
exists. Author’s intuition, anecdotal evidence and tradition about what should be in a grammar
book play major roles in determining the content of textbook.’

The answer is easy. Teachers don’t have to fabricate examples anymore when teaching
grammar. Instead, corpus-based studies offer a diversity of natural interpretation for studying
language patterns and structures. These interpretations can be in spoken and transcribed or
written form. Also, there is a possibility for different registers to describe a certain grammatical
usage in human interpretation. According to Biber and Conrad, three types of description are
especially important for teaching grammar:

1. frequency information
2. register comparisons
3. associations between grammatical structures and words (lexico-grammar).

This works intends to deal with the last type of description and represent it through corpus-
based study. Association between grammatical structure and words is a research about frequency
of certain grammatical structure with the words used with it and its occurrence in a given structure.
We used corpora to illustrate what grammatical structure can be used with verb + gerund, verb +
infinitive and verb + that clause instructions. These constructions can build a very long list of verbs
that torture teachers as well as their students. The following part aims to represent a traditional
approach to certain verbs constructions – the usage of reporting verbs promise, advise and deny,
and then employ corpora in discovering these grammatical constructions.

Traditional approach to reporting verbs promise, advise and deny

One of the initial problems with reporting verbs is that students often tend to over
think when and how to use them as they are baffled with extensive/scarce lists and rules that
traditional grammars offer. Grammar textbooks usually provide either too simple or too complex
explanations without example sentences for all reporting verbs. In other words, there is usually a

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very long list of reporting verbs and only few examples. It has been a major task for the purposes
of this paper to find grammar textbooks which analyze reporting verbs one by one, as they are
usually grouped according to the structures they are followed by.

Murphy (2004:106) provides the following explanation:

After enjoy, mind and suggest, we use –ing (not to …).

Some more verbs that are followed by –ing: stop, postpone, admit, avoid, imagine, finish,
consider, deny, risk, fancy.
• Suddenly everybody stopped talking.
• He tried to avoid answering my question.
• I’ll do the shopping when I’ve finished cleaning.

It is obvious that such explanation is vague and confusing. First of all, students cannot find
verb deny in the contents page of the book and even if they come across it in the abovementioned
summary, they would not find any example sentences for it leaving them puzzled. Another
problem is that EFL students learn these lists of verbs by heart and often confuse them with
other lists for some other rules. The best way to do it is to provide each verb separately with many
examples and possible exceptions.

Eastwood (1999:143) analyzes the verb promise in the following way:

He promised to go, his promise to go

Some nouns can come before a to-infinitive. Compare these sentences.

Verb+ to-infinitive: Mark promised to go shopping.
But then he arranged to play golf.
Noun+ to-infinitive: Mark forgot about his promise to go shopping.
Sarah found out about his arrangement to play golf.

Here are some nouns we can use: agreement, arrangement, decision, demand, desire,
failure, offer, plan, promise, refusal, tendency, threat.

At first glance, it seems that the explanation is sufficient. However, there is no reason to mix
verb+ to-infinitive and noun+ to-infinitive structures and exemplify their usage in sentences that
can be easily swapped. Having in mind this short summary, students do not know which challenge
to take; is it more important to learn verbs or nouns we use to create infinitive structures?

In the same book, Eastwood (1999:155) also explains how verb advise works.

advise, allow, encourage and recommend

We can use these verbs with an –ing form or with an object + a to-infinitive.

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 +ing-form +object + to-infinitive
They allow fishing here. They allow people to fish here.
I wouldn’t recommend walking home alone. I wouldn’t recommend you to walk home alone.

We encounter the same problem in this explanation as it was the case with the verb deny;
there are no example sentences even though the verb is listed. In addition, students have to make
their own sentences and thus make possible mistakes. Therefore, the rule is not precise but vague
and leaves space for errors and misinterpretation.

Integrating a corpora model for teaching reporting verbs promise, advise and deny

If the teacher wants integrating a corpus-based study to be successful in his classroom,

according to McEnery and Xiao (2012:12), they must first of all be equipped with a sound
knowledge of the corpus-based approach. The first assignment for language learners is to open
a corpus, in this case COCA (The Corpus of Contemporary American English), and explore the
reporting verbs promise, advise and deny patterns. The ‘research question’ for a corpus-designed
activity could be defined as ‘What are the possible grammatical patterns with the reporting verbs
promise, advise and deny?’As language is used differently in different registers, all registers are
relevant in this study.

As we already mentioned in our previous work related to the corpus approach to the gerund
and infinitive analysis (Dazdarevic et al, 2015), the student will be put in front of a concordance
program on a computer and challenged to make a research on his own. If needed, the teacher
will be there to provide assistance in this corpus research. The main aim of this research is to
make the student capable and able to search for given tasks, to analyze it and construct his own
conclusions about the particular language use.

Using a concordance program, attention is being focused on the close interaction between
the student and the text in front of him, rather than on the input from the teacher. In this situation
the learner is a detective who is able to explore and discover rules and meanings within their own
cognitive framework. It promotes learners awareness of the strategies and skills used in learning.
It stimulates the learner’s cognition and promotes their construction process/language awareness
(Wolf, 1995, see more in Montazar 1999:15).

During the analyzing verb promise when used in reported speech, the COCA corpus
offered us plenty of examples of using it in speech. The Table 1. stands for a representation of verb
pattern that is used with the verb promise. The first one is a structure verb + Infinitive (promise +
Vinf), as it was searched for in a query in COCA. This table also represents a verb pattern verb +
ConjSub (promise + ConjSub). The main difference is between their occurrence in COCA, where

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the first pattern occurred 3406 times and the second one occurred 1023 times. It illustrates the
usage of these verb patterns among native speakers of English Language. It could be the first
student’s observation and conclusion.

Table 1. Representation and frequency of promise + Vinf., and promise + ConjSub., in COCA
Verb pattern Example Frequency Section
promise + Vinf. Figure 1. 3406 Newspaper
promise + ConjSub. Figure 2. 1023 Fiction

Table 1. also shows a distribution of these patterns in different sections. The first pattern is
distributed most in newspaper section, and the least in academic. The second pattern is distributed
in fiction section most but also in academic the least. We can conclude that the pattern with
infinitive is more typical for spoken section and the pattern with –that clause is more typical for
written section.

As for deeper analyzing, COCA serves as an inexhaustible resource of examples in context.

The following figure (No.1) represents the first verb pattern, promise + Vinf., in KWIC (keyword
in context) where the pattern promise + Vinf. is sorted and aligned with the word in context
before and after it.

Figure 1. Distribution and KWIC of promise + Vinf., in COCA

Figure 2. also shows an example of concordancing, keyword in context for the second verb
pattern promise + ConjSub. Observing these numerous examples of patterns usage, students will
be able to conclude and formulate grammar rules as professional grammars and even more.

454
 Figure 2. Distribution and KWIC of promise + ConjSub., in COCA

Unlike the verb structure for promise in reported speech which has only two patterns
offered in COCA, the verb advise largely differs in its verb combinations and thus it is more
difficult for students to enhance and comprehend. Even though the table 2.shows a number of
possibilities that string along with the verb advise, frequency number determines the native
speaker’s usage. The verb patterns advise + Vbase and advise + Vmodal are only once used in
corpus with the given examples in the table, while the pattern advise + Vdo occurs only 4 times.

Table 2. Sections distribution, examples and frequency of advise verb patterns in COCA

Verb pattern Example Frequency Section

advise+ Vbase advise go 1 Spoken
advise + Vmodal advise would 1 Spoken
advise should 1 Academic

advise +Ving 311 Figure 3.

advise + Vdo 4 Magazine
advise + ConjSub advise that… 120 Figure 4.

These examples may appear and be defined as exceptions in using verb advise. The most
frequent verb patterns of advise are at the same time the most known ones among teachers and
students. The table 2.presents a noticeable facts about the frequency of the pattern advise + Ving
and advise + ConjSub.

The verb pattern advise + Ving is occurred 311 times in COCA while the pattern advise +
ConjSub is occurred only 120 times. The conclusion is that native speakers of English are using
the verb structure with infinitive rather than -that clause.

Considering different sections and sub-sections in COCA corpus, there’s also a difference
between verb pattern usages. The figure 3. shows how verb pattern advise + Ving is distributed

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in all sections and mostly appear in magazine section for 94 times while there is only 7 tokens in
spoken section.

Figure 3. Frequency and distribution of advise + Ving. in different sections

Figure 4.shows that the verb pattern advise + ConjSub.is highly distributed in magazine
sections with 50 tokens also with an increase in spoken section of 24 times.

Figure 4. Frequency and distribution of advise + ConjSub. in different sections

Table 3. displays one verb structure more in its authentic, grammatical and natural
surroundings. The verb deny, as one of the verbs used in indirect speaking structure, is found to
coordinate with its ‘after’ base verb, infinitive, gerund and –that clause collocates.

Table 3. Sections distribution, examples and frequency of deny verb patterns in COCA

Verb pattern Example Frequency Section

deny + Vbase 8
deny + Vinf Deny permit 1 Newspaper
deny + Ving 156
deny + ConjSub 1204 Academic

Learning through corpora is really a comprehensive and conceivable way of learning

grammar structures. It would be enough for student to carefully observe the numbers and facts
in front of him to easily make definitions and conclusions. Mutual characteristic of two examined
verbs beyond and verb deny is having a two largest group of collocates that can be combined
with. Similar as with verbs promise and advise, the verb deny also has its examples that could be
called exceptions. Those are in verb pattern deny + Vbase which has a small level of frequency,
only 8 times, and deny + Vinf which has only one occurrence in newspaper section.

The largest groups are verb pattern deny + Ving which is occurred 156 times, and deny
+ ConjSub which is highly frequent, 1204 times. This significant difference in frequency might
become one of the possible instructions how to use language as a native speaker.

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 Another important statistic fact is related to the sections and its distribution. Figure
5.shows a chart with the verb deny + Vinf. in different sections, and Figure 6.shows verb pattern
deny + ConjSub. in the same sections.

Figure 5. Frequency and distribution of deny + Vinf. in different sections

Figure 6. Frequency and distribution of deny + ConjSub. in different sections

It seems that native speakers in academic section often use verb pattern deny + ConjSub,
while the other pattern is rarely used in the same section. The only similarity is that the both are
used in spoken section, not so used in fiction, and fairly used in newspaper.

After this search activity, teacher should prepare concordance lines and traditional fill-
-in-the-blank and gap-fill activities and exercises for students to examine and engage in defining
grammar structures.

Conclusion

With the rise of corpus-based analysis, we are beginning to see empirical descriptions
of language use, identifying the patterns that are actually frequent (or not) and documenting
the differential reliance on specific forms and words in different registers (Biber and Conrad,
1998:145).

Both teachers and students become detectives and explores where the teacher bears
the main challenge when using corpus-based approach. He is an assistant and a guide, both
pedagogically and equally balanced. He tends to make no mistake and follows his intuition.
Sometimes, as a researcher turns to be correct and sometimes not. However, he always tends
to improve his theoretical knowledge through practice and activity innovating and advancing
the student’s level. Corpus-based approach seems to become one of the best tools in teaching
grammar, vocabulary and language generally.

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 Learners can deduce their own rules just by scrutinizing a concordance of any problematic
grammatical item. The teacher doesn’t have to teach a rule but rather guide students to think more
effectively and perhaps to formulate what learners have come to conclude (Montazar, 1999: 4).

This paper also tends to contribute education with a significant task; the aim of modern
materials and technological tools in building a complete and systematic data-based approaches,
methods and techniques to the verbs and verb pattern when using a reported speech instruction
and learning.

References

Biber, D., S. Johansson, G. Leech, S. Conrad, & E. Finegan (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken
and Written English. London: Longman.
Dazdarevic S., Fijuljanin F., Babacic I. (2015) Corpus Approach toAnalyzing Gerund vs Infinitive.
Novi Pazar: UniverzitetskaMisao.
Eastwood, J. (1999) Oxford Practice Grammar with Answers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McEnery, Tony and Richard Xiao. (2010) “What corpora can offer in language teaching and learn-
ing”. In E Hinkel (ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learn-
ing. vol. 2, London and New York: Routledge: 364-380. Accessed August 28, 2015. http://
www.elihinkel.org/downloads/Handbook_TOC.pdf
Montazar, an-Nayef. (1999) Corpora, concordances, and collocations in classroom teaching: De-
signing listening materials. The 1st International Conference on ESP in theTwenty First
Century, Jordan University ofScience and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/Montazar/Research%20Papers/Corpora%20-%20Concordances%20
-%20Collocations.pdf
Murphy, R. (2004) English Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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The Impact of Students’ Motivation on Their Achievement in Freshman
English Course at International University of Sarajevo: A case study

Neđla Ćemanović
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

A number of studies in the field of SLA have exhibited a considerable impact of motivation
on students’ achievement.The learning process does not happen merely inside the learner’s mind,
but also in multiple contexts such as socio-cultural. Relying on the motivational theories by R.C
Gardner and Z. Dörnyei as major theoretical frameworks and considering several contemporary
sources on the topic, this study explored the impact of motivation on students’ achievement in an
international setting focusing on two national groups, Turkish and Bosnian, and their respective
performances in Freshman English Course. The purpose of this paper is to trigger teachers to
motivate students by considering their cultural background as an important factor in generating
their strategies. The findings provided evidence that the correlation between motivation and
achievement was undoubtedly present and they reinforced the importance of L2 motivation in
a particular context. This study also illustrated that the impact did not vary across gender line.
However, cross-cultural differences proved quite significant in the outcome of this research.

Key words: motivation, achievement, socio-cultural context, L2 learning

Introduction

The study of L2 motivation has been in focus of the SLA research and applied linguistics for
more than forty years. The reason for that is its perplexing nature and inexorable impact on the
student’s success (Dörnyei 1994). Apart from Dörnyei, Bernaus and Gardner (2008) also agree on
the premise that L2 motivation influences students’ achievement: “Although these studies have
used different conceptualizations of motivation, they all found relationships between motivation

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and L2 achievement” (p. 387). Undoubtedly, the learning process does not happen merely
inside the learner’s mind, but also in multiple contexts such as socio-cultural. The teacher as the
facilitator, guide, delegator, and interlocutor plays an important role within the learner’s context
and his/her reactions to that context may vary which, as this study aims to show, influence the
student’s motivational state. Groham and Christophel (1992) note that “one of the assumptions
which has grounded instructional communication studies” is that “the behavior of the teacher
influences the behavior of the student” (239). Bearing in mind the motivational theories by R.C
Gardner and Z. Dörnyei as primary sources, this study aims to demonstrate that motivation does
have an impact on the students’ achievement in Freshman English Course1 at the International
University of Sarajevo and it will focus on tracing differences across gender and nationality lines.

Literature review

L2 motivation has been studied from various perspectives, but the most notable ones are
those conducted by R.C. Gardner and his associates and by Z. Dörnyei, Crookes and Schmidt,
and others. In 1985, R.C. Gardner presented his socio-educational model which was a paradigm
that dominated the research of the nature and significance of motivation in the area of foreign
language learning for nearly two decades. Gardner (1985) defined L2 motivation as “the extent to
which the individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to do so and the
satisfaction experienced in this activity.” In his model, three components of L2 motivation were
considered: effort put into reaching a goal, a willingness to learn the language, and contentment
with the success of learning the language. According to Gardner, if the learner is active and
strongly motivated, he will strive for completing the task of learning a language.

To depict the relationship between motivation and achievement, he designed the Attitude
Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) which measured the following: “desire to learn the language,
motivational intensity and attitudes toward learning the language” (Gardner and Tremblay,
1994, p.526). Integrative orientation and instrumental orientation are two important elements
in Gardner’s theory. An integrative orientation takes place when learners have positive attitudes
towards the language and the target culture. An instrumental orientation is related to the pragmatic
aspect of learning a second language, such as completing exams, financial incentives or career
prospects. What Gardner somewhat neglected is the implication of the learner’s context in arousing
the motivation, i.e. the existence of external factors onto the internal process of motivation.

Another of L2 motivation came to the stand with an exigent article by Crookes and
Schmidt (1991) which challenged Gardner’s perspective on L2 learning motivation. Succeeded
by Oxford and Shearin (1994), they objected to Gardner’s socio-educational model for not

1 In the rest of the paper, it will be referred to as FEC.

460
focusing enough on the L2 learning/teaching context. Joining the challenge, Z. Dörnyei (1994)
constructed a new model of L2 motivation that was comprised of several motivational factors: a)
language level, b) learner level, and c) learning situational level. The Language level is based on
Gardner’s integrative and instrumental orientation as significant factors of defining the aspects
of L2 motivation (Dörnyei, 1994). The Learner level refers to the learner’s individual features that
are included in the learning process (Dörnyei, 2001). The third element of Dörnyei’s construct
is the Learner situational level which includes the importance of the course, learning group and
teachers (Dörnyei, 2001).

Ushioda (2005) praised Dörnyei’s (1994) model with the claim that it “can be a useful
framework not only for researchers and teachers to identify motivational sources but also to
develop motivational strategies” (54). If teacher’s motivational strategies are developed in an
optimal manner, meaning that it meets the needs and profile of the students, then having prompted
the motivation in students, success will not be missing. There are a number of studies that suggest
teaching strategies that could be employed to arouse motivation. For instance, Dornyei and Csizer
(1998) formulated ten rules for teachers that were aimed at improving student motivation. Apart
from Gardner’s and Dörnyei’s models/constructs of students’ motivation phenomenon, there are
numerous other studies that are aimed at exploring motivation and offering new data and ways
of treating them.

Research Questions

1. Is there a correlation between students’ motivation and their achievement in FEC?

2. Is there a difference between males and females in terms of their achievement and
motivation in FEC?
3. Is there a difference between Bosnians and Turks in terms of their achievement and
motivation in FEC?

Methodology

Participants

Freshman students at the International University of Sarajevo in Sarajevo who attend the
Freshman English Course in the 2014/2015 academic year participated in this study.

Null hypotheses

1. There is no correlation between students’ motivation and achievement in FEC.

2. There is no difference between males and females in terms of their achievement and
motivation in FEC.
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 3. There is no difference between Bosnian and Turkish participants in terms of their
achievement and motivation in FEC.

Instrument

“A Student Motivational State” questionnaire, adapted from Dörnyei and Guilotieaux(2008),

was utilized in this study. The questionnaire comprised of 14 questions formed in statements on a
Likert scale with five points ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.”

Procedure

The questionnaire was distributed in the second half of the fall semester 2014/2015 by two
teachers of FEC to their students randomly. Freshman English Course is a course required for
all students at the university. It is designed to facilitate and affirm advanced knowledge of the
English language for academic purposes. The teachers outlined to the participants the purpose
of this project, that the information they inserted into the survey would not be put to wrong use,
and that their participation was non-compulsory. The students were informed that completing
the questionnaire would take only 5 minutes of their time at the end of the lesson.

Data analysis

The data obtained from the questionnaire were examined with the use of SPSS 22 for
Windows (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) data editor. Independent Samples T-test and
test of Means were applied to compare the means of the participants in terms of gender and
nationality. Apart from that, Pearson Correlation test was used to analyze whether there was a
positive correlation between motivation and achievement.

Results and Findings

Overview of the sample

In the study, there were eleven male participants and twelve female participants whose
percentages are visible in the table below (Table 1).

Table 1. Gender
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Va- Male 11 47.8 47.8 47.8
lid Female 12 52.2 52.2 100.0

Total 23 100.0 100.0

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 When it comes to the division of participants across nationality line, according to Table 2,
there were more Bosnian participants (60.9 %) than Turkish (39.1 %).

Table 2. Nationality
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Turkish 9 39.1 39.1 39.1
Bosnian 14 60.9 60.9 100.0
Total 23 100.0 100.0

In Table 3. there is a display of the students’ achievement generated in their midterm exam
scores. The Midterm Exam Score value 1 is considered unsuccessful, value 2 is average, and value
3 is successful.

Table 3. Midterm Exam Score

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 40-50 11 47.8 47.8 47.8
30-40 8 34.8 34.8 82.6
1-30 4 17.4 17.4 100.0
Total 23 100.0 100.0

RQ1: Is there a correlation between students’ motivation and achievement in FEC?

In order to identify whether there is a positive correlation between motivation and

achievement, I used Pearson Correlation test on the following variables: Motivation and Midterm
Exam Score. The two tables below (Table 4. and 5.) clearly show that the relationship exists and it
is positive which means that motivation impacts achievement.

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

Midterm Exam Score 1.70 .765 23
Motivation 35.35 6.978 23

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Table 5. Correlations
Midterm Exam Motivation
Score
Midterm Exam Pearson Correlation 1 .532**
Score Sig. (2-tailed) .009
N 23 23
Motivation Pearson Correlation .532** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .009
N 23 23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

RQ2: Is there a difference between males and females in terms of their achievement
and motivation in FEC?

Below are the tables (Table 6. and 7.) that exhibit the Independent Samples Test which was
used to compare the means of the genders to their midterm-exam scores. The tables show that
there is no significant difference between genders in terms of their overall achievement. This is
further confirmed by tables 8. and 9. which show that there is no significant difference in their
motivation either.

Table 6. Group Statistics

Gender N Mean Std. Devia- Std. Error Mean
tion
Midterm Exam Score  Male 11 2.00 .775 .234

Female 12 1.42 .669 .193

Table 7. Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test t-test for Equality of Means
for Equality
of Variances
Mean Std. 95% Confiden-
Diffe- Error ce Interval of
sig. (2-
rence Diffe- the Difference
tailed)
F Sig. t df rence Lower Upper
Mid- Equal .003 .956 1.938 21 .066 .583 .301 -.043 1.209
term va-
Exam riances
Score assu-
med

464
 Levene’s Test t-test for Equality of Means
for Equality
of Variances
Mean Std. 95% Confiden-
Diffe- Error ce Interval of
sig. (2-
rence Diffe- the Difference
tailed)
F Sig. t df rence Lower Upper
Equal 1.925 19.889 .069 .583 .303 -.049 1.216
varian-
ces not
assu-
med

Table 8. Group Statistics

Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
MotivationMale 11 34.36 8.262 2.491

Female 12 36.25 5.786 1.670

Table 9. Independent Samples Test

Levene’s t-test for Equality of Means
Test for
Equality of
Variances
95% Confidence
Interval of the
sig. (2- Mean Std. Difference
tailed) Diffe- Error
F Sig. t df Lower Upper
rence Diffe-
rence

Mid- Equal .785 .386 -.639 21 .530 -1.886 2.953 -8.027 -8.027
term va-
Exam riances
Score assu- -.629 17.751 .537 -1.886 2.999 -8.194 4.421
med

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 Q3: Is there a difference between Turkish and Bosnian students in terms of their
achievement and motivation in FEC?

In tables 10. and 11. it is evident from the results provided by the Independent Samples
Test that there is a significant difference between Turks and Bosnians when it comes to their
achievement in FEC. To further prove the argument, I tested their motivation for differences and
I got that there is a significant difference between the two groups of participants.

Table 10. Group Statistics

Nationality Std. Error
N Mean Std. Deviation
Mean
Midterm Exam Score Turkish 9 2.44 .527 .176
Bosnian 14 1.21 .426 .114

Table 11. Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test
for Equality
of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confi-
Std. dence Inte-
Mean Error rval of the
Sig. Dif- Dif- Difference
(2-ta- fe- fe- Lo- Up-
F Sig. t df iled) rence rence wer per
Mid- Equal
term varian-
3.562 .073 6.166 21 .000 1.230 .200 .815 1.645
Exam ces assu-
Score med
Equal
varian-
5.877 14.546 .000 1.230 .209 .783 1.678
ces not
assumed

Table 12.Group Statistics

Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Motivation Turkish 9 40.44 5.053 1.684
Bosnian 14 32.07 6.095 1.629

466
 Table 13. Independent Samples Test
Levene’s Test
for Equality
of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
Std. 95% Confidence
Sig. Mean Error Interval of the
(2-ta- Differen- Diffe- Difference
F Sig. t df iled) ce rence Lower Upper
Motiva- Equal
tion variances .458 .506 3.426 21 .003 8.373 2.444 3.291 13.456
assumed
Equal va-
riances not 3.574 19.479 .002 8.373 2.343 3.477 13.269
assumed

Discussion

As revealed in the Literature Review chapter, findings of previous studies on the effects
of students’ motivation on their achievement in an L2 learning context have demonstrated a
positive and meaningful relationship and that the impact of motivation on achievement is
definitely present (Dörnyei (1994); Gardner and Tremblay (1994); Ushioda (2005), etc.). This
paper has been aimed at finding the same correlation, but in the context of L2 learning for
academic purposes and in a particular ambience. What intrigued me was that very ambience due
to being both a student and a teacher at the same university.

The cultural differences between Turkish and Bosnian students are obviously present.
Those differences are undoubtedly manifested in the FEC classroom. FEC is created for students
who have at least B2 level in English, but need to refine it in order to pursue academic studies
conducted in English language. Given the circumstantial differences between the two national
groups meaning that not all of them had the same amount of knowledge of English beforehand,
it is quite logical to find certain deviations in terms of their motivation and achievement.

Among other foci, this study was aimed at tracing a significant difference between two
specific national groups, i.e. Bosnians and Turks and to identify whether that difference is present
in both motivation and achievement.

The first step before analyzing the differences across nationality and gender lines, I
examined whether there is a correlation between motivation and achievement. As shown in
Table 5. the parameter Sig.2-tailed=0.009 which demonstrates that the correlation exists. In
addition, the Pearson Correlation factor is 0.532, which, being a positive number, shows that the
correlation is positive and from that we can reject the first null hypothesis.

  467
 Before analyzing the national line of differences in this study, I decided to investigate
whether there were significant differences between the genders. As exhibited in the Independent
Samples Test in tables 7. and 8., there is no significant difference between male and female
students in their motivation and achievement. Both groups are almost equally motivated and
have a similar level of achievement. This result was more or less expected because from personal
experience I have encountered no substantial gaps between the success of males and females at
IUS in any course, the same with the FEC. In this respect, the second null hypothesis is accepted:
There is no difference between genders in terms of their achievement which is influenced by their
motivation, which again does not show significant difference between the two.

The most important part of this study was deciphering whether there is significant
difference between Turkish and Bosnian students in terms of their achievement in FEC bearing
in mind that that achievement was influenced by their motivation. The Independent Samples
Test displayed in Table 11. identified the significant difference in their achievement with a
clear indicator of Sig.2-tailed being 0.000 for both groups. When it comes to motivation, it also
showed significant difference with Sig.2-tailed=0.003 for Turkish students and 0.002 for Bosnian,
presented in Table 13.

The reason for such results lies in the possibility that Bosnian students have been more
exposed to the English language via media channels and literature in school, whereas the majority
of the Turkish students were exposed to English for the first time at the university’s preparatory
school. The Turkish students do not have the equal command of English as Bosnians in this
research sample even though both groups passed the university’s proficiency exam. Namely, the
Turks have not had the opportunity to use the L2 yet as have the Bosnians. The result of this
is a certain degree of discomfort or alienation from L2. It is a rather difficult task to approach
students with a delicate relationship with the language in question. Even if they were motivated,
they still do not have the desired achievement which, in turn, eradicates motivation. I believe
motivation and achievement impact each other and the more the students deviate from one the
more they deviate from the other as well.

Conclusion and implications for further research

Despite the fact that this study was performed on a rather small sample, if we consider it in
relation to the entire university then the sample becomes significant. In addition, its implications
and contribution to further research in the academic community are not negligible. It showed
that there is a correlation between motivation and achievement in a particular context that can,
in turn, be an example to similar settings.

468
 The context of this research was peculiar in a way that it examined the differences between
two national groups that differ in many respects but they act in a setting neutralized by the
language of communication, i.e. English. The study also explored the differences across gender
line and having not found any, its focus remains on the nationality line. The Turkish students’
achievement was less in degree than Bosnians’ and their degree of motivation as well. This shows
that for Turkish students to be more successful in English they need to be motivated. Yet, the
issue is that how is it possible that within the same classroom Turkish students are not motivated
and Bosnian students are? This is where we find the implications for further research.

If this case were extended by further analysis, teachers and scholars could tailor their
motivational strategies in a specified manner, one that would meet the needs of their students both
Turkish and Bosnian. It is ineluctable that national differences are noteworthy in the classroom
especially at an international university and, if teachers were to be more effective in arousing
motivation and subsequently inducing a better achievement of their students, they ought to go a
step further and undergo continual professional development if possible. Apart from that, since
the Bosnian scientific community has been placing a focus on establishing an internationally
recognized system of education followed by hiring international staff and attracting students
worldwide, this research paper can be of importance in those terms as well and it can instigate
new methodologies and approaches in the field of L2 motivation.

References

Bernaus, M. and Gardner, R.C. (2008). Teacher motivation strategies, student perceptions, student
motivation, and English achievement. The Modern Language Journal, 92: 387–401.

Crookes, G. & Schmidt, R.W. Motivation: Reopening the research agenda. Language Learning 41
(1991): 469-512.

Dörnyei, Z. Motivation and motivating in a foreign language classroom. The Modern Language
Journal, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 273-284, Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the
National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations. JSTOR. Web.

Dörnyei, Z., &Csizér, K. (1998). Ten commandments for motivating language learners: Results of
an empirical study. Language Teaching Research, 2, 203-229.

Guilloteaux, M. J., & Dörnyei, Z. (2008). Motivating language learners: A classroom-oriented

investigation of the effects of motivational strategies on student motivation. TESOL
Quarterly, 42(1), 55-77.

Gardner, Robert C. The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: Technical report. London, ON:
University of Western Ontario, 1985.

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Gardner, R.C.&Tremblay, P.F. (1994). On motivation, research agendas, and theoretical
frameworks. Modern Language Journal, 78.

Gorham, J. & Christophel, D.M. (1992). Students’ perceptions of teacher behaviors as motivating
and demotivating factors in college classes. Communication Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 3,
Summer 1992, 239-252.

Oxford, R. L., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding the theoretical
framework. The Modern Language Journal, 78 (1), 12-28.

Ushioda, E. (2005). The role of students’ attitudes and motivation in second language learning in
online language courses. CALICO Journal, 23 (1), 49-78.

470
 Importance of Language Competence Development
for the Knowledge Oriented Society

Katarina Aladrović –Slovaček & Anita Mazej & Anđelka Ravlić

University of Zagreb; Croatia

Abstract

In the document “Eight key competences for life-long learning”, the first and the most
important competence is communication in the mother tongue. If we have good knowledge of
mother tongue, then we will be better in the process of foreign language learning. Language
competence means to know the language on the level of phonology, morphology, syntax,
lexicology, orthography and orthoepy. We have linguistic competence (knowledge about
language) and communicative competence (using of language). At this moment, when we speak
about European society, it is very important to have good competences in ICT and foreign
language speaking. For these reasons, we made this research about language competences in
mother tongue (Croatian language) and English in primary school and the attitude of children
to Croatian and English language and the way they learn them or not. The research includes 3
primary schools in Zagreb (N = 120) in the first two periods of learning (1st - 6th class). Our
aim is to measure linguistic and communicative competence in Croatian and English and how
pupils are different in terms of sex, age and attitude. We expect that children in the first two
periods of primary school have better developed linguistic competence (theory of language) than
communicative competence (using language in everyday situations). It is expected because of
methods of teaching and learning. Croatian teachers are more focused on theory than functional
literacy in the process of teaching and learning of Croatian language. It is easier with English
because teachers of English are more focused on using English in different situations. Also, we
expect better results from girls than boys, from older than younger pupils as well as from pupils
who have more positive attitudes to Croatian and English language.

Key words: teaching of Croatian language, language competences, eight key

competences, primary school teachers, motivation

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 Introduction

In the time of educational changes and the reform initiated in the Republic of Croatia this
year (2015), it is important to place the development of language competences to the key position.
As early as 2005 European Commission drew up the document „Eight Key Competences“ defining
the communication in mother tongue as the first and key competence and the communication in
foreign language as the second key competence. Obviously, if the child masters its own mother
tongue, especially all types of language activities: listening, speaking, reading and writing, it will
be much easier for him to acquire the contents of other subjects, including the foreign language.
It is, therefore, necessary to place the teaching of mother tongue (Croatian) and foreign (English)
language to the key position in the curriculums of primary schools. In order to analyze the situation
and the current knowledge of pupils, this paper is expected to determine the level of language
(linguistic) and language communication (communicative) competence of pupils during the first
two educational periods (2nd – 6th) grade. For this purpose the tests were made for Croatian
(mother tongue) and English (the first foreign language) checking the knowledge of language on
both levels. The results were analyzed and compared in order to identify the necessary changes
which should be part of the reform of Croatian educational system and language teaching. The
said reforms, stimulating the enhancement of quality of the educational system, lead towards
the goal of Croatian national educational framework, which is the knowledge oriented society.
The knowledge oriented society is defined as the one based on the „types” of knowledge in the
areas of innovation, research, education and training, which should be the pivotal pillars within
the European Union. The basic goals enabling achievement of such society are: to make a large
number of illiterate people within the global population able to read and write, to make the
learning available to everybody through the life-long learning, to improve the quality of education
and introduce new technologies to education (e-learning, etc.). Redefinition of knowledge, in
terms of the continuous learning process on defined educational levels, has a direct influence on
reformation of educational policies with the aim to offer better possibilities of access to knowledge
for all citizens, regardless of their age, place of residence and social status.

About Croatian language

Croatian language is one of Slavic languages (sub-group of South Slavic languages) spoken
by 4.5 million people in the country and as many abroad. Since it is a small language, it can be said
that the preservation of the language as the means of identity of the entire nation is important and,
therefore, it is necessary to develop the awareness of its correct use. Just as all Slavic languages,
Croatian language is morphologically rich: it has seven cases, three different genders, two different
numerals, four past tenses, one present tense and two future tenses. The verbs are differentiated

472
according to the verbal aspect, subject of activity, mode, status and aspect. The adjectives, as the
changeable type of words, are differentiated according to the gender, number, case and aspect. The
adjectives can be both declined and compared. Croatian language encompasses seven types of
pronouns as well as numbers, numeral nouns, numeral adjectives and numeral adverbs (Silić and
Pranjković, 2007). Regarding the area of phonetics and phonology, it is special for its sounds with
diacritic signs which can be troublesome for the speakers both in speaking and writing. As for
the written forms of expression, special problems are found in writing of the reflex of the proto-
Slavic yat which has four different alternations: ije/je/e/i. The area of syntax is somewhat simpler
since the choice of words and their position in the sentence is free, though the structure: subject +
predicate + object is a classic structure which always functions in all forms of discourses. Croatian
language differentiates five different functional styles of expression: scientific, administrative-
business, conversational, literary-artistic and journalistic.

Each functional style has its own rules of writing which apply to the manner of writing,
forming of text and choice of style and vocabulary. The lexis of Croatian language includes many
words from Turkish, German, Hungarian and Italian languages due to historical, political and
geographic circumstances in which the country lived in the past. Today, the influence of English
language is significant in all areas of public life, including the spoken and written language and
especially the public language, the language of the media. One of the basic goals of the mother
tongue lessons at all education levels is the development of language competences, especially
the language - communicative competence; therefore it is the target of this paper to present the
results of research of language competences with Croatian students in primary school.

Position of Croatian Language as a School Subject in Croatian Education System

The standard form of Croatian language is started to be taught when the children enter
school which usually happens about the age of seven. Croatian education system is divided into:
kindergarten and preschool, primary school, secondary school and higher education. Children
start learning the standard Croatian language when they enter the kindergarten, but this learning
is done through different games and it is not systematic. The preschool period starts about the
age of six and then the children in Croatian kindergartens start to prepare for initial reading and
writing which is taught in the first grade of the primary school. At the age of seven, when they
enter school, the children start with institutional learning of Croatian language as the mother
tongue. The primary school is divided into two parts: junior grades (from the first to the fourth
grades) and senior grades (from the fifth to the eight grades). In the first six grades, Croatian
language is taught for five periods per week and in the final two grades for four periods per week.
The secondary school education is divided into gymnasiums (comprehensive schools), vocational

  473
and art schools. Croatian language as the mother tongue is taught for four periods per week in
gymnasiums and for three periods per week in other secondary schools. In primary school, the
focus of teaching of Croatian language as the mother tongue is on grammar and orthography as
well as the development of language - communicative competence, since the pupils until the age
of 12 (according to Piaget, 1977) are in the concrete operations stage. In the secondary school, the
focus is on teaching the literature, with only few hours left for teaching the language (grammar and
orthography) and language expression (written and oral). Croatian language as a school subject is
divided into four areas: language (grammar and orthography), language expression, literature and
media culture. On the academic level, Croatian language is taught only at faculties where future
Croatian teachers are taught (faculties of philosophy, faculties of teacher education). Considering
the importance of literacy in the mother tongue which is also stressed by the document “Eight Key
Competences for Lifelong Learning”, a need emerges for Croatian language to be introduced as a
subject to all faculties. However, this is only an idea which, after numerous analyses, research and
recommendations, has still not been implemented.

About English language

English is a member of the Germanic family of languages, while Germanic is a branch of

the Indo-European language family. It has a rich history going back over a millennium and has
been influenced by many languages, such as Celtic, French, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian languages
such as Old Norse, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Indian, German, Hebrew, Yiddish and Arabic.

Nowadays, English is the single most important language in the world, being the official or
de facto language of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and dozens of others, and being the lingua franca of the Internet. Many
varieties of English are spoken around the world – from lectures in graduate school in Holland
to parliamentary proceedings in Papua New Guinea – but interestingly the vast majority of the
variation lies in pronunciation and vocabulary. The number of differences in grammar between
different varieties of Standard English is very small indeed, relative to the full range of syntactic
constructions and morphological word-forms.

Nevertheless, there undoubtedly are differences of this kind that need to be noted. For
example, the use of the verb do following an auxiliary verb, as in I’m not sure that I’ll go, but I may
do is not found in American English, and conversely the past participle verb-form gotten, as in
I’ve just gotten a new car, is distinctively American.

The regional dialects of Standard English in the world today can be divided into two large
families with regional and historical affinities. One contains standard educated Southern British

474
English, henceforth abbreviated BrE, together with a variety of related dialects, including most
of the varieties of English in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and most
other places in the British Commonwealth. The second dialect family is referred to as American
English, henceforth AmE – it contains the dialects of the United States, Canada, and associated
territories, from Hawaii and Alaska to eastern Canada.

Position of English Language as a School Subject in Croatian Education System

Croatian children make their first official school contact with English language at the
moment when they enter primary school. However, all of them have already heard or even spoken
the language before. Some have attended foreign language courses for pre-school children, some
have relatives or friends who speak English and almost absolute majority has heard it on TV and
the radio.

From the 1st to 4th grade (junior grades) of primary school, English language is taught for
two lessons of 45 minutes per week which adds up to 70 lessons per school year. In the 1st grade,
the teaching methods are very similar to the ones used in pre-school courses. There is practically
no writing, almost all language content being oral and taught through songs, simple games and
TPR (total physical response) activities. Writing and reading is gradually introduced from the
2nd to the 4th grade, the emphasis still being on orally transmitted contents.

From the 5th to 8th grade (senior grades) of primary school, English is taught for three
lessons of 45 minutes per week which adds up to 105 lessons per school year. All four language
activities, speaking, listening, reading and writing, should be equally represented with one sole
aim: to enable pupils to be able to communicate. Very little linguistic competence is required in
terms of language theory.

This aim does not change in secondary school, though the final achievement and the level
of communicative competence of students will generally depend on their choice of school. There
are two types of secondary schools in Croatia: gymasiums or comprehensive schools where
English is mostly taught for 3 lessons per week in all four grades and vocational schools with 3
lessons per week, but only in the first two grades. For this reason, there is generally a significant
difference in the national exam results (matura) of gymnasium and vocational school students.

On the academic level, English is taught at all Croatian faculties, its curriculum depending
on the particular faculty.

As a conclusion, it should be pointed out that, as it concerns English language, one

common feature is shared throughout Croatian educational system and that is communicative
competence, while linguistic competence is reserved for future English language teachers only.

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 Language competences (defining and targets)

The word “competence” comes from the Latin word “competare” (verb) which means
achieve, be better (Anić, 2001). The language competences are divided into the linguistic (language)
and communicative (communicative language) competence. Both of them are important and
therefore stimulated, especially through the teaching of Croatian language, but also through
other subjects. The communicative competence was formed in the 80’s of the 20th century when
Dell Hymess (1980) defined it as the ability of the speaker to choose the most appropriate out of
different language sub-systems. The communicative competence implies application of language
knowledge in actual situations. It includes practical and functional language knowledge, while the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning and Teaching (2005) considers
that the communicative competence consists of the linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic
competence. Linguistic competence implies knowledge of language and its rules, sociolinguistic
implies use of these rules in certain discourses defined by the society, while the pragmatic one
implies use of language in certain functions, for example through language activities of speaking,
listening, reading and writing. Different authors define the communicative competence in
different ways, so Martinet (1982) defines the communicative competence as a capacity on
the level of functional language application (functional linguistics). Yule and Levinson (2003)
define the communicative competence as pragmatics which includes applicable and pragmatic
knowledge of language. Canale and Swain (1980) define the communicative competence as a
synthesis of the basic system of knowledge and skills necessary for communication (three types
of knowledge: about basic grammar principles, how the language is used in social contexts and
how communicative functions can be connected in view of the discourse principles). Trask
(2005) defines the communicative competence as the ability of appropriate expression in social
circumstances. As opposed to the communicative competence, Chomsky defined the linguistic
(language) competence as the knowledge of language, language rules and standards. He makes
a difference between the language performance which would be adequate to the communicative
competence (it implies communicative knowledge of language) and the language competence
(which implies theoretic knowledge of language).

The basic target of Croatian language teaching on all education levels is to train the student
for language communication which would enable them to learn the contents of other subjects and
to be included into the lifelong education. Among other targets, we can single out the one which
says that it is necessary to develop language communicative abilities, which implies the development
of language competences. Speaking about the students of the Faculty of Teacher Education, it
can be said that it is necessary to develop both competences: the knowledge of language implied
by the linguistic competence and the use of this knowledge in actual situations implied by the
communicative competence. Unambiguously, language competences would imply the knowledge
of language and the ability of communication, both written and oral, in a certain language.
476
 Research

The basic target of the research was to investigate the language competences of Croatian
pupils in English and Croatian. In accordance with the basic target, five problems – targets of the
research have been set:

1. To investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference in the results of the

linguistic and communicative competence in the knowledge of Croatian language.

2. To investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference in the results of the

linguistic and communicative competence in the knowledge of English language.

3. To investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of

grammar of Croatian language (phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicology)
and the orthography of Croatian.

4. To investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference in the total knowledge

of Croatian and English, the level of communicative and the level of the linguistic
competence in relation to age and sex.

5. To investigate the attitude of students about Croatian and English language as a school
subject.

Hypotheses of the Research

In connection with the research targets, the following hypotheses were set:

1. It is expected that there is a statistically significant difference between the linguistic and
communicative competence in the knowledge of Croatian language.

2. It is expected that there is a statistically significant difference between the linguistic

and communicative competence in the knowledge of English. We expected the level of
communicative competence in English to be more developed.

3. It is expected that there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of

grammar and orthography of Croatian language (the students know the grammar better).

4. It is expected that there is a statistically significant difference in the total knowledge, the
level of linguistic and communicative competence depending on the sex and age. Girls and
older students are expected to be more successful.

5. It is expected that the examinees consider Croatian and English language as very
important subjects in their education.
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 Methodology of Research

The sample consisted of the students from three different primary schools in Zagreb
(N = 120). All examinees participated in a written examination of knowledge by which the
communicative and linguistic competences were assessed, according to the following grammar
areas: phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicology as well as orthography and
language history. After the test of knowledge, the examinees completed an on-line questionnaire
on their attitude to Croatian language and English as school subjects in general. The data have
been processed in the SPSS statistics programme by means of parametric methods (analysis of
variance, t-test) and non-parametric methods (H2 test, arithmetic means).

The Research Results

The Knowledge of Language Competences - Croatian

The language competences, which have already been defined as the ability to use the
language in actual situations and the knowledge of language theory, have been tested with the
students of primary school to the 6th grade. The t-test shows that there is a statistically significant
difference in the results of the linguistic and communicative competence on the significance level
of 5% (chart 1). Since the Croatian education system is directed more to learning the language
theory and less to development of communicative competence as the language application,
the expected results are in favor of the linguistic competence. To conclude, the students know
the language theory (definitions, theorems) better than the application of the said theory in
actual situations. A similar research was made with primary school pupils (Pavličević-Franić,
Aladrović, 2009) and the results showed that the primary school pupils also know the language
theory better than the application of the said theory in actual communicative situations, which
is obviously reflected in the future education and probably influences the manner of teaching of
Croatian language as the mother tongue.The above-mentioned data point to the fact that the first
hypothesis stating that the difference between the linguistic and communicative competence in
knowledge of Croatian language is expected to be statistically significant has been confirmed.

Chart 1. Results of linguistic and communicative competence in knowledge of Croatian

478
 The Knowledge of Language Competences – English

The t-test shows that there is a statistically significant difference in the results of the lin-
guistic and communicative competence on the significance level of 5% (chart 2) in the process
of learning English. Better results were achieved on the communicative competence level which
implies the functional knowledge of language. This is no surprise considering the communi-
cative manner in which English language is taught throughout Croatian schools, primary and
secondary ones. The sole aim of the learning process is to enable pupils to communicate, both
orally and in writing. Teaching methods are adapted to this aim, including a lot of conversation,
games and game-like activities. Very little linguistic content is required and only for the purpose
of better explanation of communicative activities. Therefore, as expected, the second hypothesis
was confirmed.

Chart 2. Results of linguistic and communicative competence in knowledge of English

Difference in knowledge of orthography and grammar

The results are divided into grammar contents (phonetics and phonology, morphology,
syntax and lexicology), orthographic contents and the contents from the history of Croatian
language. The results show that the examinees best solved the tasks related to lexicology (79% of
the tasks solved) and then the tasks related to the knowledge of phonetics and phonology (65%
solved). The pupils also show a solid knowledge of language history (62% of the test solved). It is
interesting that the worst solved was the part of the test related to the knowledge of syntax (43%
of the test solved). Morphology, one of the most demanding areas of grammar, was solved on the
59% level. The orthographic rules (sounds č and ć, dž and đ, writing of diphthong ije/je, capital
and small letter, punctuation) also caused a lot of trouble to the examinees, therefore the test was
solved on the 55% level (table 1).

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 Table 1.Test results in grammar and orthography

TEST RESULTS
THE AREA OF CROATIAN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
(IN %)

PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY 65%

MORPHOLOGY 59%

SYNTAX 43%

LEXICOLOGY 79%

HISTORY OF CROATIAN LANGUAGE 62%

ORTHOGRAPHY 55%

When, through the t-test, the test results are compared regarding the grammar knowledge
(phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicology) and the knowledge of orthogra-
phy, the result is the difference which can be announced statistically significant on the signifi-
cance level of 5%. The examinees show statistically significantly better results in knowledge of
grammar than the knowledge of orthography (chart 3). Another large problem for students is
writing of the words with the sounds č and ć, dž and đ and writing of the diphthong ije/je, as well
as the writing of capital and small letter and punctuation. This can be a proof of the third hypo-
thesis which states that a statistically significant difference is expected in knowledge of grammar
and orthography of Croatian language (the students know the grammar better). The reason for
this can be orthographic ambiguities which have still not been resolved and which confuse the
examinees and the students who learn Croatian language.

Difference in knowledge and language competences with regard to the age and sex

The F-test shows that there is a significant difference in the total results, depending on the
age, on the significance level of 5% (table 2), but the F-test also shows that there is a statistically
significant difference in the results depending on the age in relation to the test of communicative
and the test of linguistic competence, i.e. the results are very close to the level of significance, the-
refore they can be proclaimed statistically significant. The T-test shows that there is a significant
difference in the total results depending on the sex. Girls are better in total results than boys and
in results on the test of communicative and linguistic competence. This partially confirmed the
fourth hypothesis assuming better results of girls and older pupils.

480
 Table 2. Results of tests

SIG. SIG.
F-test T-test
(p < 0,05) (p < 0,05)
TOTAL RESULTS 3,29 0,026 2,58 0,002
TEST OF COMMUNICATIVE
2,62 0,058 3,45 0,005
COMPETENCE
TEST OF LINGUISTIC
2,61 0,060 1,25 0,004
COMPETENCE

Attitude/Opinion of Students about Croatian Language and English

The results show that pupils prefer Croatian to English language as a school subject. The
assumption is that English language is foreign to them and requires more effort and work in
the early learning phase. Though positive attitude towards both subjects is generally frequent,
it is important to stimulate and motivate such attitude through both Croatian and English
language lessons.

Chart 3. The attitude to English and Croatian as school subject (Liker scale 1 to 5)

Self-Estimate of Students about Own Knowledge of Language

All examinees completely agree with the statement that the knowledge of Croatian lan-
guage is important for them. However, they estimated their knowledge as very good and they
very similarly estimated their competence for their future. This would mean that the examinees

  481
consider the knowledge of mother tongue important, but they do not feel competent about this
knowledge (chart 4). The estimate of own knowledge or the self-estimate was the hardest task
that the examinees had to perform since it is always subject to bias. However, most of examinees
consider themselves the most competent in orthography, which can hardly be related to the real
knowledge of orthography which the examinees showed at the test of knowledge. It is assumed
that most of examinees wish to be communicatively competent since this competence is set as
one of the key competences for facing the everyday life situations and therefore most examinees
estimated themselves as communicatively competent person (chart 4). Along with the communi-
cative competence and the knowledge of orthography, as an important element of their knowled-
ge, the examinees point out their grammar knowledge which, just as in the case of orthography,
is not in correlation with the results which the examinees showed at the tests of knowledge. It is
interesting that in their self-estimate, as the fourth, very strong element, they point out the writ-
ten competence which, on the higher level, unifies all language and text competences. However,
this competence has not been checked by this test, therefore no correlation can be done.

Chart 4. Estimate of own knowledge of Croatian language

The results confirm the fifth hypothesis which assumed that the students would estimate
their knowledge of Croatian language as very good, which they did, on the average (chart 4).

Conclusion

Communication in mother tongue is the first and the key competence for lifelong lear-
ning; therefore, sufficient attention has to be paid to its stimulation and development on all edu-
cation levels, including the academic level. It is especially important to work on this competence
in mother tongue with the students who will themselves in the near future be in the position to

482
develop the same language competences in mother tongue with their own pupils. The learning
of language implies the language activities of reading, writing, speaking and listening in mother
tongue, which, apart from learning the mother tongue, also help in acquisition of other contents
and even in learning of other foreign languages. The knowledge about the importance of com-
munication in mother tongue and development of language competences should be seen thro-
ugh the curriculum of the faculty of teacher education. As already mentioned, students of the
faculty of teacher education, have only four language courses in their entire schooling, while the
students attending the Croatian language module have eight obligatory courses from the area of
their mother tongue. Absurdity of this situation lies in the fact that all students, after graduating
from the faculty, work as primary school teachers from the 1st to the 4th grade and teach five ho-
urs of Croatian language per week, Croatian language being the most comprehensive subject of
the school curriculum. The curriculum should be changed and the students of the faculties of te-
acher education should have more language courses so they could, through their studies, develop
their language competences on a higher level. The students are aware of the importance of quality
knowledge of the mother tongue, but they are also aware of their lack of knowledge and, there-
fore, they do not feel fully competent for their future job. For this reason, it is necessary to work
on the improvement of the quality of education in the mother tongue, increase of the number of
mandatory courses, but also the elective courses which would provide all interested students with
the opportunity of additional work. It is especially important that the students develop commu-
nicative competence in all areas of their mother tongue because good understanding stimulates
transfer of knowledge in a quality manner. This research also opens one of the problems of the
concept of the plan and programme of the faculty of teacher education after the Bologna process
implementation. The change of the curriculum and introduction of a larger number of language
courses would make the future Croatian teachers feel more competent for performance of their
future teaching profession and thus create „a quality school” where each and every pupil will feel
accepted and happy, while the teacher will feel secure and competent.

References

Anić, V. (2001). Rječnik hrvatskoga jezika. Zagreb: Liber.

Canale, M. and Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to
secondlanuguage teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1, 1–47.
Chomsky, N. (1967). Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin and Us. New York: Praeger.
Curriculum (2006). Zagreb: MZOS. (12th June 2010 www.mzos.hr)
European Framework of References for Lifetime Learning, Teaching Goals and Methods:
Comunicative Competence. 12th September 2010 http://www.ucrlc.org/essentials/
goalsmethods/goal.htm

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Hymess, D. (1980). Etnografija komunikacije. Beograd: BIGZ.
Martinet, A. (1982). Osnove opće lingvistike. Zagreb: Grafički zavod Hrvatske.
Pavličević-Franić, D. (2005). Komunikacijom do gramatike. Zagreb: Alfa.
Pavličević-Franić, D. and Aladrović, K. (2009). Rano učenje hrvatskoga jezika 2. D.
Pavličević-Franić i A. Bežen (ur.), Psiholingvističke i humanističke odrednice u nastavihrvatskoga
jezika. Zagreb: ECNSI i Učiteljski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, 165– 186.
Piaget, J. (1969). Intelektualni razvoj deteta. Beograd: Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika.
Pilić, Š. (2008). Obrazovanje u kontekstu tranzicije. Zagreb: Biblioteka školskog vjesnika.
Silić, J. and Pranjković, I. (2007). Gramatika hrvatskoga jezika. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Trask, R. L. (2009). Temeljni lingvistički pojmovi. Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Unesco-ovo svjetsko izvješće. (2007). Prema društvima znanja. Zagreb: Educa.
Zajednički europski referentni okvir za jezike: učenje, poučavanje, vrednovanje (2005).Zagreb:
Školska knjiga.
Yule, G. (2003). The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.
Huddleston, R. and Pullum, G.K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.
Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.

484
 Teaching Styles Preferences of Freshman Students at IUS

Alper Fener
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

A teaching style is a teacher`s personal behavior and attitude towards his or her students in
the classroom. However, teachers don`t use the same teaching style on their students, as well as
students don`t learn their teaching subjects by using the same learning styles. Although there are
some studies about teaching styles preferences of students in USA, Asia and in Europe, this kind
of educational theory based research has not been done for a long in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The purpose of this study is to identify the teaching styles preferences of freshman students
related to their gender, nationality and age differences at International University of Sarajevo.
The focus group is divided in twenty (N=20) males and females who come from both Turkey
and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research survey consider the first session of the fall semester
2014/2015. This is a quantitative research study. The results imply that teachers should consider
their students` teaching styles preferences rather than choosing their own teaching methods. In
this way, their freshman students will increase their study performance and they will reach their
academic achievement.

Key words: teaching style, teaching styles preferences, teachers, freshman students,
grasha`s five teaching styles

Introduction

A teaching method is the main principle of teaching and teaching styles (B. Lucas, 2005,
p. 8). For instance, a lesson is a teaching method. Studying in groups and studying in pairs are
two other teaching methods. An instructor chooses a method that he or she thinks is the right
method to be taught in the class. But an instructor actually chooses a method as it suits his or

  485
her teaching style and his or her teaching principles (B. Lucas, 2005, p.8). Teaching Styles relate
to the relationship between teachers and students (Cohen and Amidon, 2004, p. 270). Teaching
Style is a teacher`s personal behavior and attitude towards students in the classroom. B. Lucas,
(2005) citing Dunn and Dunn, said that “teachers don`t teach how they were taught but how they
were learned” (p. 32). There are no two teachers who teach in the same way as well as there are
no two same students who learn in the same way. ‘’A teacher`s teaching style is based on their
educational philosophy, their classroom`s demography, subject area (or areas) they teach, and
the schools’ mission’’ (Quinonez, 2014, p. 1). It is a manner or mode of acting or performing.
Our teaching style represents some personal qualities and behaviors that guide us in our classes.
‘’Thus, it is both something that defines us, that guides and directs our instructional processes,
and that has effects on students and their ability to learn’’ (Identifying the Elements of Teaching
Style, 1996/2002, p. 1).

Teaching process can be reached through many teaching styles. It is important to know
how to apply these teaching styles preferences on students, because every teaching style can raise
the success rate of each student especially when it matches individual needs. Although there
are some studies on teaching styles preferences of students in USA, Asia and in Europe, this
kind of educational theory research has not been done enough in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For
this reason, it is possible that there might be differences between teaching styles preferences of
Freshman Students at International University of Sarajevo.

The purpose of this study is to identify the teaching styles preferences of freshman students
in relation to their gender (male and female), nationality (Bosnian and Turkish) and age (18 -
above 22) at International University of Sarajevo.

Literature Review

Perspective has an important role in understanding ourselves as teachers. It sometimes

helps us check our attitudes and personal values about the teaching development as well as the
principles of learning in managing and directing our styles as teachers. But the self examination
issue is never completed, because we always find something new about ourselves when there
are other things unknown to us. Uncovered and untested qualities of our teaching styles are
complicated. Thus, we use some defensive strategies in order to protect our favorite image of
ourselves (Grasha, 1994, p. 122). Although “one colleague likened his teaching style to someone
who takes novice learners on a journey to wilderness”, there were some students who reported
that his lecturers felt like “being lost in space”. Some teachers refuse to accept that some of their
personal characteristics play a role in their teaching style. Few teachers accept that their teaching
loses attraction or their presentation of information loses its clearness and organization. In
contrast, there are also few teachers who support the idea that their disorganized courses have

486
a positive impact on their students. One teacher told that “students learn more when they can
organize information and clarify things for themselves. Why should I have to do it for them?’’
(Grasha, 1994, p. 123). Unfortunately, it is not so popular or common in many colleges and
universities to ask students about their opinion when they hire new academic staff members
(Tennyson, Boutwell and Frey, 1978, p. 196). Students actually prefer the “teacher” style of a
professor. In addition, “Barry and Lundstorm found that a “participative” teaching style was
evaluated more than an “authoritarian” style of teaching” (Seaton, Vogel and Pell, 1980, p. 224).
In addition, students actually would like to see more equality and respect from their college
lecturers, whereas the professors think their students want to control the classroom, to entertain
them or they want to be close friends with them (Miley and Gonsalves, 2005, p. 20). Students
obviously like cheerful and friendly teachers rather than teachers who are not friendly, who are
against them and rude to them. Moreover, students show positive reactions when they receive
a test with a sense of humor. They get better results on tests (Torok, McMorris and Lin, 2004,
p. 15). In addition, students also prefer lenient grading rather than strict grading while the
faculty prefers strict grading and they are against lenient grading (Seaton, Vogel and Pell, 1980,
p. 226-227). Furthermore, students first choose the lecturer`s attention towards them and to
their problems. For instance, in a study from the University of Illinois, teachers who teach lower
levels required courses with large amount of students on campus received less favorable ratings,
whereas teachers who teach off campus and elective advanced courses received higher ratings.
Some other teaching behavior which bothered students was how fast the teachers talk, usage of
a monotone voice rather than changing their voice intonation and talking to their students in
a very formal way. These sorts of problems will occur until the “domes” which surround us are
examined. Our teaching styles should have options that belong to some alternative possibilities
for what kind of lecturer we would like to appear in the classroom, “Examining the domes that
surround us is an integral part of making such decisions” (Grasha, 1994, p. 123).

In order to understand Grasha’s five teaching styles clearly, it is the best to view them
through the three main teaching styles: direct instruction, inquiry based learning and cooperative
learning (Teaching Methods, p. 1). In this way, teachers can have better understanding of how to
rule their classroom, perform their lesson and deal with their students. In the Teacher Centered
Approach, the lecturer is the basic authority figure. The students learn through them and direct
instruction. It is mostly about passing exams and assignments. The Direct instruction of the
Teacher Centered Approach is a traditional teaching strategy. It is only about the teacher who can
give students the information and the knowledge in order to let them to be successful (Quinonez,
2014, p. 1). In formal authority of the Direct Instruction, teachers have the only authorities and
leaderships. They are more knowledgeable than their students and they have higher status than
their students. The classroom management is a traditional one in which the teacher sets the rules
and expectations. The Expert of the Direct Instruction is the teacher who knows everything in

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the classroom. They are the only ones who can manage and direct their students. Students are
like “empty vessels” that get the knowledge from their teacher. In personal model of the Direct
Instruction, the teacher is an example of role models. They show the student how to understand
and find the information. Students will learn by watching and copying what the teacher exactly
does. The Student Centered Approach is mostly like in Teaching Centered Approach. The teacher
is still the authorized figure. But students play an active role in what is being learned. The teacher
advises and guides the students in the learning way. The students learn the information that is
given by their teachers. And their teachers are learning how to reach their students. There are
two subcategories in this approach. Those are Inquiry Based Learning and Cooperative Learning.
Inquiries based learning of the Student Centered Approach focuses on letting the student
conduct the research and participate in learning. The teacher is a guide who gives the students
some advice and support their performance rather than being a dictator. The facilitator of the
Inquiry Based Learning is the teacher who uses this model as they like in an open classroom
model. The teacher encourages the students to be more independent, more exploratory and
involves more hands in learning (Quinonez, 2014, p. 2). In personal model of the Inquiry Based
Learning, students learn that making mistakes is also a part of the learning process. They watch
their teachers who also make mistakes. They also see that people can learn from their mistakes.
The delegator of the Inquiry Based Learning is the teacher who encourages the autonomy in
student`s learning process. The teacher also explains what is expected, gives them the necessary
resources and spends the rest of the time acting as a sort of resources. The students get involved
in their own learning process without being guided by their teachers. In cooperative learning of
the Student Centered Approach, the teaching style is based on a community. The classroom`s
work is mostly based on group projects and students are responsible for their own learning and
progression. The idea of this theory is that students learn best when they get involved with their
classmates. The facilitator of the Cooperative Learning is like the facilitator model in inquiry
based learning, but the only difference is that the focus is on group projects, not individual work.
The student does not go on with the learning process alone or with the teacher. The student has
group of his or her classmates who join him or her in the learning process. The delegator of the
Cooperative Learning is a role modeling acting as a resource to students with hands-off approach
to the students learning (Quinonez, 2014, p. 2).

Background Studies

In a study titled “Reviewing the Teaching Methods of Faculty Members in Rafsanjan

University of Medical Sciences in 1996” there were 100 faculty members from the medical schools
and educational hospitals participating in Grasha’s questionnaire on teaching styles (Amini, Samani
and Lotfi, 2012, p. 38). The highest scores from 5.13 to 4.6 coming from the standard levels of each
method were the Expert and Delegator. There were 92% samples who were interested in using the

488
Delegator and seventy three in Facilitator. The male academic members preferred the teaching
methods of Expert and Delegator whereas the female academic members preferred Facilitator
and Expert. The academic members with Master degree would rather use the Facilitator and
Delegator teaching styles. The academic members with PhD were interested in Expert, Delegator
and Formal Authority teaching styles and medical experts used both the Expert and Delegator
more than any other teaching styles. The preferred teaching style was Delegator which was used
by instructors. However, the teaching styles of the instructors, assistant professors and associate
professors were Expert with Delegator, Expert with Formal Authority and Expert. The faculty
members of basic sciences in Medical school preferred Expert and Delegator teaching styles, but
Delegator teaching method was favored at dental faculty. The Facilitator, Expert and Delegator
were used at nursing and “midwifery” faculties. The preferred teaching style of the clinical faculty
members in educational hospitals were Expert, Facilitator, Delegator and Formal Authority. The
academic members who were teaching theoretical courses use Expert and Delegator, whereas
those who were teaching clinical and practical courses used Formal Authority teaching style in
addition to the ones used in theoretical courses (Amini, Samani and Lotfi, 2012, p. 38).

Grasha’s Teaching Styles Questionnaire Survey was also used at Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) (Filonova, 2008, p. 8). There were 18 instructors (biologists)
participating in that questionnaire survey. It involved instructors’ discipline, academic rank,
gender and course level (Filonova, 2008, p. 8). In that questionnaire survey, Grasha’s four main
teaching methods such as Facilitator, Delegator, Personal Model and Formal Authority were
used instead of using his five teaching methods, because there were no any important differences
found between Expert and Formal Authority styles. Eighteen biology instructors (5 women and
13 men) from SLU teaching different theoretical, practical or both courses at different levels from
A to PhD took part in that case survey (Filonova, 2008, p. 10). It showed that 28% instructors
preferred Delegator teaching method. The next preferred method was Formal Authority by 22%
of the participants. Both Facilitator and the Personal Model of teaching methods were used
by 11% of the participants. The combination of Facilitator and Delegator teaching method is
preferable by 11% of tested instructors. “It stimulates independent, collaborative and participant
learning styles and higher student`s responsibility of learning” (Filonova, 2008, p. 12). The
combination of Formal Authority and Personal Model represented teacher centered approach
on modeling and demonstration by 6, 5% of examined participants. The combination of Teacher
centered approach, Formal Authority and Facilitator, showed that student centered approach
was used by 6, 5%. The instructor felt responsible for providing the information and controlling
the flow of the task and the learner is expected to receive the content. However, there were not
any relationships found between teaching method and gender. The teaching method and level
of course or teaching method and academic rank claimed that teaching method was actually
individual (Filonova, 2008, p. 12).

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 Methodology

The purpose of this research is to investigate the problem between teaching styles and
student preferences. Students may have problems in differences between their learning needs and
their teachers’ styles. Teachers’ negative behavior, attitude and their knowledge about teaching
subjects without following a particular teaching method can affect students’ concentration badly
while learning in the class. If teachers understand their teaching styles at an early stage of their
teaching career, they will definitely know their own teaching method in order to manage their
courses to meet different needs of their students.

Research objectives

The main objective of this research is to determine the freshman students teaching styles
preferences based on their gender, nationality and age differences at International University of
Sarajevo. For this reason, it is important to identify teachers’ teaching methods in details. The
implementation of new concepts related to students and their learning styles will change the
teacher`s methods within the whole educational system. In this way, teachers could be satisfied
with teaching their students by using the right teaching methods.

Research Design

The quantitative methodology was used in Grasha’s teaching styles questionnaire survey.
The survey aimed to collect some demographic information such as age, gender, education level
and nationality of freshman students. The participants answered the questions by either agreeing
or disagreeing with each given statement on a 5 point Likert Scale.

Subjects

Subjects of this research included freshman students at International University of

Sarajevo. The focus group is divided in 20 males and females who come from both Turkey and
Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1. The purpose of this research study is to identify:

2. What are the students’ preferences of teaching styles at freshman level at IUS?
3. Is there a difference between teaching styles preferences among male and female
freshman students?
4. Is there a difference between teaching styles preferences among Turkish and Bosnian
freshman students?
5. Is there s difference between teaching styles preferences among Turkish and Bosnian
Freshman students according to their age?

490
 Hypotheses

1. There is no difference between male and female freshman students in their teaching
styles preferences.
2. There is no difference between Bosnian and Turkish freshman students in their teaching
styles preferences.
3. There is no difference between Turkish and Bosnian freshman students of different age
in their teaching styles preferences.

Instruments

The instrument used in this study is Grasha and Riechmann’s Teaching Style Survey
Questionnaire (1996). Grasha`s teaching method questionnaire contains 39 questions in five
sections related to the Personal Model (11 questions), Formal Authority (10 questions), Expert
(9 questions), Delegator (6 questions), and Facilitator (3 questions). The questionnaire is divided
between teacher centered approach and student centered approach in teaching methods. Likert
scales statements are ranged from ‘completely agree’ to ‘completely disagree’. The questions have
ranked from 1 which is ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 which is ‘strongly agree’. The total score of each
section is divided with eight. The questionnaire index of each teaching method is placed in one
of the low, medium and high classes which characterize the individual teaching method.

Procedures

This research survey is carried out at a private higher educational institution called
International University of Sarajevo. It is located in Ilidža, Sarajevo. The research survey was
conducted during the first session of the fall semester 2014/2015. The participant freshman
students from IUS were handed the Grashas’ Teaching Survey questionnaire that consists of 39
questions. They were also informed about the purpose of the Grasha’s teaching survey and what
comes out as the results of that research survey, too.

Data Analysis

The freshman IUS students were asked to participate in answering 39 statements of Grasha’s
Teaching Survey questionnaire and they affirmed to do it. Twenty copies of the questionnaire
were handed to 20 freshman students. Those 20 students answered the questionnaire in
relation to their study of English and they decided on whether they strongly agree, agree, not
sure, disagree or strongly disagree on the Likert scale statements. They returned 20 copies of
the answered questionnaire at the end of the class session. Anthony F. Grash’s teaching style

  491
preferences questionnaire survey was adapted in this statistical analysis. The freshman students
of IUS answered the questionnaire survey according to their preference of the teaching styles in
the classroom. Their answers were statistically analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics. The SPSS 16th
edition was used for the descriptive statistical method in data analysis. In demographic data,
the numbers of participants were presented as percentages of their gender, age and nationality.
T-test data analysis method of group statistics found the most and the least preferred learning
style mean scores between male and female freshman students. The Independent Samples Test
was used in finding whether there was a significant 2-tailed difference or no significant 2-tailed
difference between Reid`s five perceptual learning styles preferences between different genders.
T-test data analysis method of group statistics also found that the most preferred teaching style
mean scores in freshman students of different gender. In addition, the Independent Samples
Test was also used in finding whether there was a significant 2-tailed difference or no significant
2-tailed difference in five teaching styles preferences between different gender groups. In addition,
T-test data analysis method of groups’ statistics determined the most and the least preferred
teaching style mean scores between Bosnian and Turkish freshman students. Moreover, the
Independent Samples Test was used to identify whether there is significant 2-tailed difference
or no significant 2-tailed difference between Grasha’s five teaching style preferences between
different nationalities. In conclusion, the descriptive statistical method of data analysis results
successfully answered the research questions and responded whether the null hypotheses are
correct or incorrect in this current study.

Demographic Data

Table 1. Statistics

Gender Age Nationality

Valid 20 20 20
N
Missing 0 0 0

In Frequencies table, as presented above, it is statistically shown that 20 numbers of freshman

students of different gender, age and nationality returned the answered questionnaire survey.

The frequency table below shows that among the total number of 20 freshman students,
there were 12 males or 60% and 8 females or 40% of participants in the questionnaire survey. In
total, there were 20 males and females or 100% of participants in the questionnaire survey.

492
 Table 2. Gender
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Percent

Valid Male 12 60,0 60,0 60,0

Female 8 40,0 40,0 100,0

Total 20 100,0 100,0

The frequency table below shows that there were 16 freshman students aged between 18
and 20 or 80% of participants in the questionnaire survey. There were only 2 freshman students
aged between 20 and 22 or 10% of the participants in the questionnaire survey as well as 2 other
freshman students who were older than 22 or 10% of the participants in the questionnaire survey.
In total, there were 20 freshman students or 100% of participants in the questionnaire survey.

Table 3. Age
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Percent

Valid 18-20 16 80,0 80,0 80,0

20-22 2 10,0 10,0 90,0

above 22 2 10,0 10,0 100,0

Total 20 100,0 100,0

The frequency table below also shows that there were 8 Bosnian freshman students or
40% and 12 Turkish freshman students or 60% of participants who completed the questionnaire
survey. In total there were 20 Bosnian and Turkish freshman students or 100% of participants
who answered the questionnaire survey.

Table 4. Nationality
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Valid Bosnian 8 40,0 40,0 40,0

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 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Turkish 12 60,0 60,0 100,0

Total 20 100,0 100,0

Results

The results of the T-test below show that there is no difference between the mean scores
of both male and female freshman students on Grasha’s five teaching styles. It confirms our
null hypothesis that there is no difference between male and female freshman students on their
teaching styles preferences. It also shows that male students’ most preferable teaching styles are
Formal Authority, Personal Model, Expert, Delegator and Facilitator while female students’ most
preferable teaching styles are Personal Model, Formal Authority, Expert, Delegator and Facilitator.

T-Test

Table 5. Group Statistics

Std. Std. Error
Gender N Mean
Deviation Mean

Male 12 24,08 3,315 ,957

Personal Mo-
del
female 8 25,7 3,845 1,359

Male 12 26,00 3,766 1,087

Formal Au-
thority
female 8 24,62 4,104 1,451

Male 12 19,08 3,370 ,973

Expert
female 8 19,38 1,996 ,706

Male 12 15,25 1,422 ,411

Delegator
female 8 13,75 2,435 ,861

494
 Std. Std. Error
Gender N Mean
Deviation Mean

Male 12 7,17 1,749 ,505

Facilitator
female 8 6,25 1,165 ,412

The results of the Independent Samples Test below show that there is no significant
(2-tailed) scores differences between the five teaching styles (Personal Model, Formal Authority,
Expert, Delegator and Facilitator). Therefore, we can confirm that our null hypothesis is correct
to find that there is no difference between Turkish and Bosnian freshman students on their
teaching styles preferences according to their gender (x > 0,05).

Table 6. Independent Samples Test

Levene`s Test for
Equality of Va- t-test for Equality of Means
riances
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Sig. Mean Std.
F Sig. t df (2-ta- Diffe- Error Lower Upper
iled) rence Diffe-
rence

1,091 ,310 -1,034 18 ,315 -1,667 1,612 -5,053 1,719

Personal
Authority Model

-1,002 13,542 ,334 -1,667 1,663 -5,244 1,911

,064 ,803 ,772 18 ,450 -1,375 1,780 -2,365 5,115

,758 14,215 ,461 -1,375 1,813 -2,508 5,258
Formal

2,673 ,119 -,219 18 ,829 -,292 1,330 -3,086 2,502

Facili- Delega- Expert

-,243 17,853 ,811 -2,92 1,202 -2,818 2,235

2,383 ,140 1,746 18 ,098 1,500 ,859 -,305 3,305

1,573 10,210 ,146 1,500 ,954 -,619 3,619
tor

,545 ,470 1,297 18 ,211 ,917 ,707 -,568 2,402

1,407 17,992 ,177 ,917 ,652 -,453 2,286
tor

  495
 The results of the T-test below show that Bosnian freshman students’ most preferred
teaching styles are Personal Model, Formal Authority, Expert, Delegator and Facilitator while
Turkish freshman students’ most preferred teaching styles are Formal Authority, Personal Model,
Expert, Delegator and Facilitator.

T-Test

Table 5. Group Statistics

Std. Std. Error

Gender N Mean
Deviation Mean

Personal Mo- Bosnian 8 25,38 3,315 ,957

del Turkish 12 24,33 3,845 1,359

Formal Au- Bosnian 8 23,62 3,766 1,087

thority Turkish 12 26,67 4,104 1,451
Bosnian 8 18,62 3,370 ,973
Expert
Turkish 12 19,58 1,996 ,706
Bosnian 8 13,38 1,422 ,411
Delegator
Turkish 12 15,50 2,435 ,861
Bosnian 8 6,38 1,749 ,505
Facilitator
Turkish 12 7,08 1,165 ,412

The results of the Independent Samples Test below show that there is a significant (2-tailed)
score difference as it is (x < 0, 27) in Delegator teaching style of freshman students preferences.
For this reason, we can confirm that our null hypothesis is rejected and it turns out to become a
research hypothesis as it confirms that there is difference between Turkish and Bosnian freshman
students according to their nationalities on their teaching styles preferences.

496
 Table 8. Independent Samples Test

Levene`s Test
for Equality of
t-test for Equality of Means
Variances
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Sig. Mean Std. Lower Upper
Diffe- Error
F Sig. t df (2-ta-
rence Differen-
iled)
ce
1,656 ,215 ,635 18 ,533 1,042 1,641 -2,405 4,488
Personal

,613 13,302 ,550 1,042 1,700 -2,623 4,707

Model

,553 ,467 -1,831 18 ,084 3,042 1,662 -6,533 ,449

Formal Autho-

-1,699 11,458 ,116 3,042 1,790 -6,962 ,879

rity

,140 ,713 -,730 18 ,475 -,958 1,312 -3,715 1,799

-,744 16,070 ,468 -,958 1,289 -3,689 1,722

Expert

1,103 ,308 -2,716 18 ,014 -2,125 ,782 -3,769 -,481

Delega-

-2,526 11,536 ,027 -2,125 ,841 -3,966 -,284

tor

,010 ,922 -,984 18 ,338 -,708 ,707 -2,221 ,804

Facilita-

-1,020 16,887 ,322 -,708 ,652 -2,174 ,757

tor

The results of the ANOVA Test below show that there is no significant difference in
Grasha’s five teaching styles among Bosnian and Turkish freshman students. Therefore, our
null hypothesis is confirmed that there is no difference among Turkish and Bosnian freshman
students in their teaching styles preferences according to their age.

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 Table 9. ANOVA
Sum of Mean Squ-
Squares df are F Sig.
Personal Model Between Groups 41,312 2 20,656 1,788 ,197
Within Groups 196,437 17 11,555
Total 237,750 19
Formal Autho- Between Groups 68,700 2 34,350 2,726 ,094
rity Within Groups 214,250 17 12,603
Total 282,950 19
Expert Between Groups 19,200 2 9,600 1,218 ,320
Within Groups 134,000 17 7,882
Total 153,200 19
Delegator Between Groups 3,613 2 1,806 ,433 ,656
Within Groups 70,938 17 4,173
Total 74,550 19
Facilitator Between Groups 1,262 2 ,631 ,234 ,794
Within Groups 45,938 17 2,702
Total 47,200 19

Discussion and Conclusion

I have done the research project on freshman students teaching styles preferences at
International University of Sarajevo in the first semester of 2014/2015. This research project is
particularly related to Anthony Grasha’s five teaching styles (Personal Model, Formal Authority,
Expert, Delegator and Facilitator). These five teaching styles were examined from Bosnian and
Turkish freshman students’ point of view as well as their gender and age.

In Grasha and Riechmann’s Teaching Style Survey Questionnaire (1996), there were more
Turkish students than Bosnian students as participants. The number of Turkish participants was
12, whereas the number of Bosnian participants was 8. The male students were 12, whereas the
female students were only 8. There were 16 students aged between 18 and 20, whereas there were
only 2 students aged between 20 and 22 and another 2 students aged above 22.

The T-Test mean scores indicated that there are no differences between male and female
freshman students in their teaching styles preferences in the classroom. However, male freshman
students mostly prefer the Formal Authority teaching style as they believe that their teachers
should be the only authority in the classroom. And they prefer to see that only their teachers
can organize the rules and meet the expectations of the students. In contrast, female freshman
students mostly prefer Personal Model teaching style and see their teachers as role models for
themselves more than male freshman students. Female freshman students basically would like
to watch and copy what their teachers do while they are teaching them at the same time. Both
male and female freshman students preferred other teaching styles, such as Expert, Delegator
and Facilitator in the same amount.
498
 Similarly, the T-Test mean scores indicated that there is no difference between Bosnian
and Turkish freshman students in their teaching styles preferences in the classroom. Bosnian
freshman students mostly preferred the Personal model, while Turkish freshman students mostly
preferred the Formal Authority. Both Bosnian and Turkish freshman students preferred other
teaching styles, such as Expert, Delegator and Facilitator in the same amount. In addition, the
ANOVA Test results show that there is no significant difference between different age groups of
Bosnian and Turkish students in Grasha’s five different teaching styles.

On the other hand, the Independent Samples Test shows that there is significant 2-tailed
difference between Bosnian and Turkish freshman students on the Delegator teaching style as
its score (, 027) is less than 0, 05. It shows that freshman students are divided into two groups
whether they prefer a Delegator teaching style or they do not.

In Delegator teaching style, teachers act as a resource and they are passive rather than
active to get involved in students’ tasks in the classroom. In addition, some IUS freshman
students would like to see their teachers not play the main role in their learning process and they
would like to be the ones who play the main role and encourage their classmates in their learning
process in the classroom. However, some other IUS freshman students would like to prefer to
see their teachers play the active role in their learning process in the classroom, because they are
uncomfortable with this kind of autonomy in their learning process. It also lets them feel unsure
about what to do even though they work in pairs with their classmates in the classroom. It is
essential that they need someone to be their leader in order to direct their studies to complete
their learning tasks. It can be concluded that the teaching styles preferences and the learning styles
preferences should be matched in order to solve the problems of freshman students’ language
learning process at International University of Sarajevo. Moreover, the matched teaching and
learning styles preferences will not only help how the teachers should choose their right teaching
method to teach their students, but it will also help their freshman students progress in their
learning process positively. The results of Grasha’s teaching survey questionnaire show that there
is a significant difference in Delegator teaching style between Bosnian and Turkish freshman
students of different age. Therefore, teachers should use the Delegator teaching style on those
who prefer to be active and encourage their classmates in their learning process. Meanwhile,
teachers should also use their Formal authority and Expert teaching styles on others who prefer
to see their teachers to play the active role while they are learning the second language at IUS.
Teachers obviously should think that they were also students sometime in the past. Therefore,
they should understand their freshman students’ teaching styles preferences rather than choosing
their own teaching methods based on what they think is only suitable for them. In this way, their
freshman students will increase their learning performance and they will be able to reach their
positive exam results successfully.
  499
References
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Faculty Members of Shiraz Medical School. Res Dev Med Educ, 1(2), 37-43.
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[27 November 2014].
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Tennyson D. Robert, Boutwell C. Richard & Frey Susan. (1978). Student Preferences for
Faculty Teaching Styles. Improving College and University Teaching, Vol.26, No.3,
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Torok E. Sarah, McMorris F. Robert & Lin Wen-Chi. (2014).Is Humor an Appreciated Teaching
Tool? Perceptions of Professors’ Teaching Styles and Use of Humor. College Teaching,
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500
New Trends and Challenges in
Today’s Europe
◆

MEDIA
 Is Communication Really a Food?

Sandra Veinberg
Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration (RISEBA)
& Liepāja University, Latvia

Abstract

This paper examines a new doctrine for communication. It argues that effective
communications are as important to our well being and happiness as the food we put into our
bodies. ‘It can either be healthy (and nourishing) or toxic (and destructive),’ notes the Zen master
and Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. To examine this theory I decided to test my students.
Use was made of a non-proportional stratified sample of younger adults, a total of 200 students
who were involved in the survey study. Research is also based on an analysis of a qualitative
research programme (a qualitative study) which involved 200 questionnaire texts that were set
using two methods: critical discourse analysis and context. The results of my research show that
students stressed that they were not using traditional forms of media, that the younger reader
wants dialogue with the author or journalist, and that they tend to favour relationship-based
communications which are offered by social media. My conclusions show that social media is
regarded as ‘an anti-loneliness tool‘, and that it encourages a dialogue between the transmitter
and the reader and allows a dialogue between them both. Language acts here as a relationship-
building resource and shows a level of interaction between text and participants. This shows that,
via social media, the internet provides a special form of communication which compensates the
audience as might a gourmet restaurant.

Key words: Media effects, communication, toxic communication, social media, Bakhtin,
Thich Nhat Hanh

Introduction

Communication history has always been a story of the mass media in the horizontal or
vertical frame in order to ‘examine the role of communication in the development of the human

  503
species and its forms of civilisation‘ (Willard D. Rowland, 207, p xi). The pioneering work that has
been carried out in that direction was started by Walter Ong, Elizabeth Eisenstein, and Harold
Innis, and it shares a keen interest in the deep civilisation-related context of all principal forms of
communication technologies, thereby encouraging a much richer understanding of the present,
rapidly changing experience‘ (Willard D. Rowland, 207, p xi). But the story of communication is
much more central to human history than has been recognised by the formal academic discipline
of history itself. Globalisation has introduced adjustments to academic communication research.
‘The internet has changed the way [in which] we work, what we consume, how we play, with
whom we interact, how we find things out, and myriad other details about the way [in which] we
live’ (Poe, 2011, p 2). If we turn away from the transmitted and linear method of communication
(Friske, 1998; Gruning), from the traditional social, psychological effects of media (McQuail,
1983), from ‘the Mentalists‘ of Walter Ong (Ong, 1958), Eric Havelock (Havelock, 1963) and
Jack Goody (Goody, 1977), and the ‘Critical Theorists‘ of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
(Horkheimer, Adorno, 1947), Herbert Marcuse (Marcuse, 1964), from ‘Postmodernists‘ and
‘Post-structuralists‘ (Poster, M. 1990), and the Modern Critical Theory of media studies of Jürgen
Habermas (Habermas, 1962) and Noam Chomsky (Chomsky, 1988), and instead place the
recipients, the users, at the centre so that in such a situation we can discover that ‘meanings are
in people, not in words, objects, or things‘ (Kreps, 1990: 29). We can go a step further in the same
direction. Therefore, in addition to the Western-centric character of our interpretation of the
communication experience, we can begin to study new discoveries in communication research,
those that are originating in the East. One of these offers us the investigator of communication
and Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, with his book, ‘The Art of Communicating‘, 2013. He
concentrates on the audience and its relation to the communications process.

Researchers are interested in the audience, and the attitudes and behaviour of users have
been considerable since the 1930s. In the past, recipients of the mass communication process were
considered as a uniform, homogeneous, passive group of people. Today, the discussion amongst
researchers is often about ‘active users‘and not on ‘passive consumers of information‘. However,
it is clear that the key is the connection for communication or the ‘coherence‘ of the general
public, where levels are usually assumed to be equal (Andersson, 1985: 93). The context shapes
our Western European interpersonal communication process in which the code was the key to
concept (Falkheimer, 2001, Dimbleby & Burton, 1994). As ‘social animals‘, human beings depend
upon different codes. So far all communication could be broken down into character, as systems
form different codes. Signs are usually used to create community, using the very same codes that
we use to create symbolic power. A good communicator (a journalist, a source of information,
or teachers) has the ability to handle different codes by means of conventions, but the character
and meaning of the codes is not natural, but rather culturally determined. At the bottom of all
this lies cultural and social mores (Dahlgren, 1994). Feedback is the main signal that shows that
the responses of multiple recipients may be different when receiving the very same signal. The

504
new digital information technology explosion provides us with the opportunity for interaction
between sender and receiver and shows that the mathematical models of communication
(Severin & Tankard, 1992; Shannon & Weavers, 1941) are transmissive and unidirectional. Today
it is clear that communication may not only be considered as being a two-way process (McQuail
& Winddahl, 1993), which means not only the process employed by socialisation (Gerber, 1994)
and this cannot be explained simply by ‘the cultural’ or ‘process school’ methods (Curran, 1990).
We need new explanations of communication.

The so-called ‘Eastern School’ of communication research in recent years reveals their
ambitions and has offered communication research on the sociolinguistic level (Коган, 1992,
1996), in which the most important instruments in research are the philosophical criteria
(Клюканов, 2010).

One of the leading researchers in this area is Igor Kljukanov. He uses in his practice
of studying communication ‘experience + space + time’ as a complex measuring instrument
(Клюканов, 2010: 59). Interestingly, the direction here is the so-called ‘apprehension’ theory
(McCroskey, J. 2006; Holbrook, H. 1987), which is highly synchronised with the ‘Buddhist
doctrine of communication’.

It argues that effective communications are as important to our well being and happiness as
the food we put into our bodies. ‘It can either be healthy (and nourishing) or toxic (and destructive)’
notes the Zen master and Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, in his book on communications. So
far, communication has always been regarded as an intellectual process. Thich Nhat Hanh argues
that communication is an intellectual process with physiological effectas a result.

Background to the study

The comparison between information and food is a new way of exploring communications.
The entirety of mass communications research is based on the premise that the various forms of
media have an influence in any way at all. So far there is no unity amongst researchers as to what
should be the ideal communication and ‘there is at least safety and consistency in the preferred
effect of communication’ (McQuail, 1983:166). Moreover, we ‘do not exactly know how a certain
effect has occurred or could occur’ (McQuail, 1993: 166). Western scientists have conducted
research ‘on persuasion’ (Hovland, 1949; Lazarsfeld, 1944), about ‘social effects’ (Lang & Lang,
1959, Halloran, 1965) or ‘potential effects’ (Carrey, 1987). The attitude of Zen master Thich Nhat
Hanh towards communication is very different. He believes that the communication effect can
only be either good or bad for the receiver’s health. Creating a comparison between the effects
of communication and the effects of gastronomy is a new way of understanding the processes
of communication.

  505
 ‘Nothing can survive without food’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013: 3). Everything we consume
acts either to heal us or to poison us. We tend to think of nourishment only as what we take in
through our mouths, but what we consume with our eyes, our noses, our tongues, and our bodies
can also be termed food. Thich Nhat Hanh thinks that all of the conversation that goes on around
us is also food. It means that we consume and create food when we sit in front of the TV or a
computer, or when we listen to a concert. The most important thing is to understand whether or
not this communication is healthy for us.

How can we tell what communication is healthy and what is toxic? Thich Nhat Han
believes that ‘the energy of mindfulness is a necessary ingredient in healthy communication’
(Thich Nhat Han, 2013, p 5). If you listen to toxic conversation, you must consume those toxins
into your body and, thanks to this, you may become angry, frustrated, or sad. You absorb the
thoughts, speech, and actions that are going on around you and feel good or bad as a result of
this. You produce thoughts, speech, or actions around you and force other people to feel good or
bad because of this.

So far I have not read any research that analyses the recipient’s well-being after the
communication process with other people, media, or art. Therefore, I chose Thich Nhat Hanh’s
theory to explore the effect of communicating in the same way as people seek an outcome in the
consumption of food. By this I understand that the effects of communication can only be of two
types - favourable or unfavourable to human health. ‘Every human and every animal communicates.
We typically think of communication as the words we use when we speak or write, but our body
language, our facial expressions, our tone of voice, our physical actions, and even our thoughts
are ways of communicating’, points out Thich Nhat Hanh. He believes that ‘our communication is
not neutral. Every time we communicate, we either produce more compassion, love, and harmony
or we produce more suffering and violence’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013:139). According him, our
communication is our karma. The Sanskrit word ‘karma’ means ‘action’, and refers not just to
bodily action, but to what we express with our bodies, our words, and our thoughts and intentions.
‘You are your action - everything we say and do bears our signature‘, he writes (p 141-142), and
sees the link between thinking and how we affect the other people, values, and the world.

Methodology

In order to evolve an understanding of the monk’s theory, I decided to test my students.

Use was made of a non-proportional stratified sample of younger adults, a total of 200 students
who were involved in the survey study. All of them were issued with questionnaires. The age of
the participants was between 20-33. The validity of the content was high. The survey was carried
out between 25/04/2015-25/05/2015. No internal failure was observed.

My research is also based on an analysis of qualitative research (in the form of a qualitative
study) of 200 questionnaire texts by two methods: critical discourse analysis and context.

506
There are four categories in this analytical model: 1) content, 2) relationships, 3) form, and 4)
intertextuality. The method is qualitative and is based on the text and context (Larsson, 2010;
Fairclough, 1995; Hellspong, 1997). The content consists of a theme and what the text says (the
proposition). A relationship is all about relationship-building with the resources of language such
as, for example, a text which contains questions or feelings (exclamation, values, etc), and which
encourages dialogue (Larsson, 2010, p 159). The form usually transforms content to a specific,
linguistic textual construction. Intertextuality is about the interplay and interaction between text
and reader. Intertextuality sees when phrases, words, and whole portions of text are repeated
from other texts, calls, and genres, as well as ideas in the text that are similar to those which
were formulated earlier (Bakhtin, 1997). Intertextuality includes different test markers (Holqvist,
1997) and the fact that there is a dialogical subject in all expression. I also used Bakhtin’s theory
and methods: a piece of text is not solitary, rather it is a link in a chain of past and future pieces of
text. Therefore, I also observed re-contextualisation, which refers to the dialogical relationships
between texts: how words move between contexts, how they are used and reformulated, and later
assume new meanings (Tannen, 1989; Fairclough, 1995; Linnel 1998; Ajagán - Lester, 2003).

All communication aims to reach someone, to influence, strengthen and improve

relationships: it builds up a relationship between writer and reader. Therefore, I seek to understand
how language can serve as a relationship-building resource. Another important factor in my
research is coherence (Bussman, 1983; De Beaugrande, 1996). If a text is coherent, it means that
it is coherent and meaningful both on a local and global level.

Analysis, findings and results

Making use of media

During the discussions, most students stressed that they were not using traditional forms
of media.

Table 1. The Use of Media. 2015. RISEBA, Liepaja University

  507
 On a daily basis, Facebook and Twitter are the most useful media tools. In third place is
Instagram and television. These are followed by the social media resource ‘www.draugiem.lv‘ and
the radio. Print media on paper is used in very few situations, and only occasionally. The survey
results show that radio has been driven out with the help of the mp3. The content shows a very
bleak picture - ‘the old media’ will no longer work in practice for youths. In reality the contents of
these old forms of media usually show up on their computer screens anyway, thanks to Google,
Twitter, Facebook or Instagram: ‘I do not use print media on paper. I do not listen to the radio,
but I often read through social media about the world’s events. My favourite is internet radio with
good music’; ‘I want to know what is going on in the world: about wars, the economy, and things
like that.’: ‘I always need very practical information about the weather, traffic, or culture. This
means I search for it on the internet or contact the people who know everything’.

The analysis of qualitative research (in the form of a qualitative study) of 200 questionnaire
texts shows that the majority of students see a difference in the use of the media when they are at
home with their parents, and when they are at university: ‘When I’m at home with my parents,
I use most of the traditional media such as television. But if I am in Liepaja, I use only the
computer and social media’, wrote one of students. The use of the media is no longer traditional.
‘I daily use many foreign forms of media on the internet’, explained one student, a young girl.
‘Twitter I usually only read - I never go there to write. I express myself only on Facebook.’

The so-called old forms of media are used most often in the morning: ‘I have a ritual - in
the morning at breakfast I always watch the TV news. I never look at the same channel, but hop
between multiple channels in parallel’ said one male student.

‘Media’ for students today are the internet portals www.tvnet.lv, or www.liepajniekiem.
lv, which is incredibly popular in Latvia and which has taken over the websites of the biggest
newspapers in Riga. This means that the younger reader wants a dialogue with the author or
journalist and favours relationship-based communications: ‘The content is important, but more
important is to know that other people are thinking the same thing, such as ‘I do not believe in
the media today, it too often writes untruths. Therefore, it’s better if we are able to discuss things
instead’, and ‘thanks to social media, I do not feel alone’.

Obviously, the majority of students use daily social media that allows communication
feedback. Maybe this shows student desires to be seen and to be heard, the desire to provide
feedback (the traditional media only allows one to hear, see, and read). But we cannot exclude the
fact that the new forms of media are better able to offer important information.

Relations with forms of mass media have always been a very important factor. The views
of today’s young people on the media are different, very different than they were during their
parents’ time. The informal information format is more suited to their needs when it comes to

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having attractive and more reliable content. Instead of the media they choose blogs or reports
from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. They use social networks themselves to appropriate the
content from ‘old media‘and convert this information into an entertaining form that is better
addressed for its intended audience.

Which communication is toxic?

Munk’s theory of ‘healthy’ or ‘toxic’ communication was used in a test on my students

(Table 2). Thich Nhat Hanh writes: ‘The energy of mindfulness is a necessary ingredient in healthy
communication. Mindfulness requires letting go of judgement, returning to an awareness of the
breath and the body, and bringing your full attention to what is in you and around you. This helps
you to notice whether the thought you just produced is healthy or unhealthy, compassionate or
unkind’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013, p 5). Unfortunately, the position of the good communication
(consuming with mindfulness) was difficult to understand for my students, but ‘the toxic
conversation’ did not lead to the same confusion. ‘When you have a conversation with another
person, what that person says may be full of toxins, such as hate, anger, and frustration. When
you listen to what others say, you’re consuming those toxins. You’re bringing them into your
consciousness and your body’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013: 5). Most of the students knew the text
of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book and most of them wanted to discuss ‘toxic communication’ instead
of ‘good communication’. Because of this, I asked questions only about toxic communication
in this regard. The students recognised that they faced on a daily basis the risk that elements
of their communication that could be regarded as being unhealthy, and which therefore would
fall into the category of ‘toxic communication’. Most of them pointed out that, usually, such
communication took place between people or in the use of media. ‘Yes, every day I meet toxic
information in my job and in conversation with friends’, concluded one girl and added that ‘the
same toxic area is in the media. There is constant manipulation’. ‘This is an important theme -
feeling hatred at work and afterwards feeling bad throughout one’s entire body. This is hard’, ‘I
know this from my childhood - there are people who will do anything so that the other person
feels worse. They kill my well-being after a normal conversation. This happens!’, ‘Oh, yes, there
are people who disturb my work in any way possible. Especially those who are twice as old as me.
I was physically sick later due to this!’. ‘After each conversation with my employer I can become
aggressive and angry, and can feel bad’. ‘There are situations in which I as an employer try to
explain the details of people who are not sufficiently intelligent. Later on, I feel quite bad [as a
result]’, ‘Poor communication with evil people gives me a headache’, ‘Do not think that after a
conflict, one can find the truth. On the contrary - I feel bad and I feel exhausted’.

The content of all of these displays the following trends: 1) primarily they see themselves
only as recipients of information, and 2) they really perceive information that is either appropriate
or toxic, just as a small child at the dining table knows what it will and will not eat. Even consumers

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of communication know what they do not like first and foremost. The results of the survey showed
no attempt to dampen their stress levels in regard to other people, although Thich Nhat Hanh
in theory accentuates that ‘many of us suffer because our communication with other people is
difficult. At work, for example, we often feel that we have tried everything and there is no way to
reach our colleagues. This is often true in families as well. We feel that our parents, our siblings,
or our children are too stuck in their ways. We think that no real communication is possible’,
writes the author and offers suggestions as to how can we use ‘many ways to reconcile and to
create openings for more compassionate communication’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013: 93). Here
can we see an active relationship with the themes and the use of strong emotional words such as:
‘toxic information’, ‘toxic area’, ‘to feel hatred’, ‘feel bad throughout the entire body’, ‘this is hard’,
‘kill my well-being’, ‘Oh, yes’, ‘I feel quite bad’. This means that the recipients ‘show their feelings
through exclamation marks or watchwords’ (Larsson, 2011:159), which are used to demonstrate
his attitude by linguistic means. It uses accentuation (Bakhtin, 1981:5), assimilation (Bakhtin,
1981:341), heteroglossia, and a tendency to finalise this theme (Bakhtin, 1981: 18).

Here can we explore an active relationship with the themes and with the use of strong
emotional words such as: ‘toxic information’, ‘toxic area’, ‘to feel hatred’, ‘feel bad throughout
one’s entire body’, ‘this is hard’, ‘kill my well-being’, ‘Oh, yes’, and ‘I feel bad’. This means that
the recipients ‘show their feelings through exclamation marks and watchwords’ (Larsson, 2011:
159), which are used to demonstrate his attitude through linguistic means. It uses accentuation
(Bakhtin, 1981: 5), assimilation (Bakhtin, 1981: 341), heteroglossia, and a tendency to finalise
(Bakhtin, 1981: 18) this theme.

Another girl believed that ‘the worst thing is communication between people, but
communication with the media is also complicated’. ‘I hate comments on articles that are found
on the internet. Most of them are unnecessarily toxic‘, said one student, adding that ‘the worst
thing is that mass communication has already drowned in stupidity and evil’.

Most of the students think this: ‘The media publishes too much information without
content’, ‘too much violence’, ‘too much misinformation and exaggeration’, ‘nonsense and cheap
entertainment that no one wants to watch’, ‘boring articles’, ‘you never have any guarantees that
what they write and show is true’, ‘all this stupidity in the media must be ignored’. The audience’s
dialogue with these issues was active and powerful: containing intensive expressions, double
question and exclamation marks, and drawings that compliment the text.

The survey showed a remarkably high response to and levels of activity for this question.
The explanation for this issue was as follows: a) an irritant: ‘Because I do not tolerate stupidity and
lies’, ‘does not accept advertising and bad PR’; b) troublesome: ‘due to cutting-edge expressions
and exaggerations, and coarse language. There are people who think that this attracts attention,
but I think that the reality is contrary’; ‘[an] obsession with [the] sensational’; c) false: ‘the media
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usually build up problems from small matters, and if this happens every day then I feel cheated’.
Even here one can observe: 1) feelings through exclamation marks, watchwords, and 2) the same
idea system, an internally persuasive discourse (Bakhtin, 1981: 327-329), inter-illumination, and
minimal heteroglossia (Bakhtin, 1981: 18).

A surprise to me was the fact that art can be considered as being an unhealthy form of
communication. ‘Yes, I often feel that I have been poisoned after going to the cinema or the
theatre’, one of the students pointed out. Another student thinks that ‘long films and concerts
can make people feel angry and poisoned‘and others believe that ‘the concert or film usually does
not correspond to my expectations‘ or ‘takes too much of my energy’. ‘Sometimes films force me
into an unhealthy psychological situation in which I feel really bad and cannot find a way out’,
‘there are films and paintings that touch me deeply, but I do not know if this is good or bad’. One
of the students emphasised, when he himself was studying modern art in order to understand
why the art made him angry and disappointed, ‘I think the reason is the unfair conditions in the
art industry. Prestige and ideals are just a game for a select group of artists. I know that without
having the right contacts it is not possible to be successful [in the art world]. This is the most
important tool for reaching the top, but it’s one that I do not have’. Even in this position students
use expressive words and minimal heteroglossia.

Table 2. Toxic conversation (%)

We are lonely together?

Thich Nhat Hanh believes that ‘we are lonely together‘and that ‘there’s a vacuum inside
us‘ (Thich Nhat Hanh, 2013, p. 13). To determine whether this applies to us, I asked the students
whether this was true (see Table 3). The results showed that social media is ‘a tool against
loneliness’ - as was stated in the results of a survey. If communication is such a sensitive area, how
do my students evaluate their participation in social media? I suspected that social media reduces
their feeling of loneliness in the media world, but the impact of social media turned out to be
wider than this. Toxic communication here is less common. The main reason for participation is
that you have the opportunity to teach yourself something new. Every third student believed that
social media can be used to learn something new. See Table 3.
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 Table 3. Polyphonic Disagreement (%)

For a total of 19% of the students, chatting was seen as being a healthy activity, and
retweeting was perceived as being a valuable and healthy opportunity to distribute information
(18%). Only 12% remained angry after communicating through social media and 11% preferred
observation without engaging in communication. A total of 11% thought that communication
should be fun.

‘I like to quote wise thoughts’, noted one student and most recognise that they quoted wise
thoughts more than ten times a month. ‘The most difficult thing is to find the truth and to convey
it,’ noted some students. The popularity of the first position ‘education‘ my students explain in
this way: ‘in school it must be compulsory to teach people to debate and discuss. I have learned
this thanks social media’, ‘I like to follow the wise people on the internet and read what they
write right now’, ‘there are a great many sources of good information’, ‘Twitter know everything
in advance’.

I actually expected more criticism about the discourse on the internet, about the generally
low level of the chat on the internet. But criticism was limited. Instead I read: ‘it is wonderful to
find a good idea and then to be able to give it to friends’, ‘Sometimes I catch my own thoughts
with the additional thought that it would be wonderful if I could discuss the same subject with my
peers at work’, ‘I would like to be able to have such a brainstorm without computers’. Some people
do not like the anonymity of the computerised world and point out that: ‘the most important
thing in life is to meet and talk to people face-to-face. Just so that you can understand other
people’.

Most say that it is wonderful to be able to apply directly to a particular person and ‘find
answers to their questions directly’. In this position we can observe the following effects: 1) the
content here is no longer in unison, 2) the value-criticism is more moderate, 3) form without
regularity, and 4) according Bakhtin, we can see here his most famous borrowing from musical
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terminology - ‘the polyphonic‘ story with ‘the maximum complete register of all social voices
from the era‘ (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 431). According to Thich Nhat Hanh, we can see here how
students assess the food that they like in the gourmet restaurant of communication.

Intertextuality and dialogue between the texts

Table 4.Intertextual figure (%)

Here I use the popular theory of intertextuality. This resource originates with the
dialogue theory by Mikhail Bakhtin that each textual content is in a dialogue with other texts.
Intertextuality is no objective truth, but is the projection of the observer’s consciousness. Only
45% of the students thought that they were autonomous in their thoughts, but most recognised
their dependence on other people’s writings and ideas. The majority of students have chosen the
positions ‘translation‘ and ‘quotation’. Most of the students state that they do so only for its own
sake, and do not retweet or send material on to friends and family. This means that information
from social media accumulates and serves as educational material: ‘Twitter is my idea bank‘,
‘the most important elements are short, wise thoughts that are not to be found in books‘, and
‘here I have the feedback and hence am a participant in the process. I am reading, thinking and
then discussing the issue with people from all corners of the world. In this way I arrive close to
the truth’, ‘if the idea is so good that I like it then I consciously and immediately seek out more
information about the author and his other ideas and expanded my knowledge’.

Allusion is in third place and is used mostly for fun, often in the form of puns: ‘sometimes
I do retweet it for me, for the good memories, or simply because it is fun. Simply fun’, ‘allusion
raises other areas of curiosity’, ‘if it coincides with my views then this can be used’.

It’s in terms of Bakhtin’s ‘already bespoke quality’ (Bakhtin, 1981: 8-9), and ‘simultaneous
appropriation and transmission‘ (Bakhtin, 1981: 341).

A ‘quotation‘ is something that many also consider a tool: ‘I use this on my birthday. Then
I send sensible quotes to friends and family’. Many note that this is something that is very unique:
‘I like to quote only something that is very, very important, something that makes sense and has
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essence’. Many admit that the quote is characterised not by its punctuation, but with the help of
a particular expression in the text. However, a large number of students belong to the traditional
school: ‘first you use quotes, then you refer to the authors and ‘use them only if [what they say] is
useful and content-rich. Again this already contains bespoke quality‘ (Bakhtin, 1981: 8-9).

Only in the four places is ‘my text’, showing that students understand the effects of
intertextuality and recognise that their thoughts are influenced by other people’s thoughts.

Intertextuality can be viewed from different perspectives: 1) ideological, 2) semiotic, and

3) being from a communicative perspective. I understand the ‘intertextuality’ in the form of it
being a tool which helps us to study the textual system, which itself flows into the other texts. The
best way to prove it is in the study of dialogues between the texts.

Most of the students recognised that: 1) they adopted alien texts unconsciously: ‘it is clear
that this happens unintentionally! Yes, I use symbols that I have borrowed from other people’,
‘it can be the case that, unwittingly, grains of an idea remains in the memory. Information is
updated in my head if it is important to me’. ‘It may also be the case that I unconsciously tend to
incorporate these strangers ideas in my own works. At that moment I feel these ideas are my own.
As such, that’s coming from me’, ‘it is conceivable that, both in speech and writing, I use borrowed
thoughts and ideas. I’ll think about it now in my art’, ‘there are situations in which something
happens accidentally’; ‘one thought leads to the next and then to other thoughts. Then we can
no longer distinguish between the beginning of my idea and the end of another person’s idea’.
Some acknowledge that it may be the case that alien ideas and texts are used deliberately ‘ his
works are incredible knowing‘ or ‘the space of information today is common to all. Therefore, it is
impossible not to be swayed by others’; 2) that a stranger’s text is a good form of text if it confirms
their own thoughts : ‘if the text is concise and witty’, ‘if an idea is close to me and coincides with
my vision of the world’, ‘as a young artist I was looking for ideas everywhere. They are both
articles and images, both video and films. You can almost always find good things and pick them
up yourself, but by this I don’t mean copying‘; and, finally 3) it’s okay if it is possible to compare
ideas and thoughts: ‘the ideas of others can affect me just as much as I myself want to be affected’,
‘yes, of course it’s true that only through communication can one reach the result and create new
views which I can then generate and reflect upon’, ‘it is important to be able to compare foreign
ideas with one’s own’. According Bakhtin, this tendency can be a dialogue with ‘alien‘ text and can
be noted also in ‘reaccentuation‘ (Bakhtin, 1981:5).

Cutting-edge ideas forms another important item: ‘in this way I look for inspiration for
my work’, ‘if the ideas are dazzling and cutting-edge then I try to seize them directly’, ‘I certainly
do catch them, because in this kind of idea is inspiration for my work’, ‘ideas in social media are
so diverse and often unexpected that I am often shaken by them. It’s great to know that such a
platform exists, and that I can use those thoughts that attract my attention’.

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 Table 5. Dialogues between the texts (%)

The term ‘cutting-edge ideas‘ or ‘sharp ideas‘ does not only have to be a source of
inspiration. By this term students also understand: ‘particularly important notices such as asking
for help and political declarations’, and ‘other important human messages’. Such information may
be important in different ways: 1) ‘to compare’, or 2) ‘to share with other people’. Generally, when
it comes to a description of ‘cutting-edge‘ the following words dominate: ‘current’, ‘essential’,
‘laconic‘, and ‘shocking‘, which ‘often become a source of inspiration’. This shows a fairly large
degree of heteroglossia according to Bakhtin. This post shows how dialogism (Bakhtin, 1981,
p411) works in practice. ‘Dialogism is the characteristic epistemological mode of a world that
is dominated by heteroglossia‘ (Holqvist M. and Bakhtin, 1981; 411). Social media promotes
dialogue between the transmitter and the reader and allows a dialogue between them. Language
acts as a relationship-building resource and shows an interaction between texts and participants.
‘When we see other people who are enjoying good levels of communication with themselves and
with others, they inspire us... In these cases, the energy of a community of mindfulness can help
us to embrace and release suffering that we could not be able to achieve by ourselves’ (Thich Nhat
Hanh, 2013: 131).

Discussion and conclusion

Communication is food. Thich Nhat Hanh’s idea is correct. Communicators find, select,
and use information in the same way as people choosing food. Everything is determined by taste
and experience. It is easy to say that you do not like something because it does not taste that good,
but it is almost impossible to present food for all tastes all of the time.

Just like going to a gourmet restaurant, young people choose the information they want
on the internet: they select only that ‘food’ that suits their tastes because they want to feel good.

The content of the survey shows a very bleak picture when it comes to ‘the old media’. They
will no longer work in practice for young people. In reality the material generated by old forms
of media pops up on their computer screens anyway - thanks to Google, Twitter, Facebook, or

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Instagram - but the young reader wants to have a dialogue with the author or journalist and
favours the relationship-based communications that are being served up by social media.

Young people need attractive media that is more open and equal than was previously the
case - media such as blogs, or reports from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Social networking
can itself appropriate the content from the ‘old media‘ and convert it into an entertaining format
that better suits a young audience.

Through this study, it can be seen that modern users of social media demonstrate and
confirm in practice Bakhtin’s theory. This survey proves that communication is a form of dialogue
between different texts. This means that the exchange of thoughts in internet communication is
an exchange of texts which, essentially, is a multi-consciousness dialogue as indicated by Bakhtin,
not the ‘mosaic of quotations’ that Kristeva claims.

It can be concluded that every text in social media has a feature that provides an echo.
Thoughts will be echoed in the form of text. This unique speciality - ‘the reverberation of text in
internet communications’ - should certainly be studied increasingly widely.

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 Future of the Documentary in the Selfie Culture

Lejla Panjeta
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The intention of this discussion is to question of documentary form and selfie phenomenon
in the cultural implications emerged as a consequence of wide spread new technologies and
social networking, touch screen and video. What is the future of documentary film form in the
culture of selfism and technology friendly recording devices? Culture as the inherent feature of a
group and individual both is defined by a given space and time and is in constant changing mode.
In new media defined by the Wi-Fi technology and communication gadgets, the new conducts
and behaviors are introduced into the traditional cultures. Taking the fast lane of connectivity,
but in the same time remaining in the slow lane of anonymity, is not just a fad of anonymous’
networking of international culture, but the main communicating feature today. Recording
video and taking pictures has lost its importance and elitism, gaining superficiality and HD
quality. What happens to the content, cultural context and creative approaches in this process?
What is the quality of new international culture in the virtual space and time defined by picture in
motion language of visual communication (film grammar) and technology video devices? Does
the culture based on this technology make the new stereotypes? What is the human language
for communication in this international culture? Can English be the long lost Babylon dream
fulfilled? Is documentarism benefiting in culture or dying?

Key words: Documentarism, immediacy, culture, selfism, communication, virtuality

Introduction

The work before you is not a classical research. It does not derive from theory, but rather
everyday practice and common sense of critical evaluation of the theoreticians’ referenced. This
opinion piece drives from the old fashioned skepticism and literary essay inherent criticism.

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Questions are asked, but not asserted or concluded. The reason is the subject of this small
investigation: the self and new selfism culture. Thus, the “self-opinionated essay”.

Selfitis and the Self

The self is the object of phenomenology in various studies such as philosophy, psychology,
cultural and media studies, theology, as well as new fields of research based on the merge of
technology and empiric philosophy like technoself studies. In short, it is to be considered here as
the phenomenon of one’s experience in perception, emotions, thoughts, believes and reflections.
The self consists of the literal belief in one’s self. This self is determined by one’s culture, society,
media that surrounds it. The self is very much depended on the influences of what and where it
is being situated. It looks out for its surroundings in the real world in order to prevent threat as
much as possible. This is how identity is formed.

„The discursive constitution of identity, subjectivity, and old and new media
technologies is thoroughly tangled. As we have noted, „identity” and „subjectivity”
are rarely defined, are used differently in different discourses, and are often apparently
interchangeable. Also, the term „real world” should be read with caution. Virtual
environments and media are no less real for being virtual - they exist as both data
and lived experience” (Lister et al., 2009, 270).

Many have argued that media influences society and individuals shaping the emotions,
stands and beliefs. Self can be manifested as a reflection of this influence. The New Media
(discussed thoroughly latter) that consists of audio-visual tools for sharing and social gathering
creating this virtual realities is the new environment in which the self is reinvented and redefined.
The self is created, if not modified, according to the cultural norms of the social media and
“changes in media techonologies are correlated with social change. If the logic of old media
corresponded to the logic industrial mass society, the logic of new media fits the logic of the post
industrial society, which values individuality over conformity” (Manovich, 2001, 41).

Social networking or private and public video channels are places for self-fulfillment and
expression. “The desire to express one’s self through (artistic) media is a hallmark of romanticism
and long predates the development of digital media” (Bolter & Grusin, 2000, 234). Therefore, the
desire is nothing new. The phenomenon is not new. But the combination of new technologies and
new media tools is new in terms of determining the self in everyday life and culture. “This is not
to say that our identity is fully determined by media, but rather that we employ media as vehicles
for defining both personal and cultural identity. As these media become simultaneously technical
analogs and social expressions of our identity, we become simultaneously both the subject and
object of contemporary media” (Bolter & Grusin, 2000, 231). Note the funny illustration on how
the technology of the new media changes our cultural norms.

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 Illustration 1.

In 2014, the Oxford Dictionary (Anonymous, 2014b) incorporated the new definition
of the notion “selfitis”. This phenomenon is described as making (taking pictures or recording
videos) self-portraits, uploading and sharing them on the internet (social media, personal
profiles, social networking, etc.). The American Psychiatric Association (APA) during the same
year has confirmed that taking ‘selfies’ is a mental disorder. This exhibitionistic disorder is called
selfitis, and is defined as the obsessive compulsive desire of person to take photos of one’s self and
post them on social media. In the same definition, the disorder selfitis is described as a “way to
make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy” (Anonymous, 2014). There are
three levels of the disorder: Borderline selfitis (taking photos of one’s self at least three times daily,
but not posting them on social media), Acute selfitis (taking photos of one’s self at least three
times a day and posting them on social media), and Chronic selfitis (uncontrollable urge to make
photos and post them on social media more than six times a day). “According to the APA, while
there is currently no cure for the disorder, temporary treatment is available through Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy” (ibid.).

Voyeurism and exhibitionism are treated as individual problems, less than the social
deviation and media consequences. Due to official recognition of selfitis as the phenomenon
and psychiatric disorder, social pathology will expand the classifications of their disorder
methodologies. New times call for new measures. The technology and cyber virtuality are gaining
control over our culture, making the new culture that extinguishes the first and foremost the
humanity. Note the following illustration.

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 Illustration 2.

Virtual social gathering detach us from the reality. The more we advance in technology,
further we are from reality. Why do we like more to photoshop, upload and share instead of just
be in the moment we are witnessing the truth and reality that surrounds the self we believe to be?

This is the visual stereotype of the new culture of selfism in the globalised technological
cyber virtual world of the international culture:
- Bottle of water,
- Crouches back,
- Typing on touch screen.

Sharing, liking, tweeting, surfing, uploading, etc. These are the characteristics of the
new selfie culture that selfism blooms from. These are imperatives of the culture of selfism,
but also inevitable consequences of the technological advancement, fair share and approach
to communication of all the participants in digital new media era of human communication.
WiFi has become center around which the new culture is formed. Our world is dependent on
technology for satisfying the need for socializing. At the same time alienated in reality. Note the
following illustration.

Illustration 3.
522
 Our new selfie culture, that can now be proud of officially declared sickness, is predetermined
by the technology of touch screen and internet, through which all the world is at our feet (or
rather under our fingertips), but in the same time nothing is palpable, not even within our grasp
really. We are chasing the real time in the frozen square of the led virtual screens, redefining the
self by one click. This virtual world is made on the principles of the moving image spiced with
audio, interactivity and English language. Does verisimilitude of the moving image in the selfie
culture emerge from the documentarism quest for accuracy in transplanting the reality onto the
screen? Before the LED or touch screen there was the silver screen.

Immediacy and the Documentary Truth

Ever since the prehistory of the film, influences of the celluloid narratives on its audience
are registered and this new medium, at first considered nothing more than an entertainment tool,
showed that the slights of hand can have considerable convincing power. After seeing, what’s
considered to be the first film, brother Lumière’s The arrival of the Train at La Ciotat in 1895,
people jumped out of their seats believing that the train will enter the screening room when
approaching in the close up shot to the camera. Broadcasting of the H. G. Well’s interpretation of
The War of the Worlds in 1983 by Orson Wells, making people believe that the actual aliens are
invading earth, caused mass hysteria in USA. Documentation of the train arrival to the station by
brothers Lumière is copy pasting the real life. On the other hand A Trip to the Moonfrom 1902
makes its own reality. This discrepancy between fantasy and realism is evident at the beginning of
film, but also accurate and applicable today within the complex genre system of film storytelling.
Nevertheless, the realism or mimetic quality of moving images is its inherent and main feature.
Phenomenological origin of the television as the mass media is based on the principals of the film
and its “documentarity”. As predicted by McLuhan in the 60s the next medium that will emerge
might represent the extension of our conscious mind and would surely include television as one
of its contents creating the artistic forms in it. Besides the realism that is the desire to copy paste
the reality truthfully (that is also a subject to debate whether the film and TV as media can really
achieve this mission), another important feature of the media and documentarism inherent to
selfie culture is the claim for immediacy.

The thing under our fingertips on the screen to the world must be LIVE and NOW! The
selfies taken have the quality defined by how many seconds they are younger then the last ones
posted. WiFi enables these requirements.

“In digital media today as in modern art in the first half of the century, the medium
must pretend to be utterly new in order to promote its claim of immediacy. It must
constitute itself as a medium that (finally) provides the unmediated experience that
all previous media sought, but failed to achieve. This is why each innovation on the

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 World Wide Web must be represented by its promoters as a revolution. ing audio,
ing video, Java, VRML - each of these cannot merely improve what the Web offered
before but must „reinvent” the Web” (Bolter & Grusin, 2000, 270).

Media Studies created a term for media that evolved to include human and digital
technologies, personalized computers, multimedia contents and forms, interactivity, Internet
and real time (Live) participation in the processes of communication. With these tools New
Media provided democratization and active participation, making the creators also be at the
receiving end of communication (consumers), and vice versa. Most theoreticians of New Media,
such as Shapiro (1999), suggest that the control of information will be radically changed in favor
of participants making communication open to everyone. Everyone is included and our culture
and lifestyle radically changes.

Illustration 4.

“If web home pages were sites of self-presentation or identity construction through the
bricolage of interests, images and links, then personal blogs and social network profiles could
be seen to add an ongoing identity performance both individually and collectively, driven by
Web 2.0 technologies or multimedia, content management, network building and persistent
communication” (Lister et al., 2009, pp. 268-269). The work of Alexander R. Galloway (2006)
unveils the myth about the free and open New Media by analyzing the engineering behind the
network protocols. It offers evidence on how the online media is more controlling than classical
media and how it is even designed for surveillance. The postmodern “logic of selection” (Manovich,
2001) explains that users (media participants) have “Photoshop power” previously reserved only
for producers of entertainment, art and visual media. The same Photoshop shaping of reality is
used by those in control of new media, according to their logic of selection of information which
is based on cultural and political background, which is nowadays shaped by visual or multimedia
content presented in New Media, corporate-owned TV and online media.

524
 Illustration 5.

We are actively participating in the social media, but have little control over the shaping of
the context of the posted self-content. Who knows if it’s real even of its ed live? Immediacy does
not guarantee the reality. Authenticity is closely linked to the question of truth in virtual reality.
As is the documentary film viewed as artistic expression.

“In the twentieth century, cinema played two roles at once. As a media technology, its role
was capture and store visible reality. The difficulty of modifying images at once recorded precisely
what lent it value as a document, assuring its authenticity. The same rigidity has defined the limits
of cinema as a „super-genre” of live-action narrative. Although cinema includes within itself a
variety of styles- the results of the efforts of numerous directors, designers, and cinematographers-
these styles share a strong family resemblance. They are all children of a recording process that
uses lenses, regular sampling of time, and photographic media. They are all children of a machine
vision” (Manovich, 2001, 307).

Steyerl draws on Michel Foucault and Sigfried Krakauer for the „politics of truth as production
of truth, distinguishing true statements from false ones, and fixing procedures of the production
of truth. Truth is thus always also politically regulated.” He further explains the difference between
truth „in-itself ” and „being-for-self ” as dialectically suspended finishing with the familiar joke
from Marx Brothers film Duck Soup „Who are you going to believe – me or your own eyes?” Power
is thus always above the truth. The so called “redemptions” of reality are possible in Krakauer’s and
Godard’s views, according to Steyerl (2003), but only within technological possibilities of the new
media (cinema taken as moving pictures with sound at the period). “The moving-image culture
is being redefined once again; cinematic realism is being displaced from the dominant model to
merely one option among many” (Manovich, 2001, 307). It is no longer elitist or even interesting
curiosity. Everyone has a camera. Everyone wants better resolution. HD has become the imperative.
Thus the truth is all around us. Did the quality of the content on the screen really improve with its
resolution? Or it is the quantity that makes the addicts on cyber and TV culture?

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 Illustration 6.

In 2014, NGC pilots a documentary series “Science of Stupid” that consists of the host’s
comments and the selfie video of the human stupidity and crashes. Serious ones. Life endangering
ones. Where does this leave the feature of the production of the documentary film if producers
only job is to collect selfie on the spot images and videos? Are they real? Real enough. Are they
authentic? Of course. The wrong light, blurs, unprofessional camera work. They are documents
of the reality. Do we believe them? Yes.

“The answer lies in their lack of focus, their uncertainty. This lack of focus does
not only give the images the desired feel of authenticity; it is also very revealing, if
one looks more closely. Because by now, this type of image has become ubiquitous.
We are surrounded by rough-cut and increasingly abstract “documentary” images,
shaky, dark, or out-of-focus, images that show little else than their own excitement.
The more immediate they become, the less there is to see. They evoke a situation of
permanent exception and constant crisis, a state of heightened tension and vigilance.
The closer to reality we get, the less focused and jumpier the image becomes. Let us
call this the uncertainty principle of modern documentarism” (Steyerl, unknown).

So, modern documentarism is the main characteristic of selfism on social networks. The
realism in film (documentary and feature alike) thrives to present the world as the real one,
in which all the narrative elements (plot, situation, characters, conflicts, locations, etc.) stand
on their own within the organized structure of the story conducted by that own world’s rules.
Realism as a self-effacing form of storytelling draws on the general tendency in much art to
hide the process of its own making in favor of the impression that the world it represents
exists on its own, autonomously. Even latter stylistic features in film, such as modernism and
postmodernism, are relating to one simple quality of film: it has to be real to be convincing. But,
“documentary images are so powerful because there is no more unbroken belief in their truth.”
(Steyerl, unknown) For Dziga Vertov, father of creative documentarism, the camera and editing

526
are equal in the process of filmmaking and by reformulation of the reality; a new, more perfect
reality is born, seen through the cinematic, as well as human lenses of the creator of the film. His
famous statement: “Life caught unawares” refers to the ability of film to be perfect as opposed to
the imperfections of human eyesight. “The mutability of digital data impairs the value of cinema
recordings as documents of reality. In retrospect, we can see that twentieth-century cinema’s
regime visual realism, the results of automatically recording visual reality, was only an exception,
an isolated accident in the history of visual representation, which has always involved, and now
again involves, the manual construction of images. Cinema becomes a particular branch of
painting- painting in time. No longer a kino-eye, but a kino-brush” (Manovich, 2001, pp. 307-
308).

This cinema-eye perfection enables the creator to reinvent the perfect reality (or a new
one) according to his own ideas and the messages that he wants the audience to be focused on.
Therefore, the quest for the truth in documentarism failed. Did it also happen to selfie culture
images on our social media?

“To use a metaphor from computer culture, new media transforms all culture and cultural
theory into an ‘open source.’ This opening up cultural techniques, conversations, forms and
concepts is ultimately the most promising cultural effect of computerization - an opportunity to
see the world and the human being anew, in ways that were not available to „a man with a movie
camera” (Manovich, 2001, 333).

In „Utopia of a Tired Man” (Borges, 2000, 102-113), there is a philosophical review of

our media reality and the humans in the future within the context of journalistic sensation and
advertising industry. The consequence of this journalism is the loss of basic norms of truth and
instead there is a victory and celebration of what is only peripheral and persuasive (as viewed
from only one lens of the truth and reality). The selfie culture is exactly epitome of this prediction.
If we put truth, reality, power of persuasion and immediacy aside, are selfies (even if used in
documentary series) important? Do they contribute to the world and film / TV history? Are they
worthy of our attention? Is selfie culture rigging our attention to superficiality and paraphernalia?

Culture of Selfism

We like, tweet, post, share, upload, download believing that the self has reached the
fulfillment through our internet connection to the world. The connections to social networks
define our virtual self. Human self turns to mechanical self. We surf, but do not dive. Massive
floods of data and information, half-truths are always at our fingertips, making us lazy for action
or deep thinking. The cyber world is taking over our human capacities for real life debate and
culture. Note the funny illustration.

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 Illustration 7.

“The media has a central role; to provide the forum for the debate, much of the content and
evidence, and the two-way channels through which informed decisions can be made… Beyond its
role in encouraging consumption in general, media is a hungry machine that demands enormous
inputs of energy and commodities for its daily survival... As our ancient ancestors understood,
technological advance and media remain our most potent tools in the challenge to reverse what
should be our most pressing concerns” (Creeber & Martin, 2009, 163).

This is the prevailing question in Media Studies: Does it really provide debates of the
freedom to choose what has previously been chosen? Phenomenon of liking is interfering with
our human capacity to think and judge. We choose what has already been laid out in front of us.
The self is also being changed according to what is offered for us to like, tweet and share. Soon
we will only memorize the passwords and profile logins. As we belong to the selfie culture, like
consumers with credit cards that consume in order to fulfill the self, and not share with others.
Look at the funny illustration of this argument.

Illustration 8.
528
 “Look around. Can there be any doubt that selfishness has conquered this world
and most of its people? Individualism has undermined cooperation, devastated
intimacy, and corrupted spirituality. Devotion to self-interest has virtually become
the universal religion: ‘selfism’ (the worship of self). Entire generations of children
have grown up believing that self comes first. Even when selfism ruins our lives,
undermines our relationships, and obsoletes our highest ideals, we still bow down
to the idol of self. The new way of spiritual life offers way too much rope for the ego
to hang us with” (Truman, 2015).

What better way to partake in this growing culture but “to selfie”! According to sometimes
ironical definitions of Urbandictionary.com, “Selfists do not believe in a god, but believe that
each person is their own god. Selfism practices toleration of others. This is because if each person
believes in themselves, people should celebrate their beliefs because it is a part of them. And they
are a god (BUT they are not your god)” (Gee, 2011).

Rushing to be connected and chasing little connection bars is not just social fashion, but
necessity for survival and belonging to new culture based on the WiFi technology and audio-
visual language. Self needs the environment to determine and fulfill itself.

And we get the feeling of fulfillment. Documentarism adds to this feeling. Images “are
all about an admixture of panic and excitement that comes from the feeling of being there...
documentary forms create false intimacy and even false presence. They familiarize us with the
world but give us no possibility for taking part in it” (Steyerl, post date unknown). Authenticity
of the documentarism in selfie culture on social networks gives the false feeling of security and
group structuring. Anonymous “on-the-go” individuals are participants in the interactive cyber
communication. But, who controls the “clouds”? And how do we understand each other in this
culture based on documnetarism of “mechanic vision” technology platform?

Selfie Culture and Communication

“From clocks to telegraphs to radio and television, new media have always woven
themselves into everyday life, interfering with existing patterns of spatiotemporal organization,
generating new rhythms and spaces. The migration of computer technology from industry and
research laboratory to the home over the past thirty years or so has intensified these processes”
(Lister et al., 2009, 237). Visual language or cinematic language of new media platform for selfie
culture is pictographic. Reachable and understandable it fulfills the basic communication needs.
But for anything deeper, the human language is inevitable. And the universal language of new
media technologies is English.

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 One of the most important elements for identification of the culture is the language.
Which language speaks the owner of the sky where the clouds are set? Universal language of
moving image or documentarism in photography is ultimate communication tool. Therefore, the
pictography and universally popular glyphing is prevailing in selfie culture, breeding illiteracy
and ignorance. Note the funny illustration on mail communication.

Illustration 9.

This is our new culture based on technology of cinematic phenomenon and cyber reality
of new media.

“All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political,
economic, atheistic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences that they leave no part
of us untouched, un affected, unaltered. The medium is the message. Any understanding of social
and cultural change is impossible without knowledge of the way media work as environments.
All media are extensions of some human faculty - psychic or physical” (McLuhan, 1967, 26).

This is evident in the English and pictographic language of new media. Its purpose is to
establish communication codes for understanding. That way media is the message as well and
psychic extension of self (adding the physical dimension to it – the camera). Basic characteristics
of our new communication are: cinematic vision, pictography and English language (the Sky
Lord). Is new selfie culture trying to make new Babylon tower? New universal language and
culture where self is the god himself? Invasion of new technologies changed our everyday life,
and our communication codes respectively.

“The intense excitement generated by new media forms such as the World Wide
Web and Virtual Reality in the late 1980s and early 1990s has waned as such media

530
 have become a part of commonly experienced media world. However, the notion of
‘cyberspace’ as a separate, emancipatory (or more often, threatening) realm within,
yet distinct from, everyday media culture persists. Journalists routinely affirm the
apartness of Internet media such as chartrooms and social networking sites articles
on the ominous implications for children and young people” (Lister et at., 2009, 241).

The feature of documentarism of this new cyber culture is persuasive by nature. It is filled
with stereotypes and ideologies as much as any other human communication. Simplification of
pictography makes it even more political incorrect, especially towards s who do not belong to it.
(As with those who do not have the access to it or are on the other side of political truth of the
documentarism). “Form, ideology, and politicizing effects enjoy a shifting, unstable relationship
that is best understood when located in relation to a given historical moment and particular
audience” (Nichols, 2010, 324). Selfie culture is generating its own ideologies that spin around the
tribal stereotypes of self-expression.

Coming back to the question of reality and mimetic quality of the truth represented (even if
stereotyped) in documentary film, this certainty stands: feature of documentarism (whether it is
documentary, TV or social networking selfitis) does not present, but represent the world around
us. Steyerl raises this question with the answer “Maybe. One can, however, be certain that it
presents its own context by expressing it” (Post date unknown). Therefore, selfie documentarism
expresses and stands for the accuracy backed up by selfie culture.

Concluding with Question Marks

Is this new selfie culture based on mechanical vision and documentarism of cinema
language of moving pictures and pictography going to swallow other smaller cultures and
finish the Babylon Tower? Are anonymouses connected to it only tools for decision creators
or sky owners? Is selfism, as a disease and cultural phenomenon the glue that fixes and pushes
forward the development of new technologies and consequently inventing new media? If this
new documentarism based selfie culture generates the new diagnosis, does it stand on unhealthy
ground of cyber world to being with? With every share, upload, or selfie, are we further from the
definition of self as human? Is self reinvented in this new culture? Does it have the fertile soil to
grow as a culture or is it destroying the very essence of reality and humanity? Is the expressive
force of documentarism in selfie culture redefining the culture, media as well as the father of
new media social networking – the documentary film? Or is it close to extinction? Both, the
documentary forms of expression and reality within. Is Self reinvented or obliterated in the cyber
reality of selfie culture?

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References

Anonymous (2014). American psychiatric association makes it official: ‘selfie’ a mental disorder.
Retrieved from: http://adobochronicles.com/2014/03/31/american-psychiatric-
association-makes-it-official-selfie-a-mental-disorder/comment-page-1/

Anonymous (2014b). ‘Selfitis,’ ‘Cyberespionage,’ ‘Protoplanet’ newest words in oxford dictionaries.

Retrieved from: http://adobochronicles.com/2014/04/18/selfitis-cyberespionage-
protoplanet-newest-words-in-oxford-dictionaries/

Bill Nichols, Engaging Cinema: An Introduction to Film Studies, New York, London: W.W. Norton
& Company Inc. 2010.

Bolter, Jay David, and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media Cambridge MA
& London: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2000. Print.

Borges, J. L. (2000). Knjiga od pijeska. Zagreb: Zabregačka naklada.

Creeber, Glen, and Roystonm Martin, eds. Digital Cultures : Understanding New Media Berkshire,
New York: Open University Press, McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Galloway, A. R. (2006). Protocol: How control exists after decentralization. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Gee, Kathy (2011). Selfizm. Urban Dictionary. Retrived from: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

define.php?term=Selfism

Horrocks, Christopher (2001): Marshall McLuhan i virtualnost. Zagreb: Naklada Jesenski i Turk,
Znanost u džepu

Lister, Martin, et al. New Media : A Critical Introduction First published 2003. 2 ed. London, New
York: Routledge, 2009. Print.

Manovich, Lev. The Language of New Media. Leonardo Books. Ed. Malina, Roger F. Cambridge
MA & London: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2001. Print.

Steyerl, Hito. (2003). Documentarism as Politics of Truth. Retrieved from: http://eipcp.net/

transversal/1003/steyerl2/en

Steyerl, Hito. (unknown). The Uncertainty of Documentarism. Retrieved from: http://chtodelat.

org/b8-newspapers/12-55/the-uncertainty-of-documentarism/

Truman, David (unknown) The Rise and Folly of Selfism. Web site. Retrieved from: http://www.
soulprogress.com/html/ArticlesFolder/Articles/RiseAndFollySHORT.shtml

Group of authors - Illustrations (2015). 22+ funny illustrations proving that the world has turned
for worse. Retrieved from http://www.boredpanda.com/differences-between-now-and-
then/ on July 7, 20115. Authors noted in the body of illustration.

532
New Trends and Challenges in
Today’s Europe
◆

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
 The Importance of Information Technology and Competition
In Terms of Changes in Management Effects

Atila Karahan & Rifat İraz

Selçuk Universi, Turkey

ABSTRACT

Since the beginning of our time mankind has been in a constant struggle of existing with
intolerable attraction of transformation and harmony. With the industrial revolution and the
advancement of the information technologies, 20th century has seen the biggest evolution ever
since Adam and Eve. As the societies, enterprises also took its share and became one of the key
elements in advancement. To be able to get their cut from the cake that we call life, enterprises
have entered a tough fight and with every passing day competition is escalating. To be able to keep
up with the opposition enterprises have to match the contemporary requirements by integrating
their structure with modern management understanding and up to date technologies. In the
virtually final phase of technological evolution, ‘’Information’’ concept constitutes a critical part
of advancement. Under these circumstances Information Technologies is a requirement in today’s
understanding of development. Today, among the factors that determine the competitiveness of
information and knowledge changes in technologies that may affect the business and versatile.
That of enterprises they are required to estimate the impacts by monitoring changes. Because
these changes the importance of obtaining the competitiveness of compliance, and gradually
increasing with each passing day it is becoming more strategic location. In this study, the
competitiveness of information technology the impact of management changes referring to the
importance of centipede are highlighted. In this study knowledge, knowledge production and
management and the strategic use of information in competition is being evaluated.

Key words: knowledge management, knowledge age, organizational knowledge

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 Introduction

Information, along with its core changes, alters the systems, humans, institutions and
technologies quickly. With the effect of the rapid Changes, all of the rules of business world are
regenerated from top to bottom. Information as the most valuable thing of our world is the core
of the companies and the determinant of competition structure. The importance of information
in competition and the importance of competition in the information, which is one of the most
important ways to survive in the war of competition, are increasing. Information makes change
stronger when it is used with the technology and provides incredible competition opportunities
for the companies who have the change to apply it (Ekinci, 2006: 1).

To produce information, working upon the findings, and to get the data on application
should be the priorities of every director. Due to the fast changing environment of companies,
even hours are vital for harmonization. With the effect of the improvements in information
technologies, when there are changes in the way of doing business and customer expectations,
there are also changes in the qualification and severity of the competition because of new
companies due to the non-bordered trade (Samaddar and Kardiyala, 2005; İraz, 2000: 207). The
rapid changes increase the occurrences of danger for the businesses.

For the businesses that are incapable of identifying the danger caused by the changes,
to create an opportunity for them will have troubles on competition in changing business
environment (Ekinci, 2006: 1). In our world, along with the other factors, providing a competitive
advantage in national and international markets for businesses mainly connected with gathering
information, commenting and ability to use commented outcomes.

The operation of decision making bodies increases and they can achieve their goals
quickly if they can use the needed information in time and in the right way. For many businesses,
information technologies are more than a supportive function for the organizations, but now it
has a structural and strategic role (Bresnahan, 1998; Çetinkaya ve Şimşek, 2008: 3).

Development regarding information technologies in organizations contributed to

production, management and performance, and had become an inevitable factor to increase
the productivity. Information technologies no longer seem to be an organizational expenditure,
however it seems to be a strategic source changing the way of the sector and competition
(Segars ve Grover, 1995; Porter, 1980, 1985; Porter ve Millar, 1985; Çetinkaya ve Şimşek, 2008:
3). The only element providing the marketing value and competitive advantage for businesses
for the age of information is information and all the values of information extensions. And
the only source to protect the superiority of competition in an uncertain economic level is the
information itself. When markets changed, technologic developments increased, competitors

536
increased and products are sold easily, the successful companies are going to be the ones who
have information stabile, have spread it widely to each department and used it in technologies
and products (Nonaka and Ikujiro, 1999; “Bilgi Yaratan Şirket,” Bilgi Yönetimi içinde (29-50)
Ankara: Türkiye Metal Sanayicileri Sendikası, s.30,).

This study is formed upon survival of the businesses which could be achieved with the
link of competition ability and the adaptation of changes in information technologies as a factor
of outer world. Especially, the importance of information technologies for competition is shown
and effects of these technologies on change managements are evaluated.

Relation of information technologies in changes and effects on competition

Society goes into a faster period of time, to information age. In that age, many changes in
variable things, the rise of information and changes in strategic way of thinking are seen for the
businesses are taking place in information society (Zarret ve Malanchuk, 2005; Ekinci, 2006: 2).
Companies that are able to use, gather and create information, which is the basis of technological
improvements, are developing faster and they are having untraceable dimensions in technological
shifts (Dura ve Atik, 2002: 223, Ekinci, 2006: 2). This situation abolishes the border of the power
of competition. All of these improvements are the proofs of the era which is so different from the
past (King vd., 1997; Ekinci, 2006: 2). The interaction and solidarity are more in numbers between
the companies, due to the improvements in information technologies. Thus, existing competition
policies gain speed and this causes a fundamental change among the system of competition in the
world, so to have the superiority in competition, new and comprehensive cooperation systems
are adopted (Porter, 2000: 345; Ekinci, 2006: 2). Since change is coming along with the organized
competition, it is really hard for the companies to cope up with it as individuals. To handle
competition by harmonization for the companies is either by doing cooperation or creating a
strong change management system under their bodies (King vd., 1997 Ekinci, 2006: 2). Nowadays,
companies should compete in regards of business models. Products and services differ with the
information and intellectual funds. The profitable increase of intellectual quality and information
is clear when changing of the ages from industrial to technologic. Perfect planning, marketing,
high quality product and service, the effective configuration of working customer based and
management of organizational sources are important competitive facts for today’s market.
Information management can create a competitive advantage in global world. By this means, it is
also considered as information management which helps the organization to work more logically
and more beneficially in regard to the organizational performance. Dynamic, complicated, fluid
and live structure of information makes managing it harder. Valid information of the present
could be invalid tomorrow. So, actually information management is a discipline, culture and
shared belief (Naktiyok, 2004; İnce and Oktay, 2006: 21).

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 In our day, the developing information technologies industry not only lowers the price
structure and increases strategic flexibility, but also helps to have benefits from the information
and information creation in organizations competing in dynamic areas. As access to information
is improved, limitations, borders, obstacles and impossibilities are removed and companies
gain the advantage of being the leader of the changes in regard to the global competition
(Henkel, 1997). Today businesses in developed countries, as information is an endogen factor
for their production, get better chances for the competition. These companies are trying to use
digitalization to stay and create information society. These companies, which see internet as a
new way of trade, think that using information is a must for this road (Forman vd., 2004). Thus,
they are using the advantage of information as a tool for their competition by replacing all the
developments of information provided to their businesses. All these developments and changes
heat up the competition more and more and the businesses that are not adopting in the process
are losing the chance of staying live (Glazer, 1991: 8). Term of competition in information age
means usage of information for the aim of competition from the production to design or from
supply to use (Pollalis, 2003).

Building stone of this era is information. In our world where information gets more and
more important, conducting it for the competitive purposes has to be one of the main aims
of the companies. In the near future, where we will carry our computers in our pockets, we
will have interstellar communication, competition tools will change for sure and the superiority
will shift to production and usage of information (Krowstone and Malone, 1988). Businesses
have to do the requirements for the information and its usage which is the key points regarding
the competitive advantage. Because, information and information based technologies create the
most powerful army of businesses for the customer satisfaction.

Use of information in technology that brings out many opportunities and helps developing
relations is the main agent for customer satisfaction and product production (Ho, 1996; Tekin
vd., 2004: 61). For businesses to understand the qualification, structure and dimensions of
change are the firsts step to harmonization. Freedom of the market ensures changes to happen
always regarding the short and long termed problems. So change keeps moving in small and large
changes continuously and, by this reason, companies which manage to harmonize in the process
improve their productivity and power of competition (Glazer, 1991). The skill of making changes
is constant; it not only produces richness but also forms the characteristic of a company upon
their competitors (Koçel 1998: 477).

Conclusion

Rapid developments in information technologies effect companies as well as the daily lives
of everyone and bring out great changes. These technologies forming the basis of getting the best
in competition not only effect business world, but also provide new outcomes and changes.

538
 Information technologies support all the companies to be successful for change
management and cause structural changes. In business world where new changes are happening,
the energy of the company to change information to technology should be used as a way to
manage changes.

So that the dangers of the changes would turn into opportunities and can be used as
advantages of having the best result in competition. Today, many companies adopt the changes
in information technologies to have competitive advantage and can sustain their businesses
even under rough competition environments. The harmonization studies always require time,
effort and knowing the costs and the thrill to apply. For the fight against global competition
and for being better in business world, it is important to remember that investing in tomorrow
is the most profitable type of investment and this is provided only by the information and
information technologies.

References

Bresnahan, J. (1998, Temmuz 15). What good is technology? ‐ GOVERNING I.T. CIO Enterprise
Magazine. http://www.cio.com/archive/enterprise/071598_value_content.html.
Çetinkaya, Ali Şükrü and Şimşek, Mehmet Şerif , 2008. Bilişim Teknolojilerinin İşletme
Performansına Etkileri: Beş Yıldızlı Otellere Yönelik Bir Araştırma, IV. Lisansüstü
Turizm Öğrencileri Araştırma Kongresi: 3-22, 23–27 Nisan 2008, Belek, Antalya,ss.3-7.
Dura, Cihan and Hayriye Atik. Bilgi Toplumu, Bilgi Ekonomisi ve Türkiye, İstanbul: Literatür
Yayıncılık, 2002.
Ekinci, Hasan., Bilgi Teknolojilerinin Rekabet Açısından Önemi ve Değişim Yönetimindeki
Etkilerine İlişkin Yöneticilerin Algılarını Ölçmeye Yönelik Bir Araştırma, Kocaeli
Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi (11) 2006 / 1 : 54-70
Formen, Chris; Avi Goldfarb and Shane Greenstein. “City or Country Where Do Business Use
the Internet?”, Economic Letter. September 2004, No: 2004-24, ss. 1-4.
Glazer, Rashi. “Marketing in An Information Intensive Environment: Strategic Implications of
Knowledge As An Asset”, Journal of Marketing (October 1991), ss. 6-15.
Chin – Fu. “Information Technology Implementation Strategies for Manifacturing Organizations”,
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol., 16, Iss.7 1996, ss.
75-82.
Ikujiro”, Nonaka (1999). “Bilgi Yaratan Şirket,” Bilgi Yönetimi içinde (29-50). Ankara: Türkiye
Metal Sanayicileri Sendikası, s.30.
İnce, Mehmet and Oktay, Ercan “Bilginin Bir Stratejik Güç Olarak Önemi ve Örgütlerde Bilgi
Yönetimi”, S e l ç u k Ü n i v e r s i t e s i K a r a m a n İ.İ.B.F. D e r g i s i, Sayı 10 Yıl 9
Haziran 2006,ss.15-29.

  539
İraz, Rifat. “Bilişim Teknolojilerinin Örgütsel Yapı ve Süreçler Üzerindeki Etkileri Bankacılık
Sektöründe Bir Uygulama”, 8. Ulusal Yönetim ve Organizasyon Kongresi’nde sunulan
bildiri, Nevşehir, 25-27 Mayıs 2000.
King, William R., Varun Graser and Ellen H. Hufnagel, “Using Informational Technology
for Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Some Ampricial Evidence” Informational &
Management. Vol., 17, Iss.2 1997, ss. 85-93.
Koçel, Tamer, İşletme Yöneticiliği. 6. Bası, İstanbul: Beta Yayınevi, Yayın No: 405, 1998.
Krowstone, Kewin and W. Malone. “Information Technology and Work Organizations”,
Operations Research, (May-Jun 1988), ss. 13-21.
Naktiyok A., (2004), İç Girişimcilik, Beta Yayınları, İstanbul.
Pollalıs, Yannis A. “Pattern of Co-Alignment in Information-Intensive Organizations: Business
Performance Through Integration Strategies”, International Journal of Information
Management, Vol., 23, Iss.6, December 2003, ss. 1-9.
Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors.
New York: The Free Press.
Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New
York: The Free Press.
Porter, Michael E., Rekabet Stratejisi: Sektör ve Rakip Analizi Teknikleri. Çev. Gülen Ulubilgen.
İstanbul: Sistem Yayıncılık, Yayın No: 206, 2000.
Segars, A.H. AND Grover, V. (1995, Mayıs ‐ Haziran). The industry‐level impact of information
technology: An empirical analysis of three industries. Decision Sciences, 26(3), 337‐368.
Subhasshısh, Samaddar and Sautha Kadiyala; “Information Systems outsoursing: Replicating an
Existing Framework in a Different Cultural Context” Journal of Operations Management,
30 september 2005, ss.1-22.
Tekin, Mahmut, Mehmet Yıldız AND Esen Boztaş. “Üretim Sistemlerinde Bilginin Entegrasyonu
ve Bilgi Birliğinin Sağlanması”, IV. Ulusal Üretim Araştırmaları Sempozyumu’nda
sunulan bildiri, Konya, 8-10 Ekim 2004.
Zarret, R. Nicole and Oksana Malanchuk, “ Who’s Computing? Gender and Race Differences in
Young Adult’s Decisions to Pursue an Information Technology Career” New Directions
for Child and Adolescent Development no.110, Winter 2005, ss. 65-84.

540
 Strategy of Information Technologies in Turkey

Rifat İraz & Atila Karahan

Selçuk University, Turkey

Abstract

To reach today’s societies from the power and reach of information by keeping the value of
the protection has become very difficult. Information and information technology is extremely
important for communities to have. Because the levels of development of the communities to
have knowledge and information technologies is directly related to effective use. Information
age, especially of our age, and knowing today’s advanced societies as the information society
has brought competitiveness of information between communities and states, particularly
in information technologies have developed and this technology has attracted attention to
enhancement requests. In the information society, in order to provide superiority to the
competitors, the businesses want to keep the information in their hands and benefit from the
information technology. At this point, business departments have an importance at whether the
obtaining of information or the use of information. In the information age, in order to provide
the qualified work force to the institution, the businesses must give importance to the public
relations having a mission to increase the reputation of the institution. In addition, it should be
noted that, institutions where information and communication technologies nowadays make
progress moment by moment will speak to corporate audiences in new ways and will need
public relations professionals to use these technologies in effective way. In this study, it has been
focused on the concepts of information society and knowledge management, public relations in
knowledge-based society is examined theoretically. In this article, the question is dealt with in the
case of rapid changes in information technology engine with science relations in the framework
of the main line, then tried to present the situation in this regard is Turkey.

Key words: technology, competitive, technology policies, knowledge economy

  541
 Introduction

Nowadays developed countries have both kept on today’s power competition and included
themselves in intensive efforts to create the power balances of the future. In this regard, inter-
disciplines, international works and unions have been put on agenda, mutual dependences have
increased, contents and concepts such as technology transfer have been subjected to changes
(Romer,1990; Çiftçi, 2004). In the world market, technology has been spreading rapidly, the basic
requirement of having a place and a share is possible with the importance to the science and
research given by nations, the technological developments in socio-economic structures and the
next developments in social and economical patterns (Oliner and Sichel, 2000; Çiftçi, 2004).

In our age it is true that there is a close relation between economic development and
welfare levels of countries and their science and technology levels. This has made countries take
part in intensive competitions in production of science and technology to fulfill the current age’s
requirements (Fagerberg, J. 1997; Çittçi, 2004). In this environment, Turkey needs to be included
in these competitions and meet these requirements as well. For considering opportunities
in the world markets and using resources in the application fields more effectively, as well as
escalating competitions, that is to say, seeing new opponents, information communication
technologies in technology methods have become firstly privileged and the most importantly
functional (Fagerberg, J. 1996; Çiftçi, 2004). The key of economic competitions is of information
technologies involving progressive technology methods, which seems to be an indisputable
reality today (Orsenigo, L., 1993).

Science and technology policies of Turkey

Within the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan, the vision of today’s national science and
technology policy: making Turkey specialize in science and technology production, provide
economic and social benefits, contribute to science and technology, become an informative
society and be respected in the world have been determined as fundamentals, rising scientific
and technological research levels by developing necessary physical and legal infrastructures, and
people in international competitions has been targeted. Within the Eighth Five-Year Development
Plan; the Re-De activities in the progressive application field such as biotechnology, genetic
engineering, information and communication technologies including software at first, new
materials, space science and technologies, nuclear technology, technologies benefiting from seas
and submarines, great science and clean energy technologies have been identified as basic areas.
University-public-private sectors must be encouraged for Re-De initiatives, priorities must be
given to projects with regional and local characteristics and projects to be applied (Çiftçi, 2004).

Dating from 1970s, following rapid developments in Information and Communication

Technologies, the global ICT sectoral greatness reached 4, 1 trillion dollars in 2011. The magnitude

542
of the sector in Turkey was estimated to be 30, 3 billion dollars. Even though the share for both
population and economy of our country with the 17th economy of the world as an economic size
is over 1% all around the world, its share in global ICT market is 0,75%, this signs that the sector
has a growth potential in our country. When sub-sectors of ICT market in Turkey is examined,
the Information Technologies sector with its share of 0,4% in global market seems to have a higher
growth potential. Information and Communication Technologies sector is a horizontal sector
which affects all industries in economics, increases and facilitates productivity. Productivity
and innovation are the most fundamental items of the growth in the world changing from the
industry society in which capital is important to the information society in which information is
important. ICT plays an important role for developing current and new-developed technology,
presenting work fields with innovations, and increasing productivity and competitiveness. In EU
countries, the results of field researches in various years show that ICT is the most important
factor in product, service and process innovations (Yased, 2012).

Turkey pays attention to substantial, great numbers in IT sector. IT sector developed in

Turkey while recession was experienced in developed countries such as EU because of the global
crisis in 2009. Turkey had a higher development rate than Brazil and Russia among the BRIC
countries in 2009-2010, became one of the countries which showed much more developments in
IT sector in 2009. VAT reduction has been known to support this development not to be affected
in sector from the crisis (Yased, 2012).

Productivity and innovation increases in sectors which use ICT intensively represent
contributions to economic development through total factor productivity when the share of
sector in country economy increases. Within this report, the studies show that it will make
development contributions of 1, 8 units to total economy when ICT sector rises as 1 unit in
Turkey. In this regard, the sector is estimated to make contributions of 71 billion dollars only
via total factor productivity increase when ICT share reaches at 8% in GDP of 2 trillion dollars
targeted in 2023. Turkey has position as a net importer in terms of ICT products and services;
international trade volume by products and services of ICT sector is 7, 6 billion dollars, its effect
on current deficit is over 2, 5 billion dollars. Investments for the sector will provide the sectoral
growth and reduce current deficit, furthermore, will positively affect the sectors “concerning” the
sector (Yased, 2012).

ICT sector, which is very significant for Turkey, is expected to have growth of 160 billion
dollars in 2023. This indicates that the sector needs an annual growth as approximately three
times of the current growth rate (15%) in next ten years. For achieving this aim, it is necessary to
clear issues which firstly prevent the sector from having development potentials. For determining
these fields, the following titles come first as a result of interviews and studies with shareholders
of the sector (Yased, 2012):

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 • Lack of Qualified Labour Force
• High Tax Rates
• Unpredictable Arrangements
• Price-Based Tender Policies and Low Profit Margins Resulting from Price Competition
• Lack of Initiative Capital
• Fikri Mülkiyet Hakları ile İlgili İhlaller
• Lack of University – Industry Cooperation
• Lack of Promotions

All these items which prevent the sector from having potentials, negatively affect the
tendency for investment in the sector in spite of all demographical and logistic advantages
provided by the country. The sector cannot have the share on which international and local
investors must focus. The importance of investments for developing the sector is ultimately great
in terms of not only financing but also information and experience share. Especially, encouraging
international investors from all sizes, from venture funds to large scale investments will both
provide opportunities to international information and technology transfer and develop our
potentials to fulfill the demands in the outer markets by increasing the recognition level of
Turkish enterprises and companies abroad (Yased, 2012).

Turkey needs to be a regional base in order to meet the demands and needs of the foreign
markets as well as the internal market, to be positioned in order to respond to technology product
and service needs of many countries by using the advantages of current geography and its own
young population. For Turkey to be “an information base” in the region, like in many examples of
the countries, a strategical viewpoint must be given to the needs of the sector. For improving the
investment environment in the sector, the relevant solution suggestions must be applied without
losing time. In addition to the list dealt in more details and included in the graphics above within
this report, the main parts of the relevant suggestions are as follows (Yased, 2012):

Disseminating venture fund culture: The importance of venture fund becomes foremost in
structures based on innovations especially like ICT sector, different from the traditional work
models.

Meeting the qualified staff need: Even though there is a young population in our country,
there are some serious problems pointed out by actors in the sector, like that the number of
qualified worker to meet the needs of the sector is limited and the qualified ones are much more
only in our big cities such as Istanbul and Ankara.

Focusing on value added solutions instead of prices in competition in the sector: Turkey’s
information strategies market has a sectional structure involving lots of companies which adapt
price based competition as a strategy although it is not sustainable. The less number of great

544
actors in the sector puts negative effects on the profitability ratio in the environment in which
competition shifts to price point and threatens the general health of the sector. For preventing
price based competition in the sector, it is important to tell value added provided by sectoral
products and services to user companies in details.

Improving incentive and support programs: State incentive and support mechanisms have
been regularly used as strategic means in many countries such as Ireland, Israel and India which
have grown owing to information sector from 1970s to today. Many support and incentive
mechanisms successfully applied in these countries have been developed in Turkey and started
to be applied especially after 2007.

Conclusion and evaluation

Turkey’s economy is among the countries with low performance in the framework of
science and technology policies. This situation shows itself in both general production structure
and product structure of export structures. The main reasons of this recession are that Turkey is
poor in competitive power indicators and it does not give enough importance to issues increasing
technological developments. It has not provided the conditions attractive for competition and has
applied wrong competition and technology policies. We can sign that there are two important
reasons for this situation. The first one is that it has not reached an effort level except for import
in technological effort levels as a natural result of adapting a closed economic structure for long
periods. The second one is to keep away from an effective structure in the framework of science
and technology policies. This situation is clear at both Re-De expenses, patent numbers and other
technological indicators.

Turkey must increase its competitive power by observing technology policies immediately
and having high technologies of the future. It is not surprising to have these results when economy
does not give enough importance and transfer necessary sources to scientific and technological
developments. Behind this development, there are important effects of an economic system
protective and closed until last periods. Direct technology transfer policies are dominant at the
base of industrial production activities, structures aimed at developing in such an economic
system and this development can prevent national industry from producing technology. A
closed economic system does not also represent any need for renovating-developing industrial
products which do not create any anxiety for market and innovation; it ignores Re-De activities
and inhibits a feeling of needs in this field (Kavrakoğlu, 2002).

Turkey has great opportunities for achieving 2023 ICT objectives. When examined the
improvement fields mentioned in some parts of our report before and solution suggestions
developed for these fields, the sector is predicted to follow a great way in order to have real

  545
potentials, and go on making contributions for competitiveness and economic growth in our
country. Not only the sector must be an industry which only fulfills national demands, but also
it must have information base structure which makes innovation export to foreign countries in
order to have growth of 160 billion dollars in 2023. Turkey has labor force potentials, appropriate
geographical position, developed logistic infrastructure and relatively suitable cost structure and
high potentials for succeeding its aims (Yased, 2012).

References

Çiftçi, Hakkı, 2004, Türkiyenin Bilim ve Stratejisi, Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler
Enstitüsü Dergisi, Cilt:13, Sayı,1.
Fagerberg, J. (1996), “Technology and Competitiveness”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 3,
s.41.
Fagerberg, J. (1997),”Competitiveness, Scale and R&D”, Technology and International Trade,
Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 3, s.39.
Kavrakoğlu, S. (2002), İstanbul Sanayi Odası, Rekabet Stratejileri.
Oliner, S.D. and D.E.Sichel (2000), “The Resurgence of Growth in the Late 1990s: Is Information
Technology the Story”, Journal of Economic Perspectives,14, s.19 Orsenigo, L.(1993), “The
Dynamics of Competition in a Science-based Technology: the case of Biotechnology”,
Pinter Publishers,Londra , s.43.
Orsenigo, L. (1993), “The Dynamics of Competition in a Science-based Technology: the case of
Biotechnology”, Pinter Publishers, Londra , s.43.
Romer, P.M. (1990), “Endogenous Technological Change”, Journal of Political Economy, 98, s.73
Yased, 2012, Uluslararası yatırımcılar derneği.

546
New Trends and Challenges in
Today’s Europe

CULTURAL STUDIES
 New Trends and Key Challenges of Tourism in North-Western Bosnia

Nermina Alibegović
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Tourism has become a major industry with standardized mass production of package
holidays and various similar services. Within the context of new trends in Europe, tourism and its
development play a magnificent role. Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its diversity of geographical
position, nature beauties, culture and people, is becoming a fruitful source for many tourism
opportunities. This paper briefly describes and discusses the trends of tourism in North-Western
Bosnia; what the real touristic offer is and is it enough in this contemporary Eastern Europe.
Authorities in North-Western Bosnia are emphasizing the importance of tourism development in
their strategic documents, but are they aware of its challenges and needs? Practical case is drawn
from mentioned part of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to exemplify potential opportunities
and on the other side, potential challenges and issues which are similar across Europe. Sustainable
development is the key note of many European trends and in tourism it has to be the final goal.
This article will start from the term “sustainability” which is the first challenge in North-Western
Bosnia, if many obstacles are taken into account. Each of these obstacles/challenges would be
identified as interrelated and would show if they are the result of the complexity of implementing
globalized change in contemporary societies.

Key words: North- Western Bosnia, tourism, sustainability, challenges, development

Introduction

Tourism and its definition are related to the circular movement that has its starting and
ending point. Tourism is undergoing constant and rapid change at both, the international and
domestic market. Tourists today are sophisticated, eager to see more and to feel excitement,
but, on the other side, immersed in the past and history, looking at the roots of civilization, its
  549
cultural and historical heritage and tradition. Anything that is new, unknown, exciting and far
away represents the backbone of tourism development in 21st Century. Development and rise of
tourism importance in contemporary society leads to new ways of thinking about tourist activities,
offers and trends. John Urry, one of the most important tourism theorists in sociology, highlights
the importance of phenomenon of tourism emphasizing that today we do not have a country
that does not send nor receives tourists (2000). Tourism has to be researched in broader cultural
context of contemporary modern society, taking into account not only its functional aspects (such
as leisure and vacation), but also motivations, roles, relationships among various institutions that
are responsible for tourism development and in the end its effect on tourists. As per Štifanić (2002),
contemporary tourism develops as consumer activity, while local culture, local communities and
environment are becoming places of touristic consumption and factors of touristic offer.

World Tourism Organization (WTO) stated that the tourism is the largest and fastest
growing industry in the world. Huge increases in international travels are representing the
outcome of increased leisure time, improved access and infrastructure, changes in political
structures, erosion of international borders and, in the end, almost endless accessibility
of knowledge through increased use of internet (2007). Also, if the tourism is managed and
regulated accordingly and in a proper way, it could be of great importance and a big catalyst for
a positive change in one country or community. In their articles and researches, Boniface and
Fowler are emphasizing that at the hearth of sustainable and well developed tourism stands a set
of integrated economic, social and cultural values (1993).

This paper will research how and in which way tourism is influencing socio-economic
development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is well known that Bosnian climate, geographic
position its historic and cultural resources are a key attraction for many tourists.

Why tourism in North-Western Bosnia?

Natural and cultural diversity of Bosnia and Herzegovina represents magnet for millions
of potential travelers and visitors to this country. Bosnia and Herzegovina was in the group
of countries with significant tourism development in the last decade. After the war (1990-
1995), return of the offer in the tourism market has been achieved in some areas of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, while the flow of the tourists in some destinations is still very low. The objective of
this paper is to point out the importance and influence of tourism on the regional development
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in this particular case of North-Western part1 of Bosnia, on the
already existing grounds of tourist resources. The policies of social and economic development

1 North-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises territory of cities/municipalities of Jajce,

Banja Luka, Doboj, Drvar, Prijedor, of Una-Sana canton.

550
in this area of country potentiate tourism as a significant factor of development. Many strategies,
action plans and regulations are emphasizing that sustainable development of tourism can be
achieved by activating the human, natural and material resources development, employment and
improvement of payment balance in the country.

Figure 1: Map of North-Western Bosnia

This particular part of Bosnia and Herzegovina is taken as a case study for this paper
because of its specific historic, natural and anthropogenic resources. Better known as “Bosanska
krajina”, name that was awarded to this area of Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman Empire
and name that represented border line with Austro Hungarian Empire. Also, one of the reasons
to take this part for a case study is its insufficient exploration and promotion. Preserved rivers,
forests and water resources (rivers, springs of mineral and thermo-mineral water) are a key
potential for development of this region – development of sports, recreation, vacation, mountain
and eco-tourism.

What is the most amazing in this region are endless greenery country-sides which are
attracting visitors and tourists to this area from year to year. A tremendous amount of crystal
clear water in this area represents a special and unique phenomenon. Rivers such as Una, Vrbas
and Sana are just few of clean sources that are flowing into Sava river. It could be concluded that
the biggest tourist attractions in this area are revolving around their natural resources. At almost
every turn you can find beautiful places for walking, cycling, fishing, hunting or just a place to
rest and enjoy the beautiful natural landscape.

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 Still, tourism is not figured prominently in the economy, especially in this part of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. For example, prediction is that only 4,2% of total revenue is realized through
tourism in Una-Sana canton (Integrated development Strategy of USC 2014:53). It could be
concluded that certain shift in tourism development and management in North-Western Bosnia
exists, but it is going very slowly. It could be concluded that tourism, unfortunately, does not have
a significant place in the state’s economy.

Challenge versus trends in North-Western Bosnia

Many analyses on tourism are mostly concerned with the macro state plans, long-term
and multiplicative effects with all their consequences on tourism development. This paper will
narrow down its focus and emphasize what are the real challenges of sustainable development
of tourism in one specific area. Since stable political and security environment are indispensable
part of smooth functioning of tourism many theorists and research studies were used in order
to understand what are the key challenges of tourism development (Matthews and Richter 1991,
Richter 1999). Post-conflict situation and ruined country represented unstable platform for
tourism development.

Contrary to that, tourism has begun to be considered as social relation, partly because socio-
cultural impacts of tourism cannot be ignored against the background of mass tourism. Tourism
is the social interaction between tourists as “guests” and residents in the tourist destination as
“hosts”. In that manner, tourism in North-Western Bosnia can be very fruitful, if we bear in mind
kindness and hospitality of the hosts in this specific area of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It could be concluded that two basic fractures exist on this territory when it comes to
tourism development:

1. Institutional structures – which are emphasizing the importance of tourism and its
development. In theory it sounds perfect, but many things have to be implemented. Institutional
structures have to go beyond their promises and stories of sustainable tourism, and start to act as
those who are creators of these stories.

2. “Hosting” structures – which are actually trying to implement and promote sustainable
development in North-western area. These structures are representing inhabitants of this area,
private sector which invests in this area and attracts tourists and visitor.

Along with the worldwide growth of tourism, these two structures are trying to make
common interest in tourism, are intertwining and opposing their opinions to each other and,
at the end, are still just developing basics of tourism. Many factors influence this relationship
among these structures, and some of them will be outlined in next few paragraphs:

552
 Cultural aspects of tourism in North-Western Bosnia

Cultural tourism plays an increasingly important role in tourism development. Timothy is

emphasizing the importance of cultural heritage proclaiming:

“On a global scale, however, far more than half of all journeys away from home have
some connection to living and built culture, or the arts. Cultural heritage tourism
encompasses built patrimony, living lifestyles, ancient artifacts and modern art and
culture.”(Timothy 2011:6)

According to a study conducted by World Tourism Organization, approximately 40% of the

touristic trips are based on cultural tourism. Rich historical and cultural heritage attracts tourists.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is famous with its various cultural fortunes. Being at and
representing the border line of the country, Bosanska Krajina hosted many different cultures like
Roman, Ottoman and European throughout history. Bosanska Krajina offers a mixture of old
and a new world, traditional and modern one, with its many historical artifacts. Old monasteries,
churches, bridges and mosques, together with medieval features are picturesquely describing
richness of culture and history. Banja Luka, Bihać, Old town Ostrožac in Cazin and Old town
in Velika Kladuša are must-see check points in this area, full of historical monuments, old cities
and walls with all its mixtures of former emperors and their cultural inheritances (USAID 2006).

The richness of these sites could be seen as a specific potential for development of cultural
tourism which could be exhibited in “live museums”. Churches, mosques, houses, castles and
walls are not located in one specific place and are not in one specific museum, but located in their
special places with their interesting and vivid stories behind (Papeonik 1995).

It is not enough to have all these perfect historical and cultural sites, it is also important
to take care of them, to preserve them and to make them a catchy instrument for tourists. But
still, they are not properly preserved, or as some of mentioned sites, they are almost completely
derelict and neglected by the state authorities. Legal protection does not always secure proper
and future preservation of these ancient monuments. Regular maintenance, prevention of
deterioration and decay should be integral part of every management. The Commission to
Preserve National Monuments should assume greater authority and help in the development and
preservation of all these sites. Also, this Commission should encourage and help to the city and
municipal authorities in order to develop all these sites into one specific and unique package that
could be offered to visitors. Satisfaction with the tourist offer is mostly related to the possibility of
conducting a pleasant family holidays, with personal security and hospitality of the hosts.

Another perspective on cultural tourism in North-Western Bosnia is the question where

the visitors can get the information about which site to visit, how to get to certain place and will
  553
there be a tour-guide who will give them all the necessary data and information they need. Even
though this area has many things to offer, unfortunately organization and coordination of possible
tour trips is completely unrecognized. Tourist boards of every city and municipalities as those
institutional structures should spend a lot of time and effort into promotion and development of
their sites. They should develop some common and joint programs for the visitors and offer them
more than just sightseeing of the old infrastructure. Little or nothing has been done on this issue.

Their joint programs could contribute to the establishment of a completely new, united
economic order that will help in eliminating all these widening gaps between developed and less
developed sites in the country and area. Within the political and economic complex situation and
structures that exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina, tourism could represent the catalyst of political-
economic change. Cultural tourism can be defined as a sort of propaganda tool that will make an
influence on tourist but also the public opinions of citizens and decision maker.

Nature-based tourism

Status of still unknown tourist destination could be a key advantage for tourism development
of North-Western Bosnia. Its natural resources, potential for outdoor tourism and favorable
geographic position are the predetermination for successful development of tourism sector. It is
necessary to consider the tourist geographical position of this area of Bosnia and Herzegovina
which, in a certain sense, represents the position and a special relationship of specific individual
attractions and places of connected routes (Ćomić, Jović and Popović 2008).

All the natural potentials (climatic, bio-geographical, and hydrographic) located in the
European center represent the tourist resources that are suitable for the development of various
forms of tourism: health, eco and rural tourism, hunting and fishing, sports and adventures
tourism. Described as an area with high-value natural resources – rivers, mountains, waterfall,
unique flora and fauna and great scenic beauty, North-Western Bosnia attract tourists who seek
emotional and spiritual connections with nature. Better known as “destination area” this part of
Bosnia and Herzegovina offers many interesting and valuable opportunities and resources.

One among them, which should be mentioned, is the existence of National park “Una”2.
Based on existence of natural richness, this park was established in 2008 and encompasses the
upper of Una river and Unac river. One out of three national parks in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
this one should represent the backbone for tourism development in this area. Una’s waterfalls,
purity and sharpness are highlighting the park. Park is surrounded with rich cultural-historic
heritage and numerous archeological sites, many of them dating from prehistoric period) for

2 More on http://nationalpark-una.ba/eng/index.php

554
example Japodian culture3. Among the historical treasures of the region are the Roman fort
Milančeva kula, Rmanj Monestry in Martin Brod, many medieval fortresses like Ostrovica in
Kulen Vakuf and the Ostrožac Castle. It is especially important to emphasize the connectivity
of the river Una, as the basic natural phenomena intended to protect the local population that
resides in this area for centuries, which recognized the value of the river and the area for their
own survival, and its uniqueness, which is valuable for preserving local and regional level. This
special relationship between the river Una and their local population is one of the important
characteristics valuable for the preservation and protection of the area and a great potential for
development of nature-based tourism.

Figure 2: National park Una - Waterfall Štrbački buk

This area has one more park – National Park Kozara4 (in the territory of Banja Luka)
which comprises an easily accessible mountain Kozara (the highest peak is Mrakovica). This park
was proclaimed as a protected national forest in 1967 by Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavian president.
This park is very popular for hunting and herb packing. This National park is famous with its
monument which was built for killed Partisans in Second World War. Today, these two national
parks belong to two different entities, with different legislation and organization.

3 Japodi are Veneto-Illyrian tribal ethno group from the ancient ages. They have lived in the central part
of the Una river valley where they populated wider area of Bosnia and Herzegovinaac city.
4 More on http://www.npkozara.com/index.php?lang=en

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 Figure 3. National park Kozara

This type of tourism, particularly eco and rural tourism with all its accompanying
elements has grown in popularity and that is one of the reasons why visits to this area of Bosnia
are growing up from year to year. With all its offers of excursions to national park and wilderness
areas, rafting tours that are adventurous part of this touristic offer represent all the prerequisites
for the tourism development.

Advantage of this natural offer is based on the fact that all of these resources are free
inasmuch as they have to be built or created, and that economic value and income can be
derived from all these resources which for now have limited use. Balance of the competencies
in conversation with all the local stakeholders and nature-resource management are the key
challenge and concept that has to be followed in tourism development.

Nature-based tourism considers also preserving of the integrity of the natural environment.
North-Western Bosnia with all its touristic offers did not cover the protection and preservation
segment when it comes to development. Wide territories and wild nature are attraction to many
visitors, but the management is still finding the way of how to protect the environment. This
concern is similar to many underdeveloped touristic areas. It is fair to say that nature-based
tourism is now a permanent part of the touristic offer of North-Western Bosnia and the ability
to balance and synergize the mandate of tourism and environmental preservation represents the
biggest challenge of this phenomenon.

Sustainable tourism development in North-Western Bosnia, does it exist?

Today, tourist movements toward our country and especially North-Western Bosnia have
increased and become more dynamical, but still, that is incomparable and insufficient. Tourism
trends in the world are changing rapidly and tourist desires and expectations are becoming more
demanding. The question is whether one small country with all its natural and cultural treasures

556
can handle all these postmodern requirements and expectations when it comes to sustainable
tourism development.

It is necessary to pay more attention on whole concept of sustainable tourism development,

to look at how is the touristic offer from North-Western Bosnia evaluated in comparison with other
Bosnian destinations. Through that way, competitive tourism advantages of this area together
with its limitations would be proposed. Unfortunately, those reports and research papers with
various comparisons are not done on this particular topic, only some statistical data are prepared
and published. State and all the institutional structures and local promotion agencies (touristic
boards in cities and municipalities for example) often have little planning relationship with local
government action plans and strategies. Many of them are usually focused on promotion, rather
than marketing (which includes “product” protection and its own development) and in general
they are lacking possible influence over private investments in tourism infrastructure, services
and opportunities. The lack of all these “social relations” is causing underdeveloped tourism and
coordination among its actors.

It is important to emphasize the fact that tourism development and promotion represent
the phenomenon of collective decision making, in the sense that the governments should provide
various founding sources while public knowledge and attitudes should play an important role in
implementation of tourism projects (McCool et all.). The issue of implementation of sustainable
development within the context of tourism has its ups and downs at the very beginning because
the sectors dealing with tourism proved to be largely unsuccessful and the adoption of strategies
is more a political process with various conflict resolutions and consensuses. Small scale
entrepreneurs, many of whom are depending on their seasonal nature of business proved to
be more concerned about their incomes then the overall impact their business may have on
the environment and local culture. This vicious circle of many players around development
of sustainable tourism does not have a long term perspective and is far away from sustainable
development.

“The implementation of sustainable development within the context of tourism

has proved to be largely unsuccessful because in most destinations the sector is
extremely fragmented and dominated by small businesses. In tourist areas there is
a “constantly shifting mosaic of stakeholders and value systems and each of these
group has a different view of the role and future of tourism at the destination, and
therefore the adaption of strategies becomes a political process of conflict resolution
and consensus” (McFool et all. 57).

It could be concluded that McFools’ arguments are fully applicable on the example of tourism
in North-Western Bosnia. Interest and willingness to work and develop tourism unconditionally

  557
exists, but the managing part lacks. In order to implement the whole concept of tourism development
on the entire North-western Bosnia it is necessary to follow the proposed research process:

1. Operationally define and summarize the natural and cultural goods in order to classify
them through their aesthetic, cognitive, historical, artistic and cultural properties;
2. Valorize the natural and cultural goods and offers;
3.Unitedly promote usable values of tourism offer.

Conclusion

Tourism is a tool for social and economic development; it is a method for enhancement of
economic opportunities. Many authors argue that tourism is an integrated part of development
decisions in the larger social and economic contexts. When we talk about sustainable tourism, we
are trying to embrace not only the growing societal concerns over certain social and environmental
issues, but also we are taking into account a moral commitment to all future generations.

This paper took only one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina for its topic research, for its
case study in order to describe the existing situation of tourism development in North-Western
Bosnia. Conclusions driven from this area could be applicable to the territory of whole country.
Directing tourism growth toward local needs and opportunities can greatly enhance tourism
values to the community and specific area and can help in creation of sustainable industry. North-
Western Bosnia has resources and essential skills for successful tourism development. Repairable
issue and concern lays in disharmonized and uncoordinated relationship among various existing
managements which want to deal with tourism development. Creating a local tourism industry
has to fit to the local community and its needs.

The question that will stay unanswered is can tourism grow in a sustainable manner? Many
theorists are dealing with this question, and, in this particular case, it is hard to answer. Many
steps have been done for the tourism development. On the other hand, certain field works and
research are needed in order to see how sustainable this tourism is.

It is undisputed that North-Western area disposes with numerous natural and cultural
richness, which represent a perfect attraction and site-visit for many tourists and visitors.
Adventurous and sport tourism has a fruitful root in this area for development. Many aspects of
various types of tourism exist and are developing in this area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But, in
order to develop sustainable development, it is necessary to work simultaneously and in harmony
with hosts, environment, policy objectives, institutional structures and tourists’ demands. The
key principle of this type of development is integration of economic, social and environmental
concerns inside tourism development into all aspects of decision making.

558
References

Boniface, P. and Fowler, P.J. 1993. Heritage and Tourism in Global Village. London, Routhledge.
Čomić, Đ., Jović G.S. and Popović I.B. 2008. Osnove turizma. Filozofski fakultet, Univerzitet u
Istočnom Sarajevu, Pale.
Integrated development strategy of Una-Sana Canton for period 2014-20120. 2014.
Matthews, H.G. and Richter, L.K. 1991. Political science and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research,
18(1):120-135.
McCool, F. and Moisey Neil R. 2002. Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability. Linking Culture and
the Environment. CABI Publishing, New York.
Papeonik, Z. 1995. Tourism as a bearer of Croatia’s development. Paper presented at the First
Croatian Geographical Congress, Zagreb.
Richter, L.K. 1999. After political turmoil: the lessons of rebuilding tourism in three Asian countries.
Annals of Tourism Research, 10(3):313-353.
Timothy, D.J. 2011. Cultural heritage and tourism: An Introduction. Brithish Library, Charlesworth
Press, Great Britain.
Štifanić, M. (2002). Sociologija turizma (Sociology of tourism). Rijeka, Adamić.
Urry, J. (2000). Sociology beyond societies, mobilities for the twenty-first century. London,
Routhledge.
United Nations World Tourism Organization. (2007). A practical guide to Tourism Destination
Management. WTO, Madrid, Spain.
USAID. 2006. Cultural tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Preliminary findings.http://pdf.usaid.
gov/pdf_docs/PNADG525.pdf

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 Bosnian Spirit of the Mathnawi Tradition -
- Past and Present

Lejla Hota
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In this paper we elaborate on Tradition of studying the Mathnawi in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Mathnawi is a famous work of a worldwide known Mystic poet Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi (d.
1273, in Konya, Turkey). Tradition of studying the Mathnawi in Bosnia and Herzegovina reaches
up to 17th Century and it is still alive. This paper consists of four separate questions which are
related to each other. First, we will stress main references of the Mathnawi, well known as the
Koran (Qur’an) in Persian tongue, because Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi was of Persian origin, even
though he spent the most of his life in Konya, Turkey. The second part of this paper treats former
period of the Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the third part of the paper, we
will go through the present Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Finally, in the fourth
part we will conclude this paper with the correlation between the Mathnawi and Education. In
other words, we point to the importance of including the Mathnawi into Education System.

Key words: the Mathnawi Tradition, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi

Introduction into Mathnawi of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi

The Mathnawi represents the Saint not only as a mirror of Reality, but also as a personage
invested with Divine authority and power, an indispensable Guide on the Way to God (Nicholson
2000:xix).

The mystic Mathnawi of our Rumi:

Koran incarnate in the Persian tongue!
How can I describe him and his majesty?

560
 Not prophet, but revealer of a Book.
Jami, See: (Lewis 2000:467)

Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi aimed the Mathnawi to contribute to a better understanding of

the spiritual message of the Koran, but also to present the Mathnawi as a huge theological lore
that should relieve ascending of a Sufi to the Divinity.

The Mathnawi, a famous work of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi consists of different anecdotes,
apologies, quotations from the Koran (Qur’an), preachings of the Prophet Muhammad, so that we
may say the Mathnawi contains aspects and perspectives of spiritual Islamic teachings. In other
words, the whole Mathnawi is being radiated through the Light of Islamic spirituality, so that it
became known as an esoteric Commentary on the Koran, but also the Koran itself in the Persian
tongue. All this indicates the importance of the role of the Koran during arising Mathnawi’s reign.

Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr described affiliation of the Mathnawi and the Koran
quoting the unpublished study by Hadi Ha’eri which argues that almost 6.000 lines, or about one-
fourth of the Mathnawi, consist of direct translations or paraphrases of the Koran (Lewis, 2000.,
p. 396).

Like many other mystics of Islam, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi immersed himself in the
Sacred words. In one of passages in Fihi ma fihi (The Discourses), that is perhaps his greatest
prosaic works, he explains what the Koran does mean to him:

The Koran is a two-sided brocade. Some enjoy the one side, some the other. Both are
true and correct, as God Most High wishes that both groups might have use from
it. In the same way, woman has a husband and a baby, each of them enjoys her in a
different way. The child’s pleasure comes from her bosom and her milk, that of the
husband from kisses and sleeping and embrace. Some people are children on the
path and drink milk. They enjoy the external meaning of the Koran. But those who
are true men know of another enjoyment and have a different understanding of the
inner meanings of the Koran (Schimmel 2001:115).

In that way Rumi points that everything has its zahir and its batin, its external and its
internal, esoteric understanding of the Revelation so that, Mawlana’s whole poetry, but especially
the Mathnawi could be read as a kind of tafsir, a Commentary on the Koran, and to reconstruct
his interpretations from the numerous quotations.

However, perhaps the most cited verse by the Sufis is a verse from second chapter of the
Koran 2/257, that says: Whithersoever you turn there is the Face of God (Schimmel 2001:116).

The central motive of Rumi’s work generally, as prosaic works, but also the central motive
of his famous poetry is the motive of Divine Love, that enchanted striving of once soul for anew

  561
Unity with the Divine, with its Prime Matter. He has comprehended the Divine Love like a bird
that transmits the Secret of God. Because, upon to Rumi, everything that exists reflects itself
through God’s Eternity. Accordingly, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi enchanted his whole poetry
imbued with thus Divine Love.

He emphasized that the Divine Love can’t be explained through the words, because It
transcends over the boundaries/borders of Rationality. Its experience is much more real than
everything else (Chittick 2005:225).

With his poetic praising of Divine Love Rumi intimated a great New age of Islamic
mysticism. Because Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi in his works composes about Divine Love and
His lovers. In other words, he composes about the Beloved and the lovers. According to that, he
became well-known under the name ‚Sultan of the lovers’.

Lover and the Beloved can never be looked on one without another, because they do exist
only as one united Being. To be able to reach the Unity with the Beloved, every human being
needs to have a Guide, a spiritual master that should show oneself the way to the Divinity.

Jalalu’ddin Rumi, without any doubt, has found his own spiritual master in the figure of
Shams-i Tabriz, also known as the Sun of Faith from Tabriz. He recognized himself as the Guide,
the Reflection of God that he was in pursuit.

Professor Reynold A. Nicholson interpreted Shams in following words:

Shams was comparatively illiterate, but his tremendous spiritual enthusiasm, based
on the conviction that he was a chosen organ and mouthpiece of Deity, cast a spell over
all who entered the enchanted circle of his power. For Nicholson, Shams curiously
resembles Socrates in his strong passions, his poverty, and his violent death. At one
time it may even have been possible to suppose that Shams was imaginary person
created by Rumi as foil to convey his ideas, just as Socrates was suspected in some
circles to be a literary fiction created by the mind of Plato (Lewis 2000:135).

In other words, if we scarcely may think of Plato without Socrates, still less is it possible
to separate Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi from Shams-i Tabriz, the mysterious dervish with whom
he identified himself so intimately, that the very existence of his alter ego has been doubted and
unwarrantably.

In the end, we need to emphasize that the Platonic type of Divine Love had been cultivated
by the Sufi’s, as early as Rumi declared that he and Shams-i Tabriz were like ‚two bodies with
one soul’. In this union of loving souls all distinctions vanish, because: Nothing remains but
the essential Unity of Love, in which ‚lover’ and ‚Beloved’ have merged their separate identities
(Nicholson 2000:21).
562
 But, through the encounter with Shams-i Tabriz Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi transformed
himself from the sober jurist into enchanted mystic poet (Chittick 2005:21).

In other words, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi explaines Shams’s appearance in his spiritual
life in such a way: I was raw, I was cooked, I was burned (Chittick 2004).

Because, exactly through the encounter with his spiritual Guide, Shams-i Tabriz, Mawlana
Jalalu’ddin Rumi comprehended a Divine Secret that is being hidden behind the veil. That
Secret can’t be transmitted through words, or any other kind of expressions. It requires a close,
very intimate dialogue with one’s own. After the encounter with Shams-i Tabriz, Rumi stopped
preaching about the exoteric teachings and started expressing himself only through the spiritual
poetry. According to that kind of spiritual experience, arised Rumi’s famous works of mystic
poetry, like the Mathnawi and Divan Shams-i Tabriz.

In my hand was always the Koran,

Now I seized the cheghana out of love.
In my mouth were always the words of laud,
Now it is poetry and quatrains and songs
(Schimmel 1993:23).

After the encounter with Shams, his spiritual master, Rumi’s whole being was transformed
into poetry and music that became the only expression of his feelings. He experienced poetry like
a different kind of prayer and preaching.

But, we need to make a difference between professional poetry and poetry of saints. Because,
when professional poets compose poetry, they mostly use their thoughts and imagination to
show off their own talents and to sculpt exaggerated lies out of words. In the end, when the saints
compose poetry, they express the essence of the Koran, because they have effaced their own ego
in the divine and move according to God’s will. Accordingly, the saints compose poetry to the
greater glory of God, not to the greater glory of themselves.

Mawlana Jallau’ddin Rumi explains the role of the Saints in following manner:
There is a water that flows down from the Heaven
To cleanse the world of sin and grace Divine.
At last, its whole stock spent, its virtue gone,
Dark with pollution not its own, it speeds
Back to the Fountaine of all purities.
Whence, freshly bathed, earthward it sweeps again,
Trailing a robe and glory bright and pure.
This Water is the Spirit of the Saints,
Which ever sheds, until itself is beggared.
  563
 God’s balm on the sick soul,
and then returns to Him who made the purest light of Heaven.
(Mathnawi) See: (Mesnevija 5, 2005:200-208)

One of the most representative subject matters of the Mathnawi is the motive of human
soul. Because, even anyone of us is able to see how our soul does look like, we do feel its existence
in ourselves. Within the human body soul feels like being abroad, or being captured within the
human body. Because the human body is not in its natural condition. Because, before its captivity
in human body, it has been settled in the Divinity, enjoying the Unity with God, Who is its
Prime Matter. In that way, the soul that has been captivated within the human body feels like
a bird that is being arrested into the cage, that is constantly regretting upon these conditions
and yearning for dissertation from the shackles of our body and continues enjoying anew Unity
within Divinity (Hadžimulić 2012:29-30).

Upon to Professor Franklin D. Lewis, the seeker of God, everyone who is seeking to reach
the God’s presence in oneself needs to die before the Death, to leave the impact of one’s ego to
be able to start shining with the Divine Light. Dying of the self, or dying of one’s ego is by the
Sufis known as the greater jihad (jihad al-kabir). Because, only after the burnish of all its rust,
the mirror of the soul will be perfectly reflected with the attributes of God. In other words, either
you die in His presence, or He will die in your presence, so that no duality may remain and you
continue existing in pure Unity with God (Lewis, 2000:417-18 ).

About the importance of a soul and its anew Unity with the Divine, where it resided before
its captivity in a human body, he mentions the following:

The Faithful are many, but their Faith is one,

Their bodies are numerous, but their soul is one.
Besides the understanding and soul which is in the ox and the ass,
Man has another intelligence and soul.
Again, in the owner of the Divine breath,
there is a soul other than the human soul.
The animal soul doesn’t possess oneness, do not seek oneness from that airy spirit.
The souls of wolves and dogs are separate,
The souls of the Lions of God are united.
(Mathnawi) See: (Mesnevija 4, 2005:408-412)

As Professor William C. Chittick in his famous work‚ Me and Rumi – The Autobiography of
Shams-i Tabrizi’ mentioned: Shams-i Tabriz appears as Rumi’s spiritual Guide, who isn’t simply
a human being, nor even a guide in the manner of the prophets. Rather, he is the actual, living
embodiment of the true Beloved. Who is God himself (Chittick 2004).

564
 About the Importance of Shams-i Tabriz in arising of Rumi’s spiritual conditions testifies
that Rumi his treasury full of Love has thoughtfully kept in his Matnawi, which is known as the
spiritual temple of the Sufi’s that inspires all lovers on their way to Divinity.

Oh, my Sun, my Guide,

My Life, Surviver of mine!
Only through your help I comprehended the Truth, God!
Oh my truth that directed me to the Truth!
(Hadžimulić 2012:21)

Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi has never ceased to see Shams-i Tabriz in the various
manifestation of the Sun. He is like the Sun of ma’aref (Gnostic knowledge) in the fireplace of inner
meaning, and he is like real sunlight, separated from everything and miraculously connected
with everything (Schimmel 1993: 62).

Upon to Professor Annemarie Schimmel, composing the Mathnawi, ‚Mawlana Jalalu’ddin

Rumi has eternalized Shams-i Tabriz praising him in his works as the Divine Beloved’ (Chittick
2004) and as his own spiritual Guide. From the other side, in order to save a memory on his
spiritual Guide Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi also founded a Sufi order, known as the Mawlawi
Sufi order and continued expressing himself through the Way of Sufism, following the Way of
Divine Love.

In other words, the Mathnawi is like a shop for Unity (wahdat), because anything that you
may see there, except the One (God), it must be an idol (Nicholson 2000:23).

Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi himself in his Mathnawi accentuates thus comprehension of

Reality in following manner:

Where are threshold and dais in reality?

Where the Beloved is, where are „we“ and „I“?
O Thou Whose soul is free from „we“ and „I“,
O Thou Who art the essence of the spirit in men and women.
When men and women become one, Thou art that One,
When the units are wiped out, Thou art that Unity.
Thou didst contrive this „I“ and „we“ in order to play the game of worship with Thyself ’s.
That all „I’s“ and „thou’s“ might become one soul and at last be submerged in the Beloved.
(Mathnawi) See: (Mesnevija 1, 2000:1785-1788)

Passing over the battlefield of existence, he finds all its conflicts and discords playing the
parts assigned to them in the universal harmony which only mystics (Sufi’s) may realize.

  565
 Upon to Professor Annemarie Schimmel, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi represents an ideal
mystic, whose life forms as it were a semicircle of annihilation, remaining, and turning back to
the creatures completely permeated by the Divine, and speaking out of the direct experience of
absolute Love (Schimmel 2001:32-33).

Generally, we may conclude that Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi’s teaching is Gnostic oriented
with a focus on the transcendental Unity of Being. In other words, Being itself is being presented
as manifestation of God’s Name itself. Because of these circumstances, Mawlana Jalalu’ddin
Rumi’s gnostic teachings do not consist of nothing, but the justice and beauty. Then, the Reality
as such manifests itself only through God’s Beauty and Justice. After all, the Reality is like a
mirror through that God manifests His Beauty and Justice.

Former Period of the Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tradition of studying and teaching the Mathnawi, a famous Sufi work of Mawlana
Jalalu’ddin Rumi in Bosnia and Herzegovina reaches until the period of founding the first Sufi
orders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially with founding of the Mawlawi Sufi order, whose
founder was exactly Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi.

First Sufi orders have been founded at the same time of Ottoman’s Empire in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, which reaches until the first half of 15th Century. At the initial period of founding
the Sufi orders in Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented members of many different Sufi orders,
but the most part of them do belonged to the: Mawlawi’s, Nakshibandi’s, Qadiri’s and Halwati’s
(Memija 2006: 148).

Nevertheless, we have to mention that teaching the Mathnawi did not concern only the
member of Mawlawi Sufi order. On the contrary, members of other Sufi orders also demonstrated
a great respect toward the Mathnawi , but also the Intellectuals and other members of the society.

Upon to that, we would like emphasize on a known saying, that says:

The fragrance of sagacity that is spreading through the Mathnawi is imbuedingmany souls,
but only those, who themselves start smelling through the fragrance of Mathnawi, they have become
the living Mathnawi by themselves. Only they are able to become teacher of the Mathnawi. The
Mathnawi itself is searching for its teacher, who may be the member of a Sufi order, an intellectual,
but also a common member of society (Gadžo 2013:8).

Departments for teaching the Mathnawi have been widespread along several Bosnian
cities, but most important Bosnian departments of the Mathnawi have been placed in Sarajevo,
Mostar, Livno, Travnik, Visoko and Konjic, because exactly from these cities the most important
Bosnian Mathnawi teachers originated in the Past, as well as in the Present period of the Mathnawi
Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
566
 The most important former Mathnawi teachers of Bosnia in Herzegovina were: Tevekkul
Dede, Atik Dede, Shaykh Abdul-Fetah, Muhammed Emin Isević, well known as Isevi, but also
teachers like: Sudi Mustafa Uchambarlich, Dervish-pasha Bayezidagich, Habib Dede, Abdullah ef.
Bosniak (Bosnawi), Sari Abdullah, Husein Lamekani, Muhammed Muhteshim ef. Shabanovich,
Mustafa Ledunni, and many others (Abedpour 2010: 10-26).

About the longtime Tradition of teaching the Mathnawi in Bosnia and Herzegovina
testifies the name of Tevekkul Dede, that has been accepted as the oldest teacher of the Mathnawi
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We assume that he lived in the first half of the 17th Century. His tomb
has been located in harem (graveyard) of the Tsar’s Mosque (Careva džamija) in Sarajevo.

Regrettably, we do not have enough information about his role of holding the Mathnawi
classes in the past, because we do not have enough kept written sources about those Bosnian
Mathnawi teachers.

As the second holder of the Mathnawi classes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the name of
Shaykh Abdul-Fetah has been accepted. He died between the 1709/1710 His position inherited
Muhammed Emin Isevich (Isević), well known under the name Isevi. He was not a member of
any Sufi order. It confirms that someone who wanted to teach the Mathnawi did not need to be a
member of any Sufi order, which confirms what we have mentioned. He died in 1816, so that after
his death his successor Mustafa ef. Učambarlić continued holding classes of the Mathnawi, and
he also was not a member of any Sufi order. He held classes of the Mathnawi before the beginning
of the First World War.

The name of a great Bosnian poet, Dervish-pasha Bayazidagich (Derviš-paša Bajezidagić)

has been accepted as a founder of department of teaching the Mathnawi in Mostar. He studied
Persian language, but also Persian poetry, in front of the greatest scholar for Persian language
and poetry of the time, Su’udi, who instructed him into the quintessence of the Persian literature.
He exerted himself a lot to build up the first Mawlawi dervish’ convent (tekke) in Mostar, that
confirms his membership of the Mawlawi Sufi order. (Dizdarević 2012:93) Department of the
Mathnawi in Mostar had been lasting more than two centuries. Dervish-pasha Bayezidagic died
in 1603.

Generally, meeting point of the Sufis is a dervish’ convent (tekke). A Sufi dervish convent
has a religious, but also a secular purpose. In other words, it includes as egsoteric, as well as
esoteric cogitation of the Reality.

Different kinds of Islamic religious duties and rituals are performed in dervish convents,
like: a prayer, recitation of the attributes to God, extensive discussions on koranic (Qur’anic)
postulates, but also of the famous Sufi literary works (Memija 2006:148-49).

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 Dervish’ convent’s (tekkes) mostly belong to a particular Sufi order, but there are also many
common Tradition of teaching the Mathnawi, a famous Sufi work, well known as the spiritual
temple of the Sufis, regardless to the affiliation of Sufi order they belong to.

We have to emphasize that in the Present period most part of the Mathnawi classes have
been placed into different dervish’ convent’s. But, certainly, they also honor the tradition of many
other famous works from the East, not just the Mathnawi.

Nevertheless, we decided in this paper to discuss the Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, that reaches until the 15th century.

The first founded dervish’ convent (tekke) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the first
Mawlawi dervish’ convent, is the well known ‚Isa-bey’s dervish convent’. Isa-bey’s tekke that was
founded in 1462 on Bent-Basha (Bembaša) in Sarajevo. Isa-bey Ishakovich is being recognized
as the Founder of Sarajevo.

Isa-bey dervish’ convent has been located on the place where the river Miljacka, moving
from the East to the West, goes out from the straits into the wide valley. Such location of dervish’
convent symbolizes the linkage of Sarajevo with the divine River that is passing by toward the
Earth. Exactly on that meeting point, Isa-bey Ishakovich grounded the dam, upon which that
part of Sarajevo became known as Bent-Basha, but also Bembasha. In other words, Bembasha
symbolizes a location where water passes up and down, making unity with the Divine River, or
symbolizing the unification of the Divine and Earth (Čelebić 2006:96).

Such location of the Isa-bey’s dervish’ convent has been chosen very carefully. It has been
grounded beside the river and put it against precipitous crag’s of the river’s canyon. In the end,
the dervish’ convent as an important center of dervish activities became, not only a symbol of
Sarajevo, but also a symbol of the Sufism (tasawwuf), generally.

Exactly in Isa-bey’s dervish’ convent, first verses of the Mathnawi began flowing. In other
words, verses of the Mathnawi started flowing through Sarajevo.

As the Mawlawi dervish’ convent that was founded in Konya (Turkey) enabled Konya to
become known under the name ‚A City of the Saints’, so fruits of the Mawlawi’s in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, but especially in Sarajevo, awarded Sarajevo the same role (Čelebić 2006:99).

Isa-bey’s dervish’ convent has been as a living spiritual centre that admired a wealthy
Inheritance of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi.

Isa-bey’s dervish convent during the period of its existence has suffered many destructions
and anew reconstructions, which caused the social and political regimes of the time. But,

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regrettably, upon the order of the ruling political regime of the time, Isa-bey’s dervish convent
was officially pulled down in 1957. At the same time as the dervish convent, the graves that
adorned harem of the dervish convent were also removed and, at least the Mawlawi graveyard
was removed too (Mušeta-Aščerić 2006: 124).

In that way, the whole inheritance of Isa-bey Ishakovich, well known as the founder of
Sarajevo, was annihilated. Isa-bey’s dervish convent has not been renewed until nowadays.

Present Period of the Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tradition of teaching the Mathnawi has been continued also in the Present and it is still
going on. The most important contemporary teachers, holder of the Mathnawi classes in Bosnia
and Herzegovina are the following:

1. Hajji Mehmed Džemaluddin Čaušević (Jamalu’ddin Chausevich, 1870-1938,),

has been teaching the Mathnawi for the period of seventeen years (1911-28,);

2. Hajji Mustafa Merhemić (Mustafa Merhemich, 1877-1959,), he has been teaching

the Mathnawi for seventeen years (1942-59,);

3. Hajji Fejzullah ef. Hadžibajrić (Feyzullah Hadzibayrich, 1913-1990,), he held the

Mathnawi classes for twenty three years (1965-88,);

4. Hajji hafis Halid ef. Hadžimulić (Halid Hadzimulich, 1915-2011,), he held the
Mathnawi classes for twenty three years (1988-2011,);

5. Hajji hafis Mehmed Karahodžić (Mehmed Karahodzich, 1962, -), that is currently
holding the Mathnawi classes (2011, -); (Hadžimulić 2012:21)

All of the above mentioned Mathnawi teachers did belong, or even do belong, to the long-
lasting Mathnawi Tradition of Sarajevo, and all of them were members of the Mawlawi Sufi order,
otherwise they did not belong to any dervish brotherhood directly, but followed the Mawlawi
Tradition. Through the centuries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, but especially Sarajevo, has been
inheriting the Mawlawi Tradition, that was particularly represented by renowned families and
intellectuals that are keeping culture and long-lasting tradition of the city.

It is also important to underline that such tradition of once capital, generally points to the
culture and tradition that is being inherited in the country. Because of these circumstances the
Mawlawi Tradition may be accepted as an important part of Bosnian Foundation and Constitution
in general. A middle point of the Mawlawi Identity is exactly the Mathnawi, the famous work of
Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi, that has founded the Mawlawi Sufi order (Beglerović 2014:42-43).

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 Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Effendi Chaushevich (1870-1938)

First Mathnawi teacher of the New Age Mathnawi Tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina
was Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich. He became a teacher of the Mathnawi at a very
young age, considering that all later Mathnawi teacher started teaching the Mathnawi during
the second half of their life. Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin effendi Chaushevich started teaching the
Mathnawi in 1911, in the well-known Isa-bey’s tekke in Sarajevo, where he had been teaching
the Mathnawi until 1917. After that he continued holding the Mathnawi classes in the known
Merhemich’s House that has been transformed into a dervish’ convent (tekke). It is a Family
House of his successor on the Mathnawi Chair, Hajji Mustafa Merhemich, also known as Hajji
Muyaga. In the Merhemich’s House, that is placed nearby the Tsar’s Mosque in Sarajevo, he
finished his tenure as the Mathnawi teacher in 1928 (Nesuh 2006:146).

During the course of his Mathnawi classes, he wasted a lot of time and energy on commentaries
of single verses from the Mathnawi, so that his classes mostly resembled a kind of a sermon.

During his mandate as the Mathnawi teacher he captivated through his Erudition all those
who participated into the classes he held. One of the participants that participated in his classes
for the whole time of his tenure of the Mathnawi was Hajji Muyaga Merhemich himself.

Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich was a great contribution to the development of

Sarajevo’s Mawlawi Tradition.

Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich gained the most part of his education in Istanbul
(Turkey), where he had been living for about fifteen years (1887-1902,). There, he studied by the
honourable Mawlawi teacher (Shaykh) Hajji Muhammad Asad Dede in front of whom he gained
knowledge from the area of the Mawlawi’s, that points to his membership of the Mawlawi’s.
By the same teacher he also has studied the Mathnawi and Persian language, so that he has
gained as theoretical, academic, but also practical knowledge about Islamic mysticism. All
these circumstances are the proof of his familiarity with Sufism, Islamic spirituality as such. His
familiarity with Islamic mysticism, as theoretically, but also through practical approaches of the
Sufism, inspired him to invent a new kind of alphabet, better known as Arebica. It was such a kind
of Bosnian phrases written in the form of Arabic letters. Arebica emitted light breath of Sufism.

To bring closer to his compatriots esoteric teachings that he has gained during his studying,
he started composing Muslim religious chants in those Mother’s tongue, but written with the new
kind of alphabet, Arebica (Beglerović 014:56).

Nevertheless, we need to mention that, even though he studied the esoteric sciences,
Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich never made any difference between the egsoteric
(zahir) and esoteric (batin) Islamic Tradition. Accordingly, it is important to emphasize that

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he did not hold only classes from the area of Sufism, but he did take classes from the area of
Contemporary theology.

He was also engaged into many different functions by the Islamic Community of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. During the year 1909, he started teaching Shari’ah (Islamic moral and legal
code) in the School for the Shari’ah Judges in Sarajevo (Beglerović 014:47).

He was sympathizing with the poor and homeless people, so that he decided to establish
the Muslim’s Support Community, better known as Merhamet, which charged for the poor and
homeless people of Sarajevo, but also the other cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He also established many Magazines, like: Muallim, Gajret (Gayret), Novi Behar (New
Bossom), that treated both religious and secular themes.

About the importance of his contribution to the development of Bosnian’s Community of

the Time testifies the fact that in 1914, he became elected as the new Supreme Chief of Bosnian
Islamic Community of the Time. He never divided the exoteric from the esoteric comprehending
the Religion as such. Accordingly, his Inauguration into the Chairman of Islamic Community
has been accompanied through the Invocation of God’s Name’s, also known as dhikr, which took
place in the known Isa-bey’s tekke on Bend-Basha (Bembaša) (Beglerović 014:58).

Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich died in 1938, and has been buried in harem
(graveyard) of the Gazi Husrev-bey’s Mosque in Sarajevo. It was one of the most witnessed funerals
ever. Immediately before he died he authorized his successor on department of the Mathnawi,
who became Hajji Mustafa Merhemich, also known as Hajji Muyaga Merhemich, who attended
all Mathnawi classes, that Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich held. Nevertheless, we need to
emphasize that after the death of Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich the Mathnawi classes
were not continued directly. Instead, there was a break for few years. Hajji Mujaga Merhemich
continued teaching the Mathnawi in 1942.

Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich (1877-1959)

Hajji Mustafa Merhemich, also known as Hajji Muyaga, was born on January 4 1877, as the
only son of Sarajevo’s known Merhemich’s family, with a long-lasting Sufi Tradition. His parents
already engendered (spawn) six daughters, so they wished for a son too. Their only son, Mustafa,
from his early childhood has been concerned with gaining the knowledge. He acquired both
religious and public education. His education process was very extensive and diverse.

First of all, he completed Tsar’s Islamic primary school and then Public Grammar school,
and then also few years of the Merhemich’s Islamic Religious secondary school (Madrasah), as

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seven different extra specializations. But, it hasn’t still been the end of his education. He also
became hafis of the Koran (Qur’an), but he never made it public.

As for his higher education, we need to mention that he also gained a very extensive higher
education that confirm even three different university degrees:

1. He graduated from Faculty of Islamic law (fikh);

2. He graduated from Faculty of Islamic law of inheritance (feraiz);
3. He graduated from Faculty of Orientalistic (Arabic, Persian and Turkish);
(Beglerović 2014:38)

He attended several classes on Commentary of the Koran (Tafsir), and classes on Preaching
of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith). But, it is important to emphasize that he attended the
classes of the Mathnawi that have been held by his predecessor, the Supreme Chief of Islamic
Community in Bosnia of the Time, Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin Chaushevich. Exactly he gave
permission to Hajji Mustafa Merhemich to continue teaching the Mathnawi after his death.

To get ready for the forthcoming Mathnawi classes Hajji Mustafa Merhemich decided to
undertake a journey through Turkey, visiting the most famous cities of Turkey, like: Istanbul,
Edirne, Bursa, Izmir, Eskishehir and Konya (Beglerović 2014:41). Because, burial chamber and
Madrasah are placed exactly in Konya is placed a, where Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi held classes
from the area of exoteric sciences, but also from the area of esoteric sciences. He stayed in Konya
longer than he had planned.

About Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich and his love for the Mathnawi, and to the
spirituality of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi generally, Hajji Feyzullah ef. Hadzibayrich, his successor
on the Mathnawi Chair of Sarajevo, says following:

He has carved into his mind and his soul Mawlana’s burial chamber and Madrasah.
He introduced himself with the art of its working, with the performance of dhikr
and attended the Mathnawi classes. He get acquainted with the elder of Mawlawi’s,
Chalabi-Effendi. After that he turned back to Sarajevo as a member of the Mawlawi
Sufi Order (Nesuh 2006:141).

After his comeback to Sarajevo he started holding classes of the Mathnawi. His tenure of
the Mathnawi classes started lasting from 1942, until his death in 1959. He has been keeping the
Mathnawi classes in his Family House, well known as The Merhemich’s House, that has been
transformed into a dervish’ convent, as we already have mentioned.

Beside of the holy Koran (Qur’an), Mathnawi became a faithfully fellow traveller of his life.

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 Hajji Mustafa Merhemich’s classes of the Mathnawi attended different classes of
participants, that came to the classes to inspire themselves through the wealthy spirituality and
imbue themselves with the instructive advices of their honorable teacher, like it was Mustafa
Merhemich. Some of his permanent participants that attended classes of the Mathnawi, were:
Hajji Feyzullah ef. Hadzibayrich and Hajji hafis Halid ef. Hadzimulich, his successors on the
Mathnawi Chair in Sarajevo (Hadžimulić 2012: 51).

Hajji Mustafa Merhemich maintained his last tutorial of the Mathnawi on on March 4th
1959, only few days before he died. Anyone of his scholars couldn’t believe that it would be the
last meeting of Hajji Mustafa Merhemich’s with the Mathnawi.

After his death, the following words, full of sorrow and regret, reverberated through
Sarajevo, but also Bosnia-Herzegovina (Hadžimulić 2012:50):

Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich died and left silent his valuable Mathnawi.

He has died on March 23 1959, and his funeral was one of the most witnessed funerals of
the Time. Only some of those who witnessed the funeral of Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich
are still alive.

Before he died, Hajji Hustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich had authorized Hajji Feyzullah ef.
Hadzibayrich as his successor of the Mathnawi classes.

Hajji Feyzullah Effendi Hadzibayrich (1913-1990)

Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich was born on January 12 1913 in Sarajevo, where he
gained his primary and secondary education, graduating from the Gazi Husrev-bey’s Madrasah
in 1933. Then, in front of a well-honored teacher, Ahmad effendi Burek he obtained an Islamic law
and Theologian degree, but also graduated from Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, department
of Arabic, Persian and Turkish language. He was well instructed on Islamic mysticism, to which
he has devoted the most part of his life (Gadžo 2013:9).

As we already have mentioned, he got the permission to continue teaching the Mathnawi
in Sarajevo after his death, exactly by Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich, his predecessor on the
Mathnawi Chair. As we already mentioned, Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich was his teacher,
in front of whom he started studying the Mathnawi.

Imbued with the gratitude and admiration, Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich, noted
his appreciative teacher with following words:

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 I feel happy to have the opportunity toget acquainted with him, to had the opportunity
to participate on his Mathnawi classes, or to visit his House and Library. He was a great, noble,
kind and helpful person. He devoted himself into Islamic mysticism and has been a great fighter
for affirmation and maintenance of the existing Sufi orders in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the
Time. Because, during the governance of different political regimes through the Time, so that
their survival have got interrogative. Some of them were temporarily closed. But his love toward
the Mathnawi and Islamic mysticism generally, surpassed all these boundaries (Gadžo 2013:10).

But, beside of all these circumstances, before he has started holding classes of the
Mathnawi, he decided to undertake a journey into Turkey and to affirm that authorization by the
most famous, as Mawlawi Shaikh, but also Mathnawi teacher of the Time, Abdulbaki Gölpinarli,
whose translation of the Mathnawi from Persian origin into Turkish has become one of the most
used Turkish translations of the Mathnawi.

Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich met Abdulbaki Gölpinarli during his staying in
Konya in the 1965. A famous Mawlawi elder (Shaykh) was visibly delighted with Hajji Feyzullah
effendi Hadzibayrich’s familiarity into Mawlawi Tradition, but especially with his familiarity into
the Mathnawi. During his meeting with Abdulbaki Gölpinarli, a famous Mawlawi elder he has
confirmed the authorization given by Hajji Mustafa (Muyaga) Merhemich to continue holding
classes of the Mathnawi in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through that kind of Confidence
Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich was imbued with lots of honor, but also responsibility
(Beglerović 2011:439).

At the beginning of the Mathnawi classes, the Mathnawi Chair of Sarajevo was placed
in the House of his predecessor, the famous Merhemich’s House, and after that he continued
teaching the Mathnawi in the well-known Hajji Sinan’s dervish’ convent in Sarajevo, that is also
a Mawlawidervish’ convent. Only few years later, Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich became
elected to an elder (Shaykh) of the Hajji Sinan’s dervish’ convent (tekke).

All these circumstances point to the fact that also Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich was
a member of the Mawlawi dervish’ convent. He became a member of the Mawlawi’s after he has
passed the Mawlawi’s oath (bayat) on June 27th 1939, which happened in front of his spiritual
Guide, the elder Selim Jashar. Everyone who wanted to become a member of any Sufi order, so of
the Mawlawi’s, needed to leave his longing toward any kind of worldly life and to devote himself
completely to the Divine. In other words, whoever wants to become a member of any Sufi order,
needs to ‘die before the Death’ (Beglerović 2014:168-169).

But we also need to emphasize that, according to his great familiarity and love that he has
raised toward Islamic spirituality, Islamic esoteric tradition, as such, he also became honorary
member of many different Sufi orders, like: Qadiri’s, Naqshibandi’s, Rufai’s, Badawi’s and Shazili’s
dervish’ convent’s (Gadžo 2013: 168-169).

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 Those participants that have been presented on the Mathnawi classes that Hajji Feyzullah
effendi Hadzibayrich held came from different social classes, but also did have various education and
were still the Mawlawi’s. Nevertheless, some of these participants that participated on Hadzibayrich’s
Mathnawi classes were not members of any Sufi order. But, they all did have one thing in common;
they all raised same love toward Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi and his valuable Mathnawi.

The Audience of the Mathnawi classes, generally, may be divided into two separated
groups: Sami’in and Mustershi’ddin (Beglerović 2011:453).

Sami’in participate in the Mathnawi classes, but do not exert themselves to understand its
messages and to accept and behave upon to its advices. Otherwise, those participants that are
known as Mustershi’ddin imbued themselves completely into the lyrics of the Mathnawi wasting a
lot of exert to adjust their life and their behavior towards the message and advic of the Mathnawi.

About the importance of Hajji Fayzullah effendi Hadzibayrich’s role as a teacher of the
Mathnawi testifies his translation of the first (1.) and second (2.) Volumes of the Mathnawi from
Persian origin into Bosnian language.

He held the Mathnawi classes for the period of twenty three years, or from 1965 until 1988.

Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich died in 1990, and before he finished his tenure of the
Mathnawi teacher he had authorized Hajji hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich as his new successor
on the Mathnawi Chair.

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich (1916-2011)

He originated from a known and well-honored Sarajevo’s Family Hadzimulich. After the
death of his predecessor in 1990, a new teacher of the Mathnawi became Hajji Hafis Halid effendi
Hadzimulich, also known as Hafis, because he was a Hafis of the Koran, that is a person who
knows the Qur’an by heart, by the age of only eight years. We also need to mention that he
originated from a known Hafis family. In other words, all members of his family, on his mother’s,
but also father’s side, have been Hafis, guardians of the holy Qur’an (Koran).

He is known for having lived toward ascetic principles of life, modestly and reticent from
the rest of society. He focused himself to the renounciation from the worldly benefit’s, fasting
during the whole year, committing himself completely to performing a prayer and other kind of
performing the religious duties. All these circumstances testify that he was inner oriented. He
lived his worldly life upon the God’s will, unselfishly and without expecting to be rewarded for
his behaviour. Living a life pervaded through the renounciation he has shown a lot of similarity
to the Prophet Isa’s, does God bless him (Jesus Christ’s) art of living. He himself personificated
the highest degree of renounciation (Nesuh 2006:99).

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 All Sufis have felt an immense admiration toward the Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ), describing
him as the holder of patched mantle, that are the clothes of a pious beings.

Professor Annemarie Schimmel in her work that refers to the Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ)
describes him with following words:

My clothes are the wool and my bread are the fruits from the tree. My food is a
hunger and my candle in the night is the moonlight. To keep myself from the
coldness I use the sunshine. My fruits and plants are these that are growing from
the land. Days and nights come and go in that way. I haven’t gained any kind of
knowledge, but, beside of all anyone is more powerful than me (Schimmel 2009:39).

Hajji Hafis Halid Hadzimulich could be seen as the deserved successor of the Prophet’s Isa
(Jesus Christ) art of living.

Besides, we need to emphasize that he was also well educated. He gained Primary and
secondary education in Sarajevo, his hometown. After that he has studied Roman languages and
literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, Croatia. But, as he was already in the middle
of studying Roman languages and literature, he had to stop it, because of the beginning of the
Second World War. He graduated from that Faculty in 1946. But, that was not the end of his
education. In 1951, he started studying the Oriental Studies (Arabic, Persian and Turkish) at
Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo and graduated from that Faculty in 1955. Accordingly, we may
emphasize that he spoke many foreign languages, like: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, French, Latin, but
also English and German, although he never studied English and German (Nesuh 2006:271-272).

His work experience has also been very diverse:

1. He worked in the Gazi Husrev-bey’s Library for about twenty-five years;
2. He was the Main Imam (Muslim priest) and Preacher (Hatib) of the Tsar’s Mosque in
Sarajevo, where he held more than a thousand khudba’s (Friday midday sermon’s)
3. He was employed in the Pious Endowment’s Head Office;
4. He succeeded Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich on the Mathnawi Chair in Sarajevo
after his death; (Hadžimulić 2012: 140-141)

In other words, he devoted himself completely to studying and teaching.

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich felt immense love and admiration toward the
Mathnawi, a famous work of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi that, beside of the Koran became a
framework of all Sufi teachings.

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich experienced the Mathnawi as a living, existing
Speech. He insisted on that evaluation of the Mathnawi. Because, according to him, the Mathnawi

576
needs to be comprehended as the foundation, the corner stone that is needed to introduce oneself
into the Koran (Qur’an), but also into the Prophet’s Preaching. Accordingly, he equated the
Mathnawi with the Koran and the Prophet’s Preaching (Nesuh 2006:111).

We do not have any manner or words to describe Hajji Hafis Hadzimulich’s love toward the
Mathnawi and teachings of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi generally. After he got acquainted with the
Mathnawi,and comprehended himself through the spiritual message of the Mathnawi, he left all
his former duties and devoted himself completely into profoundly studying of the Mathnawi and
Mawlana’s spiritual teachings.

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich described his feelings toward the Mathnawi in the
following way:

Studying the Mathnawi, it implies a spiritual enjoying. The Mathnawi is like the
spring of the fresh water, pure and clear one that is yearning for every human’s
spiritual body. It’s an amazing work that is able to turn oneself from the Sid road,
or devious path to the Proper Path. Into that might be made sure all those who had
been cogitated the advices from the Mathnawi (Hadžimulić 2012:13).

On the Mathnawi Chair in Sarajevo he succeeded Hajji Feyzullah effendi Hadzibayrich.

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich started teaching the Mathnawi in 1988, in the Nadmlini
dervish’ convent that lasted until the beginning of the Bosnian War in 1992. But then, because
of the War occurrences, the Mathnawi classes had to be stopped. After the end of the War, he
continued holding the Mathnawi classes, which were keeping in his wooden structure on pillars,
where he lived a solitary life. It lasted until his death in 2011.

We also need to emphasize that he did not just hold classes of the Mathnawi, he also
translated five volumes and a half of the sixth, last volume of the Mathnawi, from Persian language
into Bosnian. But, regrettably, he failed to finish completely the Translation of the Mathnawi by
himself, because was interrupted by the death.

Nevertheless, Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich has empowered one of his famous
scholars, Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich to complete Translation of the Mathhnawi
that he had started, if he should become prevented to complete it. We all feel exulted upon
the cognition that we stayed denied of the fruits of Hajji Hafis Hadzimulich’s work, that is his
Translation of all six volumes of the Mathnawi into Bosnian tongue.

He died by the age of ninety-six, on January 8 2011, in Sarajevo. His funeral witnessed
many thousands of his followers, lovers of the Mawlana’s spiritual teaching generally, lovers of
the Mathnawi, but also many common people who have honoured his personality. He was buried
in the harem (graveyard) of the Atmejdan Mosque in Sarajevo, which was constructed few years

  577
before that and which reconstruction he greatly supported with his contribution. If Sarajevo
would have ever burst into tears, because of someone who is leaving,Without turning back again,
then Sarajevo will let a tear falling by the death of Hafis (Nesuh 2006:238).

Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich himself has been one of the last representatives of
Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi’s spiritual teachings that devoted himself through several years on
profoundly studying the Mathnawi. Because of that, many people, who honoured and appreciated
himself and his valuable advic that he had given over the years, experienced Hajji Hafis Halid
effendi Hadzimulich as the spiritual heart of Sarajevo, or as an eternal Voice of Sufism, Islamic
mysticism of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in the Balkans. His House, where he has lived in
a modestly art of living, for more than fifty years has been considered as a place of assembling
the devotees.

Directly before he died he has authorized Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich as his
successor of the Mathnawi Chair in Sarajevo.

Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich (1962 - )

Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich got a consent to continue teaching the Mathnawi
in Sarajevo by his predecessor on the Mathnawi Chair in Sarajevo, who was also his spiritual
master, Hajji Hafis Halid effendi Hadzimulich. He instructed him into profundity of the
Mathnawi, also known as the spiritual temple of the Sufis, but not just the Sufis.

Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich, beside of the Supreme Chief of Bosnian Islamic
Community of the Time, Hajji Mehmed Jamalu’ddin effendi Chaushevich, has been one of the
youngest Mathnawi teachers during their election onto Mathnawi Chair of Sarajevo.

He started teaching the Mathnawi directly after the death of his predecessor and he
temporarily started holding the Mathnawi classes in the well known Hadzimulich’s House, the
House of his teacher. Then, his Mathnawi classes were relocated into the former Bakr-Baba
Mosque, today better-known as the Atmeydan Mosque. But, since the new Mawlawi dervish’
convent on Jekavats (Kovachi) was grounded he continued holding the Mathnawi classes in the
new tekke (Gadžo 2013: 11).

The new Mawlawi dervish’ convent on Jekavats resembles a lot the Isa-bey’s tekke (dervish’
convent) demolished more than fifty years ago. In other words, the newly built dervish convent
represents a peculiar aspect of revival the former Isa-bey’s dervish’ convent, that aimed anew
beginning of teaching the Mathnawi, but also the Mawlawi Tradition which started in the well
known Isa-bey’s dervish convent.

578
 Hajji Hafis Mehmed effendi Karahodzich is still holding the Mathnawi classes in the
mentioned dervish convent on Jekavats. His classes of the Mathnawi are held every Wednesday,
from 19.30 until 20.30 p.m.

Currently, the teacher of the Mathnawi simply captivates everyone who comes to his classes
through his Erudition and Inspiration through the Mathnawi. He also speaks several foreign
languages, like: Arabic, Persian, English and German (Gadžo 2013: 11).

It is also important to mention that current classes of the Mathnawi are gathering a lot of
women, while the former classes of the Mathnawi assembled mostly men.

The Mathnawi and Education

With regard to the importance of bringing up and educating oneself onto the development
of onse personality, we may say that there everything is clear and comprehensible. Education
as such focuses itself on building of once Personality, but not only that. The Cornerstone of
everyone’s bringing up, even during their childhood, is put up by their parents. They are mostly
responsible for the result of their child/children bringing up in the future. Because, according to
Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi, the best property those children may inherit from their parents is a good
education (Uysal 2012:164).

But, in that chapter of the paper we will focus ourselves on the role of the Scriptures, but
especially of the Mathnawi, that also may be seen as a spiritual Scripture, onto education of
oneself and developing once personality. Because, as we have already mentioned, the Mathnawi
and the Koran, but also any other Scripture cannot be comprehended when divided one from
another. Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi devoted himself completely to comprehending the Holy
Scriptures, especially the Koran on which he based his whole spiritual teachings, so that of the
Mathnawi. Because, the Mathnawi itself represented the spiritual message of the Koran in its
picturesque manner in which it was written. That famous spiritual work has proposed a lot of
instructions and advic that may help oneself to become a deeper comprehension of the Scriptures,
but especially of the Koran.

In the end, based on its structure and the message that it sends, the Mathnawi resembles a
lot the Koran, but in a much picturesque, metaphoric manner. Because of all these circumstances
that famous work of Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi became known as the esoteric Commentary on
the Koran, but also the Koran itself in the Persian tongue.

According to Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi, both Books, the Koran and the Mathnawi,are
based on Education, all of them in a different way. He describes it with following words:

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 A Human being itself, if he is non educated,
He couldn’t be a Human at all.
Main difference between a human’s body and an animal,
That is the Education.
So, open your eyes and look at the whole Koran, all its verses,
They are all from the same meaning.
The Koran itself that is the Education.
Mawlana, See: (Hadžimulić 2012:41)

The Koran educates oneself as outer, but also inner, while the Mathnawi focuses itself on
the inner (spiritual) Path of educating oneself. Therefore, while the Koran guidelines oneself in a
much theoretical way, focusing itself on forming of once personality in a, as theoretical, but also
on a spiritual way.

Beside of all, the Mathnawi itself had been composed in a picturesque manner that enables
oneself to get involved into the character’s of the Mathnawi, that make their comprehension of
its message much easier. Because of all these circumstances, we shouldn’t divide the Mathnawi
from the Koran, because since the Mathnawi enables us, and gives us many guidelines on better
comprehension of the Koran.

Accordingly, we need to emphasize that it will be helpful for the children to devote
themselves from their early childhood into Mathnawi because, beside of helping oneself in
comprehending the message of the Koran, it would help them to find the way to Eternity, to
find the way to God. But, finding the Way to God essentially means finding the Way to oneself,
comprehending the manner and reason of once own existence, that also relates to one of the most
famous Prophet’s Preachings, which the Sufi’s quote very often:

That one who has perceived himself, he perceived his Lord.

Passing through the eternal Way, everyone who devoted himself to the Way requires
having a Guide. Mawlana himself found his spiritual Guide in an poorly clothed dervish, Shams-i
Tabriz, that transmitted him from a sober jurist into the devotee of the Divine Love,that he has
enchanted in his poetry.

In other words, Rumi was transformed by the touch of the spiritual Sun, who was able to
transform everything that came close to him, changing stones into gems, copper into gold, bread
into soul (Gadžo 2013: 11).

Depending on the reasons we have already mentioned, it would be helpful to introduce

teaching the Mathnawi, similar to the introduction of the classes of the Religious instruction in

580
Primary and Secondary school. The classes should be organized according to the manner and
possibility of children to comprehend its message. Sincerely, the Mathnawi is going to enable
them to educate themselves in a much deeper Way. It strives them the Way to God, that is the
Way to themselves. In that way, they would become able to comprehend the manner, meaning
and purpose of their own creation. They would get the opportunity to gain a better cogitation of
their own identity, of themselves.

Mawlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi chants in his famous Mathnawi.

Every cause is a mother, its effect the child.
When the effect is born, it too becomes a cause,
and gives birth to wondrous effects.
These causes are generation on generation,
but it needs a very well lightened eye to see the links in their chain.
(Mathnawi) See: (Mesnevija 2, 2002:999-1001)

References

Abedpour, Saeid, Hadži hafiz Halid efendija Hadžimulić – Tradicija i društvo, ZNAKOVI VRE-
MENA – Časopis za filozofiju, religiju, znanost i društvenu praksu, Sarajevo, zima 2010.,
Vol. 13, Broj 50, pages 10-26;
Beglerović, Samir, Tesavvuf Bosne u vidicima Fejzullaha Hadžibajrića: Vjerski i kulturni razvoj
bosanskih Muslimana u prvoj polovini XX stoljeća, BOOKLINE, Sarajevo 2014.
Beglerović, Samir, Fejzulah-efendija Hadžibajrić kao mevlevijski šejh i mesnevihan u periodu na-
kon rušenja Isa-begove tekije, Mjesto i uloga derviških redova u Bosni i Hercegovini,
Zbornik radova povodom obilježavanja 800 godina od rođenja Dželaluddina Rumija,
Naučnoistraživački institut ‚IBN SINA’, Sarajevo 2011.
Čelebić, Midhat, Isa-begova tekija kao sjemenka Sarajeva, Zbornik radova ‚Isa-begova tekija u
Sarajevu’, Udruženje Obnova Isa-begove tekije, Sarajevo 2006., pages 95-101;
Chittick, William C., Sufijski Put Ljubavi – Rumijeva duhovna učenja, Naučnoistraživački institut
‚IBN SINA’, Sarajevo 2005.
Chittick, William C., Me and Rumi – The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi, Fons Vitae, Louis-
ville, Kentucky 2004.
Dizdarević, Sedad, Mevlana u Bosni, Fondacija Baština duhovnosti, Mostar 2012.
Gadžo, Šaban, Mesnevihani u Sarajevu u posljednjih 100 godina, BEHAR-Časopis za kulturu i
društvena pitanja, Godina 2013, Broj 116., pages 3-12;
Hadžimulić, H. hfz. Halid ef., Prvi i Posljednji ders, Udruženje Hadži Mujaga, Sarajevo 2012.
Lewis, Franklin D., Rumi – Past and Present, East and West, The Life, Teachings and Poetry of Jalal
al-Din Rumi, Oneworld Publications, Oxford 2000.

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Memija, Emina, Tekije nekad i sad, Zbornik radova ‚Isa-begova tekija u Sarajevu’, Udruženje Ob-
nova Isa-begove tekije, Sarajevo 2006., pages 147-154;
Mušeta-Aščerić, Vesna, Bendbaša: Riznica duhovnosti, kulture i obrazovanja, Zbornik radova
‚Isa-begova tekija u Sarajevu’, Udruženje Obnova Isa-begove tekije, Sarajevo 2006., pages
115-127;
Nesuh, Nedžmudin, Zlatni bejt – Hadži Hafiz Halid Hadžimulić, Iz životopisa, Bosančica Print,
Sarajevo 2006.
Nicholson, Reynold A., Rumi – Poet and Mystic (1207-1273), Suhail Academy, Lahore 2000.
Nicholson, Reynold A., Tales of Mystic Meaning – Selections from the Mathnawi of Jalal-ud-Din
Rumi, Suhail Academy, Lahore 2000.
Rumi, Dželaluddin, Mesnevija I, Izdavačka kuća ‚Ljiljan’, s perzijskog preveo Fejzullah Hadžibajrić,
Sarajevo 2000.
Rumi, Dželaluddin, Mesnevija II, Izdavačka kuća ‚Ljiljan’, s perzijskog preveo Fejzullah
Hadžibajrić, Sarajevo 2002.
Rumi, Dželaluddin, Mesnevija IV, Buybook, s engleskog preveo Velid Imamović, Sarajevo 2005.
Rumi, Dželaluddin, Mesnevija V, s engleskog preveo Velid Imamović, Sarajevo 2005.
Schimmel, Annemarie, Rumi’s World – The Life and Work ofthe Great Sufi Poet, Shambala Publi-
cations, Boston 2001.
Schimmel, Annemarie, The Triumphal Sun – A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, State Uni-
versity of New York Press, Albany 1993.
Schimmel, Annemarie, Isus i Marija u Islamskoj Mistici, Naklada Jesenski i Turk, Zagreb 2009.
Uysal, Mürşide, Mesnevija za djecu, Libris, Sarajevo 2012.

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 The Cultural Framework of the Bosniaks in Turkey

Hanifa Obralić &Tarik Obralić

University of Travnik / Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

Culture can be defined in many ways and observed from various perspectives. We observed
the cultural framework of the Bosniaks living in Turkey in rural areas considering their tradition,
customs, religion, education, and value system. After the Austro-Hungarian occupation, many
people migrated to Turkey. We observed the Bosniaks who were called Muhamedians in the
period of Austro-Hungarian due to fact they were Muslims. The Bosniaks in Turkey have been
called as Bosnaklar, Bosnak tarifesi, and Bosnalu takimi. The main objective of this research is to
investigate and define the cultural framework of Bosniaks living in a village in Turkey, Kalafat.
For analyzing archival research we involved content analysis and gathered data from the various
sources that belong to the periods of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a qualitative
analysis of material-Archival Research method. Besides, we composed a questionnaire and
conducted a highly structured data collection instrument including various items which suggest
options and include particular information, thus, our research is characterized as quantitative
research. We found out essential components that reflect cultural framework within Bosniak
community in Kalafat.

Key words: cultural-framework, tradition, language, values

Uvod

Stoljećima su se na ovom našem središnjem prostoru događali srazovi i dotjecaji svjetova

i civilizacija, a ne njeni sukobi, kako bi to mnogi htjeli reći, jer da su se oni uistinu zbivali, odveć
bi te civilizacije nestale. I u tom dodiru civilizacija, koji je, s jedne strane bogatio ove prostore,
a s druge, bio uzrokom česte promjene vlasti i vladara, nemira i ratova i koji je nerijetko nosio

  583
pustoš i razaranja, dešavali su se nekada pojedinačni, nekada masovni, manje privremeni a više
trajni, odlasci Bosanaca i Hercegovaca sa svojih vjekovnih ognjišta ranije na Istok, a poslije i na
Zapad. A oni što su opstajali i ostajali, Bosanci i Hercegovci na dodiru dviju civilizacija, Istočne,
odveć produhovljene, i one Zapadne, sasvim materijalizirane, imali su trajnu obavezu, prilagoditi
se novoj dramatici životnog preokreta.

Nerijetko su se bosanskohercegovački Muslimani nalazili u nametnutoj dilemi: ostati i

povući se u sebe i bojkotovati javni, politički i državni život ili otići. Na kraju su bosanskohe­
rcegovački Muslimani - “sljedbenici islama koji su porijeklom – porodičnim, kulturnim, tradici­
jskim, jezičkim i etničkim – vezani za Bosnu i Hecegovinu“(Abazović, 2009, str. 220.) i odlazili
i ostajali, duboko uvjereni i jedni i drugi da su donosili časnu odluku, a priča Enesa Karića koja
slijedi o potrebi da bosanskohercegovački Muslimani svoj život i svoj islam moraju vezivati za
sudbinu svoje Bosne i Hercegovine, prihvatajući evropsko stanje i poimanje stvari, i Ljubušakova,
nakon priče prof. Karića da Bošnjaci mogu biti evropski Muslimani, ali se za takvo što moraju
potruditi, dobivaju svoj puni smisao i u svekolikim iskušenjima kroz koja su prolazili (i kroz
koja prolaze) bosanskohercegovački Bošnjaci, Muslimani u svom mukotrpnom tumaranju po
evropskom i inom bespuću.

Bošnjaci u Turskoj

Bošnjaci naseljeni u ruralnim dijelovima Republike Turske, u čijem je načinu funkcioniranja

zajednice prepoznatljiva zajednička kultura sa zajedničkim osnovom življenja, u kojima je briga
za traktorom koji su dobili od države njihova zajednička stvar, zajednička šuma što su je dobili
na korištenje, zajedničko dobro. Njihov način odijevanja, podjela uloge između muškarca i žene,
ašikovanje i vjenčani rituali, sunetluk i udaja, njihovo rađanje i umiranje, jeste njihov zaje­dnički
osnov življenja. Pripovijedaju priče iz davnina, pjevaju uspavanke što su ih njihovi djedovi
donijeli iz svih krajeva Bosne, njihova kratka, ali bogata zajednička povijest, vjera i vjerovanja u
ovozemaljski i život poslije smrti, sve ovo postaje zajedničko putem govornog bosanskog jezika.
Njihovi djedovi su živjeli zajedno, njihovi očevi kao i oni danas žive zajedno, i svi oni imaju
kolektivno etničko porijeklo. Bošnjaci bi u Turskoj morali imati političku zaštitu ili svoje jezično
područje, jer će teško opstati bez privrženosti načelu vlastitog genetičkog identiteta. Bošnjačko
selo je definirano genetičkim jedinstvom koje se štiti kulturnom jednakošću, koja se manifestira
kroz načine života, skupni rad, razmjenu dobara, vjerovanje u Jednoga Boga, zajednički jezik.
Selo u kome žive Bošnjaci je otvoreni životni prostor, bez izraženih granica i nije pravni realitet.
On je socijalni i kulturni realitet koji u svojoj nutrini baštini jedinstveni jezik, što ga čini jednim
i jedinstvenim, bez dijalektoloških varijanti koje bi otvarale mogućnost egzistencije još jednoga
ili novoga jezika, što bi u konačnici rađalo i novi etnicitet.

584
 Asimilacija Bošnjaka u Turskoj

Turskoj državi nije u interesu da podržava bošnjačku kulturu, a još manje bosanski jezik.
U interesu njezinom je da bošnjačko stanovništvo što prije (i što „jeftinije”) uklopi u tursko
društvo. A pošto se tu kao glavni most povezivanja javlja islam (kao jedna opća duhovna
platforma i osjećanje pripadnosti zajedničkoj vjeri i državi), ta veza biva nosiocem i zaštitnikom
identiteta tih naših Ijudi u Turskoj. Oni su Tursku doživljavali kao svoju obećanu zemlju, zemlju
islama, vjerskoga korijena kojem se naši ljudi vraćaju. Identificirajući se sa Turskom oni iskazuju
privrženost vjeri. Za egzistenciju i identitet Bošnjaka u njihovoj svijesti to je važnije i od same
naciona­lne svijesti (koja se kod tog naroda pretijesno vezuje za vjersku svijest). Zato se valjda i
dogada (uslijed te opće pripadnosti islamu) da se taj narod (ne samo njegov dio u Turskoj, već i
onaj u matici) sa izvjesnom distancom odnosi prema drugim svojim značajkama i vrijednostima,
koje na prvi pogled nemaju izravnije veze sa islamom. Takav je npr. slučaj sa odnosom bošnjačkog
mentaliteta prema izvornoj bosanskoj kulturi, bošnjačkom porijeklu, narodnom stvaralaštvu na
maternjem jeziku, prema samom tom maternjem jeziku. Upravo primjeri odnosa bošnjačke
dijaspore u Turskoj prema svome kulturnom naslijeđu dramatičan su znak upozorenja za čitav
bošnjački narod.

Teško da bi se mogao nazvati (u historijskom smislu) sretnim narod koji se «galantno»

odri­če svoje najbrojnije dijaspore i koji praktično ne čini ništa (ili sasma malo) kako bi tu dijasporu
sačuvao, ne dopuštajući da se asimifira, razvodni i utopi u drugom nacionalnom okruženju i tuđoj
državi (ma koliko Turska i dalje ostajala «rezervna domovina» u svijesti bošnjačkog čovjeka).

Kulturni obrazac Bošnjaka u Turskoj

Ovo istraživnje na poseban način odslikava selo u kojem žive Bošnjaci, njegove mještane,
odnose među njima, instituciju kuće kroz sadržaje unutarnje (njenambijent, brojsoba,
sadržaj,namještaj) sa posebnom pažnjom na idilične pejzaže, arhitekturu, te jezičke, kulturne,
nacion­alne i vjerske odrednice toga naroda. U pitanju je, dakle, bošnjačko selo u Turskoj, njegov
razvoj, njegovi stanovnici, ostaci starih običaja; od načina odijevanja, načina i mjesta okupljanja
pa do njihove filozofije, dakle, riječ je o njihovoj privrženosti islamu (islamskim principima) i vje­
rskom prakticiranju (muslimanskoj praksi) kao dijelu njihovog sveukupnog kulturnoga obrasca,
odnosno, njihovih vrednota na planu nauke, vjere, morala, običaja, njihove umjetnosti, politike i
gospodarstva.

Evidentirane su i promjene u strukturi i organizaciji domaćinstva koje su se u posljednjem

stoljeću dešavale kod Bošnjaka naseljenih u ruralnim dijelovima Republike Turske. Govori se
i o uzrocima smanjenja zajedničkog porodičnog domaćinstva koje se, usprkos svim negativnim
trendovima održalo do današnjih dana, ali i početak njegovog raspada, uzrokovanog povećanjem

  585
mogućnosti zaposlenja, obrazovanja i migracije, osiguranjem ekonomske nezavisnosti sinova,
koji su postali manje ovisni o prihodu što su ga njihovi očevi stvarali poljoprivredom i vlasništvom
nad zemljom, a to je onda omogućilo pomjeranje autoriteta sa očeva na sinove.

Ova promjena ekonomske moći unutar domaćinstva omogućila je realizaciju težnji mlađih
članova, pogotovo želju mladih žena da imaju domaćinstvo odvojeno od svekrvinog. Ušlo se
tiho i skromno u odnose svekrva-snaha, kao i u sve snažniju potrebu mlade žene da ima prava u
svojim zahtjevima da se i njena riječ čuje i da ima kontrolu u rukovođenju imovinom i sredstvima
koje posjeduje domaćinstvo. Nije to lagan put unutar tradicionalne structure domaćinstva, čiji
krajnji cilj treba biti nezavisnost i zasebna kuća.

Gostoljubivost među komšijama u ruralnim dijelovima Turske naseljenim Bošnjacima

je jedan od vidova socijalne razmjene. Ona se najčešće manifestira kroz ženske posjete na
kahvu. Društvena razmjena podrazumijeva različite obaveze i definiranaje kao dobrovoljna
akcija pojedinaca motivirana uzvratnim uslugama. Te akcije mogu imati raznovrsne oblike, kao
što je ceremonijalno uručivanje darova na svadbama, prilikom zaruka; dove, mevludi, hatme,
dobrovoljni rad i dr.

U ovom istraživanju je riječ i o kući, kući kao moralnoj jedinici, kući kao mjestu odgoja i
odnosa, o glavi kuće (muškarcu), kao nositelju svih aktivnosti i njegovoj odgovornosti unutar te
zajednice, te ulozi žene kao oličenja moralnosti i religioznog identiteta domaćinstva. Govori se i
o društvenim aktivnostima žena i vrijednosti tih aktivnosti, posebno koji se tiču kretanja žena u
socijalnom i geografskom prostoru. U interakcijama koje su povezivale domaćinstvo i zajednicu,
situirana je žena, kao član domaćinstva, ali i neko ko mu nije sasvim pripadao. Može se kazati
da je ranjivost domaćinstva kao cjeline doslovno bila oličena u ženi, koja je istovremeno bila i
neko izvan i neko ko tu zajednicu reproducira. Dakle, u centru domaćinstva Bošnjaka naseljenih
u ruralnim dijelovima Republike Turske jeste žena. Na njoj je i obaveza i odgovornost čuvanja
muslimanskih običaja i vrednota, što se i za u Bosni i Hercegovini može kazati isto, s tim da su
obaveze i odgovornost čuvanja muslimanskih običaja i vrijednosti znatno dopunjene u smislu
njene snažnije uključenosti u javni život, njene sposobnosti da dostigne vrhunce s jedne strane,
u spoznaji i bogobojaznosti, a sa druge, u nauci i umjetnosti.

Tiho i skomno se ulazi u svijet odrastanja, kroz ustaljenu gradaciju od djevojčica do udatih
žena. Vidjeli smo kako se djevojke u Bošnjačkim selima širom Turske odgajaju, po kakvim
pravilima, te šta im je dopušteno, a šta nije.

Tradiciju ašikovanja mladi Bošnjaci u Turskoj prakticiraju iz bogate riznice običaja

i tradicije, donesene iz pradjedove domovine. Ašikovanje je, u stvari, ritualizirani i krajnje
romantični način udvaranja, slavljen u mnogim bosanskim narodnim pripovijestima koji za
posljedicu imaju javnu ili tajnu svadbu, odnosno vjersko vjenčanje (u vjerskom objektu ili kući
mladoženje) i sekularno vjenčanje u belediji (općini).

586
 U radu je riječ i o obrazovanju i odgoju mladih, o čemu stariji mještani sela vide potencijalnu
prijetnju moralnoj sferi kuće i tradicionalne muslimanske zajednice. Svijest mještana situirala je
školu i državno obrazovanje u nereligijski ambijent, a nereligijski definirani ambijent je značio
biti nemusliman u čemu mještani vide latentnu opasnost za religiju.

U ovom istraživanju riječ je i o bošnjačkom identitetu, o vjeri i vjerovanju Bošnjaka, kao

i o načinu i službenom upravljanju vjerskim životom kroz Bošnjačke džemaate, te se definirala
muslimanska praksu i približili tradicionalni vjerski rituali.

Bošnjaci u Turskoj uživaju standardne vjerske slobode. Ekonomski su relativno slobodni. U

nacionalnom smislu su otuđeni i uveliko asimilirani, ma koliko svoje vjerske slobode doživljavali
kao nacionalne. A baš u takvom načinu doživljavanja bošnjačkog identiteta i jeste zamka, tj. sva
ona protivurječnost u svijesti Bošnjaka o samima sebi (ne samo turskih Bošnjaka).

Jezik Bošnjaka u Turskoj

Zadržavajući svoj jezik unutar svoga etniciteta, onaj isti bosanski jezik koji su njihovi
pradjedovi donijeli iz svoga zavičaja, oni se i dalje održavaju, a sa njima i dijelovi njihove kulture,
koja se vokabularom i govorom isprepleće i nadopunjuje.

Jezik je Bošnjaka u Turskoj zadržao govornu formu, što ga u znatnoj mjeri snažnije
karakterizira kao etnicitet, za razliku od njegove pisane forme. Istina, njihovi pradjedovi dolaskom
iz Bosne, donijeli su samo govorni jezik, koji je u nedostatku pisanog jezika, pretrpio znakovite
promjene. Da su Bošnjaci sa sobom donijeli i pisanu realizaciju jezika, sada bi njihov jezik bio
sasvim drugačiji, jer bi nastale promjene spriječila pisana riječ.

Jezik Bošnjaka u Turskoj dijalekatski je šarolik, okružen dominirajućim turskim jezikom.

Danas je on podvrgnut vrlo destruktivnim uticajima; sa njim se zbivaju složene i (po taj jezik)
pogubne stvari. U nacionalnokulturnom smislu Bošnjaci u Turskoj1 su brojna, ali sebi prepuštena
dijaspora, nepriznata od turske države, a bez značajnije podrške iz Bosne i Hercegovine. U
procijepu izmedu svojih matičnih država i države u kojoj žive, Bošnjaci u Turskoj gube identitet.
Proces asimilacije toliko je uzeo maha da se mogućnost spasenja čini beznadežnom. U čemu
su uzroci takvog stanja? Zar Bošnjaci (kao jedan mali narod) smiju sebi dozvoliti da prepuste
asimilaciji svoju najbrojniju dijasporu? Događa li se to prema neminovnom zakonu ekonomske

1 Pojmovni sklop Bošnjaci uTurskoj, podrazumijeva periodod 1878. godine, od vremena organiziranog
dolaska bosanskohercegovačkih muslimana, Bošnjaka u Kalafat, selo koje su formirali, pa sve dodanas. To
je period u kojem je turski narod prošao kroz dvarazličita identiteta i to Osmanski turski identitet i turski
identitet. “Osmanska Turska je kolijevka osmanskog turskog identiteta koji se razvio unutar osmanskog
miješanja naroda za razliku od turskog i dentiteta koji je nastao sa Republikom Turskom, a koji je utemeljen
na pojmu moderne nacije – države (istorija Osmanske države i civilizacije, priredio E. Ihsanoglu, Sarajevo,
2004. strana 39.).

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logike, ili je ta „logika” samo paravan za dublju kulturnu inferiornost i nisku svijest o sebi, za
nemoć da se Bošnjaci u Turskoj kulturno očuvaju pa i emancipiraju?

Svoj maternji jezik Bošnjaci u Turskoj upotrebljavaju u porodičnom krugu i u krugu ze­
mlja­ka, kvartova u kojima zajednički žive, pa i u okvirima nekih vidova organiziranog društvenog
života (kakav je npr. slučaj sa kulturnim društvom Dernek u Istanbulu). Taj jezik (dijalekatski
nejedinstven) upotrebljava se na usmenom nivou i to je u Turskoj neka vrsta zavičajnog jezika
Bošnjaka. Što se tiče njegovih pisanih formi, one praktično i ne postoje; bosanski književni
jezik tamo je mrtvo slovo na papiru. Bošnjaci u Turskoj (ma koliko to zvučalo nevjerovatno)
nemaju ni svojih novina, ni knjiga, ni škole, ni radija, ni televizije. Sve to suvereno pokriva
turski razgovorni i književni jezik. Bosanski jezik u Turskoj medu Bošnjacima se praktično i
ne upotrebljava; jer da bi jezik zaista funkcionirao, on mora biti pisani (standardni) jezik, sa
gramatikom, pravopisom i rječnicima.

Osnovni uzrok takvog stanja je u krutom stavu centralizirane turske države prema bošnja­
čkoj nacionalnoj manjini, njezinoj kulturi i jeziku. Turska praktički ne dopušta organizirane
vidove okupljanja Bošnjaka. Takvom stanju kumovali su i političko-kulturni odnosi izmedu
Jugoslavije i Turske, ravnodušnost socijalističke Jugoslavije i njezinih republika Srbije i Crne
Gore, prema nacionalnoj sudbini stanovništva iseljenog sa njihove teritorije. Ni sama Bosna i
Hercegovina (kao nacionalna matica) u tom smislu nije bila mnogo aktivnija, što je sve i dovelo
do stanja kakvo je danas sa turskim Bošnjacima. Bosanski oslobodilački rat izazvan agresijom
Beograda možda će u ovom pogledu štošta izmijeniti u pozitivnom pravcu, mada će biti vrlo
teško radika­lnije popraviti situaciju, jer je proces asimilacije Bošnjaka u Turskoj metastazirao.

I sami Bošnjaci u Turskoj, svojim načinom života i uklapanjem u tursko društvo, doprinose
da taj proces asimilacije ide sve ubrzanije. Njihovi ekonomski interesi nemaju neposredniju vezu
sa nacionalnim interesima; zapravo, imaju, ali u jednom degradirajućem smislu. Što su Bošnjaci
više nacionalno otudeni, veće su mogućnosti ekonomskog napredovanja i uspješnog uključivanja
u tursko društvo. Odnosno, što su ekonomski jači, u nacionalnokulturnom smislu su (naprotiv)
slabiji, sa sve tanjom svijesti o svome identitetu. I to je taj stravični ponor Bošnjaka u Turskoj, još
stravičniji time što ga oni nisu svjesni (ili su ga nedovoljno svjesni), ponor iz kojeg se teško izvući.

Generacije Bošnjaka rođene u Turskoj karakterističan su pokazatelj kojim pravcem se

u nacionalnom smislu kreće bošnjačka dijaspora u toj zemlji. Nacionalno-kulturno otuđenje,
slabljenje svijesti o porijeklu, neznanje o sebi, prepuštanje stihiji zaboravljanja i ono malo znanja
što je stečeno u porodičnom predanju. Bosanski jezik sve je potisnutiji turskim, u javnom životu
gotovo da ga i nema. On nije ni po čemu prestižan za mlade ljude i prije će biti da ih ometa u
što boljem ovladavanju turskim. U stvari, za tu mladu generaciju veza sa bošnjačkim korijenima
i vladanje bosanskim jezikom u turskom društvu ne znači ništa, jer takvo porijeklo u turskoj
sredini ekonomski nije unosno A pošto u tom smislu nije prestizno, svi drugi pokušaji i težnje da
se nešto izmijeni unaprijed su osudeni na poraz.
588
 Zaključna razmatranja

Da bi sela Bošnjaka kao etnicitet preživjela, da bi osnažila i trajala ovisi o velikom broju
faktora poput njihovog jezika, vjere i vjerovanja, obrazovanja mještana, kao i o njihovoj slobodi
i njihovim pravima u raznim područjima života, računajući i slobodu izbora bračanoga druga,
slobodu odlučivanja unutar zajednice, vjerske i druge slobode. O njihovom trajanju, njihovoj
budućnosti i prosperitetu se može govoriti ukoliko im ne bude nedostajala intelektualna
nadgradnja, ukoliko ostvare literalno zasnovan kulturni identitet. Bošnjaci koji su od dalekih
osamdesetih godina devetnaestoga stoljeća pristizali u Tursku, postali su državljani Turske, postali
su pripa­dnici druge nacije-države, jesu gubili nacionalnost, ali nisu gubili etnicitet. Bošnjaci u
Turskoj jesu Turci u nacionalnom smislu, ali je njihov bosanski karakter stvar etniciteta.

Bošnjaci u Turskoj su u uvjetima migracije svoga etniciteta zadugo insistirali na svom

apolitičnom karakteru, što im nije smetalo da i pored toga budu u istoj mjeri politični, kao
i svaka druga pa i veća interesna skupina u Turskoj. Jačanjem, te stjecanjem samopouzdanja,
Bošnjaci se sve više politiziraju, idući tako daleko - da se počesto miješaju odbrana vlastitog
kulturnog identiteta i želja i potreba za lojalnošću prema državi, čiji su integralni dio.

References

Bandžović, Safet (2006) Iseljavanje Bošnjaka u Tursku. Sarajevo, Institut za istraživanje zločina
Bašagić, S. (1938) Bošnjaci, GHB, Sarajevo
Bogićević, V. (1950) Emigracija Muslimana Bosne i Hercegovine u Tursku u doba austrougarske
vladavine, Školska knjiga, Zagreb
Cvijić, J. (1914) O iseljavanju bosanskih Muhamedanaca, 1910. Cvijićeva knjiga, Novi Sad.
Duraković N., (1998.) Prokletstvo Muslimana, Harfo-Graf, Tuzla
Filandra, Š. (1998) Bošnjačka politika u XX. Stoljeću, Sejtarija, Sarajevo
Filipović, M. (1931) Bošnjaci u okolini Skoplja, Pregled, Sarajevo
Filipović, M. (1996) Bošnjačka politika. Politički razvoj u Bosni u 19. i 20. stoljeće, Sarajevo: Sv-
jetlost
Jelimam, Salih (2003) “Historijsko-edukativna uloga časopisa ‘Behar’ u jačanju identiteta
Bošnjaka”, u: Znakovi vremena, god. 5, br. 21, Sarajevo: Ibn Sina.
Malkolm H. (2003) Sociologija religije, Clio, Beograd
Markešić, Ivan (2002) “Doprinos vjere izgradnji kulturnog identiteta”, u: Vrhbosnensia: časopis za
teološka i međureligijska pitanja. 6 (2002), 1 str. 9-34.
Obralić, T. (2009) „Uzroci iseljavanja bosanskohercegovačkih muslimana u Osmansku Tursku,
1878.g.-1925.g., Kewser, Sarajevo
Škaljić, A. (1989) Turcizmi u srpskohrvatskom jeziku, Svjetslost, Sarajevo
Tahir, M. (1972) Osmanli Müellifteri, Istanbul
Terdžumani Hakikat, (1880) Carigrad
  589
 Tourism as an Old Trend but New Challenge
for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Lejla Dizdarević
International University of Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

Many countries have considered tourism industry as the perfect chance to increase their
GDP, employment rate, exports and to stabilize their balance of payments. According to UNWTO,
the international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2014, what refers to 1,135 billion people and
1, 5 trillion $ US in export earnings. Thus, it is without any doubt considered as the fastest
growing economic sector in the world with great impact on the socio-economic development.
Consequently, competition among destination around the world is evident result of this trend.
But, how this affects Bosnia and Herzegovina? The long and turbulent history, invaluable cultural
and natural heritage as well as recent happenings are open call for all those with curiosity, desire
to experience multi-ethnicity, history, adventure, and empathy. Evidently, the tourism is growing
in BIH, year by year, and even month by month. Although tourism statistics are not that accurate,
sudden expansion in tourism components are shaping up the real picture of tourism growth in
the country. Besides all of those challenges, since 1990’s, together with reforms in the economic,
political, and social aspects, the tourism growth can easily become the additional one for B&H.
Eventually, the tourism as one of the rare prospects for the economic recovery of this country
is on the weak pathway to achieve long term sustainability due to the destructive constitution,
bureaucracy, and administration. Through observation and analysis of the relevant literature the
paper aims to emphasize and discuss the current situation in the country from the critical point
of view. Raising awareness of this particular issue hopefully may bear the ground for the positive
changes in the future.

Key words: tourism, planning, challenge, Bosnia and Herzegovina

590
 Introduction-Tourism phenomena

Tourism represents the one of the leading industries in the world today right after oil and
car manufacturing. It’s growth, development, expansion, range of impacts and above everything
resilience shaped it into global phenomena. Since the emergence of modern tourism and even
before this industry was constantly growing and expanding at the global scale. The results are
repeatedly positive, with the constant rise of 4, 5 % on annual basis. According to UNWTO
(United Nation World Tourism Organization), over 1, 1 billion tourist travelled abroad in
2014 (UNWTO, 2015) what is a 4, 7 % increase over the previous year. Accordingly, 51 million
people more engaged in tourism activities compared to previous year. Even the economic crisis
beginning in year 2009 did not disarrange robust tourism growth what proofs its strong resilience
among industries. Also, international tourism demand continues on positive scale in first few
months of 2015, with growth of 4% worldwide. Just between January and April 2015, destinations
worldwide received around 332 million of international tourists what is 14 million more than the
year before. The future growth is projected to be 1,8 billion of international tourist arrivals by
year 2030. Besides its resilience tourism over the decades plays important role in world economy
with 9% of GDP, in terms of direct, indirect and induced impacts (UNWTO, 2014). By the year
2023, direct contribution of tourism industry to world GDP is expected to have annual growth
of about 4, 4%. In terms of international tourism receipts the estimates are reached in 2014, with
record of US$ 1,245 billion (UNWTO, 2015). Tourism also has great impact on world exports
representing it with contribution of US$ 1, 5 trillion what makes 6% of overall exports of goods
and services.

One of the greatest impacts of tourism industry is the impact on employment rate. Over
the years it is one of the leading industries in creating jobs and range of opportunities for different
categories. As it is known, tourism is highly labor intensive industry with minor opportunities
for automatization what in fact lowers starting capital. Employing every 11th person in the world
tourism is usually labeled as job generator (Williams & Shaw, 1988). According to UNWTO,
over 250 million people is employed in this sector what refers to 8,8% of impact to total world
employment (WTTC, 2013).

Tourism has great power to shape and reshape destinations, countries and whole regions
with its direct and indirect impacts. Those impacts are not always positive, but can be largely
negative depending on how well tourism development is organized and planned. Besides
mentioned tourism impacts, for this paper it is necessary to add the information regarding
impacts on poverty alleviation, economic recovery, balance of payments, and environmental and
heritage protection. These influences are of particular importance for developing and countries
in transitions (Robinson & Picard, 2006).

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 Over the past years tourism is recognized to be strong player in economic recovery and
poverty alleviation. This is mainly achieved through its contribution to overall exports and
creation of jobs what is mentioned before. In addition, it highly affects balance of payments with
collection and flow of foreign currencies. Multiplier effect is inseparable characteristic of tourism
industry that is considered as important indicator of economic independence of a country
(Cook, Yale & Marqua, 2002). The function of multiplier effect is stronger with the complex
nature of tourism industry. The main function can be explained: as the multiplier effect increases,
economic self-sufficiency of the country increases as well. However, the level of imported good
can highly affect multiplier’s benefits thus certain measures should be applied.

Furthermore tourism highly contributes to national economy indirectly through its

support and contribution to other industries and sectors. In this aspect, it is one of the rare
industries with great impact on a wide spectrum of industries and sectors that are not necessary
economic, but also social, political, environmental, cultural, and etc. The effects of social and
cultural aspects need more time to appear compared to economic ones, but undoubtedly effective
and strong in the long run. The special attention is given to negative tourism impacts, particularly
environmental ones since it is very often too late and difficult to repair its’ consequences.

Today, it is almost impossible to find the place untouched by tourism activities, while
for many communities around the world tourism represents the lifeline. At the headcounters
of UNWTO is has been said that in recent years it is evident emergence of new destinations in
Europe, where tourism sector is considered as one of the most important engines of the economic
recovery (UNWTO, 2013). With the establishment of new independent countries and states in
Europe especially in Western Balkans, emergence of new tourism destinations is expected result.
Long existence of tourism activities in the Europe, almost century long leader in tourism, force
down emerging ones to be much faster in developing their competitive advantages. However, the
new trends in global tourism arena and especially changes in tourists’ preferences are some of the
movements creating opportunities for new destinations to compete in tourism market. One of
those destinations is for sure Bosnia and Herzegovina. Great natural and cultural resources and
also very turbulent history are leading attractions very favorable for new types of tourist. Short
description of potentials of Bosnia and Herzegovina for tourism development will be given in
the following text.

Bosnia and Herzegovina-Tourism Potentials

The world is full of diverse tourism destinations being able to satisfy the wide range of
tourist types, but still tourists are searching for new ones, different, attractive, and unique. Bosnia
and Herzegovina is exactly the one, unique in many ways, attractive to many, and for sure different
in many ways. For many potential tourists, it is considered as “must to be visited” in near future

592
and for those who visited: the destination that must be visited again. Such attitude is very well
justified since it is very rare to find the place of such natural beauty, cultural richness and unusual
historical turbulence. Although the country covers only 51,000 km2, the amount of different
landscapes exceeds any expectations. Limestone mountains, valleys, old forests, numerous rivers
and mountain lakes are spread through the country without leaving any part of the country
unattractive for tourists. Also, the country posses exit to the Adriatic Sea with coastline of 20
km2 in length.

The variety and beauty of the mountains, as well as closeness to cities played, important
role in hosting 14th Winter Olympic Games in 1984 in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Ski lifts and accommodation centers still host large number of mountain and ski
lovers all year around that can be found at Bjelašnica, Igman, Trebević, Jahorina, Vlašić and other
mountains. Forests, being dominant biogeographic resource of Bosnia and Herzegovina, have
great potential in creating tourist supply in form of places for picnics, excursions, hunting, hiking,
biking, and organizing other recreational activities. Thousand–year-old European forest, one of
two remaining primeval forests Perucica is situated in this region in Sutjeska National Park that
covers the area of 17,500 hectares (Nurkovic, 2009). Plenty of clear rivers and springs surrounded
with attractive landscapes offer the chance for adventure seekers. Some of them are: Sava, Bosna,
Drina, Neretva, Una, Sana, Vrbas, Trebišnjica, and many others. Lakes are as well very popular
destination of visitors where the most popular ones are: Boračko, Prokoško, Jablaničko, Blidinje
and others. In the areas of mountains and along the river sides, rafting, kayaking, canoeing,
rock climbing, paragliding and parachuting are just some out of plenty of other activities to be
integrated in tourism supply. Furthermore, great resources of fresh and drinkable water add to
the uniqueness of the whole country.

Near twenty mineral deposits can be found in the country, with some of being well known
spa centers like Terme Ilidza in Sarajevo, Reumal Center in Fojnica, Vilina Vlas in Visegrad,
Aquaterm in Olovo and others. The country has long tradition, since Roman Times of using those
spa springs for recovery and healing. Flora and fauna is another rich resource with very diverse
bio-system where one can find over 3,700 identified species of flowering plants and hundreds of
endemic species as well (Clancy, 2004). Wild life of Bosnia and Herzegovina is still unknown to
certain extent, but for sure its forests and highlands are home to many different communities,
like wild goats, bears, thriving wolf, wild boar and etc. Highlands are home to eagles, hawks and
falcons while carp, eel, bass and trout are common types of fishes found in rivers and lakes of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, situated in Herzegovina region, Hutovo Blato is the largest bird
migration center in southeastern Europe where around 240 different birds can be found. All this
creates opportunities for different types of tourist activities, like hunting, fishing, bird watching,
and as well education and the research.

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 Besides natural beauties and wonders that can be found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
country is real treasury of cultural and historical heritage. This region is known to be the meeting
point of East and West where different civilizations have left their marks. Evidences of presence
of primitive man’s habitat can be witnessed all around the country like locations Rastuša cave
near Teaslić, Butmir and Debelo Brdo near Sarajevo, Badanj-Stolac, Londža at Doboj and other
localities. Marks of ancient times are as well spreads all around with settlements found near
Stolac, Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Trebinje, Mostar, Čapljina, Kakanj and etc. The middle Ages also
left remarkable footprints at this region, where Bobovac with its fortress was the state capital
of Medieval Bosnia. Other different types of fortress and old towns since 13th century can be
found there like Sokolac, Jezerski, Podzvizd, Blagaj, Velika Kladuša, Sarajevo, Travnik, Gradačac,
Doboj, Počitelj, Banja Luka, Jajce, Vranduk, Maglaj, Tešanj, Srebrenica and the others. As
mentioned, many civilizations have been present bringing their culture, way of living, building
its shrines and monuments and leaving it behind to live until today. Among them one can
find barbarian, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, Hungarian, Turkish and Habsburg forming the
unique picture of united opposites. It is hard to find the place in the country that contains no
heritage from different historical periods and times. Unfortunately, many places alike have not
been registered, marked, protected and valorized, but left in its forgetfulness to fight against the
new times. The remarkable monuments of great civilization are visible at every corner where
for instance Sarajevo, the capital city, can be mentioned as perfect example. The city provides
unusual mixture of different cultures, religions, and nationalities with unique impression of clear
distinction among previously living civilizations. The complexes of buildings, bridges, streets,
market places, churches, mosques, synagogues, are just some of plenty monuments that makes
this city exceptional and unique in this part of the world.

The biggest uniqueness of the place is for sure the evidence of coexistence of three biggest
religions of the world on such a small territory of 100m2. In fact in the center of Sarajevo city
on the territory that covers those 100m2 one can find orthodox church, mosque, synagogue
and cathedral. Very often Sarajevo is called European Jerusalem exactly because of previously
mentioned. The great three religions of the world met here long time ago, and had time to spread
around the country its shrines and cult-places. Thus religious tourism is very attractive type of
tourism to be focused on having in mind the strength of traditional visit to those places. The
famous catholic shrine is Međugorje, situated in Herzegovina region is visited by around million
of believers every year. Orthodox monastery and related holly places are other attractions of
religious tourism like one of Žitomislići and many others. Ajvatovica is well known space of
spiritual value where thousands of Muslims come for prayer “kišna dova”. Besides that, there are
many other places visited by Muslims like Tekija on the Buna near Mostar, “Djevojačka Pećina” at
Kladanj, and etc. Also Jews have their sacred places, like cemeteries and Grave of Moshe Danon

594
in Stolac. Consequently, there is a lot of room for development of religious tourism in Bosnia and
Herzegovina what is concluded also as economically justified (Osmanković, 2015).

Unfortunately, recent aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina created other attractions for
many visitors. Large numbers of tourists are primarily motivated by events during 1992-1995.
Those sad events eventually became attractions for many and very important part of tourism offer
in last years. Especially Sarajevo, as city under almost four years long siege in modern Europe, is
very attractive destination for those wondering and willing to find out the truth.

In light of previously mentioned, it is easy to conclude that this country has no problem
with potentials for tourism development, but rather inadequate valorization, unorganized and
poor utilization of those. In fact, most of the potential resources are totally abandoned, natural
and cultural, usually left to be responsibility of local communities that do not promise much.
In addition the whole country suffers from the lack of essential infrastructure for tourism
development, in this case lack of highways, insufficient functioning of railways, and highly
damaged local and regional roads. High percentage of minefields all around the country is also
problem for development of domestic tourism not only international and the problem has to be
solved at the level of country’s security.

Despite of partially mentioned problems and lack of adequate integration of tourism

industry into economic plans, tourism growth is very obvious. Some of recent statistical data on
tourism activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be provided in the following lines.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Tourism Activities

Tourism industry was never the leading one in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the past,
but certain tourism activates were always evident. Although this country was always rich in
history and possesses extremely valuable cultural and natural resources, it was mainly oriented
toward industries like mining, agriculture, textile and production of energy. However, the 90’s
brought big changes to the whole region and during that period the country experienced massive
reshaping of its all resources. The aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in complete
destruction of infrastructure where buildings and monuments turned into dust and ash. Natural
resources of the country were as well affected in a way of being abundant and not maintained.
This was mainly due to installing of plentiful minefields around those. Consequently, the country
remained totally destroyed with many deaths , displaced and missing people unfortunately. The
new pages of turbulent history of this country had to be added.

War happenings created a strong image of unsecure and unstable country that lasted
until recently. It is true that even twenty years after the war the country is still struggling with
economic recovery, social and political issues. Unemployment rate is extremely high 43,02 %
  595
what refers to 539593.00 unemployed parsons. GDP is very low with 18,34 billion of US$ in 2014,
what is actually 0,03% contribution to the world economy, and external debt is enormous. The
wide spectrum of social problems is not necessary to mention. Thus the overall picture of the
country is not bright.

Since this country is full of paradoxes, it is not surprising that in all this mess the positive
changes are emerging. Those refer to very evident increase in international tourist arrivals what of
course positively affect new entrepreneurial activities. Very obvious change is for sure emergence
of new accommodation facilities and crowdedness in the cities. In the table below the changes in
tourism activities since 2007 are shown.

Table.1. Tourism statistics (domestic/foreign arrivals and nights)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Total 583.749 610.817 572.634 656.333 686.148 747.327 844.189

Domestic
277.290 289.306 261.692 290.879 294.203 309.242 315.610
tourist
Foreign
306.452 321.511 310.942 365.454 391.945 438.585 528.579
tourists

Nights 1.336.159 1.396.485 1.268.173 1.416.691 1.504.204 1.645.521 1.822.927

Source: Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2011), Tourism Statistics

Slow but constant growth of tourists’ arrivals to Bosnia and Herzegovina is obvious
with slight drop in 2009, the year marked with great impact of economic crisis. These data can
be accepted as proof that image of the country as unsecure and unstable is fading. The year
2014, recorded very slight growth in total, what was expected to happen due to problems with
floods in early months of that year. Unfortunately, particular regions are still struggling with the
consequences, while the others are recording high demand for accommodation of tourist and
organized activates.The table below contains the data of tourism activities for year 2014.

Table 2. Tourism statistics (domestic/foreign arrivals and nights) for 2014.

CUMULATIVEDATA January–December, 2014

ARRIVALSANDNIGHTS

596
 Nights
Arrivals

Avera-
genum-
Indices berofni-
Indices Struc-
ghtsby-
I-XII2014I- ture-
I-XII2014I- arrival
-XII2013 ofni-
I-XII2014 -XII2013 I-XII2014
ghts%

846.581100,3310.227 1.711.48093,9100,02,0623.008 87,3

TOTAL
98,3 36,4 2,0
Domestictourists 536.354 101,5 1.088.472 98,2 63,6 2,0
Foreigntourists

Source: Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2015)

Appearance of different accommodation facilities, souvenir shops, restaurants and

incoming travel agencies is happening over the night. Together with positive customers’
experiences, all this is giving the picture of new tourism destination emerging in the Europe. The
beginning of year 2015 resulted in very positive changes compared to year before where until
the June of same year number of tourist arrivals increased for 25,2% (Agency for Statistics of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2015) in total. The table below provides the data of compared years of
2014 and 2015, for period January-June presenting the data on tourists’ arrivals and nights. For
the mentioned period number of nights increased for 26,3% compared to previous year of 2014.

Table 3. Arrivals and nights in 2014/2015

ARRIVALS NIGHTS I-VI2015

Indexes Indexes Average

I-VI I-VI I-VI I-VI number
Struc-
2014** 2015* I-VI 2015I- 2014** 2015* I-VI of nights
ture
VI 2014 2015I-VI per arri-
2014 of val

ni-
ghts%

  597
 TOTAL 373.249 467.225 125,2 751.782 949.430 126,3 100,0 2,0

281.926 343.636 121,9 36,2 2,0

144.581 171.648 118,7
Domestic tourists
469.856 605.794 128,9 63,8 2,0
Foreign tourists 228.668 295.577 129,3

*Preliminary data
**Data previously revised
Source: Agency for Statistic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2015, First Release

The results are very encouraging as shown in table 3., especially for private sector and small
business enterprises offering the services and goods directly to tourists. However, these data have
to be understood with special consideration of usual statistical drawbacks. The situation is even
worse in Bosnia and Herzegovina with great impact of gray economy. De facto, the number of
tourists and nights is speculated to be much higher than presented in official statistics due to
the lack of related laws and regulations that add to this issue. Eventually, all this creates perfect
chance for all those short-term tourism goals hunters. Overall, it is understandable that tourism
activates are taking place and are affecting other sectors in the country, what is rare but bright
change in the decades of struggling for better life. Considering mentioned information, analyzed
data and observations it is possible to draw some discussions and come up with conclusions.

Discussions and Conclusions

Since tourism industry is not new phenomena in the word, but an old trend well studied,
analyzed and practiced for long time, chances for the mistakes should be kept at the very
minimum. This is particularly relevant to emerging tourism destination that had time to learn
how to maximize positive and minimize negative tourism influences. Bosnia and Herzegovina
is becoming very attractive new tourism destination with all potentials to satisfy the preferences
of emerging customers and to meet tourism trends. According to the mentioned data and given
information, the challenging chance for better future is at place.

Regardless of all problems in the country, economic, political, social and environmental,
the tourism growth is heading on without any serious plan or development strategies. The
questions that have to be raised before it is too late are: Is this country ready to host quick tourism
growth and to deal with all its impacts? Probably not. With such a poor political will, ineffective

598
decision makers, complex structure, lack of tourism education, and the number of other pitfalls
tourism growth can be just another devastating path for this country. It can easily turn into
another missed chance for better future, poverty alleviation, and economic recovery, decrease
of unemployment rate, decrease of foreign debt, increase in exports, protection and recovery of
natural and cultural resources, social and eventually sustainable development.

It is argued here that tourism industry is not novelty in the world, it exists almost since
the mankind but it is rare industry that continues to meet its positive forecasts what makes it
phenomenal in this turbulent times. This is presented trough the summary of analyzed statistical
and other relevant data concluding that development of tourism is an old trend and in away the
option for numerous potential destination suffering to find the way to economic recovery and
solution to many previously mentioned problems. The main aim of this paper was to raise the
issue of unplanned tourism growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the new European destination.
Through the observation, collection and analysis of statistical data of tourism activities in the
country this has been concluded. The research also showed lack of legal framework, plans and
strategies for this sector and above everything lack of political will to use this chance for country’s
prosperity. Regardless of findings, tourism activities continue on positive scale, establishing the
path for unsecured, unplanned and uncontrolled tourism growth. The consequences of such a
growth are experienced by destinations all around the world. Conclusively, this represents the
great challenge for post war country, with high political turmoil and insecurities. In the light of
previously mentioned, some of the immediate implications are suggested.

As immediate steps the proper planning and development of policies and strategies should
be considered and at the very top of agenda of decision makers. Tourism development should
be planned on the basis of holistic approach, to bring benefits to all stakeholders, but not elite
representatives of corrupted government and society. Governments have to show the will and
devote to higher goals. It is usually done trough engagement and support of local investors in
infrastructure and small and medium enterprises. Foremost, it is their responsibility to create
effective laws and regulations for this sector. The implementation of laws and regulations
should be immediate as well as effective sanction. Tourism education should be encouraged and
understood as essential tool for maintenance of sustainable tourism. This does not mean that
tourism should be accepted as main industry in the country, although considering the resources
it is the best change at the moment, but its development should be managed to support other
industries. There is much more to add here but even this is grand challenge for Bosnia and
Herzegovina while tourism is heading on and is shaping in its free way. This country cannot let
this happen; the chance for better future shouldn’t be missed.

  599
References
Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (2011). Tourism Statistics, Retrieved from
http://www.bhas.ba/saopstenja/2012/TUR_2011M12_001_01%20bh.pdf
Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (2015). Year VIII, Number 12, Retrieved from
http://www.bhas.ba/saopstenja/2015/TUR_2014M12_001_%2001_bos.pdf
Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (2015). Year IX, Number 6, Retrieved from
http://www.bhas.ba/saopstenja/2015/TUR_2015%20M%2001-06_001_%2001-bos.pdf
Clancy, T. (2004). Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bradt Travel Guide, The Globe Pequot Press Inc
Cook, R. A., Yale, L. J., & Marqua, J. J. (2002). Tourism; The Business of Travel, (2nd ed.),
Prentice Hall
Jucan, C. N., & Jucan, M. S. (2013). Travel and Tourism as a Driver of Economic Recovery.
Procedia Economics and Finance, 6, 81-88.
Nurkovic, R. (2009). Influence of Tourism on the Regional Development of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies, Volume 2, No 2,
201-2014.
Osmanković, J. (2015). Religijski turizam u Bosnia i Hercegovini. In Religijski turizam;
Perspektive i mogućnosti Islamske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini, Zbornik radova, (pp.
53-67), El-Kalem
Robinson, M., & Picard, D. (2006). Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
UNWTO. World Tourism Barometer. (2013). December, Volume 11, Retrieved from
http://tourlib.net/wto/UNWTO_Barometer_2013_05.pdf
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http://tourlib.net/wto/UNWTO_Barometer_2015_02.pdf
UNWTO. Tourism Highlights. (2014) Edition, Retrieved from
http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284416226
UNWTO. World Tourism Barometer. (2015), June, Retrieved from
http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/unwto_barom15_03_june_
excerpt.pdf
Williams, M. A., Shaw, G., (1988), Tourism: candy floss industry or job generator? The Town
Planning Review, Vol. 59, No. 1, pp 81-103
WTTC, (2013), World Travel & Tourism Council: Benchmarking Travel & Tourism-Global
Summary, How does Travel & Tourism compare to other sectors? Summary of
Findings, November, Retrieved from
http://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/benchmark%20reports/2013_global_
summary_1.pdf

600
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe

POLITICS
 The Rise and Fall of the European Dream

Joseph Lough
University of California, The USA

Abstract

The European Dream is often portrayed as the benign, if not benevolent counterpart to
the fading American Dream. Yet, as economic historian Joseph Lough shows in this essay, the
European and American dreams are linked by more than their shared embrace of free market
capitalism. In this essay Professor Lough exposes the darker side of the European Dream, a side
first expressed in the 1990s, but now fully revealed in Europe’s conflict with Greece. As Professor
Lough shows, this dark side of the European Dream was already present at its birth in the 19th
century, when GWF Hegel allegorized its birth and diffusion through a story about the Self-
Moving Substance that is Subject. This story has received mathematically rigorous validation
through convergence theories of today’s neoclassical and neoliberal economists. Yet, is total
domination by this Self-Moving Substance inevitable, much less desirable? Professor Lough
shows how Europe could adopt an alternative, more sustainable European Dream to meet today’s
pressing challenges.

Key words: Europe, European Dream, Hegel, Robert Lucas, Karl Marx, Capitalism, EU,
European Central Bank, WTO, World Bank, IMF

In the mythology that enshrouds the European Dream, Europe fashions itself a benign,
if not benevolent force, gradually enlarging itself at no member’s expense and to all members’
advantage. And, yet, throughout the 2000s, this mythology has suffered from a steady series of
reversals, of which Greece is only the latest. The European is often contrasted to the American
Dream in a comparison that nearly always favors Europe.

The European Dream emphasizes community relationships over individual

autonomy, cultural diversity over assimilation, quality of life over the accumulation
of wealth, sustainable development over unlimited material growth, deep play over
  603
 unrelenting toil, universal human rights and the rights of nature over property
rights, and global cooperation over the unilateral exercise of power (Rifkin 2004:3).

So wrote American economic and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin in 2004 in his appropriately
enough titled book The European Dream. What I would like to suggest here is that the European
and American Dreams have always born a far more intimate relationship to one another than
either most Europeans or most Americans care to admit. At the very least, they are wed together
by their shared dependence on an economic system that in the final instance begs agnosticism
over the fates of those whose lives, for better or worse, are governed by its mediations. On its
surface, the European Dream casts a profile that, while irresistible and, so, inevitable, is inviting,
but never forceful, always giving more than it takes and never eliminating the good that preceded
its arrival. Nineteenth century German philosopher GWF Hegel is the herald of this benevolent
Spirit, occupying territory only when it is invited and, even then, only when it finds in its beloved
object a narcissistic image of itself. Yet, if Hegel is its herald, then surely the European Dream’s
economist is the University of Chicago’s Robert E Lucas, Jr, the elder statesman of neoliberal
orthodoxy. For it is Lucas (and not Francis Fukuyama) whose rigorous mathematical modelling
shows why and how the European Dream must, of necessity, gain complete and final supremacy
over all the Earth.

The intimate relationship between the European and American Dreams goes beyond
the economic system they share. When in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Great Britain
unwillingly ceded rights over the world economy to its former colony, the bargain included a
clause that required the US to underwrite the twin fatalities — World Wars I and II — that lay just
barely beyond the horizon. When Great Britain and Germany destroyed one another’s industrial
capacity in World War I, it fell to the United States (and more specifically to JP Morgan) to re-
establish their industrial capacity. And when they did so again barely twenty years later, again
it was the United States that, for admittedly less than completely benevolent reasons, stepped in
to bail them out. The European Dream was, in this sense, stamped “Made in U.S.A.” Its fortunes
were tied to the returns on America’s already vast and growing neo-imperialist holdings. Should
these falter, the dream could easily morph into a nightmare.

What follows is a highly stylized account of the European Dream. Fellow economists will
likely find it too thin on data and models. Policy makers will likely find it too thin on historical
and institutional detail. On both counts, I am inclined to agree. Yet, notwithstanding these
disabilities, the following account has value. For I believe that it does successfully explain the
dark side of the European Dream, not as a momentary or ephemeral anomaly, which, during
better times, will dissipate in the warmth of the Sun, but as a feature necessarily immanent to the
European project as such. Having cast its lot with the weal and woe of economic efficiency, the
driving force behind economic growth, Europe cannot help but discipline those whom it judges

604
less efficient; Greece today, Portugal tomorrow, but eventually each and every community that
fails to fall into line. This was the logic that nearly two centuries ago Hegel already perceived
and portrayed allegorically in his story about the ever-narcissistic Self-Moving Substance that
is Subject. Karl Marx then picked up on Hegel’s verse, translating it first into a story about every
oppressed class in history, but finally into a story about the self-generating and regenerating
powers of capital itself. In its earlier form, Marx hailed every working class as the emancipatory
agent of history. In its final form, however, Marx perceived in this Subject a picture of domination
debilitating precisely on account of its success.

The course of our account proceeds as follows. We will first review the broad historical
contours that led, first to the transfer of title from Great Britain to America, but then the re-
gifting of this title back to Europe and to the world in the closing decades of the twentieth
century. Our aim here is to show how the European Dream was always already tied to economic
mechanisms and processes that, at least initially, were loudly disavowed by its architects. We
then proceed to a critical assessment of the Hegelian trope out of which the European Dream
first emerged. As I have shown elsewhere, this trope begs to be interpreted in a light cast on it by
the rigorous mathematical modelling of contemporary neoclassical and neoliberal economists.
If, as I contend, Hegel’s story about the Self-Moving Substance is an allegory, it may be valuable
for us to explore the economics behind this story. To this end, I show how Robert E Lucas,
Jr’s rigorous mathematical modelling casts light on and so sets in relief the topography of this
otherwise opaque Hegelian trope. In our concluding section I explore some alternatives to what
has often been cast as the inevitable, inescapable trajectory of the European Dream. Is Europe and
its dream destined to tumble headlong down the hole it has created, or might there be another
path forward towards the fulfilment of an alternate European Dream?

Our story begins more ominously with the twin fatalities, World Wars I and II, and dream
that emerged out of its ashes.

The Long Boom and Its Sequel

Many economists have described the broad contours of the twentieth century global
economy (Frieden 2006; Brenner 2006; Arrighi 2009). For the narrative that follows, I am
depending principally on Robert Brenner’s Economics of Global Turbulence (2006) and Jeffrey
Frieden’s Global Capitalism (2006). These accounts are important for our purposes because
they establish the historically and socially specific character of the European Dream. With roots
extending as far back as the eighteenth century, this dream owes its specific form to two factors:
the massive destruction of human and fixed capital in the European wars of 1914-1945 and
the unprecedented transfer of wealth from Great Britain to the United States over the course
of this same period. The massive destruction of capital brought Europeans to adopt a cynical

  605
view of the political and economic institutions that had left their nations vulnerable to these
twin catastrophes. The unprecedented transfer of wealth from Great Britain to the United States
meant that following the European wars the United States was operating at near full industrial
capacity, enjoying near full employment. But this also presented a huge dilemma. With Europe’s
economies a complete shambles, where would the economic growth come from sufficient to
purchase the commodities being pumped out at a record pace by the United States’ economy?
For the moment, demand from domestic consumers was sufficiently robust to sustain the United
States’ unprecedented growth. Yet, without global consumer demand no one was so foolish as to
believe that such growth was sustainable.

All told, the US sent roughly $13.5 billion to Europe to rebuild its industrial capacity and
sent another half billion to Japan to do the same (Frieden 267). For our purposes the volume
of US aid is less significant than what such aid signified: the transfer of global economic power
from Great Britain and Germany to the United States and the transfer of the rights to regulate
global markets from London to Washington (Arrighi 284-285). Of course, as Giovanni Arrighi
has noted, this transfer of rights was long in the making. By the turn of the century smart British
money was already heavily invested in a booming US economy (Arrighi 270). The British drive
to compete with Germany over armaments production only accelerated this trend. By the end
of the Great War, Arrighi notes, “most of the $9 billion of US net war credits was owed by
. . . Britain and France; but more than 75 per cent of Britain’s $3.3 billion of net war credits
was owed by bankrupt (and revolutionary) Russia and had to be largely written off ” (Arrighi
271). When added to the astronomical debt Great Britain accumulated during World War II,
the combined total helps to explain why US Treasury official Harry Dexter White and not his
famous British counterpart, John Maynard Keynes, held all the cards (and Keynes none) when
the two nations sorted out the financial order that would govern global commerce following the
war (Frieden 256-259).

Still, it is noteworthy how Europe spent its $13.5 billion reconstruction money, not only or
even primarily on aid earmarked for its gutted private industrial sector, but on a huge infusion
of capital destined to create and reinforce a major expansion of Europe’s social franchise. Indeed,
in what counts as one of the greatest ironies of the post-World War II epoch, Europeans spent
US aid on social goods that no American President or Congress would ever spend on their own
constituencies. And herein Europe created a constellation of social efficiencies — in education,
transportation, health care, and housing — that would eventually give its nations a competitive
edge against their erstwhile patrons, the citizens of the United States of America. For, eventually,
Europe’s and Japan’s industrial base recovered. And when they did, European and Japanese
goods, heavily subsidized by the vast social franchise that their nations erected following the war
(almost entirely with US dollars), began to compete successfully against US manufactured goods.
In this sense, the European Dream was clearly stamped “Made in U.S.A.”

606
 What happened next came as an entire surprise only to those who believed (mistakenly
it turns out) that the global economy had outgrown its dependence upon sound Keynesian
macroeconomic principles. Once again, ironies abound. At the very moment that one Nobel
Prize winning economist after another were delivering “exultant obituaries on destructive
capitalist economic instability”, the bottom fell out of the market (Brenner 1). Arthur Okun, a top
Kennedy-Johnson advisor, had just declared recessions “obsolete” and “preventable, like airplane
crashes” (cited in Brenner 1). Even supposing that Okun was correct in principle, neither he
nor anyone in charge of monetary or fiscal policy in the US could have prevented Germany and
Japan from taking advantage of their relative competitive advantages over the United States and
consequently driving prices down on global markets. As Robert Brenner points out, however,
what was at issue in this global competitive cycle was not the rise of European at the expense of
US industry. What was at issue was the rates of profit investors enjoyed worldwide who suddenly
discovered that the decline in profit margins brought on by global competition hit all national
economies simultaneously (Brenner 122-142). The long downturn had begun.

If the European Dream took shape in the aftermath of World War II’s unprecedented
destruction of human and fixed capital, the first faint flickers of the nightmare that was to follow
appeared at the very moment when Europeans were making that dream a reality.

The first real shock to Europe came in 1971 in the form of a troubling devaluation of
the US dollar, a response to declining rates of profit, escalating unemployment, and declining
purchasing power. Fearful of suffering at the polls in the upcoming election, President Nixon
took the dollar off the Gold Standard. The results were instantaneous: a 10 per cent drop in the
dollar’s value, which, in effect, imposed a 10 per cent import tax on foreign producers (Frieden
341). Suddenly, consumers in Japanese and European markets found it more economical to
purchase US manufactured goods. Momentarily the US economic decline was halted. Yet, since
it was based neither on an increase in efficiency nor a decline in costs, the fix was temporary.
And so set in a decade-long decent into what economists were beginning to call “stagflation”, a
simultaneous increase in inflation, but without the benefit of economic growth.

Of course, throughout this American drama, member nations in the European Common
Market did not sit idly by. In 1979, after nearly a decade of bickering, but fearful that they
too could be socked with monetary instability, EC members formed the European Monetary
System, a precursor to the European Union’s future common currency (Frieden 371). Japan, by
contrast, enjoyed few avenues through which it could recapture efficiencies lost through global
competition. As Robert Brenner notes, “by early 1975, both industrial output and capacity
utilization were down more than 20 per cent from their levels of early 1973. By the end of 1975,
manufacturing employment (in terms of hours) had fallen by no less than 12 per cent from its
level of 1973” (Brenner 171). Germany faired equally poorly throughout the 1970s. As Brenner

  607
notes, “because German exports actually fell with the collapse of world growth and demand,
manufacturing profitability dropped 23 per cent” (Brenner 180).

Between 1973 and 1979, [Germany’s] manufacturing gross capital stock grew
less than one third as fast as it had during the 1960s and early 1970s, plunging to
an average annual rate of just 2 per cent (1.85 per cent between 1975 and 1979),
compared to 6.4 per cent between 1960 and 1973, and manufacturing investment
stagnated, continuing a trend that had begun between 1969 and 1973. Such a
profound drop in the growth of capital stock and investment sapped the economy’s
vitality (Brenner 180).

The quest upon which all of the global economies set out in earnest was how to restore
these 4 to 6 per cent growth rates to which global competition had laid waste over the course of
the preceding decade. Monetary union and currency devaluation were but partial, temporary,
and ultimately unsustainable solutions. What was needed was an actual increase in productivity
itself. The response to this need for increases in productivity has a name. It was Chairman of the
US Federal Reserve Board Paul Volcker. In 1979, Volcker increased short-term interest rates from
10 to 20 per cent and with this adjustment “stagflation” came to an end (Frieden 372). Not to be
outdone, the world’s other leading industrial powers quickly followed suit (Frieden 373), but at a
prohibitively high cost.

By the summer of 1982, the US economy, subjected to the monetarist medicine

since 1979, was reeling from the resulting recession. Pulled down by record high
real interest rates, capacity utilization plummeted and manufacturing profitability
fell10 per cent below its level of 1978, leaving it 54 per cent below its level of 1973
and more than 70 per cent below its level of 1965. Unemployment (at 11 per cent),
bankruptcies, and bank failures reached levels hitherto unapproached during the
postwar epoch (Brenner 195).

Similar consequences followed in Europe’s largest industrial economy, Germany, where “the
return to full capacity utilization was thus accompanied by an 8.4 per cent rate of unemployment,
almost double the 4.8 per cent rate that prevailed at the end of the 1970s” (Brenner 231). More
ominously, reports Brenner, “the increase of the manufacturing capital stock, already sharply
reduced in the 1970s, fell significantly further, to an average annual rate of just 1.4 per cent
between 1979 and 1990, from an already low 2.0 per cent between 1973 and 1979” (Brenner 231).

The long downturn in the US nevertheless differed, at least initially, from the long downturn
in Europe. Where the US economy picked up efficiencies by eliminating the social safety net
for millions of American families, citizens of Europe were not as yet prepared to elect political
leaders who, in their judgment, would reproduce the social inequalities and political instabilities

608
on which most Europeans still blamed the twin catastrophes of the early and mid twentieth
century. Better to sacrifice a modicum of efficiency than risk economic inequality, social unrest,
and perhaps even war. And, no doubt, it was in part this difference between the US and Great
Britain, on the one hand, and continental Europe, on the other, that accounts for the profoundly
different experiences of the 1990s enjoyed by nations on one side of the Channel and the other.

Where the US and Great Britain forged ahead, deregulating markets, reducing tax burdens,
and eliminating social safety nets for the most needy members of their communities, most
Europeans were still sufficiently mindful of the social causes for World Wars I and II to cast votes
to maintain their costly social welfare systems. Eventually, however, the apparent rebound and
stability of the US economy during the 1990s had the effect of convincing even the hard-nosed
Germans that some measure of neoliberal tinkering with their social welfare state combined with
an easing of taxes and regulations could do much good without causing too much harm. Thus,
with America and Great Britain in the lead, the so-called “Washington consensus” eased its way
also into Europe.

At this point in the story, many scholars would want to call attention to the three events
that punctuated the first decade of the twenty-first century: the bursting of the dot com bubble
in 2000, the terrorist attack on the US Pentagon and New York World Trade Center in 2001
and the Great Recession of 2006. Yet, from our vantage point these events are far less important
than the collapse of Soviet-style Communism in 1989 and the subsequent spread of neoliberal
orthodoxy among successor republics during the 1990s and 2000s. Even if we acknowledge a
relationship among these events — such that, for example, the efficiencies earned by neo-
colonialist invasions in the 1990s are somehow held distantly responsible for the rise of radical
Islam — what is noteworthy about the world’s response to these fatalities is how closely they
hew to a neoliberal line drawn up in Washington. Neither the collapse of tech stocks in 2000 nor
the Great Recession of 2006 provoked anything close to the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933.
Nor did the terrorist attack upon the centers of US military and commercial power bring policy
makers to question the wisdom of neo-imperialist policies throughout the Islamic world. To the
contrary, as George Steinmetz has noted, these fatalities instead provoked a further assault on
the freedoms, liberties, wages and benefits of working families in the US. The efficiencies won
by these repressive policies, what Steinmetz calls “authoritarian post-Fordism” (Steinmetz 2003),
were no doubt quite substantial.

But, notwithstanding the flood of critiques authored by main economists of the policy
choices leading up to 2006 (Krugman 2009; Stiglitz 2010; Sachs 2009; Reich 2008), there is no
evidence that the social and political fragmentation or violent global responses to neoliberal
policies has led policy makers to question the essential soundness of the path they have chosen.
To the contrary, as the social, political, and economic fabric of communities from the Baltics to

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the Balkans, from Greece to Syria, and from Western China to Pakistan comes unraveled, policy
makers have responded by tightening the screws even further. At what cost to the European Dream?

GWF Hegel’s Dream

If the European Dream has an author, it would probably be the 19th century German
philosopher GWF Hegel. If it has an economist, that economist would probably be the University
of Chicago’s Robert E Lucas, Jr. Both Hegel and Lucas theorize a world where antagonism gives
way to understanding, war gives way to commerce, and the anarchy of competing laws, cultures,
languages, and regulations gives way to a singular, uniform, yet highly differentiated and flexible
universal system of complementary laws, regulations, and understandings. Lucas does not so
much challenge Hegel’s dream as lend it mathematical rigor and substance. Historically, of
course, Europe is an anomaly. How likely was it that Europe, the backwater of global civilization,
where each hamlet constituted its own miniature kingdom and where the uniformity of laws and
regulations vanished with the retreat of Rome; how likely was it that this polyglot of languages,
regulations, political fiefdoms, cultures and religions would in less than three centuries grow into
the dominant force operating in the world?

One popular eighteenth century answer to this question was penned by arguably that century’s
most famous economist, Adam Smith. According to Smith, global convergence was a matter of
simple, straightforward economic efficiency. Those nations enjoying the greatest advantages in
efficiency would clearly and easily win out in the competition among nations over those that were
less efficient. Eventually, these less efficient nations would either fall into line, adopting the same
efficiencies operating in the leading nations, or they would be conquered and disappear.

This answer did not sit well with GWF Hegel. For it seemed to offer no explanation for the
ultimate goal of such productive activity — mere global supremacy? — or for the reason why,
after centuries and millennia of less than efficient production, societies should suddenly feel that
this was their sole or primary aim. Through a life-long study of other peoples and places around
the globe, Hegel was keenly aware of the spectacular diversity of ways and understandings human
beings engaged with and interpreted their worlds. Clearly something unprecedented was taking
shape in Europe. Europeans now occupied all corners of the globe. Their command of the natural
and theoretical sciences was without equal in history. Could such global dominance be credited
simply to superior efficiencies or superior military might? Did might make right?

Such questions inspired Hegel to delve deeper into the question of global convergence.
Adam Smith had answered these questions pragmatically. Human beings have a “propensity to
truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another” (Smith 25). Nor was Smith the least curious
over why they enjoyed this propensity. “Whether [it] be one of those original principles in human
nature, of which no further account can be given; or whether, as seems more probable, it be the
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necessary consequence of the faculties of reason and speech, it belongs not to our present subject
to enquire” (Smith 25). For Hegel, by contrast, such an assertion appeared to place efficiency in
the role of dictating right, a position that only decades later would be vigorously defended by
British utilitarians such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Was it possible that freedom
was subject to necessity, reason to utility, mind to matter?

No, it was not. In fact, Hegel speculated, reason and right had always been the driving
force behind human development. Yes, whenever communities met they exchanged. What they
exchanged, however, was far more than the goods they had produced. They also exchanged
cultural artifacts, traditions and understandings about how things worked; they exchanged and
compared religious and moral ideas, and they shared specific judgments respecting the beautiful
and the good. Efficiency belonged in this mix, but it was far from the sole or even the primary
determining factor. To illustrate this point and to distinguish his interpretation from those now
on offer by French and British political economists, Hegel called attention to the private producer,
the private member of civil society.

In civil society, each individual is his own end, and all else means nothing to him.
But he cannot accomplish the full extent of his ends without reference to others;
these others are therefore means to the end of the particular [person]. But through
its reference to others, the particular end takes on the form of universality, and gains
satisfaction by simultaneously satisfying the welfare of others (Hegel 1991:220).

On first blush, Hegel’s view appears to differ little from Smith’s. The division of labour
creates efficiencies for all concerned (Smith 6). For Hegel, however, since it is only when we act
with and for others that we realize efficiencies, the universal takes precedence over the individual.

The selfish end in its actualization, conditioned in this way by universality, establishes
a system of all-round interdependence, so that the subsistence [Subsistenz] and
welfare of the individual [des Einzelnen]and his rightful existence [Dasein] are
interwoven with, and grounded on, the subsistence, welfare, and rights of all, and
have actuality and security only in this context (Hegel 1991:221).

Moreover, not only does individuality, whether by itself or with others, lack the universal
vantage point necessary to appreciate how all individuals work together, individuality, Hegel
finds, is ultimately self-destructive.

Particularity in itself [für sich], on the one hand indulging itself in all directions as
it satisfies its needs, contingent arbitrariness, and subjective caprice, destroys itself
and its substantial concept in the act of enjoyment; on the other hand, as infinitely
agitated and continually dependent on external contingency and arbitrariness and at
the same time limited by the power of universality, the satisfaction of both necessary
and contingent needs is itself contingent (Hegel 1991:222).
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 What is still missing, according to Hegel, is a grasp of the whole, of all of the mutual
dependencies, of their effects on one another, and an appreciation for the shared goal toward
which this whole is moving.

In this situation, the interest of the Idea, which is not present in the
consciousness of these members of civil society as such, is the process whereby their
individuality [Einzelheit] and naturalness are raised, both by natural necessity and
by their arbitrary needs, to formal freedom and formal universality of knowledge and
volition, and subjectivity is educated in its particularity (Hegel 1991:224).

That is to say, the individual comes to understand that his or her freedom is predicated
upon grasping how his or her actions are related to the actions and knowledge of those with
whom he or she has to do. And this, in turn, is predicated upon the education or training that
enables individuals to appreciate this universal. For clearly, it is not the individual labourer or
even the individual merchant who grasps this universal. As illustrated by the difficulty British
political economists displayed thinking about anything beyond private enterprise, members of
civil society could only appreciate that they were dependent on one another; not how or why.
This, for Hegel, helped to explain why education was so critical an element in economic growth
and integration.

Education, in its absolute determination, is therefore liberation and work towards a

higher liberation; it is the absolute transition to the infinitely subjective substantiality
of ethical life, which is no longer immediate and natural, but spiritual and at the
same time raised to the shape of universality (1991:225).

Here then is the European Dream. But to what end? It was in answering this question that
Hegel differentiated himself most decisively from French and British political economists for
whom the production of wealth was reason enough to justify work. Not so Hegel.

The universal and objective aspect of work consists, however, in that [process
of] abstraction which confers a specific character on means and needs and hence
also on production, so giving rise to the division of labour. Through this division,
the work of the individual [des Einzelnen] becomes simpler, so that his skill at his
abstract work becomes greater, as does the volume of his output. At the same time,
this abstraction of skill and means makes the dependence and reciprocity of human
beings in the satisfaction of their other needs complete and entirely necessary.
Furthermore, the abstraction of production makes work increasingly mechanical,
so that the human being is eventually able to step aside and let a machine take his
place (Hegel 1991:232-233).

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 At first Hegel’s analysis seems nearly identical to Smith’s. The division of labour leads to the
simplification of each task. Such simplification makes it possible to develop machines to replace
human labour. Yet, where Smith’s analysis leads no further than the relatively greater wealth
produced on account of these efficiencies, Hegel sees another, more commendable goal: freedom
from the necessity of work. That such a goal cannot be appreciated from the vantage point of
the individual labourer or merchant, that all she or he sees is the immediate task set before her
or before him, is credited to their inability or reluctance to consider the universal in light of
which alone the system as a whole makes sense. Reason was always driving this process from the
beginning of time. Yet, in order for us to grasp this reason we needed first to climb outside of
ourselves, educate ourselves, and so gain a vantage point from which to view the whole.

But how should we characterize the whole from whose vantage point this comprehensive,
integration of all social, political, and cultural reality was taking shape? Elsewhere Hegel identified
this vantage point as the Self-Moving Substance that is Subject.

Everything turns on grasping and expressing the True, not only as Substance, but
equally as Subject. . . . Further, the living Substance is Being which is in truth Subject,
or, what is the same, is in truth actual only in so far as it is the movement of positing
itself, or is the mediation of its self-othering with itself. . . . It is the process of its
own becoming, the circle that presupposes its end as its goal, having its end also as
its beginning; and only by being worked out to its end, is it actual (Hegel 1977:10).

Like nearly all nineteenth century European thinkers, Hegel was eager to establish that
Europe was not an anomaly. Europe was the end of history, its culmination, its goal. Yet, in
order to establish this fact, it was necessary to show that the appearance of Europe enjoyed
ontologically fundamental status. Europe was not an afterthought. It was not the accidental
product of self-interest, however enlightened. Rather was Europe — its integration, its rationality,
its coherence, and increasingly the global scope of its imperial conquests — this Europe was
substantive, irrefutable proof of the Self-Moving Substance that is Subject, the patron of European
exceptionalism.

We will return to this Hegelian trope in a moment. Suffice it to say, however, that stripped
of its metaphysical pretentions, Hegel’s analysis falls not far from contemporary theories
respecting global economic, social, and political convergence. And perhaps no theorist tells
this part of the story better than Robert E Lucas, Jr., elder statesman of the University of
Chicago’s neoclassical empire.

Lucas adds mathematical rigor

Since I have already covered the intimate relationship between Lucas’ and Hegel’s
interpretive frameworks elsewhere (Lough 2014), I will limit my remarks here to Lucas’

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discussion of economic convergence in an essay titled “Some Macroeconomics for the Twenty-
First Century” (Lucas 2002). In this essay Lucas aims to model the tendency of incomes around
the globe to converge. According to Lucas, this convergence shows that from an initial singularity
limited to Great Britain in 1800, nearly all nations will by 2020 experience incomes and economic
growth converging upon a universal, global singularity. Nor is Lucas unaware of the mechanisms
driving all nations toward this convergence. Like Hegel, Lucas grants education and knowledge
pride of place. “An economy departs from stagnant equilibrium and begins to grow when the
world stock of knowledge attains a critical level” (Lucas 100), writes Lucas. Moreover, the growth
and income of any individual economy depends upon the growth exhibited by the whole. “The
probability that a stagnant economy begins to industrialize depends on the level of world income,
which in turn depends on the past experience of the growing economies” (Lucas 101). Even
when the rate of convergence begins to slow toward the end of the 20th century, this is “only
because there are so few people left in stagnant, pre-industrial economies. According to the
figure [reproduced below], almost 90 per cent of the world is now growing” (Lucas 102). Hegel’s
Self-Moving Substance is becoming both actual. It has become in truth substance.

Several assumptions underlie Lucas’ model, which he has adopted and revised from Robert
Tamura (1990, 1994, 1996). In a manner consistent with Hegel’s interpretation, Lucas allows that
“knowledge produced anywhere benefits producers everywhere” (Lucas 103). Lucas also finds
Parente and Prescott’s observations respecting political interference helpful. “Governments
in the unsuccessful economies can adopt the institutions and policies of the successful ones,
removing what Paraente and Prescott (1994) call ‘barriers to growth’” (Lucas 103). Lucas’ model
also emphasizes “diminishing returns and the flow of resources: High wages in the successful
economies lead to capital flows to the unsuccessful economies, increasing their income levels”

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(Lucas 103). Yet, for Lucas, “the much more interesting implication of the model is that convergence
is unconditional” (Lucas 104). “It predicts,” writes Lucas, “that sooner or later everyone will join
the industrial revolution, that all economies will grow at the rate common to the wealthiest
economies, and that percentage differences in income levels will disappear” (Lucas 106).

But what is perhaps most noteworthy about both Hegel’s and Lucas’ descriptions of global
convergence is what they do not tell us. Neither, for example, explores the human cost entailed
in convergence. For presumably as all communities converge into a globally extensive, rational,
and comprehensive totality, cultural and legal differences, linguistic idiosyncrasies, purely local
customs and practices — call them “barriers to growth” — will have either to be rationalized or
eliminated. Nor are we without some knowledge as to what might be entailed in the elimination
of these barriers. For such is the story of colonialism in the 18th and imperialism in the 19th and
20th centuries. There are reasons why Great Britain is the lone nation experiencing growth in
1800 and why patterns of diffusion of growth in the 19th and 20th centuries follow fairly closely
the paths hewn by imperial conquerors. Between 1800 and 2020 — between T1 and Tn — entire
civilizations and whole peoples will be eliminated from the face of the earth in the creation of
what could be called the European Dream.

Marx’s Bad Dream

At the very point where Lucas’ model shows a dramatic uptick in the diffusion of the
industrial model and a rapid increase in global economic convergence — during the first half of
the 19th century — Karl Marx was taking a second look at Hegel’s Self-Moving Substance that is
Subject. Until that point, Marx had been fairly certain that the Self-Moving Substance that Hegel
identified was not the Weltgeist or World Spirit of history, but was instead the dialectically material
underclass of every generation, clashing with and then superseding its retrograde oppressor. It
was not the Spirit that was first differentiating itself from and then returning to itself; it was the
industrial working class.

Whenever real, corporeal man, man with his feet finally on the solid ground, man
exhaling and inhaling all the forces of nature, establishes his real, objective essential
powers as alien objects by his externalization, it is not the act of positing which is
the subject in this process: it is the subjectivity of objective essential powers, whose
action, therefore, must also be something objective. A being who is objective acts
objectively, and he would not act objectively if the objective did not reside in the very
nature of his being. He creates or establishes only objects, because he is established
by objects — because at bottom he is nature. In the act of establishing, therefore, this
objective being does not fall from his state of “pure activity” into a creating of the
object; on the contrary, his objective product only confirms his objective activity,

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 establishing his activity as the activity of an objective, natural being (Marx 1988:
153-154).

From this vantage point, Marx might have agreed with Lucas, except that where Lucas
theorizes the global movement and universalization of capital, Marx theorizes the global
movement and universalization of objective, object-creative, labour. Or so Marx thought in 1844
when he penned his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. By 1867, however, Marx had
changed his tune to one far more in harmony with Lucas’ theory.

Where in 1844, Marx had viewed labour as the Self-Moving Substance that is Subject, the
globalizing and universalizing force of history, by 1867 he agreed with Lucas and credited capital
with this role; or, more specifically, he credited the value form of capital.

[Value] is constantly changing from one form [the money form] into the other
[the commodity form], without becoming lost in this movement; it thus becomes
transformed into an automatic subject. If we pin down the specific forms of
appearance assumed in turn by self-valorizing value in the course of its life, we
reach the following elucidation: capital is money, capital is commodities. In truth,
however, value is here the subject of a process in which, while constantly assuming
the form in turn of money and commodities, it changes its own magnitude, throws
off surplus-value from itself considered as original value, and thus valorizes itself
independently. . . . But now, in the circulation M—C—M, value suddenly presents
itself as a self-moving substance which passes through a process of its own, and for
which commodities and money are both mere forms (Marx 1982: 255,256).

And why is this change of mind significant? It is significant because whereas Marx in
1844 was just as transfixed by the European Dream as any 19th century European thinker, by
1867 he was far less enamoured. Yes, as Lucas would later prove with rigorous mathematical
modelling, capital was knitting together all social, economic, political, and cultural reality into
a comprehensive, universal, yet dynamic and highly differentiated, rational whole. Yet, by 1867
Marx was far less certain that this was a good thing. Indeed, by 1867 Marx was inclined to feel
that this was not the good news, but the bad news.

If, as we have suggested, the European Dream projects a benign universalism that gently
embraces all social and cultural forms into its benevolent emancipatory narrative, we now know
that this narrative has a dark side. In the decades following World War II, awash on a sea of cheap
and easy capital, it was easy for Europe to downplay this less than benevolent dimension of its
Dream. Europe after all was already well on its way to shedding its pre-war colonial holdings and
transferring the responsibilities of global security to the United States of America. Moreover,
unlike the American Dream, which only with great reluctance expanded its social franchise

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to include the elderly, unemployed, children and the poor, Europeans by contrast warmly
embraced a sweeping social franchise that included education, health, housing, transportation
and retirement security for all, apparently without the least awareness that these goods were
available to them only by leave of their larger than life free market benefactor, the United States
of America. It was therefore only as Europe’s and Japan’s economies recovered and their goods
began to compete successfully against goods “Made in U.S.A.” that downward pressures on wages
and prices began to place downward pressures as well on Europe’s extravagant social franchise.

The first faint signs of this dark side of the European Dream came to light in the 1980s
when downward pressures on wages and prices not only brought student and labour unrest back
to the streets of Europe, but lent to this unrest a right-wing, explicitly neo-fascist tilt. Jean-Marie
Le Pen’s Front National was only the most visible, but also the most benign, of these reinvigorated
neo-fascist movements whose overall effect on voting patterns was that they pushed all political
platforms sharply to the right. They made nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism respectable
again. When in the 1990s the neoliberal gospel spread throughout newly liberated eastern Europe
and Russia, the wide swath of destruction it left in its path — unprecedented unemployment,
crime, government corruption, and social upheaval (Klein 2007:275-354) — were loudly
trumpeted as the price newly capitalist nations had to pay to gain entry into the growing club of
free market nations. Not even a genocidal war in south central Europe — the consequence of a
decade of privatizations, deregulation, auctions of public assets, plant closures, and inconceivably
high unemployment (Roland 2000; Lowinger 2009)— were sufficient to bring Europe’s caretakers
to question the neoliberal inflection of their new economic policies and regulations. Political
culture in Western Europe and the Eurozone were shifting violently to the right. The social fabric
of eastern and southern Europe was coming unravelled. And, yet, the response of the EU, the
World Bank, the IMF and the WTO was not debt relief or forgiveness, but more privatizations,
more austerity, and more auctions of publicly owned assets.

Obviously this is not what is generally meant by the “European Dream.” And, yet, if the story
we have outlined here is correct, then the European Dream was always already deeply indebted
to an economic project with a very low tolerance for difference. The Self-Moving Substance that
is Subject that enveloped the globe in the decades following World War II appeared at first blush
benign if not benevolent. Yet, as Marx pointed out already in the 1860s, its ultimate aim was far
less innocent. It would stop at nothing short of total global domination, which now, according to
Lucas, it has very nearly achieved.

An Alternative Dream

This is not to say that matters might not have turned out differently. Consider, for example,
the declining rates of profit investors enjoyed when in the mid-1960s Germany and Japan got

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back into the game. As the French economist Thomas Piketty has recently reminded us, rates of
growth beyond 1 per cent are an historical anomaly (Piketty 72-73). Even Lucas, whose neoliberal
credentials are beyond dispute, willingly admits as much, when, in the conclusion of his afore-
mentioned essay, he asks:

How did the world economy of today, with its vast differences in income levels and
growth rates, emerge from the world of two centuries ago, in which the richest and
the poorest societies had incomes differing by perhaps a factor of two, and in which
no society had ever enjoyed sustained growth in living standards? (Lucas 106)

Assuming for the moment that a sufficient number of policy-makers enjoyed a similar
epiphany at the outset of the 1970s, and assuming that rather than search for ways to sustain
the 4 to 6 per cent returns investors enjoyed in the 1950s and 1960s they instead opted for a
redistribution of efficiencies downward and outward, it would then have been theoretically
possible for workers in the developed world to ease their way into Hegel’s fantasy of stepping
aside and letting machines take their place. The result surely would have been an initial overall
contraction in global economic growth, a leveling off at Piketty’s recommended 1 to 1.5 per cent
growth annually (Piketty 74-75). And, yet, the effect might have been a fresh lease on freedom.

Or let us further suppose that, as Jeremy Rifkin has postulated, the European Dream
“emphasizes community relationships over individual autonomy, cultural diversity over
assimilation” (Rifkin 3). Such, I would argue, are admirable ideals. Nor were they lacking from
the blueprints proposed at the creation of the European Dream. Yet, within the framework of
neoclassical economics, every purely local particularity, every cultural specificity, every legal
or regulatory exception, introduces an efficiency-sapping distortion into the overall system.
Communities are fine things. Yet, when parents show a preference for children or the elderly
over work, or when traditional religious holidays or local celebrations intrude upon the working
day, they necessarily draw upon efficiencies created elsewhere. Lucas’ growth model shows that
whenever we emphasize community relationships over individual autonomy, this emphasis
introduces distortions into normal patterns of growth. Social, legal, and cultural particularities
pose “barriers to growth.”

Readers will recall how much we heard in the 1970s and 1980s about the burdens social
programs, taxes, and government regulations placed on economic growth. No doubt, there
was much truth in these claims. And, yet, our response need not have been a reduction of the
tax burden shouldered by industry or wealth, a reduction in social spending, or an easing of
government regulation. Our response might have been that, since they contributed to a world
worth sharing, such burdens were well worth the 4 or 5 percentage points of growth that their
elimination would produce for investors.

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 Or, let us take another, more contemporary example: Greece 2015. Again, we could
subject European policy toward Greece to a cynical Machiavellian rational choice matrix, where
politicians in France and Germany and managers of the European Central Bank and World
Bank calculate the political and economic costs of debt relief or forgiveness and stack these costs
up against the floods of refugees and the price-tag of possible military operations that almost
certainly will result from imposing further austerity measures on Greece. This, as we have seen,
is the dark side of the Europe Dream, where investor returns and corporate welfare are protected
at all costs, even if they threaten the viability of Europe itself. An alternative would be to reinforce
and protect the administrative mechanisms in Greece charged with enforcing the tax code and
collecting revenues from its oligarchs. Combined with targeted debt relief or forgiveness, such
policies might bring us closer to something approximating Rifkin’s European Dream. In this case,
however, the net efficiencies lost or earned are much clearer. For, as Gerard Roland has shown,
there is a huge cost to be paid where weak governments insufficiently protected from oligarchic
corruption and crime are granted charge over the affairs of state (Roland 328-334). When, by
contrast, we strengthen public institutions and independent governing mechanisms, contrary to
predictions based on neoliberal assumptions, society earns huge net efficiencies in return.

Conclusion

The European Dream, I have argued, is inseparable from the dream of universal global
hegemony after which it was initially modelled. Hegel’s allegory is now Greece’s nightmare.
Ignoring this fact will not make it go away. Nor will it prevent this nightmare from spreading first
to the volatile regions on Europe’s periphery, but then and finally to Europe’s core states as well.
The question is: how shall we then proceed?

Let us assume for a moment that Marx’s reinterpretation of the Hegelian trope is in most
points accurate. Let us assume that Lucas’ rigorous mathematical modelling captures this point.
Only as we eliminate cultural, social, religious, and legal particularities, only as we fashion a
comprehensive, integrated, rational, and completely unified world; only then will the entire
world benefit from the efficiencies that today only some small number of individuals enjoy. But
let us also assume, with Lucas, that the ultimate goal of our collective productive activity is not
this or that good, this or that service or benefit, but is instead, as Marx showed, value itself. And,
with this in mind, let us now ask how much value is sufficient for any individual investor. How
many zeros would any of us add to the value of our investment portfolios? How much is enough?

It was in recognition of the validity of these questions that an aging Marx was brought to
reconsider the formula to which he owed his fame: the labour theory of value. In fact, Marx had
lifted this formula more or less directly from the pages of none other than Adam Smith.

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 The value of any commodity, therefore, to the person who possesses it, and who
means not to use or consume it himself, but to exchange it for other commodities,
is equal to the quantity of labour which it enables him to purchase or command.
Labour, therefore, is the real measure of the exchangeable value of all commodities
(Smith 1776:47).

But, whereas Marx had once counted this an ironclad law, as sure and irrefutable as any
law of physics, the aging Marx now questioned its immutability. Why, in spite of extraordinary
technological advances, had human beings not seen fit or even capable of stepping aside, as
Hegel had imagined, and installing machines in their place? Was it simply a matter of time?
Eventually human beings would cash in on the efficiencies of mechanization. Or was something
else impeding this final step towards freedom?

But then it occurred to Marx that if the human appetite for value was infinite and yet
their capacity to work finite, then they never will reach that point when more will be enough. As
already noted, 1 or 1.5 per cent growth may be the maximum rate our world can sustain (Piketty
74-75). Yet clearly our appetites for value are such that only rates of 4 to 5 per cent or greater will
satisfy our desire, even if such rates of growth end up destroying our communities and eventually
our planet. To what then shall we credit this ultimately self-destructive compulsion for more?

Marx believed he had an answer, but it was an answer that overturned everything he
had written up until that point. Let us suppose, suggested Marx, that we are not the author of
this insatiable appetite. Let us suppose rather that Hegel was correct and that his Self-Moving
Substance that is Subject is in fact the author of this bottomless compulsion for more. Upon what
does this irrepressible Subject feed? What propels it forward uncontrollably until it has destroyed
everything in its path? And then it hit Marx right between the eyes. The answer was labour.
Hegel’s Self-Moving Substance feeds upon labour. As this is so, reasoned Marx, the only sure way
to rid the earth of this self-destructive compulsion for more is to deny it the labour it requires to
reproduce. Freedom would come not from the realization of labour, not from its universalization,
but from its gradual and final elimination.

The realm of freedom really begins only where labour determined by necessity
and external expediency ends; it lies by its very nature beyond the sphere of
material production proper. . . . This realm of natural necessity expands with our
development, because our needs do too; but the productive forces to satisfy these
needs expand at the same time. Freedom, in this sphere, can consist only in this, that
socialized communities, the associated producers, govern the human metabolism
with nature in a rational way, bringing it under their collective control instead of
being dominated by it as a blind power; accomplishing it with the least expenditure

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 of energy and in conditions most worthy and appropriate for their human nature
(Marx 1991: 959).

What follows may strike many of us as a highly un-Marxian solution: not world revolution,
not elimination of the bourgeoisie, not seizing and socializing the means of production. “The
reduction of the working day is the basic prerequisite” (Marx 1991:959).

What would the European Dream look like were Europeans to adopt this conspicuously
un-Marxian solution? A provisional answer to this question might look as follows. Consider,
for example, the efficiencies Europeans adopted following World War II: a vast, extensive
social welfare system to ensure that no individual ever again became so desperate as to see in
nationalism or fascism a solution to their political or social ills; a public transportation system
designed not to feed the insatiable appetites of private oil producers, but designed instead to
serve the transportation needs of its citizens; health care for all, publically financed and readily
available; virtually free education and vocational training; affordable and safe housing for all; and
old age security second to none. From the vantage point of Hegel’s Self-Moving Substance, all of
these goods must count as unacceptable inefficiencies dragging the entire system to a screeching
halt. Yet, from another vantage point, all they entail is simply a redistribution of efficiencies from
the top of the income hierarchy to the middle and the bottom, from regions that produce these
efficiencies more easily to regions where efficiencies are much harder to come by.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, with Japan and Europe back in the game, it surely would
have been theoretically possible to interpret the decline in rates of profit not as a signal to reduce
corporate taxes, deregulate industry, and restrict the social franchise, but, to the contrary, as an
indication that the post-war expansion of the social franchise was achieving its intended goal:
more individuals than ever before enjoying sufficient leisure and wealth to attend institutions of
higher learning; more individuals than ever before working fewer hours for better compensation;
more individuals enjoying better health and taking more time to spend with their friends and
families than ever before in history. Surely these goods were well worth the 4 to 5 percentage
points growth transferred to achieve such spectacular results during the twenty years that
followed World War II.

But the same might be said today. Are instability and war on Europe’s periphery worth the
4 to 5 percentage points of growth purchased at the expense of Europe’s most needy members
and neighbours? Is the spread of neo-fascism in France, Germany, and Eastern Europe the price
Europeans must pay to satisfy investor demands for more? That European efficiencies could
theoretically be redistributed downward and outward has never been in doubt. The quality of
life so closely associated with the European Dream need not be sacrificed to the bottomless
compulsion for more. Indeed, among the hallmarks of the European as distinguished from the
American Dream, is that by sharing its efficiencies more widely it was able to create efficiencies in
  621
education, transportation, health care, and industry foreclosed upon in America by its restricted
social franchise. Austerity by contrast disables the very institutions and instrumentalities upon
which true efficiency depends. Weaker central governments, as Gerard Roland has shown, are less
equipped to fulfil the very functions upon which commerce relies to create its efficiencies. Weak
central governments are more vulnerable to the kinds of oligarchic rent-seeking opportunities
that are the hallmark of inefficiency. Moreover, wherever publically regulated economies prove
themselves unable to satisfy the most basic human needs, wherever the social franchise is
restricted or eliminated entirely, underground grey and black market alternatives appear in their
place — markets whose beneficiaries are not the communities served, but the efficiencies seized
by their underground purveyors (Roland 265-286).

What if, by contrast, Europe were to set itself the task of shortening the working day and so
liberating its citizens from the compulsion to produce and consume more? What if Europe were
to free itself from its bondage to the Self-Moving Substance that currently manages its affairs?
Within decades, perhaps within years, we could see such an outbreak of freedom not witnessed
in Europe since the decades following World War II. Efficiencies transferred downwards and
outwards would begin immediately to express themselves in the kinds of social security that
alone are nationalism’s and fascism’s most sure antidote. And far from chasing Europe’s many
disenfranchised outliers into the waiting and open arms of Vladimir Putin and his network of
underworld thugs and warlords, Europe might instead inspire a fundamental transformation
that spreads even to this empire of oligarchs. Just as fascism feeds upon fear and want, so freedom
feeds upon freedom. Where austerity begets the fear and want upon which fascism feeds,
efficiencies redistributed downward and outward feed the freedom that alone has the chops to
oppose systemic oppression.

And, yet, I at least am not very hopeful. The current leadership in Europe — the EU, the
WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF — are so thoroughly under the spell cast by Hegel’s Dream
(or nightmare) that they would prefer the complete collapse of Europe, its descent into social,
political, and economic anarchy, to the redistribution of efficiencies that I have described above.
Even in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its cantonal seats of authority, where the political
leadership should from past experience know better, efficiencies are being redistributed not from
the top downward, but from the bottom up. Instead of shortening the workday, the workday is
being lengthened, and rather than protecting the few remaining dignities that workers enjoy, these
instead are being sacrificed in the name of wealth production at the top. Bosnia and Herzegovina
is no exception. The same could be said all across Europe and all along its periphery, where, as a
direct consequence, nationalism and neo-fascism are everywhere on the rise. But it is precisely
here that true statesmen and true stateswomen must distinguish themselves, step out and let their
voices be heard, even or specially when such speech exposes them to danger. Europe’s future

622
cannot be grounded in the obsessive compulsion for more. This future is unsustainable. Rather
must it be grounded in the gentle yet steady philosophy of enough; enough for me, enough for
you, enough for everyone. This, I take it, lies at the heart of the European Dream.

References

Arrighi, Giovanni. 1994. The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power, and the Origins of our
Times. New York: Verso.
Brenner, Robert. 2006. The Economics of Global Turbulence: The Advanced Capitalist Economies
from Long Boom to Long Downturn, 1945-2005. New York: Verso.
Frieden, Jeffry. 2007. Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century. New York:
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Hegel, G.W.F. 1991. Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Translated by H.B. Nisbet. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Hegel, G.W.F. 2004. Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by A.V. Miller. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Klein, Naomi. 2007. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. New York: Picador.
Krugman, Paul. 2009. The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008. New York:
W.W. Norton and Company.
Lough, Joseph. 2014. “The Subject of Rigorous Mathematical Economic Modeling: Critical
Reflections on GWF Hegel and Robert Lucas, Jr.” Tranzicija/Transition (16:33). Pages
1-16.
Lowinger, Jake. 2009. Economic Reform and the ‘Double Movement’ in Yugoslavia: An Analysis
of Labor Unrest and Ethno-Nationalism in the 1980s [DISSERTATION]. Baltimore,
Md.: Johns Hopkins University.
Lucas, Robert E. Jr. 2002. “Some Macroeconomics for the Twenty-First Century.” Lectures on
Economic Growth. Pages 97-108. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels. 1988. Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.
Translated by Martin Milligan. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Marx, Karl. 1982. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume One. Translated by Ben
Fowkes. New York: Penguin Books.
Marx, Karl. 1991. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume Three. Translated by David
Fernbach. New York: Penguin Books.
Piketty, Thomas. 2013. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Reich, Robert. 2008. Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday
Life. New York: Vintage Books.

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Rifkin, Jeremy. 2004. The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision for the Future is Quietly
Eclipsing the American Dream. New York: Penguin.
Roland, Gerard. 2000. Transition and Economics: Politics, Markets, and Firms. Cambridge,
Mass.: The MIT Press.
Sachs, Jeffrey. 2009. Commonwealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. New York: Penguin.
Smith, Adam. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Volume
One. London: W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, in the Strand.
Steinmetz, George. 2003. “The State of Emergency and the Revival of American Imperialism:
Toward an Authoritarian Post-Fordism.” Public Culture (15:2). Pages 323-345.
Stiglitz, Joseph. 2010. Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy.
New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

624
 Russian Challenge to the EU Model

Seven Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Turkey

Abstract

The EU-Russia relations have always contained the elements of both conflict and
cooperation. Their shared neighbourhood or the post-Soviet area constitutes one of the main
reasons behind the conflict between two parties. In the last decade, the EU has taken many steps
in order to establish deeper relations with the countries in this region, while Russia has been
paying efforts for regaining its lost influence in the region. The EU project has been passing
through a turbulent era under the existence of many challenges it has been facing for many
years. This paper aims to study the conflictual aspects of the EU-Russia relations as one of the
challenges posed against the EU model. In this scope, the EU-Russia relations after the Cold
War, the differences between the EU and Russia in terms of their nature and the policies of the
EU and Russia towards their shared neighbourhood will be elaborated respectively. The paper
concludes that the Russian model hasnot turned into an existential threat for the EU model at
least for now by accepting the fact that the tensions between the EU and Russia have intensified
the depreciation in the image of EU as a zone of attraction.

Key words: European/EU Model, Russia, Russian Model, EU-Russia relations, shared
neighbourhood, post-Soviet area

Introduction

Europe was a zone of competition between two superpowers during the Cold War. This
competition led to its division more than 40 years. While the Western Europe aligned itself with
the United States (US), the eastern part was dominated by the Soviets. While relying on the
US military power for their security, Western Europeans opted to initiate an integration project
among themselves, namely the European Union (EU), in order to achieve the economic recovery

  625
of the devastated Western Europe after the World War II.Transformation of the Soviet Union,
precessor of today’s Russia, from a saviour to a threat was also one of the primary motivations
behind the steps taken for achieving unity in the Western Europe.

When the Cold War ended in 1989, the differences between two parts of Europe came to
the surface. Since the EU played a vital role in the emergence of such two different Europes in
40 years, this zone of attraction was widely called as the EU model. Thanks to the political and
economic gaps between two sides of Europe, many of the countries in Eastern Europe turned
their faces to the Western Europe once they achieved their freedom from the Soviets and started
to seek for membership of the EU. The demands coming from the Eastern European countries
responded favourably by the Western Europeans and a process through which the two sides of
Europe merged under the EU flag started.

Europe started to the new millennium with a political crisis stemming from the rejection
of Constitutional Treaty. When the Europeans were thinking that the crisis was over, they faced
with a new crisis which was economic in nature, but having the potential of threatening all the
dimensions of the European integration. As a result of these two successive crises, Europe’s image
as a zone of attraction depreciated to a great extent. There were even debates regarding the end
of the EU model. In addition to these developments, stemming from the internal dynamics of
the EU integration, there have been also outside actors and developments that have further
intensified the depreciation in Europe’s image as a zone of attraction. This study aims to examine
one of these outside actors by focusing on the role of Russia in the weakening of the EU’s image
as a zone of attraction. In this scope, firstly the partnership developed between the EU and Russia
in the aftermath of the Cold War will be elaborated. Secondly, the differences between the EU
and Russia will be provided with reference to their priorities in international politics and foreign
policy. Thirdly, the EU’s and Russia’s approach to the post-Soviet area will be dealt with as one
of the primary sources of the tension in the relations of the parties. The study will conclude that
the Russian model hasnot turned into an existential threat for the EU model at least for now by
accepting the fact that the tensions between the EU and Russia have intensified the depreciation
in the image of EU as a zone of attraction.

Ascendancy and Decadency of the EU-Russia Partnership

After the end of the Cold War, especially in the very early period, the EU romantically
assumed that Russia would align itself with the norms and values promoted by the EU or West
in general. As a result, the EU believed that there shall be a sort of hierarchical relation between
itself and Russia. On the other hand, Russia has been always for a balanced relation with the EU.
That is, Russia has always wanted to have an equal and mutually beneficial relationship with the
EU from the very beginning. Therefore, Russia has been refrained from joining the EU policies

626
designed for the post-Soviet area that have the potential of hampering the balanced nature of
its relations with the EU. As a result, a strategic partnership through which the parties have
been aiming to cooperate was found as the most suitable ground for this relationship. Normative
dimension of this relationship has become always relatively weaker in comparison to the EU’s
relations with the other countries in the post-Soviet area(Casier, 2013, p. 1380). Accordingly, it
can be argued that the relations between the EU and Russia have developed in a closer way to the
expectations of Russia in the aftermath of the Cold War.

In the St. Petersburg Summit held in May 2003, the partnership between the EU and Russia was
discussed and the areas of cooperation were defined. In this scope, by enhancing their cooperation
within the framework of Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the parties agreed on forming
a common economic space, a common space of freedom, security and justice, a common space of
co-operation in the field of external security, as well as a common space of research and education,
including cultural aspects in the long term. (EU-RussiaSummitJoint Statement, 2013).

Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Russia failed in delivering
its promises, especially due to the different meanings given to the agreement by the parties.
While Russia opted to focus on the economic aspects of the agreement, the EU has frequently
mentioned the primacy of political issues by stressing its belief in the necessary hand-in-hand
development of the economic and political aspects of the relations (Cicioğlu, 2009, p. 42).

Eastern advance of the EU with the successive enlargements in 1990s and 2000sintensified
the conflictual elements in the EU-Russia relations. When the European Economic Community
was established in the late 1950s, Russia blamed the community by being the political and
economic wing of the NATO (Cicioğlu, 2009, p. 34).In the last years, Russia has tendency to
establish a similar of this historical linkage by seeing the eastern advance of the EU and NATO’s
enlargement in the post-Soviet area as the processes facilitating each other.

When the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was launched in 2004, Russia didnot
show a significant reaction. Since, the policy was found inconsistent, weak and lacking of support
of concrete ideas and policies. However, when the Eastern Partnership (EaP)was initiated in
2009, as the eastern dimension of the ENP,to strengthen the relations between the EU and eastern
neighbours; Russian attitude changed totally. EaP was seen by Russia as a reaction to the war in
Georgia, although chronologically the initiative predates the war. Yet, it cannot be denied that
the war did act as a catalyst for the formal launch of the policy (Haukkala, 2009, p. 6). Russia
believed that the EaP is an initiative forged by the Russian unfriendly states, namely Poland,
Lithuania, Sweden; by taking advantage of the tense relations between the EU and Russia due
to Georgian war in 2008 (Secrieru, 2010, pp. 15-16).In addition, Russia sees the EaP as a divide
and rule strategy, targeting the shared neighbourhood between the EU and Russia(Haukkala,
2009, p. 6).That is, Russia is questioning whether the EU is serious about transforming the region

  627
into safe-heaven with the EaPor it is just trying to undermine Russian interests in the region
with a hidden agenda(Sergunin and Makarychev, 2012, p. 23).Coloured Revolutions also became
one of the turning points in the relations between the EU and Russia. Since, Russia saw these
revolutions as a Western attempt in order to eradicate Russian influence in the post-Soviet area
(Casier, 2013, p. 1379).

EU still wants to establish a strategic partnership with Russia basing on common values,
including a free trade area, energy cooperation and constructive togetherness in issues related
to European continent and international politics. The EU believes that such a partnership
will make Russia more aligned with European norms and similar to its Western counterparts
(Barysch, 2011, pp. 52-54). In this scope, the negotiations for a new cooperation and partnership
agreement between the EU and Russia have been going on since 2008. But, the parties couldn’t
have reached an agreement satisfying both sides. Since, as the power of Russia enhanced after
2000s, it rethought its standing in world politics and lost its former willingness for being a partner
with the EU. While Russia has been pressing for the removal of all the preconditions related to
democracy and human rights and demanding the formation of a pure economic partnership
between parties, the EU wants to continue its settled tradition in cooperation agreements by
establishing a close linkage between the economic aspect of the relations and prevailing political
conditions in the country of concern.

Due to the problems between the EU and Russia in the last decade, Moscow puts more
importance on the bilateral relations with the EU member states, rather than the dialogue between
the EU and Russia (Sergunin and Makarychev, 2012, p. 22).It makes it difficult to achieve a unity
among the EU member states related to Russia. There are very different dynamics at stake in
the bilateral relations between Russia and individual member states and Russia can wisely take
advantages of these diverse dynamics. For example, Russia’s importance in the energy security
of Europe differs across member states. While Russia is the primary supplier of natural gas to
Germany and Italy, it isnot applicable for neither France, nor the UK (Schubert, Pollack and
Brutschin, 2014, p. 53).

The Ukrainian government declared that it wouldnot sign the association agreement,
negotiated with the EU for years, on 21 November 2013 under the influence of the pressures
coming by Russia. The decision created a shock effect in the EU side which was planning to
sing the association agreement with the Ukraine at the Vilnius Summit that was scheduled one
week later from the Ukrainian announcement of its decision. As a result, the Vilnius Eastern
Partnership Summit of 28-29 November 2013 became a milestone not just for the EU’s relations
with the six Eastern Partnership countries, but also for the EU’s relations with Russia (Havlik,
2014, p. 22).Pro-EU segments of Ukrainian population organized a protest movement in order
to show their reactions to the rejection of the association agreement by their governments. As a

628
result of these protests, a new government came to the power. Russia found the new conditions
in Ukraine threatening for its interests in the country and annexed Crimea (Cadier, 2014, p.
76). The EU opted to apply political and economic sanctions against Russia after its actions in
Ukraine which are totally against national sovereignty of the country. Ukrainian crisis has been
still one of the most important factors seriously affecting the current relations between the EU
and Russia. Since the country is the largest and most important country in the post-Soviet area,
it constitutes a significant part in the plans of the parties for the region and detrimental for their
success in the region. As a result, the parties are utilising from all the techniques and means in
their hands in order not to lose the country to the other side.

It is possible to argue that the division between the EU and Russia is wider than it has ever
been after the Cold War. At the same time, Russia remains strategically important for Europe.
Strategic partnership may be now off the agenda, and for some time to come, but the same
imperatives that have pushed the EU and Russia together in the past are still present today. In this
sense, despite the current political troubles, the rationale for maintaining the relationship is still in
place (David and Romanova, 2015, p. 9). For example, the EU still lacks a short or medium term
alternative to Russian gas and Russia equally lacks a credible alternative to European foreign direct
investments and also needs the EU as a reliable customer for its energy sources and as a provider
of high-technology goods and services (Schubert, Pollack and Brutschin, 2014, pp. 53-54).

Neither the EU, nor Russia has a fully-defined strategy for their bilateral relations. There
is a need for a reset in the relations (Sergunin and Makarychev, 2012, p. 26). Apart from the
other issues at stake, the shared neighbourhood can be listed as one of the factors that make
this reset necessary. Since, none of the actors can pursue a successful strategy in their shared
neighbourhood without a certain level of approval of the other party. The future of the relations
between the parties will depend heavily on the answer given to the critical question of whether
the EU and Russia can continue to work together in areas serving their mutual interests while
disagreeing in some other areas.

EU and Russia as Two Distinctive Foreign Policy Actors

The EU and Russia are actors with different natures. This difference naturally influences
their involvement into the international politics and their design of foreign policy significantly.
Furthermore, these differences may also be one of the decisive factors behind the clash between
the EU and Russian models. Two main differences between the EU and Russia will be identified
in this section briefly.

Firstly, the EU is a distinct international actor because its foreign policy is based on an
unusual balance between interests and norms, in favour of the latter. In contrast, Russia is a
traditional actor which is conducting its foreign policy by giving priority to interests over

  629
norms(Casier, 2013, p. 1383). By the way, while the EU is predominantly seen as a normative
actor, promoting norms and values in its external relations; Russia is regarded as an actor driven
primarily by interest-related considerations. Shortly, the EU and Russia are designing their
foreign policies on the basis of different rationales.

The difference between two actors in conducting their foreign policy can also be identified
as a normative gap. That means either the EU and Russia are diffusing different norms or values,
or the same values or norms have different weights in their foreign policy(Casier, 2013, pp. 1377-
1379).For example, both the EU and Russia claim to promote a certain form of democracy, but with
a clear difference. While Brussels has sought to reinforce the criteria of democracy formulated by
the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission, Moscow has put more emphasis on sovereign
autonomy than on strict criteria for the final product of democracy (Casier, 2013, p. 1382).
Additionally, the EU and Russia have diverse and sometimes irreconcilable views regarding the
international law principles, democracy or sovereignty. This may stem from the fact that Russia
is a nation state and the EU is a supranational entity(Cicioğlu, 2009, p. 42).

Secondly, Russia as a modern state gives value on the old-fashioned concepts or Cold
War parameters; such as, spheres of influence, zero-sum games and strict reciprocity. On the
other hand, the EU has been designing its policies on the basis of post-modern principles which
make the living of two competing paradigms possible. The EU puts more value on concepts like
mutual interest, shared sovereignty and win-win cooperation (Barysch, 2011, p. 53). Therefore,
the biggest challenge the EU is facing in conducting its policy towards the post-Soviet area is to
overcome the current Russian mood of zero-sum interpretations by persuading Russia to accept
the win-win logic of integration in this region (Haukkala, 2009, p. 2).

The Competition between the EU and Russia for the Shared Neighbourhood

Eastern enlargement, finalised in 2007, not only increased the number of contact points
between the EU and Russia, it also led to the emergence of a new neighbourhood for the EU,
including Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, South Caucasus countries and Central Asia (Haukkala,
2009, p. 2).The EU’s entrances into these regions which have been traditionally seen as Russian
spheres of influencehave had a tremendous effect on the regional dynamics; namely interests,
discourses and practices dominant in these areas. The emergence of a new shared neighbourhood
hasn’t only produced implications for these regions, but also it has produced consequences for
the EU-Russia bilateral relations by deeply affecting the perception of these actors each other
(Dias, 2013, pp. 256-257).

Recently, both the EU and Russia aims to shape their shared neighbourhood by establishing
friendly states on their peripheries, primarily for enhancing their internal security(Dias, 2013,
p. 261). Despite the shared vision of the EU and Russia for their common neighbourhood, these

630
actors are causing insecurity for each other in their attempts for creating a secure neighbourhood.
Since, both the EU and Russia want to be the actor which defines the rules of the game in their
shared neighbourhood. Therefore, the dominance of tension in the EU-Russia relations doesn’t
only affect the relations between the two actors, but also it affects the countries in their shared
neighbourhood by leading instabilities in the region (Haukkala, 2015, p. 37). As a result, currently
it is not possible for the countries in the region to maximize their interest by establishing a
balanced relation with the two regional players (Cadier, 2014, p. 77).

The EU in the Shared Neighbourhood

After the end of the Cold War, the US opted to leave the EU on its own in taking care of
its eastern neighbourhood by concentrating its resources and political attention for the other
parts of the world, such as the Middle East and Afghanistan (Haukkala, 2009, p. 9). Enlargement
became the central core of the EU policy towards the region during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Afterwards, the EU finally found the opportunity for developing its relations with the other
countries in the post-Soviet area. As mentioned before, the ENP was launched in this context
and the ENP, more specifically the EaP, has still constituted the legal basis of the EU’s relations
with the post-Soviet states in its neighbourhood.

Through the ENP, the EU aimed to respond two main challenges. Firstly, the EU was in
need of overcoming the enlargement fatigue after its biggest enlargement or finding a way for
giving a pause to enlargement. Secondly, there was the need for spreading stability, prosperity
and wider liberal values outside the EU in order to guarantee its internal peace and security
(Haukkala, 2009, p. 36). That is, by relying on the conditionality incentives borrowed from the
enlargement policy, the EU has been trying to export its model without providing its main award,
membership(Cadier, 2014, p. 77).It should be noted that the ENP was launched, when Russia
started to pay effort in order to enhance its influence in the same area. Therefore, rather than
bringing a zone of peace and security around Europe, the eastern enlargement of the EU created
security risks by increasing the number of areas that can cause troubles in the relations with
Russia (Cicioğlu, 2009, p. 46).

Among the six countries covered under the EaP, Georgia and Moldova are the only two
which are still willing for enhancing their relations with the EU. Armenia decided to join Russian
project for security reasons. Azerbaijan has no real interest in developing its relations with the
EU. The crisis over the Ukrainian position hasn’t produced a final result. Additionally, there is
Russia which has been challenging the effectiveness of the EaP through its activities in the shared
neighbourhood. The EU officials have serious doubts about the Russian actions in the region and
they stressed their concern by saying that“the development of the Euroasian Economic Union
project must respect our partners’ sovereign decisions. Any threats from Russia linked to possible

  631
signing of agreements with the European Union are unacceptable.”1 The problems with the EaP
countries and Russia, and the developments in the Middle East forced the EU to initiate an ENP
revision process planned to be finalised by the end of 2015. By this revision, the EU primarily
aims to enhance the effectiveness of the ENP to increase its capacity to export EU model.

Europe has been currently facing with a difficult question of how to deal with Russian
challenge. The divisions among Europeans about how to deal with this question further increases
the difficulty of coming up with a proper response. While the eastern and northern European
countries are for a harsh reaction to stabilize the eastern neighbourhood, the western and
southern European countries don’t feel the same level of urgency for a confrontation with Russia
and stress the need for improving relations with Russia. However, the latter option may also send
wrong signals to Russia about the Europeans’ acceptance of Russian scenario for the post-Soviet
area. As a result, Russia can turn into an actor that can easily use military aggression in order to
conduct its foreign policy in the post-Soviet area (Speck, 2014). Briefly, there are a few foreign
policy issues in which the EU can speak with a single voice. It is clear that the problems faced in
the eastern partnership and with Russia are none of these issues.

Russia in the Shared Neighbourhood

Russia’s new regionalization schemes and their implications for the EU cannot be
understood without considering the broader context of Moscow’s policies towards the post-Soviet
area. The region has been traditionally seen as a zone of strategic importance for Russia (Cadier,
2014, p. 79).Trenin identifies three sets of Russian interests in the region: politico-military (e.g.
military bases, generating diplomatic support from the region), economic (e.g. trade, energy,
labour migration), and societal (e.g. language, minorities)(Trennin, 2009, pp. 12-13). As a result,
immediately after Russia solved its internal problems in 1990s, it started to operate to regain its
lost influence in this region and to prevent the EU’s strengthening existence in its neighbourhood.
In this scope, Russia primarily engaged in a series of business deals and economic transactions,
especially in energy sector (Haukkula, 2008, p. 37).

The way in which Russia has used to achieve its objectives in the post-Soviet area has
significantly changed in response to the EU’s growing attractiveness. When the EU was a
newcomer in the region in a decade ago, Russia did little more than rely on existing ties between
post-Soviet countries to keep its influence. In contrast to the 1990s and early 2000s, Russia has
been recently using its ties with the countries in the region coercively, either as a way to block
further steps taken in the integration with the EU, or as a mechanism to facilitate the post-
Soviet countries’ membership into the Euroasian integration project. Russia has been creating

1 Commissioner Stephan Füle’sspeech in the EP Plenary on thepressureexercisedbyRussia on

thecountries of EasternPartnership, 11 September2013.
632
instability in countries of the shared neighbourhood in order to gain a long-term control over
the region, especially through Euroasian integration (Delcour and Kostasyan, 2014, p. 3).Since,
Russia knows that the alignment of post-Soviet countries to the European norms and standards
will bring them away from the Russian orbit (Havlik, 2014, p. 22).

Recently Russia is trying to reach its objectives in the Post-Soviet area by putting forth
its own model of cooperation. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan established a customs union
among themselves on 1 January 2010. This customs union is involving a free trade area, as well as
common import duties, external tariffs and harmonization of standards. On 1 January 2012, the
parties agreed on establishing a Euroasian Economic Union that would be functional by 2015. It
is also mentioned that the Union isnot the final target of their integration. They are also aiming to
turn into a monetary and economic union that have potential of giving pave to a political union
afterwards. With these initiatives, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan aim to achieve what the EU
achieved in the past 50 years in a very short time period.

The formation of Euroasian Customs Union can ensure the institutionalization of the
Russian policies for the Post-Soviet area. Euroasian Customs Union is a normative challenge for
the EU. For the first time after the Cold War, Russia started to use the same means with the EU
(Dragneva and Wolczuk, 2012, p. 2). That is, Russia started to operate in a domain where the EU has
exercised a monopoly until now(Dragneva and Wolczuk, 2012, p. 9). On the other hand, it should
be mentioned that the Russian integration project for the post-Soviet area was widely modelled on
the EU.However, Euroasian Customs Union is basing on an asymmetrical relation between Russia
and other members. The other countries have some say in the institutional structure of the Union,
but they have limited power to oppose Russia (Delcour and Kostasyan, 2014, p. 5).

The EU has been unilaterally defining the rules of the game in its eastern neighbourhood
and expecting from the countries in the region to accept these rules without any questioning.
Besides, it has been providing very few incentives to these countries that can enhance their
willingness for adopting European rules. Russia may have some advantages that may increase the
attractiveness of its project for the post-Soviet area. Russian is still a lingua franca in the post-
Soviet area. Thanks to this, Russian media is being widely followed by the people in the region
and this further enhances Russian influence. Besides, Russia is a key trade partner for these
countries. Many people from these countries are working in Russia and sending remittances
to their countries. Russia has also military presence in many of these countries. All of them
are providing Russia a capital of influence taking its legacy mostly from the past(Delcour and
Kostasyan, 2014, pp. 3-4). By considering these factors, it can be argued that it is very difficult
to erase Russian influence in the region at least in the short term. On the other hand, the EU
doesn’t have such kind of advantages in the region and is notwilling to build some of them in the

  633
near future, such as visa free travel. The gaps between the EU and Russia in terms of the factors
identified above have been operating at the expense of the EU model in the region.

Russia has been providing attractive incentives such as low gas prices without having a
clearly defined strategy for the region. However, in comparison to the EU having many success
stories during its lifespan, the Russian alternative is full of many ambiguities. Russia has
neither credibility nor experience as a model of development (Delcour and Kostasyan, 2014,
p. 4). By simply looking at the transformation of the eastern European countries that achieved
EU membership, the countries in the region may be willing to follow the European model
of development. Additionally, the still use of force or assertive diplomacy, as it is seen in the
Ukrainian case, by Russia is showing the limits of the Russian projects (Cadier, 2014, p. 81).In
other words, it was the hard power of Russia which forced the countries in the post-Soviet area to
refrain from further development of their relations with the EU, rather than the attractiveness of
the Russian project. That means current Russian role in the region cannot be stable as long as the
Russian project turns into a real alternative for the development path offered by the EU.

Russian challenges to the EU have created a shock effect among the Europeans who
believe that Russia would continue to deepen its partnership with Europe, especially due to its
dependence to Europe in terms of energy sales, technology transfers and foreign investments. In
addition, Europeans have also misbelieved that Russia has been objecting only to the enlargement
of the NATO to the post-Soviet area, not to the closer relations between Europe and post-Soviet
states. The current Russian actions in the region prove that country prioritize the control of post-
Soviet area over the good relations with the Europe or the West (Speck, 2014).

Conclusion

EU-Russia relations contain both the elements of cooperation and conflict. However,
the conflict became the dominant side of the relations, especially after the EU started to design
policies and means targeting post-Soviet area, which was traditionally seen by Russia as its own
zone of influence. While the EU have tendency to see this area as a zone in which both the EU
and Russia can involve in and get some gains, Russia sees the existence of the EU in this area as a
threat for its own interests in the region. It is clear that it will take time for the parties to be able
to reach a consensus over the post-Soviet area. As long as there is the dominance of mistrust in
the relations, the parties will have more tendencies to perceive the steps taken in their shared
neighbourhood by each other as threats. It will serve better to the interests of the parties, if the
EU and Russia achieve to create synergies between their own models in order to make them live
in harmony.

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 Since the EU has been passing through a turbulent era threatening all the success stories
of the integration, it is contextually easy to challenge European project. On the other hand,
Russia started the new millennium as an ascending power after a comprehensive restoration in
its economy, politics and society. As a result of these two successive processes, the power gap
between the EU and Russia lessened. With this change in the balance of power between two
actors, the EU turned into an inward looking actor putting less energy and resources for its
eastern neighbourhood and Russia has been easily able to take advantage of this power vacuum
in its neighbourhood with its enhancing power. However, Russian challenge to the EU isn’t
an existential one, because Russia can’t be able to come up with a fully-fledgedmodel for the
post-Soviet area at least in the near future. Nevertheless, Russia has already potential and ample
opportunities to act as a spoiler, frustrating the achievement of the Union’s goal and objectives in
the shared neighbourhood (Haukkula, 2008, p. 45).

References

Barysch, Katinka, Christopher Coker and LeszekJesień. (2011). EU-Russia Relations: Time for
a Realistic Turnaround. Centre for European Studies, Retrieved from https://www.
academia.edu/1552912/EURussia_relations_time_for_a_realistic_turnaround
Cadier, David. (2014). Eastern Partnership vs Euroasian Union?The EU-Russia Competition in
the Shared Neighbourhood and the Ukraine Crisis. Global Policy, 5: 1, 76-85.
Casier, Tom. (2013). The EU-Russia Strategic Partnership: Challenging the Normative Argument.
Europe-Asia Studies, 65:7,1377-1395.
Cicioğlu, Filiz. (2009). Çatışmave İşbirliği Zemininde Putin Dönemi Avrupa Birliği-Rusya
İlişkileri. Journal of Azerbaijani Studies, 12: 4, 33-48.
David, Maxine and Tatiana Romanova. (2015). Modernisation in EU-Russia Relations: Past,
Present and Future, European Politics and Society, 16:1, 1-10.
Delcour, Laure and HrantKostasyan. (2014). Towards a Fragmented Neighbourhood: Policies
of the EU and Russia and Their Consequences for the Area the Lies in Between. CEPS
Essays.17.
Dias, Vanda Amaro. (2013).The EU and Russia: Competing Discourses, Practices and Interests
in the Shared Neighbourhood. Perspectives on the European Politics and Society, 14:2.
256-271.
Dragneva, Rilka and KatarynaWolczuk. (2012). Russia, the Euroasian Customs Union and the
EU: Cooperation, Stagnation or Rivalry. Chatnam House Briefing Paper. 1.
EU-Russia Summit Joint Statement, 31 May 2013. Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.
eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/er/75969.pdf

  635
Havlik, Peter.(2014). Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit: Milestone in EU-Russia Relations-
Not Just For Ukraine, Danube Law and Economic Review, 5:1, 21-51.
Haukkala, Hiski. (2009).From Zero-Sum to Win-Win? The Russian Challenge to the EU’s Eastern
Neighbourhood Policies. SIEPS Policy Analysis, 12.
Schubert, Samuel R., Johannes Pollack and Elina Brutschin. (2014). Two Futures: EU-Russia
Relations in the Context of Ukraine. European Journal of Futures Research. 2. 52-59.
Secrieru, Stanislav. (2010). Russia’s Main Perceptions of the EU and its Member States.SPES Policy
Papers. Retrieved from http://iep-berlin.de/en/wpcontent/uploads/sites/2/2014/09/
SPES_Policy_Papers_2010_Secrieru.pdf
Sergunin, Alexander and Andrey Makarychev. (2012).The EU- Russia Relations at the Cross-
Roads: The Need for a Reset. Avrasya İncelemeleri Dergisi, 1:2, 1-30.
Speck, Ulrich.(2014). Russia’s New Challenges to Europe. Carnegie Europe, Retrieved from http://
carnegieeurope.eu/publications/?fa=55368
Trennin, D.(2009). Russia’s Spheres of Interest, not Influence, The Washington Quarterly, 32:4,
3-22.

636
 What does the European Union’s (EU’s) New Approach Bring
to Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Edita Đapo & Ognjen Riđić

International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been lacking the collective political power to address the
reforms that were necessary for progress towards EU over the years. The B&H politicians could
not agree upon any effective coordination mechanism on EU issues. The lack of coordination
mechanism has negatively affected the country’s interaction with the EU. Beside the coordination
mechanism the other political issues could not be resolved. The EU Commission intensively
facilitated resolution of the Sejdić-Finci ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that
B&H has to implement, but without any success. The political actors have also been unable
to agree upon countrywide strategy required for Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, in
sectors, such as: agriculture, energy, transport and environment. These negative developments
led to a substantial reduction of funding in these areas. Political disagreements have caused
economic stagnation on moving towards European standards. In February 2014, widespread,
citizen-led protests occurred. These protests have underlined the fragility of the socio-economic
situation. The EU Commission has launched a New Approach for B&H towards EU aiming to
shift the focus towards economic reforms and issues of direct concern to citizens. This included
development of a ‘Compact for Growth and Jobs’. The Compact is supposed to be the yardstick
for the necessary economic reforms. In this paper we will explain the importance of the New
Approach for B&H, as well as what ‘Compact for Growth and Job’ brings to B&H.

Key words: EU new approach, economic reforms, compact for growth and jobs, Bosnia
and Herzegovina

  637
 Introduction

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is post-conflict country with very complex political system
that provides opportunities for political elite instability. The country has fragmented society,
complicated state structure and week institutions. B&H has been lacking the collective political
power to address the reforms that were necessary for progress towards EU over the years.

The B&H politicians could not agree upon any effective coordination mechanism on EU
issues. The lack of coordination mechanism has negatively affected the country’s interaction with
the EU. B&H is the first and only country ever that lost pre-accession funds. It is the only case
when the EU redirected its pre-accession funds from B&H to Kosovo. The political actors have
also been unable to agree upon countrywide strategy required for Instrument for Pre-Accession
Assistance, in sectors, such as: agriculture, energy, transport and environment. These negative
developments led to a substantial reduction of funding in these areas. Beside the coordination
mechanism the other political issues could not be resolved. The EU Commission intensively
facilitated resolution of the Sejdić-Finci ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that
B&H has to implement, but without any success.

Political disagreements have caused economic stagnation on moving towards European

standards. In February 2014, widespread, citizen-led protests occurred. These protests have
underlined the fragility of the socio-economic situation. Political instability negatively affects
investments and economic growth causing poverty and dissatisfaction of the people. Peoples’
dissatisfaction brings social unrests which again have effects on stability of the government. In
order to assist B&H, the EU Commission has launched a New Approach for B&H towards EU
aiming to shift the focus towards economic reforms and issues of direct concern to citizens. This
included development of a ‘Compact for Growth and Jobs’. The Compact is supposed to be the
yardstick for the necessary economic reforms.

In this paper we will explain the importance of the New Approach for B&H. The main
purpose of this approach is to make consensus about the goals of main economic policies between
all levels of B&H government and to work together in order to fulfill those goals. The second
purpose of the new approach is to help B&H citizens regain the confidence in their governments
which is an essential factor for economic development.

The paper is organized as follows: Section 1. represents the Introduction. Section 2. gives
the review of the previous literature. Section 3. presents the background on B&H and EU
relations. Section 4. analyzes and explains the importance of the EU’s New Approach to B&H,
and Section 5. represents the Conclusion.

638
 Previous literature on the political instability and the economic growth

The growth theory of a new political economy considers the political stability to be a
necessary condition for the economic growth. The thematic literatures usually distinguish two
kinds of political instability: 1.) non-elite political instability (i.e. violent coups, riots, revolutions,
civil wars, etc.) and elite political instability (e.g. cabinet changes, government crises, instability
due to frequent instances of minority governments, etc.).

Rodric (2000) stated that development and improvement of democracy ensures a high-
quality growth. In his paper the author pointed out the importance of institutions and stated
which institutions are deemed to be significant and crucial for the economic growth.

Alesina et al. (1992) stated that the political instability represented a negative element
for the economic growth. They used a sample of 113 countries from the period 1950-1982 and
showed that the economic growth was lower in countries with high probability of government
collapse. Similarly, Aisen & Veiga (2011) used a sample covering 169 countries, in the period
1960-2004 and found a negative relationship between the political instability and the economic
development. They stated that the political instability, viewed as cabinet change, reduces the GDP
growth rates, significantly. Political instability has a negative effect on total factor productivity,
also affects growth through the physical and human capital accumulation. The paper suggests
that the countries need to address the political instability.

Jong-A-Pin (2009) offered a survey on how to measure the political instability and its
impact on the economic growth. He distinguished four dimensions of political instability: civil
protest, politically motivated aggression, instability within regime and instability of the political
regime. In his paper, the author questioned the credibility of the political instability in regards to
single proxies as viewed through the cabinet changes.

Political elite instability and institutional weakness in B&H are causes that country is
unable to formulate and adopt the appropriate policies that encourage long-term growth and
needed unique and innovative policies toward joining the EU.

Background on B&H and EU relations

In the early 1990s, the collapse of the centrally, and by only one, Communist party,
planned self-managed economic system and the transition to a market economy started with
the disintegration process of former Yugoslavia. As a result of the breakup, there emerged seven
countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Former
Yugoslav Republic (FRY) Macedonia. Slovenia joined the EU in 2004 and Croatia in 2013. Serbia,

  639
Montenegro and FRY Macedonia are candidate countries, while Bosnia and Kosovo are still the
potential candidates.

As other countries in the region, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in the process of
transformation from a socialist, previously self-managed economy, to a modern market
economy. This process started in 1989, but was interrupted by the aggression and internal war
in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995. The process of the transformation restarted in
1996, immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed. Bosnia and Herzegovina was
economically growing and progressing towards the EU membership. As a result of that progress
the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between B&H and the EU was signed in
2008 and ratified in 2011. While Bosnia-Herzegovina signed the SAA with the EU in 2008, it
has lagged behind its neighbors. Ongoing ethnic tensions in Bosnia-Herzegovina have prevented
that country from carrying out the necessary reforms for Euro-Atlantic integration. However,
SAA has entered into force in 2015, when the EU switched its approach towards B&H.

The political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is defined by the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The Agreement outlines the Constitution of the state. There were established two entities (i.e.
the country was divided into the two parts – one is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(F.B&H) and the other is Republika Srpska (RS)). Later, in 2000, a new administrative unit
District Brcko was established. The government is highly complex. Bosnia and Herzegovina has
around 14 governments (1 at the state level, 2 at entity level, 10 cantonal in F.B&H and 1 for
the District of Brcko). Beside different levels, in order to ensure the ethnic representation the
government on each level requires the participation of different ethnic groups. Decision making
process is very complex and it gives the possibility to the elected representatives to protect the
members of their own ethnicity. However, the possibility of protection, the right to veto and the
right to protect the vital interests has been overused and become main weapon of the political
elites to stop certain changes or economic progress. For these reasons B&H’s government cannot
make prompt and adequate decisions regarding any issues. This complex situation causes delays
in the policy realization, slows down and largely brings to the halt the economic growth.

The political environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina was unstable during the whole
transition period, but it was highly unstable during the mandate from 2010-2014. Fifteen months
was needed to form the state government (i.e. Council of Ministers, and in the period of three
years there were four changes of the coalition partners). Thus, the coalitions were changed several
times at the different levels, as well.

By 2014, the EU insisted in B&H’s fulfilling the Copenhagen political criteria, which
required the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and
respect for and protection of minorities.

640
 The European Commission undertook the intensive facilitation efforts to B&H in order
to resolve the Sejdic-Finci ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. The Sejdic-Finci vs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the legal case, ruled in December of 2009, which proclaimed the ethnic
discrimination for representation in the institutions of the country for persons not belonging to
one of the three constituent peoples (i.e. Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats). The ruling has not been
implemented due to narrow political parties’ or ethnic interests. Having not implemented the
Sejdic-Finci ruling, the country has not yet ended the discriminatory practice, whereby citizens
of Bosnia and Herzegovina not declaring themselves as belonging to one of the three Constituent
Peoples are prevented to run for the Presidency and/or the House of Peoples’ of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Thus, the legislative processes, in general, remain extremely slow, due to the lack
of political will to reach necessary compromises. The frequent use of the urgent procedures
to introduce laws in the Parliamentary assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in an
extensive use of the Vital National Interest procedures. Due to the lack of political agreement, the
legislations were often blocked by using the Entity veto.

Furthermore, B&H lacks an effective government coordination mechanism on the EU

issues. Political tensions within the ethnic groups related to the division of competences across
different levels of government have continued. This unfortunate situation has been compounded
by the complexity of the institutional arrangements in the country. The political actors have
been unable to agree on countrywide strategies required for the Instrument for Pre-Accession
Assistance in sectors, such as: energy, transport, environment and agriculture. A failure by
the authorities of B&H to agree upon Pre-Accession Assistance for Agriculture and Rural
Development (IPARD) structure, has forced the EU to suspend funds for this purpose. In 2013,
45 million EURO in pre-accession assistance funds for B&H has been redirected to Kosovo.
It is the first case that the EU redirected its pre-accession funds from one country to another.
Moreover, constant political disagreements led to a substantial reduction of funding in different
areas. In that sense, the new EU approach would help B&H’s government to reach the necessary
agreement on economic issues. This will open the way for Bosnia and Herzegovina to benefit
fully from the available pre-accession funding.

A lack of collective political will to address the reforms necessary for progress on the EU
path is the main obstacle in B&H. There has been very limited progress on the political and
economic issues and on moving towards reaching and/or accepting the European standards.
The economic stagnation and an increase of poverty brought widespread, citizen-led protests in
February of 2014. The demonstrators’ demands and complaints were about the economic and
social issues. Unemployment, difficult living conditions, dysfunctional local administrations,
reviewing corrupt privatizations of local companies and lowering salaries for official were some
of the concrete demands of the protesters. Furthermore, the severe floods, which hit the country
in May of 2014, have had a considerable socio-economic impact on the whole country.

  641
 The EU provided the immediate and substantial rescue and relief efforts and organized a
donors’ conference in July of 2014. Significant recovery assistance pledges were made from the
international community for the recovery and reconstruction phase.

In order to facilitate B&H, the Commission has launched three initiatives to shift the focus
towards reforms that B&H needs and on addressing the issues of direct concern to citizens. It
has expanded the EU’s initiative called - Bosnia and Herzegovina Structured Dialogue on Justice,
in particular, the fight against corruption. It has set up a joint EU - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Working Group to accelerate the implementation of the EU’s funded projects. It has focused on
strengthening the economic governance in B&H. This included development of a ‘Compact for
Growth and Jobs’, an economic agenda that was developed together with the domestic experts, as
well as with the international financial institutions.

What Does the EU’s New Approach Bring to B&H?

In late May of 2014, the European Delegation organized the Forum for Prosperity and
Jobs for B&H, in order to identity the economic reform package for B&H. It became clear that
B&H’s authorities could not agree upon any important political issue. These disagreements halted
the country’s economic growth and caused severe social unrests. People and society become
frustrated and irritated with flagrant irresponsibility of the politicians. Constant changes at all
levels of the B&H’s government, the initiatives of policy makers who tried to take benefit of
the position they have, various disagreements regarding the Sejdić-Finci case and constitutional
changes among political party leaders without the discussion at the Parliamentary Assembly, as
well as inability to use the IPA funds for certain sectors created a serious uncertainty with the
respect of institutions’ functioning.

The EU realized that a large unemployment in B&H and stagnation in socio-economic

reforms had to be addressed. The EU Delegation in B&H facilitated the various governments’
levels in B&H with creation of the Compact for Growth and Jobs and an announcement that
the EU is shifting its approach towards B&H, (i.e. switching from the political to the economic
roadmap). The Compact for Growth and Jobs is the document that defines several socio-
economic areas that have to be reformed in B&H.

These documents define six measures (e.g. taxes on jobs, barriers to registration of the
companies, increasing competitiveness, restructuring enterprises, fighting corruption and
providing social protection) that are intended to spur investment, accelerate the creation of the
jobs, encourage the fight against corruption, properly define and target for social protection.

642
Dapo & Ridic (2015) explained how a new economic initiative “Compact for Growth and Jobs”
may influence the economic growth and accelerate the transition process in B&H.

The main purpose of this economic agenda created by the EU is to eliminate the political
instability that exists due to the complexity of decision-making process in B&H, to regain the
confidence of the people in their governments and provide the citizens with the vision for the
existence of the better and brighter future.

In political economy literature, it is known that “nothing is more damaging to

successful development than incompetent, irresponsible and corrupt government; nothing
brings development more effectively to an end, indeed so effectively reverses it, as an internal
conflict” (Galbraith, 1994). Many post-conflict societies are defined by the political instability,
an endemic corruption and lack of the effective state institutions (Collier & Hoeffler, 2004).
B&H is not exempt from these characteristics that reversely affect the economic development.
Corruption is increasing and presents a key obstacle to the necessary economic reforms and the
establishment of the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dapo & Ridic 2015).The previous
literature review shows that the political instability is one of the factors that negatively affect the
economic development. Both, domestic and foreign investors are discouraged by the threat of
political upheaval and changes in the policies. Political instability scares away new investments,
and, in case of B&H, it stops the pre-accession funds needed for development of the country.
Soubbutina & Sheram (2000) explained that the existence of the political instability prevents
a faster economic growth and improvements in people’s economic welfare, causing even more
dissatisfaction, which causes more demonstrations and again, through a new social conflicts,
it increases the political instability. As a result, a country falls into a vicious circle of political
instability. Falling into the vicious circle of political instability can seriously impede the efforts to
boost the economic development.

In order to reduce the political instability in B&H and positively influence the economic
development, the new EU initiative presented as “The Compact for Growth and Jobs” was created
in a way that all levels of B&H’s government should maintain a consensus about the goals of
main economic policies. The new EU initiative was supposed to break the vicious circle that the
country was falling in (see Figure 1). Its goal was to achieve the political stability regarding the
economic issues. Having consensus regarding the economic policies should relax the relations
between different ethnic groups and different entities. Political stability regarding the economic
policies would be the advancement on the roadmap towards the EU and these achievements
would accelerate the pre-accession funds which are quite needed to B&H.

  643
 The New EU
Initiative

Figure 1. The New EU Initiative Breaking the Vicious Circle of Political Instability

The other important purpose of the new EU approach towards B&H was that various
B&H’s governments regain the confidence of its own people in institutions. The confidence
of people and their support presents an essential factor for the development (Kohama, 2003).
B&H’s government should maintain a consensus about the goals of economic policies. Those
goals should be transparently presented and explained to the public. This would motivate
the people and would help them to easily accept various measures. This is the way for B&H
to improve the functionality and efficiency at all levels of the government and to include its
social partners into the decision-making processes. Governments need to focus on addressing
the socio-economic priorities, adopt countrywide strategies for various sectors and implement
the pre-accession assistance. This is the way, as to how B&H may meet the EU standards on the
economic development. After fulfilling these standards, in order to join the EU, B&H must meet
the EU standards on the political freedoms.

Conclusion

In this paper we explained the importance of the political stability for the economic
development of the country. B&H was progressing on its way towards the EU, until, 2008. Later,
due to the internal political disagreements it stays far behind its neighboring countries. Political
instability has the negative influence on the economic growth, which usually causes poverty and
dissatisfaction of the people who try to make changes through the social unrests, which again
cause the political instability. This is the way how the country falls into the, so called, vicious

644
circle of the political instability. In order to help B&H, the EU introduced the new approach for
B&H towards the EU.

Introduction of the new approach towards B&H presents the EU creativity. The EU
was taking into account the specific problems that B&H was faced with. In this way, the EU
contributes more actively to the solution of country’s problems by facilitating the government
to take the right path towards the EU. The EU facilitates the B&H government by defining the
key areas that should be reformed. In the new agenda, “The Compact for Growth and Jobs”, the
priority is on the improvement of the B&H’s economy. Another important aim of the new agenda
is the fight against corruption.

Improvements in these areas would provide B&H with the resources offered by the
Instrument of Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA funds). This initiative should bring the economic
reforms that B&H badly needs to make a complete transition to the market economy, the
economic growth in order to bring B&H closer to the EU.

References

Aisen, A. & Veiga, F.J. (2011). “How Does Political Instability Affect Economic Growth?” IMF
Working Paper, WP/11/12.
Alesina, A., Ozler, S., Roubini, N. & Swagel, P. (1992). “Political Instability and Economic Growth”
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 4173.
Brochure: Compact for Growth and Jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina http://europa.ba/wp-con-
tent/uploads/2015/05/delegacijaEU_2014090816171626eng.pdf
Collier, P. & Hoeffler, A. (2004). “Greed and Grievance in Civil War” Oxford Economic Papers 56,
653-595.
Dapo, E. & Ridic, O. (2015). “Why is B&H stuck in the transition process and what “Compact
for Growth and Jobs” EU initiative may bring?” International Conference on Modern Re-
search in Management, Economics and Accounting, Istanbul.
Dapo, E. & Ridic, O. (2015). “Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Yeni Turkey.
Galbraith, J. R. (1994). Competing with Flexible Lateral Organisations, Second Edition, Reading
Mass, Addison-Wesley.
Jong-A-Pin, R. (2009). “On the Measurement of Political Instability and its Impact on Economic
Growth” European Journal of Political Economy 25 (1), 15-29.
Kohama, H. (2003). External Factors for Asian Development, Second Edition, Japan Institute of
International Affairs and ASEAN Foundation.
Rodric, D. (2000). “Institutions for High-Quality Growth: What They Are And How To Acquire
Them” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 7540.
Soubbutina, T. P. & Sheram, K. A. (2000). Beyond Economic Growth: Meeting the Challenges of
Global Development, TheWorld Bank, Washington D.C.
  645
 Reflecting upon Issues in European Identity and Multiculturalism
Related to Rising Populism in Europe by the Example of Germany

Abdülaziz Ahmet Yaşar

Yildiz Technical University, Turkey

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze current issues in identity, multiculturalism, integration
and assimilation with its effects on rising right-wing populism in Europe on the example of
Germany. ‘Leitkultur’ is an important term focused on due its significance in the development of
these issues in Germany. Political parties and movements are taken into account in understanding
the relationship between discussions and establishments. Furthermore, it is investigated how and
with which concepts a new alternative model can be useful in today’s European diverse societies.

Key words: identity, multiculturalism, integration, pluralism, convivencia

Introduction

Identity is the totality of an entity, an object characterizing and distinguishing the

individual from all other peculiarities. Similarly, the term is also used for the characterization
of people. Psychological and sociological terms are in the foreground which features the self-
image of individuals or groups considered their essential Will. So, following the legal identity
determination relevant to inclusion and exclusion markers of modern bourgeois societies The
European identity is grounded on European ideas, values and its common history. In other
words, the European identity is the appearance of the European or Western civilization. Since
the Enlightenment and afterwards, scholars are discussing when the European civilization
has started, where it was born and what its foundation pillars are. There is, with scholars in
opposition, consensus that the European pillars of civilization are Roman, Catholic, Jewish and
Hellenistic-Greek. The common European identity and unified Europe are modern ideas. The

646
Roman Empire had not thought of a unified Europe, they spread over African and Asian territory
and had not an idea of ‘Europe’ with cultural borders like nowadays.

Europe’s Cultural Heritage and Europe in the 20th and 21th Century

Whereas we can find a clear declaration that the Roman and Hellenistic heritage is part
of modern Europe, the Dark Age is poorly related with the hegemony of the Catholic Church
with today’s European identity. It is not denied by most of Western scholars that the Catholic
heritage is part of Europe, but Christianity and religious affairs are conceived with a secular
understanding. Even the term religion has a secular meaning and is restricted with relations
between a believer and God, in the Christian heritage. A religion cannot be influential directly
in politics or worldly affairs.(Hueston, 2005., pp.81-94) Friedrich Schleiermacher defined in the
late 18th century religion as das schlechthinnige Abhängigkeitsgefühl, commonly translated as „a
feeling of absolute dependence”. Every political or non-religious idea which has its source by God
or another superhuman, beyond nature creature cannot be a religion. These are in most cases
political movements which misuse religion for their own interest, the most mentioned example
is Islamism.1 (Fuller, 2003., p. 194-5)

Nonetheless, the Catholic Church and Christianity are related to the Enlightenment due
the opposition of Catholics in various European countries.

The Second World War was an ontological crisis for many Europeans. Although the First
World War destroyed not only homes, cities and lives, it destroyed the idea of positivism that
human being is on a path of a constant development and that tomorrow the world will be a better
place than today. The Second World War destroyed even the realization of the idea that from
now on there should not be a similar war erupting in Europe or on another place on the earth. To
the surprise of million Europeans, a more devastating war shaped almost all European countries
and caused 58 million deaths. European intellectuals and politicians understood that they have
to create a common identity; if necessary they had to create Europe as a civilization of what
all Europeans have together. A Europe with common culture, history, philosophy, worldview
(Weltanschauung) and identity. Even if there were differences, these were like different rooms
in one building, but still the same house. Pluralism became a central idea as the basis of social
structure and the fundament of society. All ideas and ideologies were legitimate except those
which are regarded as threatening for a democratic plural society.

This concept functioned well, although it was questioned by internal and external crisis
during the Cold War period. This was related to the well working European common identity

1 This is the notion of the Western world in terms of religion-secularism relations and how to define
religion and religios grounded political movements.

  647
and its appearance as a trade union and later as a political alliance too. Former dictatorships
like Spain and Greece joined the community as democracies. This concept also guaranteed the
democratic change and economic stability of various Eastern European states.

However, the unseen key point was not that this idea of a common European identity, it
was the success of this project in what it promised and offered: Prosperity, social justice, higher
education, job opportunities, good governance and a high living standard. These opportunities
declined after the end of the Cold War. The Balkan War erupted, the Iron Curtain was a pierced
wall and million immigrants and thousands refugees settled in Western European countries. New
economic powers like China, India and even Russia became competitors for the G7 states. Western
European civilians had not recognized that their prosperity was due to cheap work force in the
Warsaw Pact states and that the Iron Curtain was a guarantor for high salaries in the Western
world. Cheaply produced products in the Second and Third World were sold in the First World.

Rethinking and Reflecting the European Identity

Two events resulted in questioning what the Western or European identity is: The attacks
on 9 September 2001 and the financial crisis in 2008. Global terrorism, global political instability
th

and wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and today Syria with the rising fear and security measures against
terrorism was mainly labeled as Islamic/Islamist grounded terrorism.2

Instead of focusing on just social and economic system, politicians and civilians influenced
by media channels and lobby groups criminated Muslims and migrants for the declining of their
high living standards. Terrorist attacks in Europe and media propaganda tensed up and tenses
up relations between European Muslims and Non-Muslims, between immigrants and natives.
Hundreds of discussions, statements and books about Islam, Islamism, integration, assimilation,
migration and security have been done and written since.

Multiculturalism was one of the main topics during these discussions and statements. On
one hand there were statements done by politicians who declared multiculturalism as dead, for
instance the party chief of Christian Social Union Christian Seehofer or the German Chancellor
Angela Merkel describing multiculturalism as ‘utterly failed’.3 It is important to mention that in
most cases of discussions there was a lack of a common definition of integration and a distinction
between integration and assimilation. Thus, it could happen that intellectuals or politicians are
insisting on more integration, but their points are more related to assimilation than integration.

2 EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report TE-SAT 2009” (PDF). Europol. 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
3 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/17/angela-merkel-german-multiculturalism-failed

648
 The process of integration of people with an immigrant background consists of
rapprochement, mutual understanding, communication, finding common grounds, detecting
differences and the acquisition joint responsibility between immigrants and the majority of the
population present. In contrast to assimilation (total adjustment), integration does not require
the abandonment of their own cultural identity. Assimilation is a process of total cultural change.

Theoretical definitions have no realization in practical conservations. For instance,

whether to learn German is today a requirement for a successful integration, but to give up
your own values if they do not coincide with Western values is widely discussed. ‘Leitkultur’ is
an essential term in this issue, meaning ‘guiding culture’ or ‘leading culture’. It is a term used
to create a consensus on certain western values, to which everyone has to submit. This term is
often misused by right-wing politicians and intellectuals with blaming migrants and children of
migrants for not fulfilling its requirements. ‘Tolerance, pluralism, secularist democracy, reason
instead of religious revelation’ are aspects used for Habermas ‘cultural modernity’ and non-
discussable factors necessary for an ideal social integration.

Right-wing Populism in Europe and in Germany

Since the 2000s, there is an uprising in right-wing populist and nationalist movements
around Europe. Right-wing populist parties are gaining in importance, especially in France,
United Kingdom, Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Denmark, Italy and Switzerland. We have
today 12 countries where right-wing populist parties in national parliaments and 7 countries
where these parties are taking part at the national governments. (Decker, Lewandowsky)

Populist parties establish/define a common identity which has to be protected because

it is being threatened by others. Othering ‘strangers’ is a significant characteristic. Reasons of
founding right-wing populist parties almost in every European country are various related to a
specific one. Besides of sui generis characteristics, most of these populist parties have a common
foundation and factors for getting support. Social welfare provision (or shortly welfare) and
lack of jobs are the most important issues in Germany. Women’s rights, gender equality and a
tolerant and, so to say, enlightened society. In the United Kingdom, it is the independent state
and the British identity. Therefore, populist parties have different political agendas in their own
countries. In most cases, Muslims, Gypsies, Jews and migrants in general are ‘strangers’ for them.
For these reasons, they aim to preserve their nation and society from non-European or non-
national cultures, norms and behaviors. Everything sounding, looking or implying strangeness
and otherness has no legitimacy in being tolerated in the country.

Germany is different from other European countries due to its past. However, this past gave
Germany and its people many opportunities in preventing such new experience. The German

  649
constitution is one simple example of it. Nevertheless, former East Germany and its people could
not have such a lesson. The Democratic Republic of Germany was more nationalist-socialist than
internationalist socialist. That is the reason why a Nationalist Party (National democratic Party
of Germany) nowadays is getting seats in Eastern German Federal parliaments and a right-wing
populist party, Alternative for Germany, has most of its supporters in former Eastern Germany.
(Häusler, Roeser, 2015., p. 114)

The most important right-wing populist movement or event in recent years is PEGIDA.
The Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Western world. This movement had
found many followers in a few weeks and organized demonstrations in various German cities.
Their aims are to ‘protect the Western world from strange values and identities and to preserve
their western ones’, whereas there are no clear defined aims and ideology. PEGIDA has to be
analyzed on the ground from the 1990s till today, especially with focusing on 9/11, the financial
crisis 2008 and the growing media propaganda against migrants, Muslims and refugees.

Conclusion

Declining of solidarity, growing of Islamophobia and nationalism, economic and social

crisis and slowly growing number of migrants and refugees are some of today’s European
concerns. These are formidable challenges European leaders and intellectuals have to deal with.
Otherwise, these states will lose what they strongly need: young and qualified workforce and
academicians. They are going to lose their current potential, whereas thousands of young Turkish
migrant children already left Germany, most of them at least with a high school degree. European
intellectuals have to define a common identity which includes and not excludes non ‘original’
Europeans. This is connected to a common European identity in general and the concept of
LaConvivencia could be useful as a mind opening start. LaConvivencia named the togetherness
of all Andalusian citizens, which were in large scale non-Muslims. Only approximately 25% of
Andalusians were Muslims. La Convivencia is an experience on European soil and worked for
700 years as a guarantor of peaceful social togetherness. The Millet System is another concept
which shows how Muslim states have offered functioning social system establishing diversity
and pluralism. ‘Leitkultur’ is in times of political turmoil is taken advantage by populist and
nationalist parties. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss and reflect upon these issues with NGOs
and to come to an agreement, which cannot be misused or utilized by third persons.

650
References

Bach, Maurizio, Christian Lahusen, Georg Vobruba (Hg.): Europe in Motion. Edition Sigma,
Berlin 2006.
Decker, Frank ; Lewandowsky, Marcel: Populismus. Erscheinungsformen, Entstehungshintergründe
und Folgen eines politischen Phänomens. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. www.
bpb.de, 3. Juni 2009. Abgerufen am 7. September 2010.
EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report TE-SAT 2009” (PDF). Europol. 2009. Retrieved July
29, 2015.
Finlay, Hueston A. „’Feeling of absolute dependence’ or ‚absolute feeling of dependence’? A
question revisited”. Religious Studies 41.1 (2005)
Fuller, The Future of Political Islam, (2003)
Häusler, Alexander; Roeser, Rainer: Die »Alternative für Deutschland« – eine Antwort auf
die rechtspopulistische Lücke?. In: Stephan Braun, Alexander Geisler, Martin Gerster:
Strategien der extremen Rechten: Hintergründe – Analysen – Antworten. Springer
Fachmedien, Wiesbaden August 2015. Scharpf, Fritz W. (1999): Regieren in Europa:
effektiv und demokratisch? Frankfurt, New York: Campus.
Thiemeyer, Guido: Europäische Integration. Motive – Prozesse – Strukturen. Böhlau-Verlag Köln
2010.
Wiener, Antje/Diez, Thomas (2009): European Integration Theory, 2nd ed., New York: Oxford
University Press.

  651
 Secularization of Practicing Muslims in Turkey

Rukiya Mohamed Bakari

Fatih University / Turkey

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the secularization process of practising Muslims in Turkey. It is divided
into several sections relating to the whole process of secularization. It begins by explaining the
meanings of the term, historical background of Turkey, different periods of reforms and eras until
the situation as it obtains today. The paper has relied on literature discussing the Ottoman Empire
until the creation of the Turkish Republic, as it relates to the secularization process and how the
events have shaped the practising Muslim in Turkey today. Other sources include scholarly works
written on Turkey and other social and anthropological texts about the society in general. In
present day Turkey, secularism has been portrayed as under threat and needs safeguarding. The
question remains, by whom though? Considering the changing political atmosphere in Turkey
the last decade, it is interesting to note the changes that have occurred and how they have had an
impact on ordinary Turks.

Key words: secularization, Muslims, Turkey, Islam

Introduction

Secularization is a sociological process which takes place as a result of factors beyond the
control of individuals. A doctrine of secularism involves individual ideas, attitudes, beliefs or
interests (Niyazi, 1964., p. 3). Prior to World War Two, a secular concept of state, religion, law,
education and economy were first promoted, and a definite doctrine of secularism implemented
as a political, constitutional, educational and cultural policy. In order to understand this paper, it
is important that we revisit and address the historical and political events in Turkey which finally
led to this secularization and how it influenced or shaped the attitudes of practising Muslims.

652
 From the middle of the nineteenth century the term secularism was used in the west to refer
to a specific policy of separating church from state. The word was derived from Latin saeculum
which meant originally „age” or „generation”, but which came to mean in Christian Latin „the
temporal world” (Niyazi, 1964., p. 5). To understand the process of secularization in Turkey we
have first to look at the historical and medieval background of the formation of this Republic
and how its implementation shaped the present day reality. It is also essential to understand the
religious history in order to explain how the process has evolved up to the present.

Historical background

Like all medieval societies, the Ottoman-Turkish polity differed fundamentally from
modern political systems. Ottoman society was segmented in a number of ways that is in
its population, which consisted of Muslim Sunnis and Shi’is, Orthodox Greeks, Gregorian
Armenians, Jews and Catholics. The Ottoman dynasty adopted patrimonial authority with
the Caliphate heading the Sultanate in a pyramid stratified and hierarchically arranged system
(Niyazi, 1964., p. 10).

The first proclamation (The Charter of The Rose Chamber) was announced on 3rd
November 1838 and promised the beginning of a new age with equality for all which in turn
established the rule of law. This Charter was a crucial step in the process of secularization
whichcontinued until the dissolution of the empire and beyond (Feroz, 2014., p. 33).

The Ottoman Empire during the Tanzimat Era

The Turkic tribes, under the leadership of the Seljuks, established their foothold in Anatolia
in 1071, five years after the Norman invasion of England. Alparslan defeated the Byzantine
emperor Diogenes at the battle of Manzikert and laid the foundations of the Seljuk Empire,
with their capital in Konya. Rum was the term used by early Muslims to describe the Byzantine
‚Romans’ and their empire was called the ‚Land of Rum’. Later the term was applied to Asia Minor
or Anatolia and, until the present, to the Greeks of Turkey (Feroz, 2014., p. 1).

The Ottoman Empire was made up of a large Muslim majority (mainly Turks, Arabs and
Kurds) in the Asiatic provinces with significant Christian and Jewish minorities. In the Balkans,
the majority were Christian (Greek, Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Vlahs) with significant
Muslim minorities (Bosnians, most Albanians, Turks and Pomaks). These religious divisions
within the population were important because the empire, at least in theory, was an Islamic
empire ruled on the basis of religious law (Zurcher, 2004., p. 10).

The most important of the innovations initiated by Sultan Mehmet was the emergence of
the idea of an Ottoman state, composed of peoples of diverse nationalities and religions, based on
  653
secular principles of sovereignty as contrasted with the medieval concept of an Islamic empire.
(Niyazi, 1964., p. 90) Over time the rulers of the Ottoman Empire had to implement reforms so
that the empire could be at par with their western counterparts in England, Russia and France.
These European powers wanted reforms both administrative and legal to take place so that the
position of the Christians in the empire would be protected. Thus, this reform period was known
as the Tanzimat (1839-71).

Judicial Reforms: Among the important changes in the judicial system was that the canon
law of Islam, the Seriat was never abrogated, but its scope was limited almost completely to family
law (questions of ownership now also being brought under the sway of the secular law) and it
was codified along European lines in 1865-88. New secular laws and institutions to replace the
traditional kanun system were created such as introducing the penal code, mixed tribunals for
commercial cases and abolishing the death penalty for apostasy. (Niyazi, 1964., p. 61)

Educational Reforms: The secularization of the education system was an important aspect
of the Tanzimat era and Sultan Mahmut initiated the building of primary and secondary schools
and colleges for both boys and girls. These later developed into different types of schools in the
empire mainly traditional Islamic schools, Secular schools, schools founded by the millet and
schools founded by Jewish, catholic and protestant missions. (Niyazi, 1964., p. 63)

Dress code: Also part of his westernisation reforms included encouraging the adoption
of European attire which he personally wore. This severely damaged the traditional system of
dressing and resulted in uncertainty and chaos as the people were not sure what to wear. The
headgear was a symbol of religious, vocational, and national identity as well as an insignia of
one’s rank and status. (Niyazi, 1964., p. 122) This manifested itself in an important stride towards
secular liberalism.

Islam in nineteenth - twentieth century Turkey

This period has been described by historians as a time when Turkey experienced declining
Islam and raising secularism. The Ulema were replaced by secular trained employees of the state
to perform their duties. The new reformist legislation of the Tanzimat that constrained, limited
and eroded the power of the local religious magistrates, the kadi, was clearly a triumph of „the
men of the pen”. Boundaries were created to distinguish between public and private law, and the
promulgation of decrees was enforced in an unparalleled way. This was part of the intention of
the Sultan to modernise the judicial system.

One of the most important pioneers of this reform era was Ahmed Cevdet Paşa whose role
during the reforms was to smoothen the implementation of the project Tanzimat. (Mardin, 2006., p.
261) This period between 1839-1878 saw institutional transformation and of course westernisation.

654
 Religion as the basis for reform post-1908

Turkish society was yearning for social reforms at a period when there was a search to find
a new foundation for the political existence and cultural reconstruction of its inhabitants. There
were three main schools of thought who influenced these reforms and we will briefly describe
them as follows:

a) The Westernisers’ ideology advocated for radical moral and mental transformation
based on western values. They believed that to achieve this would bring total transformation.
They however did not succeed in convincing the majority because their ideas were seen as
unrealistic if Turkish and Islamic factors were to be replaced by western values.

b) The Islamists were interested in reviving ancient Islam and implementing the Şeriat.
They believed that Islam was in perfect harmony with the constitutional regime as long as it was
enforced according to what the Şeriat prescribed.

c) The Turkish nationalists were equally concerned with the reform process but their
ideology was based on reviving anachronistic ethnic customs of the pre-Islamic Turks. They
had nationalistic and socialistic tendencies and one of the most influential advocates was Ziya
Gokalp. (Heyd,1950.)

The struggle between the Islamists wanting to make the state an Islamic state, and the
westernisers wanting to deliver the state from religion encouraged the nationalists to raise the
question of secularization of religion. Since the state did not have the desire to free itself from
religion, the Turkish nationalists were left with the responsibility of finding a solution. It perceived
that religion failed to fulfil its social function because of its incongruence with the requirements
of modern society. (Niyazi, 1964., p. 382) It must be noted that secularization reforms through the
Turkish nationalist influence were most successful through education under the influence of Ziya
Gokalp. There were also other steps such as the adoption of the western calendar (implemented
in 1915), telling of time and adoption of the Latin script among other reforms. (It should be
noted that these were not specifically aimed at religion).

Islam during The Republican period/Kemalist secularism

It has been argued that there are good rational arguments for the secularization process
though Ataturk and his followers had exterior motives. It was a way of cutting off Turkey from
its Ottoman and Middle Eastern Islamic traditions and to reorient it towards the west. (Zurcher,
2004., p. 189 The foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 was soon accompanied by a set of laws
(passed with some difficulty) that showed the direction of the cultural policy of the new regime.
(Mardin, 1994., p. 274) Several laws which existed during the Ottoman Empire were abolished

  655
thus spearheading the secularisation of religious foundations. By the end of the Ottoman rule,
the situation for non-Muslims had changed for the worse, as they were not regarded as „Turks”
because to be Turk one had to be Muslim so most had either been expelled, killed or had been
forced to migrate from the territory that became Turkey.

Atatürk who was the founding father of Turkey wanted to unify the nation whose population
had a majority of Muslims. He therefore set out to devise the system of developing a homogenous
nation with a uniform language, culture and religion. Although Islam was stripped of its political
and social function, it still remained an important affiliation to the nation. Modernisation and
nationalism were part of the Kemalist doctrine and it is this process that came to be referred to
as Kemalist Democracy or Kemalism. White refers to this concept in her book as the vision that
Atatürk had of a culturally unitary, westernized, secular society in which state institutions and
the military would guarantee this democracy. (White, 2013., p. 3)

Atatürk wanted to use Islam as a fulcrum for a project of civil participation through which
he could realise his secularization agenda. The major step of the Kemalists was the complete
secularization of family law, especially on matters relating to marriage and polygamy which
directly touched the population. This was done through the adoption of the Swiss Civil Code and
the Italian Penal Code in 1926.

It may be noted here that it was at this point that secularization of religion was officially
endorsed. Kuchner, in one of his writings gives the following description, „the proud member of
the Turkish nation was to be both a (secular) nationalist and a westerner.....these notions were
among the most important principles of the Kemalist heritage bequeathed to future generations
and remained the standard to be followed by contemporary elite Turks.”(Kuchner, 1997., p. 222)

Islamic reassertion

After the death of Atatürk, and not withstanding Kemalist efforts at secularisation, there
was a sign among the population that they wanted to revive their Islamic allegiance. This so
called revival manifested itself in the greater need to perform religious rituals such as fasting and
increased interest in religious education, just to mention two examples. The emergence of political
liberalization especially multi party politics which emerged post Atatürk played a crucial role
in setting the pace for revival of Islam in Turkey. The republicans have maintained an overview
of religion through its thoroughly republican institution, The Directorate General of Religious
Affairs which has kept control of religious hierarchy and heterodox Islam. (Tarhanli, 1993.)

Originally the Imam-Hatip schools were created because of demands forwarded to

parliamentarians in the 1940’s , that Islamic rituals could not be performed in many areas in

656
Turkey owing to the diminishing number of those with the knowledge to perform these rites.
The link between the recrudescenceof Islamic activity in Turkey in the 1950’s and the softening
of principles of laicism brought about the creation of political parties sympathetic to Islam. One
example is the Democratic Party. Religion was intended to be kept alive so as to deter the threat
of communism.

It is evident that there is an interrelation between Islam, Modernism, Turkishness and

nationalism. The idea of Islamic Turkishness was ironically used as a discourse by Atatürk when
he was praising the potentiality of the Turkish people. (Mardin, 1983., p. 282) The convergence
between Islam and Turkish nationalism between 1910 until now has been an uninterrupted trend
and social process.

Mardin in his analysis of Islamic revitalization in Turkey says,”... the foundation of Islamic
revival is of necessity social or „civil” and only episodically political... „He further states that
...” Tanzimat was aimed at creating a centralised state that was not part of the Islamic cultural
inheritance....” (Mardin, 1983., p. 296) Turks are fiercely nationalistic in a very visible way. The
red flag with a crescent and star is greatly symbolic for the majority of Turks and this is evident
by the public display of various sizes of the flag generally and especially during national holidays
when house balconies and coffee houses drape their exteriors in solidarity for the nation. In fact
some of the practising Muslims regard themselves as Muslim as well as nationalist and feel that it
does not in any way portray a contradiction.

The veil (bête noire?) and the state

The issue of the headscarf in the history of the Turkish Republic has been one which has
divided Turks. The secularists see the headscarf as a threat to the core principles of the Turkish
nation and a symbol of political Islam. This for them is also a threat to democratic values that
the nation upholds. On the other hand, for practising Muslims or Islamists, the headscarf is
a symbol of piety and to wear it is just expressing their fundamental human right of freedom
of worship. Why was the headscarf turned into a political issue? As we had mentioned earlier,
during the formation of the republic, Atatürk wanted to discard all symbols which he associated
with tradition or ‚backwardness’ or the history of the Ottoman Empire. The veil was one of these.
The inspiration must have come from France which had at that time fully secularized its state
and banned all religious symbols.Arguments for banning or restricting the traditional headwear
range from security at airports to concerns about divisiveness and perceived polarization of
society to preserving the religious neutrality of the state.

As a result of this restriction, it was by law prohibited for women in headscarves to enter
certain public buildings such as military hospitals, parliament, university campuses or the

  657
presidential palace just to mention a few places. Many young women were frustrated when they
tried to gain access to jobs or higher education if they were veiled. Some resorted to wearing
wigs if they had to be in an institution such as a university. For others though they suffered the
unfortunate fate of having to drop out of school because they were not allowed to wear their
headscarves. This had a negative impact on the women because for those whose education was
interrupted, they could not proceed to graduation and getting their diplomas. Others were also
denied employment and made to feel inferior to the other ‚uncovered women’ which caused
psychological and emotional harm to these women.

One of the most memorable incidents with the veil happened in Parliament during the
term of the then President Necet Sezer. One of the newly elected women members of Parliament,
Merve Kavakçı walked into Parliament with her headscarf. The incident caused so much uproar,
because it forced the issue on public consciousness, but later proved to be an important turning
point for the discussion on the veil. It was not until the AKP came to power that they appealed to
the Constitutional Court to overturn earlier decisions banning the headscarf in public universities.
This was granted and the ban was lifted and thus symbolically allowing the women to exercise
their right to veil, thus ending discrimination in education and government employment.1 This
has had a positive impact on women who choose to wear the headscarf because they now have
an opportunity to participate in nation building through getting fairly equal access to education
and employment, and not having to suffer discrimination.

Media as a weapon of awareness

The media all over the world, if free, is a symbol of democracy and freedom of expression.
Through access to information, citizens become more aware of their rights and responsibilities, and
are able to be mobilised for civic action. In Turkey, the state controlled the media for a long time and
it was only until around mid 1990s when the state started allowing the privatization of the media.
The Islamists took this opportunity to establish their own electronic and print media which they
used as instruments of disseminating religious teachings. This played an important role in creating
awareness about religion through the various audio and visual mediums transmitted.

Sufi orders and social Islam

Though Ataturk successfully changed social, governmental, legal and linguistic life in the
Anatolian remnant of the former empire, the political power of the Muslim leaders and Islamic
brotherhoods never completely vanished. (Banu, 2010., pp. 46-48)

1 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/turkey-headscarves-protestes-resumes-education.
html# retrieved on 3/1/2015 at 00.14am.

658
 Turkey’s Sufi orders, until today one of the main manifestations of the particularity of
Islam in Turkish society, were dissolved in 1925, their wealth confiscated, and any reorganization
prohibited. Deeply rooted in Turkish social and religious life, these orders went underground
and cemented their secret networks and solidarities. (Sami, 1996., pp. 10-15) The secularization
of foundations (vakiflar, from the Arabic awqaf) made them suitable vehicles for Muslim social
activism. Both these processes contributed to the formal and public institutionalization of
Muslim activism in Turkey.

We may describe the situation that the practising Muslims found themselves in during the
secularization of Turkey as rather oppressive. As we have outlined in detail above, the state had a
mission of modernization and westernization to accomplish, therefore religion had to be relegated
to the confines of the private sphere. Public displays of symbols and practice were forbidden. As
a result, the practising Muslims had to devise ways through which they could continue teaching
religion without raising the suspicion of the state, so they literally went „underground”.

This means that they stayed out of the political spotlight and concentrated on activities
in which the tarikat or mystical brotherhoods and other Sufi orders took it upon themselves
to disseminate this religious knowledge to the population. Faith based movements such as
those associated with Fethullah Gulen and the Nakshibandi Order were largely responsible for
establishing foundations and associations promoting religious education and skills to young men
and women among other social-economic activities. These tarikat had grass root connections with
the population living in the periphery which was in the majority impoverished, and neglected
from state benefits such as infrastructure and access to education.

The Gülen network emerged as an innovation of traditional religious brotherhoods

throughout the 1970’s and grew especially in the 1980’s when the Turkish-Islamic synthesis was
the preferred ideology of the generals and the military junta.

It expanded especially in the areas where weak systems of public welfare left a vacuum
such as educational institutions and university preparatory schools, in the media and publishing
sector. (Oktem, 2011., p. 128) Thousands of student halls and reading circles, hundreds of
privately financed primary and secondary schools and universities eventually emerged out of
these networks. These schools played a great role in the creation of the religiously and socially
conservative but globally active middle class, hitherto reserved for the Kemalist elites.

The term ‚Islamic Calvinists’ is used by Kerem Oktem in his description of the „religiously
conservative but market-oriented middle classes of the Anatolian heartlands who effortlessly
combine religious piety and self-discipline with profit maximization and rent generation.”
(Oktem, 2011., p. 130)

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 Turkey under the AKP government

This new Islamist generation is becoming more and more visible in both political and
socio-economic spheres. The current government under the AKP is perceived to fit the
description above, but are also seen as having elements of conservatism in its various campaigns
to for example, limit alcohol consumption and attempts to change the laws that make it illegal to
wear headscarves. The social and political implications of terms such as ‚secular and Islamic’ can
trigger debate depending on who one poses the question to.

Secular Kemalism for example has been sacralised with the veneration of Atatürk’s image,
whereas Islam has become personalised and to some extent commercialised through leisure and
lifestyle, albeit not all of this done in a religious way. Secular Muslim Turks posit that Islam is a
personal attribute that may be carried into the public arena in the form of personal ethics, but does
not define what a person does there. This has been the argument of those who were advocating for
the right to use the headscarf. Modern Muslims want the right to choose the way they want to be
Muslim and have managed to provide an alternative description of ‘Muslim nationalism’.

These socially conservative pious Muslims support a liberalized economy, globalisation

and laws based on individual rights. Their Kemalist counterparts see these policies as a threat to
Turkey’s national integrity. (White, 2013., p. 182)

As I had mentioned earlier, Turkish identity in a way is a meeting point for both Muslim
and Secular nationalism. Nationalism in the expression of patriotism, preserving family honour,
division of labour between men and women and the way women are treated as vulnerable
transcend the Islamist and secularist and become matters of Turkish identity. This shows the
highly gendered understanding of the nation.

Islam and democracy in Turkey

Since the AKP came into power, there have been several debates about the „democratic
state’ of Turkey. Does AKP reflect the political face of Islam? This is in relation to how Turkey
is perceived by the Islamic world as a role model for democracy, a ‘Muslim democracy’ and
whether it can balance between representing Islam and being democratic. Yavuz Hakan questions
the possibility for Islamic political movements to democratize and liberalize a Muslim country
focusing on Turkey. He questions whether Islamic norms and beliefs are obstacles on the path to
democracy. He notes that Turkey is a story of compromise between secularism and religion in
a society that is modernised but at the same time keeping traditional functions. (Yavuz, 2009.)

Secularist resistance to political Islam in Turkey is defensive and often compromising.

Given the weakened state of the left and the crisis of ideology, secular intellectuals are without

660
clear vision or policies. The clamour for democracy and human rights has become their ultimate
refuge. Even these arenas are contested by Islamists, and in some cases secularists do make
common cause with liberal Islamists against government violations. The AKP government
oppresses Islamists on the media and political fronts, but indulges Islamist ideological assertions
and attempts at censorship in order to establish its own Islamist credentials.

References

Eligur, Banu, „The mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey”, Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, 2010
Feroz, Ahmad, Turkey, The Quest for Identity (Oneworld Publications ,London, Revised edition,
2014
Fakhry, Majid, „A history of Islamic Philosophy”.2d ed. New York and London: Colombia Uni-
versity Press, 1983.
Hale, William M, „The political and economic Development Of Modern Turkey”, London: Croom
Helm, 1981.
Hale, William M, „Turkish Politics and The Military”, London: Routledge, 1994
Tarhanli, Istar, B: Musulman Toplum, „Laik”Devlet, Istanbul, 1993, Afa Yayinlari
Heyd, Uriel Foundations of Turkish Nationalism, London, 1950.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/turkey-headscarves-protestes-resumes-ed-
ucation.html# retrieved on 3/1/2015 at 00.14am.
Kuchner, David ”Self-Perception and Identity in Contemporary Turkey”, Article appearing in
Journal of contemporary history vol.32 no 2, April, Sage Publications Ltd. 1997 pg 222
Mardin, Serif, „Cultural Change and The Intellectual, A study of the Effects of Secularization
In Modern Turkey”, In Cultural Transitions in the Middle East, edited by Mardin Serif,
Leiden: E.J. Brill. (1994) pg 189-213.
Mardin, Serif, „Religion and Politics in Modern Turkey”, In Islam In the Political Process, edited
by James, P Piscatori, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983. pg 138-59.
Niyazi, Berkes, „The Development of Secularism in Turkey”, ,McGill University Press, 1964
Oktem, Kerem „Angry Nation: Turkey Since 1989, Zed Books London, 2011
Sami, Zubaida, „Turkish Islam and National Identity” Middle East Report, No. 199, Turkey:
Insolvent Ideologies, Fractured State: Middle East Research and Information Project
(MERIP) (Apr. -Jun., 1996), pp. 10-15 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3012885
. Accessed: 30/12/2014 06:04
Scott, Joan Wallach „The Politics of the Veil”, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 2003
Talip Kucukcan, „Sacralization of the State and Secular Nationalism: foundation of Civil Religion
in Turkey”, George Washington International Law Review,41 no. 4 (2010) 970.
White, Jenny, „Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks”, New Jersey, Princeton University Press,
2013
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Zurcher, Erik, J, „Turkey A Modern History”, London I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, (2004)
Yael, Navaro-Yashin, „Faces of the State: Secularism and Public life in Turkey”, Princeton,NJ/
Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002
Yavuz, Hakan, ” Islamic Political Identity in Turkey”, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003
Yavuz, Hakan M, „Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey”, Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press. 2009

662
 Macedonia, Copenhagen criteria, Geopolitics, Balkans

Lejla Ramić-Mesihović
International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Republic of Macedonia efficiently completed negotiations on the content of the Stabilization

and Association Agreement with the EU between March and November 2000. This initiated a
concrete process of European integration which was additionally re-affirmed with the Thessaloniki
Agenda in 2003. It has been granted with the status of the EU candidate country in 2005. However,
numerous obstacles that both domestic and international weaknesses and challenges bring along
have significantly slowed down the country’s progress in the European integrations. Weakened
political, administrative and economic capacity of the country to implement obligations under
the Copenhagen criteria, as well as geopolitical developments in the region during the past
decade, have been constantly shaking the country. Independence of Kosovo, final separation
of Montenegro and Serbia and numerous financial and political problems in and with Greece,
also affected with country in different ways and intensities. Internal pending issues related to
finalisation of implementation of the 2001 Ohrid Agreement is increasingly a part of additional
problems, rather than solutions. The Greek blockages Macedonia has been facing in the process
of approximation to the EU and NATO membership, due to the unresolved name dispute over
the constitutional name of (Former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia, have brought additional
insecurity into the visions of mid-term and long-term stability of the Southern Balkans and fear
of spill-over effect among many. This has been particularly spelled out by the US Administration.
The EU continues to emphasise regional cooperation and stability as the key pre-condition for
all states aspiring to joint its structures. The paper, based on a theoretical research, will include
a brief overview of the current situation, a contextual analysis and will also offer conclusions
and scenarios that can be used for production of concrete actions for both - improvement of the
situation and possible course of action.

Key words: Macedonia, Copenhagen criteria, geopolitics, Southern Balkans

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 Introduction

Geopolitical significance of the Macedonian Question is historically conditioned. Along

with disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and emergence of what we recognise as a complex of
issues under syntagm the Eastern Question. Consequently, a sub-complex of issues has emerged,
known as the Macedonian Question covering entire region of Macedonia. Re-affirmed appetites
of neighbouring Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia in the second decade of twentieth century for
redistribution of territories, influences and power over this region brought the Second Balkan
war, which was a result of dissatisfaction with the London Agreement of 30 May 1913 that,
among other, had taken away access of Serbia to the Adriatic via the Albanian state. Bulgaria
had considered Slav Macedonian residents ethnic Bulgarians, while Greeks have always claimed
exclusive historic entitlement to anything in connection to ancient Greece, which also includes
heritage of ancient Macedonia, in their view. Partition of Macedonia between competing
neighbours was relatively quick. Pirin Macedonia (some ten per cent of the region) was granted to
Bulgaria, Aegean to Greece (a half of the region), while the rest was attributed to Serbia – Vardar
Macedonia. With formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and with subsequent
modification into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Vardar Macedonia had been considered by
Belgrade the geographical south of Serbia.

Republic of Macedonia1 in the size and shape we know it today is a result of a part of Josip
Broz Tito’s effort to balance out size, power of influence of federal units within Socialist Yugoslavia
– Serbia in particular. Development of collective conscience on importance of statehood in
Macedonia also benefited significantly from constitutional reforms in SFRY in 1963 and 1974
which had granted higher degree of autonomy to its constituting units. History of Yugoslav
politics and all developments in the last decade of twentieth century in the region represent,
among other, a struggle of those who were in favour of abolition of decentralisation of federal
power concentrated in Belgrade by republics and provinces sharing a constitutional framework
with Serbia. Adoption of the Declaration on Independence of the Republic of Macedonia from
1991 is based on statehood principles set during Antifascist Council of National Liberation of
Macedonia (ASNOM) of August 1944.

Since before the Berlin Congress, Greece had intended to occupy not only Thessaly and
Crete, but also Epirus, Thrace, and Macedonia. These latter intentions were seriously endangered
with affirmation and strengthening of Bulgarian and Albanian national movements and their
own goals. Greece had placed Macedonia in the centre of its attention around 1878, where
territorial appetites of Bulgarian, Serbian, Albanian, and to an extent, Romanian developers and
protagonists of nationalistic agenda occurred.

1 The constitutional name of the country used in this text by no means is trying to prejudge or suggest
the final outcome of the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece. Here used due to the fact that
Bosnia and Herzegovina bilaterally recognised Macedonia under its consitutional name.

664
 Territorial aspirations over Macedonia which had emerged in late XIX century among
Bulgarians, Serbians, Greeks and Albanians were always backed by partial and instrumentalized
interpretations of historical and demographic rationale. Many of these aspirations have survived
until today in slightly modified progonoplexic forms.2

Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia started the Second Balkan War in 1913 as they were dissatisfied
with territorial gains following the previous war. The Vardar Macedonia became a part of Serbia
(1913-1915). Greece won the Aegean Macedonia and Bulgaria won the Pirin Macedonia, still
considering that it was entitled to the Vardar part of the region as well.

During the Second World War, Macedonia was occupied by Bulgaria which was part of
the Axis powers. In this period, western Vardar Macedonia was a part of Albania; a country
dominated and ran by Italian Fascist regime, at the time. Yugoslav elite was in favour of joining the
Axis Powers but this enjoyed very low support in other social and political layers of the kingdom.

In the post-WWII realities of the region, Tito had intended to balance influence of Serbia in
the Socialist Yugoslavia by limiting Serbian influence among the Slavs in Vardar Macedonia, so all
ethnic reactions to introduction of this new element in the mosaic of ethnicities and power balances
in the region came under the spotlight as soon as this lid was removed with decline of socialism.

In FYROM, nothing is the same after the 2001 armed conflict between rebel Macedonian
Albanians and Slavs, which ended with the Ohrid Framework Agreement that provided Albanians
with much more rights than before. At the same time, Slav Macedonians feel as if their interests
have been marginalised in the process. VMRO-DPMNE, a right wing party has built its 2006
election platform primarily on hurt ethnic feelings of Slav Macedonians. Its attitude has brought
in the same time problems both within the country, reflected through inter-ethnic tensions, and
with Greece over the name dispute.

Independent state - the Republic of Macedonia

After break-up of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, its Socialist Republic of

Macedonia held a referendum on 17 December 1991 and decided to become independent.
It evoked the statehood principles set during Antifascist Council of National Liberation of
Macedonia (ASNOM) of August 1944.

2 Progonoplexia, Greek word often roughly translated as ancestoritis is a term used by Richard Clogg and
some other authors interested in topics related to Greek history. This word is to describe obsession of a
nation with historical heritage. Here, the word is used for other ethnic groups in the southern Balkans,
not only for the Greeks.

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 New socio-political, security and economic conditions demanded an overall reconstruction
of the Macedonian society and the state under extremely sensitive and difficult circumstances.

Due to the obstacles imposed by Greece in the early days of independence due to the
constitutional name of the new independent state, the UN recognised the country only in 1993
as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Difficult relations with Greece got significantly
normalised only after agreement over the Interim Treaty in 1995, which is envisaged as an ad
interim solution until the final agreement on the name dispute is made between the two countries.

Territorial claims over the Macedonian region occurred in all three cycles of definition
of borders. However, many appetites for domination over the Vardar region of Macedonia
resurrected after breakup of the socialist Yugoslavia. Although different in their forms and
intensity, they still exist.

The most transparent manifestations of these appetites, which are in principle much more
dangerous when manifested without a clear continuity, occurred in February 1992. Then Greek
Prime Minister, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, convened a meeting of leaders of Greece, Bulgaria,
Romania and Serbia (which had not been a country at the time, but a part of the Federal Republic
Yugoslavia composed of Serbia and Montenegro), to discuss the future of the Vardar Macedonia.
Bulgaria did not agree with the idea of having this mini Balkan summit. The session was
cancelled under pressure of the international community. The convened countries were basically
the signatories of the Bucharest Peace Treaty, which resulted with division of the Macedonian
territory among neighbours after the defeat of Turkey (Mirčev, 2008, p. 84).

During Slobodan Milošević’s regime, Serbia was very supportive of Greek policy and actions
against the Republic of Macedonia. Serbian radicals, particularly followers of Vojislav Šešelj still
publically claim that Vardar Macedonia is a „Serbian country“. However, after this regime, which
ended shortly after the Kosovo crisis in 1999, the Macedonian issue was dominantly looked upon
from the prism of Serbian interests in Kosovo and tensions with Albanians living in the Preševo
valley and Kosovo, who traditionally have close ties with those from western Macedonia. First
days of independence were marked in the Republic of Macedonia by an overwhelming fear from
the Serb-dominated Yugoslav National Army, deployed in the republic. Negotiations that led to
their withdrawal from the territory were seen by Macedonian population as the first significant
diplomatic challenge of its political representatives.

Greece still has very firm stance over use of name of Macedonia that they think belong
exclusively to their Hellenic past. This position has become the main in all their international
contacts, foreign policy actions in the region, views in capacity of member of the United Nations,
NATO and the European Union. By acting this way, Greece has significantly limited Macedonian
progress in both European and NATO integration. For nineteen months in 1994 and 1995, Greece

666
imposed trade embargo against Macedonia, which left horrible consequences to the country’s
social and economic profile.

Greece launched a dispute over constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia and
claimed that Macedonia had territorial pretensions over parts of Greece. Launching of the dispute
was supported by nationalistic hysteria of a part of the Macedonian opposition, which was trying
to find the link between Macedonian national identity and ancient Macedonian Kingdom,
which had its own identity centuries before Slavs arrived to the Balkan Peninsula. Bordering
with the Hellenic Republic turned out to be the most challenging for Macedonia’s international
recognition and affirmation.

As previously mentioned, constitutional reforms in Yugoslavia of 1963 and 1974 did

boost the basis for further development self-conscience of statehood, as these changes had
been granting higher level of autonomy to the constituent entities. At the same time – the same
changes inspired some other processes – Kosovo Albanians represent majority in Kosovo, which
had had a status of an autonomous province under the 1974 Constitution. At the same time,
Albanians in Macedonia have been witnessing increasingly strengthened national awareness of
Slav Macedonian majority in their country.

The state born by the logics of Yugoslav Socialist leader, Josip Broz Tito, who wanted to
ensure balance of power between states in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through
reduction of Serbia’s power on the territory which had been a part of medieval kingdom of
Serbia under King Dušan and just after the Second Balkan War, has permanently been forced to
prove its entitlement to existence and statehood through bilateral and multilateral contacts. In
this context, there has been an increasing need for affirmation of Macedonian specific features
and historical circumstances which had conditions emergence and existence of this state. This
need often led to insufficient and inconsistent articulation of systemically supported theories on
identity of the Macedonian people(s).

Neighbouring Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, each one with its own motivation and in its
own way, reacted pretty aggressively to emphasising of these specific features, often calling them
forgeries of what is originally – theirs. National sentiments of Greeks that are boosted with self-
proclaimed exclusive entitlement to possession of rights to cultural and historical heritage of
ancient Macedonian Kingdom, found itself particularly offended and endangered by a newly
founded independent state that is five times smaller and weaker.

Albania welcomed independence of Macedonia and contributed to balancing to behaviour

of Serbia. During the Kosovo crisis in 1999, Albania had received 350,000 refugees. During the
period, Albania did its outmost to comply with NATO’s requirements and positions. Albanian
officials have never consistently been interfering into tensions between Albanians and Slavs in
western Macedonia.

  667
 Bulgaria had rehabilitated in 1946 March 3, as the date of signature of the San Stefano
Agreement as a state holiday, which also meant affirmation of remembrance of an agreement
which had been granting the Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria prior to the Berlin Congress. On
22 February 1999, Bulgarians ended the tension with Macedonians by recognising Macedonian
language, culture and nation. In return, Macedonians denied existence of any territorial
pretensions towards the Pirin Macedonia.

The Greek position has been relatively stable in the context of the Balkan turbulences
during nineties, as it has had membership in the European Union and connection to the western
security system. Also, for conditions present at the time, this country has had a functional
market economy and a democratic political system. However, anxiety in the state geographically
dislocated from other EU member states could have been anticipated as other countries in the
Balkans had been going through unstoppable and unpredictable fierce and total changes. If
nothing else, the Cold war had been providing for a number of decades stabile spheres of interest.
This very significant source of predictability had suddenly become a matter of the past.

The biggest internal weakness of Macedonia is the ethnic-based social gap between
Macedonian Slavs and their Albanian co-patriots. During the Serbian repression between Tito’s
death in 1980 and disintegration of Yugoslavia, many Kosovo Albanians fled to Macedonia and
through it to other countries. Final disintegration of Yugoslavia and halting Milošević’s Serbia in
its expansionistic exhibitions, in a way encouraged Albanians in their national affirmation and
maybe in activities towards self-determination more than ever in the recent history.

Given all of these elements, Macedonia turns out to be a good example of outcome of
positive effects of activities that Macedonian political and religious leaders, international and
regional organisations and non-governmental organisations applied in a sensitive and fragile
society and state.

Inter-ethnic tensions always re-emerge in Macedonia in issues such as the period

of conducting of census of citizens and households. This has repetitively been confirming
observation of Benedict Anderson (1991, pp 164-70) who stated that census is a powerful tool
that enables the state to classify its citizens into national categories and then quantitively express
this qualification that would determine relative size and political strength of who is determined
to be national (or other) minority.

Todorova (2010, pp 18-22) identifies clearly one layer of nationalistic discourse, which
aspires to be characterised with atemporality, that would allow a nation to be perceived as
an everlasting category. In a second layer, she detected presence of tardy self-conscience and
deficiencies due to unequal development of historiography. Outcomes of these late processes
differ significantly differ: in the west, these processes had been transforming states into civil states

668
and contributed to establishment of new systems of values, while in most of the Balkans these
tardy processes were usually short-sighted and destructive. Both have as the main generator and
motivator irrational mythical „explanations“.

In 1997, the International Commission for the Balkans rightly assessed that there are
two epicentres of tensions which could have the capacity to affect wider region – Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Southern Balkans, i.e. Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Greece.
Events that came just prior to and after publishing of the Commission’s report indicate that this
assessment could still be pretty valid.

Hans Morgenthau (1957, p 485) elaborated the Balkans national paradox along lines of the
fact that there are no inherent boundaries on application of the principle of nationalism If people
of Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia could claim the principles when fighting against the Ottomans,
why would the Macedonian people call on the same principles against Bulgaria, Greece and
Serbia? This question is actually to lead to a conclusion that this process of national liberation
has to end on a certain point. This point is never determined by the logics of nationalism, but
matrix of current interests and power structures within competing nations.

The process of Yugoslav disintegration also brought along social and political elites that are
trying to prove that their ethnicity used to be territorially and politically dominant in a certain
point in history and to present this perception as the basis for real platform for formation of future
goals of the ethnically-based collective. Mutually fed megalomania of nationalistic conflicting
tendencies for territorial expansion intentionally marginalises the fact that this would be done at
expense of citizens of other ethnic groups, i.e. co-patriots. This then normally leaders to artificial
divisions on „more“ and „less“ important nations and ethnicities.

Having in mind all of this, behaviour of Macedonian Albanians is understandable, but also
is the dual reaction of their Slav co-patriots. In order to provide itself with sufficient affirmation
and necessary social cohesion, every multiethnic community strives to introduction of elements
that could lead to emergence of a common civil society. Alternatives are, in principle, destructive.
As the first Macedonian Foreign Minister, Danko Maleski rightfully stated, both unitarism and
secession have one common denominator and that is – national egoism.

When it comes to foreign policy action of Macedonia, Albanians from this country do
not have an interest in undermining the position of their own state, particularly in the European
and Atlantic integration. Direct Albanian interest in foreign policy contributed to Macedonian
recognition of Kosovo’s independence. The future and functionality of Macedonian state will
largely depend on its ability to adequately resolve open questions between the two ethnicities.
So far, the practice has proven that targeted and tactical decentralisation and adjustment of
education system so it meets the needs of all has proven to be very beneficial. Both ethnic groups

  669
will have to prove their further commitment to implementation of the letter and spirit of the
Ohrid Accord, which stopped armed rebellion and conflict in western Macedonia 2001 with
assistance of the international community.

Radical circles among Slav Macedonians and Serbians always emphasise potential
unification of Albanians as a particular threat. This move of Albanians would require a strong
and stabile support among Albanians. Weakened by the Enver Hohxa’s regime and poverty
particularly after collapse of the pyramidal system and other quakes within the Albanian state
and society, Albania has been leading a careful and distanced policy towards Albanians in Kosovo
and western Macedonia.

Most transparent manifestation of aspirations of Macedonia’s neighbours are reflected

in the fact that in February 1992 Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis convened a
meeting of leaders of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia (which was at the time a part of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, along with Montenegro) on the future of the Vardar Macedonia.
Bulgaria objected to this mini summit and it was cancelled under pressure of the international
community. The list of invitees actually coincides with the list of signatories of the Bucharest
Peace Agreement, which resulted with division of Macedonian territories between its neighbours
after they defeated Turkey (Mirčev, 2008, p. 84).

The Serbian Orthodox Church also claimed its jurisdiction over autonomous Macedonian
Orthodox Church.

When it declared its independence, Macedonia did not have a foreign policy strategy that
could follow its statehood ambitions and it had had very limited and insufficient resources for
existence under isolation.

Reactive nature of interventionism of the international community in Macedonia has

often questioned coherence of policies of countries that are crucial for Macedonian integration
into the EU. Affirmation of the key argumentation of preventive diplomacy in the beginning
of the nineties has been constantly questioned due its poor results. Although engagement
of the United Nations indicated that official preventive diplomacy does not only reply on
diplomatic measures and activities, but also on political, economic and military interventions,
all multilateral diplomatic preventive interventions lacked sharpness, speed and determination.
Also, the international community has appeared to prefer actions with short-term effects, rather
than long-term systemic solutions.

Shortly after singing of the 1995 Interim Agreement, in 1996, Macedonia’s Minister Frčkovski
and Serbia’s President Milošević agreed over establishment of diplomatic relations, which opened
the door for resolution of open issues such as succession and conclusion of the border agreement.
The part of the border with Kosovo was completed with mediation of international organisations.

670
 In international fora, Macedonia still functions in the equation of the formula imposed by
the Interim Agreement: in international conferences attended by Macedonian delegations names
of states are not annotated, but only names of representatives and their flags, while documents are
being signed on memoranda containing constitutional names of the states.

In 1997, the country joined the regional approach after the EU Council of Ministers adopted
political and economic conditionality for development of bilateral relations. As of 1998, the EU
has its institutionalised presence in the country, which started with establishment of the Office
of a Special Envoy. Already in March 2000, the EU presence was upgraded into the Delegation of
the European Commission. On 9 April 2001, a Stabilisation and Association Agreement is signed
in Luxembourg, following the successful conclusion of the negotiations at the Zagreb Summit of
24 November 2000. It entered into force three years later. On 28 June 2001, the EU appointed its
first Special Representative to the country,3 while mandate of the last EUSR ended in February
2011. On 9 November 2005, the EC recommended granting of the EU candidate country status to
Macedonia, which was confirmed by the European Council on 16 December. As of 19 December
2009, Macedonian citizens enjoy liberalised visa regime with the Schengen states. The last, 2014
Progress Report4 issued annually by Brussels for all the aspiring states, concludes that “the political
criteria continue to be sufficiently met and maintains its recommendation to open accession
negotiations but regrets the backward steps of the past year.” The Commission also criticised
increased politicisation and growing shortcomings in relation to independence of the judiciary
and freedom of expression. Affairs in relation to illegal interception of phone calls by semi-formal
power circles dominated by elite of the ruling VMRO shook all layers of the state.

In 2015, Macedonia faced both a crisis that was seriously questioning credibility of the main
governing party in power since 2006 and an armed incident in a multi-ethnic town of Kumanovo
which serious threatened regional stability.

Also in 2014 anonymous individuals started revealing to the public that there had been a
massive surveillance exercise that was at its peak 2010 and 2014. It was intercepting phone calls of
thousands of public figures from all spheres. The phone calls indicated manipulations in courts,
elections, as well as different forms of pressure against independent media and political opponents.5

3 Mandate of the EUSRs promote the EU’s policies and interests in troubled regions and countries and
play an active role in efforts to consolidate peace, stability and the rule of law. It is an EU crisis manage-
ment instrument.
4 Text of the 2014 Progress Report available on: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_
documents/2014/20141008-the-former-yugoslav-republic-of-macedonia-progress-report_en.pdf
5 International Crisis Group; “Macedonia: Defusing the Bombs”, Skopje/Brussels, Briefing No. 75 of 9
July 2015, p 1

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 Conclusion

Modern state of Macedonia survived all the cruelties of the first days of its independence
and faced the need for reconciliation of inevitable and logical expansion of its nation- and
state-building conscience. Its internal situation, that is sensitive and fragile on several levels
and neighbours, each with their own interest-based logics and the capacity of its geopolitical
importance, demand from independent Republic of Macedonia careful and realistic forecasting
of its internal, social and economic policy and foreign policy goals. Having in mind these internal
political and inter-ethnic challenges as well as external tensions with some of the neighbours, as
well as its geopolitical position, integration of Macedonia into the European Union, and NATO
as well, imposes itself as a scenario that has no alternative in the vision of a stable and secure
Macedonian state.

Macedonia is burdened with numerous problems that inevitably come along with economic
and social transition. In addition to this, usual post-Cold war transition-related challenges for
a country that left a federation and introduced multiparty political system with formalised and
institutionalised forces with significant differences in vision of the Macedonian future and their
positioning and power share within that future.

In addition to these challenges that were normally present in all post-communist countries,
Macedonia had numerous problems with relative closeness to war zones in other parts of former
Yugoslavia and border with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro)
which spent most of the last decade of twentieth century under different international sanctions
and in conflict with the international community.

Although the EU has been investing significant efforts in the process of approximation of
Macedonia and other countries of so-called western Balkans, one of its members, Greece, has
been conditioning final effects of integration and stabilisation in the region with final completion
of a bilateral dispute it has had with the Republic of Macedonia in its own benefit. Along the
way, Greece has proven to be very persistent in its inflexible positions, despite the fact that it
is an obvious and intended limitation of the Stabilisation and Association Process. Despite the
dispute, that does get on the way of full Macedonian integration into the EU, but does not prevent
it to be a part of the 2003 Thessaloniki Process6 and make efforts and fulfil commitments under
the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP), Macedonia did succeed in accomplishing some
progress in European integration during the period.

In November 1995, Macedonian Prime Minister, Branko Crvenkovski told members of

the International Commission for the Balkans that the Macedonian foreign policy was based

6 Official outcome of the Thesalloniki Summit available on:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/76201.pdf

672
on the principle of „equidistance“ towards all its neighbours. Even then, at the time when there
was a shortage of indications that could bring on some optimism, Crvenkovski said that Greece
could help Macedonia as both member of the EU and the NATO structures to open itself to the
World. Ever since the Interim Agreement between Greece and Macedonia was reached, bilateral
relations between Skopje and Athens have been relatively stable, although both sides maintain
their primary egocentric positions when it comes to the name dispute.

In the other hand, Euro scepticism has to be taken into account as a relevant social and
political position towards the EU. In case of Macedonia, a little state that its neighbours had been
fighting over, it is equally relevant to reach for the geopolitical logics modified due to globalised
conditions of functioning of the modern world, as all territories are covered with influence of
one of the global superpowers. If Macedonia is not, conditionally stated, covered with the EU
and NATO perspective, naturally one can come up with a short list of alternative scenarios. These
can also include divisions and territorial redistributions, as well as EU’s neighbourhood policy,
like in case of Belorussia or Moldova, for example. But, none of these scenarios has the potential
to bring along peace, stability, balance and prosperity to the Balkans. Questioning perspective of
Macedonian existence in the current borders and constitutional framework is not rare as there
are so many challenges – both internal and external. The Process of Stabilisation and Association
does have the potential to keep minds of Macedonian citizens on their prospects for making
progress and democratisation and seeking their future within the European Union and to steer
political developments in the country in this direction.

The time has proven that only moderate, coherent and precise policy of implementation
of measures along the lines of requirements under the process of European integration can yield
positive results to countries of the western Balkans.

The Copenhagen criteria include: stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of
law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; a functioning market economy
and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU; the ability to take on
and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of
political, economic and monetary union. Also, role of aspiring states in regional cooperation is
also assessed.

Interest of the European Union to be sincere in the process of enlargement in countries of

the so-called western Balkans is immense on both level of security and level of prosperity. Most
recent example of importance of Macedonia and its position is visible these days with influx of
refugees escaping from existential insecurities of Middle East countries enduring armed conflicts
and poverty – most of them from Syria. As a transit country for thousands, Macedonia is once
again struggling with waves of refugees - this time from troubled regions that are often absurdly

  673
perceived as very distant ones. With increase of human disaster, the spillover effect that the western
countries had been so afraid in case of southern Balkans, now gets reshaped. It is no more only
limited to possibilities of severe tensions and conflicts. It is now also extended to introduction
of new factors that are likely to increase poverty, bring along health risks for wider population,
new shapes of insecurities in general. Although Macedonia is a transit country for most of them,
as well as Serbia, quality of handling of this humanitarian crisis and illegal immigration in these
two states affects countries in the EU that are most probable destinations for these people. On its
geographical edges, the European Union cannot afford to make compromises with its security.

Also, the European Union has proven on the case of explosion of Greek fiscal, monetary
and therefore security problems, which come in parallel with things like a refugee crisis,
economic emigration and persistence on inflexible stances in the case of the name dispute of
Macedonia, that its institutional and policy layers dealing with the Eurozone stability, actions of
the European External Action Service and actions of relevant parts of institutional mechanisms
of the member states hardly interact. Prioritising appears to be determined not systemically but
as a fire fighting exercise with plenty ad hoc actions. Also, the Greek example, in many ways
indicates that compliance with the Copenhagen criteria needs to be checked also in the member
states, so that the Greek behaviour could be avoided and when it comes to regional cooperation
as well. A clear mechanism that could prevent member states turning their bilateral conflicts and
disputes into multilateral ones would also prevent any future unilateral blockages.

This baby of realpolitik of the first half of the twentieth century under burden of need for
the balance of power and interests in this part of the Balkans, continues to justify its existence.
Macedonian self-awareness in both regional and international context continues to indicate to
specific interests of this state which in parallel with its either progressive or regressive movements,
permanently has to keep on convincing its neighbours of the seriousness of its existence. The
history of European enlargement offers tangible proves that integration into the EU is stimulating
for all aspiring states through their economic prosperity, democratisation, social cohesion and
the rule of law.

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Andriotis, P. Nicholas ; (1991) “The Federative Republic of Skopje and its Language”, Society for
Macedonian Studies, Thessaloniki
Athenon, Ekdotike S.A.; (1994.) “Macedonia – History and Politics”, Athens, Centre for
Macedonians Abroad

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Barker, Elisabeth; (1950.) “Macedonia, its Place in Balkan Power Politicis”, London and New
York, Royal Institute for International Affaires
Bugarski, Ranko; (1997.) “Jezik u društvenoj krizi”, Čigoja štampa, Biblioteka XX vek, Beograd
Cowan, Jane K; (2000.) „Macedonia”, London, Pluto Press
Crampton, J. Richard; (2003.) “Balkan posle Drugog svetskog rata”; Beograd, “Clio”
Dakin, D.; (1961.), “British Sources Concerning the Greekn Struggle in Macedonia, 1901-1909”
Balkan Studies 2, 71-84, reprint from 1992, Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies
Danforth, Loring M; (1995.) „The Macedonian Conflict”; New Jersey; Princeton University Press
Daskalovsk, Zhidas; (2004.); „Democratic Consolidation and the ‘Stateness’ Problem: The Case
of Macedonia”, the Global Review of Ethnopolitics,
Floudas, Demetrius Andreas; (2002.) „Pardon? A Conflict for a Name? FYRoM’s dispute with
Greece Revisited”, The New Balkans, East European Monographs: Columbia University
Press,
Gligorov, Kiro; (2002.), „Makedonia e se što imame”, Kultura, Skopje
Gounaris, Basil C.; (1996.) “Reassessing Ninety Years of Greek Historiography on the “Struggle
for Macedonia” (1904-1908)”, Journal of Modern Greek Studies, John Hopkins University
Press, vol 14. No 2, 237-252
Holbrooke, Richard; (1997.) „Završiti rat”, Sarajevo, TKP Šahinpašić
Jelavich, Barbara; (2008.) „History of the Balkans”, vol II, Cambridge University Press
Kofos, Evangelos; (1962.), “The Making of Yugoslavia’s People’s Republic of Macedonia”, Balkan
Studies 3, 375-396, reprint from 1992, Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies
Kofos, Evangelos; (1964.); “Nationalism and Communism in Macedonia”, Solun, Institue for
Balkan Studies
Kofos, Evangelos; (1980.), “Dilemmas and Orientations of Greek Policy in Macedonia 1878-
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Kofos, Evangelos; (1986.), “The Macedonian Question: The Politics of Mutation”, Balkan Studies
27, 157-172, reprint from 1992, Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies
Kofos, Evangelos; (1989.) “The Impact of the Macedonian Question on Civil Conflict in Greece
(1943-1949), Atina, Hellenic Foundation for Defense and Foreign Policy, Occasional
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Kofos, Evangelos; (1999.) „Greece’s Macedonian Adventure: The Controversy over FYROM’s
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Ković, Miloš; (2007.) „Dizraeli i Istočno pitanje“, „Clio“, Beograd
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Macedonian Foreign Policy 1991-2006, (2006.), Az-buki, European University of
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Martis, Nicolaos K.; (2007.) “The Falsification of Macedonian History”, Athens, Paideia
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Macedonia” Political Science Quarterly Volume 118 No 2

676
 The Interrelation of Gated Community and Ethnic War:
the Case of Belgrade

Aysegul Bostan
Cankiri Karatekin University, Turkey

Abstract

In the years following the high-dense-ethnic war in the beginning of the 1990s, Belgrade
faced a massive influx of ethnic Serbs living outside of Serbia in the Socialist Yugoslavia. This
situation resulted in more ethnically homogeneous Belgrade. This, however, followed the
increasing rates of crime, the deepening social stratification (social strata) and the increasing
fear of ‘others’. In response to these, gated communities in Belgrade, known as more secure
areas and much a symbol of prestige, have been demandable and preferable for local people of
Belgrade. This article will seek the reasons of such increasing demand of gated communities,
in particular after the 1990 civil war. In this paper, the inter-relation of gated community and
ethnic war will be analyzed and it will be examined in according to the sense of cause and reason.
The interesting finding here is the deteriorated-effects of the war to the urban environment and
the direct connection of such gated community and ethnic war in Belgrade. As an improbable
result, such ethnically Serb immigration to the kin state (Republic of Serbia) led local Serbian
people into severely insecure atmosphere and deepening social stratification, even if the ethnic
background of such immigration is Serb.

Key words: Belgrade, gated community, fear of others, post-communist city, ethnic war

Introduction

Belgrade, with 1.6 million residents, is the largest city of the former Yugoslavia as well as
Serbia. Also, it is the fourth-largest city of South-Eastern Europe. Recently, it has seen securitized,
private, gated residences, as a housing trend in Belgrade. In fact, this kind of communities existed
during the Communist period. It, however, has become more popular and demandable than it

  677
was before. As it is the case in Eastern Europe, as well as around the world, deepening social
stratification, increasing proportion of crime and enhancing demand of household privacy
throughout 1990s could lead to this situation (Hirt 2009, pp. 293-303; Hirt and Petrovic 2010, pp.
3-4).

In contrast to experience of Eastern Europe, Serbia faced the civil war and was immersed by
massive immigrants from the other parts of the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s. Meantime,
there has been spontaneously increasing demand for gated communities since that period. In
these sense, the aim of this paper is to consider the reasons which led Serbians to tend to live in
gated housing. Throughout the essay, I will consult the findings and views of some authorities
related to gated communities. This paper begins by introduction to the 1990s immigrations to
Belgrade. After that, I will critically examine fear of crime. It will then go on to other reasons,
such as the fear of ‘other’ and deepening social stratification respectively. I will try to refute some
other reasons. Finally, the paper concludes by my view.

Background

Serbia attracted 100,000 refugees coming from the other parts of the former Yugoslavia
due to the war during the 1990s. In particular, Belgrade absorbed massive influx of immigrations
of nearly a third of all refugees coming to Serbia. The proportions of such refugees coming to
Belgrade from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia were 36.2 and 60.6 respectively. This influx
has resulted in increased ethnic homogeneity in Serbia because all immigrants were ethnic
Serbs (Petrovic 2007, pp. 127-130; Petrovic and Hirt 2010, p. 4). As Duijzings (2010, p. 106)
described this demographic change in the South-eastern Europe after the war, “Balkan cities
are ‘Europeanizing, whereas cities in Western Europe are ‘Balkanizing’”. When compared to the
whole country, Belgrade became more ethnically homogeneous in contrast to the lowest ethnic
heterogeneity of Vojvodina (Petrovic 2007, p. 131). In this sense, Belgrade, thus, provides useful
data for urban scientists so as to study gated community (quintessential example).

This considerable migration wave triggered some problems herewith, such as increased the
population in the city, the shortage of housing, the growing concerns of urban crime, deepening
of social stratification visibly (Petrovic 2007, p. 126).

Fear of crime

In order for people to tend to live in gated communities, the most significant reasons
are the fear of urban crime and violence. In other words, growing level of insecurity in a city
brought about increased demand for much secure and gated community. Broadly, it could be
said that there is consistent and positive link between gated communities and the fear of crime,

678
for example Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and South Africa (Bagaeen 2010, p.
23; Landman 2010, pp. 53, 54). Feeling themselves insecure, people tend to move in much secure
and peaceful communities surrounded by gate or wall.

In this sense, I believe that the case of Serbia was caused by the increase in the urban
crime and violence. The 1998 statistical data given by Hirt and Petrovic (2010, p. 7) justified that
reported crime in the middle of 1990s rose up (in the percent of) 29 % compared with the rate of
the beginning of 1990s. Since then, this proportion has increased spontaneously (Petrovic 2007,
p. 126). This increasing proportion by each year is considerable. In parallel to this, one of the
nationwide surveys in 1998 highlighted another significant point. 57 % of the Serbians stated that
they mistrusted the Police. Besides this, 65 % of the population indicated that they mistrusted
the national government (Gordy 2004, p. 16). This high increase in the rate of crime and mistrust
against public institutions, induced citizens to have concerns about security. As a response to
this, households tended to move in more secure areas.

Now, let us look at the survey conducted in 2008 among people living in gated communities
in Belgrade regarding households’ motivations for securitization and gating; it gives the same
result. One of the findings of this study shows that approximately 60 % of the respondents have
some concerns with urban crime. Another interesting point from the survey is that public
institutions, such as police, were mistrusted by a high majority of the subjects. In the light of
these findings, it could be said that there is a positive relationship between feeling insecure and
choosing living in a gated house (Hirt and Petrovic 2010, pp. 11, 12, 14). Put another way, gated
community provide the households more secure and peaceful life. That is why Serbians tend to
demand gated communities.

In contrast to feeling insecure against public institutions, approximately 45 % of the

subjects indicated that they trusted their neighbors. Another interesting point here is the fact
that more than 90 % of the respondents living in gated communities enjoyed strolling in parks
or plazas as they thought that such public spaces were safer than midtown of Belgrade. Here it
might be considered that need for safe environment for him/herself and his/her family led people
to choose living in a protected and gated area (Hirt and Petrovic 2010, p. 11-13).

Fear of ‘others’

Not only response to increased crime, but also fear of ‘others’ might be motivation why
people chose to live in a gated community. ‘Others’ here is referred as being no ‘local inhabitants’.
Except the fear of crime and violence, other fears emerged by ‘others’ are mentioned. In general,
these ‘new comers’ by immigration lead to increasing ethnic, religious and cultural diversities
between new and local resident in a city. As Low (2001) stated in his own article based on

  679
Americans living in gated communities, American residents experiencing such cultural and
ethnic diversities tended to flee neighborhoods due to feeling (sense) of ‘loss of place’. For this
reason, they feel insecure and unsafe. These cultural and ethnic changes in city could force people
to choose living into a “defensive space, a walled and guarded community” (Low 2001, p. 45). San
Antonio and New York City, which were taken as case study by Low (2001, p. 48), are both (ones)
of the largest cities in the United States. And big cities are called as centre of crime generally.
However, there has been a decrease in rate of crime in both cities in recent years. Particularly,
violent crime rate in New York City dropped 44.4 % when compared to 6.5 % throughout the US
between 1990 and 1995. In spite of this significant decrease in rate of crime, people remained the
tendency of living a gated community and even increased (Low 2003, pp. 113, 114, 130).

In this sense, Low seeks other reasons of why people show tendency against gated
communities. The demand for gated communities, probably, could be explained by ‘fear of others’
as Low (2003, p. 146) emphasized. Aforementioned both cities have ethnically mixed population
in which multi-national society dwell. An ethnic group might feel insecure against other groups.
To make precisely, Low gave this example in his study. White, middle class gated residents in San
Antonio expressed their fear of ‘Mexicans’ (Low 2001, p. 48). Many neighborhoods are racially
homogeneous because of racist fear among blacks, Latinos and white Americans. Therefore, the
neighborhoods’ physical area (space) and its ethnical composition are heterogeneous (Low 2003,
p. 146). It could be indicated that each racial group sees others as a threat against itself. Thus, it
can be concluded that gates provide protection against others.

When compared with above conclusion, we could not mention ‘fear of others’ for people
living in Belgrade. Needless to say, ‘fear of others’ tends to appear in multi-ethnic societies. It
should be emphasized that such migrants coming from other republics of former Yugoslavia are
ethnically Serbs. Also, the immigration influx during the 1990s made a positive effect on Serbian
ethnic homogeneity in Belgrade, as well as Serbia. To illustrate this from the 1981 and 2002
censuses, 22 per cent of the population in Belgrade defined themselves as non-Serb taken in the
early of 1980s. This percentage, however, decreased to 7 per cent in 2002 (Duijzings 2010, p. 107).
So it could be mentioned about the fear of ‘other’ if Belgrade had become much heterogeneous.
In my view, such immigration might not lead cultural diversity in the society. A high majority
of the immigrants came from mainly the cities of the others of the former Yugoslavia (Petrovic
2007, p. 127) besides ethnic homogeneity. In other words, we could not mention about cultural
diversity between rural and urban people and also among ethnically same people.

Deepening social stratification

Another argument regarding why gated communities became popular among Serbians
households during the 1990s is deepening social stratification. Such stratification was

680
decomposing under socialism whereas it has become much fierce (deep) in the Serbian society
since the post-communist period (Hirt 2008, p. 786). A new middle and upper class including
new elites emerged with the Milosevic regime (Hirt 2008, p. 786). ‘Nouveau riche’, on one hand,
has enriched thanks to privatization and liberalization over market economy. Serbian people,
on the other hand, have become impoverished. Therefore, these socio-economic elite strata led
social stratification in the Serbian society.

Besides this, it could be said that the immigration of 1990s increased imbalance of social
diversity in the society (Hirt 2009, p. 298). Even though they were highly educated; the immigrants
were obliged to work for lower positions and even unemployment (Petrovic 2008, p. 142). In
terms of emergence of social diversion among the Serbian society, the Serbian ‘nouveau riche’
class began to buy housings in suburban area so as to discrete themselves against ‘others’, to find
their identity among this rich class and to have prestige (Hirt 2009, p. 298; Stoyanov and Frantz
2006, pp. 58, 60). According to the survey (Petrovic and Hirt 2010, p. 14), the lowest percentage
of the respondents declared that having a gated housing is a symbol of prestige. To my opinion,
here people might not have avoided answering this question honestly as defining a symbol of
prestige sometimes sounds bizarre for others. On the other hand, a significant perception of
the respondents (over 60 %) answered the question of why they bought a gated housing as fit
in neighbourhood. As far as we realize, recolating to the gated communities, thus, could be a
consequence of the social heterogeneity to an extent.

Conclusion

The immigration of 1990s has brought about aforementioned changes in the Serbian
society. Even if not led to ethnical and cultural diversities, it is clear that the social structure of
Belgrade was reshaped by both the Milosevic regime and the immigration during the 1990s.
The changing social structure has deepened stratification. As a result of this, deepened social
stratification initiated relocation to gated communities. In my view, however, the high increase
in the proportion of urban crime and violence has played very substantial factor in this case of
Belgrade. Even though the fear of crime did not lead Americans to live in gated communities as
Low claimed, it made a significant importance on Serbian life.

References

Bageen, S., 2010, “Gated Urban Life versus Kinship and Social Solidarity in the Middle East”,
In Gated Communities: Social Sustainability in Contemporary and Historical Gated
Developments, eds. Bageen, S. And Uduku, O. London: Earthscan.
Duijzings, G., “From Bongo to Boston via the Balkans: Antropological Contributions to the Study
of Urban Transformations in Southeastern Europe”, Urbanisierung und Stadtentwicklung

  681
 in Südosteuropa vom 19. Bis zum 21. Jahrhundert, Berlin: Verlag Otto Sagner.
Gordy, E., 2004, “Serbia after Djindjic: War Crime, Organized Crime and Trust in Public
Institutions”, Problems of Post-Communism, 51(3), May/June 2004.
Hirt, S., 2009, “City Profile: Belgrade, Serbia”, Cities, 26.
Hirt, S., 2008, “Landscapes of post-modernity: changes in the built fabric of Belgrade and Sofia
since the end of socialism”, Urban Geography, 29(8).
Hirt, S. and Petrovic, M., 2010, “The Gates of Belgrade: Safety, Privacy and New Housing Patterns
in the Post-Communist City”, Problems of Post-Communism, 57(5).
Landman, K., 2010, “Gated Minds, Gated Places: The Impact and Meaning of Hard Boundaries
in South Africa”, In Gated Communities: Social Sustainability in Contemporary and
Historical Gated Developments, eds. Bagaeen, S. And Uduku, O., London: Earthscan.
Low, S. M., 2001, “The Edge and the Center: Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban
Fear”, American Anthropologist, 1003(1).
Low, S. M., 2003, “Fear of Crime” and “Fear of Others”, Behind the Gates: Life, Security and the
Pursuit of Happiness in Fortress America.
Petrovic, M., 2007, “Belgrade Socio-Demographic Development: Recent Changes and
Challenges”, In Stockholm-Belgrade: Proceedings from the Third Swedish-Serbian
Symposium in Stockholm, April 21-25, 2004, eds. Gustavsson, S., Stockholm: The Royal
Swedish Academy of letters, History and Antiquities.
Stoyanov, P. and Frantz, K., 2006, “Gated Communities in Bulgaria: Interpreting a New Trend in
Post-communist Urban Development”, GeoJournal, 66.

682
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe

SOCIOLOGY
 Civil Society and Social Capital in Croatia:
A Conceptual Analysis

Andreja Sršen
University of Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Social capital has been defined in a variety of ways. As social capital is a multifaceted
concept, it can be best described by different dimensions instead of one overall index. Based
on the theoretical considerations it is reasonable to distinguish between four components of
social capital – general trust, institutional trust, social norms and formal networks. Along the
lines of Putnam’s (2008) findings of positive correlation between social capital and tolerance, this
article is aimed at examining the relationship between the social involvement of civil society in
Croatia and social capital. The civil society concept encompasses two distinctive elements: one,
a normative perspective that aims at the improvement of democratic participation and social
justice, and two, a reference to the so-called “intermediary sphere” of modern societies, populated
by voluntary organizations and societal networks. Social capital is also an instantiated informal
norm that promotes cooperation between individuals. In the political sphere it promotes the
kind of associational life that is necessary for the success of limited government and modern
democracy. Thus this paper considers how social capital is distinguished between two aspects:
sociocultural milieu and institutional infrastructure.

Key words: social capital, civil society, institutional trust, modern democracy.

Introduction

Two sets of issues are elaborated in this article. The first one concerns the indicators of
social capital: generalized trust, civic participation and trust in institutions. Therefore, it offers a
critical synthesis of the term “social capital” as defined by its theoretical fathers – Pierre Bourdieu,
James Coleman and Robert Putnam. The second issue refers to the importance and benefits

  685
of investigating social capital in Croatian society highlighting the importance of historical
development of civic community. Of particular focus is the research of social capital directed
attention towards the social dimension of development, focusing on questions of trust and
collective action. Social capital has been defined in a variety of ways (Coleman, 1988; Putnam,
1993) during the last decades. Concepts like social capital and civil society have a huge popularity,
especially due to the particular contribution that they may have as tools for or part of social
development. As proposed by Torsvik (2000) social capital has been interpreted as a resource
which makes communities economically more prosperous. Social capital, in its broadest sense,
refers to the internal social and cultural coherence of society, the trust, norms and values that
govern interactions among people and the networks and institutions in which they are embedded
(Parts, 2009). The structural aspect includes civic and social participation, while the cognitive
aspect contains different types of trust and civic norms, also referred to as trustworthiness.

The Origins of the Concept of Social Capital

The origins of the concept of social capital were based on its three main “fathers”:
Bourdieu, Coleman and Putnam (Adam & Rončević, 2003:158). Bourdieu defines social capital
as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable
network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition”
(Bourdieu 1986:248 in Adam and Roncevic 2003:158). Bourdieu’s aim was to explain how social
stratification is reproduced and persists over time by analyzing different forms of capital such
as social, cultural political, symbolic and economic and how these may convert into each other.
According to Bourdieu (1984), social capital consists of social networks and sociability. He is
defining social capital as an individual attribute in terms of individual networks. Social capital in
the sense of being synonymous with networks is used by a number of authors, and, according to
Bourdieu, it can refer to anything from individual to institutional networks. Bourdieu specifically
explains that people must not only have relationships with others, they must further understand
how these networks operate and how one can maintain and utilize these relationships over time
(Schaefer-McDaniel &Nicole J. 2004:141). He described the concept of “cultural capital” referring
to specific cultural beliefs and traditions of behavior that promote success and accomplishment
in life. While Bourdieu postulates that cultural capital is most beneficial for upper-class he
was primarily interested in understanding how people work together to reproduce social
inequalities. The other “father” of modern social capital research is the late American sociologist
James Coleman. According to Coleman (1990), social capital is defined as concept that can be
applied to different environmental settings. He was primarily interested in understanding how
family system works, therefore, he measured social capital by the physical presence of parents
per number of children in the family, so as to determine the amount of attention that children
received (Mihaylova, 2004:16). He observed that family systems are made up of: a) financial

686
capital (financial resources for household and child rearing expenses); b) human capital (parental
education and economic skills); and c) social capital (Coleman 1988, 1990 in: Schaefer-McDaniel,
Nicole J. 2004:142). Although Coleman defined social capital according to its function, his
research primarily addressed educational achievement and social inequality (Schuller et al.
2000). As Schuller et al. (2000) pointed out, there were striking similarities in the respective
approaches of Coleman and Bourdieu, although they did not formally acknowledge each other
(Mihaylova 2004:12). Bourdieu (1986) focused on social connections whereas Coleman (1988)
emphasizing the functions of social capital, showed that it is embedded within the social structure
and facilitate collective action. The third “father” of social capital, Robert Putnam (1993), added
trust and civic participation in the definition of social capital. He tried to measure social capital
by counting groups in civil society.

Putnam’s model has been subject to a series of criticisms (Grix, 2001). He defines social
capital as those “features of social organization, such as trust, norms, and networks that can
improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions” (Putnam, 1993:167). Some
authors take only one of Putnam’s three elements as the most significant attribute of social capital,
like Francis Fukuyama (1995), who defines social capital as being identical to trust, compares
low-trust (for example France, Taiwan, Italy) and high-trust (for example USA, Japan, Germany)
societies in order to investigate the consequences of such differences in levels of trust (Mihaylova
2004:18). Putnam (2000) argued that there are several plausible reasons for the decline in social
capital: increased time pressures, residential mobility, increased labor force participation of
women, the growth of the welfare state, erosion of the civic culture in the 1960s, the growth of
suburbs, generational effects, television (Green & Haines, 2011: 145). The aspects of Bourdieu’s
and Coleman’s work is the position of the individual inside social networks. The complexity
of social capital is further demonstrated by the fact that it is sometimes identified as a positive
phenomenon or a negative one. This division is used by many scholars, particularly when referring
the ex-communist Europe (Rose, 1999; Paldam&Svendsen, 2002). The negative social capital
represents that kind of social connections that may interfere with general social development
such as the extent of corruption in public services and are usually associated with generalized
mistrust in institutions and people, as well as with lower levels of tolerance to differences. In the
context of Central and Eastern Europe, authors frequently point to the existence of a “missing”,
“negative”, “premodern” or “primitive” social capital (for example Paldam&Svendsen, 2000;
Rose 1999, in Mihaylova, 2004:19). On the other side, positive social capital is the one who may
support social development in many aspects. According to Graeff, P. & Tinggaard G. Svendsen
(2013:2831) positive social capital, in its broadest sense defined as people’s ability to cooperate, is
self-enforcing (as an informal institution) in contrast to forced cooperation which is enforced by
a third party (formal institution).

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 The Aspects of Civil Society in Croatia

Thanks to the work of historians we are by now well informed about those organizations
and associations that populated the societal sphere, thus forming the infrastructure of civil
society in the 19th century. Civil society development in a particular country is dependent upon
specific historical circumstances, therefore, in Croatia, as a former socialist country, civil society
is sometimes said to have a poor tradition. To understand the current role of civil society in
Croatia, it helps to take a historical perspective. We can trace some civic initiatives in the late
19th and 20th centuries, which have established foundations for some cultural, educational
and social institutions, and in this way contributed to the modernization of society (Bežovan,
Zrinščak&Vugec, 2005). By that time there was a lack of research on civil society in that period.
According to Bežovan (2004), the concept of civil society in Croatia was re-discovered in the
late 1980s and the 1990s (Bežovan&Matančević, 2011:15). Civil society in Croatia began to be
expressed in and through specific national frameworks. The situation in Croatia in the 1990s
was, in some ways, very complex because of the response to the refugee crisis produced by the
wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. That situation produced a new social construction in
political movement driven by ‚humanitarianism’. By the second half of the 1990s, civil society
faced negative public perception in terms of negative attitude towards civil society organizations.
Lack of understanding of the idea of civil society among political elites slowed down the creation
of political preconditions for building civil society, as well as the regulatory framework for
registering and work of civil society organization (Bežovan, Matančević, 2011:15).

Nowadays, with regard to civil society’s structure, the low levels of civic engagement are
still a key concern. In the following, civil society concept in Croatia will briefly be described,
highlighting the main findings, observations and implications of the CIVICUS Civil Society
Index (CSI) project in Croatia, which has been carried out by the Centre for Development of
Non-Profit Organizations.1 Civil Society Index (CSI) study, implemented between 2003 and
2005, indicated important features and developmental trends present in Croatian civil society at
the time (Bežovan, Matančević, 2011). The CSI measures the following core dimensions: (1) Civic
Engagement – the extent to which individuals engage in social and politically based initiatives;
(2) Level of Organization – the degree of institutionalization of civil society; (3) Practice of Values
– the extent to which civil society promotes and practices some core values; (4) Perceived Impact
– the extent to which civil society is able to impact the social and policy arena, according to
internal and external perception; and (5) External Environment – the socio-economic, political
and cultural environment within which civil society operates (Bežovan, Matančević, 2011:7).

1 This Analytical Country Report is one of the major outputs of the CSI implementation process in Croa-
tia and presents highlights from the research conducted, including summaries of civil society’s strengths
and weaknesses as well as recommendations for strengthening civil society in Croatia (Bežovan,
Matančević, 2011:2).

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 According to this report, low levels of civic participation and volunteering present a serious
constraint for strengthening civic culture and civil society in Croatia (2011:22). It was pointed out
that active participation was rare. There is a deep level of mistrust throughout Croatian society.
Trust, as a synonym to “social capital”, has become one of the central concepts in research on
institutional change. There is a predominant view in the research (Bežovan, Matančević, 2011)
that trust in institutions is at a low level. To make matters worse, civil society organizations do
not seem to have any positive impact on the attitudes and norms of their members (Bežovan,
Zrinščak&Vugec, 2005). Distrust in institutions clearly demonstrates the deficit of social capital.
According to Mihaylova (2004:61), some of the main debates concerning trust in Central
and Eastern Europe center on the sources of trust production and on the question whether
institutional change produces trust or is itself a product of trust. Overall, trust is seen as being
beneficial for economic growth as it lowers transaction costs while in politics it is seen as a source
of legitimacy and collective action (Stulhofer, 2001:27). The first “Anti-Corruption EU Report”
states that, due to the entrance of Croatia into the European Union, it has established a broad
legal and institutional framework for the fight against corruption, but that the Croatian citizens
believe that in every area corruption is more pervasive than does the average citizen of the Union.
As presented in Table 1 on average, 76% of EU citizens believe that corruption is widespread
in their country. In Croatia, the percentage is much higher. Even 94% of citizens believe that
corruption in Croatia is widespread. 4% of EU citizens, or 6% of Croatians, last year were in a
position of having to pay bribes or somehow witnessed corruption. 81% of Croatian companies
believe that corruption creates obstacles in their business (Transparency International Croatia -
Anti-Corruption EU Report, 2014).

Figure 1. - Transparency International Croatia - Anti-Corruption EU Report.2

2 The report thoroughly evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of 28 member States in the anti-
corruption fight. The report was compiled by the Directorate General for Home Affairs, and it is based on
the assessment by the European Commission which has worked on it for the past two years, as well as an
independent assessment of Transparency International ( Retrieved from http://www.transparency.hr/en/
article/first-anti-corruption-eu-report/76).
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 The largest problems in Croatia are, according to the report, the lack of implementation
of the existing legal framework, the emphasis on repression rather than on prevention,
nepotism in the public sector, the high politicization of public administration, low standard
of integrity in politics, and corruption in public companies and public procurement.3 Anti-
corruption report by the European Union confirms that Croatia needs to seriously set to work
in the fight against corruption.

The State of Contemporary Civil Society and Global Governance

The following part of the paper uses some of the data, the main findings, observations and
implications of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI). The report4 represents a body of critical
thinking on the changing state of contemporary civil society and global governance.

According to the new CIVICUS (2014) report there is an absence of truly global, mass
citizens’ organizations that can organize to act as alternatives and counterbalances to global
institutions owned by governments. Europe does not perform particularly well on the socio-
-cultural dimension of CIVICUS’ Enabling Environment Index, which measures participation,
tolerance, trust in civil society organizations and giving and volunteering (CIVICUS, 2014:15).
The CIVICUS (2014)5 report notes that: “Low levels of giving and volunteering as well as a lack
of interest in public participation are the reasons why 63.4 percent of the countries in Europe
are below the global average… more needs to be done to build trust in non-profits and a culture
of giving and volunteering in order to strengthen civic engagement and CSO impact”. A survey
of CIVICUS (2014) constituents indicates that from 2013 to 2014, there is perceived to be an
increase in citizen participation: 69 percent of respondents say that there has been either much
more or moderately more citizen participation in their countries (2014:20).

Figure 2. Civicus Survey on changes inn citizen participation

3 Retrieved from http://www.transparency.hr/en/article/first-anti-corruption-eu-report/76

4 Retrieved from http://civicus.org/index.php/en/socs2014
5 For more information on CIVICUS’ Enabling Environment Index, see: http://civicus.org/eei.
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 Results from CIVICUS’ Annual Constituency Survey conducted in January 2014. The
question posed to respondents was: “Compared with a year ago, how has citizen participation
changed where you work?” (CIVICUS, 2014:20).

Conclusion

During the 80s, 90s and today, thousands of papers were contributed to increasing
knowledge and understanding of social capital. They have debated upon its positive or negative
functions, upon its specificity as capital, upon its structure and measurement defining the space
where social capital lies. One of the most important and widely discussed components of social
capital is trust. Civil society organizations have during the past decades become increasingly
accepted players, with influence seen on local, national, regional and international scenes. A
need to strengthen networks of civil society actors working towards a common thematic goal is a
key to improving civil society engagement in the future. A good place to start is with enhancing
civil society influence on policy issues. Low levels of social capital lead to a number of political
dysfunctions. The fact that the level of social capital is determined by the activities of the state
(or lack of them), and not by a spontaneous evolution of beneficial norms (Putnam, 1993), does
not change the character of the relationship between civic participation and trust in institutions.
However, the levels of civic participation and trust in institutions must be visible, accountable
and identifiable.

In sum, the main theories of social capital have defined social capital in terms of
participation and membership in community and neighborhood organizations. In this sense,
social capital does not only provide the individuals with increased wellbeing, but it also provides
the individual`s community with positive outcomes such as increased safety and increased
participation in social organizations.

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Bežovan, G. (2004). Civil Society [in Croatian]. Zagreb: Globus.
Bežovan, G., Zrinščak, S., Vugec, M. (2005). The Civil Society in Croatia: The Process of Gaining
Trust and Establishing Partnership with the State and Other Stakeholders. Croatian Re-
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Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
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Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York:
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Schaefer-McDaniel, Nicole J. (2004). “Conceptualizing Social Capital among Young People: To-
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Schuller, T., Baron, S. and Field, J. (2000). ‘Social capital: a review and critique’, in S. Baron, J.
Field and T. Schuller (eds) Social Capital: Critical Perspectives, Oxford: Oxford University
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commodity markets’, in Gernot Grabner and David Stark (eds) Restructuring Networks in
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www.transparency.hr/en/article/first-anti-corruption-eu-report/76
692
 Civil Society and Social Capital in the Modern Mena
Region: A Conceptual Analysis

Akbar Valadbigi
Farhangian University, Iran

Abstract

The unfolding unrest in the Middle East opened new debates on the relationship between
social capital and civil society. This work has a threefold focus: first, it explores how the existing stock
of social capital spurred on the contemporary civic activities in the search of constructing stable
democracies across the Middle East; second, it examines how civic movements in this region can
contribute to increasing the current deficit of social capital; and third, it analyses the implications of
the deployment of social media tools in the recent uprisings. This work suggests that although the
Middle Eastern states have always been subject to severe violence and suppressive political systems,
civil society organizations and the stock of social capital have been steadily rising.

Key words: social capital, civil society, democracy, uprising, social media, internetworked
social movements

Introduction

It has been widely argued that civil society and social capital are on the rise in the Middle
East; processes of which may yield stable democracies, an elusive, but increasingly tangible goal.
Over the past years, considerable scholarship has been devoted to exploring the relationship
between America and Central/Eastern Europe as a key ingredient for their more robust levels of
social capital when compared to more politically arrested Middle Eastern or African states, where
civil society has, so far, been negligible. Regarding the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),
some argue that the region’s social capital deficit is civil society and social capital, and a number of
scholars have pointed to the proliferation of civil society in South rooted in the belief that either civil
society does not exist – to any significant level – in most link between the rise of civil society and the

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development and deployment of social capital begs articulation to pave a way forward by revealing
the consequences from obstructions to civil society in MENA and finding ways to overcome these.
In the Middle Eastern countries, or, where it does exist, it is too embryonic and fragile to be of
consequence.

Such an investigation is certainly topical since conclusive evidence suggests that those
political communities laden with social capital – defined as ‘the norms and networks that enable
collective action’– benefit from more effective governance and more stable democracies. Social
capital is a vital, yet underappreciated, asset which refers to a class of assets inherent to social
relations, such as social bonding and bridging. With MENA states experiencing great transfor-
mations to their body politic, encouraged by new forms of social capital, manifest in modern
technologies, it seems that new governance blue-prints are being drafted and these are likely to
define intra- and extra-state relations for the foreseeable future.

Thus, as this work sets out to determine the unfolding dynamics in MENA politics, it does
so through the dual-lenses of civil society and social capital since these are, perhaps, the most
fluid and pervasive conceptualizations for the triumph of political discourse over robust, but
decidedly archaic forms of authoritarianism.

Civil Society and its Contextualization in MENA

The concept of civil society was popularized around the end of the18th century and
occupies space in a variety of political vocabularies, including: liberal, Hegelian, and Marxist.
This diversity has resulted in the term lacking a consensus-based definition as to what it actually
implies. Indeed, looking back at some of the great thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke and Hegel,
consensus surrounded only the distinction between the state and civil society where the state
rules over a certain organized society.

This is the basic framework through which those without political authority live their
lives; conduct their economic transactions; maintain their family and kinship ties and religious
institutions. However, with the 1989-1991 collapse of the USSR and its proxies in Central and
East Europe the term “civil society” re-entered public lexicon and became an analytical concept,
since the experience of Soviet oppressive produced a recognition that civil society does not exist
independent of political authority; they maintain a symbiotic relationship. At present, “civil
society” is deployed to illustrate how clubs and organizations (among other groups) may act
as a buffer between state power and citizens’ lives – it is a bridge between state authority and
individuals.

In MENA, state-level coercive and financial power remains embedded in the political
authority of the state, which sufficiently monopolizes and mobilizes state resources – which

694
dwarf those available to the state’s social, economic and political opposition – for state objectives.
Hence, at present, the civil society debate waging in the region focuses on changing formal
governance structures, rather than substantive changes to state-society relations, since prior to the
construction of a reflective civil society, resources must be more formally and fairly distributed,
imputes made to be more transparent and leadership more accountable.

Since few MENA states have voluntarily allowed for such adjustments, civil society remains
a largely contested concept in the region. This has not meant total political submission, only that
the way in which civil society manifests itself in MENA is markedly different from other regions.
In fact, there are three clear approaches to civil society in MENA: firstly, the Western approach
which views the Arab/Islamic belief system(s) and patriarchal tribal organization as obstructing
certain “universal” values such as tolerance, civic values, and personal freedom. From this
perspective, the rise of Islamic revivalist movements are seen – myopically – as resistance to
modernity. The second approach, corporatism – borrowed from analyses of Latin America –
is superimposed on MENA where processes occur in which the state dominates all forms of
economic and civic participation.

Centralization, one-party rule, pervasive state security establishments are deeply

imbedded in the state though express independence from state structures. The third approach
equates civil society with Western-style formal NGOs in the private and voluntary sectors. In the
policy circles concerned with democratic transition, it is routinely agreed that such NGOs foster
political liberalization and democratization from the grass-roots level. NGOs’ independence
from regimes and opposition movements are the defining characteristics of MENA civil society.

Sater captures this definitional impasse well when he suggests that ‘there is no link between
civil society and democracy: societies do not take two tablets of civil society at bedtime and
wake up the next morning undergoing democracy.’ He argues against the view that civil society
is ‘deficient, corrupt, aggressive, and hostile,’ claiming that these are ‘general views of Middle
Eastern civil society.’

Despite such rhetoric, it is clear that there is a positive link between the depth and density
of civil society and individual freedoms. Therefore, to denounce civil society as not contributing
to democratization is to miss the point. Instead, it is clear that in MENA, and beyond,
constructing a sustainable and reflective civil society encourages enhanced dialogue between
different segments of society and paves the way for new discourses and, eventually, new modes
of governance. However, the essential linkage between civil society and such political reform
rests on the notion of social capital, which has come to occupy important intellectual spaces, yet
remains somewhat elusive. While such a presentation is indeed essential (and occurs below), it
is necessary to provide a brief synopsis of the state of civil society in MENA, so that discussion
can turn to evaluating the region’s sources and expressions of social capital with few obstructions.

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 Civil Society in MENA

With discourses on civil society continuing to evolve – and face innumerable official
(governmental) and unofficial obstacles – it is unclear how the political elite in the region define
or even understand civil society. However, despite decades of social fragmentation and political
abuse various elements of civil society have taken root throughout MENA which transcend
cultural, national, religious and ethnic divides. It is, therefore, prudent to conceptually trace civil
society as a means of laying the foundations for further analysis.

Throughout the 1990s, hope was galvanized regarding political reforms that would lay the
cornerstone for real democratization and economic de-monopolization. While such optimism
was visible throughout the wider MENA region, it was especially pronounced in the Arab world
where political developments in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, and Yemen suggested that the
grip of authoritarianism was loosening. In those countries it seemed that the growth of civil
society (organizations) coupled with alterations to global politics – notably the conclusion of the
Cold War – and the revolution in communications technologies, conspired to elevate discourses
on human rights which bled into the very heart of the establishment(s) in those states and
produced an air of change. It is not that there was wide expectation for the complete overhaul of
the existing political systems in the region; rather it was acknowledged that the route to political
representation was underway.

To be sure, the present regional upheaval is the direct result of the forms of civil society
that had been developing, albeit haphazardly, for nearly two decades. In fact, the clear overtones
of democratic reform (notably in Egypt and Tunisia) indicate the manifestation of civil society
demanding greater synchronization between the governed and governing. This partially explains
the zeal many have displayed for the unfolding revolutions; the stakes are tremendous and failure
is seen as not being an option, not least because of the very real fear of violent reprisals if current
elites are not displaced.

This not-so-subtle fear has had an important knock-on effect in terms of constructing
a basis of social solidarity within MENA states and between their respective populations. For
instance, Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the location where many tens of thousands of people from across
Egypt’s socio-political and economic landscape demonstrated day upon day until the ultimate
collapse of Mubarak’s regime, has come to symbolize the social revolutions throughout the region
with many places being popularly renamed after Tahrir, including Tel Aviv’s tent-city, the focal
point of Israel’s social protest movement.

Thus, it is possible to suggest that as MENA (at large) takes its first steps towards proper civil
society, it is automatically producing a form of social capital which itself is propelling further moves
towards the fulfillment of democratic transition. But what is social capital and how has it permeated
into MENA? To answer the later part of this question, it is necessary to dwell on the former.

696
 Social Capital and the Recent Uprisings in the MENA Region

Conceptually, “social capital” has filtered into various social sciences since the 1950s and
has come to imply so many different phenomena that scholars have began to evaluate social
capital for what it is not, rather than for what it is. While this may seem as an over simplification,
consider its broad characteristics: “connections among individuals,”“social networks,” and the
“norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness” that arise from them. In other words, social capital
consists of the entire spectrum of social relations from the mundane to the epic. Yet, there
has been a concrete attempt to produce some meaningful assessment of social capital and
so, an auxiliary term has come to capture its essence, namely “civic virtue;” a term intended
to highlight the reciprocal nature of social capital implying that social relations themselves
are, essentially, a network. Indeed, a society of many virtuous, but isolated individuals is not
necessarily rich in social capital. Rather, isolation runs counter to the idea of social capital and
its now inherent civic virtue.

Putnam, a leading scholar of social capital, set its benchmarks according to levels (active
membership) and depth (frequency of activities) of participation in civil society, particularly
voluntary organizations. Intense participation promotes and enhances social norms and trust,
which are central to the production and maintenance of the collective well-being.

Alternatively, sparse and haphazard participation produces societies which lack agreed
upon norms of exchange and widespread distrust. Indeed, Halpern insists that there is a
considerable body of evidence showing that high social capital is associated with more effective
and less corrupt government [...] communities with high social capital foster more civic citizens
who are easier to govern, a ready supply of co-operative political leaders, and a fertile soil in
which effective government institutions can grow.

Over the past decade, the theme of social capital has fully entered the policy parlance
and debates in both transitional and more established polities alike, though has experienced a
monumental proliferation in MENA over the course of the past twelve months as revolutions and
uprisings sweep the region.

While Haezewindt argues that the term social capital has given researchers, planners, and
decision-makers a new common language, it is clear that in MENA, and in light of upheaval,
there is an “understanding gap” between existing and would be decision makers where the former
regard it as a rhetorical devise to mobilize opposition movements against the existing order, the
later consider social capital as the glue which bonds various segments of society together in the
process of formulating a new, more reflective political enterprise.

The struggle for consensus extends well beyond the frontiers of discourses and debates
over social capital and civil society. Instead, discourses in MENA echo the rapid, and irreversible,

  697
changes on the ground. Hence, it is important to gauge what marks this latest – in a long history
– round of upheaval, as unique. At a glance, MENA states are still economically and industrially
sluggish, ethno-religious tensions unremitted and state-society relations wrought with distrust.
However, there is one empowering difference, one which was cautiously introduced by the
region’s political elite in a bid to appease growing discontent, namely the advent of cheap, user-
friendly and difficult to regulate communications technologies such as computer networks, the
internet and mobile telephone services.

The Power of New Media

The recent spate of civil unrest in MENA underscores the hotly debated role of technology and
social media as agents constructing and reinforcing civil society, encouraging and enhancing social
Capital, and ultimately fostering the conditions for political change.

Indeed, the use of such technological instruments – notably Facebook and Twitter
– has been deployed to mobilize collective protests, provide logistical support for ensuing
demonstrations, and as a conduit for alternative histories of events – in opposition to “official”
reportage. This, in essence, has worked to crack authoritarian monopolies on command, control
and communications structures.

Indeed, Chia articulates that the MENA revolts also mark a change in the way information
is communicated and used to mobilize people. The recent wave of revolts in the Middle East is
probably no different from any previous cases of civil uprisings before the advent of web-based
communication technology. However, it sends a strong message of the mutual influences that
technology and social communication have on one another. Web-based interaction might have
started out as a technological innovation, but its functions have been adapted and altered to
support wider social and political developments.

Langman (et al.) argues that the emergence of internetworked social movements and
their participatory mobilizing networks anticipated new forms of politics that merge some of
the structures and strategies of previous movements, while extending the possibilities of social
movements in new directions. Today, large mobilising networks must be chartered across
extremely complex webs of communication, online and offline, that inform complex, dispersed,
and quickly changing fields of organising, decision making, and coordination.

A growing body of literature speaks to issues of new, transnational NGOs. But the
more recent internetworked social movements, which are far less structured, more open and
participatory, and articulated across a wide range of issues, cannot easily be understood within
the existing frameworks.

698
 The radical differences between internetworked social movements and earlier movements
have not been fully debated. There is no simple answer as to how and why people become involved
in democratic social movements. The internet makes the question especially complex. Does the
net enable recruitment, or do people already disposed to activism manage to find activist groups
via the internet? Do such movements attract the alienated and marginal, or the more engaged?
Are activists rebels, or have they come from activist backgrounds? Movements are not only
struggling for access to social power, but also for ‘the right to participate in the very definition of
the political system, the right to define the system in which they wish to be included.’

Once print media enabled the move of consciousness from the local to the emerging
“national” levels of shared identities as citizens, the internet has enabled new forms of
consciousness, community, and identity and new forms of connectivity at transnational levels. It
is, then, crucial to understand that internetworked social movements often engage in democratic
practices outside main media and even outside the existing political structures.

Langman (et al.) further asserts that the internet, with its widespread access and ease of use,
has both democratic and anti-democratic potentials. While large numbers of people mobilise via
the internet for progressive social ends, various fascist, racist, and other anti-democratic forces
are also using it. Social scientists, they assert, need a better understanding of the social nature and
implications of such movements and the new, growing arts and technologies of “internetworking”
and net-based “cyber activism.”

Civic Activism and the Impact of Media Technology

Research suggests that social networking technologies can influence governments, bottom-
up civil participation, and new social dynamics. Such has been proven accurate when weighed
against the strength of the recent uprisings in MENA where social media tools have integrated
online and offline identities while playing a critical role in the dramatic changes sweeping the region.

Take Facebook and Twitter as cases in point since both have had their user base grow
considerably in a relatively short span of time. At present, Facebook has over 677 million users
(as of April 2011) with people from the Middle East constituting the greatest number of new
users. At the same time, mobile users have exceeded 250 million subscribers in MENA with new
users numbered at some 80 million over the past 15 months. These figures suggest that such a
technological proliferation is either running concurrent with, or even leading, the social activism
currently unravelling decades of political misrule.

January to April (2011) witnessed a substantial mobilisation and civic activism from the
(relative) safety of being online rather than on the street prior to a confrontation. Alternatively,

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social networking technologies are also being used by governments to engage with citizens and
encourage their participation in government processes, to set up false meeting points to arrest
opposition activists and to monitor and control information. This cyber game of political capture-
the-flag is truly remarkable and thus the pitched battles which have occurred on the proverbial
“Arab Street” find their origin on the “cyber street.”

This phenomenon is also not entirely novel since, as noted above, many leaders in MENA
tolerated, even encouraged, the proliferation of communications technologies as a means of
appeasing increasingly frustrated, and youthful populations. For instance, Jordan’s royal family
embraced online outreach during the reign of (late) King Hussein, who is said to have been
a leading example of internet pioneering. In Palestine, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad accepts
emails from followers on his Facebook page, while many other Arab Leaders have Facebook
profiles in English, but do not accept email or friend requests.

When Tunisian President Ben Ali was in power, his Facebook page was replete with content
and photos, but it was replaced shortly after he fled the country by a news report dated 15 January
2011 headlined: ‘Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protestors claim victory’. 22
In Syria, Facebook is tolerated even at the highest levels of government: Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad have individual Facebook profiles among a robust selection
of Facebook fan groups.

Social networking has changed expectations of freedom of expression and association to

the degree that individual and collective capacities to communicate, mobilize, and gain technical
knowledge are expected to lead to even greater voices, political influences, and participation over
the next 10 to 20 years. These changes could be said to have accelerated in early 2011. However,
blogging and social networking alone cannot be expected to bring about immediate political
change. It only facilitates the long-term impact, the development of new political and civil society
engagement, and individual and institutional competencies.

While the battle between states and civil society wages, one thing is increasingly clear:
social media (Facebook and Twitter), has truly assisted protests to spread to national levels and
provides governments with new means of countering such protests. In this struggle, however,
it is evident that civil society holds all the cards and those cards increasingly bear a single
slogan: Democracy.

Towards Stable Democracies in the Middle East: Avenues and Obstacles

Deploying social media for the purpose of constructing and maintaining civil society
which contains a bulk of social capital requires a process of legal and political codification to
solidify gains and rewrite the metaphorical rule-book of social relations. This entails the birth of

700
sustainable democratic institutions. Therefore, the revolutions in MENA ought to be regarded as
democratic by objective.

This democratic wave has, in turn, produced a new agenda for discussing the role of civil
society in the transition to stable democracy. In order to evaluate civil society in the Middle East
the identification of the embedded social forces is mandatory.

The fractured – but recovering – nature of MENA societies is reflected in the civil
institutions currently under construction. Understanding the implications of the diversity of
associational patterns provides a clue to the social movements that could facilitate democracy.
Here, the civic institutions whose activities focus on a more tolerant and vibrant democratic
society should be encouraged.

However, there is a plethora of those which hamper democracy based on religious activism
and/or ethnicity and kinship (Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria). These two systems cannot coexist; one
must be made subservient to the other. In a bid to construct working democratic systems, it is the
former which must triumph while the later is abandoned to the footnotes of history.

Despite obstacles there have been some positive developments towards democratization
across MENA. Increased awareness within the relatively minute civil society in MENA, Schulz
believes, has contributed to regional networking, fostering new cooperation, and creating a
more vivid debate around democratic issues. Globalization itself increases the awareness and
networking between external actors and the Middle East. This, in turn, strengthens the chances
to establish and consolidate a vivid and democratic regional debate. Civil society not only acts
within in each country in this region, but also it has also increasingly developed transnational
networks, thereby constituting a forerunner in regionalization and democratization in context.

Conclusion

This article suggested that the recent uprisings in MENA sparked new debates over the
relationship between social capital and civil society. It demonstrated how the stock of social
capital is closely associated with the rise and development of civil society and sought to show
that those societies which are endowed with higher levels of social capital enjoy more stable
democracies, higher qualities of life and deeper levels of social solidarity. The article argued
that, while there is a hostile climate towards civil society in MENA, and social capital’s stock is
relatively low compared to other regions, current events has raised the level of civil society from
embryonic to a slightly more mature version.

It was also argued that tendencies toward civil society have been present since at least
the 1990s; however due to numerous factors, a successful, stable democratic culture has not yet

  701
been established. With regard to exploring the influences of social media tools, and especially
the internet, in the recent wave of revolts which undermined several undemocratic regimes of
the Middle East, this work argued that such media tools were used as agents for communication,
mobilization, and disseminating their message across the region.

In addition to reviewing the past and present state of civil society in the Middle East, this
work investigated the symbiotic relationship between social capital and civil society. Social capital
attempts to contribute to the development of civil society and transition to stable democracies.
The current literature on the relationship between social capital and civil society, however, has
not given justice to the bridge between the two, as further research on these areas can provide
policymakers with a better understanding of how to engage their people in handling public affairs.

Recommendations

This article investigated the interactions between social capital and civil society in MENA.
Although civil society has marginally risen, and the stock of social capital has enjoyed resurgence,
it is not enough. Therefore the following recommendations, if taken, are meant to propel the
region out of its slumber so its people may enjoy the same liberties and rights as they currently
demand:

1. The removal of patrimonial relationships between the state and society can enhance
prospects for modern civil societies, and as a result more stable democracies;

2. Establishing indigenous organized labour in this region can make the formation of more
stable democracies more likely;

3. Empowering well-organised groups to pressure the ruling elites to open political spaces
will contribute to the emergence of civil society;

4. The activities of civil society should complement the functions of the state and other
shareholders towards strengthening the stock of social capital;

5. The elites of the Middle East should exhibit their commitment and emphasise on the
role of civil society in restoring and reconstructing hope and confidence in the conflict-
ridden communities of the region;

6. States can prevent serious negative impacts on social capital by not undertaking activities
that are better left to the private sector or civil society;27 and,

7. Developing new political and civil society engagements and making use of individual
and institutional competencies to accelerate the establishment of stable democracies in
the region.

702
References

Ali. R Abootalebi (1998), ‘Civil Society, Democracy, and the Middle East,’ Middle East Review of
International Affairs 2, No.: 3 pp. 46-59.
Angelique Chrisafis and Ian Black (2011), ‚Ben Ali Forced to Flee Tunisia as Protestors Claim
Victory,’ The Guardian, <http://www.guardian. co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/tunisian-
president-flees-countryprotests>(accessed 29 January 2011).
David Halpern (2008), Social Capital, London: Polity Press.p. 33.
Francis Fukuyama (2001), ‘Social Capital, Civil Society and Development, Third World Q
James N. Sater (2007), Civil Society and Political Change in Morocco. London: Routledge.
Jeffrey Ghannam (2011),‘Social Media in the Arab World: Leading Up to the Uprisings of
2011,‘Report: Center for International Media Assistance.
Lauren Langman and Douglas Morris (2002), ‘Internet Mediation: A Theory of Alternative
Globalization Movements.’
M. K. Smith (2001, 2007), ‘Robert Putnam,’ The Encyclopedia of Informal Education, <www.
infed.org/thinkers/putnam.htm> (accessed 14 October 2009).
Marina Ottaway and Amr Hamzawy (2011), ‘Protest Movements and Political Change in the
Arab World,‘ Policy Outlook.
Mehran Kamrava (2007), ‘The Middle East’s Democracy Deficit in Comparative Perspective,’ in
M. ParviziAmineh (ed), The Greater Middle East in Global Politics: Social Perspectives
on the Changing Geography of World Politics, Leiden: Brill.
Michael Schulz (2006), ‘The Role of Middle East Society in Democratization: Introduction,’ in
Heidi Moksnes and Mia Melin (eds) Power to the People? (Con-)Tested Civil Society in
Search of democracy. Sweden: Uppsala Center for Sustainable Development.
Nan Lin (2004), Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. London: Cambridge UP.
Paul Haezewindt (2003), ‘Social Trends: The Role of Social Capital,’
Robert Chase and RikkeNording Christensen (2009), ‘Building Social Capital,’ in Gert Tinggaard
Svendsen and Gunnar Lind Haase Swendsen(eds), Handbook of Social Capital: The
Troika of Sociology, Political Science and Economics, London: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Roberta T. Garner (1999), ‘Virtual Social Movements,’ presented at Zaldfest: A Conference in
Honour of Mayer Zald, 17 September 1999, University of Michigan.
Roger Owen (2004), State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East, London:
Routledge.
Sidney Tarrow (2001), ‘Transnational Politics: Contention and Institutions in International
Politics,’ Annual Review of Political Science, 4, pp. 1-20.
Sonia E Alwarez, Evilina Dagnino, and Arturo Escobar, (eds) (1998), Cultures of Politics, Politics
of Culture. Boulder: Westview Press.
Sue Chia Ng, (2011), ‘Social Media’s Role in Revolt: A Technological or Social Phenomenon?,’
RSIS Commentaries, No 44.
Walid Maani, Twitter page, <http://twitter.com/#!/WalidMaani>.
  703
 What exactly do We Mean when We Talk
about Multilingualism?

Laura Fekonja
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract

It appears that the term multilingualism is so widely spread in our modern globalised
world that one should not have to explain it. But, is this true? Is your multilingualism equal to
mine? The fact that over 500 languages are spoken in such a small area as Europe clearly indicates
that confronting multiple languages on a personal and social level is a part of one’s everyday life.
Various descriptions and definitions of multilingualism will be presented in the article that are
– despite the fact that the majority of the world population is multilingual – often understood
in different ways which are not always overlapping. To some authors a person is already
»multilingual« if one knows individual words in a foreign language, to others multilingualism
signifies complete command of multiple languages (i.e. on the level of a native speaker). Different
descriptions of command of multiple languages also appear in the Slovenian linguistic discourse
– whether they are defined and understood in the same way will be evident from the disquisition.
So called entry criteria that represent the foundation for determining multilingualism will be
presented as well as how they present themselves in everyday life with speakers who achieved
different levels of bilingualism or multilingualism.

Key words: multilingualism, bilingualism, language learning, language teaching

Multilingualism

Two thirds of the world’s population speak two or more languages. In an international
context, the fact that a person speaks more than one language is a rule rather than an exception
(Vučo 2012: 16). David Crystal also says that “multilingualism is a natural human state” (2005:
409). Therefore, for the majority of the world’s population, monolingualism is not typical; this

704
feature is common in the ‚larger’ countries which have traditionally considered themselves as
linguistically self-sufficient (Phillipson 2003: 63). In this context, the concept of globalisation and
cultural globalisation which is understood as an almost unlimited mobility of symbols, objects and
people, is worth mentioning (Rizman 2003: 29). Rizman also states that the linguistic domination
of English is a matter of ‘cultural imperialism’ and that today the “lingua franca is not the language
of Voltaire, Göthe, Dante, or Cervantes, but the language of McDonald’s, Disneyland, and Jerry
Springer” (2003: 29). The author points out that linguistic domination not only means imposing
foreign or translated words, but it also means transferring value paradigms, cultural codes and
philosophical systems through language (ibid.: 29). Undoubtedly, this process is also present in
the Slovene language. It is hard, however, to determine to what extent this can be considered as a
problem. The fact is that two thirds of Slovene primary school pupils choose English as their first
foreign language; however, this issue surpasses the extent of our discussion.

Despite the mentioned above fact, multilingualism is a much-talked-about concept.

However, the question is whether and how this concept is related to the concept of second language
acquisition. Second language acquisition is often understood as various kinds of acquisition
including the third, fourth etc. language (Gass, Selinker 2010: 21). The consequence of this activity
is multilingualism, which can be observed from the viewpoint of an individual or society. The
concept is extremely interesting as well as multifaceted; therefore, we will take a closer look at it.

Definitions

In specialised literature, monolingualism is defined as an ability of using two or more

languages. Certain linguists, however, use the term bilingualism as an ability of using two languages,
and multilingualism as an ability of using more than two languages(Saville Troike 2006: 8). In the
texts by the Council of Europe, multilingualism is described as an ability to communicate in more
languages, the proficiency levels of which are different (Godunc 2008: 97). Regarding the issue,
whether we speak about the knowledge of more languages on the level of society or on the level of
an individual, there is a distinction between social and individual bilingualism.

In English literature, there are two terms that occur in relation to multilingualism –
plurilingualism and multilingualism. Gas and Selinker make no difference between the terms
multilingualism and the third language acquisition, so they regard it as the acquisition of three (or
more than three) languages, which they argue with the statement that “in case of coexistence of more
languages, the situation is far more complex compared to real second language acquisition”(Gass,
Selinker 2008: 21). Mriel Saville Troike, however, defines multilingualism as an ability to use two
or more languages (at the same time, he stresses that in terms of two languages we also talk about
bilingualism)(Saville Troike 2006: 8).

  705
 In Slovenia, authors use various terms for the two concepts mentioned above: Marko Stabej
defines plurilingualism as zmožnostna večjezičnost (able multilingualism), and multilingualism
as družbena večjezičnost (societal multilingualism), whereas “the term večjezičnost joins both
meanings” (Stabej 2008: 61). For Albina Nećak Lük plurilingvizem (plurilingualism) is večjezičnost,
whereas she denotes multilingvizem (multilingualism) with the term večjezičje, where večjezičnost
is “a complex speech repertoire of an individual consisting of various communication ability levels
in several languages”, and the term večjezičje means the “preservation of the language heritage of
European nations” (Nećak Lük 2008: 135).1

With both authors, a distinction is made with regard to the issue; it is important whether it is
a matter of proficiency in more languages on the level of an individual (zmožnostna večjezičnost,
večjezičnost) or on the level of society (družbena večjezičnost, večjezičje).

Table 1: The terms multilingualizem (multilingualism) and plurilingualizem (plurilingualism) in Slovenia:

English term Stabej Nećak Lük Level

družbena
multilingualism večjezičje society
večjezičnost
zmožnostna
plurilingualism večjezičnost individual
večjezičnost

In the Encyclopedia of Slovene Language (Enciklopedija slovenskega jezika), dvojezičje is

the Slovene equivalent of diglossia, and it is defined as “the use of various languages for various
functional areas, e. g. Slovene for practical or private purposes, or German or Italian for official
or public communication. The term is also relevant for the use of social types (e. g. standard and
dialectal types) of the same language” (ESJ 1992: 33). In literature, the international equivalent
bilingivizem is often used for the term dvojezičnost, and the term poliglosija for večjezičje.

Julijana Vučo defines večjezičje as “the language position or the coexistence of two forms
of the same language in a certain speech community, where each of (at least) two significantly
different variations of one language has their own system of social functions” (2012: 63).

In the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) published in

Slovene in 2011, the Slovene word raznojezičnost is used for English word plurilingualism, whereas
the Slovene word večjezičnost is used for the English term mulitlingualism. Raznojezičnost is
defined as a kind of overall perception of an individual’s experience in various cultural contexts
(an individual does not divide these languages and cultures in his mental notion as something

1 In the article Slovenian and Foreign Languages – Learner’s Perspective (Slovenščina in tuji jeziki - s
stališča učenca)Meta Grosman uses the term mnogojezičnost) for the English term multilingualism
(2008: 166).

706
autonomous and special, but instead builds their communication ability in which all languages are
connected and can function mutually). On the other hand, večjezičnost is defined as knowledge of
more languages, or the coexistence of more languages in a certain society (CEFR 2011: 26).

Undoubtedly, appropriate, multilingualism-friendly circumstances are important for the

existence of multilingualism.

Multilingualism criteria

When defining bi- or multilingualism, it is necessary to know to what extent someone is

bi- or monolingual. When explaining the concept of bilingualism, we refer to four initial criteria
which present the starting point of defining bilingualism. These are the criteria that can be applied
(by Zudič Antonič 2011: 54‒55):

1. The language proficiency level or the knowledge of language

To have: a) A complete knowledge of two languages

b) Control over both languages
c) Equal knowledge of both languages
d) An ability to pass a conceptual idea in another language to someone
e) Basic knowledge of another language (to know the structure of the language).

2. Achieved communication ability or language use

To be able: a) To predominantly use both languages in all communication situations in line

with the purpose and the circumstances/context
b) To form written and spoken texts
c) To understand the read text in both languages
d) To make contact with the speakers of both languages.

3. The origin/beginning of language use

a) To use both languages in family settings as a ‘native speaker’
b) To use one language, and after that also the other one.

4. (Self) recognition
a) Internal: the speaker recognises themselves as a bilingual speaker from a rational as well
as from an emotional perspective; he/she uses two languages and accepts two cultures, or at
least some of their aspects
b) External: others recognise him/her as a bilingual speaker.

When referring to the language proficiency level, the ‘complete knowledge of two languages’

  707
syntagma might be problematic. The question is if this is even possible, and if it is, in what
circumstances it might happen. When referring to the beginning of language use and assuming the
possibility of using both languages in family settings as a native speaker, one can ask themselves,
what the realistic circumstances to achieve this would be. One of the possibilities is that the child
spoke to each parent in their mother tongue; family conversations would occur in both languages
(equally and exchanging, so both parents would have to speak both languages fluently), and in
other institutions (in kindergarten) the child would also have to develop both languages equally
(therefore, he/she would have to go to a bilingual kindergarten). Of course, such circumstances are
not impossible, but they are certainly unlikely and unrealistic.

In foreign literature, one can also find completely contradictory views regarding the
concept of bilingualism. In his article on the foundation of bilingualism, for instance, Edwards
(1996) states that all people are bilingual, arguing his statement with the fact that everyone most
likely knows at least one foreign word. Valdes (2011), on the other hand, views bilingualism as
an ability to use two languages on the level of a native speaker (Gass, Selinker 2008: 25‒26). In
the first case, the understanding of bilingualism is extremely wide, whereas in the second one it
is extremely narrow.

Regarding the time period in which multilingualism is developed, the term simultaneous
multilingualism, which means the acquisition of multilingualism by the age of three, as well as the
term sequential multilingualism, which means multilingualism developed at a later stage, are used
in English literature (Saville Troike 2006: 13). The consequence of simultaneous multilingualism
is the knowledge of one or more first languages, whereas the consequence of sequential
multilingualism is the knowledge of more languages on the level of a second or a foreign language.

From the perspective of (language) communities that are in contact, we talk about unilateral
and bilateral bilingualism. Unilateral bilingualism is defined as bilingualism where one group in
contact is monolingual, whereas the other one is bilingual. In this type of community, the latter
is considered a minority (Perger 2011: 156). If both communities in contact are bilingual, we talk
about a two-way immersion. The first model (one-way immersion) is typical of Porabje as well
as of the Slovene minority in Carinthia (Austria). The second model, where both languages are
preserved (two-way immersion), is typical of Prekmurje. This means that the majority nation
members are also (at least passively) bilingual (Bernjak 2011: 45).

Conclusion

As indicated at the beginning, the concept of multilingualism can often be unclear. This is
the issue from the nomenclature perspective as well from the conceptual perspective. The fact is
that understanding and defining multilingualism strongly depends on an individual’s personal

708
circumstances and languages he/she has encountered throughout their life. The same also applies
to society. In the future, the above mentioned issues regarding nomenclature will have to be
solved. Even more importantly, we should get rid of the myth about mastering two languages at a
‘native speaker’ level, because this is often a burden for multilingual speakers. Instead, realistic life
circumstances should be given priority.

References

Bernjak, Elizabeta, 2011: Učinkovitost dvosmernega dvojezičnega izobraževanja v Prekmurju.

Kranjc, Simona (ur.): Meddisciplinarnost v slovenistiki. Obdobja 30. Ljubljana: Filozofska
fakulteta, Oddelek za slovenistiko, Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik. 45‒51.

Crystal, David, 2005: How language works. London: Penguin.

Gass, Susan M., Selinker, Larry, 2008: Second Language Acquisiton. An Introductory Course. Third
edition. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.

Godunc, Zdravka, 2008: Prerez politike jezikovnega izobraževanja v Republiki Sloveniji. Ivšek,
Irena (ur.): Jezik v izobraževanju. Zbornik prispevkov konference. Ljubljana: Zavod
Republike Slovenije za šolstvo. 95‒105.

Grosman, Meta, 2008: Slovenščina in tuji jeziki – s stališča učencev. Ivšek, Irena (ur.): Jezik v
izobraževanju. Zbornik prispevkov konference. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za
šolstvo. 165‒174.

Nećak Lük, Albina, 2008: Učenčev jezik – učni jezik. Ivšek, Irena (ur.): Jezik v izobraževanju.
Zbornik prispevkov konference. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo.
135‒141.

Perger, Valerija, 2011: Model narodnostnega šolstva Slovencev v Porabju na Madžarskem: na poti
v dvojezično izobraževanje. Uporabno jezikoslovje, št. 9‒10. 144‒157.

Phillipson, Robert, 2003: English-Only Europe? Challenging Language Policy. New York: Routledge.

Rizman, Rudi, 2003: Globalizacija in kultura: konflikt ali sinergija? Vidovič Muha, Ada (ur.):
Slovenski knjižni jezik – aktualna vprašanja in zgodovinske izkušnje. Obdobja 20: zbornik
predavanj. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik.
27‒42.

Saville Troike, Muriel, 2006: Introducing Second Language Acqusition. New York: Cambridge
University Press.

Skupni evropski jezikovni okvir: učenje, poučevanje, ocenjevanje, 2011. Ferbežar, Ina et. al (ur.).
Ljubljana: Ministrstvo RS za šolstvo in šport, Urad za razvoj šolstva.

Stabej, Marko, 2003: Večjezičnost v enojezičnosti. Vidovič Muha, Ada (ur.): Slovenski knjižni jezik

  709
 – aktualna vprašanja in zgodovinske izkušnje. Obdobja 20: zbornik predavanj. Ljubljana:
Filozofska fakulteta, Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik. 51‒70.

Vučo, Julijana, 2012: O učenju jezikov. Pogled v zgodovino glotodidaktike: od pradavnine do druge
svetovne vojne. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete univerze v Ljubljani.

Zudič Antonič, Nives, 2011: Vzgoja za dvojezičnost in večjezičnost. Uporabno jezikoslovje, št.
9‒10. 52‒72.

710
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe

PSYCHOLOGY
 The Role of Socioeconomic Differences and Material
Deprivation in Peer Violence

Vesna Bilić
Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Croatia

Abstract

In schools around the world in the 21st century the dominant and worrying problems
are: an increase in the number of poor and financially and materially deprived and a continuous
increase in violence among peers, which brings us to the intriguing question whether there is a
connection between these two phenomena. Therefore, the theoretical part of this paper analyzes
the increase of peer violence in the context of socioeconomic inequalities of different societies
which students live in and socioeconomic family factors. The aim of the empirical part is to
determine which variables of socioeconomic status and material deprivation of children predict
the status of perpetrators or victims of peer violence. The study included 610 (44.8% M; 51.6% F)
primary school students, with average age of 13, 88 years from different regions of the Republic of
Croatia. For data collection the socioeconomic status questionnaire, scale of material deprivation
of children in school and scale of victimization and violence among peers were used. The results
indicated that 34.8% of respondents have acted violently toward peers because of their poorer
financial status, and 45.7% were victimized for the same reason. It was also found that the analyzed
SES variables and material deprivation do not predict committing violence against peers. Living
in unfavorable socioeconomic conditions is associated with the role of victims, lower education
of mothers, lower work status of the father, child’s experience of fear because of the family’s
poor financial situation, and material deprivation in school are statistically significant predictors
of victimization. It is suggested that practitioners, the public and policy makers pay attention
and assist the growing number of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. They
must be in focus of all school preventive programs, especially due to the increased risk for those
children of being exposed to peer violence.

Key words: SES, deprivation, bullying, poverty, family, school

  713
 Introduction

It seems that, at the moment, in many schools around the world there are two big dominant
and worrying problems: an increase in the number of poor and financially deprived children, as
well as continuous increase in violence among students. The intriguing question is whether there
is a connection between these two phenomena.

It was hard to assume that these would be the problems which will mark school life in the
21st century, especially when it comes to poverty. Indeed, it was expected that poverty would be
reduced or completely eradicated (Šućur, 2014), and the prominent international organizations,
such as UN (Convention on the Rights of the Child) and UNICEF promised that the world will
become world worthy of children (Boillet, 2002; Minujin et al., 2006), but it happened the other
way around. Today, poverty is a global problem that affects one fifth of the world’s population
(Družić Ljubotin and Ljubotina, 2014), affecting both the so called prosperous countries and the
rich west. In those countries, more than half of children live in poverty (Kletečki Radović, 2011).
This was particularly contributed by adverse social and economic processes at the beginning
of the new millennium - recession, crisis of global proportions, social injustice, instability and
insecurity around the world, especially in transition, post- socialist countries.

The number of people who do not have basic living conditions (home, food, heating,
hygiene), who live in absolute poverty with their income being less than 2 dollars a day or 30%
of the national income median, has increased. There is even more people who live in relative
poverty and do not have a minimum decent living standard that is usual in their community or
society they live in, and their income is less than 60% of national income median (Katz et al.,
2007; McDonald, 2008; Neuborg et al., 2014; Šućur, 2006; 2014). With these two groups, who
are traditionally described as poor, there is a growing number of the so- called new poor (Šućur,
2014). They are a product of economic crisis which hit the middle class and working population
who had previously lived in relative safety. A large number of people lost their jobs and hope to
find a new one, and some who work are not being paid. All this led to inability to fulfill basic
needs of the family and maintain standard they were accustomed to. For these reasons, they
are not able to pay back housing loans which they easily took before or pay utility bills, which
resulted in debt overhangs, evictions, foreclosures and facing poverty (Šućur, 2014).

The crisis particularly affected children whose parents are not able to meet their material
and non-material needs (Neubourg et al., 2014; Šućur, 2014), so they experience multiple
deprivations which become particularly evident in school. It is necessary to say that children
perceive poverty or unfavorable financial situation differently from adults, not only through lack
of money, but through indicators of availability and accessibility (Neubourh et al., 2014). Due
to material deprivation, lack of items (clothing, shoes, warm meals and school supplies), access
to activities that most people consider necessary (extracurricular activities, sports, language

714
learning, tutoring, etc.) and limited opportunities to socialize with peers in free time (school
trips, outings, celebrations, pocket money), they do not have the same opportunities as their
peers who come from families with better financial status to realize their potential and their
basic economic and social rights (Kletečki Radović, 2011; Elgar et al., 2013). This makes it
difficult for them to realize their life goals, such as further education (McDonald, 2008), which
leads to socioeconomic inequality. Therefore, child poverty cannot be defined only in financial
terms because it affects different aspects of a child’s life, which is why it is defined as multiple
deprivation, material, school and social (Minujin et al., 2006; Ridge, 2009).

Living with chronic financial difficulties is stressful for both children and adults, and there
are significant empirical evidence that material poverty of the family and facing insecurity and
financial uncertainty has negative consequences for parents and children, especially if poverty is
chronic and deep (Wadsworth and Berger, 2006; Katz et al., 2007; Martin et al., 2010). It has been
found that children who live in poor families have more behavioral problems in adolescence
and adulthood than their peers from wealthier families (Mystry et al., 2002; Rijlaarsdam et al.,
2013). Although most studies link SES with behavioral problems of children, it seems important
to underline the idea that it does not always have to be the case because of individual differences
of children, and especially their parents who can reduce or eliminate the effects, and their skills
and qualities (diligence, honesty, reliability) can improve outcomes of education and children’s
life opportunities, regardless of income, and thus impact both poverty and child’s development
(Martin et al., 2010). Therefore, good parenting can protect children from unfavorable socio-
-economic effects (Katz et al., 2007).

Due to the fact that violence is a ubiquitous problem in schools around the world, there is a
question, how much poverty and material deprivation affect the involvement of children in peer
violence and if it predicts the role of a perpetrator and /or victim. Because of the importance,
topicality and exposure of a large number of children to poverty and violence, the theoretical part
of this paper analyzes the increase of peer violence in the context of socioeconomic inequalities
in the communities of students and family factors, and the empirical part investigates which
variables of socioeconomic status and material deprivation of children indicate a status of
perpetrator or victim of peer violence.

Peer violence

Social relations and interactions with peers are key aspects in lives of children, especially
adolescents. Those who manage to achieve and maintain satisfactory social relations with peers
often behave prosaically and are less aggressive and violent. Despite the need for acceptance and
importance of creating relations with peers, violence among them is increasing.

  715
 Peer violence can be defined as repeated aggressive behavior of one or more students who
are physically stronger or psychologically or socially more powerful by intentionally causing
physical, emotional or social damage to victims who cannot defend themselves (Olweus,
1998; Bilić et al., 2012). Basic elements used for defining peer violence – frequency, intention,
consequences and helplessness of victims, differentiate it from peer conflict and abuse. Conflicts
among peers are occasional negative actions which are based on misunderstandings, differences
etc. If the conflicts are solved constructively, they become an opportunity to learn, otherwise,
they turn into violence.

Violent behavior has different direct and indirect forms and is most often categorized as
traditional (physical, verbal, sexual and relational) and electronic violence which is booming due
to abuse of modern communication technology. Children of younger age and male gender are
more prone to direct forms and girls and older children to indirect forms of violence (Elgar et al.,
2009). Boys are more at risk of violent behavior (Olweus, 1998; Cook et al., 2010; Velki, 2012),
and it is considered that violent behavior culminates in adolescence (Wang et al., 2009).

Results of international studies conducted on nationally representative samples in

forty countries show that 2-27% of children are perpetrators of traditional forms of violence
and 4-28% are its victims (Craig et al., 2009), and variations are attributed to economic and
cultural characteristics of individual country (Due et al., 2009). It is estimated that prevalence
of electronic violence is 20-40% (Tokunaga, 2010; Hinduja and Patchin, 2014). Fu et al. (2012)
provide evidence of all forms of violence increasing in the period from 1989 to 2009.

Maybe this is the reason why a large number of research deals with precisely the prevalence
of violence, while factors which cause it are somewhat neglected (Frutos, 2013). Recent studies, as
a framework for peer violence, use Bronfenbrenner ecological model which integrates different
influences from the environment, but research most often focuses on analyzing individual
characteristics of children, family and school variables. At the same time, contextual factors have
not been thoroughly tested (Elgar et al., 2013) and unjustifiably ignored, although Cook et al.
(2010) point out that they have a significant overall effect on violent behavior. Unfavorable social
and macroeconomic environment can be a risk factor for behavioral problems and probably,
violence. Some authors suggest (Boyer, Halbrook, 2011) that these problems can be understood
as reflection of conditions in which students nowadays live.

The connection between socioeconomic factors with peer violence

Participation of children in peer violence can be explained through socioeconomic

inequalities in societies they live in and socioeconomic family factors (Jansen et al., 2012;
Elgar et al., 2013).

716
 a) Socioeconomic inequality in society
In order to test the contribution of macroeconomic environment to peer violence, Due et al.
(2009) conducted research in 35 countries in Europe and North America which included 162,305
students of 11, 13 and 15 years of age. They found that societies with greater economic inequality
have a higher prevalence of violent behavior and adolescents are at greater risk of violence and
victimization. Authors concluded that differences between countries and schools show that
violence is not “natural behavior” but is partly conditioned by the socioeconomic environment.

Pickett and Wilkinson (2007) found that income inequality in 21 rich countries correlates
with percentage of young people who are victims of violence (r=0.47; p=0.001). Income inequality
is described by Elgar et al. (2013; 238) as structural violence because it creates distrust, reinforces
intolerance, encourages differences and revenge. The authors point out that children internalize
social norms and ideas that life does not revolve around equality and reciprocity, but power and
domination, so they see violence as an effective way to be successful. The authors also consider
school violence as a potential consequence of such social influences.

Results of the aforementioned research and studies are particularly important in

understanding peer violence that happens nowadays.

b) Family socioeconomic factors

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a construct that includes different dimensions of social
position – power, prestige, economic well-being, professional status (Conger et al., 2010).
Out of many variables who contribute to it, the most common SES indicators are considered
to be: material income, educational level and professional status of parents and although their
individual contributions are not negligible, the fact is that they are usually complementary (Katz
et al., 2007).

Low SES can affect the participation of children in violence in several ways. First of
all, the family is of key importance in understanding violence because it transfers norms of
behavior towards others (Jansen et al., 2012). In order to explain the mechanism that connects
socioeconomic status of the family and consequences in children’ development, the model of
family stress is used (Conger et al., 2010; Martin et al., 2010). According to the model, poverty
contributes to stress and psychological problems of parents and their interpersonal conflicts,
which has negatively affects their behavior towards children (less sensible interactions and use
of inappropriate educational methods) and finally leads to reduced well-being of children and
emotional and behavioral problems (Mistry et al., 2009; Evans and Kim, 2013). In such families,
children are exposed to chronic stress which has a negative impact on self- regulatory processes
that help children cope with external requirements (Evans and Kim, 2013). Parents who are
struggling to survive and working extra hours are less able to devote time to their children

  717
and give them love, resources and adequate control, lack of which is considered a risk factor in
various behavioral problems of children (Jensen, 2009; Šimić Šašić et al., 2011). Some authors
which Katz et al. (2007) refer to believe that only extreme deprivation can cause major changes
in a way of raising children, while such changes have not been identified in the families that fall
into the category of relatively poor. In contrast, economic power is associated with higher quality
parenting (Šimić Šašić et al., 2011), although it is not always the case in practice.

c) Material deprivation of students

In school, lack of income leads to child sensing that they are deprived of something and
that they do not have what other children have (Ridge, 2009). Because of social comparison to
their peers, they begin to feel the difference and believe that everything is determined by money
and others treat them as different or pity them (McDonald, 2008). Lack of clothing, necessary
supplies etc. can have a profound impact on their daily interactions with peers (Ridge, 2009;
Martin et al., 2010). Therefore, the objective situation, as well as the subjective experience of their
family’s adverse financial conditions, leaves a mark on their daily lives and social relationships.
They usually feel inferior, can be isolated and excluded from various activities (Ridge, 2009), but
also publicly humiliated, stigmatized and devalued. So feelings of fear, humiliation, rage, despair
and anger (Družić Ljubotina and Ljubotina, 2014), but also sadness, are their common reactions
to perceived emotional trauma and shattered social relations (Ridge, 2009). Thus, in such school
situations they can react in two ways: some will be angry and frustrated and respond aggressively,
being at higher risk of committing violence (Jensen et al., 2012), and others, because of unfair life
circumstances and feelings of helplessness, sadness, anxiety, depression etc. (Ridge, 2009; Družić
Ljubotina and Ljubotina, 2014) become passive, desperate and fatalistic, which often leads them
into a position of victim. Studies that examined the connection between socioeconomic factors
and involvement of children in violence have not given consistent results. Some argue that
socioeconomic factors are not connected to violent behavior and victimization (Sourander et
al., 2000) or that their effect is negligible (Kim et al., 2005). Recent studies give socioeconomic
factors an important role in explaining violent behavior. Thus, Jansen et al. (2012) found that in
comparison to children who come from families of higher SES, children coming from families
with lower SES, are at greater risk of being involved in violence as either victims or perpetrators.
Other authors concluded that materially deprived children are mostly victims of violence (Ridge,
2009; Jankauskiene et al., 2008; Due et al., 2009; Fu et al., 2012), while perpetrators usually come
from families of higher SES (Jankauskiene et al., 2008).

Incentives for research of this problems were frequent media reports about selfless support
of Croatian wonderful teachers who give up on part of their modest salaries to help the poorest
students (see: Hot meal paid to her student by this humane teacher; Glas Slavonije; October
29th, 2014), but also news about children who are abused by their peers because of their living

718
conditions (see: Girl beaten up because of being poor, then transferred to another school; 24 sata;
May 9th, 2013).

Due to general neglecting of the role of community factors in explaining peer violence and
more prominent problems in this domain, we decided to research whether socioeconomic family
factors and material deprivation predict the status of a perpetrator or victim in schools.

Methodology

The aim of this paper is to examine which variables of socioeconomic family status and
material deprivation of students predict the status of a perpetrator or victim among peers.

According to the defined goal, the following research problems were set:

a) To identify the characteristics of socioeconomic status (SES) and material deprivation

(MD) of the respondents
b) To determine the prevalence of victimization and involvement of the respondents in
committing violence
c) To analyze the connection between SES and material deprivation with victimization and
committing violence
d) To examine which variables of socioeconomic status and material deprivation are
predictors of victimization and predicting violence among peers.

We expect the results to confirm the hypothesis that adolescents living in economically
unfavorable conditions and are materially deprived are at greater risk of being victims of
peer violence.

The respondents
The study included a total of 610 respondents, slightly more girls (51.6%) than boys
(44.8%). The average age of students was 13.88 years (SD=0.73), while most of the respondents
were 14 years old (49.2%). The sample consisted of slightly more eighth grade students (57.7%)
in comparison to seventh grade students (42.3%), and most of them attended schools in a city
(67.5%), compared to schools in the country (31.5%). The average academic achievement of
students in the sample was 4.13 (SD=0.82), with very good (40.2%) and excellent (37.5%) being
the most common grades.

The research was conducted in twenty classes in both rural and urban areas, located in
different parts of Croatia (eastern, northern, central and southern). Since different areas are at
different levels of development and were hit differently by the crisis (unemployment, shutting down
businesses, some were affected by war, some were not), which might have affected respondents

  719
differently, we selected schools in Bjelovar- Bilogora, Brod- Posavina, Split- Dalmatia, Vukovar-
Srijem and Zadar counties and the city of Zagreb.

The procedure
Data were collected during spring 2015, through group testing in grades with prior ap-
proval of parents and principles and in compliance with all provisions of the Code of Ethics for
research with children. Approximately ninety parents did not sign the consent for participation
of children in this study although it was voluntary and anonymity was guaranteed. Some pro-
fessional staff, who provided generous assistance in implementing the research, noted that those
were mainly parents with poorer economic status. Students who participated in research were
given general instructions on completing the questionnaire, noting that they can opt out at any
time, however, no one chose to do so. But, there were some students who did not respond to
questions about material income of their family, while it was indicative that they responded to
other questions.

Instruments
1. General data questionnaire contained questions about: gender, age, grade, school
location (urban, rural) and grade point average.
2. Socioeconomic conditions of the family questionnaire consisted of questions about: who
the child lives with, how many children are there in the family, where the family lives (house or
a flat, tenants, with relatives) and how they assess their living conditions (unsatisfactory, average,
excellent), if they have their own room or share it with brothers and other family members and if
they own a computer. The second group of questions related to education (unfinished or finished
primary school, middle school, college, university or higher), employment status (permanently
employed, employed but not being paid, occasionally employed, unemployed, pensioners) and
tangible benefits (social aid, less than 2,000 kn; 2,000-4,000 kn; 4,000-6,000 kn; 6,000-10,000
kn and more than 10,000 kn) of father and mother. One question was related to frequency of
family vacations (never, once in a few years, once or twice a year) and children’s fear due to
unsatisfactory financial situation of the family.
3. Scale of material deprivation of the student was constructed for the purposes of this
paper based on literature (McDonald, 2008; Kletečki Radović, 2011; Neubourg et al., 2014). After
factor analysis, question “Do you get a warm meal at school?” was removed so the scale had
10 items. They examine how often parents can set aside funds for activities and needs of their
children at school such as books, school supplies, tutors, and participating in activities that are
paid additionally, but also clothes and shoes that are popular among students, and meet their
social needs (trips, outings, birthday parties, pocket money, etc.). On a scale from one to four (1-
never; 2- very rare, it is hard for them to find funds; 3- sometimes they can spare some money;
4- always, they provide me with everything I need with no problems), respondents assessed how

720
individual statements relate to them. Possible score range is from 1 to 4, where a higher score
indicated a lower level of material deprivation.
4. Scale of peer violence was designed for this study on the model of similar instruments (Bilić,
2013), but unlike them, in this scale, causes of violent behavior were associated with socioeconomic
conditions or material deprivation of students (example: Have you ever spread ugly and untrue
stories about other children in class because they are poor or neglected?). The scale consisted of 9
particles which examined children’s participation in committing physical, relational and electronic
violence during the current school year, and the respondents have on the scale of three levels (1-
never; 2- sometimes; 3- often) assessed how these claims refer to them. Possible scores ranged from
1 to 3, in which a higher score indicated a higher frequency of aggressive behavior.
5. Victimization scale had a total of three particles which examined how often during the
school year were the students exposed to physical, relational or electronic violence of their peers
because they differ from them by their socioeconomic status (example: Has someone from class
called you ugly names and insulted you because you are different, wear more modest clothes,
etc.?). Respondents also assessed on a three-degree scale (1- never; 2- sometimes; 3- often) if
the statements relate to them. Possible scores ranged from 1 to 3, with higher scores indicating a
higher level of victimization.

Results

In order to respond to tasks set in our research, we conducted frequency, descriptive and
correlation analysis, followed by multiple regression analysis, the results of which are presented below.

The socioeconomic profile of the respondents

Socioeconomic status of the respondents was analyzed for the purpose of fulfilling the first
goal of the research. Most of the students live with their mother and their father (85.2%), in a
family with two children (they have one brother or sister; 36.7%), then family with three children
(31%), and the least of them live in a family with four or more children (23.4%). Families of
most students live in their own house or flat (89.7%), and most of them estimate their housing
conditions as average (67%). In contrast, 6.6% of students live as tenants, 3.1% with relatives,
while only 2.8% of students estimate their living conditions as bad.

More than half of respondents have their own room (62.3%) or share it with a sibling
(35.2%), while 2.1% sleep in a room with several members of their family. Also, a large number of
students have a computer, with 41.5% of them having their own personal computer, while others
share it with other family members (49%), and 8.7% do not have a computer.

Regarding their parents’ education, most of them finished high school (47.5% of mothers
and 47.2% of fathers). 14.6% of students reported low level of their mothers’ education, having
  721
completed only primary school (13.1%), and some not even that (1.5%). Low level of fathers’
education has been reported by 11.5% of students (completing only primary school – 10.2%,
and 1.3% not completing primary school), while 21% of mothers and 22.1% of fathers completed
colleges and faculties.

In terms of the employment status, respondents stated that most mothers and fathers have
a full-time job (53.8% of mothers and 68.9% of fathers), however, even 29.8% of mothers and
8% of fathers are unemployed or occasionally employed (11.6% of mothers and 7.2% of fathers),
and around 1% work but are not being paid. In the category of pensioners there are more fathers
(10.3%) than mothers (1.6%).

Regarding material income of parents, the respondents claimed that the most common
amount of income of parents is between 2,000 and 6,000 kn (50.5% of mothers and 48.9% of
fathers). Some parents fall into category of poorest, receiving social aid (5.7% of mothers and
5.1% of fathers), and those who have income less than 2,000 kn (11.1% of mothers and 5.2%
of fathers). Some students said their parents have income above 6,000 kn and more (11.6% of
mothers and 28.7% of fathers). It is interesting to note than in categories of unemployed and low
paid there are more mothers, while fathers are better paid. However, even 21% of students did
not answer the question about their mother’s income, and 12.1% did not answer the question
about the income of father. It is possible that some children really do not know exact details about
the material status of the family, but it is possible that they did not want to declare themselves
about it, because they did answer other questions. It is well known that children are ashamed of
poverty and afraid of stigmatization, so they often try to hide the conditions in which they live.
It is possible that their parents are not telling them about their financial problems because they
are trying to protect them and they also encourage them not to talk about it in order to avoid
being identified as poor, because they are worried and aware about the negative connotations
(McDonald, 2008; Ridge, 2009). Thus, the results show that the surveyed students estimated their
housing conditions as average, and on the scale of material deprivation they assessed their status
as good (M=3.18; SD=0.52). McDonald (2008) warns about the tendency of poor children to
describe their material situation as average, although they are aware of the difference.

Most students go on family vacation for at least a weak once a year (41.6%), and slightly
fewer students go twice a year or more often (33.8%). However, 10.7% of students have never
been on a vacation with their family. About half of students reported they never fret over the
financial situation of their family (49%), while slightly less students claim they do it sometimes
(43.8%), and 6.6% students fret over it often or very often.

Descriptive indicators of victimization and committing peer violence

According to the second task of the research, we analyzed frequency of victimization and
participation of respondents in committing violence and the results are shown in Table 1.

722
 Table 1: Frequency of victimization and committing violence

Committing violence Victimization

N % N %
Never committed violence 385 63,1% Were never victims 321 52,6%
Committed violence 212 34,8% Were victims of violence 276 45,7%
No answer 13 2,1% No answer 13 2,1

Those who committed violence or were victims are those who had total score on scales
higher than 1, so they answered at least one question on the scale with sometimes. As seen in
the table, one third of children (34.8%) has at least once, during the school year, committed
violence, and almost half (45.7%) of them were victims of violence at least once, because they
were different in terms of a weaker financial status.

The connection of socio-demographic variables and material deprivation with

victimization and committing peer violence

In order to respond to the third task of the research, we conducted correlation analysis,
and Table 2 shows correlation of demographic variables, SES variables and material deprivation
with committing violence and victimization of the respondents. Correlations were not calculated
on variables that relate to who the child lives with and where the family lives, since almost all
students answered they lived with their mother and father (85.2%) and in their own house or
flat (87.9%). Variables of material income of mother and father were not included because of the
large number of responses missing (21% and 12.1%). For the same reasons, these variables were
also not included in regression analysis.

Table 2: Correlation of demographic variables and SES variables with committing violence and
victimization

Committing violence Victimization

r N r N
Gender -,143** 575 ,016 575
Age ,083* 593 ,082* 593
Grade ,098* 597 ,062 597
Location of school ,023 591 -,108** 591
Academic achievement -,121** 593 -,133** 593
Number of children in family ,036 595 ,036 595

  723
 Committing violence Victimization
Housing conditions ,005 592 -,053 592
Having their own room -,035 595 ,091* 595
Having a computer -,073 592 ,065 592
Education of mother -,037 576 -,166** 576
Education of father -,017 565 -,075 565
Work status of mother -,033 584 -,088* 584
Work status of father -,056 572 -,180** 572
Frequency of going on vacation ,037 595 -,139** 595
Fear of financial situation ,047 594 ,223** 594
Material deprivation -,041 595 -,249** 595
*p < 0,05; **p < 0,01

In terms of committing violence, demographic variables that are in statistically significant

correlation are: gender (r = -0.143; p< 0.01), where boys are those who are being violent more
often and age (r = 0.083; p< 0.05), where older children are acting violently more often, and grade
(r = 0.098; p<0.05), where eighth grade students act more violently than students in seventh grade.
It has also been determined that academic achievement significantly correlates with frequency
of committing violence (r = -0.121; p< 0.01), where students with poorer academic achievement
are being violent more often. Even though all aforementioned correlations are very low, they are
all statistically significant. However, the results show that none of the SES variables or material
deprivation variables has a statistically significant correlation with committing violence.

When it comes to victimization, demographic variables that are in statistically significant

correlation are: age (r = 0.082; p< 0.05), where older children are being victims of violence more
often and academic achievement (r = -0.133; p< 0.01), and those who are less successful are
victimized more often. The results shown in Table 2 show that students from schools in rural
areas are victimized more often than students from schools in urban areas (r = -0.108; p< 0.01).
As for the connection between variables of SES and victimization, it was found that children who
are more often victimized are those who do not have their own room (r = 0.091; p< 0.05), whose
mothers have lower level of education (r = -0.166; p< 0.01), and whose mothers (r = -0.088; p<
0.05) and fathers (r = -0.180; p< 0.01) have lower employment status. Children who go on family
vacation less frequently are also being victimized more often (r = -0.139; p< 0.01), together with
children who demonstrate more fear because of financial status of the family (r = 0.223; p< 0.01).
Material deprivation also correlates on a statistically significant level with victimization, where
children who are more materially deprived are also victimized more often (r = -0.249; p< 0.01).

724
 The results of regression analysis

To determine which variables of socioeconomic status and material deprivation predict

victimization and committing violence, we conducted regression analysis. Table 3 shows the
results obtained in regression analysis with SES variables being predictor variables. Together with
SES variables, analysis included demographic variables as control variables and only variable not
included was grade because of large conceptual overlap with the variable age.

Table 3: Results of regression analysis with SES variables as predictors

Criteria > Committing violence Victimization

Predictor β β

Gender -,128** ,031

Age ,034 ,054

Location of school ,038 -,037

Academic achievement -,070 -,053

Number of children in family ,042 -,003

Housing conditions -,035 -,008

Having their own room -,077 ,045

Having a computer -,065 -,001

Education of mother -,010 -,160**

Education of father ,008 ,097

Work status of mother -,005 ,015

Work status of father -,034 -,111*

Frequency of going on vaca-

,077 -,025
tion

Fear of financial situation ,087 ,182**

R ,225* ,331**

  725
 Criteria > Committing violence Victimization

R2 ,051* ,110**

N 501 501

*p < 0,05; **p < 0,01

None of the independent SES variables analyzed in this paper has shown to be a predic-
tor of committing peer violence, and when it comes to demographic variables, only gender has
shown to be a predictor for committing violence at school, with boys being more likely to behave
violently compared to girls (β = -0,128; p< 0,01). This set of predictors (SES and demographic
variables) explained 5.1% of total variance (p< 0.05) of committing peer violence.

In terms of SES variables, education of mother (β = -0,160; p< 0,01), work status of the fa-
ther (β = -0,111; p< 0,05) and fear over financial situation (β = 0,182; p< 0,01) are independently
significant in predicting victimization in school, and the respondents whose mothers have lower
level of education, whose fathers have poorer work status and who fear over financial status in the
family more often, are also being more victimized. Out of demographic variables, none predict
victimization independently. This set of predictors (SES and demographic variables) explained
11% of total variance (p<0.01) of victimization.

Table 4: Results of regression analysis with the variable of material deprivation as predictor

Criteria -> Committing violence Victimization

Predictor β β
Gender -,115** ,068
Age ,068 ,083*
Location of school ,021 -,066
Academic achievement -,085* -,095*
Material deprivation -,031 -,253**
R ,182** ,310**
R2 ,033** ,088**
N 562 562

According to results obtained in regression analysis, shown in Table 4, material deprivation

independently does not significantly predict committing peer violence, and when it comes to
demographic variables, gender (β = -0,115; p< 0,01) and academic achievement (β = -0,085; p<
0,05) have independently and significantly predicted committing violence. More violent groups are

726
boys and students with poorer academic achievement. This set of predictors (material deprivation
and demographic variables) explained 3.3% of total variance of committing peer violence.

Material deprivation independently predicted victimization (β = -0,253; p< 0.01), with

respondents with lower level of material deprivation more often being victims of their peers.
Demographic variables of age (β = 0,083; p< 0,05) and school achievement (β = -0,095; p< 0,05)
independently predict victimization on a significant level, with older children and those with
poorer academic achievement being more often victimized. This set of predictors (material
deprivation and demographic variables) explained significant 8.8% of total variance (p<0.01) of
victimization.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the examined variables explain a relatively small
proportion of the variance in peer violence, which suggests that in order to explain this phenomenon,
other individual and contextual factors and their interactions also need to be examined.

Discussion

The results show that a third of respondents (34.8%) acted violently at least once during
the school year, and almost a half (45.7%) have in the same period experienced violence from
their peers. Along with the fact that the obtained results are consistent with the findings of many
other studies (Craig et al., 2009; Tokunaga, 2010; Rajhvan Bulat and Ajduković, 2010; Fu et al.,
2013, Hinduja and Patchin, 2014), they also warn of the extent of the problem of peer violence
in school regardless of different operational variables and determine the intervals at which the
violence occurs (weekly, monthly, yearly). The results suggest that in relation to cited studies,
there has been an increase in violence, and since the number of violent incidents is growing
steadily, there are fears that the problem is getting out of hand (Fu et al., 2012; Frutos, 2013),
despite various prevention programs. But the uniqueness of this research is that questions did
not refer to total violence among peers, but to violence which is caused by material status of an
individual student. In this respect, these data are indicative and worrying. Although peer violence
is manifested and analyzed in terms of schools, it certainly exceeds them, so the results of this
study need to be seen beyond them, or in a broader context. In addition, what must not be left out
is the more prominent general inequality in contemporary society, which very likely affects the
behavior of children who actually imitate adults (Due et al., 2009). It is possible that nowadays
they internalize preferred behavior that is only aimed at success, at all costs, and are based on
aggression, power and domination, and ultimately encourage differences, distrust, hostility and
violence (Pickett and Wilkinson, 2007; Elgar et al., 2013). Literature (Jansen et al., 2012) suggests
that in explaining participation of children in bullying, socioeconomic inequalities should be
taken into account. Starting from that framework, this study analyzes peer violence as a reflection
of specific socioeconomic family conditions which the child lives in.

  727
 As for the perpetrators of violence, the mentioned finding that one third of the respondents
act violently towards their colleagues who are different by socio-economic characteristics (modest
clothing, shoes, noticeable lack of financial resources) needs to cause concern. Even more so, data
was collected by personal testimonies, and students have the tendency to give socially acceptable
answers and sometimes they do not see their behavior as violent, but as a joke, entertainment,
especially that which is happening in the virtual world. The results of the conducted research
show that the perpetrators of violence are often male students, of poor school achievement and
those that are older, so male students with poorer school achievement are also predictors for
committing violence.

Although perpetrators of violence are both girls and boys, in this, as well as in other studies
(Cook et al., 2010; Velki, 2012; Beran, 2012; Fu et al., 2012; Elgar et al. 2013), it was found that
boys, in comparison to girls, are more numerous in the category of bullies and are at greater
risk for committing violence. This result can also be explained by the influence of a wider social
environment in which show-offs of male strength are still tolerated, encouraged and generally
considered acceptable behavior for boys (Beran, 2012). In accordance to social stereotypes, boys
want to be seen as strong and powerful, whom others admire, especially girls. Some authors
(Edgar et al., 2013) see violent behavior of boys as an attempt to maintain their social status in
an unjust society. This particularly becomes evident in adolescence, when they fight for their
position, dominance and popularity in the classroom.

The finding that the perpetrators of violence are often older students and eighth-grade
students, was expected and consistent with the results of similar studies (Olweus, 1998; Velki,
2012), which confirms that older boys show more violent behavior.

The result that poorer school achievement correlates, but is also a statistically significant
predictor for committing violence, is quite expected and in line with other research (Olweus, 1998)
which explain violent behavior as a reaction for failure in school. But according to results of this
research, poorer school achievement is associated with victimization, which is also confirmed by
other studies (Glew et al., 2005; Holt et al., 2007). Thus Glew et al., (2005) reported that 90% of
victims of peer violence have lower grades, one third have problems concentrating, and they also
experience feelings of fear and anxiety, all of which can have an adverse effect on their academic
results. In explaining the relation between poor academic achievement and victimization, it
needs to be noted that nowadays, in culture that is focused on success at all costs, students who
have poorer academic results are often exposed to mockery, ridicule, insults, exclusion from
school activities, meaning non-physical, but also physical forms of violence. Embarrassment and
violence they experience results in stress that hinders their school functioning and has a negative
impact on their school success. People generally have a tendency to avoid embarrassing situations

728
to students who experience such situations, and especially because of feeling of insecurity,
children start skipping classes. Sense of insecurity at school and unjustified absenteeism
has a devastating effect on school performance. Therefore, the correlation between academic
achievement and violence is multi causal – lower success may be the cause of violence, but also
its consequence, which again encourages bullying. On the other hand, academic achievement
can be a protective factor from a series of problems in behavior of students and even violence.
Therefore, in preventive school programs, strategies which allow every child to achieve success,
according to their individual capabilities, must have a central place.

Analysis of connection between demographic variables with victimization also showed

that there are more victims of peer violence in schools in rural areas, which can be explained
by the fact that in such areas, people know more about living conditions of others, and children
from such background are more sensitive to stigmatizations and differences (Ridge, 2009).

The conducted analysis shows that none of the SES variables, as well as material
deprivation, does not correlate with committing violence, nor predicts it, and similar results
were stated by Sourander et al. (2000). It seems that in relation to SES, other variables, such as
family cohesion and interaction and parental actions (Šimić Šašić et al., 2011) have a significant
role in violent behavior toward peers. And when it comes to victims of violence, a large number
of recent studies (Ridge, 2009; Jankauskiene et al., 2008; Due et al.,, 2009; Fu et al., 2012) suggest a
connection between socioeconomic situation of the family and victimization of the child, which
is also supported by the results of this research.

It is interesting that almost all SES variables that imply that a family is poor (child not
having its own room, mother has lower level of education, mother and father have a lower work
status, family rarely goes on vacations, children fearing family financial situation) are correlated
in a statistically significant way with victimization. Although correlations are not high, they are
indicative and statistically significant. Some of these variables independently predict victimization
significantly, meaning that respondents whose mothers have a lower level of education, whose
fathers have a lower work status and who fear financial situation in the family are also victimized
more often. Material deprivation is also a significant predictor of victimization. This also confirms
the research hypothesis that adolescents living in economically disadvantaged conditions, as well
as materially deprived, are at greater risk of being victims of peer violence.

As previously mentioned, a part of respondents in this study did not answer questions
about material income of parents, so it could have affected results because it is an important
indicator of SES, but when it comes to disadvantaged children, it should be noted that it cannot
be reduced to only income indicators, but an equally important role is also give to other factors
such as education and employment of parents (McDonald, 2008).

  729
 Employment of parents is taken as an important indicator of SES because it is a relatively
stable category which indirectly indicates earning (economic status) and non-economic, social
characteristics, such as prestige etc. (Jansen et al., 2012). Lower level of education of a mother,
who in our, still traditional culture, still takes more care of the child’s education and spends
more time with the child, indicates insecure employment, low income and disadvantaged
social positions, and is associated with quality of parenting. Katz et al. (2007) point out that
mothers with lower level of education provide less support (emotional, social, instrumental and
information), use inappropriate educational methods etc. Children who receive no emotional
support from their parents feel alienated, unhappy, sad, which all leads them into a position of a
victim of peer violence. Other studies confirm that low level of education of parents increases the
risk of victimization twice (Nordhagen et al., 2005).

Fathers are still seen as breadwinners, and their work status is considered a direct
information on the social and economic status of the family, and according to this research results,
it is also a predictor of victimization. Correlation was also found between mother’s and father’s
work status with victimization of children. Mothers, and especially fathers who are unemployed
or work but are not being paid or are only occasionally employed, are in an unenviable situation
and are exposed to stress. Not surprisingly, they are irritable, frustrated, demoralized and have
difficulties coping with feelings of powerlessness and failure. Such condition is followed by
despair, hopelessness, numbness, and eventually depression (Katz et al., 2007). It is therefore
more difficult for them to focus on needs of a child and adequately respond to them (Jensen,
2009; Conger et al., 2010; Martin et al., 2010) even when they want to. Crisis family situations can
reduce the availability of parental sensitivity and often lead to inappropriate, angry, inconsistent
reactions, even the use of harsh discipline. Thus children are exposed to example and stress.
Ridge (2009) claims that, if parents are under stress, their children are also likely to be. Katz et al.
(2007:44) consider stress a fundamental mechanism that connects unfavorable financial situation
with unfavorable outcomes. In addition to the fact that parents are their possible models whose
passive behavior and feeling of helplessness they imitate, children are often victims of their harsh
verbal and physical actions (Bilić et al., 2012). Violence begins at home and goes on at school,
as well as the stress they are exposed to, while it is all multiplied with brutal acts from peers
at school. What they experience in their parents’ home, especially the feelings of rejection and
sadness, they transmit to their school environment, which again leads them into a position of
victim, but now of peer violence.

Another variable correlating with victimization is a lack of room, an intimate corner, which
children perceive as a problem that prevents them from inviting their peers over and hanging out
with them. In fact, they perceive their disadvantaged position through social relations, not only
through material resources (McDonald, 2008).

730
 An unfavorable material situation can especially be evident in school through lack
of school supplies, books or difficulties in meeting social needs (school trips, pocket money,
birthday parties, and outings). These elements of material deprivation, as stated by children,
bring them into unequal position in comparison to their peers. Not being able to follow trends
(clothes, shoes, mobile phones, etc.) is a visible indicator of poverty and difference in relation
to the group they belong to. The difference is also contributed by a lack of access to resources
(activities that are important for success) which have a vital role in their well-being and makes it
difficult for them to be what they can be (Kletečki Radović, 2011). Deprivation in on area causes
deprivation in other areas too (Ridge, 2009), it affects their educational and life chances. This
inability of individuals to realize their potential and rights (Elgar et al., 2013) is referred to as
socioeconomic inequality.

Since all children, especially adolescents, have similar expectations and the need to
compare themselves with others, those who have difficulties with their material and social reality,
it is not simple or easy for them while doing so. On the one hand, it is for a personal feeling of
being different, and on the other, it is peer pressure and relations. A sense of being different,
inferior and deprived both emotionally and materially, personally affects them very hard and
they are quite aware of the implications of such a situation (Ridge, 2009). Additionally, they
think they are not likeable or worthy to be loved, which all cumulatively affects their feeling of
personal value and emotional stability (Rohner et al., 2012). Such negative mental presentations
determine their relations with others. They cannot trust others, are too sensitive to reactions of
others and generally perceive their environment as an unsafe, threatening and dangerous place
(Rohner et al., 2012). The main consequences are shame, sadness and fear of being different
and excluded, which can be felt in all domains of child’s functioning (Ridge, 2009). One should
not also forget the fear and burden of a family situation, which was found, according to these
research results, to be a correlate and predictor of victimization.

Inability to have clothes, shoes and mobile phones like others or go on trips with their
families and classmates often results in discrimination, prejudice and social isolation (McDonald,
2008). Rejection and exclusion from the group and encouraging others not to be friends with
them, is a form of relational violence which leaves devastating consequences. But, for the same
reason, children are often exposed to verbal violence, ridicule, humiliation directly, and also
electronically. Situations of physical violence are not rare either. So, because of socio-economic
inequality, students can be victims of multiple victimization (Holt et al., 2007), which, according
to this research results, affects a large number of children, almost half of the respondents.

On the one hand, rejecting behavior often experienced in a family then strengthened in
school, and on the other hand, disrespect, humiliation and open attacks on dignity, have serious
consequences (Jensen, 2009; Ridge, 2009; Neubourg et al., 2014). They affect health (physical

  731
consequences), again affect social relation (relational consequences) and the child’s behavior
(behavioral consequences). They also have a negative effect on school life (passivity and lack
of interest in school, week sense of belonging, poorer academic achievement, absenteeism).
Most visible consequences are those in the emotional domain, and are associated with sadness,
depression, hopelessness, despair, fear of marginalization, together with deep emotional trauma
and development of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Studies which Jensen (2009) refers to
confirm that poverty is a predictor of depression in adolescence. All of the above leads into a
position of a victim who are described as timid, withdrawn, quieter, more cautious and sensitive,
passive, submissive, suffering from lack of self-esteem and having a negative attitude towards
themselves and their position, they feel ashamed and unaccepted, unattractive (Olweus, 1998 : 39).

Finally, it should be noted that not all children who grow up in materially unfavorable
conditions show negative development outcomes (Kletečki Radović, 2011), and it depends on
their individual characteristics, but also their parents’ behavior. It is also necessary to repeat
that many parents, in spite of their scarce material resources, behave in an appropriate and
responsible manner (Katz et al., 2007), and raise their children with love and protect them from
bad influence from the environment and even family problems.

Limitations

Although this research results are indicative, they still have methodological limitations.
First of all, only one source of data was used, self-estimation, and more sources (parents, teachers)
would probably generate a more objective image of the analyzed problems. In addition, not all
data about material income of the family were obtained. Future researchers are suggested to form
a composite variable of financial status of the family or poverty.

Conclusion

Contrary to expectations, at the beginning of 21st century, there is almost an imposition

of the need to develop awareness of socioeconomic inequality and material deprivation and
encourage understanding of everyday reality of a growing number of children and adolescents
who live in poor financial conditions. Socioeconomic problems in family are even more evident
at school through lack of school supplies and access to activities which most people consider
necessary (sports, language learning etc.) and difficulties with fulfilling social needs of students
(trips, outings, celebrations etc.). Deprivation in one area often causes deprivation in others so
children, unlike their peers who come from families with better SES, do not have equal chances
to develop their potential and rights and realize their life goals. In addition, because of everything
mentioned above, they frequently experience embarrassment and violence from their classmates.

732
 The fact that it is a widely spread problem is also confirmed by the results of a research
which show that during one school year, one third of children (34.8%) has committed at least
once, and one half (45.7%) experienced peer violence, because they are different by socioeconomic
characteristics (more modest clothes, shoes, evident lack of financial resources). The problem of
peer violence must be seen in the context of socioeconomic social inequalities, but as well as a
reflection of specific socioeconomic family conditions which students live in.

Findings of this research show that adolescents who live in economically unfavourable
conditions and are materially deprived are at greater risk of being victims of peer violence. It
is interesting that almost all SES variables which indicate poor families (not having own room,
mother has a lower level of education, mother and father have a low work status, the family rarely
goes on vacation, children are afraid of the family financial situation) are in correlation with
victimization. Some of them, in a statistically significant way, independently predict victimization,
i.e. respondents whose mothers have lower level of education, whose fathers have a lower work
status, who are materially deprived at school and who fear the family’s financial situation more,
are more often victims of peer violence.

At school, poor children are often associated with various embarrassing situations, such
as mischief, fights, stealing, and contrary to this stereotype, our research results show that the
analyzed SES variables or material deprivation do not predict committing violence.

Practitioners, general public and policy makers are suggested to pay attention and help a
growing number of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. They need to be in
focus of all school preventive programs, especially because of greater risk for them being exposed
to peer violence.

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 The Influence of Anxiety on Socio-cultural Adjustment
among International Students in Malaysia

Asmat-Nizam Abdul-Talib & Marlin Marissa Abdul Malek &

Abd Rahim Jaguli & Hartini Husin
University Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether anxiety will inversely influence
international students’ socio-cultural adjustment in the context of pursuing education in higher
learning institutions in Malaysia; specifically at the Universiti Utara Malaysia. The data used for this
study was derived from the questionnaire survey conducted randomly among the international
students at the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) who came from 27 different nationalities. A
total number of 397 valid responses were successfully obtained. Multiple regression analysis was
performed to test the model. For the relationship between anxiety and socio-cultural adjustment,
although a significant relationship is found, the direction of the postulated relationship is positive
instead of negative. The result may have some implications to management and policy makers.

Key words: Anxiety, Socio-cultural Adjustment, International Students.

Introduction

Nations, multinational corporations (MNCs), small and medium enterprises and

other institutions are directly or indirectly basing their strategic decisions on some aspects of
globalisation. The education field is not spared from the phenomena and universities, both public
and private are jumping on the bandwagon to secure a piece of the globalisation pie. International
students, often thought as a lucrative source of income for many countries (Bird and Owen,
2004) are taking advantage of this opportunity to not only experience the diverse culture, but
most importantly to be able to learn alongside students from various backgrounds and gaining
first-hand experience of being taught by renowned members of the academic staff.

  737
 Inevitably, globalisation brings about interactions and relationships between people
who are culturally different. Brislin (2000) and Hofstede (2001) indicate that people exposed
to overseas experiences as a result of working or studying often encounter stressful situations
that challenged their coping processes. For international students, in addition to language issues
and academic concerns, they are also being plagued by problems acclimatising to the social
and cultural aspects of the host country, with previous scholars highlighting social integration,
financial crisis, family stress and isolation as common problems faced by international students
(Mallinckrodt and Leong, 1992; Parr, Bradley and Bingi, 1992; Zhai, 2004). Study by Rajapaksa
and Dundes (2002) found that international students felt more lonely and homesick than their
local counterparts and felt that social support from the local community is significant in helping
them adjust to the host country’s environment. Thus, based on the earlier findings, the crux of
the challenges faced by international students when studying overseas is the challenge to socially
integrate with the host country’s environment.

Exporting Higher Education

Exporting higher education services emerged in Malaysia in the late 1980s and early 1990s
and is now becoming global phenomena. Malaysian international education sector has grown
tremendously during the past decade and Malaysia is fast becoming a centre of educational
excellence in the region. Flow of international students in Malaysia has increased steadily
since 1996, when various higher education reforms were introduced to facilitate the entry of
international students into higher education institutions (Abu Bakar and Abdul-Talib, 2013).
Malaysia is currently the 11th largest exporter of education globally and has become one of
the best options for pursuing tertiary education for many international students. Malaysian
government recognises the importance of education as a critical asset of the nation and it has been
identified as one of the services sub-sectors for further growth and development. Total number
of international students was only 5,635 in 1996 and the number rose to 11,733 in 1998 to 93,040
for the year 2011. In 2014, a total of 135,502 international students were enrolled in Malaysia
public and private higher education institutions (Economic Transformation Programme Annual
Report, 2014). Moreover, Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has targeted that the number
of international students’ enrolment will rise to 200,000 by the year 2020 (Ministry of Higher
Education Annual Report, 2011). Malaysia has emerged as an important destination for students
from more than 100 countries and majority of the students come from Southeast Asia, Middle
Asia, Middle East and Africa. Universities in Malaysia are generally categorized as public and
private universities and currently there are 20 public and 35 private universities all over Malaysia.

Research Objective and Significance of the Study

The increase of international students in Malaysian universities requires the management

of the universities to be more responsive to the cultural sensitivity and adjustment of these

738
students. Anxiety is a common psychological problems faced by international students. Anxiety
causes difficulties across social, occupational, and everyday functioning (Castle, Kulkarni, and
Abel, 2006) and it has also been shown to adversely influ¬ence academic performance and
contribute to learning difficulties (Dyrbye, Thomas, and Shanafelt, 2006). In this paper, we seek
to examine whether anxiety influences international students’ socio-cultural adjustment. The
primary objective of this research is to investigate the influence of anxiety on the international
students’ socio-cultural adjustment.

Specifically, we wanted to address the following research questions: 1) What is the

relationship between students’ level of anxiety in predicting their socio-cultural adjustment
ability? (2) Does anxiety has any effect on students’ socio-cultural adjustment?

Anxiety and Socio-cultural Adjustment

Anxiety

Bailey (1983) suggested that anxiety is a factor of the learner that influences learning and
consists of the type of psychological state that deals with the emotional reactions and motivations
of learners. In addition, anxiety is a class name feeling, mood and temperament. It is a single
feeling response to a particular object or idea; it is the general reaction toward something liked or
disliked, the dynamic or essential quality of an emotion; the energy of an emotion (Snow, Corno,
and Jackson, 1996). Cultural anxiety is regularly regarded as a problem that might occur when
a person relocate into a foreign culture and has to acclimatise. Highly sensitive people do feel
pressured to assimilate into the new environment which may lead to high anxiety; however, there
is no built-in mechanism in their present culture in order to detect any shortcomings.

Furnham and Bochner (1986) suggested that social adjustment entails the abilities
of “expressing attitude, feelings, and emotion, adopting the appropriate proxemics posture,
understanding the gaze patterns of the people they are interacting with, carrying out ritualized
routines such as greetings, leave taking, self-disclosure, making or refusing requests, and asserting
themselves” (pp. 14–15). Hence, some of them might engage in cultural faux pas which might lead
to them not being able to adjust better to the new environment. A study by Lueke and Svyantek
(2000) found that most unsuccessful expatriates tend to be reluctant to interact with host nationals
and to participate in local social life, which reduces their commitments to the host countries’ culture.

Adjusting to a different environment is never easy, especially in a different cultural

environment. Searle and Ward (1990) suggest that the process of adjusting to a new culture socially
and culturally entails learning and applying new cultural knowledge; therefore, a comprehensive
model of socio-cultural adjustment should be cast in a social learning-social cognition framework
wherein variables that enhance cultural learning, promote behavioural and social competency,
and facilitate a cross-cultural perspective should be included. Newcomers will experience anxiety

  739
regarding the inability to predict or anticipate what would be the repercussions from their actions
when interacting with culturally different others or trying to ‘blend’ into a different environment
in an unfamiliar new culture (Koltko-Rivera, 2004).

Socio-cultural Adjustment

Different cultures have different norms to guide behaviour. Thus, the cultural adjustment
demands of international students can be substantial due to the differences between their cultural
backgrounds and those of the host country. Surrounded by a new culture, international students
may realize the differences between their own culture and the host country’s culture. Compared
to expatriates, international students tend to experience greater adjustment difficulties and thus
more stress (McKenna and Richardson, 2007). The pressure of being independent in a foreign
country makes them feel homesick, lonely, and, at times, isolated from host nationals. A research
study conducted by Lin and Yi (1997) concluded that many overseas students showed symptoms
of depression, which were a result of a lack of concentration, and low motivation with respect
to academic study and social life. If an international student cannot handle these challenges and
adjust according to the host culture, he or she may tend to feel less satisfied with their performance
and even quit. Therefore, adjustments to cultures of host countries are equally important for
international students.

Drawing from the above discussion, we proposed the following hypotheses:

H1: Anxiety will inversely influence social and communication skills.
H2: Anxiety will inversely influence adaptation to college and local environment.
H3: Anxiety will inversely influence impersonal endeavours and perils.

Students’ Socio-cultural Adjustment

Social and
Communication Skills

Adapting to College
and Local
Environment

Impersonal
Anxiety Endeavours and
Perils

Figure 1: Operational Framework of Anxiety and International Students’ Socio-cultural Adjustment

740
 Research Methodology

Respondents

This research employs a cross sectional survey on international students who are studying
in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). UUM is one of the 20 public universities, has a total of 1,648
international students coming from 42 countries. Questionnaires were distributed randomly to the
target study population. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed of which 403 were returned,
but 6 questionnaires were found to be incomplete, giving a total of 397 usable questionnaires.

Measurement

Anxiety is measured using theThe Symptom Checklist (SCL)-90, developed by Derogatis

(1977), a self-report inventory designed to screen for a broad range of psychological problems,
was used as a part of the questionnaire (Derogatis, 1977). In the present study only the anxiety
scale, consisting of 15 items, was used. The anxiety SCL-90 measures anxiety by rating how often
the participants have experienced the following within the past month: nervousness or shakiness
inside, tension and trembling, feelings of fearfulness, spells of terror or panic, and, apprehension
and dread. The previously mentioned symptoms are self-rated, ranging from 1 being ‘not at all’
to 5 being ‘extremely’. In order to measure the level of socio-cultural adjustment, Furnham and
Bochner’s (1982) Social Situations Questionnaire (SSQ) was used in the present study. The Social
Situations Questionnaire (SSQ) consists of 40 items that focused on the skills that are required
to manage everyday social situations in new cultural contexts. In this study, we have labelled the
items into three factors (Ward & Kennedy, 1999; Wilson, 2011). Factor one labelled as Social and
Communication Skills, factor two as Adapting to College and Local Environment and factors
three as Impersonal Endeavours and Perils.

Results

In order to test and address the hypotheses, several analyses were performed. Data analysis
was performed using SPSS. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to establish the principal
constructs. Scale reliability is tested using internal consistencies measures (cronbach coefficients).
Summary of the demographic profiles respondents are presented in Table 1. Summary of the
reliabilities and number of items derived from the factor analysis is presented in Table 2.

Table 1: Summary of Selected Demographic Details

Frequency Proportion of Sample (%)

Gender
Male 279 70.3
Female 118 29.7

  741
 Frequency Proportion of Sample (%)
Age
Below 20 27 6.8
20-25 305 76.8
25-30 39 9.8
30-35 10 2.5
35-40 12 3.0
Above 40 4 1.0
Education Level
Undergraduate 309 77.8
Masters 63 15.9
Doctorate / DBA 25 6.3
Marital Status
Single 350 88.2
Married 40 10.1
Others 7 1.8

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics for All Variables

Number of
Variables Reliability M SD
Items
14 .926 1.8331 . .68732
Anxiety

Socio-cultural Adjustment

a. Social and Communications Skills 7 .829 1.8526 .65185

(CI)

b. Adapting to College and Local Envi- 7 0.832 2.0735 .68632

ronment (C2)

c. Impersonal Endeavours and Perils 3 0.682 2.1743 .77687

(C3)

Table 3 presents the overall correlation values of all variables in this study. All variables
correlate positively with each other. Strong positive correlation was found between Socio-
cultural Adjustment and SCA component 1 (r=.611). The relationship between anxiety and all
three components of Socio-cultural Adjustment were found to be positively related and were

742
ranged between .393 and .611. As recommended by Pallant (2010), the correlation values should
be between .300 and .700. This may suggest that the strength of the relationships between the
variables to be moderate.

Table 3: Pearson Product-Moment Correlation between All Study Variables

Social and Com- Adapting to Col- Impersonal

Anxiety munications lege and Local Endeavors and
Skills environment Perils

Anxiety 1.000

Social and Com-

.611 1.000
munications Skills

Adapting to Col-
lege and Local .507 .528 1.000
environment

Impersonal En-
.393 .413 .462 1.000
deavors and Perils

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).

Regression Analysis on the Influence of Anxiety on Socio-cultural Adjustment

In general, based on the descriptive statistics, respondents showed moderate response or

towards neutrality for anxiety and all of the dimensions of socio-cultural adjustment. To examine
the relationship between anxiety and all of the dependent variables (three dimensions of socio-
-cultural adjustment), regression analyses were conducted.

Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses H1, H2, and H3. In
this analysis, anxiety was treated as independent variable whereas the three dimensions of Socio-
cultural Adjustment were treated as dependent variables. Through regression analysis procedure,
the model explains 42.4 percent (R2 = .424) of the variance in Anxiety. Table 4 shows the level
of influence of the three dimensions of Socio-cultural Adjustment (β= .452, β= .221 and β= .104,
respectively). Therefore, Hypotheses H1, H2 and H3 were partially supported. All hypotheses
were significant, but in opposite direction.

  743
 Table 4: The effect of Anxiety on Dimensions of Socio-cultural Adjustment

Unstandardized Coef- Standard-

ficients ized Coef-
ficients
B Std. Error β T sig.
(Constant) .292 .105 2.795 .005
Social and Communications .476 .052 .452 9.176 .000
Skills
Adapting to College and Local .221 .051 .221 4.366 .000
Environment
Impersonal Endeavours and .092 .042 .104 2.209 .028
Perils
F= 86.145; Sig. F= .000; N= 347; Dependent Variables: Dimensions of Sociocultural Adjustment

Discussion and Conclusion

In addressing the influence of the international students’ anxiety on their socio-cultural

adjustment, although it was found that there are significant relationship between anxiety and
all dimensions of socio-cultural adjustment, however, results showed that the relationships are
positive instead of negative. Thus, hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 were partially supported in the study.
This comes rather as a surprise because previous studies (Stephan et al., 1999; Hullett and Whitte,
2001) demonstrated that anxiety is inversely related to adjustment.

One possible explanation to support this findings is that majority of the international
students (respondents) who were enrolled in University Utara Malaysia come from East Asian
(e.g Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan,), Middle East (e.g. Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Yemen) and African regions (e.g. Chad, Algeria, Nigeria, Somalia) that are
classified as high uncertainty avoidance countries (Hofstede, 2001). Uncertainty avoidance is
defined as the degree to which members of the society attempt to avoid ambiguity and anxiety
by depending on rituals, societal norms, behavioural codes, and beliefs (Hofstede, 2001). Besides
that, 67.5% of the respondents have been in Malaysia for more than 1 year and over the time,
they have learned to manage the uncertainties inherent in living in a different culture. They were
able to decrease the attendant anxiety by developing rules, rituals and structure to cope with
recurring cultural issues. When the level of anxiety is higher, students from high uncertainty
avoidance countries tend to be more cautious in their behaviours and tend to make extra effort
to be more culturally compliant. Feeling anxious would help them to keep them on their toes
and in turn they will put in more efforts to get to know the host country’s culture. For instance,
in UUM, the international students are given ample opportunities to immerse themselves in the
local culture by being invited and included in any cultural events such as the festive celebrations,

744
cultural performance during special commemorative events and being invited to temporarily
live with local hosts on weekends. International students who are experiencing low stress and
less anxiety in the host country may feel complacent and happy with their own culture without
making any serious efforts to learn the local language, get to know the local’s customs and values,
and generally try to adapt to the local culture.

Schreier et al. (2010) also suggest that within collectivist countries, strict social norms
designed to ensure group harmony may evoke social anxiety due to feared negative consequences
if those norms are violated. Schreier and colleagues (2010) also found that in most Asian countries,
maintaining group harmony may be by being submissive and being quiet which in turn may raise
anxiety to conform to the norm. In short, it is expected that the collectivists would be prepared to
put in more effort to assimilate into the host country’s culture. However, the same study, Schreier et
al. (2010) also found that collectivists also have a high tolerance of socially reticent and withdrawn
behaviours in a society. This can be a little baffling because on one hand, you have to conform
to the new society’s culture but at the same time, if you are collectivist you are more receptive of
people not taking part in assimilation effort because fear of creating social disharmony.

With that said, for the respondents in this particular study, anxiety although expected
should be better managed or even reduced as it had a negative effect on international students’
socio-cultural adjustment. However, this unexpected relationship may solely be because the
majority of the respondents are from collectivist countries and the host country; Malaysia also
belongs to a society where most are collectivists. With this kind cultural dimension, a high
social anxiety is expected and the onus is for everybody to maintain group harmony through
conforming to the norms and values of the society.

This study has certain limitations that provide venues for future research. First, only one
method of collecting data was used; which is self-report questionnaire. We acknowledge that
some concerns might exist in that self-reported measures have social desirability and common
method bias problem. It is possible that some participants paid little attention or even provided
inaccurate information when completing the self-report questionnaire. Therefore, future research
should include other methods such as interview or observations to ensure more stable data. There
are several limitations of the current study that need to be acknowledged. Another direction for
future studies would be to examine the interaction between gender, culture, and social anxiety.
Investigation of demographic variables on the chosen constructs may offer a better explanation
of cultural related factors.

Second, this study did not consider the possible moderating effects on adaptation-outcome.
Potential moderators such as cultural distance (i.e. home vs. host country) may help to further
enhance our understanding about the phenomenon under investigation. Third, the findings in
the present study do not generalize to all international students in Malaysia as the samples of
  745
international students were selected randomly from only one university, Universiti Utara Malaysia
and the majority of the participants were Asian and African international students. Therefore,
for future studies, international students from different continents or regions especially from
a Western background who are pursuing tertiary education in various universities throughout
Malaysia should be included, which we believe may help to further verify the findings of this study.
Future research might also examine the influence of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions like power
distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/ femininity traits on social anxiety. Lastly, this
study is cross-sectional in design. Future researchers should consider longitudinal study since
the level of individual CQ and cultural adjustment varies over time. This is because longitudinal
study would provide better knowledge on these changes that took place over the time.

As for the relationship between anxiety and socio-cultural adjustment, although a significant
relationship is found, the direction of the postulated relationship is positive instead of negative.
One possible explanation regarding anxiety’s relationship with socio-cultural adjustment can be
pin down to the majority of the respondents are coming from a collectivist background. As such
it is normal for the social anxiety to be high and the pressure to conform to the society led to
them making the effort to socially integrate into the host country’s environment. Future studies
should consider some of the points raised in the previous section to improve on the investigation
of similar variables in the future. In a nutshell, this study has managed to discover the importance
and influence of being in a certain generation and type of society to better explain the relationship
anxiety and the socio-cultural adjustment of the international students.

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748
 Frozen in Time: An Exploration into the Impact of
Remote Refuge Settlement on Social Identity Formation

Nina Bosankić & Viktorija Besević & Selvira Draganović

International University of Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

This research attempted to exam construction of social identity in inhabitants of a

refugee settlement in Srpski Krstur in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Republic of
Serbia, 15 years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of seventeen (now
former) refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, aged from 17 to 65, from the refugee settlement
participated in the study. Three focus group discussions were conducted and a combination
of content analysis and qualitative interpretation applied to: (i) examine dynamic patterns
of social identity formation in the specific context of a refugee settlement; (ii) look in detail
at the ways in which people articulate difference and similarity, establish and manage group
norms and construct and manage boundaries between in-groups and out-groups. Particular
attention was given to (iii) identifying variations in coping mechanisms and identity based on
participants’ ages at the time of their arrival in the refugee settlement. Data analysis revealed,
irrespective of participants being of the same ethnicity, religion and language as the locals,
the socially constructed and dynamic nature of participants’ identity, and its dependence on
both broad (regional) and narrow (refugee settlement) social context. Results also indicate
that isolating refugees in a remote refugee settlement, and in particular older refugees, creates
a wider chasm between in-groups and out-groups, “before the war” and “after the war”
period, leads to distorted perception of time, seeking rescue in nostalgia, and further hinders
adaptation and integration into the new community.

Key words: social context, social identity, refugees, refugee settlement

  749
 Introduction

In 1991, Bosnia-Herzegovina had about 4.4 million inhabitants. During the 1992-1995
war 1.2 million became refugees abroad and 1.3 million became internally displaced. One of the
main destinations for refugees was Vojvodina, the Northern Province in Serbia. With a population
of about 2 million people, it has 26 ethnic groups and 6 official languages. The complex ethnic
structure of the population in Vojvodina is the result of numerous historical circumstances. It
has long been a destination for migrants. In the 18th Century, the Habsburg Empire settled a
mixture of Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Croats, Slovaks and many others on the territory. Many
of their descendants are there today, still maintaining the customs, languages and religions of
their forefathers.

Forces of change can impact a region’s identity and shift in space and through time
(Schempler M., 2007). After the Second World War, the government of Yugoslavia imposed
a so-called ‘colonisation plan’ which settled 250,000 landless peasants from Bosnia. Most of
the colonists came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, which meant that the
population brought to Vojvodina was mostly Serbian (73.5% Serbs, 10.5% Montenegrins, etc.).
The older natives called them “colonists” and “newcomers” and these terms are still used for the
migrants who arrived in Vojvodina in the late 1940s. Their arrival was preceded by the enforced
exodus of several hundred-thousand ethnic Germans and some Hungarians (Adelman, 2000).
Most of colonist were poor, uneducated, used to life in the mountains, and strongly opposed
the integration. It is considered that from 1945 to 1948 one-third of Vojvodina’s population was
literally replaced (Kicošev, 1991).

In 1991, Vojvodina had 54.6% indigenous population (people born in Vojvodina) and
45.4% immigrants from other parts of Yugoslavia. In the Nineties, some fifty years on in the
Colonisation plan, a new wave of ‘new-comers’ emerged (now about 200000 refugees in need)
and again, as after WWII, at the very beginning, common ancestry was put on the table even in
the absence of its reality. Since the influx of refugees has had a huge effect on the ethnic structure
of Vojvodina, many ethnic minorities looked upon the heavy settlement of ethnic Serb refugees
in Vojvodina as the Milosevic government’s means of shifting the demographic balance in the
region - making a Serbian population predominant. A 2001 poll by the Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights showed that non-refugee residents of Vojvodina - Hungarian, Serb, Croat and
Slovak - harbour enormous animosity for the refugees, deriding them as culturally inferior and
prone to laziness. The hostility arises mostly from competition for jobs, which are scarce for all
sectors of the population.

In the first wave of refugees, most were accommodated by friends and relatives but, over
time, misunderstandings and conflicts have occurred with greater or lesser consequences. So,
after the first wave of refugees arriving to Vojvodina and the flash of ‘national awareness, solidarity
750
and brotherhood’ in Vojvodinans passed, old triggers could have been evoked, which in return
has possibly made the integration more difficult for the refugees. Many lost their refugee status
by becoming citizens of Serbia and Montenegro and others left for third countries. The refugee
population is very heterogeneous in its characteristics, not only in demographic and socio-
cultural terms but also in terms of educational, professional, ethnic, status and other factors. A
bad economy and a turbulent political situation in Serbia made the refugee integration process
very difficult. The local residents still perceive the refugees as newcomers and intruders. Being
frustrated themselves, the Vojvodinan population has found in refugees a group weaker than
itself and suitable for expressing verbal aggression toward (Ilic, 2001).

In 1994 and 1995, the Serbian government built a refugee settlement in the village of Srpski
Krtsur, with a total of 68 apartments, inhabited by people mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After the first wave of sympathy for the refugees diminished, locals started perceiving them as
intruders and rivals in the labour market, complaining of refugees’ inability to adapt to the local
customs. Conversely, there has not been any significant initiative from the former refugees
to prove them wrong. In spite of the many socio-cultural similarities, and with language as a
common denominator, disagreements have occurred between refugees and the local population
(Vukovic, 2001).

The older generations particularly appear to have problems in finding their place in their
new community; being in the settlement they are more oriented toward other refugees. Only the
few who are employed make contact with local inhabitants on a daily basis. No open hostility
or violence has ever emerged. Such separation must have led to the creation of a specific social
identity of the refugee population with highly plausible in-group variability, based on age. In the
last decade, almost half of the refugees have left for third countries or moved to bigger towns.
Incapable of finding employment for villagers, the municipality, being among the poorest in the
wider region, could not provide any work for refugees. The remainder of the refugees received
Serbian citizenship.

Social Identity - Psychological perspectives

Perceived as a social and individual phenomenon, identity is a modern feature related

to individualism. On an individual level it gives an answer to the, ‘who am I and what am I?’
question, whilst on a collective level answers, ’where do I belong?’. There are mainly two principles
of identification – the similarity principle and the difference principle. Individual identity relates
more to difference and social identity to similarity; however, they are in interactive relation.
Identity is not ‘God-given’, but built gradually and continuously, and is always plural in nature. It
constitutes in cultural milieu and in social context (Žigmanov, 2006). It is a social construction
mutually affected by the social setting where it is placed; it can change through time and even

  751
depending on the situation. Considering refugees position and its impact, refugees have to
confront the new label of ‘refugee’ that can affect the process of identity reformation; an element
that they did not have to consider previously while living in their country of origin (Burnett,
2013). Indeed, identity can be best depicted as a relational and contextual process portraying
how individuals and groups consider, construct, and position themselves in relation to others
in regards to social categories such as gender, sexuality, culture, race, nation, age, class and
occupation. As such, identity encompasses the multiple roles legitimate by individuals in social
life that are externalized through the use of markers, such as language, dress, and occupation of
space (La Barbera, 2015).

Personal identity can be defined as part of the self-concept, comprising individual qualities
which make an individual unique and different from others, whilst social identity is that self-
-concept which derives from the membership of a group (Hogg, 2001). Social identity varies
depending on the social context and can be further divided into ethnic, national, regional
and religious. Social Identity Theory (e.g. Tajfel & Turner, 1986) takes into consideration both
psychological and sociological aspects of group behaviour and stresses that individual behaviour
reflects individuals’ larger societal units. Basically, as originally formulated, social identity theory
postulates a three-step causal sequence: categorisation, identity and social comparison. It sought
to explain inter-group relations in general and social conflict in particular.

Self-categorisation theory (Turner, 1985) – postulates that social contexts create

meaningful group boundaries and that social identities are socially construed categories which
shift, depending on situational pragmatics. Situational factors guide cognitive processes, and as
such, self-categorisation theory suggests that these pragmatic cognitive processes form the basis
for ensuing inter-group interaction, including prejudice and conflict between group members
(Padilla and Perez, 2003). Usually, the meaning of social identity is multi-modal and contains
several components; in-group traditions and values (culture), in-group language, characteristics
of in-group members, history of the in-group, ideology of the in-group, interrelations with out-
groups, reverberated identity and out-group image (Korostelina, 2007).

People live in a very complex world, which becomes more complex every day, so
categorisation enables simplifying of the environment and gives outlines for further actions.
Categories are “nouns that cut slices” through our environment (Allport, 1954, p. 174). Categories
are always socially constructed and accompanied by emotive and evaluative components (‘us’,
‘we’, ‘them’). Individuals’ social cognitions are socially construed depending on their group
or collective frames of reference. Expectations that a host culture has of newcomers will be
likely to affect the acculturation and adaptation of immigrants (Taft, 1977). Again in the case
of Srpski Krstur village, and perhaps Vojvodina as a whole, rather negative experiences with
‘colonisers’ 50 years ago could have influenced locals’ expectations and led to the perception

752
of refugees as intruders. This could, in return, have provoked refugees to behave sometimes
in quite a maladaptive manner. Various aspects of identity — ethnic identities, ‘territorial’ -
regional and local identities, as well as ‘imagined’ national identities, rural and urban identities,
and professional identities — have been threatened or lost as a consequence of displacement
(Timotijević and Blackwell, 2000). However, sometimes ‘refugee’ identity can be perceived
as a positive one in contrast with other ‘disposed’ identities, again depending on the context.
Refugees are sometimes resolute in embracing their culture, their own identity and they stand
tall to display their ethnicity whilst they methodically preserve own culture to guarantee they and
their children carry on with their traditions (Matsuo, et. al. 2014). This process becomes more
intricate when the social perception in the countries of refugee reinforces and further supports
refugee’s sentiment of not belong and notably belonging elsewhere (Kebede, 2010).

Methodology

The framing aim of the conducted research is to examine and identify how the complexity
of relations between indigenous people and newcomers, of three generations, living in organised
settlements, is reflecting on aspects of social identity of Bosnian refugees, with the particular
focus on the impact of context - organised refugee settlements on social identity, and perceived
differences between locals and newcomers. The epistemological stance framing the primary
data collection is that of social constructivism, thus taking the position that truths and facts are
socially, culturally and politically constructed and of Henry Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory, which
argues that overarching societal structures such as groups, organisations, cultures, and most
importantly, the individual’s(s’) identification with these collective units guide internal structures
and processes (Padilla & Perez, 2003). It incorporates three main elements; categorisation,
identification and comparison, basically explaining that: (a) People are motivated to maintain a
positive self-concept, (b) the self-concept derives largely from group identification, and (c) people
establish positive social identities by favourably comparing their in-group against an out-group.

Sample

A convenient sample of total of seventeen people (N=17) participated in the survey. Based
on participants’ age at the outbreak of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina they were accordingly divided
into three groups:

• ‘Pre-school at the outbreak of the war’’

Five participants aged sixteen to eighteen; four male and one female
• ‘‘Raised puberty at the outbreak of the war’’
Six participants aged twenty-five to thirty; four male and two female
• ‘‘Adult at the outbreak of the war’’

  753
 Six participants aged forty five to fifty five; six female.
Of seventeen participants, eight were students, three were employed and six unemployed.
Of the six unemployed, three had a University diploma and three had a high school diploma.

Instruments

With reference to Tajfel’s three main features of Social Identity (identification, comparison
and categorisation), a focus-group questionnaire with total of twenty-two items was constructed.
The first five items relate to general experience of life in the organised settlement, the subsequent
nine relate to identification and categorisation and the last four, to comparison and relation. The
sequence and number of questions with regard to each theme are entirely provisional.

Although Krueger (1994) provides seven established criteria, which suggest the following
headings as a framework for interpreting coded data, words; context; internal consistency;
frequency and extensiveness of comments; specificity of comments; intensity of comments;
big ideas, the template for focus-group analysis and subsequent data analysis was partially
constructed and performed following recommendation by de Negri and Thomas (2003).

Procedure

In view of the fact that the basic topic of the research was the exploration of refugees’ social
identity, which is revealed best by in-group discussion, qualitative methodology was selected and
focus-group interview imposed itself as the principal source of information. Focus groups provide
information about a range of ideas and feelings that individuals have about certain issues, as well
as illuminating the differences in perspective between groups of individuals (Rabiee, 2004).

Interview questions were developed, based on the research question and main themes
(three aspects of social identity, objective conflict and settlement) to be explored during the focus
group. Each one of the themes led to sub-topics (“prompts”), all to be transformed into questions.
The planned sample envisaged a total of twenty-four (N=24) participants divided into three age
groups (eight in each group); ‘raised puberty at the outbreak of the war’ (now aged 25-30), then
‘adult at the outbreak of the war’ (now aged 45 to 55) and ‘pre-school at the outbreak of the war’
(now aged 15-18). This way, groups would be small enough to encourage contributions by all,
but large enough to generate discussion. However, only seventeen (N=17) participated on the
day of the interview, five participants in one group, and six in the two other groups. The research
required that views be sought from participants of different ages, following the assumption
that the age variable can impact experiences of life in the settlement and accommodation and
assimilation in general, leading to construction of various social identities. Gender as a predictor

754
of settlement experience and social identity was not taken into consideration; however, in-group
gender balance was desirable, but not achievable.

Primary data collection took place in the last week of January 2007. In preliminary
contacts, participants were given a vague idea about the topic in question and were asked to
give their account on life in the settlement, which would be structured in the form of several
questions. In order to recruit participants and due to the small number of people living in the
settlement, the majority of children being on holiday or studying in Novi Sad, Subotica and
Belgrade, the only possible sampling method of choice was a convenient sampling, and quasi-
-snowball. Advice on sampling was sought from relevant contacts acquainted to the researcher,
and eventually these contacts were asked to call their friends for a one-hour group interview on
life in the settlement. They were asked to call up to ten people they know, taking into consideration
the fact that at least twenty percent may not like to participate. They reported back that about
twenty-seven expressed a wish to attend, as per researcher’s expectation, but fewer people showed
than anticipated; according to those who did attend, the non-attendees ‘’had some unexpected
homework or housework to do’’.

The focus groups were held in the following order: ‘Adult at the outbreak of the war’, ‘Pre-
-school at the at the outbreak of the war’ and ‘Raised puberty at the outbreak of the war’, for a
rather trivial reason – the researcher had been informed that the two younger groups are most
likely to sleep late in the morning, so the older groups had to be organised first. Interviews
were recorded during the weekend in kindergarten premises, using a USB Flash memory stick
(Philips Go Gear). Each focus group lasted between sixty and ninety minutes. Participants
were symbolically awarded with a ceramic coffee cup. Upon completion of the focus groups, the
following interviews were transcribed, translated into English and translated back again, in order
to check for accuracy of translation.

A template for analysis was designed and major themes (categorisation, identification,
comparison and settlement) coded and extracted. Transcribed focus-group interviews were
coded based on the four main themes (each operationalised via several sub-themes); in each
group, an additional theme emerged varying from group to group. Letters were used for each
main theme (CG for Categorisation, ID for identification, CMPR for comparison and relations,
OC for objective conflict and STTLM for Settlement). During this part of the analysis, two
additional themes emerged: MOB for mobility, II for individual identity. Upon completion of
the coding, information was re-organised by codes; each response relating to a certain code
was accordingly entered (copied and pasted) into a template under its code. In the following
phase, content was summarised, the most important responses extracted, frequency of a specific
response and degree of agreement calculated. In addition, each of the selected responses was
weighted (more or less weighted) based on the previously set criteria.

  755
 Main findings

The complexity of the refugee problem and changes in the economic, social, political and
civil status of refugees most frequently result in their marginalisation, loss of identity, dependence
on the will and interests of others and feelings of insecurity (Vukovic, 2001). Accounts of focus-
-group participants reveal consistent use of categories such as ‘we’ and ‘they’, although differences
in frequency between the three groups are notable. Experimental evidence shows that the
concepts ‘we’ and ‘us’ carry positive emotional significance that is activated automatically and
unconsciously (Perdue, Dovidio, Gurtman, & Tyler, 1990). Apparently, such categorisation is
most expressed in groups of adults and least in groups of youth. In all three groups, identification
with the whole refugee group is notable, although the youth-group focused on their individual,
idiosyncratic features as well.

Analysis brought to light that the youth-group found it, in their first contacts with locals,
very important to maintain and even point out the old ‘Bosnian’ identity and adopt a new one,
‘refugee’. However, in time, although the first identity diluted a little, the latter remained, but
the new, expected identity - ‘Serbian’ or ‘Vojvodinan’- had not occurred, excepting the use of
‘Serbian’, which they declare on Census and outside Vojvodina. It is evident that the feeling of
belonging to the refugee group is activated in situations when the refugees feel threatened in any
way, but apparently, personal identity in this group in general seems stronger than social identity.
One of the participants declared being ‘Bosnian’, but hardly with a positive connotation, simply
as if it is something he cannot escape from.

Reasons for this might be two-fold; the first one lies in a historical context; after the war
ended they have not returned to, and reintegrated in, their country of origin; they are betrayed in
a way by their own, for in informal contact with other people when they visited them in Bosnia,
they did not feel welcomed. On the other hand, they never put any effort into integration with
the local population; perceiving the settlement as a temporary solution, they remained perceived
by locals as ‘Bosnian’ and ‘refugees’ in return1. Therefore, they remained floating in a sort of
identity ‘limbo’ where a certain categorisation imposes itself only when trigged by out-group(s).

Although participants openly resisted belonging to any group (‘we’re nobodies’, ‘whom
should we belong to’ etc.) being a refugee has positive connotations in all three groups. In general,
they all construe ‘refugee’ as quite positive, even in the adult group which adheres most to their
national identity – ‘Bosnian’. Locals are consistently characterised negatively by all three groups,
whatever the diverse reasons for this. Taking into account the fact that being self-categorised and
identified as ‘refugee’ can hardly be viewed as something to be proud of, so salience of such an

1 The refugees have even designed their own web page www.naseljesk.com (which translates as www.
settlement.com) after the locals designed their own www.krstur.com

756
identity confirms that when the group is not comparing favourably, group-identified individuals
may gravitate to one of several strategies to preserve self-image.

One startling aspect of inter-group bias is how easily it is triggered. Once an individual
has self-categorised, s/he will begin to self-stereotype and de-personalise, followed by increasing
perceptions of in-group homogeneity: not only does the individual perceive her/himself as being
a more typical group member, but s/he perceives all other group members as being more typical
as well (Tajfel, 1982). It is important not to forget that individuals are prevented from losing in-
-group identity via external (environmental) pressures and pressure from in-group members not
to betray them. High, positive distinctiveness occurred in all three groups, again highest detected
in the group of adults (which is to be expected), the latter being the least adapted/adaptable to
the situation, self-perceived as unfairly deprived of essential resources and having the strongest
‘homeland’ identity.

The youngest group internalised this strategy; although they feel no connection with locals,
they feel none with their ‘homeland’ either, feeling only related to other refugees and people
from the settlement, so they successfully juggle between two extremes – norms of behaviour
practised by their parents and other behaviours - probably desirable from the locals’ point of
view. However, they also feel superior to the locals. Variations in perceived differences could be
again attributed to the level of adaptation and threat, however, the youngest group, which has
adapted best, also strongly distinct, which requires further investigation.

The sense of solidarity and belonging related to refugee identity is consistently salient in all
three groups, irrespective of other differences in self-categorisation. Considering the fact that the
youngest group practically grew up in the village, they behave as second-generation immigrants;
they can understand why their parents hold to the old country - and that perhaps partially
influences them in being detached from the new country as well - but again, being so young
upon arrival, they themselves do not feel close to the old country. Being self-categorised and
categorised as refugees by the locals, did not add to the development of positive emotions toward
the ‘new land’, except within the settlement itself, neither did it develop very negative feelings.
The result is rather surprising; they are not as confused or lost as their older brothers and sisters
seem to be, but, on the contrary, appear very resilient, displaying healthy coping strategies or
mechanisms, enabling them to be acceptable and accepting at ‘both ends of the rope’.

Unlike them, the adults nourished, or cherished, rather idealised notions of the ‘homeland’
from before the war and, although aware of all the changes, have very negative emotions toward
almost everything in the new country, adhering strongly to their national identity. The youth-
-group is somewhere in-between, displaying very mixed feelings. The youth-group that just
raised puberty at the outbreak of war in, by its nature, a very sensitive period, was exposed to

  757
traumatic events. Perhaps being surrounded only by locals would help them to cope better;
however, physical separation in the settlement, irrespective of daily contact with locals in school,
must have influenced them. They do remember where and who they were before the war, but do
not feel quite as close to that; conversely, not feeling close to the new environment either (except
for the group of refugees), caused them to develop their ‘I’m an individual’ strategy.

An important factor likely to determine the activation of levels of identity and specific
social identity is the concept of commitment – the degree of identification with the particular
group. It is precisely when the group is threatened that it most needs group members to support it
and vice versa, the latter being illustrated in one of the participants’ accounts, ‘’What I said about
belonging to the group of refugees, it is the spite that forces me away from Krsturians. Because of
Krsturians, because they always pronounced, “refugees“, with some bad connotation’’

From a social identity perspective, identification may be motivated by self-enhancement

(Tajfel & Turner, 1979), optimal distinctiveness (Brewer, 1991), and uncertainty reduction.
Uncertainty is very significant variable in the case of Bosnian refugees. In the twelve years since
the war ended (1995) and the thirteen years since they arrived in the settlement, (1994) nothing
has significantly changed. Although they have received citizenship, it is most definitely certain
they will not get back to Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they still perceive life in the settlement as a
temporary solution, whilst at the same time (with the exception of the youngest group and some
of the youth-group) they do nothing toward, or perhaps are not in the position of, changing the
situation.

Context influences the activation of personal or social identity. Understanding social

identity demands situating it in social, cultural and political contexts, where the division between
individual and social identity is artificially made (Pasalic, 2004). Social identity being a complex
and dynamic construct, it changes with ever-changing social contexts and accordingly, influences
the changes itself. Bosnian refugees came to the settlement with the idea of temporary settlement.
They fled to the country where, surrounded by the same type of people, with the same ethnic
background, they developed a collectivist culture, like the one they came from; in a way, they
were re-forming the ‘motherland’. In the first contact with locals they developed a new identity,
‘refugee’, which they have retained until the present time.

There is some bitterness in the two older groups regarding acceptance in the ‘new country’,
as well as in the ‘old country’, after the war. It is as if they feel betrayed by both in a way. Re-settling
in a new country creates psychological challenges, not least of which is the very definition of self.
Immigrants and refugees face a choice between enduring commitment to one’s ethnic identity
(a decision which may invoke and perpetuate minority status), abandoning this heritage in the
hope of achieving full membership in the receiving society, or creating compromises between the
old and the new (Kymlicka, 1995).

758
 Unemployment is a stressor for everyone, newcomer or native-born (Beiser, 2006).
Apparently, issues of employment, education etc., were acknowledged to be additional markers
of effective integration – and also significant means to this end. Participants frequently linked
barriers in these areas to the other issues discussed e.g. relationships established in the area (with
other refugees and locals). A settlement was constructed in a region that was, and still is, very
poor and with predominantly agricultural production and having a large Hungarian minority,
probably with an underlying political reason to increase the number of ethnic Serbs in the region.
The unemployment rate is high and the possibility of employment very limited for both locals
and refugees. Children who attend high school have to travel between 4 and 35 kilometres to the
nearest schools. The nearest town with more than 6 – 7,000 inhabitants is 70 kilometres away. The
bus runs only three times a day. There are no cinemas or theatres for a distance of 70 kilometres.
The village has one coffee shop and one ‘auberge’ with folk music. Refugees stressed repeatedly
that they feel isolated in the settlement and that it was a bad idea from the beginning, although
they do admit that it was good solution at the very beginning for most of those in collective
centres and that socialising with the ‘same’ helped them to cope with the situation. However,
they again feel that ‘being in a ghetto’ as one of the participants stated, disabled their integration.

Conclusion

Former refugees in Vojvodina are a very specific population – they are an ethnic sub-
-group, therefore the findings should be approached in that way. There are no differences in
ethnicity between them and indigenous population, their physical appearance is the same, also
their religion. Customs and norms of behaviour are more or less the same, with mild variations
with regard to socialising practice. The language is the same; dialects are different but perfectly
understandable and present no obstacle to successful and effective communication whatsoever.
Nevertheless, data analysis contributes to confirmation of the Social Identity Theory that minimal
contact between groups and any perceived tiny distinction are sufficient for groups to develop
inter-group bias. Within minutes of being divided into groups, people tend to see their own
group as superior to other groups, and they will frequently seek to maintain an advantage over
other groups.

Integration is a dynamic lifelong process that begins at the moment of arrival. Family ties
and friendships, property left behind, and the fact that it is the place they were born and raised,
tie former refugees to their country of origin. To the country they currently live in, they are tied
by the feeling of safety, new social connections, jobs they hold, family, established residence and
schooling. As the conducted research reveals, the older they are at the moment of arrival, the more
difficulties they experience in adapting to new circumstances. A situation where they are settled,
physically separated from the locals (although beneficial in a way, considering the psychological

  759
support they receive from the other refugees) does not contribute to their successful integration.
They have not sorted out their accommodation permanently, most of them are unemployed (this
has caused sharp job competition and decreases in wages in the local labour market), which has
led to rivalry between former refugees and the domicile population and they perceive that they
are unwanted - ‘as if we came to their territory’. Regardless of extreme adversity that they face,
refugees reveal profound strength and resilience in their survival strategies, coping mechanisms,
and abilities to adapt within what are often completely unfamiliar environments (APA, 2009).
Nonetheless, although participants in the research became Serbian citizens, their psycho-social,
economic and other problems remained unchanged.

The social identities which refugees bring with them and the identities they develop in
the new environment influence social cognitions which, in turn, guide their behaviour, such
as the clothes they wear, the foods they eat, the people with whom they associate, the values to
which they adhere, and the strategies used to accommodate to the new culture and its people. In
the new environment, refugees are forced to integrate into an insufficiently familiar community,
pressed above all, by their subjective and objective needs and problems. The greater the difference
between their former place of residence and their new community, the harder the possibility of
adjustment – it should be recommended to pay attention at least to the educational profile of
refugees prior to sending them to remote villages.

However, prior to any recommendations for future construction of refugee settlements

and evaluating such positively or negatively, it is absolutely necessary carefully to examine all
of the following considerations: (a) what the conditions were that people fled from and under
what circumstances they came to the settlement; (b) options offered; (c) material situation; (d)
personal traumatic experiences; (e) the region(s) they came from; (f) educational profile; (g) age
and gender; (h) size of the group; (i) the underlying political and economic climate in the country
and/or region prior to construction of the settlement; (j) experiences of the local population with
regard to previous migrations from Bosnia and Herzegovina; (k) differences in experience and
construction of social identity and level of integration, based on the location of the settlement
(rural vs. urban area); (l) differences in experience and construction of social identity and level
of integration between refugees scattered in town or villages and those in the settlement; (m)
importance of economic factors (unemployment, poverty rate) and social entertainment (theatre,
cinema); (n) life conditions of local people, etc.

760
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762
 TV Series and Viewers Personality Traits, A Case Study Survey:
IUS Students in April – May 2015

Amila Rustemovic & Anela Hasanagic & Lejla Panjeta

International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The focus of this research was to establish the correlation between personality traits and
rating of popular TV series. Genesis and inherent features of today’s popular TV series are
connected according to the IMDB genre classification and sale production reports. The research
will also address the effects of favorite series choices in relation to differences between, gender,
age, faculty program, and nationality (based on the case study sample survey: IUS students in
April-May 2015). Preliminary survey is performed to establish which of the TV serials are the
most popular and have the highest rating among the population of students at IUS. Participants
were 138 students from IUS. As instruments we used Big Five personality questionnaire and
questionnaire for measuring the serials that students watch. Results showed that there is no
statistically significant correlation between personality traits and choosing series to watch, except
in category of neuroticism where results showed that there is statistically significant correlation
between neuroticism and category what they watch when they are bored. Also, results showed
that there is no statistically significant difference between males and females and choosing series
to watch, except in category of series that they do not miss an episode, where results showed that
there is statistically significant difference between genders and choosing series that they do not
miss an episode. Results also showed that there is no statistically significant difference between
age and choosing series to watch. There is also no statistically significant difference between
faculty programs and nationality.

Key words: TV series, rating, personality traits, Big Five

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 Introduction

Since the beginning of scientific exploration of human kind, there is a tendency to measure
people in terms of characteristics, like physical, temperament, abilities, etc. and to categorize
them in certain groups. The main purpose of categorization is prediction of behavior. When
people make their statements according to their behavior, they mean that they believe they have
stable individual characteristics — their personalities. Personality can be defined as an individual’s
consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving (John, Robins, & Pervin, 2008). The tendency
to perceive personality is a fundamental part of human nature, and a most adaptive one.

If it can draw accurate generalizations about what other people are like, and referring to
those stereotypes people can be predict how others will behave in the future. This can help us
determine how people are likely to respond in different situations. In short, personality traits
matters because it guides behavior of people in everyday interaction.

The aim of this research is to explore the correlation between personality traits and
choosing popular TV series exists and also if it affects differences between, gender, age, faculty
program, and nationality according to the series which young people (based on the case study
sample survey: IUS students) choose to watch.

Personality traits

Personality traits are characterized differently according to different psychologists in terms

of features of the traits that are relatively enduring characteristics that influence human behavior
across many situations. Personality traits ,such as introversion, friendliness, conscientiousness,
honesty, and helpfulness, are important because they help to explain consistencies in behavior.
The most popular way of measuring traits is by administering personality tests on which people
self-report about their own characteristics. Psychologists have investigated hundreds of traits
using the self-report approach, and this research has found many personality traits that have
important implications for behavior.

The trait approach to personality was pioneered by early psychologists, including Gordon
Allport (1897–1967), Raymond Cattell (1905–1998), and Hans Eysenck (1916–1997). Each of
these psychologists believed in the idea of the trait as the stable unit of personality, and each
attempted to provide a list or taxonomy of the most important trait dimensions. Their approach
was to provide people with a self-report measure and then to use statistical analyses to look for
the underlying “ factors” or “ clusters” of traits, according to the frequency and the co-occurrence
of traits in the respondents.

For the purpose of this research, we used Big Five model of measuring personality traits.

764
 Big Five model

The fundamental work on trait dimensions conducted by Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, and
many others has led to contemporary trait models, the most important and well-validated of
which is the Five-Factor (Big Five) Model of Personality. According to this model, there are five
fundamental underlying trait dimensions that are stable across time, cross-culturally shared, and
explain a substantial proportion of behavior (Costa & McCrae, 1992, Goldberg, 1982). The five
dimensions or Big Five are:

Agreeableness - A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious

and antagonistic toward others; reflects individual differences in general concern for social
harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are generally considerate,
friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with those of others.

Conscientiousness - A tendency to show self discipline, act dutifully, and aim for
achievement. Individuals who are conscientious have a preference for planned rather than
spontaneous behavior.

Extraversion - The tendency to experience positive emotions and to seek out stimulation
and the company of others. Extroverts enjoy being with people. In groups they like to talk, assert
themselves, and draw attention to themselves.

Neuroticism - The tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or

depression; sometimes called “emotional instability”. Those who score high in neuroticism are more
likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult.
They may have trouble thinking clearly, making decisions, and coping effectively with stress.

Openness to experience - A general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas,
imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. Individuals who are highly open to experience
tend to have distinctive and unconventional decorations in their home. They are also likely to
have books on a wide variety of topics, a diverse music collection, and works of art on display.

An advantage of the five-factor approach is that it is parsimonious. Rather than studying

hundreds of traits, researchers can focus on only five underlying dimensions. The Big Five may
also capture other dimensions that have been of interest to psychologists.

Serials: Impacts and Genesis in Short

Series form and influence major part of its audience everyday life (Panjeta, 2015), but the
influence they have is not always measurable. Therefore, just a few examples on the devastating
consequences of the series: One of the most appalling examples of the TV influence is in the

  765
murder of Daniela Perez in 1992. According to the BBC documentary Telenovelas (1995),
Brazilian newspaper headlines in December of 1992, covering the story of the murder of Daniela
Perez revealed the shocking truth about the psychological process of actors’ identification. The
partner of this young actress brutally murdered her in real life, after staging and shooting a scene
in the soap opera De Corpoe Alma produced by TV Globo. In the said love scene the character
played by Daniela Perez states that she does not love her partner anymore. After the murder in
real life, the actor surrendered himself claiming that he confused the reality and the fiction he was
playing in. The production company was later announced to be the accomplice in this brutal act.

According to the writings of Emiratesnews.com (2012), Kurtlar Vadisi caused major

political dispute between Israel and Turkey. The series depicts Mossad agents in a negative
context. This is one of the series with the highest rating in Turkey. The impact of the Turkish
series with tragic consequences is evident in the killings of five people in Yemen, inspired by the
Turkish series Kurtlar Vadisi. Yemeni man has been executed after murdering four men and a
woman in an effort to imitate a Turkish soap opera. Also, according to the same resource, the
divorce rates in UAE is increased in percentage of family disputes, for which some experts blame
addiction to Turkish series Gumus (Noor in Arabic).

The appearance of the narratives in installments is related to the first man’s storytelling by
the fire. The narrative seeks the meaning and continuity in the world that surrounds us (Panjeta,
2014, Campbell, 1972). One of the first and most interesting folk tale in this regard is The Arabian
Nights, where Scheherazade every night after a story left unfinished, thus ensuring themselves
one more day of life, because the master must know how the story ends. Many classic authors
such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, or Flaubert published installments of their works in the journals
such as Ruski Vesnik or Pickwick Club. The first known e-book has emerged from the experiment
with the new technologies in an epistolary form of a novel. It was created by Stephen King.

Apart from creating the first paperback, Charles Dickens was the first author who made a
serial when he deliberately left the character hanging from the cliff in the third chapter of 1860
novel Great Expectations. This novel was printed in sequels in a magazine All the Year Round.
The dramaturgy device called cliffhanger is named after this invention.

Television is the media of the close up shoot. The life and the characters are set in the
very center of our home, the TV is positioned in our living room, thus forming a major part of
our lives and becoming a family member that determines our lives. It all started in 30s on the
radio, the form of sequel narrative taken by TV for the purposes of advertizing the sponsors of
the show: Procter and Gamble, Colgate and other cleaning products covered the costs of the
daily melodrama non prime time broadcast whose targeted audience were housewives. From
there originates the name soap operas. The whole concept of TV commercials emerged from this
marketing experiment. The soaps ruled the TV screen worldwide in the 80s (Panjeta et. al, 2005).
766
 For the spectatorship, the illusion of choice is given by the remote control device, but taken
away by the dramatic devise of suspense. To be continued (TBC) is the most inherent element of
the series. It represents the suspense, as the most important feature of storytelling and the most
important tool for sequel narrative. It is the cliffhanger dramatic construct that keep us glued to
our favorite TV shows. What will happen next? It is not only the question our brain is posing, but
is reflected in our body as well. The tension and anticipation is what binds us to the serials. That
is when we shout expletives and bump the remote control. The real reason we do it is: we do not
have control over the storytelling tool of suspense. And it is designed to boost up and keep up
with our hormonal tension and pleasure the mind games reflected in our bodies make, while we
bear witness to other people’s destinies and stories. Scheherazade saved her life because of this
suspense tool of dramaturgy.

Precisely because they develop dependence, mass narrative serials that provide comfort,
repression of its own problems, escape to other worlds and identify with other people’s lives,
have a major impact on society as a whole, and the profitability and success is measured by the
rating (number of viewers). Popularity is then determining statistical element for the production
of the series, forming the next anticipated narrative formed by the demand of the audience.
According to Altman (1999), the mixed genres that are popular today are the direct result of
the capitalistic background of the film production. In other words, the creators of the series are
giving the audience exactly what they anticipate, and in doing so are creating the dependence
(addiction). Popular serials today vary in genres. The genres of the serials are taken from the film
genre methodology as are their narratives. Both originate from the genre theory in literature,
because the film narrative is like any other narrative. As Scheherazade tells the story to her captor
in the prehistory of the serial narrative, so does the producer of the TV series to the captivated
audience nowadays. Genres of the stories are mixed to captivate even more audience. Almost
all of the series are perceived or characterized in IMDB as mixture of greater “classical” genres.
Further research will determine which of the series are the most popular and which of the genres
are mixed using the genre reference on IMDB.

Methodology

The purpose of this research was to examine is there any correlation between personality
traits and choosing series to watch, and also to explore are there any statistically significant
differences between different groups of gender, age, faculty program and nationality in choosing
which series students watch.

Hypothesis

1. There is no statistically significant correlation between personality traits and

choosing the series students watch.
  767
 2. There are no statistically significant differences between male and female in
choosing of series they watch.
3. There are no statistically significant differences between different age group and
choosing series which people watch.
4. There are no statistically significant differences between students from different
faculty departments in choosing of series they watch.
5. There is no statistically significant difference between Bosnian and Turkish
students at the IUS in choosing of series they watch.

Participants

For the purpose of the research, we used a convenient sample made out of IUS students.
All departments from International University of Sarajevo were included. We have 138
participants, 71 males, 67 females. Students were from different departments: Faculty of Arts and
Social Science (76), Faculty of Business and Administration (16) and Faculty of Engineering and
Natural Science (46). All of them are between 18 and 30 years of age. 57 participants were from
Turkey and 75 participants were from Bosnia.

Instruments

In this research two instruments were used to measure personality traits and choosing
series students watch, as well as the socio-demographic characteristics of students.

1. Big Five personality questionnaire has 46 questions, which has 5 type of answer,
where 5 means strongly agree, 4 means agree a little, 3 means no agree or disagree,
2 means disagree a little and 1 means strongly disagree. Also, some questions were
reversed questions, where 5 means strongly disagree, 4 means disagree a little, 3
means no agree or disagree, 2 means agree a little and 1 means strongly agree. It
measures five dimensions, and each dimension has 8 to 9 questions. Dimensions
are: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness, and
they are explained in introduction part.

2. In order to get top ten series that students watch, to be able to make the final
questionnaire for exploring series that students watch, we applied pilot questionnaire
in which 70 of series were offered and students had opportunity to choose three of
them putting numbers from 1 to 3. 1 means the series they do not miss an episode,
2 means they watch from time to time and 3 they watch when they are bored. Based
on those results final questionnaire was made.

Final questionnaire was divided in three columns, where every column had list of

768
 same 10 series, which were taken from the first pilot questionnaire according to
answers of students. First column was to choose three series that they do not miss
and episode, second was that they watch from time to time, and third was series
that they watch when they are bored. According to final questionnaire the most
popular series among students of International University of Sarajevo are: Revenge,
The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Prison
Break, CSI Miami, Game of Thrones, Grays Anatomy and Bing Bang Theory. The
short description of ten most popular series can be found at http://www.imdb.com/.

Results

SPSS 17.0 was used in order to process analyze the data set collected for this research. For
purpose for the research nonparametric statistics were used, because the data collected about
series are on nominal scale, and therefore, the results on Big Five were categorized according to
the table 1 (normal distribution).

Table 1. Decimal distribution of subscales

1 2 3 4 5

Extraversion To 2,7 2,7 - 3 3 - 3,7 3,75 - 4 4-5

Agreeable-
To 2,6 2,6 - 3 3 – 3,8 3,89 – 4,22 4,22 - 5
ness
Conscien-
To 2,6 2,6 - 3 3 – 3,8 3,89 – 4,44 4,4 – 4,5
tiousness

Neuroticism To 1,8 1,9 - 2,3 2,3 – 3,1 3,12 – 3,5 3,5 - 5

Openness To 2,9 2,9 - 3 3,3 – 3,75 4,1 – 4,5 4,5 – 4,7

Testing of correlation between personality traits and choosing series to watch

Table 2. C-coefficient of correlation between personality traits (Big Five) and choosing series.

I don’t miss an episode I watch from time to I watch when I’m bored
time
C -coeffi- Approx. C -coeffi- Approx Sig. C -coeffi- Approx Sig.
cient Sig. cient cient
Extraver- 0.558 0.258 0.581 0.116 0.606 0.272
sion

  769
 I don’t miss an episode I watch from time to I watch when I’m bored
time
C -coeffi- Approx. C -coeffi- Approx Sig. C -coeffi- Approx Sig.
cient Sig. cient cient
Agreeable- 0.559 0.247 0.555 0.278 0.558 0.673
ness
Conscien- 0.449 0.955 0.597 0.55 0.585 0.446
tiousness
Neuroti- 0.522 0.556 0.546 0.348 0.672 0.13
cism
Openness 0.561 0.235 0.502 0.722 0.543 0.780

As it can be seen from table 2, there is no statistically significant correlation between Big
5 personality traits and choosing which series to watch, except for the neuroticism category and
category which series students watch when they are bored.

Results showed that low neurotics and below average neurotics mostly watch when they
are bored The Original and How I Met Your Mother. Average neurotics when they are bored
mostly watch Revenge and Game of Thrones. Above average neurotics mostly watch when they
are bored Gossip Girl. High neurotics mostly watch when they are bored Revenge and Bing
Bang Theory.

Testing for the statistically significant differences between males and females in series that
they chose to watch

Table 3. Chi-square- Testing of statistically significant differences between gender and choosing
series to watch.

I don’t miss and episode I watch from time to time I watch when I’m bored
Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided) (2-sided) (2-sided)
19.583 a
0.021 5.925 a
0.747 7.632 a
0.572

According to the table 3, there are no statistically significant differences between gender
and choosing series to watch, except in the category I don’t miss an episode, where the results
showed that there is statistically significant differences (Chi-square) between males and females
in category I don’t miss an episode. The results showed that males do not miss an episode of series
such as Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries and How I Met Your Mother, while females prefer
not to miss an episode of Game of Thrones.

770
 Testing statistically significant differences between age and choosing series to watch

Table 4. Chi-square- Testing statistically significant differences between age and choosing series.

I don’t miss and episode I watch from time to time I watch when I’m bored
Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided) (2-sided) (2-sided)
17.192 a
0.510 13.062 a
0.160 8.319 a
0.502

According to Table 4, there are no statistically significant differences (Chi-square) between

younger and older (18-20 years) and older students (21 – 30) in choosing series to watch.

Exploring the difference between students from different faculty programs in cho-
osing series

Table 5. Chi-square- Testing statistically significant differences between faculty program in choosing series.

I don’t miss and episode I watch from time to time I watch when I’m bored
Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided) (2-sided) (2-sided)
17.192 a
0.510 14.357 a
0.706 24.752 a
0.132

According to Table 5, there is no statistically significant difference (Chi-square) between

age and choosing series.

Testing statistically significant differences between nationality and choosing series

Table 6. Chi-square- Testing statistically significant differences between nationalities and

choosing series.

I don’t miss and episode I watch from time to time I watch when I’m bored
Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig. Chi-square Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided) (2-sided) (2-sided)
17.610 a
0.482 27.655 a
0.68 15.871 a
0.602

According to Table 6, there is no statistically significant difference (Chi-square) between

nationality and choosing series.

Discussion

The purpose of this research was to see how different people’s personality traits are
correlated with choosing series which they watch. Nowadays, when technology is used for very
different purposes, one of the popular source of using technology and internet is watching media,
like movies, serials, listening music, following news, etc. Adolescents use these kinds of media
  771
or for amusement, or for being “in touch” with other, like because something is popular, or just
to “kill” the time. We assumed that personality traits of adolescents, but also some other factors
like gender, interests, age or even nationality might be correlated or even a cause of the choosing
serials among adolescents, so in that term, we wanted to explore more upon these factors.

First hypothesis was to see is there any correlation between personality traits and choosing
series to watch. Results showed that there is no correlation between personality traits and choosing
series to watch, except in the category of neuroticism and category of series which students watch
when they are bored. It means that traits like extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
openness are not correlated with choosing series that people watch, while low neurotics and
bellow neurotics enjoy to watch The Originals and How I Met your Mother, when they are bored.
Average neurotics prefer to watch Revenge and Game of Thrones and average neurotics prefer to
watch Gossip Girl when they are bored, wheel high neurotics prefer to watch Bing Bang Theory
when they are bored.

The reason for why average neurotics enjoy to watch Revenge is probably that by watching
Revenge where the story of serial is revenge of main character to all people who killed her father
when she was a little girl, and on this way they try to compare themselves with character by
getting less nervous and escape loneliness. Through watching this series, they find that they are
not alone and those they can take control in their own hand. While the reason why some enjoy
in series Game of Thrones is because it is about war between different empires and kings for the
main thorn. Probably in this way they become less jealous and nervous because they believe they
can fight for something they need. Watching these series they enjoy seeing suffering of character
because in human nature is that we enjoy by watching someone else suffer. Similar research
was made by YORK, Pa. (2010), for the purpose to find out which personalities are attracted to
which TV shows. It analyzed self-reported data from about 25,000 TV shows (Mindset Media,
2010). What they found were common personality traits among many of the shows’ audiences of
people who answered that they regularly tune in. Only a few main shows like House and Bones
didn’t have any single personality that stood out statistically either because the audiences are
so broad, or the fact that personality isn’t a driver of viewership. The data were shared with Ad
Age (Bulik, 2010) from seven shows that are on many media buyers’ short lists already. Mindset
detailed (Bulik, 2010) that not only what common personality traits they claim, each show is
more likely to attract, but offered a sample of advertisers that it believes are more likely, or less
likely, to appeal to people with those personality. They get results that creative people are 41%
more likely to watch Mad Men than less creative people. While that certainly could apply in the
marketing world to the typical „agency guy”, creative people are also emotionally sensitive and
intellectually curious types who tend to more often be dreamers rather than realists. 61 percents
of rule breakers or rebels like to watch Family Guy. Rebels don’t like authority, rules or structure
they deem unfair, and usually won’t hesitate to make their feeling known with anger or sarcasm.

772
24 percents of so-called experientialists prefer to watch the teen singing drama, and in fact, some
of their characteristics track with the Glee persons themselves. They are open people who believe
that imagination and intellectual pursuits contribute to a good life, and go out in search of unique
and varied experiences. They are in touch with their own feelings and may even feel happiness
or sadness more intensely than others. 21 percent of traditionalists like to watch Dancing with
the Stars. Traditionalists are the opposite of the experiential Glees, and instead prefer stability
and the tried and true. They respect authority and generally have their feet firmly grounded.
Dancing with the Stars fans also tend to be compliant. These personalities tend to defer to others
in an effort to get along and are quick to smooth ruffled feathers in an argument. They don’t like
aggressive behavior and are usually quick to forgive and forget. 47 percent of people who watch
The Office consider themselves superior to others. These “alphas” believe they are extraordinary
and happily brag about their accomplishments. They also prefer to be in charge, directing others
rather than being directed. They are the types that seek out new experiences as a way of living
life more fully (YORK, Pa., Mindset Media, Bulik, 2010).

According to results from YORK, Pa., Mindset Media, Bulik (2010), where they get results
that 41% of creative people like to watch Med Men, we got that neurotic people like to watch
Revenge and Game of Thrones. The other results which YORK, Pa. got are that 61% percent of
rule breakers or rebels like to watch Family guy, we got that height neurotics prefer to watch Bing
Bang Theory.

These results should be checked with some similar research, but as a recommendation for
the next research we suggest using different instrument for measuring personality traits. Some
tendencies in behavior of adolescents should be measured, like the tendency for leadership,
tendency for empathy or similar, and then to see whether those abilities, and traits are correlated
with choosing serials, so that it can be interpreted like the fact that someone is fulfilling his or her
needs, or interests, or even accomplishing dreams throw identification with actors or story over
the watching media. Also, it would be good to construct the questionnaire about watching series
for the purpose of primary goal of research, and that was choosing genres. According to those
suggestions, the results will maybe be different then in our research.

Second hypothesis was testing statistically significant difference between males and
females in choosing series to watch. This hypothesis was interesting to test, to see are males and
females different in aspect of choosing series which they watch. Nowadays it’s hard to find some
differences between males and females, except physical appearance. Today, many women are
capable to do everything what men can do. Even if there is still discussion that males are superior
then women, and that women cannot do what men can, and that they cannot watch action and
horror movies, that they are for romantic and drama movies, research showed that females can
watch same thing as males. A lot of women watch football games, and many males like to watch

  773
TV series. Theresults showed that there are no statistically differences between males and females
in choosing series which they watch in the group of series which they watch from time to time
and when they are bored. But, there are statistically significant differences between male and
female choosing series they watch in the category of series which they do not miss an episode.
Results showed that most females watch Game of Thrones, while most males watch Revenge and
Game of Thrones. The reason for these results perhaps is that in nowadays females still fight for
the equality with males, and serial Game of Thrones, also is about one woman, the mother of the
Dragons, who fight for the main throne with other kings. One part of movie is about women who
were sold to solder by her own brother, and how she was raped, by her own husband. During the
War a lot of females were raped, but they survived it by fighting. It shows how powerful women
can be and that women can survive most things that men could not. The reason why males watch
The Vampire Diaries probably is because there are attractive women characters, which mostly
need a help of male for the control of blood thirst. Mostly young adults likes series with vampires
because in today’s series and movies they are handsome, indigent and they try to find redemption
for what they did. Mostly they do that by meeting some innocent human, with which they fall in
love, and vampires try to become better person because of person they love. How vampire books,
series and movies can be altering teen minds was discussed by different scientists, authors and
educators which met at Cambridge, England on September 3rd for the conference organized by
Nikolajeva (2010). People from all disciplines were brought to the conference to share what they
know about turbulent period called “adolescence.” They get to the conclusion that teenagers’
minds are more susceptible than adult minds to influence from peers and experiences as well as
from books, movies, and series (Nikolajeva, 2010).

The conclusion from the research by Nikolajeva (2010), all researches agreed that
adolescents are more susceptible than adult minds to peers influence. In the period of adolescence
people try to find themselves, what they are and what they want to become. According to these
conclusions they are finding themselves in the characters from movies or series, in psychology
it is cold identification, and it belongs to defense mechanism, which means that human being,
when they are unable to do something they wish to do, they find a person who is capable enough
to do it, and by watching and liking that other person, people fulfill they own need for being
successful in certain activity.

Third hypothesis was testing statistically significant differences between age and choosing
series to watch. This hypothesis is interesting because people in different age watch different things.
The results showed that there is no statistically difference between ages of students in choosing
series which they watch. In other words people from different age choose to watch same things.
Mostly today, all people have access to internet and online pages for watching series. People of

774
different age use computers and technologies and used them to read online or to watch series,
films and shows. The reason for this perhaps is that today’s series are made for every age, from
teenage age to the adults. They have content for all age, and everyone can watch it. Maybe these
results are because sample was made of students, and we divided students into two groups: below
21 and over 21. But still, they belong to same category – students. They share the same interests,
ideas and they belong to one cohort, so in that term, we could not expect some differences. It
would be worth to check these results by using students and people in middle adulthood.

In our research there, is no statistically significant differences between age and choosing
series to watch, while in the research by Bondad-Brown, Rice, Pearce, (2011) they got that there
is significant influences for television viewing between age and choosing which TV programs
they will watch.

Fourth hypothesis was testing statistically significant differences between faculty program
and choosing series. The results showed that there are no statistically significant differences
between faculty program and choosing series to watch. In other words, all students from different
departments watch everything. Most series in nowadays consist of character with different
occupations, and, therefore, we wanted to check is the occupation of student, his/her primary
interest, a factor that determines serial that student watch, in term that lawyers will prefer serials
in which the topic is about the court, or medical students will prefer serials where the main topic
is about hospital, healing etc. This research did not show any statistically significant difference
between different occupations of students.

Fifth hypothesis was testing statistically significant differences between nationality and
choosing series to watch. According to the results, there are no statistically significant differences
between Bosnian and Turkish students at the IUS. The reason for this perhaps is that genres of
series are interesting to both cultures. Also, Turkish and Bosnian cultures are similar, and students
from Turkey which study at International University of Sarajevo are in Bosnia for few years, and
they have contacts with Bosnian students, so they started to follow similar TV program because
of Bosnian colleagues. Even if nowadays there is a lot of Turkish series in Bosnia, young people
watch more other series online or download them. In other words, Bosnians and Turkish prefer
to watch same series.

Research limitations

Research limitations were disinterest of students in participating by fulfilling the

questionnaire. Also, the conditions were questionable in terms that some students simply did not
pay enough attention to fulfilling the questionnaires.

  775
 One of limitations of this study was that results needed to be calculated in nonparametric
statistics, and therefore results from BIG 5, were transformed from interval to ordinal measuring
scale. In this process we have lost a lot of valuable differences. Also, the questionnaire about
measuring TV programs should be reorganized. The literature and research on the same topic
were hard to find.

One of biggest limitation was that the series from nowadays cannot be assigned in the
category of one genre. The reason for that is that almost all series and movies have a two, three or
more different genre. Our first intention was to measure personality traits and TV series genres,
but in process of assigning series to genres, we have faces a lot of difficulties, like that one serial
according to official description given by official movie page http://www.imdb.com/ , is always
assigned into few genres. And therefore we had to stay on measuring particular serials and not
genres. Therefore, this very interesting research should be arranged in new circumstances, with the
larger sample and different instruments, in order to get more reliable answers on our hypothesis.

Conclusion

1. According to the results of this research, there is no statistically significant correlation

(C-coefficient) between personality traits and choosing series to watch, except in the category of
neuroticism and category of series which students watch when they are bored. In other words,
extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness people choose to watch similar series in
all three categories, but neurotic prefer more to watch when they are bored Revenge and Game of
Thrones, so neuroticism could be considered like an important factor in choosing series.

2. About the gender differences, results showed that there is statistically significant
difference (Chi square), between males and females in choosing series where they do not miss
an episode, but in other two categories, I watch from time to time and I watch when I’m bored,
results showed that there is no statistically significant differences between males and females.

3. According to the results, there are no statistically significant differences between older
and younger students in choosing series to watch.

4. There are no statistically significant differences between students from different faculty
programs in choosing series to watch. In other words, interest and future occupation is not
important factor for students in choosing watching programs.

5. According to results, there are no statistically significant differences between Turkish

and Bosnian students in choosing series to watch.

776
References

Altman, Rick. (1999). Film/Genre London: British Film Institute, Palgrave Macmillan.
Beth Snyder Bulik, ( 2010). “Personality Traits to Consumers’ Viewing Habits”. Beth Snyder Bulik
Ad Age,( 2010). ”Help for Markets Match Brands With Audience”.
Beverly A. Bondad-Brown, Ronald E. Rice, and Katy E. Pearce, (2011). “Influences on TV
Viewing and Online User-shared Video Use: Demographics, Generations, Contextual Age,
Media Use, Motivations, and Audience Activity”, BEA-Educating for Tomorrows Media,
Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Campbell, Joseph. (1972). Myths To Live By. London: Souvenir Press (Educational & Academic)
Ltd.
Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO
Five-Factor Inventory (NEOFFI) manual.
Hirshfeld, R. (2012, December 7). Turkish Soap Opera Inspires Murder, Clerics Blame ‚West’.
Israelnationalnews. Retrieved from http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.
aspx/157781#.UTPCr6I3uSo
Maria Nikolajeva, (2010). “Vampire Books Bay Be Altering Teen Minds”, Cambridge University,
professor of literature, Livescience Magazine
Panjeta, L., Mazziotti, N., Spahić, B., & Sanchez, L. (2005). Telenovela - fabrika ljubavi, Uvod
u produkciju i žanr (Telenovela - La fabrica del amor, Introduccion al genero y a la
produccion). Sarajevo Naklada Zoro & HEFT.
Panjeta, Lejla (2015). Sapunice, telenovele i serijali: popularnost turskih serija. Hrvatski filmski
ljetopis. Vol. 21, No. 81, pp. 70-83
Robert R. McCrae, National Institute on Aging, NIH and Oliver P. John University of California
at Berkeley, (1992). “An Introduction to the Five-Factor Model and Its Applications”.
Staff. (2012, April 4). Tukish soap opera blamed for UAE divorces. Emirates.news. Retrived
from http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/turkish-soap-opera-blamed-for-uae-
divorces-2012-04-04-1.452235
Telenovelas (1995), BBC, director: Alexandre Valenti; ARTE in Fine films Imagine Productions.
YORK, Pa, (2010). You are what you watch, available on: www.adage.com

  777
New Trends and Challenges
in Today’s Europe

◆
 Field Testing the Energy Efficiency of Family
House in Gradiska

Svjetlana Vlaški
State University of Novi Pazar, Serbia

Abstract

Today the world is facing two major energy problems. The first is the lack of energy and
uncertainty in supply, and the second problem is environmental pollution and climate change
caused by excessive irrational energy consumption. Therefore, in recent years the energy
efficiency of buildings has been gaining greater importance. This paper was done to measure
energy efficiency and identification of the energy of the individual residential building in the
town. The obtained annual energy required is qh,nd = 169,58 kWh/m2a which, according to
the Regulation on conditions, contents and the process of issuing certificates on the energy
performance of buildings, classified examined building in energy class E. The resulting energy
class is very low for this type of object, but the results were as expected, given that the building
was built 34 years ago, and they are not used for insulating materials thermal insulation.

Key words: energy efficiency, energy class

Introduction

Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005, together with nine Contracting Parties, signed Treaty
establishing the Energy Community. In the case of Contracting Parties, it includes the adoption
and implementation of the acquis communautaire of the European Union. When it comes to
energy, environment, competition and renewable energy sources, based on the decision of the
Ministerial Council of the Energy Community D/2009/05/MC-ENC (18 December 2009) and D
/ 2010/02 / MC-ENC (24 September 2010) acquis was extended by three EU directives on energy
efficiency and end-use of energy services, energy efficiency building and labeling, including the
revised directive.

  781
 General information about the house / Technical description of location and buildings

The case of this paper is a residential house in the street Nadezda Petrovic, in Gradiska,
usable area of 189m2 (Figure 1). Location of the building is in the center of Gradiska at Nadezda
Petrovic Street, around the side facing the street, with three free facades, moderately exposed to
the dominant winds. Opposing objects do not prevent insolation, all objects of the same or a few
floors away from the observed object enough that they cannot see the shadow.

Figure 1: The situation

Figure 2: View of north Figure 3: View of south

Source: Author Source: Author

Main Object Information

Building ☐ new ☑ exciting

Purpose of building Residential

782
 Building ☐ new ☑ exciting

Type of building The building, with one apartment

City (location): Gradiška

The owner (investor): Mirjanić Rade

Contractor:

Build: 1980

Reconstruction / rehabilita-
-
tion of energy:
Net usable area of heated part
126
of the building [m2]:

This paper presents the results of field testing the energy efficiency of residential houses
in the municipality of Gradiska. The house has a basement under the entire surface on which it
is made, but was not provided with a basic project, a residential area consists of ground and first
floors of the complete surface of 126 m2. The whole house deviates from the designed, extended
1m in width. The house was built in 1980, with walls of hollow bricks d=25 cm, with double-
sided layer of cement mortar without insulation. The Floor structure is derived from Monte.

Climate data:

Location Gradiška

Number of heating degree

2774
days HDD
Number of days the heating
188
season HD
The average annual tempera-
12,4
tures [oC]
Winter projected temperature
-18
[oC]
Interior projected tempera-
ture for the winter periodθH,i 20
[oC]

Because of the size calculation, the results obtained by the coefficient of thermal conducti-
vity through the individual parts are moved in tables:

  783
 Table 1. Table of coefficients in through the windows, doors and thermal envelope object:

The to-
Dimen-
Area of Area of tal area
Type of sion of orienta- Length
Pcs glass, frame, of the Uw
aperture aperture, tion gap,
m2 m2 opening,
cm
m2
SV 110/210 1 N - 2.31 2.3 m 2.1
PS1 140/140 2 N 2.52 0.56 3.1 6.40 5.2
PS1 140/140 2 S 2.52 0.56 3.1 5.60 5.2
PS2 80/140 1 N 1.41 0.55 2.0 5.60 4.8
PS2 80/140 1 S 1.41 0.55 2.0 4.40 4.8
BVS 80/210 2 S 1.26 0.41 1.7 4.40 5.0
BVS 80/210 1 N 1.26 0.41 1.7 5.80 5.0
PS3 80/80 1 N 0.42 0.21 0.6 5.80 4.7
PS4 110/140 1 S 1.19 0.35 1.5 3.20 5.1
PS5 60/60 1 W 0.20 0.15 0.4 5.00 4.5
KP 65/150 1 W 0.93 0.09 1.0 2.40 3.1
KP 65/150 1 W 0.93 0.09 1.0 - 3.1

In the following table is view of the actual and allowable values of the coefficient of thermal
conductivity:

Table 2. The ratio of actual and maximum allowable coefficients U in the building

U[W/ Umax[W/ Complete

Location Mark
(m2K)] (m2K)] Yes / No
The exterior walls and the walls of
SZ 1,64 0,45 NO
the rooms that are not heated

The ceiling of the attic S1 0,84 0,30 NO

The ceiling of the room that are not

P 1..4 0,64..0,79 0,45 NO
heated

Wall of boxes for blinds KR 4,53 0,80 NO

External windows and balcony

PS I BVS 3,3 1,80 NO
doors

Crystal prisms KP 2,9 1,80 NO

Outside doors SV 3,5 2,90 NO

784
 Calculation of Thermal losses

Table 3. Building shape factor and share transparent surfaces

Information about building

Net area of the heated part of the building Af[m2] 126
The volume of the heated part of the building Ve[m3] 327,6
Building shape factor f0[m-1] 0,78
The share of transparent surfaces [%] 10,6

Transmission thermal losses of the building HT[W/K]

Table 4. The surface transmission losses HTS [W/K]

Description
of building Mark U (W/m2K) A(m2) Fx U * A * Fx
elements
P1 0,72 22,6 0,5 8,1
Floor P2 0,64 18,8 0,5 6,0
P3 - P4 0,79 21,6 0,5 8,5
External SZ 1,64 101,08 1,0 165,8
wall KR 4,53 2,42 1,0 11,0
Ceilings S1 0,84 63 0,8 42,3
SV 2,1 2,3 1,0 4,8
PS1 5,2 12,4 1,0 64,5
PS2 4,8 4,0 1,0 19,2
BVS 5,0 5,1 1,0 25,5
Windows PS3 4,7 0,6 1,0 2,8
and doors PS4 5,1 1,5 1,0 7,7
Floor
Window PS5 4,5 0,4 1,0 1,8
Door KP 3,1 1,0 1,0 3,1
Total 256,8 371.10

Line transmission losses HTB[W/K]

HTB = 0.1 * ΣA = 0.1 * 256.8
HTB = 25.7 W/K
Total transmission losses HT[W/K]
HTr,ad = HTS + HTB = 371.10+25.7 = 396.80
HT = 396.80 W/K
Specific transmission thermal losses of object H’T[W/(m2K)]

  785
 HT’ = HTr,ad / A = 396.80 / 356.80 = 1.5

Table 5. The ratio of specific transmission losses and allowed

HT’ [W/(m2K)] HT’max[W/(m2K)] Complete YES / NO

1,5 0,5 NO

The total thermal losses

Qht = Qtr+ Qve

Qht =
1 Σk (Htr ,k · (θint, set, H - θe ,K)) · t = 15,08 kWh
1000
Qve = 1 Σk (ftr ,k · Hve,k · (θint, set, H - θe ,K)) · t = 3,70 kWh
1000
Qht = 15,08 + 3,70= 18,78 kWh

Annual energy to cover losses in months:

QH,ht=(HT+HV)*24*HDD*10-3, kWh/a

HT = 396,8 W/K

HV = 97,3 W/K

Table 6. Annual energy to cover losses in months

City Num- Months

ber of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
degree
days
Belgrade 2520 585 458 370 102 0 0 0 0 0 101 373 531
Percent- 100% 23.2 18.2 14.7 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 14.8 21.1
age
Gradiška 2774 644 504 407 112 0 0 0 0 0 111 411 585
QH,ht= 32,895.2 32,895.2 7,636.4 5,978.6 4,829.9 1,331.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1,318.4 4,869.0

Thermal gains

QH, gn= Qint+ Qsol

Qint - The internal thermal gains

Qsol - The Solar thermal gains

The internal thermal gains:

786
 Gains from people and electrical devices:

Gains from people: Qlj =Af ·qlj · h · number of day · 10-3[kWh/a]

(number of day in month)
Gains from electrical devices: Qel =Af · qel · (number of day in year)
[kWh/a]

Input data (Table 6.5 )(Regulation of Serbia):

Thermal emission of people per unit area qlj = 1,2 W/m2

The annual consumption of electrical energy per unit area of the heated space qel = 20 kWh/m2

The presence of the day - 12 h

Table 7. The internal thermal gains in months:

City Num- Months

ber of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
degree
days
Belgrade 2520 585 458 370 102 0 0 0 0 0 101 373 531
Percent- 100% 23.2 18.2 14.7 4.0 0 0 0 0 0 4.0 14.8 21.1
age
Gradiška 2774 644 504 407 112 0 0 0 0 0 111 411 585
Qlj= 341.1 79.2 62.0 50.1 13.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.7 50.5 71.9
Qel= 1,463.7 214.0 193.3 214.0 207.1 214.0 207.1 214.0

Thermal gains from solar radiation

Qsol = Qsol,gl + Qsol,c

Qsol,gl - thermal gains through transparent surfaces

Qsol,c - thermal gains through non transparent surfaces

Thermal gains through transparent surfaces

Qsol,gl = Fsh · Аw· ggl · (1 – FF) · Isol

Isol – Solar radiation is taken from Table 6.9 Serbian Regulations

Table 8. Gains from solar radiation by months

Months
Mark Orientations
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April
PS1 North 42.14 25.91 20.68 25.17 32.34 52.08 64.50
PS1 South 150.22 91.49 72.62 88.37 105.88 132.63 119.28

  787
 Months
Mark Orientations
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April
PS2S North 21.26 13.07 10.43 12.70 16.32 26.28 32.55
PS2S South 75.79 46.16 36.64 44.59 53.42 66.92 60.19
BVS North 21.84 13.43 10.72 13.05 16.76 27.00 33.44
BVS South 80.91 49.28 39.11 47.59 57.02 71.43 64.25
PS3 North 5.23 3.21 2.57 3.12 4.01 6.46 8.00
PS4 South 66.16 40.30 31.98 38.92 46.63 58.41 52.54
PS5 West 4.84 2.50 1.84 2.35 3.99 5.75 6.92
KP West 43.75 22.57 16.62 21.20 36.03 51.94 62.52
TOTAL 512.13 307.91 243.21 297.06 372.39 498.89 504.18

Gains from solar radiation through non transparent surfaces:

Qsol,c = Fsh · αS,c · Rse · Uc · Ac · Isol

Table 9. Thermal gains through non transparent surfaces

Type of Months
Orientations
wall Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April
SZ North 30.68 18.86 15.06 18.33 23.55 37.92 46.97
SV North 3.38 2.08 1.66 2.02 2.59 4.18 5.17
SZ South 113.75 69.28 54.99 66.91 80.17 100.43 90.33
SZ West 120.39 62.10 45.73 58.34 99.15 142.94 172.05
TOTAL 268.20 152.32 117.43 145.60 205.46 285.47 314.52

Annual energy use for heating systems with interruption:

QH ,nd ,interm = αH, red · QH ,nd [kWh/a]

τ
αH, red = 1−3 H, 0
· γ H ·(1− f H ,hr);
τ

γH = Qh ,gn ; τ = Cm / 3600 [h]

Qh ,tr Htr + Hve

where:

αH, red - nondimensional reduction factor in heating

γ H - nondimensional ratio of thermal balance

Cm - effective thermal capacity of the heated part of the building (table HR EN13790)

f H ,hr - the ratio of the number of hours of heating during the week to total number hours in a week

788
 After substituting the values obtained:
τ
αH, red = 0,75 γ H = 0,23 Cm = 12 [J/K] H, 0
= 15 h

QH,nd,interm 21.367,4 kWh/a

Table of the results and identification of the energy class:

Table 10. Annual final energy for heating [kWh/a]

Month QH,ht Qsol,gl Qsol,c Qsol Qlj Qel Qint QH,gn QH,interm qH,nd
Oct 1,318.4 512.1 268.2 780.3 13.7 214.0 227.7 1008.0 856.4 6.8
Nov 4,869.0 307.9 152.3 460.2 50.5 207.1 257.6 717.8 3162.7 25.1
Dec 6,931.5 243.2 117.4 360.6 71.9 214.0 285.9 646.5 4502.4 35.7
Jan 7,636.4 297.1 145.6 442.7 79.2 214.0 293.2 735.9 4960.3 39.4
Feb 5,978.6 372.4 205.5 577.9 62.0 193.3 255.3 833.2 3883.4 30.8
Mar 4,829.9 498.9 285.5 784.4 50.1 214.0 264.1 1048.5 3137.3 24.9
Apr 1,331.5 504.2 314.5 818.7 13.8 207.1 220.9 1039.6 864.9 6.9
21,367.4 169.58

Diagram full extent of heating energy by month:

Annual full extent energy and building energy class, according to the Regulations about the
conditions, the content and the process of issuing certificates of energy performance of buildings:

Energy class QH,nd,ref

[kWh/m2a]
А+ ≤ 15
А ≤ 25
B ≤ 50
C ≤ 100
D ≤ 150

  789
 Energy class QH,nd,ref
[kWh/m2a]
E ≤ 200
F ≤ 250
G > 250
QH,nd=21367,4 kWh/a
qH,nd=169,58 kWh/m2a
Class: E

Conclusion

The obtained energy class E is very low for this type of building, but might be expected
to obtain this result considering that building was built 34 years ago and that they are not used
insulation materials for thermal insulation, and joinery that is on quality in accordance with time
when the building was built. The heating system is primitive, the building does not have central
heating. Therefore, there is practically no regulation system. Losses in such a system are high, as
demonstrated by calculation. The building has not been renovated, the building was expanded
to 1m, and built a basement under the entire building. These data are taken into account in
calculation. In the end it can be concluded that the necessary reconstruction to the building, in
order to increase energy class, and increase energy efficiency of building.

References

Službeni glasnik RS br. 61/2011: Pravilnik o energetskoj efikasnosti zgrada

Službeni glasnik RS br. 61/2011: Pravilnik o uslovima, sadržini i načinu izdavanja sertifikata o
energetskim svojstvima zgrada

B. Todorović: Projektovanje postrojenja za centralno grijanje, peto izmjenjeno izdanje, Mašinski

fakultet, Beograd 1979

790
 Importance and Use of Renewable Energy Sources
in the Case of Small Hydro Power Plants

Dragana Štrbac
State University of Novi Pazar / Serbia

ABSTRACT

Renewable energy sources are topical issue in all developed countries. The use of renewable
energy sources in the world has recorded a significant growth in all sectors. Global investments
in these sources set new records. The use of renewable sources in power generation was long
forgotten and a secondary issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is unacceptable given the
huge potential of water masses. Only in recent years grow interests for building of hydro power
plants. However, the procedure for building of hydro power plants are complicated, because their
construction is not yet clearly defined to legal and regulatory framework. It is not defined that
the hydro power plants represent the resources of public interest. During the procedures for
obtaining a building permit there are local organizations and entities who believe that hydro
power plants damage the environment. This paper deals with this topic: the importance and types
of renewable energy sources, their advantages and disadvantages with examples of use. For the
use of of renewable energy sources are required: detailed technoeconomic analysis, overcoming
administrative and technical barriers, incentives should comply with the state policy, the ultimate
goal - the preservation of the environment.

Key words: renewable energy sources, hydropower plants

Introduction

„We should make use of the forces of nature and should obtain all our power in this way. Sunshine
is a form of energy, wind and sea currents are manifestations of this energy. Do we make use of them? Oh
no! We burn forests and coal, like tenants burning down our front door for heating. We live like wild settlers.“
 Thomas A. Edison, 1916

  791
 Renewable energy is energy that is generated from natural processes that are continuously
replenished. This includes sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and various forms of
biomass. This energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed. Renewable energy replaces
conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling,
motor fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services. Renewable energy sources have much lower
energy value in comparison to fossil fuels, which is why their power plants smaller sizes and
geographically broadly distributed and they are connected mainly to the distribution network.

Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other global
warming emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the planet’s temperature, and create
significant and harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate.

Renewable energy is the only solution to the growing energy challenges/crisis. The
enormous amount of energy being consumed across the world is having adverse implications on
the ecosystem of the planet. Climate changes driven by human activities cause the production
of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This is directly impacting on the environmental condition.
According to the World Health Organization as many as 160 000 people die each year from the
side effects of climate changes. This number could almost double by 2020. [1]

Generating electricity from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels offers significant
public health benefits. The air and water pollution emitted by coal and natural gas plants is
linked to breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, and cancer. Replacing fossil
fuels with renewable energy has been found to reduce premature mortality and lost workdays,
and it reduces overall healthcare costs [2]. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the importance
and types of renewable energy sources, their advantages, disadvantages and to inform the public
about the importance of using renewable energy sources.

Historical review

Since the fire discovery until the mid-18th century and the discovery of fossil fuels,
renewable energy sources were the only available energy sources:

• In addition to the burning of wood and other combustible materials, our ancestors
noticed the advantages of most natural energy sources that we know today, wind, water,
sun and even geothermal energy;
• Solar energy is already used in buildings (e.g. skylight on the dome of the Roman
Pantheon or Socratic House as the first example of using the passive solar architecture).
• Wind energy is used by the ships and mills;
• For centuries hydropower is used for turning the watermill wheels;
• In ancient Rome, geothermal energy is used for heating.

792
 Development of prime movers using heat from fuels – the heat engines – was a critical
historical event, because stored high-density energy in fuels like wood, and particularly coal and
oil, could provide energy at any time and any place. The abundance of fossil fuels (coal, oil and
natural gas) and energy independence from locality and seasonal natural phenomena, such as
waterfalls and wind, opend many opportunities for unforeseen development. Invention of the
first practical steam engine by Newcomen and Savery in 1712 and improvements by James Watt
in 1765 started intensive development and utilization of fossil fuels – still the most dominant
energy source, with 85% share of the total energy use of modern society. The use of new heat
engines and the need for more fuels were propelling discovery of many coal mine and oilfields.
In return, available energy sources were enabling an intense rise in human activities, skills and
knowledge, as well as growth of civilization, reaching 1 billion people by the end of the 18th
century. [3]

Use of fossil fuels caused global climate changes that became apparent last few years and
people began seriously consider replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources.

Types of Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy sources include biomass, wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy
and water power and most of these renewable energies depend in one way or another on
sunlight. Wind and solar energy are less prone to large-scale failure because they are distributed.
Distributed systems are spread out over a large geographical area, so a severe weather event
in one location will not cut off power to an entire region. Modular systems are composed of
numerous individual wind turbines or solar arrays. Even if some of the equipment in the system
is damaged, the rest can typically continue to operate.

Figure 1. Types of renewable energy sources

Biomass
Energy in this form is very commonly used throughout the world. Unfortunately the most
popular is the burning of trees for cooking and warmth. This process releases copious amounts
of carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere and is a major contributor to unhealthy air in many

  793
areas. Some of the more modern forms of biomass energy are methane generation and production
of alcohol for automobile fuel and fueling electric power plants.

Wind Power
The movement of the atmosphere is driven by differences of temperature at the Earth's
surface due to varying temperatures of the Earth's surface when lit by sunlight. Wind energy can
be used to pump water or generate electricity, but requires extensive areal coverage to produce
significant amounts of energy.

Solar energy
This form of energy relies on the nuclear fusion power from the core of the Sun. This energy
can be collected and converted in a few different ways. The range is from solar water heating with
solar collectors or attic cooling with solar attic fans for domestic use to the complex technologies
of direct conversion of sunlight to electrical energy using mirrors and boilers or photovoltaic
cells. Unfortunately these are currently insufficient to fully power our modern society.

Hydroelectric energy
Moving water is a powerful entity responsible for lighting entire cities, even countries.
Thousands of years ago the Greeks used water wheels, which picked up water in buckets around
a wheel. The water's weight caused the wheel to turn, converting kinetic energy into mechanical
energy for grinding grain and pumping water. In the 1800s the water wheel was often used
to power machines such as timber-cutting saws in European and American factories. More
importantly, people realized that the force of water falling from a height would turn a turbine
connected to a generator to produce electricity. Niagara Falls , a natural waterfall, powered the
first hydroelectric plant in 1879. Man-made waterfalls dams were constructed throughout the
1900s in order to maximize this source of energy. Aside from a plant for electricity production,
a hydropower facility consists of a water reservoir enclosed by a dam whose gates can open or
close depending on how much water is needed to produce a particular amount of electricity.
Hydropower is very convenient because it can respond quickly to fluctuations in demand. A
dam's gates can be opened or closed on command, depending on daily use or gradual economic
growth in the community. The production of hydroelectricity is often slowed in the nighttime
when people use less energy. When a facility is functioning, no water is wasted or released in an
altered state; it simply returns unharmed to continue the hydrologic cycle. The reservoir of water
resulting from dam construction, which is essentially stored energy, can support fisheries and
preserves, and provide various forms of water-based recreation for locals and tourists. [4]

There are three types of hydropower facilities:

• Impoundment – an impoundment facility, typically a large hydropower system, uses a

794
 dam to store river water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through
a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. The
water may be released either to meet changing electricity needs or to maintain a constant
reservoir level.
• diversion sometimes called run-of-river, facility channels a portion of a river through a
canal or penstock. It may not require the use of a dam.
• pumped storage – another type of hydropower called pumped storage works like
a battery, storing the electricity generated by other power sources like solar, wind, and
nuclear for later use. It stores energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher
elevation from a second reservoir at a lower elevation. When the demand for electricity is
low, pumped storage facility stores energy by pumping water from a lower reservoir to an
upper reservoir. During periods of high electrical demand, the water is released back to the
lower reservoir and turns a turbine, generating electricity.

Figure 2 – Impoundment facility Figure 3 – Diversion facility Figure 4 – Diversion power plants

Hydropower plants range in size from small systems for a home or village to large projects
producing electricity for utilities:
• large hydropower – although definitions vary, DOE defines large hydropower as facilities
that have a capacity of more than 30 megawatts.
• small hydropower – Although definitions vary, DOE defines small hydropower as facili-
ties that have a capacity of 100 kilowatts to 30 megawatts.
• micro hydropower – A micro hydropower plant has a capacity of up to 100 kilowatts. A
small or micro-hydroelectric power system can produce enough electricity for a home,
farm, ranch, or village. [5]

Hydrogen and fuel cells

These are also not strictly renewable energy resources but are very abundant in availability
and are very low in pollution when utilized. Hydrogen can be burned as a fuel, typically in a
vehicle, with only water as the combustion product. This clean burning fuel can mean a significant
reduction of pollution in cities. Or the hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, which are similar to
batteries, to power an electric motor. In either case significant production of hydrogen requires
  795
abundant power. Due to the need for energy to produce the initial hydrogen gas, the result is the
relocation of pollution from the cities to the power plants. There are several promising methods
to produce hydrogen, such as solar power, that may alter this picture drastically.

Geothermal power
Energy left over from the original accretion of the planet and augmented by heat from
radioactive decay seeps out slowly everywhere, everyday. In certain areas the geothermal gradient
(increase in temperature with depth) is high enough to exploit to generate electricity. This
possibility is limited to a few locations on Earth and many technical problems exist that limit its
utility. Another form of geothermal energy is Earth energy, a result of the heat storage in the Earth's
surface. Soil everywhere tends to stay at a relatively constant temperature, the yearly average, and
can be used with heat pumps to heat a building in winter and cool a building in summer.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Renewable Energy Sources

One major advantage with the use of renewable energy is that, as it is renewable, it is
therefore sustainable and so will never run out. Renewable energy facilities generally require
less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available
resources reduces the costs of operation. Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little
or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so has minimal impact
on the environment. Renewable energy is also cheaper and more economically sound than other
sources of generated energy. It is estimated that as a result of renewable energy manufacturing,
hundreds of thousands of stable jobs will be created.

Another disadvantage of renewable energy sources is the reliability of supply. One

shortcoming is that renewable energy relies heavily upon the weather for sources of supply:
rain, wind, and sunshine. In the event of weather that doesn’t produce these kinds of climate
conditions renewable energy sources lack the capacity to make energy.

Hydro generators need rain to fill dams to supply flowing water. Wind turbines need wind
to turn the blades, and solar collectors need clear skies and sunshine to collect heat and make
electricity. When these resources are unavailable so is the capacity to make energy from them.
This can be unpredictable and inconsistent. The current cost of renewable energy technology is
also far in excess of traditional fossil fuel generation. This is because it is a new technology and as
such has extremely large capital cost.

Example of Small Hydroelectric Power Plants

Small hydropower plants are often located in small rivers. In order to realize the full
potential of small hydropower plants, the whole value chain from water to wire has to work

796
efficiently. Projects never look exactly the same. Local conditions or budget limitations are
determining factors for small hydropower projects. Turbines are very crucial components for
small hydropower plants, as they finally turn water into energy.

One of the examples of small hydro power plants in our country is Grabovica. It is
located in Kotor Varos in the Republika Srpska and presents a good example of the utilization
of natural resources and renewable energy, in this case river Grabovica. Selected solution for
such diversion flow hydropower plants with a Tyrolean weir, pipeline, and hydroelectric engine,
where is accommodated a Pelton turbine. With the installed flow of 450 l / s, and gross head of
208 m (201.3 m net head), this plant has a power of 750 kW and average annual production of
approximately 2.9 GWh. Installed flow is 450 l / s, gross head 208 m, hydroelectric power is 750
kW and the average annual power production is about 9 GWh. The plant is designed according
to the principles of environmental protection. Water intake does not create an accumulation,
does not disturb regime of high water and allow release of environmentally acceptable flow. The
pipeline is "invisible".

Figure 5, 6. Water intake

Figure 7, 8, 9, 10. Equipment of small hydropower plants

  797
 Conclusion

Renewable energy sources are topical issue in all developed countries. Use of renewable
energy in the world has been experiencing significant growth in all sectors; global investment
in these resources sets new records. In B&H the use of renewable energy sources has been long
forgotten and a secondary issue, which is unacceptable given the huge potential for their use. Only
in recent years there has been an increased interest in the construction of small hydropower plants.
However, the procedures for the construction of hydroelectric power plants are complicated,
because their construction is still not clearly defined legal and regulatory framework. It is not
defined that they are resource of public interest. The procedures for obtaining building permits
get attention from the local organizations and entities which believe that small hydropower
plants will damage the environment. For correct use of renewable energy sources the following
is needed:

• detailed techno-economic analysis,

• to overcome administrative and technical barriers,
• financial incentives should adjusted with the state policy
• ultimate goal - the preservation of the environment.

References

Kostić, M. (2007) Energy: Global and historical Background, Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering
(B. L. Capehart, Editor), Taylor & Francis/CRC Press.
Machol B, Rizk S. (2013). Economic value of U.S. fossil fuel electricity health impacts. Environment
International 52 75–80. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23246069
Tiwari, G. N., Mishra, R. K. (2012). Advanced Renewable Energy Sources, Cambridge: RSC
Publishing.
Alternative Energy Solution for the 21st century (25.08.2015) http://www.altenergy.org/
renewables/hydroelectric.html
ENERGY.GOV, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Types of hydropower plants
http://energy.gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants (26.08.2015)

Sources of figures

Figure 1 http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/what-is-renewable-energy.html
Figure 2http://energy.gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants
Figure 3http://energy.gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants
Figure 4 http://www.cleanbalancepower.com/images/img8.gif

798
 Methods and Tools for the Analysis of
Entrepreneurial Thinking – A Critical Review

Nerma Saračević & Ivana Bekić

University of J.J. Strosmayer Osijek / Croatia

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship means much more than an increase in output and income per capita. It
includes the initiation and establishment of a change in business and society as a whole. Therefore,
the study of entrepreneurial activity and the role of the entrepreneur is of great importance for
today's society. The environment in which we live today is characterized by ever-present change.
Everything is fast and volatile, the way of life, creating and working. Business organizations operate
in a very complex and dynamic environment. Because of the dynamics and uncertainty of the
environment, managers of today's businesses are required to have a proactive, entrepreneurial
way of thinking. In order to adopt it, first the proactive way of thinking should be clearly defined.
The aim of this study is to determine the efficiency and accuracy of existing tools for measuring
entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial thinking. On the basis of these findings to define the
entrepreneurial with the goal of its more efficient adoption. Qualitative research methods were
used - analysis of secondary databases, and overview and a critical review of recent theoretical
discussions. There is a growing scientific interest of psychology in entrepreneurial thinking through
analysis of behaviour of management in conditions of uncertainty and dynamism. It uses a variety
of methods and tools. In this paper, through an analysis of the existing literature, we will present
the analysis of the Entrepreneurial Predisposition Questionnaire (UPS) which was formed by
combining the "General measure of Enterprising Tendency” (GET test) and Koh's questionnaire as
well as questionnaires of Mike Haynie "General Measure of Adaptive Cognition". Critical analysis
of the results of these questionnaires in the synthesis with the theoretical discussion in this paper
may serve as an aid for vocational guidance or as an educational tool that can direct respondents to
traits that are associated with entrepreneurship.

Key words: entrepreneurial thinking, Entrepreneurial Predisposition Questionnaire, GET

test, cognitive flexibility, questionnaire "General Measure of Adaptive Cognition"

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 Introduction

Humanity is constantly in the process of transition tirelessly striving to be better, different,

or at least more acceptable (Samuelson and Nordhaus, 2011, p. 501). The changes happening at
the same time are getting quicker and more frequent. Today's society is characterized by constant
change. Everything is fast, uncertain, unstable.

The environment in which people live shapes their beliefs, values and norms. The outer
reflects the inner defining the relationship of the individual to himself, to others, to nature and to
the universe (Kotler, 2001, p. 164).

The changing environment requires a new way of thinking and acting, in both private
and business life. Turbulent market dominated by innovation and the information is subject
to demanding consumers, and intense competition (Renko, 2005, pp. 8-9). The dynamics and
uncertainty are leading entrepreneurship at the meeting point of supply and demand, with the
desire for more efficient use of limited resources and meeting the growing needs and desires.
Our world is a world of scarcity, full of economic goods (Samuelson and Nordhaus, 2011, p. 4).
Entrepreneurship promotes growth and increases production, allowing greater distribution of
wealth in a number of different actors (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 2011, p. 14). Entrepreneurial
activities have significant impact on the economy of the construction of the economic base
and creating new jobs (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 16). But entrepreneurship is much more than an
increase in output and income per capita, including the initiation and establishment of a change
in business and society (Hisrich et al. 2011, p. 13).

The most important resource in society and the economy today is the entrepreneurial
spirit and entrepreneurial awareness, entrepreneurial mental skills (Vargo and Lusch, 2006, p.
53 cited in Read, Dew, Sarasvathy, Song and Wiltbank, 2009, p. 16). It is not surprising that
the entrepreneurship has permeated all social pores changing and building a social creation.
It is the subject of national and international interests of individuals, teachers and students
and civil servants (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 5). The importance of entrepreneurship education
and entrepreneurship is constantly growing. Government, with increasing intensity and
interests, promote the growth of entrepreneurship. Social support to entrepreneurship is also
more pronounced as a key component of providing the necessary motivation to entrepreneurs.
In today's hypercompetitive and hyperproductive business environment big companies are
increasingly interested in capitalisation regarding its research and development of corporate
entrepreneurship (Hisrich et al. 2011, pp. 18-19).

Considering its wide prevalence and social applicability, it is clear that the term
entrepreneurship can be viewed from different conceptual sides, and mean different things to
different people. However, there is constant and universally accepted driving force behind the
term entrepreneurship: risk taking, creativity, independence and prizes (Hisrich et al., 2011, p.

800
17). Therefore, it can be generally concluded that entrepreneurship is the process of creating
something new under the assumption of risk and reward, while the entrepreneur can be
characterized as an individual who risks in order to start something new (Hisrich et al., 2011,
pp. 5-8). In almost all the definitions of entrepreneurship observed from a personal perspective
it includes (Shapero, 1975, p. 187 cited in Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 7):

✓ taking the initiative;

✓ organizing social and economic mechanisms and resources in a practical direction;
✓ accepting risk and failure.

Therefore, we conclude that entrepreneurship is a response to the constant change of today,

but also runs a change initiated by entrepreneurs/innovators who develop something unique.
Entrepreneurial ideas enriched in innovation can relate to any aspect of the business: new
products, new distribution channels, new ways of organizing the business (Hisrich, et al., 2011,
p. 7). Entrepreneurship is currently the most effective method of overcoming the gap between
science and market (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 2011, p. 16).

Defining the entrepreneurship

In view of the role of entrepreneurship in the development of society and economy, as

well as investigation of the phenomenon the differences between entrepreneurs and non-
entrepreneurs, scientific field of entrepreneurship is the subject of various disciplines such as
psychology, medicine and sociology, and is rightly considered a multidisciplinary scientific field.

Scientists Morris, Kuratko and Covina (2010) attempted to unify the existing definition
and create a single, comprehensive definition of entrepreneurship, and the analysis of 75
contemporary definitions single out the following terms as commonly used as part of the
definition (cited in Jeger, 2013):

• Startup /establishment/creation,
• new enterprise / new venture,
• innovation/new products /new markets,
• perceiving opportunities,
• risk taking/risk management/uncertainty,
• focus on profit /personal gain
• new combinations of resources/instruments of production,
• managing,
• organizing resources,
• value creation,
• commitment to growth,
• process,

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 • existing company,
• undertake initiatives/complete tasks/ proactivity,
• making changes,
• property,
• responsibility,
• strategy formulation.

There are seven fields in which the researchers focused their interest (Morris, Kuratko &
Covin, 2010, cited in Jeger, 2013):

Table1.The seven fields of interest for scientific research

Scientific field of interest Fundamental assumption

Entrepreneurship involves creation of prod-
Wealth creation
ucts and services in return for profits.

Entrepreneurship encompasses the establish-

Creating venture
ment of new enterprises/businesses.

Entrepreneurship involves activation of a

unique combination of resources which
Creating Innovation
ultimately causes the obsolescence of existing
methods or products.

Entrepreneurship involves creating change

through adaptation of personal attitudes and
Creating change
skills of the individual with the aim reaction
to the opportunity in the environment.

Entrepreneurship involves the recruitment,

Creating the opportunity managing and development of production
factors including human labor.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating

Value Creation value for customers through response to the
untapped the opportunity.
Creating growth Entrepreneurship is defined
as a strong and positive orientation towards
Creating growth
growth by increasing sales, income and prop-
erty.
Source: Moriss, Kuratko and Covin (2010: 9). Corporate Entrepreneurship & Innovation. South Western
Pub (Jeger, 2013).

802
 After this analysis, Morris, Kuratko and Covina (2010) defined entrepreneurship as
follows: "Entrepreneurship is the process of creating value through the unique combination of
resources and exploitation of opportunity."

Psychology of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur’s features

The international research project on entrepreneurship Global Entrepreneurship Monitor

(GEM) puts in correlation the economic growth and entrepreneurial activity dependent on the
individual and its interaction with the environment. The proven correlation between the level
of entrepreneurial activity with indicators of national economic activity suggests that one-third
of economic growth is a result of entrepreneurial activity (GEM, 2007). Thereby it emphasizes a
holistic approach to entrepreneurship as a phenomenon of the interaction of the individual and
the environment present in all social organizations - the economy, education, research, culture,
government, local government (CEPOR, 2006, p. 13). Entrepreneurship is viewed as a result of a
combination of personal and environmental factors (Miljkovic-Krečar, 2008, p. 59).

Most of the papers in the field of psychology of entrepreneurship seek to determine the
individual characteristics that distinguish entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs. According
to Miljkovic-Krečar (2008), amongst the earliest works, some authors identified entrepreneurs
with business owners, while others differ in the quality and quantity. So Hornaday (1990)
differentiates artisans (who perform only one job) and opportunists (who recognize the different
business opportunities), as well as managers who manage multiple employees. Gartner (1989)
distinguishes between "small" and "large" entrepreneurs, with shorter or longer years of service,
with faster or slower growth of the company. From the above definition of entrepreneurs, we
can identify common characteristics of entrepreneurs as people who make profits by managing
resources with their own risk (Miljković- Krečar, 2008).

The other works in this field attempted to distinguish entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur
by personality traits. According to Sušanj (2012), in this regard, theories have developed that
define and measure the following characteristics of entrepreneurs:

Table 2: Theories of Personality of Entrepreneurs

Personality Authors
Achievement Motivation and Need for (McClelland D. , 1958) (Mc Clelland, 1961)
Achievement (McClelland & Burnham, 2003)

Risk taking (Brockhaus, 1980b)

Tolerance to uncertainty (Koh, 1996)

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 Personality Authors
Innovativeness and creativity (Cromie, 2000)

(Brockhaus, 1980a) (Venkatapathy, 1984)

Autonomy and locus of control (Ahmed, 1985) (Rotter, 1966) (Schjoedt &
Shaver, 2012)

Self-confidence and entrepreneurial self-

(Krueger & Brazeal, 1994)
efficacy

“BIG Five” Model of Personality (neuroti-

cism, extraversion, openness to experience, (Zhao & Seibert, 2006)
agreeableness and conscientiousness

Source: Susanj (Entrepreneurial Insight & Personal Development: Psychology of Entrepreneurship, 2012)
for personality, review literature by authors of this work

The most direct cause of entrepreneurial activity is an entrepreneur himself (Locke

& Baum, 2007) cited in (Sušanj, 2012). Personality plays an important role in business and,
generally, in working behaviour. Specific characteristics indicate greater connection with the
launching and success in business (Sušanj, 2012). It is not surprising that the entrepreneur
is a great subject of research interest. All the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs are
explored so that they can lead into correlation with the initiation of entrepreneurial activity.
Hence the scientific contribution of psychology of entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming
important when promoting and developing entrepreneurial activities. Interest of psychology of
entrepreneurship is focused primarily on determining the characteristics and typical behaviour
of an entrepreneur and determining the motives and methods of making business decisions.
Success factors of entrepreneurs and/or the survival in the business are not so frequently the
subject of research (Miljković- Krečar, 2008, pp. 55-57). McClelland (1958, 1961), McClelland &
Burnham (2003) in their research demonstrated the importance of the Achievement Motivation
for economic development and growth. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was the test
which is originally used to research the relationship between entrepreneurship and need for
achievement. Morgan and Murray (Meyer & Murray, 1935) developed TAT test for analysis in
clinical work. In its simple form it consists of 20 pictures in black and white of people and objects
in different settings. Atkinson and McClelland (1948) developed this test for further research
out of clinical using. Mescon and Montanari (1981) used Personality Research Form-E (PRF-E)
for differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Lynn Achievement Motivational
Scale (LAMQ) (Lynn, 1969) developed for replacement TAT test. Cesarec-Marke Personal
Scheme (CMPS) (Cesarec & Marke, 1973) is developed from Muray’s theory (Muray, 1938). It
includes 11 subscales with 15 questions, and total 165 questions. Hansemark (2000) in his article

804
used TAT and CMPS test for analysis of their predictive validity on the entrepreneurial activity
of a starting new business. In these tests the author measured the objectivity CMPS test and
projective test TAT in measuring the need for achievement.

Testing of entrepreneurial features "locus of control" did not produce unique results
that would indicate its significance and impact on entrepreneurial activity. Some consider it
to be pronounced among entrepreneurs ((Brockhaus, 1980b) (Cromie & Johns, 1983) cited in
(Miljković- Krečar, 2008, p. 58)), while other researchers negate this connection (Hull, Bosley,
&Udell, 1980) cited in (Miljković- Krečar, 2008, p. 58). Locus of control indicates the degree of
belief in the ability to control events in their own lives. Here we differentiate the internal locus
where we "tailor" our fate alone and external locus of control, which is under the influence of the
environment, i.e. random or predetermined events. Despite the doubts about the importance of
locus of control as the feature that distinguishes entrepreneurs, the assumption that entrepreneurs
are largely "internal" in relation to non-entrepreneurs is generally well confirmed in literature
(Sušanj, 2012). Rotter’s (1966) test titled Locus of Control of Reinforcement is a measuring
instrument containing 29 questions composed in pairs. One issue relates to the inner belief of
the locus of control, and the other on the external influences. 6 questions are dummies variables.
Through this test, researchers have attempted to measure the extent to which individuals have
the general expectations of internal and external locus of control. The tested respondents must
make a choice as to which they prefer above the other. The test results define how many external
choices individuals make.

However, due to the non-unique results of the research, some authors completely left
this term and turned to a related term - "entrepreneurial self-efficacy". Chen, Greene and Crick
(1998) found that self-efficacy is a better measure to distinguish entrepreneurs from non-
entrepreneurs than the need for achievement and locus of control. (Krueger & Brazeal, 1994) in
turn find an important link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions.
Some scholars even argue that the entrepreneurial self-efficacy is the single largest predictor of
entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial behaviour and significant predictor of future success
of the company (Sušanj, 2012). Another related and important precondition for the successful
entrepreneurial activity is the firm's "confidence" (Koch, 1996). "Creativity" is also considered
the backbone of entrepreneurship as a driver of changes and an important factor to distinguish
entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs (Koch, 1996). Cromie (2000) even stated that such
conclusions largely depend on the sample of non-entrepreneurs and considers that, for example,
teachers, lecturers and trainers are equally creative. In the context of entrepreneurship "the need
for independence" is often mentioned. Brockhaus (1980) lists the characteristics of a strong
motivational component for starting your own business, and Hornaday & Aboud (1971) that
entrepreneurs have much greater need for independence and less expressed need for support
(Miljković- Krečar, 2008, p. 59).
  805
 Zhao & Siebert (2006) analyzed 23 studies and concluded that entrepreneurs compared
to other managers have higher scores on Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience and
lower scores on Neuroticism and Agreeableness. Conscientiousness is most pronounced quality
in entrepreneurs. They found no difference between entrepreneurs and managers regarding to
Extraversion.

Considering that various studies have not determined which features define entrepreneurs,
and especially have not shown the prognosis of success in entrepreneurial activity, universal
measuring instrument which would help in the assessment of who will become a successful
entrepreneur has not been developed yet. In addition to the afore-mentioned, the most famous
instrument in the field of measurement of entrepreneurial tendency is General Measure of
Enterprising Tendency (GET) test. GET test was developed 1987- 1988 by Sally Caird and Mr.
Cliff Johnson at Durham University Business (Caird, 2013). The questionnaire contains 54
statements on the basis of which an estimated five characteristics:

✓ Need for achievement

✓ Need for independence
✓ Urge and determination
✓ Risk-taking
✓ Creativity

This test cannot reliably predict who is going to become an entrepreneur, but its importance
lies in defining the characteristics which entrepreneurs possess.

Author Miljkovic-Krečar (2008) has designed a questionnaire Entrepreneurial Tendency

Test by combining GET Koh questionnaire (Koch, 1996), in line with the suggestions of scientists
(Caird, (Stormer, Kline & Goldenberg, 1999) cited in (Miljković- Krečar, 2008), with the addition
of Scale Externality (Bezinovic, 1988) and Scale of Tolerance on Uncertainty (Norton, 1975). The
following scales are used (Miljković- Krečar, 2008):

✓ Need for achievement

✓ Need for independence
✓ Innovativeness
✓ Willingness to take (moderate) risk
✓ (Internal) Locus of control
✓ Self-confidence
✓ Tolerance to Uncertainty.

254 respondents-students from Vern Polytechnic were surveyed with 69 statements. It was
concluded that entrepreneurs accept the risk to a greater degree, express unconventionality, are
more focused on achievement and have more confidence in their abilities than non-entrepreneurs.
806
 Entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial thinking

With regard to the mentioned importance and necessity of entrepreneurial activity in

today's society, it is essential to determine the difference between entrepreneurial and non-
entrepreneurial thinking and define the purpose of its more efficient adoption.

Entrepreneurs make decisions in a highly uncertain environment where time pressures

and the stakes are high, and the emotional involvement is a big (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 29).
Uncertainty is a feature of the product of today's social circumstances, but from the very
beginning of economic thought about entrepreneurship, it is inextricably linked with the
uncertainty (Hebert & Link, 1988). Therefore, entrepreneurial way of thinking must include the
ability of rapid recognition and response and to mobilize in uncertain circumstances. In this way,
the entrepreneur establishes control over the dynamic environments and operates it by shaping
it through unexpected events (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 33). Thus an entrepreneur plays a pivotal
role of drivers of change and innovators. In the development of an entrepreneurial mindset,
individuals must constantly review their own logic and be willing to change the basic principles
of business operations, in accordance with the changing and uncertain environment. Described
thinking is characterized by (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 29):

• Cognitive adaptability,
• Learning on failure,
• The achievement.

Cognitive adaptability

The cognitive adaptability is the extent in which entrepreneurs are dynamic, flexible, how
they govern themselves and how they, in their decisions realise and process, and act accordingly
(Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 33). It is reflected in the entrepreneurial meta-cognitive awareness, and the
ability to reflect, understand and control their own thinking and learning (Schraw & Dennison,
1994, pp. 460-475, cited in Hisrich et al., 2011, pp. 31- 33).

Higher metacognitive awareness is greater cognitive adaptability (Hisrich et al., 2011, p.

34). The key point of today's business activity is the fact how it can learn to be more cognitively
flexible, i.e. it can be learnt to think entrepreneurially. In doing so it is necessary to "think about
thinking" (Haynie, 2005). We must have knowledge of our learning and thinking process, and
gain control over it. Thereby it requires from us to be self-conscious, to think out loud, to monitor
ourselves, to look strategically, and to know what is needed to be known about the process of
thinking. These assumptions for the achievement of cognitive adaptability can be fulfilled using
reminders in the form of questions relating to:

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 Table 3. Questions for reminder for the achievement of cognitive adaptability

The assumptions for Questions as a reminder for the achievement of cognitive

achievement of cogni- adaptability
tive adaptability

Understanding What is the essence of technology?

What is it actually in the market?
What we want to achieve by starting a new company?
What are the key elements of effective work in this opportunity?
etc.
Connectivity How is this new environment similar to others in which I worked?
What are the differences?
How is this new organization similar to other organizations I've
driven?
What are the differences? etc.

Strategy What change in a strategic position, organizational structure and

culture will help to manage our novelty?
How the application of this strategy can make possible? etc.
Reflections What am I doing?
Does that make sense?
How I feel?
Which will we have the difficulties in convincing the interest of
stakeholders?
Is there a better way of applying our strategy? How will we recog-
nize success if we see it?
Source: Poduzetništvo (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 2011, pp. 5-8).

The questions for understanding are designed to maximize the entrepreneur's

understanding of the nature of the environment in which it operates, in order to detect the
opportunities and threats and the nature of the business situation.

The tasks of connectivity represent an incentive to entrepreneurs to compare the current

situation with previous situations. They encourage consideration of the current situation through
the similarities and differences with previous situations. They refer entrepreneurs to recognize
the dangers or benefits through comparison with the previous environment.

Strategic objectives are designed to encourage entrepreneurs to think about which

strategies are appropriate to solve the problem (and why) or to work on opportunity (and how).
These tasks encourage entrepreneurs to create innovative economic organizations in order to
make profit, achieve growth of enterprises while simultaneously solving the problems which
arise in terms of business risks and uncertainties (Kolakovic, 2007). They are closely related to
strategic entrepreneurship as a special field of research entrepreneurship.
808
 Reflective tasks are designed to encourage entrepreneurs to think about their understanding
and feelings, during their progress through the entrepreneurial process. By generating their own
feedback, entrepreneurs recognize and create the opportunity for change.

Through the sequence of the afore-mentioned questions entrepreneurs can work on their
own cognitive adaptability which is crucial for the achievement of entrepreneurial modes of
thinking and acting. Hyperproductivity and dynamics of everyday life imposes flexibility as a
prerequisite for survival and success.

Putting reflection within the organization, productive daily learning and the ensuing
development is possible if employees are open to critical-reflective professional conduct. Critical-
reflective business behaviour is a combination of interrelated individual employee activity
focused on analysing, optimizing and innovation of business practices on the individual, team
and organizational level. The mentioned findings and definitions occurred through studying
informal, daily basis organizational learning and staff competencies. With that aim, a survey was
conducted that included a variety of organizational structures (2 banks, 3 factories, a post office
and a telephone exchange). The backbone of the research was the question that all employees
were asked: "What is your definition of a good employee?".

Most of the answers included further unsolicited questioning of employees about their
effectiveness in the workplace and the manner and cause of their daily tasks. These issues inevitably
referred to individual aspects of critical reflection, suggesting that the critical reflection was the
decisive factor informal organizational learning and competence of employees. This research
brought the conclusion about the existence of six dimensions of critical-reflective Business
Conduct (Woerkom, Nijhof & Nieuwenhuis, 2002):

✓ reflection of the individual in relation to his work,

✓ communicating the vision,
✓ seeking feedback
✓ group thinking,
✓experimentation,
✓ knowledge of employability.

Test "General Measures of Adaptive Knowledge" (Haynie & Shepherd) can check their
cognitive adaptability. The test was formed from five groups of questions with offered answers on
the scale 1 to 10 where 1 means "not exactly like me" and 10 "very similar to me". Questions are
grouped as follows:

✓ orientation towards the target

✓ metacognitive knowledge
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 ✓ metacognitive experience
✓ metacognitive selection
✓ supervision.

The higher score obtained by responses to the questions in the test means that we are more
aware of the way how we think we make decisions, which means that we are cognitively more
flexible. In case of unsatisfactory results which indicate a low cognitive flexibility, small reminders
in the form of simple questions listed in Table 3 are grouped in questions for understanding, the
tasks for networking, strategic tasks and reflective tasks, we can stimulate our thinking how to
make decisions and manage it i.e. to learn to "think about thinking" and control it so that it was
more flexible (Hisrich et al., 2011, pp. 34-37).

Metacognitive adaptability was investigated by scientists (Bransford, Cocking, Donovan

& Pellegrino, 2000). These authors define adaptability as the ability to actively monitor one's
levels of understanding, decide when it is inadequate, and adjust one's actions, thoughts, and
decisions according to that level of adequacy, as well as to the current environment or situation.
Metacognitive awareness is the awareness of metacognition and of one’s own metacognitive
abilities (Moncarz, 2010) also defined as an aggregation of five dimensions of metacognition:
goal orientation, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience, metacognitive control,
and monitoring (Haynie, 2005). These dimensions of metacognition are actuated through one’s
own metacognitive awareness with individual levels influenced through various experiences
indicating positive correlation between metacognitive awareness levels and age (cited in
Gallagher & Prestwich, 2012).

Learning from business failure

Failure is a common occurrence in entrepreneurship because innovation which is an

entrepreneurial opportunity is also a source of uncertainty and risk (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd,
2011, p. 38). However, the most common cause of business failure is lack of experience. A higher
degree of business uncertainty increases the importance and positive impact of entrepreneurial
experience in operating result (Perkins & Rao, 1990). What is especially important is the
experience related to failure because it is proved that we learn more from our failures than from
the successes (Sitkin, 1992).

Learning from business failure occurs when entrepreneurs can gather and use feedback
about business failure, information about the actions and/or inactions that have caused the failure
and loss of business. Sadness resulting from business loss, which is associated with personal
loss due to frequent high emotional involvement of entrepreneurs, obstructs an entrepreneur’s
learning ability. Negative feelings interfere with attention in processing the information. After the
recovery process from sorrow begins valuable learning process. Two primary recovery processes
from sorrow apply to:
810
 • Orientation towards failure (loss),
• Orientation towards reconstruction.

Orientation towards failure (loss) involves processing some aspects of the experience of loss
and breaking the emotional ties with the lost object. By collecting feedback about the events and
circumstances related to the loss clarify the causes of loss and give the meaning to the loss which
gradually leads to a changed viewpoint of themselves and the world.

Changing the interpretation of events allows the entrepreneur to regulate emotions and
begin the recovery process of sorrow and is oriented towards reconstruction. Orientation towards
reconstruction is based on the avoidance of negative emotions and proactivity towards secondary
sources of stress arising from the loss of business. It is also essential to deal with new responsibilities,
challenges and changing conditions of life. Focusing on secondary sources of stress, reorganization
and renewal of various parts of the entrepreneur's personal life, can divert attention from the
negative feelings associated with business failure (Hisrich et al., 2011, pp. 38-40).

Orientation to loss as a recovery process from sorrow involves coping while the orientation
towards reconstruction involves suppression. The oscillation between these two processes enables
the entrepreneur to take advantage of the benefits of each and to speed up the recovery process
(Stroebe and Schut cited in Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 40).

In developing an entrepreneurial mind-set, necessary in today's business environment,

individuals must constantly review their own logic and be willing to change the basic principles
of business activity. Learning from failure of is a key paragraph of entrepreneurial thinking.
Failure forces us to question, change and strive for better, for success. It is related to the nature
of entrepreneurial activity, which constantly strives to new market opportunities. Innovations
represent remarkable opportunities, but also great risk. Dynamism, proactivity, flexibility and
continuous learning, gaining experience in order to improve business decision-making and
action in unpredictable circumstances is an integral part of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial
activity (Hisrich et al., 2011, pp. 38-41). Entrepreneurial expertise equates with expertise in
conditions of uncertainty (Read, Sarasvathy, Song, Dew, & Wiltbank, 2009).

The process of effectuation

In accordance with the ability to adapt and gain control of the turbulent environment and
the ability of fast recognition and response and mobilization, entrepreneurial mode of thinking
characterizes the process of effectuation.

The process of effectuation implies the mode of thinking that entrepreneurs use when
thinking about the opportunities in the market. Recognizing and taking advantage of market
opportunities start from what they have (who I am, what I know and who I know) and

  811
considering the available resources choose the possible outcome of entrepreneurial activity. This
mode of thinking is contrary to rational business thinking (causal thinking) that begins with
the desired outcome and then focuses on the means of achieving that outcome. The thought
process which starts on the outcome of business operations is called a causal process and for a
long time regarded as the only logical and correct mode of business thinking. However, a causal
process requires considerable analytical effort and anticipation, and a lot of resources and time
are invested in it, and the time itself is a resource which is in the dynamics and uncertainty
of entrepreneurial activity most precious and most relative. The future is highly unpredictable
in the current circumstances. The concept effectuation, which was founded by Professor Saras
Sarasvathy, talks about how entrepreneurs can control the future, they do not need to predict
it. The extent to which they are able to control the future is the extent to which its prediction is
unnecessary (Read, Sarasvathy et al., 2009, p. 5).

To help us understand the difference between a causal process of thinking and effectuation
during the process of identifying and evaluating business opportunities, we shall use the simple
presentation in the following figure:

Figure 1. Causation Model Vs. Process of Effectuation

Source: Saras D. Sarasvathy (2008). Classic causation model from marketing textbooks vs.
Process of effectuation used by expert entrepreneurs.

If an entrepreneur led the process of causing when starting a new business, it should
be carried out according to the general principle of the adopted Kotler principle (known as
STP process), the analysis of long-term opportunities in the market, then the research and
selection of potential target markets, which should then be segmented by using the appropriate
segmentation variables. After the implemented segmentation, the next step would be the
development of the profile obtained by market segments whose appeal would be carefully

812
evaluated with the intention of selecting the most attractive and the most appropriate target
market segments or more of them. By choosing the market segments which are the subject of
entrepreneur's interests, it is necessary to opt for one of several possible methods of positioning
in certain selected markets, and carefully develop them, and then communicate with the
consumer through the selection of suitable marketing strategies. All of the above involves the
planning of marketing programs, and the organization, implementation and controlling of
marketing efforts (Hisrich et al., 2011, pp. 30- 31).

This extensive process of introducing products / services on the market is known as STP
process - segmenting, targeting and positioning (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 31).

At the beginning, guided by STP process, the entrepreneur should start from the sum
of all potential customers in a geographic area. In case of a larger geographical area, his initial
analytical effort would be very important because by using a few selected segmentation variables
he should implement the segmentation by using a questionnaire distributed to all the selected
geographic areas. In order for research market to be relevant, a group focus should be organised.
Only after the analysis the comparison of replies from the questionnaire and the group focus, an
entrepreneur could determine the target market segment. According to the elaborated profile of
the chosen market segment, an entrepreneur would enable all operative components and then
start choosing appropriate marketing strategies in order to encourage target consumer to become
a client and develop a long term relationship with them.

By applying the process of effectuation when exploiting the opportunity and starting the
business venture, entrepreneur would start in the reverse direction. Instead of having started a
business venture with the assumption of a particular market which will be adapted by investing
all necessary resources to satisfy its needs and desires, an entrepreneur begins the entrepreneurial
process of thinking about the resources at his/her disposal, as well as the knowledge and skills
which he/she possesses. Guided by this logic, i.e. the process of effectuation when thinking about
the opportunity, an entrepreneur can set up several different companies in different branches
of industry. The first buyer becomes the target client. Through developing relationships with
its initial customers and continuous development of network of clients and relevant strategic
partners, an entrepreneur can gradually identify the target market segment later, but change it
over time (Sarasvathy, 2008).

The afore-mentioned shows how Sarasvathy's process of effectuation is more appropriate

for today's business environment because it allows decision-makers to change their goals, even
to define them later by exploiting unexpected events and changeable circumstances of turbulent
environment (Hisrich et al., 2011). A causal process finds its source in the intangible resources,
improvement, co-creation of value and interpersonal relationships (Vargo & Lusch, 2004).

  813
 Professor Sarasvathy compares entrepreneurial thought process of effectuation with
creating "patchwork" quilts made from old patches. Available pieces of old rags are patiently
assembled, creating a new unique product. Describing the process of effectuation through this
comparison, Professor Sarasvathy emphasizes that every individual patch is not important,
but what entrepreneur makes of it (Sarasvathy, 2008).A patch, in the mentioned comparison,
represents the means with which entrepreneur works, "what he has." Starting from what he
has – who he is, what he knows, who he knows, what he owns, where he lives, with whom he
lives and so on - the entrepreneur ventures into the entrepreneurial process by recognizing and
taking advantages at the market. The emphasis is on creating something new, unique by existing
assets. In this regard, from a financial point of view, an entrepreneur, while exploiting the market
opportunities, is not led by the financial analysis and calculations of return of investments but
currently available financial resources and readiness for loss. The opportunities are all around
us and "within reach" to everyone. The secret of their detecting lies in the constant revisiting of
everything that surrounds us. No one is immune to the virus innovation (Cohen, 2001-2011, p.
26). Innovation is the foundation of changing the present, the basis of today's knowledge society,
the source of changes (Drucker, 1985, pp. 115-120).

The process of effectuation starts from resources that surround us and the basis is in the
idea of unpredictable control. As such, it today dominates the entrepreneurial thinking and
marks the entrepreneurial process, defining the attitude towards entrepreneurial opportunity
(Read, Sarasvathy et al., 2009, p. 5). This does not mean that a long supported logic of causal
process is not valid, but is often not practical.

The effectuation process provides more acceptable explanation of changing environment

of business decisions and actions. It observes it as an endogenous unit in which participate and
which is created by decision-makers together with their partners, investors and clients. Therefore,
decision-makers can and should control the environment of their activities. The ability to control
reduces their need to predict (Read, Sarasvathy et al., 2009). Their experience is the source of the
necessary knowledge (Ericsson, 2006). Entrepreneurs with their practical knowledge filter the
information received from the environment and assess it according to the previous empirical
forms (Chase & Simon, 1976).While managers, lacking the necessary experience, often resort
to detailed marketing analysis and market research using the most common Kotler STP process
during the assessment the market opportunities and starting new ventures.

From the above-mentioned, we conclude that thinking guided by the process of

effectuation is the characteristic of entrepreneurs, while managers will likely opt for evaluation
of the market opportunities through the process of causing. Entrepreneurs, especially those who
are particularly experienced, often ignore and underestimate the forecasting and market analysis
when starting a new venture. Instead of marketing analysis, they rely on strategies which allow

814
them to control the changing environment and turn unpredictable and unexpected changes in
business opportunities (Read, Sarasvathy et al., 2009, p. 5).

Today's uncertain business conditions require from managers the entrepreneurial spirit in
business management, and thinking determined by cognitive adaptability, learning from failure,
and from the process of effectuation (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 29).

Entrepreneurial intentions

In seeking and exploiting opportunities intention is very important. Dealing with

entrepreneurship is a targeted, planned activity; therefore, the study of entrepreneurship should
use formal models of intention (Sušanj, 2012). The intentions are closely related to the motivational
factors that drive the entrepreneurial behaviour. They show how much the entrepreneurs in their
market activities are willing to endeavour and how much effort they are willing to invest. In
general, each individual has a stronger intention to act when action is perceived as possible and
desirable (Hisrich et al., 2011, p. 57). People who believe they have the capability for a specified
action, are usually more effective.

According to Krueger (1993) cited in Jeger (2013), the most commonly used definition of
entrepreneurial intentions refers to starting their own business, and more precise, entrepreneurial
intentions are defined as a commitment by the individual to take all actions necessary to open a
new business entity. Thompson (2009) cited in (Jeger, 2013) expresses a concise overview of the
different definitions of entrepreneurial intentions and as a conclusion it is recommended that
the definition of entrepreneurial intention is defined as a belief that a person intends to initiate
a new business venture and consciously plan how to achieve this purpose at some future point.
The future moment may or may not be determined. Moreover, it is possible that people who have
entrepreneurial intention not to launch a business venture at all (Jeger, 2013).

In her doctoral research (Jeger, 2013) included developing and testing an integrative
model of entrepreneurial intentions which by standard predictors of intention joins elements of
effectuation. It is recommended that, in the curriculum of the higher education institutions, the
elements of effectuation should be implemented, which would help students - potential future
entrepreneurs in the challenges they face related to entrepreneurship, such as a lack of ideas, fear
of failure, lack of funds to start a business venture.

When we talk about education for entrepreneurship, study of their effectiveness is relatively
small. Conducted research does not confirm the direct impact of entrepreneurship education on
entrepreneurial intentions. It only confirms the positive impact of entrepreneurship education
on: 1. knowledge related to the job and market generally, 2. knowledge on the assessment of
potential business opportunities; 3. knowledge of the finances necessary to conduct business; 4.

  815
knowledge of the elements of the business plan, 5 social skills (teamwork, networking, contacting
new people and organizations), 6. desirability of working in a small team that develops and sells a
product / service, 7. problem-solving skills, 8 measure entrepreneurial self-efficacy - the perceived
feasibility. All the above mentioned types of knowledge, skills and aptitudes are required and
desirable when starting a new business venture. However, entrepreneurship education is not
reflected directly and proven to measure the entrepreneurial intentions (Sušanj, 2012).

Conclusion

As we have previously mentioned, entrepreneurship undoubtedly stimulates the growth

and increase the production. With this it significantly effects the economy by building the
economic base and creating new jobs. But entrepreneurship is much more than an increase
in output and income per capita. It is a response to a change today and it brings change in
business and society. Since the most direct cause of entrepreneurship is the entrepreneur
himself, the most important resource in society and economy today are entrepreneurial mental
skills. Uncertain business conditions require an entrepreneurial spirit in business management
and entrepreneurial mind-set determined by cognitive adaptability, learning on the failure of
the process of effectuation. Such thinking is a desirable form of business thinking. It can be
adopted and learned by certain techniques. In this, the test "General Measures of Adaptive
Knowledge" Mike Haynie can help us. It can check your cognitive adaptability, and in case
of unsatisfactory results, the small reminders in the form of simple questions can stimulate
your thinking about how to make decisions and manage it, i.e. how to learn to "think about
thinking" and control it so that it would be more flexible.

Although the entrepreneurial thinking can be encouraged and taught, the question is
whether there are specific traits that characterize entrepreneurs, and represent preconditions
of entrepreneurial thinking, action and success. Questionnaires such as "Test of General the
Entrepreneurial Tendencies" (GET test), Koch's questionnaire and "Questionnaire of the
Entrepreneurial Tendencies" (UPS) are trying to answer that question. All the mentioned
questionnaires are used for the purpose of explaining the complex set of traits that entrepreneurs
possess. However, their efficacy and prognostic value is questionable because, although we can
claim, with greater or less certainty, that certain traits are typical of most entrepreneurs, we cannot
conclude that anyone who possesses certain qualities can become an entrepreneur. Previous
research does not totally agree about which traits characterize entrepreneurs and represent
preconditions of success in the entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, a universal measuring
instrument has not been developed which could assess who would become an entrepreneur let
alone a successful entrepreneur. However, by using the questionnaire one can predict who is
most likely not to become an entrepreneur. Therefore, high-quality measuring instrument for
detecting the entrepreneurial tendencies would be very helpful with guidance and the selection
816
of future students of entrepreneurial schools. The implementation of such a questionnaire within
the higher and high education programs could encourage their students to entrepreneurial
education, thinking and acting.

Future research in terms of entrepreneurial thinking are important considering the

environmental factors that are rapidly changing over time. Certainly, factors such as the
continuation of the global financial crisis, the recovery of the cold war, the refugee crisis in
the world, high unemployment rates influence the development of entrepreneurial thinking
and decision about business ventures and from the perspective of psychological characteristics
of potential entrepreneurs and social environment. In this regard, research is necessary on
entrepreneurial thinking and intentions in the conditions of the above-mentioned factors, where
the results of existing of researching will probably be different from the previous ones. The authors
agree with the recommendations of researchers mentioned in the text above that the institutions
of higher education should provide knowledge about the challenges of entrepreneurship and
knowledge about the benefits of entrepreneurship, which would improve the process of early
recognition of opportunities, mode of financing, risks and decisions to start a business venture,
and success, also from the viewpoint of demographic conditions such as age, gender, education
level and place of residence. Acquired knowledge through education would facilitate a decision
for potential entrepreneurs and enable predictive thinking about entrepreneurial challenges.

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 International Challenges in Regulation of Sex Delicts

Ena Kazić
University of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Sex delicts, both in and out of armed conflict, have been existing for centuries and they
have immense consequences. That is why there exists intent on both national and international
level to prevent sex delicts. Even though a lot of international documents have been issued,
accepted and implemented, still sex delicts are part of our presence. The aim of this paper is to
present international challenges in regulation to sex delicts. With regard to that, we will analyze
and present some of the most important international documents that refer to prevention of
sex delicts.

Key words: Sex delict, convention, declaration, United Nations, prevention, crime

Introduction

One of the most important human characteristics is its sexuality and its need to satisfy
its natural needs. That characteristic has been understood as such universally. Its opposition
is sexual delinquency and it is its pathological side. Sexual offences1 exclude human’s free will
in deciding whether he/she will have an intercourse or not. World Health Organization in the
World Report on Violence and Health defined sex offences2 as “any sexual activity or intent of
sexual activity that is unwanted or is an act of trafficking, that is committed against humans
sexuality, by using sexual intercourse, the activity that could have been done by anyone, no
matter what is the nature of its relations with victim, and it can be committed anywhere
including home and work place”.

1 German - Sexualstraftaten, French - Delits sexuels, Turkish - cinsel suçlar

2 World Health Organisation, (2002), World Report on Violence and Health, retrieved from: www.who.
int/violence.../violence/world_report/en, 20.06.2015.

  821
 Since sexual delicts violate one of the most important human rights, in front of the state
there is quite sensitive and delicate3 request to prohibit acts of sex violence and to punish one for
committing them. The prohibition and punishment are done usually through state’s criminal law
provisions and with that the state shows its disapproval towards the committed act. The quality
of prohibition and optimal type and duration of sentence are usually the bases for prevention of
sex delicts; that basis accomplishes the aim of criminal law and shows effectiveness of that law
provision and the success of criminal politics of that country.

No matter how sociologically unwanted and pathological they are, regarding time and
place as variable, the offences that are considered as sex delicts are not the same in the world.
Some acts that are prohibited in one country might not be prohibited in other or the same act
might have different characteristics or type and duration of sentence might not be the same in
different countries. Thus national regulations of these crimes vary and, in international aspect,
there is a high challenge to establish an effective regulation to prevent sex offences.

Historical review of international regulation of sex delicts

Evolution of legal regulation of sex delicts on international level happened in uneven

volume and intensity. It was in uneven volume because the biggest interest through history was
in regulation and prevention of rape as sex delict (specially committed in armed conflict). Later,
the number of incriminated delicts has increased. First movements were taken by Richard II and
Henry V whose Army Laws provided death penalty for rape. It was uneven in intensity because
the interest for the regulation of this type of crime was born in 11th century and it was related
to prevention of rape during the armed conflict. International Community gets wider interest
for this topic at the end 19th century and that interest especially increases after World Wars.
For example, rape was prohibited with Lieber Code (1863) and Declaration of France, England
and Russia condemned crimes against humanity. Hague Convention (1907) through provision
“Family honor and rights, lives and private propriety and religion must be respected” was the
further step for prevention of rape.

As it was already written, further steps in regulation of sex delicts in international level
were taken after the World War II4. Nirnberg Statute5 defines war crimes and its types. It was
provided among other that war crimes are all acts against moral standards and in that indirect
way sex offences were condemned as well. (Fabijanić Gagro, 2010., p 1313.)

3 The request is delicate beacuse in protection of sexual dignity and moral there is denial of right on
private life as one of the most important human rights.
4 More about this topic: Enes Rađo, (2006) «Silovanje žena u ratnim okolnostima», Pravna misao,
11–12/2006, Ministarstvo pravde BiH, Sarajevo, p 107–111.
5 Article 6, 6A and 6C.

822
 Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) and it’s Additional Protocol (1977) explicitly prohibited
rapes. According to the article 27. (2) of the Convention and article 76 (1) of the Protocol, woman
were protected against all kinds of attack toward their honor, prostitution and any other kind of
bestial attack.

Statutory regulation of sex delicts

Very important sources of international regulation of sexual delicts are statutes of

international tribunals for war crimes. In this context we refer to International Crime Tribunal
for Former Yugoslavia, International Crime Tribunal for Rwanda and International Crime
Tribunal (permanent). Their statutes define their jurisdiction in field of criminal law and in those
definitions we can find provisions that refer to sex crimes. Extremely big number of sex delicts
occur during armed conflicts. ICTY and ICTR are ad hoc tribunals that were established during
armed conflicts, but started working more actively after the armed conflicts. They were products
of the aim of international community to condemn those who had committed crimes.

i) According to the Statute of International Crime Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia6 this
tribunal has his jurisdiction on crimes against humanity that had been committed in
Former Yugoslavia. One of acts that are considered to be crimes against humanity is rape7.
Since act of rape was not defined by Statute great importance for determination of actus
reus and mens rea of crime rape has the practice of this Tribunal8. For example, according
to case Furundžija9 actus reus of Rape is consisted of:

• Penetration in vagina or anus or mouth of the victim, by using male sex organ or
any other object;
• Penetration is done with the use of force.

ii) International Crime Tribunal for Rwanda10 just like ICTY, has it’s statute with which its
jurisdiction on crimes that had been committed in Rwanda was established. According to this
Statute, this Tribunal has jurisdiction on crimes against humanity, and one of its acts is rape11.

6 The Tribunal has been established by UN Resolution 827/93 and it has been changed by resoultions:
1166/98, 1326/00, 1411/02, 1431/02 and 1481/03. In further text: ICTY.
7 Article 5 (g).
8 Cases that are involved in rape and that had been prosecuted before this Tribunal are: Tadić (IT-94-1);
Nikolić (IT-94-2); Dosen, Kolundžija i Sikirica (IT-95-8); Todorović (IT-95-9/1); Simić (IT-95-9/2); Cesi
(IT-95-10/1); Rajić (IT-95-12); Bralo (IT-95-17); Furundžija (IT-95-17/1); Delalić, Delić, Mucić, i Lizo
(IT-96-21); Kovač, Kunarac, i Vuković (IT-96-23, IT-96-23/1); Stakić (IT-97-24); Kos, Kvocka, Prcac,
Radić i Žigić (IT-98-30/1); Brđanin (IT-99-36); Plavšić (IT-00-39 & 40/1); Krajišnik (IT-00-39); Banović
(IT-02-65/1); Zelenović (IT-96-23/2). For further information: www.icty.org
9 Furundžija, IT-95-17/1-T
10 The Tribunal has been established by UN Resolution 955/94. It's Statute has been changed by follow-
ing resolutions: 1165/98, 1329/00, 1411/02 and 1431/02. In further text ICTR.
11 Article 3 (g).
  823
 iii) International Crime Tribunal has been established by Rome Statute and unlike the
previous two international crime tribunals that are ad hoc tribunals, this one is permanent.
Its Statute provides wider definitions and incriminations of sex delicts. Primarily among
crimes against humanity for which this Tribunal has its jurisdiction, there are incriminated
rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forces sterilization or any other
form of sexual violence that is comparably heavy12. If we analyze this provision any further
we can come to the conclusion that this Statute had not just incriminated wide specter of
sex delicts, but with its formulation “any other form of sexual violence that is comparably
heavy” has expanded the number of cases for which it has jurisdiction - if any comparably
heavy act had occur and in that way wider protection from sex delict was given.

Secondly, Rome Statute doesn’t define sex delicts just as crime against humanity but as
one of the acts of war crimes as well. According to the Paragraph XXII of the Rome Statute, as
war crimes have been considered: rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy,
forced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence that represent heavy violation of
Geneva Conventions.

Challenges in regulation of sex delicts on international level

After considering international approach of statutory regulation of sexual violence (that

happened in armed conflict), it is of high importance to consider what happens in the field of
international regulation of sexual violence out of armed conflict. As it was explained before,
there is immense interest from international community to issue international documents that
would define sexual violence and that would oblige countries that had accepted that document to
apply its provisions in their law. There is a true challenge in front of the international community
in that aim, because every day a new form of violence and sexual delicts happens in the world.
The time between issuing a document and its implementation in countries that are its members
might be long so that, in the meanwhile, serious acts of sex delicts happen and they were not
incriminated in the domestic law.

It is very common that international sources of criminal law give recommendations to

states to undertake serious measures beside the legislation that would involve establishment of
certain institutions. All provisions of those documents must be realistic so that the chance for
their implementation could be bigger. Bellow we will represent the main general and special
sources of international criminal law on sex delicts and the main topics that are considered to be
challenges in regulation of sex delicts that they refer to.

12 Article 7 (g).

824
 International regulation of sex delicts – general and special sources

Referring to sex delicts regulation on international level, few conventions and declaration
were given and some of them, in their widest sense refer to sex delicts (special sources) and some
of them just through few provisions refer to them (general sources).

Convention for elimination of every form of discrimination of woman (1979) defines the term
“discrimination against woman”13 and under this term it refers to every difference, exclusion or
limitation in context of sex, that has the consequence or aim to impair or nullify the recognition
of women or the use of their rights in political, economical, social, cultural, civil or any other
field, no matter what their marital status is. This convention provides that its members undertake
all measures, including legislation, to prevent all forms of trafficking of woman and using woman
for prostitution. Also, the Convention provides establishment of Committee for elimination of all
forms of discrimination against woman.

General Recommendations of Committee for elimination of every form of discrimination

of woman14 are given after the Committee had concluded that the reports of state members did
not show the connection between discrimination against woman and the sexual violence. The
Committee concluded as well that it is necessary that states undertake concrete measures to prevent
violence on woman.For this paper, articles 11 and 16 are of extraordinary significance. In article
11, the definition of “sexual harassment” has been given. In that context, “sexual harassment” is
behavior with sexual intentions, such as physical contacts or assaults, sexual comments, showing
pornography or open call for sex – with words or acts. In article 16, “domestic violence” has been
defined. It includes rape and other forms of sexual violence, mental violence, that are incited
by traditional way of thinking. Some of the recommendations are legislation measures against
sexual violence, programs for help and protection of victim, establishment of institution that
might professionally help victim, etc.

Declaration for elimination of discrimination against woman (1993)15 in few provisions is

related to sexual violence. It defines “violence against woman” and in that definition prescribes
that this violence is any form of violence that is based on sex and that can result in physical,
sexual of psychological violation of woman. According to this declaration, sexual violence is act
of discrimination of woman and it includes sexual violence on female children, marital rape,
woman circumcision, rape, sexual harassment on work place or educational institutions, woman
trafficking and forced prostitution.

13 Convention for elimination of every form of discrimination of woman, (1979), article 1.

14 General Recommendations of Committee for elimination of every form of discrimination of woman,
Retrieved from: http://www.bgcentar.org.rs/bgcentar/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Op%C5%A1te-pre-
poruke-Komiteta-za-ukidanje-svih-oblika-diskriminacije-%C5%BEena.pdf
15 Declaration for elimination of discrimination of woman, was issued 20.12.1993.

  825
 CE Convention for protection of children from sexual abuse and sexual violation (2007)16
was issued with the main aim of prevention and battle against sexual abuse and molestation
of children. This Convention regulates sexual violence in very wide aspect. Convention has
clearly defined aims and measures of prevention of sexual abuse and molestation of children
that have cultural, educational, social and legal characteristics. It is also defined the term “sexual
molestation” and various forms of criminal offences that refer to sexual abuse and molestation of
children. It incriminates criminal offences that are related to:

• children prostitution;
• children pornography;
• participation of children in pornographic performances;
• child’s moral corruption and
• the recruitment of children in sexual purposes.

Convention has defined the aggravating circumstances related to the mentioned crimes17
and in their nature they are equivalent to those that are considered to be aggravating in national
laws. For instance those are:

• violation of child’s physical and mental health;

• the act was committed by the member of family or person who had abused its authority;
• the act was committed by few person;
• the act was committed in criminal organization;
• recidivism.

Finally, Convention provided provisions that refer to criminal sentences that should be
prescribed in national laws by states members of this Convention. The main principles that
are prescribed in indirect way, for sentencing offenders in sexual delicts are: proportionality,
effectiveness, special preventive effect. We can conclude that this convention has comprehensively
regulated the main problems of sexual violence of children.

UN Protocol for prevention, suppress and punishment of trafficking in persons, especially

women and children, supplementing UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
(2000)18 in indirect way refers to sexual delicts. It defines term “trafficking in human beings”,
which means “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by
means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception,

16 Convention for protection of children from sexual abuse and sexual violation,retrieved from:http://
www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/children/Source/LanzaroteConvention_hr1.pdf.
17Article 22. of the Convention.
18 Retrieved on: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.
aspx.

826
of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or
benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose
of exploitation.”19 The connection spot of the trafficking in persons and sexual violence that
represents sex delicts is its aim. The aim is exploitation. According to the Protocol, “exploitation
shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual
exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the
removal of organs”.20 This protocol challenges the matter of prevention of trafficking in persons
by obligating state members to incriminate it in their national criminal laws and to provide the
punishment for both committing and helping in commitment of this crime.

Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings (2005)21 as well
defines “trafficking of human beings” and relates sex delicts with it with the aim of the trafficking
which is exploitation. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of
others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar
to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

Paragraph IV of this Convention is called “Material criminal law” and it incriminates

actions that are trafficking of human beings. Those actions are:

• Trafficking of human beings;

• Use of victims services;
• Offences related with ID: ID forgery, delivery of such documents, retaining, removing,
alteration, damage or destruction of ID documents. If the offences were undertaken towards
child or by officer, the sentence should be heavier.

Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against woman and
domestic violence (2011)22 has got multiple aims: to protect woman from violence, to end all
forms of discrimination of woman and to achieve the equality of man and woman, to construct
the policy and protection measures for all victims of that kind of violence. Term “violence against
woman” is defined as human rights violation and discrimination of woman. It includes and results
in physical, sexual, economic damage and suffering of woman23. The Convention oblige states to
undertake educational measures and to promote the equality of sexes in the society. Special part
of the Convention refers to material criminal law, where the obligation for states to incriminate

19 Article 3 (a) of the Protocole.

20 Ibid.
21 Retrieved from: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/197.htm.
22 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against woman and do-
mestic violence, retrieved from:http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.
asp?CL=ENG&NT=210
23 Acording to state 3. of the Convention.

  827
sex delicts in national laws is prescribed. The Convention incriminates and defines following
acts: sexual violence (including rape), forced marriage, female circumcision, forced abortion,
forced sterilization and sexual harassment.

Conclusion

There is a big challenge in front of the world to prevent sex delicts. The approaches in that
battle are undertaken in both national and international level, but yet if we compare the number
of undertaken sex offences, that is in growth, with them, we might come to the conclusion that
sometimes even though the legal measures exist, they are not effective enough to prevent this
crime. International crime tribunal exists and its statute provides its jurisdiction for sex delicts;
national laws provide sentences for sex delicts, but yet it seems that its special and general
prevention didn’t take place, since they happen everywhere. The destiny of criminal law - that
is late, sometimes is confirmed with ineffective prevention and effective punishment. However,
its evolution is confirmed with increasing number of provision that prescribe definition and
punishment for sex delicts.

In the past three decades important international legislative steps in the prevention of sex
delicts were taken, several conventions and declarations have been issued. Some of them directly,
some of them indirectly refer to sex delicts, but all of them give a recommendation to states that
are its members to undertake some legislative and protective measures in national criminal laws
that might improve the positive law and help in the battle. In this article we presented some of the
sources of that international intent.

With the aim to overcome the differences in prescription of sex delicts in national laws,
with prescribing definitions of sexual violence, its forms and punishment for them, there is
certain unification of prescriptions in international level of this offences. All these documents
give general protection from sexual violence and special protection of women and children (as
they are very often its victims). The presented documents provided main principles in punishing
for sex delicts and measures to be undertaken. We can conclude that international regulation of
sex delicts evolves, both in the width and depth of matter that is the subject of this paper.

References

Case Furundžija, IT-95-17/1-T, retrieved from: www.icty.org

Convention for elimination of every form of discrimination of woman, (1979);
Convention for protection of children from sexual abuse and sexual violation,retrieved from: http://
www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/children/Source/LanzaroteConvention_hr1.pdf.

828
Coucil of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings, (2005), Retrieved
from: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/197.htm.
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against woman and
domestic violence, (2011), retrieved from: http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/
Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?CL=ENG&NT=210
Declaration for elimination of discrimination of woman (1993)
Enes Rađo, (2006) «Silovanje žena u ratnim okolnostima», Pravna misao, 11–12/2006,
Ministarstvo pravde BiH, Sarajevo
General Recommendations of Committee for elimination of every form of discrimination
of woman , Retrieved from: http://www.bgcentar.org.rs/bgcentar/wp-content/
uploads/2013/04/Op%C5%A1te-preporuke-Komiteta-za-ukidanje-svih-oblika-
diskriminacije-%C5%BEena.pdf
Karčić, Fikret. Pravni tekstovi – Odabrani izvori za Opću historiju države i prava. Pravni fakultet
Univerziteta u Sarajevu. Sarajevo. 2004.
Sandra Fabijanić Gagro, (2010) «The crime of rape in the ICTY's and the ICTR's Case Law»,
Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 60/10, Pravni fakultet u Zagrebu, Zagreb
Statute of ICT, retrieved from: www.ict.org
Statute of ICTR (changed with UN Resolutions 955/94, 1165/98, 1329/00, 1411/02 and 1431/02),
retrieved from: ictr.org
Statute of ICTY (changed with UN Resolutions 827/98, 1166/98, 1326/00, 1411/02, 1431/02 and
1481/03), retrieved from: www.icty.org
UN Protocol for prevention, suppress and punishment of trafficking in persons, especially
women and children, supplementing UN Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime (2000), retrieved from:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/
ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx.
World Health Organisation, (2002), World Report on Violence and Health, retrieved from: www.
who.int/violence.../violence/world_report/en, 20.06.2015.
www.icty.org

  829
 Characteristics of Health Economics

Amir Topoljak
USR Sport za sve, Zenica / Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

Health care is, as a multi-institutional network that creates value, in an excellent manner
suitable to be a reference and research facility for practical and theoretical building Matchmaking
induced institutional advantages, whose creation, in addition to synthesis, processing and
economic exploitation of complementary active sites, and requires management of the network,
through which is achieved by harmonizing the interests of all direct and indirect stakeholders
(Prahalad, 1997). They not only represent a logical further development of corporate governance,
but also a binding order of the collective system of creating value, reducing the value and
distribution of values for the purpose of fairness in the process and fairness in the outcome
(Kim & Mauborgne, 1998). This article will examine an expert organization, including their
professionals, across the network management in order to achieve certain objectives at the
service network and patients.

Key words: Health, multi-institutional network, practical,theoretical, patients.

Introduction

In addition to the obvious description of preferred constellation, research and

methodological starting point is trying to scientifically establish strategic position that leads to
success. While the view is based on the market, it provides an explanation for the success of the
hospital on the basis of positioning on the sales of the market outlook based on resources and,
based on it, a view based on the competence of state competitive position in the markets of factors,
i.e. the ability of processing resources on core competencies, as a driver institutional sales unique
characteristics. By contrast, the success of the hospital can, in terms of view, be based on the
financial ability to explain the basis of constant increase in value in terms of providers of capital,

830
which as equivalent to abandonment of capital expected total profit from Calculated Risk, which
is more than the capital costs. Contrary to many sectors that create value and in which the price
volatility on the demand and due to the high saturation of the need for the conduct of companies
that in the market, customers and business dealings see leverage their competitive ability, under
the first health market can be established relatively low price sensitivity in patients. Otherwise, it
can be noted when you look at agreements signed between care hospitals and health insurance,
which in addition to prescribed services are also subject to regulated prices and fees. Only on
the basis of demographic changes in perspective we may assume strongly growing demand for
preventive, therapeutic and nursing care, which largely depend on the quality and quantity of
resources that serve the provision of services in the form of superior health care. Evident lack of
doctors, as well as the resulting overload of staff, lead to the conclusion that there is a bottleneck in
the relations in the field of strategic competence development. Unfortunately, mobilized human
resources and accumulated less frequently promote the strategic potential to achieve success,
but often becomes a factor of cost that can be optimized, if one takes into account the profit
margins in the DRG system immutable price. In addition, in the case of the general improvement
of competence, there is always the potential danger that the resulting investment in education
is opportunistically replaced by second or third choice, regardless of the current employer. On
the way to integrated care and consequent work on the principle of flow, the hospital has a basic
problem of individual development competencies while deepening operational islands and
functional silos expert. This manifests itself not only within the closed hospital-business systems,
but also outside the scope of work of stationary medical specialists. The latter now tries to import
their individual professional competence in medical centers carefully, that, when it comes to
health insurance companies and patients, by means of collective network of competence generate
strategic advantages in custody.

From economy to networked care expert work

Logic expandable enterprises in terms of virtualization to create value by duct network

structures in health economics can be further move in horizontal and diagonal direction. In
this perspective it is possible, starting from their own gravity point in the system to create value,
to withdraw concentric circles around the basic competencies and the organic stretch. If there
is a migration of the competence unrelated, but strategically attractive market segments, here
they also offer a mobile cooperation, joint venture or even as mergers and acquisitions. The last
mentioned accelerating and compacting the concentration and convergence processes in the
sector of health. On the other side, with high probability, to assimilate the central formative
parameters of industrial processes of making and service processes there, where medical care
and care processes assume the character of standard operating procedures and where they give
instructions to transform the treatment with assured quality. Actors in the crowd sometimes
  831
show sluggishness will have to, in case of regulatory protection shields, adapt competition
with competitors in several parallel fields, which are realized in several dimensions. There are,
among other things, (1) quality dimensions, (2) size and cost effectiveness, (3) the dimensions
of care, (4) the service size and dimensions of connecting with customers, (4) network size and
dimension of interest groups, (5) dimension of human resources, (6) an innovative dimension
and size technology, and (7) dimensions of the business development and growth in size within
and outside the strategic core (for more, see Olmsted Teisberg, 2008).

Conclusion

As can be seen, the actors of health economics there are many strategic options available
to, through cooperative and networking, in addition to the basic right to care, clean generate
competitive advantage. At the same time, the evolution of administering affairs of care towards
networked expert organization requires less additional medical functional expertise, but is more
oriented toward the process and it has all business and system competence (Rasche, 2008). It
does not contain a specific permeability of functional medical, administrative and silos care,
but also a moderate hierarchical structure that uses the decentralized centers of competence.
That clinic providing maximum care and attention, and holding clinics, this model gets the role
of focal companies, which take over management of the network and takes over an important
function leaders. This model is driven by the economic logic of the optimal use of competencies
in the area of concern and care. Accordingly, trivial and lightweight cases that require care and
care are treated already on the periphery of the network (e.g. family doctor, a medical care center,
clinic), while those who have severe cases of nature still forwarded to the appropriate higher
level of competence (round, 2008). Thus, the periphery of the network to be performed only
differential diagnoses to be technologically intensive therapy if necessary give implemented in a
specialized hospital network. In this way prevents the periphery makes available special medical
equipment or therapy to treat complex diagnosis for which there is sufficient competence.

References

Malacko, J. i Popović, D. (1997). Metodologija kineziološko antropoloških istraživanja. Priština:

Fakultet za fizičku kulturu.
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kulturi. Školska knjiga, Zagreb.
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pluralistischen Wettbewerb. Wiesbaden Gabler Verlag.

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Runde, (2008.). Die Rolle der Vertragsarzte in der Bildung regionaler transsektoraler
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– Basel – Bern. o.V

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“This all too timely collection of essays on the importance of culture, education, and
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