One of the basic propositions of Josip Županov’s Egalitarian Syndrome Theory, the proposition of the egalitarian syndrome as a cluster of inherited informal norms, is compatible with several ...theoretical concepts of cultural inertia. From the perspective of Path Dependence theories, persistence of the egalitarian syndrome can be explained by the agency of factors responsible for the reproduction of social norms. These factors are not responsible for the genesis of a certain social phenomenon (for example, the norms), but rather for its reproduction over time. According to the results of recent empirical studies, one of the factors of egalitarian syndrome reproduction could be found in the costs of transition. On this basis, as well as on the basis of the proposition of a differentiation between the generative and the reproductive factors of social phenomena, we legitimise a thesis stating that the costs of transition did not create the egalitarian syndrome in a post-socialist social context, but rather contributed to its persistence. Possible sources of hypotheses about additional reproductive factors of the egalitarian syndrome in transitional circumstances are provided by the concept of cultural inertia that stems from the theoretical perspective of institutionalism, Robert Boyd and Peter J. Richerson’s theory of cultural evolution, as well as Michael Tomasello’s ratchet concept. Furthermore, in accordance with Albert Hirschman’s idea of a “tunnel effectˮ, we can assume that the expected social mobility stagnation could be a specific factor of egalitarian syndrome reproduction.
ABSTRACT IN CROATIAN: Osnovna tema rada je fenomen konstitucije brendovskih zajednica kao neotribalnih oblika drustvenog udruzivanja. Teorijska elaboracija tog fenomena dopunjena je analizom slucaja ...brendovske zajednice Velebitskog piva. Taj slucaja potvrduje dva vazna teorijska aspekta brendovskih zajednica. Prvo, objekti potrosnje u suvremenim potrosackim drustvima u odredenim situacijama mogu imati drustvenokonstitucijsku funkciju. U slucaju analiziranih grupa konzumenata Velebitskog piva, pivo kao objekt konzumacije funkcioniralo je kao »dodatni marker« kolektivnog identiteta. Drugo, potrosacke zajednice prostor su unutar kojeg tzv. »komunalna potrosnja« poprima funkciju sredstva za proizvodnju specificne sociokulturne vrijednosti koja se najcesce izrazava kroz koncept brenda. Taj tip proizvodnje potvrduje teoriju o »nematerijalnom radu« kao bitnoj odrednici proizvodnje unutar suvremenoga kapitalistickog sustava. Slucaj Velebitskog piva potvrduje da je specificnu inacicu nematerijalnog rada moguce pronaci i u procesu konzumacije - u ovom slucaju potrosnje koja se odvijala unutar specificnoga komunalnog konteksta. // ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: The basic topic of this paper is the phenomenon of brand communities' constitution as neo-tribal forms of social association. Theoretical elaboration of this phenomenon is supplemented by the case study of the Velebit beer brand community. This case confirms two important theoretical aspects of the brand communities' phenomena. Firstly, objects of consumption in certain situations in modern consumer societies could be functional in community constitution. In the case of analyzed groups of Velebit beer consumers, beer as the object of consumption operated as an 'additional marker' of collective identity. Secondly, brand communities are the space where 'communal consumption' functions as a means of production of specific socio-cultural value that is most often expressed through the concept of brand. This type of production affirms the theory of 'immaterial labour' as an important mode of production in the contemporary capitalist system. The Velebit beer case confirms that a specific version of immaterial labour can be found in the process of communal consumption as well - in this case, consumption that took place within a specific communal context.
In 1970, Josip Zupanov presented his Egalitarian Syndrome Theory (EST) to account for the country 's suboptimal socioeconomic development. The theory was operationalized only recently (Stulhofer and ...Buric, 2015), which enabled an assessment of the persistence of egalitarian syndrome, as well as the testing of its hypothesized (negative) association with indicators of social development. Using data from a 2015 national probability survey, this study aimed to provide additional validation of the multidimensional measure of the egalitarian syndrome, including age and gender invariance testing, as well as to explore the hypothesized negative association with county-level development indices. The findings support Zupanov 's theoretical assumptions. Rural vs. urban residence, education and occupation, but not participants' age, were significant predictors of the support for egalitarian syndrome. Significant negative associations were observed between the acceptance of values associated with the egalitarian syndrome and county-level development and competitiveness scores, GDP and early entrepreneurial activity. Although our study was not designed to test the causal relationship between radical egalitarianism and socioeconomic development, the findings suggest that the widespread prevalence of the egalitarian syndrome may be a problem for the country's socio-economic development.
Teorija Paula Lazarsfelda o dvostupanjskom tijeku komunikacije govori kako informacije od medija širokoj publici prenose predvodnici mišljenja (engl. opinion leaders). Predvodnici mišljenja ...konzumiraju više medijskih sadržaja od ostalih te su „lideri mišljenja“ u određenim temama za koje iskazuju veći interes i o kojima imaju više znanja od ostalih članova zajednice. Danas na društvenim mrežama postoji posebna kategorija korisnika – influenceri. Influencere i njihove objave često prati velik broj ljudi, a njihov je utjecaj prepoznala i marketinška industrija. Ovim se radom pokušalo utvrditi jesu li influenceri predvodnici mišljenja na način na koji ih je koncipirao Lazarsfeld. Rezultati istraživanja provedeni na primjerenom studentskom uzorku upućuju na to da su influenceri, bez obzira na pojedine elemente sličnosti s predvodnicima mišljenja, deficitarni u pogledu važnoga čimbenika vođenja mišljenja (engl. opinion leadership), a to je sposobnost mobilizacije, tj. utjecaj na ponašanje. Naime, objave influencera ne potiču na daljnju potragu za informacijama, povjerenje u influencere kao informacijske izvore nije visoko, a sami influenceri se u potencijalnim situacijama odlučivanja, u odnosu na druge testirane izvore informacija, ne percipiraju kao važan informacijski resurs.
Paul Lazarsfeld’s two-step flow of communication theory tells us that the information from the media is shared with the audience with the help of opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are those who consume more media content than other members of the community. They are influential when it comes to topics in which they are perceived as the most interested and the most knowledgeable members of the community. Today, social media have a special group of users – the influencers. Influencers have large followings, and their influence is recognized by the marketing industry. Through this thesis we tried to find out whether influencers are opinion leaders, as Lazarsfeld described them. Results of the research conducted on a convenient student sample have shown that, although influencers and opinion leaders share some of their characteristics, influencers are lacking the ability to mobilize their followers, that is, to influence their behavior. Their posts do not entice their followers to seek information from other sources and the level of trust in them as an information source is not high. Compared to other information sources in our research, influencers are not a relevant information source in the decision-making process.
Paul Lazarsfeld’s two-step flow of communication theory tells us that the information from the media is shared with the audience with the help of opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are those who ...consume more media content than other members of the community. They are influential when it comes to topics in which they are perceived as the most interested and the most knowledgeable members of the community. Today, social media have a special group of users – the influencers. Influencers have large followings, and their influence is recognized by the marketing industry. Through this thesis we tried to find out whether influencers are opinion leaders, as Lazarsfeld described them. Results of the research conducted on a convenient student sample have shown that, although influencers and opinion leaders share some of their characteristics, influencers are lacking the ability to mobilize their followers, that is, to influence their behavior. Their posts do not entice their followers to seek information from other sources and the level of trust in them as an information source is not high. Compared to other information sources in our research, influencers are not a relevant information source in the decision-making process.
Jedna od osnovnih postavki teorije egalitarnog sindroma Josipa Županova, postavka o egalitarnom sindromu kao klasteru naslijeđenih neformalnih normi, kompatibilna je s nekoliko teorijskih koncepata ...kulturne inercije. Iz perspektive teorija ovisnosti o prijeđenom putu perzistencija egalitarnog sindroma može se objasniti djelovanjem faktora odgovornih za reprodukciju društvenih normi. Riječ je o faktorima koji ne utječu na genezu određenoga društvenog fenomena (primjerice, normi), nego ga kroz vrijeme reproduciraju. Shodno rezultatima recentnih empirijskih istraživanja, jedan od reprodukcijskih faktora egalitarnog sindroma može se pronaći u tranzicijskim troškovima. Na osnovi toga, kao i propozicije o razlikovanju generativnih od reprodukcijskih faktora društvenih fenomena, legitimiramo tezu da tranzicijski troškovi nisu stvorili egalitarni sindrom, nego su pridonijeli njegovoj perzistenciji i u postsocijalističkom društvenom kontekstu. Moguće izvore hipoteza o dodatnim čimbenicima reprodukcije egalitarnog sindroma u tranzicijskim okolnostima pruža koncept kulturne inercije svojstven teorijskoj perspektivi institucionalizma, teorija kulturne evolucije Roberta Boyda i Petera J. Richersona, kao i koncept zapinjača Michaela Tomasella. Također, sukladno ideji o »efektu tunela« Alberta Hirschmana, možemo pretpostaviti da je očekivana stagnacija u društvenoj pokretljivosti jedan od mogućih specifičnih faktora reprodukcije egalitarnog sindroma.
U ovom eksplorativnom istraživanju provedenom u Zagrebu putem promatranja bez sudjelovanja i dubinskih intervjua nastojali su se otkriti učestalost, obrasci i motivi uporabe pametnih telefona za ...vrijeme druženja mladih pripadnika generacije Z (osobe rođene u periodu kasnih 90-ih godina 20. stoljeća i u prvom desetljeću 21. stoljeća) licem u lice, kako bi se istražila potreba za neprestanom povezanošću mladih i s time povezan strah od propuštanja. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da mladi za vrijeme druženja licem u lice pametne telefone koriste kako bi premostili pad intenziteta razgovora i generirali nove teme, s varijacijama u dinamici uporabe koja ovisi o veličini grupe i kvaliteti poznanstva članova. Dodatno, istraživanjem je otkriveno da su mladi neprestano povezani po navici – naročito oni koji se nalaze u ljubavnoj vezi. Neprestana je povezanost, u načelu, rezultat dosade i želje za zabavom, a takva povezanost može dovesti do stresa i straha od propuštanja. Taj se strah manifestira u situacijama kada mladi ostaju bez pametnog telefona zbog čega se osjećaju „odsječenima od svijeta“. Također, zbog visokih očekivanja neprestane komunikacijske prisutnosti mladi osjećaju pritisak za brzom komunikacijom, što generira stresne situacije.
The main aim of this explorative research paper was is to discover frequency, patterns, and motives of smartphone usage by Generation Z (people born in the late 1990s or the early 2000s)’ during their face-to-face interaction with a view to exploring the need for constant connection and correlated fear of missing out. For this purpose, the authors of the paper conducted in-depth interviews and an observation in Zagreb. As the results indicate, young people use smartphones during their face-toface interactions in order to bridge the fall of dialogue intensity and generate new topics, while usage dynamics varies in correlation with the size of the group and the quality of friendship. Additionally, it is discovered that youth’s constant connection is a habit – especially for the ones in a love relationship. Constant connection is, in general, the result of boredom and desire for fun, which can lead to stress and a fear of missing out. Such a fear manifests itself in situations when young people lose their smartphones, which makes them feel ”cut off from the world“. Also, due to high communication expectations generated by constant connectedness, young people feel the pressure of quick communication, which leads to stress.
U ovom eksplorativnom istraživanju provedenom u Zagrebu putem promatranja bez sudjelovanja i dubinskih intervjua nastojali su se otkriti učestalost, obrasci i motivi uporabe pametnih telefona za ...vrijeme druženja mladih pripadnika generacije Z (osobe rođene u periodu kasnih 90-ih godina 20. stoljeća i u prvom desetljeću 21. stoljeća) licem u lice, kako bi se istražila potreba za neprestanom povezanošću mladih i s time povezan strah od propuštanja. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da mladi za vrijeme druženja licem u lice pametne telefone koriste kako bi premostili pad intenziteta razgovora i generirali nove teme, s varijacijama u dinamici uporabe koja ovisi o veličini grupe i kvaliteti poznanstva članova. Dodatno, istraživanjem je otkriveno da su mladi neprestano povezani po navici – naročito oni koji se nalaze u ljubavnoj vezi. Neprestana je povezanost, u načelu, rezultat dosade i želje za zabavom, a takva povezanost može dovesti do stresa i straha od propuštanja. Taj se strah manifestira u situacijama kada mladi ostaju bez pametnog telefona zbog čega se osjećaju „odsječenima od svijeta“. Također, zbog visokih očekivanja neprestane komunikacijske prisutnosti mladi osjećaju pritisak za brzom komunikacijom, što generira stresne situacije.
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