The article concerns the Polish regulation and practice concerning postal voting. After presenting some background information on postal voting in Poland, such as the circumstances of its introduction in 2011 and changes it has undergone since then, the author focuses on the latest amendments related to postal voting in the presidential election that were ordered for 10 May 2020. The issue has recently become extremely topical as the ruling party wanted to use postal voting for a large scale as a remedy for problems with holding the traditional election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That idea was followed by the adoption of a specific law which, however, has aroused many controversies and great doubts about its constitutionality, mainly related to the way it was proceeded.

Following the fall of the so-called Islamic State in March 2019, tens of thousands of its fighters, along with their wives and children, were captured and detained in facilities controlled by Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria. Many of which were European. Based on the information provided by scientific institutes and journalists, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had had a significant impact on the functioning of those facilities. Not only did it aggravate an already severe humanitarian crisis, pushing the detainees to reinforce their attempts of escaping and rioting against the guards, but it also lowered the security level in the controlled facilities, allowing a flourishing of criminal activities. Furthermore, the detainment of ISIS followers turned into a political game between the Kurdish coalition and the United States. The global health crisis put to the test the strategy of many Western governments of keeping European ISIS fighters in the Middle East while pressuring the international community to rethink its approach towards this crescent problem.

Przedmiotem niniejszego artykułu są wybory parlamentarne w Republice Litewskiej. Podjęto się analizy przebiegu i uwarunkowań instytucjonalnych wyborów, które odbyły się na Litwie w październiku 2020 roku w czasie trwającej pandemii Covid-19. W artykule przeanalizowano takie elementy, jak: wyniki wyborów na Litwie w 2020 r., nowe regulacje wyborcze, a także zaimplementowane nowe techniki głosowania w czasie pandemii. Oprócz tego poruszono także zagadnienia przebiegu kampanii wyborczej, która prowadzona była w warunkach obostrzeń i ograniczeń, które miały zwiększyć bezpieczeństwo wyborców oraz zmniejszyć transmisję koronawirusa SARS-CoV-2.

W niniejszym artykule przedstawiono oddziaływanie pandemii COVID-19 na akulturację i strategie akulturacyjne studentów międzynarodowych w UE, USA i Australii. Pandemia wyostrzyła trudne i ryzykowne aspekty akulturacji studentów, przyśpieszając ją. Izolacja pandemiczna oraz chaos informacyjny spowodowany pandemią utrudniają badanym przejście od fazy szoku kulturowego do fazy zdrowienia/adaptacji. U tych, którzy przed pandemią zbliżali się do tego etapu, można zaobserwować zatrzymanie adaptacji i przyjęcie strategii wymuszonej separacji. Studenci wybierają strategie akulturacyjne - lub przez pandemię są skazani na takie wybory - które nie wiążą się z budowaniem relacji ze społeczeństwem przyjmującym: separację i marginalizację. Integracja pojawia się jedynie w kontekście relacji z innymi studentami międzynarodowymi, mieszkającymi w tym samym miejscu. Równocześnie studenci wyrażają obawy co tego, czy pandemia i jej skutki umożliwią im dalszą integrację ze społeczeństwem przyjmującym. To z kolei rodzi obawę przyszłego odpływu studentów międzynarodowych z UE, USA i Australii, czemu można zapobiec, zmieniając paradygmat myślenia o miejscu studentów międzynarodowych w systemach wspomnianych krajów.

Distance learning of pedagogy students during the COVID-19 pandemic – empirical considerations

The article presents the results of research conducted in 2020 among students of pedagogy of the Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice (Poland) regarding the evaluation of the quality of remote education introduced in response to the situation caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic and compared them with the results obtained by others native and foreign researchers, which made it possible to specify several conclusions for further work on the application of this form of education in academic education. The main method used in the research was a diagnostic survey with the technique assigned to it. The survey, taking into account the current situation of the university, resulting from distance learning during the pandemic, as well as other information disclosed by the media, consisted of two parts. The first part contained four questions (including those relating to demographic conditions). The second part consisted of questions focused on the research issues set out in this study, the main purpose of which was to learn about the opinions and views of students of pedagogy on compulsory distance education, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the research have brought a lot of new information, important for the extended analyzes and measurements of remote education conducted in many countries during the lockdown, which will allow, during possible subsequent epidemic threats, to exclude the diagnosed and identified problems that hinder the implementation of remote education of students.

Termination of non-competition agreements during the COVID-19 pandemic – some remarks on the constitutionality of anti-crisis regulations

In 2020, the act commonly referred to as the „shield 4.0” introduced to the Polish legal system a provision which stipulates that during the period of the epidemic threat or epidemic state announced due to COVID-19, a party to a non-competition agreement, in favor of which it has been established, may terminate the agreement within seven days. This right is unilateral, granted only to the employer, who may use it regardless of whether the introduced state of epidemic has actually caused the deterioration of his economic situation or not. The aim of the article is not to assess the rationality or accuracy of the introduced solutions, but only to assess their constitutionality from the point of view of a number of constitutional principles, such as the principle of individual trust in the state, the principle of legal security, the principle of equality of parties to private-law relations, the principle of protection of acquired rights and protection of interests in progress, as well as constitutionally protected rights and freedoms, including freedom of contract or property rights.

The aim of the paper is to present the specificity of work of young volunteers in the service of children in the pandemic (types of activities they undertake, problems and benefits they and their pupils experience). The first part of the text presents theoretical assumptions of social and educational support for children. Volunteering in the pandemic in Poland in the third sector has been covered based on the latest research results and the activities of the Dialog Foundation in Białystok. The second part of the text shows methodological assumptions of qualitative research, which was conducted using the method of individual cases in March 2021 among volunteers of the Dialog Foundation. Chosen research results concerning the social and educational support provided to children during the pandemic by young volunteers have been showed. In the light of the results of my research, social and educational support provided to Foundation’s pupils by volunteers is of great importance in their daily functioning during the pandemic, prevents school failures and reduces the feeling of loneliness. The results of the research may hopefully contribute to the development of educational research in regard to the functioning of volunteering in aid of children with educational and social deficits.

Coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) poses a significant challenge for the society. One of such social groups are academic teachers. The aim of this study is to become acquainted with the perceived difficulties of Polish academic teachers connected with the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the importance of resilience in perceiving these difficulties. One hundred and one (n = 101) Polish academic teachers completed the Scale of Perceived Difficulties Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic SOTCov19 (NA) and the Resilience Assessment Scale SPP-25. The descriptive statistics, correlation analysis (Pearson’s correlations coefficient), and progressive stepwise regression analysis were used. The study shows that Polish academic teachers experience the greatest difficulties in three areas: recreational and cultural aspect, health and care aspects, and remote working - online lessons. A significant correlation between included variables was obtained. It is also well worth mentioning that the two subscales of resilience - tolerance for failure and treating life as a challenge, and personal competence to deal with and tolerance of negative emotions - entail a predictive function in explaining the perceived difficulties, however the percentage of variance is low, unlike expected.

Pandemia COVID-19 jest czynnikiem, który może w znaczącym stopniu zmienić sytuację na rynku pracy w Polsce. Obecnie – choć poza sporem pozostaje to, że takie przekształcenia nastąpią – można jednakże mówić raczej o pewnych prognozach co do przewidywanych kierunków i stopnia możliwych modyfikacji w tym zakresie, a finalny ich stan będzie efektem tak czasu trwania swoistego „zawieszenia” działalności szeregu firm, ale i pracowników, jak i efektywności podejmowanych działań – zarówno w sferze medycznej, jak i ekonomicznej, czy społecznej. Przedstawiony artykuł jest jednym z głosów w dyskusji na wskazany temat, toczącej się w przestrzeni publicznej, której celem jest nie tylko wskazanie potencjalnych wektorów rozwoju rynku pracy w trakcie i po trwającej pandemii, ale także zidentyfikowanie jego głównych problemów. Bowiem to właśnie w okresach znacznego pogorszenia koniunktury ujawniają się nieprawidłowości i zaniedbania, które mogą mieć istotny wpływ na rynek pracy i jego uczestników.

The article presents research results obtained as part of the implemented project regarding identification of the process of adaptation of students to the conditions of new education caused by the pandemic. The opinions of students have been obtained by means of a diagnostic survey. They allowed to reconstruct individual adaptation models adopted by the students in response to distance learning and need to adjust to the education process during lockdown.

Universities around the world have overwhelmingly switched to online teaching and e-learning, necessitated by social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to provide education as eff ectively as possible and achieve the required educational objectives, people involved in the teaching process at the university have taken a number of steps to give students access to materials necessary to obtain the intended learning outcomes in a particular subject. In this article, we present the results of empirical research on remote classes at Polish universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Th e research focused on methods and forms of distance learning.

This study explored the links between health and well-being to the grit of DepEd Regional Office IX employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 75 employees participated in this descriptive correlational research through an online and offline self-report questionnaire. The data analysis utilized multiple linear regression to determine grit’s predictors from the mental health continuum of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The study showed that health and well-being factors positively correlated with employees’ grit. Moreover, the results revealed that the employees’ psychological and social well-being were significant predictors of grit while emotional well-being did not significantly predict employees’ grit. These research outcomes affirm that if the workers are psychologically and socially healthy, they tend to perform better. These outcomes suggest that workplace measures should be in place to promote workers’ health and well-being for them to fulfill their job effectively and efficiently.

The meaning of individual social capital for the emotional well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents the results of the research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 among students of the University of Bialystok. The aim of the study was to determine the meaning of individual social capital for the emotional well-being of students. Emotional well-being has been defined as an overall assessment of an individual’s quality of life. Individual social capital is a potential resource of personal and social networks of individuals, which they “use” in various life situations. The study showed an interdependence between the individual social capital of students and their emotional well-being.

The topic of the present article is the response of states to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by using extraordinary legal measures provided for in their constitutions and legislation. By reference to the research project's findings, the authors characterise the legal solutions in selected jurisdictions and attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the application of emergency measures and the specific political system of states. By doing so, the authors consider such factors as the territory, population, or type of political regime.

The paper looks at the important subject of the sister city frameworks as part of China’s public diplomacy at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic (post-2020). The first part presents the concept of public diplomacy, with special focus on the role of provincial and municipal governments in China. Relations between the local Chinese governments and other local governments are seen as “having less political color” and, according to Chinese scholars, are more effective in transmitting the national image and discursive power in the P.R.C. The second part elaborates on the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that local governments in China have been using the Health Silk Road and Digital Silk Road as a vehicle of China’s public diplomacy. This section also includes a detailed analysis of the Chinese government’s plans and actions taken by the central authorities. After a general analysis, the authors present Sichuan and Guangdong provinces’ actions as a case study. The first case study examines Sichuan and Chengdu’s efforts to promote the Health Silk Road through the “mask of diplomacy,” in the second, the authors discuss actions undertaken by Guangdong province and the city of Guangzhou as part of the Digital Silk Road.

Pandemic Challenges Versus Changes in the Law and System Practice Selected European Countries

The article presents the changes that have taken place in the laws and systemic practice of states as a result of counteracting the crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The author, pointing to pandemic challenges as well as actions taken by governments of states belonging to the Council of Europe, pointed out that the peculiar bluntness of changes could be most noticed in the construction and implementation of regulations on states of emergency. On the other hand, the issue of modifying the constitution was approached more carefully.

The article analyses the Italian Government’s response to the recent Covid-19 pandemic and, more precisely, the centralization of decisions and the consequent marginalization of Parliament and Regions. The author assesses the compatibility of the governmental emergency measures with the Italian Constitution (which does not expressly regulate the “state of emergency”) and with the principle of proportionality, in order to verify whether the compression of some fundamental rights and constitutional competencies was justified by the contingent crisis.

Labor migration from Central Asia to Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Like most countries in the world, the Russian Federation has also been struggling with the coronavirus pandemic that causes the COVID-19 disease since the beginning of 2020. The pandemic has harmed many areas of life in Russia, including social, demographic and economic issues. The changes also affected the labor market, which to a large extent is shaped by economic migrants from Central Asia. The situation of the economic migrants themselves has also changed significantly. Many of them lost their jobs, especially in the first half of 2020. Due to sanitary restrictions and the closure of borders, the number of Central Asian residents who decided to leave for Russia has significantly decreased. Experts emphasize that economic migrants make a significant contribution to the development of the Russian economy and the economies of Central Asian countries. This article aims to present how the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the shape of economic migration from Central Asia to Russia in the context of changing employment conditions and the socio-economic situation, both in Russia and the countries of the region.

The COVID-19 situation has made higher education institutions face the unprecedented challenge of transition into distance learning. As a result, students had to acquire some skills and knowledge remotely, including the experience of learning social research. The article presents the results of research on students’ attitudes and perceptions regarding online teaching, learning, their digital skills, and the presence of subjects connected with social research in their diverse study programmes. The study was conducted to investigate how social research is taught at the university level. Using an online survey distributed in May and June 2021, data were collected from 103 students enrolled in bachelor (BA) and master (MA) studies at Polish higher education institutions. Findings from the study show a broad spectrum of students’ diverse experiences connected with their participation in online education.

Sexuality in relationships during the first wave of COVID-19

Since the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions, such as lockdown and social distance) have had an impact on people’s lives. In this paper, our aim is to analyze how the lockdown (restrictions) in the early stage of the outbreak had an impact on sexuality in intimate relationships among the people in Poland and Japan. Online surveys were conducted in both countries. For this purpose, measurements were performed using the quantitative method with the use of an online questionnaire by Barbara Rothmüller adapted to the requirements of the study. Then comparisons were made between the Polish and Japanese groups. The results were compared to the existing knowledge in the field of the studied phenomenon. The observations made allowed to note several statistically significant differences between the studied groups and the areas in which the subjects from the Japanese and Polish samples did not differ significantly from each other. The observed differences mostly concerned the dynamic of the declared changes in the area of sexual behavior, which turned out to be higher in the Japanese group. The theoretical depiction refers to the differences between eastern and western cultures and the specificity of Poland and Japan, which, being culturally homogenous, function in the era of globalization.