The paper presents the results of an empirical study of prison deprivations suffered by women, conducted at the Female Department of Correctional Facility in Požarevac within the scope of a wider study of women's prison system. It was supposed that female prisoners in this penal institution face similar prison experience and suffer the same or similar deprivations as women in other penal institutions do. The research sample included female prisoners sentenced to more than one year, staying in prison for more than a year (54 female prisoners, i.e. more than 50% prisoners sentenced to long prison terms). Prisoners were interviewed employing a questionnaire measuring different types of deprivations using 26 indicators. Using the method of factor analysis - which was here used for the first time to study prison deprivations - six factors of women's prison deprivations were extracted: deprivation of maternity; deprivation of autonomy; deprivation of individuality; deprivation of human kindness and empathy; deprivation of a key role - a woman's role, and deprivation of friendship relations. The outcomes of this research, together with the findings of other researchers, affirm the assumption that these types of deprivations are realistic and dominant types of women's prison deprivations

APSTRAKT: Društvena primena koncepta otpornosti se u radu razmatra kao različita u odnosu na druge teorijske discipline koje koriste ovaj pojam. Povezanost koncepta otpornosti i teorije društvenih sistema se razmatra sa kritičkim osvrtom na različite pravce u sociološkim teorijama, ali i različite ontološke pretpostavke u razumevanju otpornosti. Otpornost kakva postoji u ekološkim ili socio-ekološkim teorijama u društvenoj realnosti je usložnjenja društvenim odnosima i promenama koje imaju različičiti efekat na funkcionalnost, adaptabilnost i transformacione kapacitete društva i njegovih jedinica. U tom smislu, konstruktivistički pristup nudi analitički okvir koji podrazumeva dvostruki zadatak. Sa jedne strane otkrivanje interpretaivnih značenja društvene otpornosti kao koncepta, a sa druge normativno neutralni pristup rešavanju različitih društvenih situacija koje su optrećene rizicima, nevoljama, ali i mogućnostima.ABSTRACT: In this paper, we introduce the social dimension of the term resilience which is different than all the other theoretical disciplines that use this term. The connection between the concept of resilience and the theory of social systems is viewed from a critical standpoint, and also with different ontological perspectives in regard to understanding resilience. The resilience as it exists in ecological or socio -ecological theories in social reality is more complex when considering social relations and changes that have different effects on functionality, adaptability and transformational capacities of society and its units. In regard to that, the constructivist approach offers an analytical framework that includes two tasks. On the one hand, the discovery of the interpretative meaning of social resilience as a concept, and on the other hand, using the normative neutral approach as a way of dealing with various social situations that are burdened with risks, troubles, but also with possibilities.

The concept of resilience originated in engineering and environmental systems theories. Resilience entered humanities relatively recently as a new theoretical and practical approach to addressing challenges and risks in both macro and micro-communities. The concept of resilience is being criticized for theoretical fluidity behind it, difficulties related to its empirical verification and for being ideologically embedded in the neoliberal framework of global capitalism. Subject of this paper is an overview of a sharper critique of the concept that is coming from feminist perspective. In perspective of feminist criticism, the concept of resilience is perceived as an element of hegemony in neoliberal theory that purports deregulation and in particular market deregulation. While at first glance the concept of resistance denies identity policies and social exclusion deriving from it, in fact it absorbs harm inflicted by neoliberal economic and social restructuring. Resilience allows induced damage to be recycled given that new identity frames and aesthetics become created. Gender status is no longer associated with visible gender manifestation - it rather appears as it is shaped by economic and social background. Resilience becomes new neoliberal female ideal feature that only enhances vitality of white supremacist patriarchy.

The paper considers a development and social meaning of social heroes, as well as the substance, functions and dichotomies of heroism, with particular view on those conditions in a social system that enable and facilitate a mutual approximation and symbolic and functional alternation of its diverse categories. The situation in Serbia during the last two decades was particularly the object of attention in an attempt to fortify the assumption that extreme turbulent processes inside the social space, followed by willing and substantial antisocial activity of certain favorably positioned groups, as well as by specific processing of social reality by those unfavorably positioned, "ordinary" people, make possible the conversion of classic antiheroes into social heroes

The paper analyzes social capital's properties in relation with the level at which it is generated, as a type of social capital. The second part of the paper is dedicated to examining of possibilities for implementation of the concept of social capital in various social and political circumstances. Analysis of the Putnam's concept of social capital in reviewing of the process of democratization of post-communist societies has shown that assessment of the social capital’s role in democratic transition of these societies must take into account specific social and political circumstances which influenced social capital's trends and forms. In contrast to economically developed societies with long democratic traditions, it turned out that social capital in former communist societies developed and moved in almost opposite directions. It is characterized by competitiveness, non-community spirit and exclusivity. This may be explained by predominant informal associating forms as a survival strategy in conditions of deprivation and ideological mobilization at the time of communist party states which during transition turned into suspicious conversions of various capital types. It is an open issue how much the social capital concept is applicable in post-communist societies of Eastern and Central Europe and how it should be designed for the purpose of adequate implementation in creating of social policies