Symbols of suffering and mourning rituals in contemporary political space

The death of a loved one results in manifestations of suffering, mourning, and finally post-mortem and funeral ceremonies. The departure of people who were key figures and influenced the political space brings with it a whole spectrum of symbols, signs and rituals of mourning in this space. In the history of the Third Polish Republic, Poles experienced a number of sad moments related to the deaths of less and more significant figures in the world of politics. The departure of John Paul II, all those who died in the Smolensk catastrophe, the assassination of President Paweł Adamowicz, the deaths of the founding fathers of the Third Republic: Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Jacek Kuroń, Władysław Bartoszewski, Andrzej Chodubski, who was so close to the University of Gdańsk environment, and many others, are just some of the great world of politics and political science. The symbols of suffering and rituals of mourning that accompanied their farewells were, among other things, an expression of our culture, also political.

Aztec Empire as Culmination of Mesoamerican Civilization

The article presents the history of the Mesoamerican civilization, with particular emphasis on the Aztec empire as the culmination of this civilization. For the history of ancient societies is often instructive for modern times; therefore, the author tries to understand the Aztec concept of teotl and the meaning of human sacrifice by this people.

Recruitment of children to armed forces on the example of selected countries of Central and Eastern Africa

The aim of the article is to answer the following research question, what is the impact of armed training of children on their emotional and cultural development and to what extent the recruitment of children of soldiers is a current problem for the countries of Central and Eastern Africa. The article characterizes the process of recruiting children to armed forces, their training and participation in military, repressive and war crimes. The main actors of warfare and armed groups responsible for the recruitment of children soldiers are described in a general way, and the attitude of states to combating this practice is presented. Both in terms of legal regulations and practical actions.

China – forming the cultural and civilization centre of the Far East. Part I

The paper aims at presenting the processes of forming China as the cultural and civilisation centre of the Far East. It is important, which is noticed, in the area of human and social relations towards the environment in which the most important cultural and civilisational transformations occur. In addition, the influence of relations with the outside world and factors influencing the formation of the first cultural formations are observed. The research space of the first part of the paper also involves the analysis of phenomena occurring in the process of the development of Chinese agriculture and the formation of cults, beliefs and religious rituals – important elements of shaping the cultural and civilisation distinctiveness of China.

Article aims to explore the relationship between the partnership disclosures on Tik Tok and its effect on purchase intention and ad recognition, and whether either of those relationships is mediated by influencer trustworthiness. The research employs a one-factor between subjects design and was conducted in the form of a survey experiment where participants were randomly assigned to one of the three brand partnership disclosure (BPD) conditions.

Not only a discussion. About participatory forms and methods of youth organizations operating in the territory of Ukraine

The subject of the text concerns various forms and methods of the participation of selected Ukrainian youth organizations, which were particularly active in 2018. The author discusses the basic theoretical assumptions by analyzing the issue of participation in relation to Polish and foreign literature of the subject. Then, she describes the research material and methods of analysis of the collected empirical data. In the last part of the article, the author presents the most important conclusions regarding the „soft” and „hard” forms and methods of the participation of six youth organizations operating in Ukraine.

Advertising storytelling integration is a new way that YouTubers have found to effectively promote brands in their YouTube video’s. With an impressive track record of results, many agencies and researchers alike are wondering where this success comes from. This research aims to explain the success of this new form of influencer marketing by researching the effect of advertising storytelling integration on download intention. The moderating role of parasocial relationships and the mediating role of perceived advertising creativity are also examined.

Nuclear energy in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The essence of the problem

Characteristic of pomeranian voivodeship electricity sector, causes this region to struggle certain threats that affects is energy security. Solution for some of those threats might be a nuclear power plant that would be located on this voivodeship. Benefits would be seenable also for municipalities that are close to this investment and also for the whole country by reduce price for electricity. At the moment there are two seaside locations considered for the first nuclear power plant in Poland. The final choice will decide what kind of technology would likely be used.

Activities of hospice and palliative care for children as a form of help and support for the family

Despite the development of palliative medicine and the introduction of more and more modern principles of palliative and hospice care, there is still a certain prejudice that further and unprofitable treatment should be abandoned. Palliative medicine is one of the youngest and dynamically developing areas of oncology. The beginnings of modern palliative medicine are related to the works of C. Saunders. This science is opposed to euthanasia but also to persistent therapy. Nowadays, the family of a terminally ill child can benefit from the support of various institutions and social organizations, including the hospice. Hospice activities are aimed at ensuring the best possible care for a sick child and his family. The aim of this article is to outline the history of the hospice itself and how it offers help and support for sick children, especially children and their families.

Among the axiological foundations of European integration, security was undoubtedly the most important of them. The inclusion of post-war Germany in the bloodstream of Western European economic and social ties, on the one hand, and, on the other, fears of the Soviet Union growing in strength and hostile to Western values, were the reasons behind the projects to strengthen cooperation between the countries west of the Elbe. Understandably, integration processes progressed fastest in the sphere of economic exchange and regulation of its rules, and slower in areas related to the very tissue that creates the sovereignty of each state, i.e. security and defense. The aim of the article is to present the shaping of a common European policy on this last issue. For its purposes, three different dimensions of the integration processes were adopted, which complemented each other and led to the present institutional order of the Common Security and Defense Policy. The first of them, which can be called a kind of laboratory of formal structures of cooperation of Western European states in the field of security and military, covered the creation and evolution of the Western European Union. The second perspective is the development of the idea of political and defense integration through the formulation of various initiatives, reports and analyzes by actors of the political life of the Member States, which often informally constituted a strong impulse to accelerate the integration processes. The last area of analysis is the provisions of the treaty, which organized and reformed the functioning mechanisms of the community elements of the European security and defense space.

Threats to the Tri-City border area

This article is devoted to criminality related to exploitation of the state border. The focus in on threats that are its effect and have a negative impact on the frontier zone, taking as a reference the frontier zone of Tri-City. The border crossing on the area od Tri-City is depicted, as well as border traffic that takes place within it, with the division into border, land, aerial, overland and maritime crossing. In addition, the theoretical phenomena of migration is described through introducing related concepts. In the crucial part of this article border criminality that occurs in the board area is presented and characterized.

Legal standards for information protection

Information is an important element of human life and accompanies him in his everyday life. It has contributed to the development of civilization since ancient times. With the development of technology, its share in human life has only increased. Thanks to modern technologies, everyone has almost unlimited access to information. For example, thanks to the Internet, information can be sent from one place in the world to another in the blink of an eye. Such easy access to information makes it easier to make business and life decisions. However, not every piece of information produced, for example, by a company or state institution, should be easily accessible to everyone. This resulted in the need to use information protection measures that will ensure its security. The need to protect information has led to the creation of legal standards that regulate its protection.

National movements in Poland versus Latin civilization in the discourse of the magazine „Opoka w Kraju”

The „Opoka w Kraju” journal, edited by professor Maciej Giertych, pays a lot of attention to the issues of Western civilization. In this approach, the professor is faithful to the Felix Koneczny concepts, who considers the national idea to be a highly positive element of development of the given culture in Latin civilization. This position is in opposition to that of Arnold Joseph Toynbee, who sees in this concept signs of the decline of Western civilization. National movements, both in the interwar period and now, have been in favor of democracy and the strong role of the Catholic Church in Poland as the mainstay of Latin civilization. At the same time, they strongly fought against all manifestations of leadership in political life. The main goal of the article is to present the principles of Latin civilization that they most often implemented in their activities, the national movements in Poland.

The devil is in the details. A reinterpretation of literary Satanism in new religious movements

This paper provides an analysis of literary Satanism as an important factor in the contemporary creation and development of Satanism as such. Especially with the rise of The Satanic Temple (in 2013), old approaches to Satanism (those focused on occultism and devil worship) appeared to have limited explanatory power to understand this new religious movement and a predominantly American phenomenon. It challenges readers to go beyond traditional dichotomies and move from metaphysical approaches to a sociopsychological explanation. In addition, the paper emphasizes the distinction between atheistic Satanism and pseudo-Satanism. Moreover and more importantly, the paper describes a double reinterpretation within Satanism sensu lato. First, it is a reinterpretation of Satan by the Romantic or literary Satanists such as Percy Bysshe Shelley. Second, it is a reinterpretation of Satanic literature by the Church of Satan (emphasizing Ayn Rand, Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Giosuè Carducci, and Benjamin DeCasseres) and The Satanic Temple (emphasizing socio- -cultural contestation with serious religious and political consequences).

The function of public debates is crucial these days. Experts believe that presidential debates may decide the final election results. All that matters is what each candidate will say and the way in which they will present themselves. Public debate is a tool for creating common knowledge, thus knowledge about the knowledge of others. Performed in accordance with understandable and accessible rules, it is the foundation for legitimizing actions taken in presidential elections. The method of organizing the debate has therefore fundamental value for public management. Shaping the conditions and simplifying the interaction processes between participants of the public debate is the idea of public management. Observations on public discourse are usually disciplinary in nature, as they relate to phenomena occurring in the field of politics, sociology and media communication2. The aim of the paper is therefore to define and assess what conditions for the presidential debate in 2020 have been met and what issues and whether they were rightly raised in it. The following hypothesis was adopted for the paper: „The public debate in the 2020 presidential elections in Poland did not concern important issues for Poles, but focused only on secondary, rather unimportant aspects”. The paper formulated the following research questions: what is the essence and scope of a public debate?, what issues were touched upon during the 2020 presidential debate in Poland?, how does the presidential debate translate into society’s evaluation of a presidential candidate? Secondary sources were used in order to achieve the expressed aim of the paper, The literature on the subject, including issues related to the analysis of public discourse, scientific publications, research reports and websites can be classified as secondary sources. The methods that will be used for research in the paper will be: a method of examining documents and descriptive methods. The technique of examining documents is based on examining the already existing source materials and usually takes place in the field of formalized groups. Typically, such research is carried out in organizations or enterprises, where the foundation of operation are legal acts, regulations defining the profile and method of activity, and official documents. Such a technique finds wide application in various fields due to its versatile nature. In fact, every available document can be the subject of research and, at least in a specific part, present a given situation. The paper consists of three parts. The first allows getting acquainted with the topic of public discourse in theoretical terms. In addition, the basic elements of public discourse between representatives of the political elite are also presented here. The second part describes the public debate before the first round of presidential elections in 2020 in Poland. The main issues discussed during the debate and the candidates’ statements were described, with particular emphasis on the responses of Andrzej Duda and Rafał Trzaskowski. Efforts were also made to present elements and issues that were missing from the public debate. The third part is a complementary part and is a short description of the public debate before the second round of the 2020 presidential elections in Poland. The ending summarizes the whole work, which is a summary of conclusions that have been drawn from own research and theoretical considerations included in the theoretical division of the work.

Concept of corporate strategy of PKP Intercity S.A. in the time of pandemic crisis

The main aim of the article is to introduce the problem of pandemic crisis on the case of one of the largest companies in the country which specialise in passenger rail transport. Two different analyses of its financial condition were methodically carried out over a period of five years, just before its occurrence. The results of the analyses turned out to be different. The method of comparing sales results, although it indicated a clear downturn, gave no cause for concern. The discriminant method, on the other hand, indicated that the company’s health was at a very good level in the four years before the pandemic. The next two years were a little less good, although not alarming. The critical moment became the last year of the analysis, when the pandemic began. The indicators clearly approached the limit values, which would indicate a state of near bankruptcy. This procedure is a key action aimed at improving the competitiveness of the company on the transport market. It is also important to take care of the rolling stock management and the level of services provided. In view of the situation, the authors have pointed out the need to carry out actions aimed at levelling the effects of the crisis. The basic tasks included the need to reconstruct the business model and to re-identify strategic processes aimed at verifying the company’s policy towards the changes taking place. This procedure is a key action aimed at improving the competitiveness of the company on the transport market. It is also important to take care of the rolling stock management and the level of services provided. The added value is effective communication at all levels of the company. It can only be audited and managed if the performance is visualised in the form of indicators, the results of which depend on the level of employee motivation. In the writing of the article, scientific literature, both Polish and foreign, as well as official results of the analysed company were used.

Impact of government actions on the tourism sector following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of the article is to present the actions taken by the state and their impact on the tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also to show the effects that they have brought for the tourism industry, including those using tourist and recreational services. The basic method used in the preparation of the article was primarily the analysis of legal acts, documents and guidelines issued by state authorities during the pandemic and statistical data. The main content of the article consists of three parts. The first presents the situation of the tourism industry during the pandemic. The second part analyzes the administrative and legal activities of state authorities in the tourism industry. In turn, the third part presents examples of clients ‚and entrepreneurs’ reactions to bans and restrictions introduced by state authorities. In connection with the research carried out, it was stated, inter alia, that „the state should take measures to enable the functioning of the economy in this tourism sector in the period of a pandemic and other possible crisis situations that will probably arise in the future”.

Characteristics of an authoritarian unit (Erich Fromm), with authoritarian personality (Theodor Adorno), with hard personality (Hans Eysenck) and dogmatic (Milton Romeach) and common features for these theoretical constructs

This article addresses the subject of Erich Fromm, Theodor Adorno, Hans Eysenck and Milton Rokeache theory characterizing personality particularly susceptible to the influence of authoritarianism, personality that combat democracy. In its first part there is the characteristics of these personalities, specifically authoritarian units (Erich Fromm), with authoritarian personality, hard personality (Hans Eysenck) and dogmatic (Milton Rozeach). The second part of this article is trying to find common features for these theoretical constructs. Mostly, however, it is a criticism of erroneous (in my opinion) thinking when creating these theories. I noticed that the creators of the majority of them not only describe personality types particularly susceptible to the influence of authoritarianism, but above all they condemn them. In practice, this comes down to attacking the extreme right. However, attention should be paid to several important issues that negate this attitude. With authoritarianism, only the right can be identified. The division of the right/left is not very sharp. In turn, authoritarianism does not always mean a lack of humanitarianism, intolerance, and persecution. Most of the above theoretical constructs indicate, in my opinion, it is wrong that the political features of a person acquire under the influence of the environment, the environment. However, they are not somehow inherited, genetically conditioned. In addition, I think that only a certain, smaller part of society has specific political views. And only among them there is a group of people with authoritarian tendencies. This part of a society that has unspecified political views can be a business – related political option, even authoritarian, if this option provides its benefits. The assumption that the political actions of society result from the internal features of individuals is another point with which it is difficult to (me) agree. In fact, the effectiveness of the ruling team decides.