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Sociological publications
KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2021): Konec hermeneutiky? Atlas.ti, verze devátá. [The end of hermeneutics? Atlas.ti, version 9]. Biograf, 73-74: 233-246
::::It is argued that the new version of this software package for qualitative analysis continues in a problematic direction (taken already in version 8). Despite claims about improved workflow, the program interface remains confusing and difficult to use. It requires too many clicks, its setting options are almost zero (impossible to define window background colours, completely missing network views options). Above all, however, it turns out that some of the program capabilities lost with the transition to version 8 in 2016 have not come back (yet). Even after five years, despite original promises, the program does not allow synchronized work with sound recordings and their transcripts (Windows version). What a shame. I also show that the program gradually weakens the emphasis on hermeneutic work with text (various modes of reading and writing) in favor of the easiest possible text encoding. It happens by means of subtle details in respective procedures. As a result, Atlas.ti (projects of which were once called “hermeneutic units”) loses its former uniqueness among other CAQDAS programs.
DRÁPAL, V. / KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2021): Zdeněk Konopásek Doktor Konopný (an interview of Vladimír Drápal with Zdeněk Konopásek). Magazín UNI, 12/2021. Available at: https://www.magazinuni.cz/hudba/zdenek-konopasek-doktor-konopny/
::::Interview conducted by Vladimír "Lábus" Drápal from Guerilla Records - mainly about the band Dvouletá fáma (established exactly 40 years ago), but also about other musical projects of Zdeněk Konopásek.
ŘÍHA, C. / KONOPÁSEK, Z. / PRACH, J. / OBERMAJER, J. (2021): Jak stavět v CHKO: Od předpisu k praxi [Construction activities in Protected Landscape Areas: From legislation to practice]. Ochrana přírody, 76 (4): 41-45. Available at (in Czech): https://www.casopis.ochranaprirody.cz/
The mission of protected landscape areas (PLA) is not only to protect nature, but also to preserve the values of the landscape. Landscape is affected, among others, by the appearance of settlements. It is therefore a matter of regulating the construction and development of municipalities in such a way that local historical and cultural habits are respected. In short, the landscape should keep the local feel, which is comfortable for both residents and visitors. The question remains how to serve this public interest most effectively and at the same time so that the regulation is seen as a welcome service of the state. The article marks the first phase of an applied research project in which we, a team of sociologists, urban planners, architects and conservationists, are interested in "how decision-making is made," i.e., the trajectory from prescription to application in practice, and how to improve the status quo.
KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2021): Ať spolu vědci dál nesouhlasí - rozhovor se Štěpánem Kučerou [Let us not ask the scientists to speak in a single voice - an interview with Štěpán Kučera]. Právo, Salon, 28. 1. 2021. Available at Novinky.cz
In Czech only
KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2017): Lítáme v tom, někteří beznadějně: Odpověď na recenzi Radka Kubaly [We are all in the thick of it: Some of us quite hopelessly]. Zdeněk Konopásek's blog, 22. 12. 2020. Available at http://zdenek.konopasek.net/index.php?m=16&i=4138&b=16
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KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Existence na mnoho způsobů: Vejde se do tabulky? [Existence multiple: How does it fit in the table?]. Biograf, 71-72: 93-104
::::An inquiry into modes of existence: An anthropology of the moderns (AIME) is an important recent book by Bruno Latour, published in 2013. It presents yet another attempt at explaining Latour’s sociological or anthropological approach, connected to so called actor-network theory (ANT). The book seeks to correct misunderstandings about this increasingly popular approach and pave the way for more "diplomatic" negotiations on what we as researchers try to say about the world. Without the context of Latour's all life's work, this book is not always easy to understand. That is why, to offer an outline of the AIME’s argument, I start with a brief review of this context. At the end of the paper, I come with a critical discussion. I suggest that the concept of modes of existence, as it is presented in the book, seems diverted from the former Latour’s sensitivity toward reality “in action”. Thanks to the AIME book, one can perhaps understand the differences between the imagined modes of existence, but it remains somewhat unclear and, in fact, invisible how they eventually become more or less distinct in practice, i.e., how issues become (or not) political, religious or scientific. Instead, in AIME, the world as if turns into rows and columns of a table.
POKORNÝ, P. & KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): We are all in the thick of it: A dialogue about climate change science, politics and activism. In: A. Vondra, ed: Must environmentalism be alarmist? Searching for realistic answers. Brno: Books & Pipes. Pp. 27-69
::::Two colleagues, paleoecologist and sociologist, talk about broader contexts of scientific doubting about contemporary climate policies.
POKORNÝ, P. & KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Lítáme v tom - II.: Dialog o klimatu na pomezí vědy, politiky a aktivismu [We are all in the thick of it: A dialogue about climate change - science, politics and activism - II.]. Kontexty, 12 (6): 15-24 (reprinted from A. Vondra, ed: Musí být ekologie alarmistická? [Does ecology have to be alarmist?)
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POKORNÝ, P. & KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Lítáme v tom - I.: Dialog o klimatu na pomezí vědy, politiky a aktivismu [We are all in the thick of it: A dialogue about climate change - science, politics and activism]. Kontexty, 12 (5): 30-39 (reprinted from A. Vondra, ed: Musí být ekologie alarmistická? [Does ecology have to be alarmist?). Available at https://casopiskontexty.cz/litame-v-tom-i/<
POKORNÝ, P. & KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Lítáme v tom: Dialog o klimatu na pomezí vědy, politiky a aktivismu [We're in: Climate dialogue at the edge of science, politics, and activism]. In: A. Vondra, ed: Musí být ekologie alarmistická? Hledání realistických odpovědí [Does ecology have to be alarmist? Finding realistic answers]. Brno: Books & Pipes. Pp. 67-105
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KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Latour o antropocénu: Složité vztahy mezi intelektuálním a politickým radikalismem [Latour and anthropocene: Complicated relations between intellectual and political radicalism]. Vesmír, 99 (150): 512-514
Bruno Latour is one of the most quoted authors in contemporary social sciences. In recent years, he started writing about anthropocene or "new climatic regime". His turn toward this topic seems to be associated with a political and theoretical turn. The book Down to Earth can be taken as a prominent example of this turn. I critically discuss this shift in late Latour, including its more general consequences.
KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2020): Antropocén: Více než jeden, méně než dva [Anthropocene: More than one, less than many]. In: P. Pokorný & D. Storch, eds: Antropocén. Praha: Academia. Pp. 32-50
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KONOPÁSEK, Z. / SONERYD, L. / SVAČINA, K. (2018): Lost in translation: Czech dialogues by Swedish design. Science & Technology Studies, 31 (3): 5-23
::::This study explores the journey of a model for stakeholder involvement called RISCOM. Originally developed within the field of radioactive waste management in Sweden, it was later used in the Czech Republic to re-establish public dialogue in the process of siting a geological repository. This case offers an opportunity to empirically study the fragility and ambiguous results of organized spread of public involvement across various domains of technological innovation and national contexts. We show how three circumstances – (1) the ambition to make RISCOM an internationally used model for public dialogue, (2) the specific situation in the Czech siting process, and (3) the short-lived and limited success of the subsequent Czech dialogues by Swedish design – were intrinsically related and sustained each other. Better understanding of such complexities might contribute to a more realistic attitude toward technologized democracy, i.e., toward practices of public deliberation increasingly becoming instrumental, transferable, and depoliticized.
BARTLOVÁ, M. / BÍLEK, P. / KONOPÁSEK, Z. / REIFOVÁ, I. (2017): Diskuze o interdiciplinárních přístupech k normalizaci [Discussion on interdisciplinary approaches toward normalization]. In: K. Činátl, J. Mervart & J. Najbert, eds: Podoby česko-slovenské normalizace: Dějiny v diskusi [Forms of Czech-Slovak normalization: History debated]. Praha: ÚSTR/NLN. Pp. 81-101
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KONOPÁSEK, Z. (2017): Rozpaky nad inovacemi: ATLAS.ti, verze osmá [Embarrassment over innovations: ATLAS.ti, v8]. Biograf, 65-66: 103-115
::::In Czech only
Osobní stránky Zdeňka Konopáska - http://zdenek.konopasek.net, technická realizace Jakub Konopásek ©