The case study presented in this article is based on ethnographic materials collated during a two-year field research inside a Western, gated, militarized and isolated compound, situated outside Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The article explores not only the implications of Goffman’s total institution (TI) model in this new setting, but it also discovers a new dimension of gender–power relations in the context of a specific gated community. It focuses on the symbolic exchanges in and outside the walls, with a specific focus on gender agenda. It advances the TI concept towards a ‘softer’ and yet still ‘total’ type of institution, where the gender polarity in and outside the compound sets a unique organizational structure. The idea of ‘gender adjustment’ and the soft model of total institution (where soft indicates the ambiguity of the gate and its symbolic dimension) are the main theoretical contributions.

The notion of sustainability is of paramount importance for long-term survival; it is also about keeping up, moving on, and not jeopardizing the future of life on earth or the future itself. It is about tangible strategies for the reproduction and long-term existence of our own species that may be supported by the mundane everyday life practices and consumer or citizen choices that are often linked directly or indirectly to gender. Sustainable development relies on innovation and innovative social solutions. Without them, sustainability would not persist. This paper sets its research perspective within a systematic review of the literature and theory to develop a sustainability definition within the context of gender as a seed for sustainable innovation. This paper is divided into sections that cover various issues, such as: sustainability and gender in demographics (social justice, increase in number of pensioners, labor market); environment/ecology (education, ecofeminism); and corporate responsibility (consumer decisions and leadership). In each section, a definition is developed, being supported by evidence from existing studies and a discussion on how sustainability may be defined in the context of gender concludes the paper. The paper suggests that gender has a clear social impact, which constitutes a relevant and important seed for the achievement of sustainable development.

Weaknesses in the institutional environment of Central Europe challenge the sustainability of economic development. Institutional theory stipulates that institutions drive economic development, and institutions are configured by individual values and practices. The World Governance Indicators, the Corruption Perception Index, and the Doing Business Indicators indicate weaknesses in the institutional environments of the Visegrád countries. This paper explores the micro level perspective of institutions, focusing on values and practices, in terms of leadership and ethics. A survey of 868 private and public sector managers from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia provides evidence that leadership practices and ethical values are congruent, suggesting a positive influence on the institutional environment. The results also provide evidence for the presence of the gap, spanning between the micro and the macro level factors affecting sustainable economic development. These results imply that a bottom-up view of sustainable economic development is more suitable to the Central European context, and promotion of sustainable economic development needs to focus on the micro level factors.

The article focuses on selected predicators of successful and fulfilling teenage motherhood. It contains analysis of qualitative data, obtained through comprehensive interviews and field notes from social work practice, based on the personal experiences of teenage mothers and a court appointed family curator. Using herstory perspective, it aims to present positive examples of teenage motherhood as a source of empowerment and independence, to unveil and combat stereotypical views on adolescent mothers in Poland. Moreover, the authors discuss systemic issues and challenges as well as a social stigma created by public opinion and aim to challenge harmful stereotyping. The article contributes to social work practice for the purpose of enhancement of the international comparative studies in this field.

When registering the changes affecting our societies, which undoubtedly have a multidimensional character and occur at different speeds, it is impossible to disregard the issue of education. This is especially true in the context of the discourse focusing on so-called cognitive capitalism, creative industries, intangible work, gig/sharing economy, education is an extremely important element of not only “the personal troubles”, but also “the public issues of social structure”, to use C. Wright Mills (2000:8) terms.

This article draws on chaos theory to critically analyse the recent higher education reforms that have been taking place in Poland. The argument launched in this article aims to show that the reforms are based primarily on neoliberal foundations and to expose the linguistic dominance of the English language in neoliberal settings. The English language appears to be a strong tool of neoliberal power, used to empower or to marginalise local academics. The divisive power of English exploited by reformists creates a growing fissure between age cohorts, disciplines and academics representing diverse social backgrounds. The tension and uncertainty brought about by the reforms have increased the anxiety and competition between scholars, undermining solidarity and compromising joint agency. The long-term results of entering the neoliberal “rat race”, which is strongly reliant on English language skills, are yet unknown.