Polish Society Research Articles

Back to the Future. The Aftermath of Poland’s 2023 Parliamentary Election

On 15th October 2023 Polish voters decided to put an end to the 8-year period of the Law and Justice Party in power, widely seen as “authoritarian populism”. The paper analyses the electoral programmes of the major contenders (Law and Justice, Civic Coalition, Third Way, New Left and Confederation) as well as a variety of election-related statistics (e.g. by voters’ age, education, occupation and residence) revealing a more complex image of the Polish society and its political preferences in 2023. The author argues that due to remarkable ideological and socio-cultural polarization contemporary Poland remains “a house divided” or even “two nations [with] no sympathy [for each other]”. Even if Poland has now chosen a path back to the future, the new pro-EU liberal government will face a number of identifiable challenges.

Women Successors in Family-Owned Businesses in Poland

Theoretical background: The family enterprises are regarded as the backbone of every economy. In Poland, it is estimated that more than 60% of small and medium-sized enterprises are family businesses. Taking into account the particularities of the Polish economy in connection with the period of political transformation after 1989, the majority of family firms are in the hands of the founding families respectively the first generation. The question of the succession process is of great importance for all family companies, but especially for Polish family businesses, since in the former communist system no private property could be passed on to future generations. The Polish entrepreneurial families therefore do not have enough practical succession experience. Moreover, the Polish society is still characterized by a conservative world view or female view, which means that the majority of entrepreneurs choose the eldest son as their potential successor. Purpose of the article: The aim of the study is to present the history of daughters successors in Polish family businesses in institutional context of transforming economy. The research follows the qualitative paradigm to find context sensitive data on female successors in family businesses in Poland. Research methods: The research was designed and conducted according to the qualitative paradigm as this is the best way to understand the social realities of the actors involved. The research material was collected through semi-structured interviews with three daughters-successors in Polish family firms. The authors conducted with each female successor two interviews – a total of six interviews. The interviews last on average 1.5 hours. The longest last 2.5 hours. The interviews took place at the companies’ headquarters. The interviewed persons were women from family-owned businesses. Main findings: Taking into account the data collected, it can be assumed that the education of the next generation in the entrepreneurial families has a direct influence on the probability of a takeover. The study indirectly showed that society’s attitude towards working women in Poland has changed. This survey can make an important contribution to the understanding of the dynamics that prevail in Polish family-run companies. These findings can in turn help to develop recommendations or guidelines for those business in the succession process.

Religious and Moral Attitudes of Catholics from Generation Z

This paper discusses findings of studies concerning religious attitudes of Polish Catholics belonging to the so-called Generation Z, i.e., people born during the digital revolution. The authors present religious attitudes of Generation Z representatives against the background of other European states relating to religious practices and opinions concerning the acceptability of abortion, euthanasia, divorce, contraceptives and other conduct not consistent with the Catholic Church teachings. The findings prove that even though the Polish society, including those of Generation Z, is distinguishable from European countries with its high percentage of people engaging in religious practices, the observed trends and the dominance of attitudes contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church indicate the possibility of maintaining a downward trend in the number of Catholics in Poland.

Obraz służb mundurowych w kinie PRL (1968–1990)

The article discusses film motifs focused on the image of a militiaman, a Security Service agent, a prison guard, a soldier, a border guard, and a fireman in Polish television and cinema films. In order to capture the image of the uniformed services of the Polish People’s Republic as broadly as possible, all such motifs available to the Polish viewer were analyzed, but film genres were not distinguished as a separate criterion. In a chronological sense, the author focuses on films shot after March ’68, only mentioning earlier ones. This caesura seems important because after the brutal actions of the Citizens’ Militia against Polish intellectuals in March 1968 and the intervention of the Armed Forces of the Polish People’s Republic in Czechoslovakia in August of that year, the party and state authorities wanted to influence a positive image of the uniformed services among Polish society. The chronological framework ends in 1990 – the last year when it comes to the cinema screens of works shot in the People’s Republic of Poland. The image of uniformed services that emerges from the analysis is multicolored and multifaceted. Certainly, a common feature is the portrayal of Poles wearing uniforms as punitive, disciplined, and humble towards the authorities. There are many more differences. It is basic to distinguish between rank-and-file officers or soldiers and officers. The former are often not very intelligent and are often ridiculed, especially the militiamen. Officers are often portrayed in an exemplary manner, as intelligent men with a high level of personal culture. Both of them have courage. The image of a militiaman was presented most fully, while the image of a customs officer, a border guard, and a fireman was presented least well.

„Bądź aniołem piastunem narodowego ducha…” Cnoty niewieście rekomendowane w XIX‑wiecznych poradnikach obyczajowych

“Be Guardian Angel of the National Spirit…” Women’s Virtues Recommended in Nineteenth‑Century Programmes of Education Throughout the nineteenth century, Poland was deprived of an independent state, and the primary goal of Poles at that time, regardless of gender, was to regain independence. The specific historical conditions in which Polish society had to modernize in the period under discussion also left their mark on the process of women’s education, which is visible in contemporary curricula. In them, a special aura surrounded moral education and work for the oppressed homeland, in which women were to perform a unique function. The role that the family played in the process of shaping national awareness and defending Polishness against Germanization and Russification assigned to Polish women special tasks in society and additional fields of activity, increasing their prestige in the family and beyond. The situation in which Poles found themselves in the period in question largely influenced the model of educating the young generation of women. In it, moral, religious and patriotic education took a prominent place. In the comfort of the home, in boarding schools, and in schools, girls were supposed to learn the principles of faith, to learn to read and write in Polish, to count, to acquire a knowledge of the main points of geography, native history, and nature, to master the art of playing an instrument, to become familiar with household duties, to learn to sew, embroider and knit, etc. The direction of girls’ education was in a sense imposed by the tasks that the pupils had to fulfill in the future in the life of their family and in the life of society. An educated woman was to become a defender of Christian faith and wisdom, a guardian of patriotism, a promoter of history, the purity of the Polish language and Polish customs, and above all, a good wife and mother. Moral values, based mainly on Christian ethics, were always to accompany her both in the home and in public. Specific Polish conditions permanently bound her to tradition and to the prevailing ideal of the Polish Mother, a symbolic model of the ideal wife and mother. In the name of the good of the homeland and in support of a man in the struggle for freedom, she was to renounce her own aspirations and desires, so that nothing distracted from the main goal – Poland’s regaining independence.

Doping Knowledge as an Indicator to Measure the Development Level of Civil Society

The aim of the paper is to present the model of Polish civil society development in sport, which is based on three phases: the first one consists in creating rules by international organizations; in the second one public authorities introduce legal regulations based on previously developed organizational standards; in turn, the third phase relies on checking to what extent these rules and regulations have been internalized by their addresses. The indicator for measuring the level of development of civil society in sport was the knowledge of the legal concept of doping among members of Polish national teams.

The impact of demographic changes in Poland on the development of the aesthetic medicine market

The phenomenon of an "aging Polish society" is a multi‑faceted problem which includes, among others, an increase in average life expectancy, an increased proportion of older people in the population, as well as migration to large cities. These changes, which have been taking place for many years, have impacted the development of the aesthetic medicine market. Through analyzing the general population demographics against the demographics of the aesthetic medicine market, we believe that in the coming years there will be an increased demand for aesthetic treatments in people over 50 years of age, especially in offices located in large urban centers.

The potential of using psychometric tests in Polish accounting research

Purpose: To demonstrate the rationale for using psychometric tests in accounting research and show the spectrum of possibilities for such research in the context of skepticism towards them in Polish academia. Methodology/approach: Deduction and a scoping literature review. Findings: We confirm that personality traits and states of the human mind affect the accounting process, and psychometrics is a field with strong theoretical foundations and well-developed empirical tools. This means that the use of psychometric tests in accounting research indisputably makes sense. Thereby, the skepticism towards psychometric research in accounting in Polish academic accounting society is questioned. Originality/value: We conducted an extensive review of the accounting research that used psychometric tests. We demonstrate the rationale for the use of psychometric testing in accounting.

Food Solidarity Battles: The Case of Poland After the Russian Aggression on Ukraine

The unprovoked Russian invasion on Ukraine on 24th February 2022 awakened in Poland a tremendous amount of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, including that of food solidarity. Food aid organised by the Polish government was preceded by initiatives of private citizens and NGOs to supply Ukrainian refugees – those gathered at the border and entering Poland – with ready-to-eat food, with more spontaneous food aid continuing after they arrived. It was only somewhat later that these grassroots efforts became coordinated by local governments and state bodies. Direct help was accompanied by two other, bottom-up initiatives, the first of which being attempts to boycott Russian food products, as well as companies and retail chains which continued doing business in Russia post-invasion, and the second being a symbolic renaming of some food products and dishes that indicated Russian origins or influences. This work aims to analyse food aid organised for Ukrainian refugees and people remaining in Ukraine as conducted by various entities in Poland. It stresses the significance of the activism of private citizens and small groups while also presenting the social and cultural implications of the symbolic de-russification of popular foods and dishes in Poland. While discussing Polish food solidarity with Ukrainians, it is important to consider that, one year after Putin’s invasion, about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees (of which over 87% are women and children) might be staying in Poland long-term (Sieradzka, 2023; Zharova, 2023). The initial impetus for solidarity is, however, wearing off; the new context also includes so-called “solidarity lanes” established by the European Union to transit agricultural products, which have unintentionally put Polish farmers in a difficult position. As food solidarity with Ukraine might be subsiding in Poland, its popularity throughout most of 2022 contributed to a better understanding of relief work in the work zones and augmented the integration of Ukrainian refugees within Polish society.

“Our children”: Moral panic associated with children and collective violence against the Jews in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in Poland

AbstractBetween 1945 and 1946, Poland witnessed three large anti‐Jewish pogroms. The infamous Kielce pogrom of July 4, 1946, which claimed the lives of over 40 Holocaust survivors was preceded by outbursts of collective violence in Rzeszów and in Kraków. All three pogroms were perpetrated by police officers, soldiers of the Polish army, and civilians forming a pogrom mob, and all were preceded and inflamed by rumors about Jews kidnapping and harming Christian children. Studies of widespread antisemitism and the common belief in blood libel do not seem to offer an adequate explanation of how the people of Rzeszów, Kraków, and Kielce could have believed the rumors that Jews were abducting and murdering children. They explain even less what made possible the social mobilization leading toward mass violence against Holocaust survivors in Poland in the immediate aftermath of WWII. We address this issue by using the concept of moral panic as proposed by Erich Goode and Nachman Ben‐Yehuda and examining possible reasons why Polish society after the WWII seems to have been particularly attuned to the fate of children. We argue that in the early postwar years there was a moral panic in Poland associated with the vulnerability of children. It was propelled by wartime experience but also by omnipresent violence and hideous crimes committed against children in the wake of WWII. Although there was no fact‐based connection between these crimes and the Jews, many Polish Christians eagerly put the blame on “the Other,” that is, the Jews, and sought facts that could serve as confirmation of an old prejudice—the blood libel. Polish Christians who accepted the blood libel as truth could have found confirmation of their belief when Jewish relatives or Jewish organizations undertook to “recover”—through legal procedures, by payment, by subterfuge or by force—children who had been hidden in Christian families during the Holocaust.

The overview of Michael Novak’s economic and political theory in the context of his relations with Poland

Abstract Michael Novak’s concept of democratic capitalism in Poland aroused great interest for several reasons. The most important of them consisted in its close relation to the teaching of the Polish Pope John Paul II. The second was its temporal coincidence with the start of a political transformation in Poland, when a model of development consistent with Polish tradition and social expectations was sought. The third was related to its Slavic roots and origin, which gained in importance given a perceived civilizational backwardness of the countries belonging to the former socialist bloc. For Polish Catholic thinkers, the concept of democratic capitalism initially seemed to promise a smooth transition to a market economy, protecting society from the shock of a possible collision with predatory capitalism. But the discussions of Michael Novak’s conception which took place in Poland at that time were unfortunately burdened with fears of cultural pluralism and with leaving individuals too much freedom in implementing their own ways of achieving happiness. Polish conservatives, who were in power at that time, did not seem to understand the important need for a dynamic moral and cultural system in a society that was just starting its modernization processes. It is paradoxical, but in these discussions what was most feared was the weakening of religious traditions in Polish society. According to the author, this fear caused distrust of the democratic conception, and especially its moral foundations, which continues to this day. This paper, therefore, also contributes to reflection on to what extent the teachings of John Paul II have been absorbed in Polish conservative circles.

Autonomy of Refugees from Ukraine —Tasks for Education in Poland

Abstract On February 24th, 2022, the situation in Ukraine changed dynamically due to political events that had a significant impact on the lives of many people. Among the most affected groups are women and children who, forced to flee the threat, have found shelter in Poland. Since then, many countries neighbouring Ukraine, including Poland, have faced the unique task of providing organised assistance and integration to these people. In this article, I present the situation of women and children of refugees from Ukraine, highlighting the challenges they face, as well as the hopes and initiatives that can help them rebuild their lives in a new environment. The role of Polish society, institutions and NGOs is becoming a key element of this process, which requires cooperation on many levels. In this article, I present an attempt to define the concept of autonomy and a sense of personal effectiveness, as well as the tasks that Polish education faced in order to help refugees create autonomy and agency in the new reality in two directions: the individual experiences of refugee women and the educational situation of their children.

Preface

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE The 8th International Conference of Computational Methods in Engineering Science (CMES’2023), held on November 23rd-25th, 2023 in Puławy, Poland, is organized by the Polish Society for the Promotion of Knowledge, the Lublin University of Technology (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Faculty of Management, and Faculty of Environmental Engineering), and the Polish Air Force University (Faculty of Aviation).The conference is an excellent opportunity to present and learn how computational methods can be applied in scientific disciplines like mechanical, materials, and civil engineering, management, environmental engineering, mining and energy, computer engineering, and innovative products launched by companies. The interdisciplinary nature of the conference facilitates knowledge sharing among Polish and foreign research centers that represent different engineering and technical sciences disciplines. This edition creates opportunities for plenary sessions and presentations of companies that solve engineering problems with modern computational methods and tools. TOPICS • Analysis of engineering processes• Application of computer programs in technology• Artificial and computational intelligence• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)• Computer simulations of processes and phenomena• Finite Element Method (FEM)• Material properties and structure research methods• Production engineering and quality control• Technology management in energy acquisition processesList of Organizing Committee, Scientific Committee are available in this Pdf.

Guidelines of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians on the obstetric care of women with obesity.

Guidelines of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians on the obstetric care of women with obesity.

Różnorodne wymiary zmiany edukacyjnej – przykłady z Finlandii i Polski

The article begins with a review of literature on particular reasons for implementing educational change. The subsequent part analyses the causes of educational stability in Finland. The next part of the paper refers to the features characterizing the prestige of Finnish teachers and their professional stability in society. Finally, the third part stipulates the reasons for the instability of Polish educational transformation since 2017. It scrutinises politically-driven educational changes, the sources roots of teachers’ lack of prestige and stability in Polish society. The documents concerning the subject of the analyses were studied by means of a problem method, taking into account factors related to time and the influence of society.

KINESICAL MEANS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION OF CHARACTERS IN POLISH AND VIETNAMESE LINGUOCULTURES (BASED ON POLISH-VIETNAMESE LITERARY TRANSLATIONS)

KINESICAL MEANS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION OF CHARACTERS IN POLISH AND VIETNAMESE LINGUOCULTURES (BASED ON POLISH-VIETNAMESE LITERARY TRANSLATIONS)

Constructing Mary through Pilgrimages: Lived Catholic Mariology in Poland

This article presents selected aspects of Marian pilgrimages in the context of lived Catholicism in Poland. Lived Catholic Mariology is a concept introduced in this paper and discussed in terms of the intimate as well as communal relationships people establish with Mary through and in various rituals (e.g., pilgrimages), sites (e.g., shrines) and objects (e.g., images). Links between materializing Mary through images; affective, sensual and corporeal religious experiences; and community bonding are presented. They are discussed by drawing on approaches that refer to material religion, religion as mediation, concepts of sensational forms, and aesthetic formations. When examining the centrality of Marian images in Polish pilgrimage practices, this paper focuses on earlier developments, especially (1) those connected with the growth of Marian shrines during the Counter Reformation period and (2) the role played by traditional and innovative Marian pilgrimages during the Communist period in Poland (1945–1989). The final part of the paper refers to the recent changes connected with political polarization of Polish society, the process of radicalization through right-wing discourses that embrace Marian imagery and pilgrimages, the decline of Roman Catholicism and Catholic practices among Poles, and emerging alternative currents relating to Mary and pilgrimages in religious and secular contexts. Referring to various historical and current examples, this paper proposes seeing pilgrimages through the lived religion approach with a focus on materiality and mediatory dimension of religion.

The Awareness of the Role of Commercial Determinants of Health and the Readiness to Accept Restrictions on Unhealthy Food Advertising in Polish Society.

The negative consequences of commercial determinants of health (CDoH) have become a major challenge for public health systems, especially in terms of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). CDoH are defined as profit-driven factors that influence health. In this study, we assessed the awareness of CDoH and the attitudes toward potential restrictions on advertising, as well as fiscal interventions targeting food products with harmful effects on health in Polish society. Our analysis is based on data from a computer-based web interviewing (CAWI) survey performed in May 2022 among 2008 adult internet users from Poland. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed for variables derived from three items exploring the respondents' understanding of the relationship between CDoH and NCDs, as well as three items asking about their acceptance of a prohibition of advertising unhealthy products during sports events, a general ban on unhealthy food advertising, and their attitudes toward sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Food (FL) and e-health literacy (eHL) levels were consistently positive predictors of both awareness of CDoH and acceptance of the proposed actions. Both higher FL and eHL were significantly associated with the opinion that advertising unhealthy food is associated with the prevalence of NCDs (OR, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.02-1.05, and 1.04, 1.02-1.06, respectively). Health literacy was less frequently a significant predictor of the dependent variables. Among sociodemographic factors, a respondent's level of education and age showed a significant relationship with their awareness and acceptance of countermeasures against CDoH. Respondents with a university master's level of education were more likely to agree with the statement on the relationship between big industry profits and harm to society's health (OR, 95% CI: 1.96, 1.42-2.69) and to support a ban on advertising unhealthy food similar to that for tobacco products (OR, 95% CI: 1.66, 1.21-2.27). Respondents suffering from chronic diseases were also consistently more likely to show a greater understanding of the harmful impact of CDoH and support proposed restrictions. For example, they were more likely to agree with restrictions on advertising harmful products during sports events (OR, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.02-1.50) and the introduction of a sugar tax (OR, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.03-1.54). Our study revealed that more than 50% of the Polish population is conscious of the problem of the harmful effects of big industries producing and selling processed food, sugar-sweetened beverages, and alcoholic beverages. Interestingly, slightly more than half of the respondents supported the introduction of restrictions on advertising such products. Still, only approximately 30% of them accepted a sugar tax to counter the obesity epidemic. The results of our study indicate that Polish society is open to the introduction of regulations aimed at limiting the impact of commercial determinants of health. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to assess the awareness of CDoH and the acceptance of restrictions to limit their impact.

Zygmunt Grudziński, 1870-1929.

This history page in the series "Leaders in MSK Radiology" is dedicated to the memory and achievements of Zygmunt Grudziński, Polish radiologist at the University of Warsaw and founder of the Polish Society of Radiology and Polish Radiological Review, the first radiology journal.

Recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme borreliosis of the Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Infectious Disease Physicians.

Recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme borreliosis of the Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Infectious Disease Physicians.