This article describes the issue of misinformation during the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, which WHO called ‘infodemic’. The outbreak of the pandemic has changed the constellation of the information environment, where there is a noticeable increase in fake news, conspiracy theories and the hate speech they generate. The modified architecture of digital space causes the formation of new instruments, influence factors, phenomena – previously recognized, but never before so intense. The article focuses on fake news that appeared in connection with the ongoing pandemic and which is present in Polish public discourse. The adopted perspective allowed to look at the phenomenon of false information through the prism of the theory of information laundering.

Współcześnie temat pandemii wirusa SARS-CoV-2 zdominował światową prasę. Jednak problem wirusa w Afryce, jeszcze w lutym 2020 r. był w zasadzie pomijany w prasie zachodniej. Natomiast w tym samym czasie można było dostrzec coraz rosnące zainteresowanie prasy afrykańskiej tym problemem. Działo się tak, ponieważ w Afryce stosunkowo późno, w porównaniu z innymi kontynentami, zaczęto odnotowywać pierwsze zakażenia. Ze względu na szybkie rozprzestrzenianie się wirusa w świecie, 11 marca 2020 r. Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia ogłosiła stan pandemii. W początkowej fazie w Afryce, między innymi ze względu na małą ilość prowadzonych testów, nie odnotowywano takiej skali zakażeń jak w innych częściach świata, co nie oznacza, że sytuacja na kontynencie była lepsza. Celem artykułu będzie analiza sytuacji i problemów związanych z rozprzestrzenianiem się pandemii w Afryce. Na przykładzie wybranych państw autorka oceni ich przygotowanie i stosunek do walki z pandemią.

The author analyzes a number of issues regarding the impact of Covid-19 on societies in Africa, Asia, the USA and Europe. Author describes the expanded of the coronavirus and the effects of the pandemic. Particular attention is paid to analyzes economic, political, social and psychosocial problems of selected countries.

Artykuł prezentuje wyniki analizy telewizyjnego orędzia prezydenta Francji Emmanuela Macrona z dnia 16 marca 2020 roku. Stanowi ono przyczynek do wskazania na znaczenie we współczesnym dyskursie politycznym odwoływania się do logiki strachu i poczucia zagrożenia. Analiza treści pozwoliła wskazać najważniejsze cechy retoryki strachu, jaka zdominowała prezydenckie przemówienie pełne sensacyjnych metafor i wojennych odniesień, będących doskonałym przykładem moralnej paniki w czasie kryzysu, w którym zwiększa się zapotrzebowanie na informację. Analizą dyskursu objęto leksykalne i składniowe środki językowe, gdzie niezwykle częste metafory wojenne dają możliwość manipulacji opinią społeczną i wdrażania koncepcji uodpowiedzialnienia obywateli.

Freedom of assembly in times of a pandemic. Israeli experiences

Freedom of assembly is an essential element in modern democracies, also during emergency situations. The time of the pandemic is an example of the use of various restriction mechanisms of human rights. The Israeli case is worth discussing because as in other democratic states the political internal crises overlap with the pandemic emergency regulations and tensions between parliament and executive branch in law-making.

From high school graduate to student – remote education in the perspective of students of the 1st year of study

This article presents a theoretical analysis and a report on a segment of research conducted among first-year students. In the research, In the research, I used a free interview, which allowed me to get to know the interpretation and experience related to remote preparation for the matriculation examination and study from the perspective of the research participants. The analysis of the material was qualitative. The main issue of the article focuses on the multidimensionality and complexity of the problems experienced by students preparing for the matura exams in a remote form and how they perceive the first year of studies in such a formula. In the perspective of first-year students, many challenges are faced by teachers and lecturers, who are expected to reorganize their classes and adapt teaching methods to remote classes. Also, students rich in new experiences are not the same people, they have to learn how to function in a group and build relationships again. Research has also shown that the perspective of remote education is different and its negative impact on the school and academic community cannot be clearly defined.

Teaching of Scandinavian languages in the time of pandemic – (necessary) changes in the syllabus, positive and negative aspects

The outburst of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 for the first time in the history of 21st century led to a sudden cease in the functioning of the modern world. An initial disbelieve, common fear and the feeling of uncertainty had to pass as decisions had to be made fast and actions taken into place without hesitation. The world of academia suddenly had to face the challenge of reorganising the well-known approaches and teaching methods. This article is an attempt to describe the necessary changes that were introduced in the syllabus and teaching approach for Scandinavian languages at the Institute of Applied Linguistic at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics of the University of Warsaw in the time of pandemic. The positive and negative aspects of the introduced changes are presented with reference to the specifics of “small languages” didactics that is among others working with highly motivated students. The authors present the results of the survey research that aimed at checking and levelling students’ motivation and involvement while working online; evaluating the Swedish courses in the time of pandemic with reference to the introduced changes.

Teaching the metrology of geometric quantities during a pandemic – analysis of learning possibilities and effects

The article presents the issues related to the learning of technical subjects within distance learning. The author started by outlining the scope of regulations in force at technical universities and introduced by the Rector for the duration of the pandemic. Their aim was to standardize the methods of education as well as the rules of organizing credits and examinations remotely. Examples of learning outcomes necessary to be achieved by students as a result of completing the metrology course are also presented. They were divided into three groups: knowledge, skills and competences, emphasizing unequivocally the effects that in the case of only the remote form of education may be difficult to achieve by the participants of the above-mentioned course. Then, the applied forms of teaching metrology were presented, emphasizing their usefulness and paying attention to the risks in the context of the content transmitted in a remote form. The last part of the article contains a summary of the results obtained by students of two different faculties in the last five years. The analyzed period of time covered the four years before the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, and the last year where education and credits were conducted remotely.

Since the first quarter of 2020, the whole world has been struggling with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. More and more governments are introducing restrictions and bans for security reasons, with the aim of limiting the transmission of the virus and reducing health risks for citizens. The scale of the problem is best illustrated by the rising numbers of infections and deaths. In addition to the epidemic threat worldwide, the pandemic has brought to light many other problems and challenges. One of them is growing crisis of democracy around the world. Using a systemic approach, the article sets out to analyse the state and problems of contemporary Lithuanian democracy under pandemic conditions, focusing also on indicators of democracy and public opinion polls. It evaluates, inter alia, the state of Lithuanian democracy, the political system and its openness to citizens.

The aim of the text is the analysis of the tasks and activities of the municipal self-government during the organization of the 2020 election of the President in Poland during the period from the beginning of February to May 10, 2020, when, due to the development of the pandemic, the process of preparing the election took a different course. The study is based on documents and five in-depth expert interviews conducted with persons associated with the organization of the elections. This publication draws attention to the lack of knowledge about various aspects of the pandemic, the protraction of the decision-making process, the lack of cooperation, and citizens’ fears.

The fight against a pandemic, which is a form of natural disaster, is always connected with limiting constitutional freedoms and human and civil rights. Due to the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic in Poland, a number of legal regulations have been adopted to combat it. The adopted regulations are restrictive and significantly limit the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and rights. This article analyzes the limitations of rights and freedoms introduced during the pandemic in Poland, and in particular the manner of their implementation, and assesses the process from the point of view of violating the basic standards of human rights protection. The results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that despite the substantive justification of many restrictions, the manner of their introduction violates the basic standards of human rights protection and raises fundamental doubts from the point of view of the compliance of the introduced solutions with the Constitution.

Restrictions on Freedom due to the Premise of “Health Protection”. A Few Remarks Inspired by the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Republic of Poland

There is no question that “health protection” is the premise for the establishment of constitutional restrictions on rights and freedoms. It has been so far the subject of legal science only exceptionally and occasionally; mainly in the context of restrictions on the freedom of economic activity. It was only the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the Republic of Poland that brought a wider interest in this category, referring it also to the limitations of another fundamental freedom – freedom of expression. Considering the above, the analysis of legal limitations on the freedom of expression, imposed on the basis of the premise of health protection, seems to be by all means justified and purposeful.

Ograniczenia podstawowych praw i wolności podczas pandemii na Słowacji

Artykuł analizuje braki w regulacji prawnej ochrony zdrowia publicznego ujawnione w kryzysie wywołanym pandemią COVID-19. Działania antypandemiczne podejmowane w kontekście ochrony życia i zdrowia nie spełniały wymagań jakościowych stawianych legislacji pozwalającej na proporcjonalne ograniczanie podstawowych praw i wolności. Wyznaczanie granic podstawowych praw i wolności zastrzeżonych dla ustawodawcy zostało niedopuszczalnie pozostawione pozaprawnemu stanowieniu prawa.

State of Emergency in the Italian Republic During the Covid-19 Pandemic – Constitutional Aspects

The Covid-19 pandemic forced European Union member states to introduce modern European standards regarding human rights and the rule of law in an unprecedented crisis. In 2020 Italy was the first affected country in Europe. Italian authorities, forced to take new and more stringent measures to contain the virus’s expansion, have introduced a state of emergency that may last until 2022. From a constitutional law perspective, the coronavirus emphasizes the need to consider the Italian “emergency constitution”. The ongoing health crisis gives rise to some reflections on the lack of an articulated crisis framework in the Italian constitution and whether existing tools are adequate to face of contemporary threats. This article discusses the Italian Constitution and other laws in the country relating to the state of emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ombudsman and His Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Selected Issues)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The experience to date allows us to conclude the activities of the ombudsman institution and the problems of a social, political and legal nature generated in the state by various regulations aimed at eliminating the virus itself and the consequences of its occurrence. The aim of this article is to draw attention to selected problems related to the specificity of the activities of state institutions in the event of a threat to the health safety of Poles, as well as activities undertaken in the area of administration, health protection and economic activity. The author tries to show that the Ombudsman intensified efforts to protect civil rights during the pandemic and pointed to its critical problems.

The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Poland and, consequently, the introduction of the epidemic on March 20, 2020, influenced the decision not to hold the election of the President of the Republic of Poland scheduled for May 10, 2020. Therefore, in the face of objective difficulties in the organization of elections, a new voting deadline was set on June 28, 2020. Due to the prevailing global pandemic, the elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020 with the possibility of postal voting, were conducted and prepared in exceptional circumstances. With this in mind, this article presents a number of various problems, and even limitations, of the electoral rights granted to each voter, which have become a consequence of the legal solutions introduced without in-depth analysis, often in a hurry. 1

The COVID-19 pandemic made the authorities of many countries take extraordinary steps to prevent the new disease from spreading. They were not limited to improving the operation of healthcare but also extended to a range of areas of social and political life. That resulted in restrictions to fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms. A number of doubts voiced in the public debate in this connection encourage a scientific consideration of the legal aspects of restricting the rights and freedoms in connection with the pandemic. This paper is aimed at presenting disinformation as a hazard to the right to the freedom of speech, constitutionally protected in democratic states.

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”.

The precariat in the feature film

This paper discusses selecting films (realized shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic) portraying the precariat in today’s world. Working poor in lowwage jobs cannot secure a livelihood, which creates frustration and leads to a loss of personal and social dignity among this social class. My main focus is human dignity in the face of poverty and economic and social marginalization, enabled by a political system allowing contemporary forms of exploitation. In this paper, I refer to social scientists and filmmakers who warn against the escalation of aggression brought on by this phenomenon. The research aim of my study was to acquire knowledge of how the precariat has been presented in selected films and whether and why this phenomenon is the cause of human dignity and social exclusion. The first part covers definitions of the terms involved (precariat, human dignity), while the second discusses three selected films that explore the subject above.

Therapeutic uses of music and anxiety level in teachers in times of pandemic – pilot study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in anxiety and distress in many populations. They particularly affected selected professional groups, e.g. teachers. Among the strategies for coping with anxiety and stress, interventions using music as a tool to reduce tension are showing promising results. For the purpose of this study, a therapeutic intervention protocol using various music-based activities was constructed. A pilot study was carried out to initially assess the effectiveness of the intervention, and – on the other hand – to check the feasibility of the proposed experiment in terms of methodology and practice. The study involved 13 participants (n = 13); a mixed study design with a triple-repeated measures was used (the GAD-7 Generalized Anxiety Questionnaire). The results were interpreted both in an individualized and experimental perspective, with a statistical analysis (ANOVA, Student’s t-test). They suggest that the original musical intervention contributed to the reduction of the level of anxiety in the time course. Due to the size of the sample and the pilot design of the study, the results should be treated with caution.