Introduction. As the number of older persons continues to increase, there is a need to validate a reliable instrument to examine attitudes towards this population in Serbia. This research aimed to examine the validity and reliability and to determine the factor structure, that is, to adapt the Serbian version of the Kogan's Attitude towards the Old People scale. Method. The research was conducted on a planned sample of 321 respondents, students of social science and humanities, mostly gathered in the territory of Belgrade and Novi Sad. Results. Achievements at the level of the whole scale ranged from 67 to 121 (M = 100, SD = 7.83).The obtained Content Validity Index (CVI = 0.90) indicated a high level of validity in this assessment domain. The Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient of reliability for items given in a positive connotation was a = 0.77, while slightly higher value was obtained for the items given in a negative connotation (a = 0.83). At the level of the entire instrument, after recoding the inversely defined items, the value a = 0.88 was calculated, indicating a high level of reliability of the scale used. Except for item 13, statistically significant correlation (p<0.000) between the whole scale and individual attitudes about the elderly was found in all 33 items. The factor analysis identified five latent dimensions with the eigenvalue of 1 or more (KMO = 0.798), explaining 34.58% of total variance: Social desirability (a = 0.69), Hygiene (a = 0.73), Criticism (a = 0.60). Equality (a = 0.59) and Communication (a = 0.73). Conclusion. The Serbian version of the Kogan's Scale can be considered as a valid and reliable instrument in the study of attitudes toward the elderly.

In the light of the announced adoption of the Law on Same-Sex Unions, the question arises whether the draft law is in accordance with the Constitution, especially after the announcements that the law will not be signed. Although the Constitution specifies that marriage is a union of a man and a woman, experts point out that in this case it is not a law on marriage and family, nor does it provide for the possibility of adoption of children by same-sex couples, but that it regulates property, health, pension and other legal relationships of same-sex partners living in the union. At the same time, many public figures have invited traditional religious communities to react in order to defend the "right to freedom and future of the people", emphasizing that contentious issues related to the regulation of mutual rights and obligations of same-sex couples could be resolved by amending the existing laws in those areas. In the countries where similar laws exist, case law has played a significant role, just as various medical and psychological associations. The European case law is not uniform, and cases often end before the European Court of Human Rights, while in the United States at the federal level, all anti-homosexual laws are repealed by a Supreme Court decision (Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 [2003]). Nevertheless, there is no single law in this area and the rights of same-sex couples vary from country to country. The paper will provide an overview of significant court decisions in this area in European countries, as well as the decisions of the US Supreme Court, which may lead us to think about the possible legal consequences of (non)adoption of the disputed Law on Same-Sex Unions, about procedures that could be initiated if partners decided to request judicial protection for the purpose of recognizing their guaranteed human rights, as well as the content and significance of such court judgments.

Contemporary sociology is at a fateful crossroads. The paper points to some aspects of its crisis as a science and vocation, the forms of its cognitive pathology and the erosion of positive identity in the universe of sciences and the modern professional division of labour. Indicating the causes and consequences of this crisis, the author concludes that it cannot be overcome only by technical improvement of the methodology of empirical research, but requires profound efforts of the new generation of sociologists, and new answers. Otherwise, Peter Berger's pessimistic predictions about the obsolescence and bankruptcy of sociologists and sociologists might come true. The conclusions we reached in our problematization of this issue can be summarized as follows: 1) the need to redefine contemporary sociology in the spirit of globalization of its subject as a multicomplex science of the laws of structure and dynamics of the global world system and the theoretical-empirical study of phenomena and processes at all levels of social organization. macro, meso, micro) from the perspective of the methodological principle of dialectical concrete totality; 2) building a new theoretical synthesis in the form of a multidisciplinary integrated paradigm; 3) opening sociology through multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research towards new challenging fields of the future that has begun; 4) redefining its vocation identity in the Mils-Bourdieu key as a martial discipline, radical-critical, reflexive-engaged, emancipatory and actionist sociology.

Instead of stone monuments weathered by time, as Branislav Nušić wrote in his literary-memoir work "the year of 1915" (Nušić, 1921) dedicated to the memory of his son who was killed in war, the Serbian nation, it is with the five-volume edition of Reiss's collected texts ("About the crimes of Austro-Bulgaro-Germans in Serbia 1914-1918", "War Reports from Serbia 1914-1918", "About Serbia and Serbs"/ "What I saw and experienced in great days" and "Listen Serbs") and the texts about Reiss and his oeuvre ("Visionary of the Modern Police" and "Serbs about Reiss") that the Serbian people and Serbia once again express gratitude to this truth-loving scientist, humanist and friend. Thanks to this, readers will be able to evaluate on their own how this educated and well-versed contemporary - scientist, crime investigator, war correspondent from Serbia - whose "standing point" was quite high, could do and "see" in the era filled with crimes, as well as dynamic and dramatic processes, and how he is judged by the scientists in the decades connecting Reiss with the time we live in.

The collage of Bourdieu's debates and polemics (Signals of Lights ~ Signals of Lights 2) most expressively illustrates how sociology of knowledge is organically connected with political sociology, or sociology of symbolic power his work;; the unity of theory and practice is achieved in an aspiration to reaffirm the engaged role of the sociologist's profession, renew the role of intellectuals and form a new European social movement. Although he thought that today "it is not always easy to achieve the ideal of the collective intellectual", which he aspired to identify with, Bourdieu hoped that his critical reflections and polemical interventions, as the "lit signals of lights", may "serve as a useful weapon to all those who are trying to resist the neoliberal scourge… if not hoping to move a mobilization… at least to destroy the impression of unanimity that constitutes the essence of the symbolic picture of the dominant discourse" (Bourdieu, 2019, pp. 41-42).

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is unprecedented in human history and has to date resulted in 15.8 million confirmed cases with 640,016 deaths, has seen governments undertaking strict lockdown measures which not only affected local business activities but also disrupted global value chains resulting in massive economic implications. The purpose of this paper is to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy with a special focus on the African continent. Because the coronavirus pandemic is still evolving and its duration is uncertain, it is difficult to accurately quantify the economic implications of the pandemic. As a result, this paper used the scenario basis analysis as well as extensive literature on the subject. The results show that the pandemic, although it has devastating social impacts due to loss of human life, it has also presented serious economic challenges which inter alia include economic recession, reduced trade volumes and subdued financial flows. Because of globalisation, Africa is not immune to these challenges. As noted in this paper, major economic activities and sources of foreign exchange in Africa such as the tourism sector, export of commodities, external finances and local business activities were negatively affected, resulting in most African economies falling into recession which has wiped out economic gains of the last ten years as noted by the International Monetary Fund. In mitigating this pandemic, African countries should use incentive packages to save businesses as well as institute a number of fiscal measures such as tax waivers and engage international development partners for bail out.

Milan Uzelac, the author of this study, has written a broad insight into the problem of education itself with detailed and elaborated moments that constitute its social and historical aspects. What the author reaches is the real reflection of the state in today's educational system, and almost causes disappointment, but the feeling of hopelessness creates an insight into the meaning of the notion itself, from where the idea of being educated rises to the highest plane of observation.

The article does not contain abstract.

The article does not contain abstract.

The author has given a socio-cultural interpretation of the phenomenon of laughter in the film "The Joker" (Todd, Phillips, 2019) as an individual as well as a social phenomenon of Western civilization. He considers the difference between the concepts of utopia, dystopia and utopistics as a possible solution to the problem that would avoid an optimistic and pessimistic view of the future of humanity. The author seeks a civilization parallel between the fictional world of film and the cultural elements of today. The necrophilic atmosphere of Gotham City is strikingly reminiscent of the spiritual lethargy that characterizes the postmodern metropolises of the 21st century. The fate of the film's protagonist could afflict any individual on our planet if they came to the realization that they are a personality, that they have created themselves, and that on their own spiritual skin they have felt the misunderstanding of others who do not wish to stand out from the crowd. The author notes that many protesters against the governing structures of the oligarchy of states around the world have identified themselves in their protest with the Joker, an anti-hero who in a century of tolerance defends with laughter when he feels that his existence is threatened. In this film, the Joker is the personification of a diseased society. Todd Philips' work is an attempt to draw attention to the fact that the stratification of the human community can lead to the breakdown of social relations, however much the governing establishment's media seek to entertain and laugh at masses of proletarians and homeless people without a cultural identity through entertainment shows. The impact of the film, as a work of art, was visible immediately after its broadcast in public. The failed clown Joker could not cure himself with laughter because his laughing was "crying upside down" out of despair that was contrary to the hope of a man who could seek the meaning of his life in two Christian virtues: faith and love. However, the author of this text offers a solution by reminding of the way of life of a specific person, which would save the world from moral panic. He introduces us to a man with an accomplished existence of being a clown and a university professor at the same time - E. Kiphard (1923-2010), who lived to help fellow men with a mission to treat people with laughter rather than to defend them with the Joker's unnatural and contagious laughter of an anti-utopian resident.