Religiosity as a predictor of students' political attitudes

This paper analyzes the relationship between students' level of actual religiosity and their sociodemographic characteristics, political orientation, and political attitudes. The paper is based on an online survey conducted at the University of Rijeka (N = 624) in 2021. The vast majority of our respondents (90%) received the three holy sacraments of initiation in their early childhood and attended Catholic religious education at school. The explanation of the significantly less actual religiosity of students is approached from the position of Pickel's contextualized theory of secularization. Relying on Voas and Day, a composite variable distinguishes highly religious students, moderately religious students, weakly religious students, and non-religious students on the basis of the respondents' positioning toward religious self-identification, beliefs, Church attendance, and the importance of religion in one's life. Statistically significant correlations between actual religiosity and political orientation were established. Very religious Catholic students, who are the least numerous and the least homogenous category, are more inclined to right-wing political orientation and reject ethno-nationalism/anti-multiculturalism less and accept clericalism more than other categories of students. In a broader sense, this study reveals that a large number of respondents distance themselves from religion and the Church at student age despite their experience of formal religious socialization at school age. Furthermore, the results suggest that the synergy of the liberalizing effect of education and the tolerant sociocultural atmosphere of an area reduces the influence of religiosity on the political attitudes and orientation of students.     

Modeling and forecasting persistent financial durations

This article introduces the Markov-Switching Multifractal Duration (MSMD) model by adapting the MSM stochastic volatility model of Calvet and Fisher (2004) to the duration setting. Although the MSMD process is exponential β-mixing as we show in the article, it is capable of generating highly persistent autocorrelation. We study, analytically and by simulation, how this feature of durations generated by the MSMD process propagates to counts and realized volatility. We employ a quasi-maximum likelihood estimator of the MSMD parameters based on the Whittle approximation and establish its strong consistency and asymptotic normality for general MSMD specifications. We show that the Whittle estimation is a computationally simple and fast alternative to maximum likelihood. Finally, we compare the performance of the MSMD model with competing short- and long-memory duration models in an out-of-sample forecasting exercise based on price durations of three major foreign exchange futures contracts. The results of the comparison show that the MSMD and the Long Memory Stochastic Duration model perform similarly and are superior to the short-memory Autoregressive Conditional Duration models.     

Students’, caretakers’ and decision-makers’ perception of support in higher education for students with in-care experience

Students with in-care experiences overcome different life challenges, risks factors and use their strengths to get into higher education. During the study period they face different difficulties, so the state as ‘institutional’ parent should provide support. This paper presents results of a qualitative study that aimed to explore support system to students with in-care experience in Croatia from three perspectives: care leavers with studying experiences, caretakers and professionals who are involved in decision-making and implementing activities on national and local levels. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 23 students, 5 professionals and 11 caretakers in 5 Croatian cities. Three basic themes from all three perspectives are presented: currently available support, difficulties in the support system and guidelines for supporting in-care students. All groups of participants are informed about support that is currently available for students with in-care experiences and describe financial and accommodation support. Perceptions of difficulties in delivering support differ between professionals and students and caretakers. Students also explain reasons for seeking support. Resolving existential issues is the first step in support system building according to students’ and caretakers’ perceptions. Participants suggest different incentive activities, so finally recommendations for forming and delivering support system for in-care students are presented.     

EU-Mediterranean youths in the crisis: substitution vs. income effect

The economic crisis that erupted in 2008 has had particularly adverse effects on the youth labour market outcomes in the European Union Mediterranean economies. So far little evidence is available on the reaction of the young to the adverse conditions their household members faced due to the crisis. Youths could have decided to prolong or stay in education instead of participating on the labour market (substitution effect) or they could have decided to increase their participation (income effect). By using the EU Labour Force Survey data, we explore the probability of young adults changing their labour market status from (i) inactivity to employment, (ii) inactivity to unemployment, (iii) employment to education, and (iv) unemployment to education in response to labour market outcome changes in their households: (i) both parents losing the job; (ii) one of the parents losing the job, (iii) both parents becoming inactive, (iv) one of the parents becoming inactive, and (v) both parents remaining unemployed. Estimated probit models include seven EU Mediterranean countries during the 2006–2015 period. Results support both income and substitution effect, without clear identification of the dominance of one effect over the other.     

Understanding Transit Asylum Migration: Evidence from Serbia

Due to its geographic location and borders along the European Union (EU), in recent years, the Republic of Serbia has faced an increased number of irregular migrants from third‐world countries claiming asylum on their way into a western EU member state. Some of these migrants stay for a while in asylum centres in Serbia to rest or renew contacts. In order to explore the main socio‐demographic features of the study population, their migration history and intentions, a questionnaire‐based research was conducted in Banja Kovilja?a asylum centre. The results also give insights into the underlying question “how” and the role of social networks in migration. Most of asylum seekers are unmarried males at peak working age, from countries affected by war and political turmoil. The results indicate this is a transit migration where, besides fleeing to safety, economic status and migration networks have a significant impact on migration flows.     

Residential care for children with intellectual disabilities in the social protection system in Serbia

This paper presents and discusses the characteristics of the social protection of children with intellectual disabilities who are placed in children's homes in Serbia. It draws on a survey that covered the entire population—586 users in all five institutions for children with intellectual disabilities who resided there in 2009. The analysis shows the heterogeneity of users in relation to age and degree of intellectual disability, their long-term stay in homes, the inadequate structural and functional standards, and insufficient health care. Residential care becomes the most common form of permanent rather than temporary care. These findings suggest the need for a number of strategies to be adopted, and the paper concludes by outlining potential ways forward.     

Forced migrations and Externalization of European Union Border Control: Serbia on the Balkan Migration Route

The article argues that the recent “migration crisis” has been constructed as a security threat to the European Union, which conceals both the multiple causes of forced migrations, and the inability of the Union to respond to the massive influx of people in need of protection. Serbia had taken up a “refugee-friendly” policy, which implied a humanitarian approach. However, due to a change of political discourse in connection with the EU accession, a shift towards the security position occurred. This article sheds light on the actual status of migrants and asylum seekers in Serbia, as well as the state response to the growing challenges in the area of acceptance and protection, following the official closure of the Balkan route. In the conclusion, the authors tentatively plead for return to a balanced humanitarian approach, since there is clear evidence that mixed migration flows will resume in the times to come.     

Futurelessness,migration, or a lucky break: narrative tropes of the ‘blocked future’ among Serbian high school students

ABSTRACT

This article uses ethnographic discourse analysis to understand how Serbian high school students at ‘Belgrade Professional’ (BP) respond to coursework and discussions about their individual futures. Contextualizing the conversations at BP within broader local and international social forces, the paper shows how students’ perceptions of their future chances are mediated by both the school’s outdated promises of secure skilled employment and a broad understanding of Western liberal democracies as ‘meritocratic’. In short, I argue that BP students recognize the elective ‘choice biography’ as a real pathway to adulthood. However, they primarily imagine the choice biography as existing outside of Serbia, while feeling constrained by – even hostile to – such an idea within the country. To counter choice biography framings of futures in Serbia, students mobilize a discourse I call the ‘blocked future’, comprised of three related narrative tropes informed by the decades-long recession: domestic futurelessness, meritocracy abroad, and local chance. These narrative tropes illuminate the emerging cultural structures in Serbia which reflect how people cope with and processes the conflicting structural demands and unfulfilled promises of the post-socialist transition in everyday life.