Ukrainian Society

29-45

Authors: Chaplyk M. M.

The article examines contemporary Ukrainian political realities, namely the coming to power following the presidential and parliamentary elections of a new political force and its prospects in the fight against corruption. The forecasting for further developments in the fight against corruption is proposed based on Thomas theorem. In particular, the author looks at the perspectives of a team of non-systemic politicians in the fight against corruption. Attention is drawn to the fact that, according to Thomas theorem, the definition of the situation as real could have taken place during the elections and voting for the non-systemic candidate and his political power. It is argued that viewers and potential voters, at the same time, transferred the image of the screen hero to a real candidate and equated them. In addition, the mechanism of determining the reality of the situation is disclosed through its own identification of a non-systemic politician with a TV series hero who fights corruption and suceeds. Consequently, the definition of the situation as real may also be inherent in the newly elected head of state and representatives of his team because of getting used to the role of anti-corruption fighters and their own values. It is noted that it is precisely around the fight of the main character and his friends with corruption in the higher echelons of power that the main storyline of the TV series “Servant of the People” unfolds. The statements of the President himself, his team members and colleagues, which confirm the intentions of the President and the newly elected authorities in general, to change the country, including in the direction of combating corruption, are given. Thus, according to the author, there are certain prerequisites for the realization of self-fulfilling prophecy. In addition, the victory of a team of non-system politicians has set some records of public support and trust. Therefore, the self-fulfilling prophecy will rely on the collective will of the Ukrainian people to change and the corresponding motivation of the newly elected government. In addition, attention is paid to the likely risks of a self-fulfilling prophecy, which includes an external threat, the resistance of internal groups such as the oligarchy and bureaucracy, personnel problems, namely the need in motivated specialists with certain moral qualities and others. The prospect of further study of the phenomenon of self-fulfilling prophecy and its impact on society in the age of information technologies is noted.

59-73

Authors: Burak O. S.

In this article we would like to discuss, based on the results of empirical studies, the question of monopoly position of educational institutions in the distribution of life chances and the factors that could promote social mobility. The main theoretical focus is on the theory of reproduction and on the new theoretical perspective of non-reproduction. Frequently it is precisely the education system itself, the one that inhibits upward social mobility and serves to preserve and reproduce the existing social order with its inequalities. A child’s path throughout the school can be strongly influenced by its class of origin. This principle underlies the theory of reproduction. However, the theory shows its “blind spots”, this is, when a child doesn’t reproduce its own class and successes an upward transition from the lower class to the higher one. Chantal Jaquet names this process a non-reproduction and tries to work out a theory that could explain how a child can transform itself and avoids falling back into the behavior of its class of origin. From this point of view, some exceptional cases can serve as an excellent observatory to determine the decisive factors of an effective change. That is why we decided to look at a few life stories of “class crosses” in depth, using qualitative methods of analysis. The “class crossers” of our study were students from some middle schools (NMS) in Vienna, who could go to the grammar school (Gymnasium). Our aim was to empirically test some statements of the reproduction theory and of the new non-reproduction theory. For this purpose, we tried to reconstruct those factors, that could explain the success of the “class crossers”. Five cases of transition were analyzed and, as a result, some institutional factors that make it difficult for young people to get to and through the gymnasium were identified. Besides, it was proved that adolescents must deal with them mostly on their own using the resources of the family and activating their personal set of mental and physical skills that Jaquet names “complexion”. Moreover, some perspectives for further research opened up: the choice of profession that could lead to social upward mobility, the role of gender of the students and the educational level of their parents on the school path.

93-109

Authors: Bilous Ye. V.

Institutional shifts in the labour market during the transition to a post-industrial economy have blurred the boundaries of the traditional classes, including the middle class. The emergence of new classes requires their appropriate theoretical and empirical study. The article dwells upon the empirical identification of the “creative class” in modern Ukrainian society. Author suggests a theoretical review of the concept, clarification of its characteristic and critical remarks. It was found that in modern social science the concept of “creative class” is often used as an obvious one. This concept became the subject of discussion not only among urbanists and sociologists, but also among politicians, journalists and publicists. However, the discussion of the concept does not eliminate the contradiction between the fact of the existence of new classes in the modern stratification system and the insufficient level of empirical knowledge about them. That is why this article establishes class affiliation in the categories offered by R. Florida with the help of classical tools of modern class analysis – by respondents’ employment status, profession, and occupation. Empirical identification of the creative class was carried out as a part of the secondary data analysis from a representative survey of the Ukrainian population aged 18 and older, living in cities of 50 thousand people and more and watching TV. The selected creative class is considered within the concepts of class analysis according to the classification of thematic clusters by O. Symonchuk. The theoretical provisions on the characteristics of the creative class are tested on the data of quantitative empirical research. The author suggests the comparison of values of different class representatives with the controlled variable “employment”. Paper concludes that the empirical identification of the creative class in Ukrainian society is quite possible due to the use of indicators “position, profession, activity”. It is noted that additional research is needed as for a general issue of new classes, given the changes in the modern labour market, and the concept of “creative class”.

123-137

Authors: Sheludko E. I., Zavgorodnia M. Yu.

Based on the analysis of scientific achievements of scientists and special researches the key dangerous technogenic and ecological threats are studied, new challenges to national security of Ukraine, which are connected with development of the industry, are allocated. Analysis of recent research and publications on this topic shows that the study of threats to environmental security of Ukraine and the dangers of natural and man-made spheres in the scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists I. Bystryakov, O. Vasyuta, O. Veklych, M. Dolishny, T. Ivanova, I. Ilyashenko, B. Kelsey Jack, T. Kozachenko, V. Kravtsiva, G. Obykhod, A. Omelchenko, A. Stepanenko, E. Khlobystova, M. Khvesyk, etc. The aim of this publication is to analyze significant environmental and man-made threats in the national economy, study their exacerbation in the face of the latest challenges that require adequate response of the state and management decisions in assessing man-made environmental threats and monitoring risks associated with environmental impact of hazardous industrial enterprises and other AERs. The purpose of the publication is to develop priority measures to minimize man-made environmental risks, effective prevention and control of industrial pollution, increase the level of environmental safety in Ukraine. The analysis of modern professional research, analytical reports and media materials allows us to state that recently the threats are characterized by multilevel and hybrid nature, there is a combination of economic, military and environmental threats that can affect society internally. The article states that in the context of existing challenges and threats to man-made environmental security, the main tasks for public administration are the following: improvement of the legal framework; improvement of the sustainable development monitoring system; reproduction of production infrastructure; ensuring sustainable environmentally and socially oriented production, anticipatory protection against possible real and potential threats. Recommendations on counteracting the technogenic and ecological safety of Ukraine are offered.

152-171

Authors: Balakireva O. M., Dmytruk D. A.

According to the national survey, the paper reveals self-assessment of the financial situation, shadow incomes, indices of socio-economic assessments and expectations of the Ukrainian population, the level of trust in all branches of government, and the general assessment of the political situation in Ukraine.

185-195

Authors: Nesterenko Ye. O., Liudohovska K. V.

Paper presents the results of the innovative youth project U-Report. Report for April – June 2020: young people’s study during quarantine, organization of educational process, attitude towards distance learning, non-formal education during quarantine, youth awareness of power economy in Ukraine, the safety of power plants for the environment, satisfaction with the quality of education in boarding schools, youth attitude to reform of boarding schools.