Contrary to the huge involvement of various social groups, implementation of numerous aid programmes, social exclusion, discrimination, marginalisation are still present in various social groups all over the world, and various strategies of social inclusion, including administrative and legal tools for its practical implementation, prove to be ineffective. The aim of this article is to indicate mutual dependencies and conditions as well as social contexts determining the illusory nature of inclusion activities undertaken, first of all, in relation to people with disabilities, but also people excluded from reasons other than disability.

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie problematyki jakości życia osób z przewlekłą chorobą dermatologiczną. W pierwszej części opracowania scharakteryzowano pojęcie choroby przewlekłej, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem choroby dermatologicznej jako kategorii piętna powodującego marginalizację oraz wykluczenie społeczne. Część druga dotyczy jakości życia osób z chorobą dermatologiczną na płaszczyznach: fizycznej, psychicznej oraz społecznej. W części trzeciej opisano trudności terapeutyczne i funkcjonalne, których doświadczają osoby cierpiące na wybrane schorzenia dermatologiczne: atopowe zapalenie skóry, łysienie plackowate oraz łuszczycę. Zakończenie jest próbą wskazania przykładów działań pomocowych podejmowanych przez sektor pozarządowy na rzecz osób chorujących dermatologicznie.

Changes in Social and Political Order and Their Impact on the Democracy

This article analyzes the rise and diffusion of the radical changes in the fields of international relations and social security that pose a challenge for capitalist representative democracy. This concept reflects the simple idea that the era characterized by strong global economic influences, worldwide aging population, longevity and longer life expectancy, changing labor markets, migration, technological and communications developments, mobility and transportation gives no reason to believe in representative democracy as the future of the world. This article suggests a new point of view on the discussion of the factors that mostly influence social order, social security, labor markets and democracy.

Among the many rights guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, what deserves special attention is the right of persons with disabilities to independent living and inclusion in society, as recorded in Article 19. This law applies to everyone regardless of age, ability, type of disability or mental health problems. In practice, this implies the need for the State to take effective measures to facilitate the full integration and participation of people with disabilities in the society. In the paper, the authors attempted to answer the question whether the Polish state has taken effective measures aimed at making it easier for people with disabilities to fully integrate and participate in social life. In this connection, they pointed out the need for deinstitutionalisation of social assistance, pointing to two important tools to enable it to be implemented in practice.

Seeking and experiencing the social support by people with a homosexual orientation

The article presents the results of a study on the subject of seeking and experiencing the social support by homosexual people and the social attitudes they experience (fear of rejection, lack of understanding, discrimination, acceptance). The study used the original questionnaire, which was completed by 108 people with a homosexual orientation. The research material was collected using the snowball method. The research of the results indicate the search for support in various people/groups depending on the crisis situation affecting homosexuals. The group by which they feel supported and accepted are primarily their friends, and the person with whom they most often seek and experience support in the family environment is their mother. A significant percentage of the respondents also benefit/ed from the support of specialists. Most homosexual people don’t feel accepted in Poland, pay attention to the sense of social exclusion, discrimination, fear of revealing their homosexual orientation in the sphere of social life and their own family. All these factors can cause an increased need to seek and receive social support.