Provinces Of Poland Research Articles

Nonpartisan Electoral Committees in Local Government Elections in Poland in 2018

The article presents the result of quantitative research on local government elections in Poland carried out on October 21 and November 4, 2018. Its goal is to examine the proportions of lists registered by political parties and nonpartisan electoral committees and the mandates they have obtained. This proportion shows the degree of presence of political parties in local governments of various levels and sizes. The data were selected so that all provinces in Poland were examined (16), a number of districts were randomly selected (in provinces with less than 20 districts, data from half districts were examined, in provinces with over 20 districts, from one third). Within the selected districts, all communes were examined. The quantitative research shows that local governments elected in 2018 are not political only in small and medium-sized communes, in which the councils are made up mostly of councilors who were candidates from nonpartisan committees.

Burnout syndrome in physiotherapists working in the Podkarpackie province in Poland.

Burnout is most often referred to as a syndrome of characteristic mental and somatic symptoms, which are the result of chronic stress most often associated with professional work. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of burnout syndrome among physiotherapists and its determinants related to sex, age, education, workplace, occupational activity, work experience and financial situation. Eighty-six professionally active full-time physiotherapists participated in the study. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout. In the examined group of physiotherapists, we observed a low level of Emotional Exhaustion (x¯= 15.99) and Depersonalization level (x¯= 4.31), while Personal Accomplishment was moderate but approaching high level (x¯= 31.63). A significant relationship between sex, education, work experience, place of work, scope of professional activities, financial situation, and individual dimensions of burnout syndrome were observed. A significantly reduced sense of personal accomplishment occurred commonly in a studied group of physiotherapists. Professional burnout is most likely to occur in men, in people with higher education, in those working in hospital departments with more work experience, and those in a poor financial situation. Employers should take care of their employees' mental health as a part of burnout prophylaxis.

Drug Use Predictors Identified in the School Environment

Drug use is commonplace amongst youths. Alongside the family environment, school is the second place which shapes children's opinions and attitudes. The aim of this research was to identify factors in the school environment conducive to the use of legal and illegal drugs as well as those which protect against such actions. In order to answer the formulated research questions a representative sociological survey was carried out within the Podkarpackie province in Poland on a sample of nearly 2,500 students from 27 secondary schools. A stratified random sampling respondents' selection method was applied. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Empirical data analysis showed the existence of interesting relationships between adolescents' school activities and engaging in risky behaviours. The results of this research may be used for prevention programmes.

EFEKT ALOKACJI W OCENIE SPECJALIZACJI I KONKURENCYJNOŚCI WOJEWÓDZTW W POLSCE W ZAKRESIE PRODUKCJI ZBÓŻ

Celem artykułu jest rozpoznanie stopnia konkurencyjności oraz specjalizacji poszczególnych województw w Polsce w zakresie produkcji zbóż. Wyniki przedstawiono na podstawie metody zmian konkurencyjności Estebana-Marquillasa, która pozwala na diagnostykę potencjału produkcyjnego regionu. Analiza ta pozwala na wskazanie regionów wyspecjalizowanych oraz charakteru zmian strukturalnych w zakresie badanego zjawiska. Badania przeprowadzono na podstawie danych pochodzących z baz danych Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego. Badania obejmują lata 1999 – 2017.

An analysis of foreign students’ expenses while studying at universities: Interstate comparison

<p><strong>Theoretical background</strong>: The focus of this article is to study and compare the indicators that are implemented to evaluate the quality of the educational activities of universities in Poland, Germany and Ukraine. The investigation is exercised, in particular, by the proposed indicator of comparing the annual students’ costs during their studies for a bachelor’s degree with the average annual incomes of these services for consumers in related countries. Because of the differences in remuneration across the regions of each country, the authors used statistical data from these regions. Regarding average annual incomes, the authors used the average wage level in the provinces of Poland, the federal lands of Germany, and the regions of Ukraine.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the article</strong>: The research objective of the article is a substantiation of methodological and applied recommendations for interstate comparisons of foreign students’ expenses while studying at universities based on the experience of Poland, Germany and Ukraine. The object of this paper is the analysis of annual costs of a foreign student while studying at domestic and foreign universities.</p><p><strong>Research methods</strong>: During the research, the following methods were used: the dialectical method and methods of analysis and synthesis – to study the features of the comparison of educational activities of domestic and foreign universities, the characteristics to compare the costs of the training period within universities of different countries; statistical method – to analyse the average annual wage and the costs of international students during the training period at universities in Poland, Germany and Ukraine; structural and logical analysis – to develop theoretical and methodological principles to determine the indicator for "the ratio of the student’s annual expenses while studying at the university to the average wage in the region".</p><p><strong>Main findings</strong>: The ratio of the annual costs of students during the studying period and average annual wages allows different categories of stakeholders to determine the real level of expenses. For applicants, primarily Ukrainians, such an indicator will allow them to navigate, not only the absolute amount of annual expenses, but also the comparison of costs with the remuneration for possible part-time work that is allowed to students in Germany and Poland. Moreover, the part-time work allowed for students correlates to a certain extent with the level of average wages. For university authorities, the proposed indicator may allow a comparison of the competitiveness of their higher education institutions, taking into account the solvency of educational services users. For business circles and local governments (in the provinces of Poland, the federal lands of Germany and regions of Ukraine), this indicator can be useful in assessing the competitiveness of their territories to attract students. Student youth and local residents act as consumers of goods and services, contribute to the development of local business and, thus, can be a source of filling local budgets.</p>

Assessment of the impact of climate change on the latency period of leaf rust on triticale in Poland

ABSTRACTDisease development in plants is strongly dependent on weather conditions, with temperature playing a particularly significant role by influencing latency period duration. Using two models describing the relationship between latency period and temperature, we performed simulations aimed at predicting changes in the latency period of leaf rust (Puccina recondita f. sp. tritici) on triticale in response to expected climate change. The simulations were based on meteorological data recorded in the period 1986–2005 at locations representing 16 provinces in Poland and based on values obtained after transformation of the observed data to reflect temperature changes under four scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5) according to the giss_e2_r climate model. In all scenarios, the results for the two triticale cultivars studied, Witon (vulnerable to P. recondita) and Gniewko (less susceptible), showed a threat of faster development (shorter leaf rust latency period) on triticale triggered by climate change in south-east and south-central Poland than in other regions. The results also showed an increased probability of future regional diversification of leaf rust latency period duration on vulnerable triticale cultivars, opportunities for earlier start of leaf rust epidemics on triticale in Poland and an increase in final disease severity in comparison with 1986–2005.

Etiological agents of bovine mastitis in Poland

This research paper addresses the hypothesis that the incidence of various bovine mastitis pathogens is subject to change over time and across regions. The aim of the research was to determine the pathogen species that are currently the etiological agents of mastitis in Polish dairy herds. This comprehensive study was conducted in the period 2009-2017 and included all the Polish provinces, distinguishing between those with high and low numbers of dairy cattle. Over eight years 38,852 quarter milk samples were obtained from 22,587 cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis from herds located in all 16 provinces in Poland. Milk samples were cultured using standard microbiological methods. Most of them were positive for microorganisms but there was also part of bacteriologically negative and contaminated samples. Gram-positive catalase-negative cocci and staphylococci were the most prevalent pathogens. The growth of other microorganisms such as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacilli, yeasts and algae was observed at lower frequencies. There were differences in the prevalence of microorganisms depending on the region. In the eastern part of the country a higher number of Streptococcus agalactiae infections than in other regions was observed. This paper provides the latest data on microbial species, frequency of their occurrence and regional location within Poland. The knowledge of mastitis pathogens enables appropriate treatment and to make prevention recommendations for the herds.

Clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus: a single-center study from West Pomerania Province in Poland.

Clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus: a single-center study from West Pomerania Province in Poland.

Protected areas of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship

Abstract The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is one of the smallest provinces in Poland, but it clearly stands out with a very well-preserved natural environment. Because of exceptional features of animate and inanimate nature, large parts of the province are covered by various forms of nature protection. There is 1 national park (NP), 72 nature reserves (NRs), 9 landscape parks, 21 protected landscape areas and 40 Natura 2000 sites within the administrative borders of the province. The most unique natural features are found in the Świętokrzyski National Park (ŚNP), but the largest surface of the province is covered by protected landscape areas. Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is the first in Poland in terms of the share of protected areas (as much as 65.2%), strongly outdistancing other Voivodeships. Small natural objects are much more numerous than large protected areas. At present, the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship has 705 natural monuments (NMs), 114 ecological sites (ESs), 20 documentation sites (DSs) and 17 nature and landscape complexes (NLCs). Moreover, new protected areas and sites may still be established within its borders.

Socio-economic development, level of urbanization and consumption of selected food products as factors in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among youths and young adults in Poland.

Obesity and overweight among teenagers and young adults pose serious problems for the Polish health care system. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the level of urbanization, consumption of selected food products and socio-economic development in the provinces in Poland. The material used in this study is based on data published by the Central Statistics Office (GUS) for population, components of the Human Development Index (HDI), urbanization level (URBI), average monthly consumption of selected food products per person, and the percentage of obese and overweight people in the Polish provinces. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in all 16 provinces was analysed in the context of the URBI, HDI, and the average monthly consumption of selected food products. There was no a statistically significant correlation between the number of overweight and obesity cases and the levels of HDI and URBI. The negative correlations were found between the consumption of sugar and URBI (-0,710, p=0.002), bread and grain product consumption (-0.642; p=0.007) and fresh milk consumption (-0.594; p=0.015). Fish consumption correlated with URBI at a moderate level (0.550; p=0.027). The consumption of oils and fats strongly correlated with HDI (-0.788; p < 0,001). In the group of overweight woman, a moderate negative correlation was noted (-0.511; p=0.043) in cheese and curd consumption. The high level of economic development and urbanization have no direct impact on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Poland. The results of the study indicate existing dependencies of the consumption of some of selected products with respect to the level of urbanization.

Occurrence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from selected areas of Opolskie Province in south-west Poland.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) are vectors and/or reservoirs of many pathogens, i.e. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. These pathogens are ethiological agents of such diseases as Lyme borreliosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and human babesiosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the Ixodes ricinus in the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in Opolskie Province in Poland. DNA from 222 ticks was isolated by the ammonia method. The pair of primers specific to the flagelline gene was used to detect of B. burgdorferi s. l. To detect of genospecies of this spirochete, three pairs of internal primers were used. In turn, two pairs of primers specific to the 16S rDNA gene and the 18S rRNA were used, respectively, for the detection of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti. Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum, and B. microti were detected in 4.5%, 2.7% and 5.4% of examined ticks, respectively. Of the ten ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s. l., B. afzelii was found in seven, undefinied genospecies in two, and mixed infection with B. afzelii and B. burgdorferi s. s. in one. The study demonstrated the potential risk of exposure of humans and animals to infections of B. burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum and B. microti in the examined area of Poland.

Problems of the Functioning of E-Administration in the Silesian Region of Poland from the Perspective of a Person with Disabilities

The article presents an analysis of the functioning of e-administration in municipal offices in the Silesian Province in Poland. It was evaluated by handicapped people with various degrees of disability, of different ages and different educational backgrounds. In Poland the disabled, similarly to abled-bodied people, have to take care of various official matters in offices. It is important that all these clients, in particular the handicapped, can arrange things without leaving their home. The following hypothesis has been formulated in the present article: more frequent use of electronic tools for communication with the office leads to increased satisfaction of the disabled client with the functioning of e-administration. Based on the study conducted, the following variables received the highest scores: functioning of an office’s website under various browsers (score 4.89); providing a service in a safe way (4.76); polite and friendly attitude of employees towards clients having trouble using the e-office (4.75); employees’ assistance for the client in the event he/she makes a mistake when using the e-office (4.75). The lowest rated issues among the investigated variables include: promptness of employees’ response to e-mails (4.29), promptness of e-service provision (3.34), and taking care of official business on the first attempt (4.42).

Average Hourly Concentrations of Air Contaminants in Selected Urban, Town, and Rural Sites

The inhabitants of cities, towns, and villages are exposed to different levels of air pollution, which also vary throughout the day. Information regarding episodes of poor and good air quality enables planning to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of spending time outdoors. In this work, an analysis was made of the state of air quality 2012–2016, using data gathered from automatic measuring stations located in five cities (> 50,000 inhabitants), five towns (5000–50,000 inhabitants), and five villages (< 5000 inhabitants) in five neighboring provinces in central Poland, in Central Europe. The monitoring stations were designated as “city background”, “town background”, and “rural background”. More than 3 million pieces of data were collected from 15 monitoring stations. This allowed the average daily changes in the concentration of air pollutants (NO2 and NOx, O3, SO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5, C6H6) to be determined, depending on the type of station and the size of the settlement unit in both winter periods and summer periods. As a result, the most and least favorable hours in terms of levels of air pollution were identified. This information could help to inform air quality management in modern cities, towns, and villages and to improve the quality of life, particularly among those most susceptible to the negative effects of air pollution, such as the elderly and children.Graphical

Changes in interregional migration of patients hospitalized in Poland - 2013-2017.

The aim of the study is to determine the scale of interregional migrating patients' hospitalizations in Poland in 2013-2017, as well as their demographic and medical factors, total costs and time changes. Data from the NHF (National Health Fund) regarding hospitalizations in a given province of patients registered in another province in Poland in 2013-2017 were statistically analyzed. Times series analyses as well as coefficients of correlation, determination and variation were used. The number of patients hospitalized outside their regional registration and the cost of their hospitalization increased from year-to-year during 2013-2017. There was a large variation in provinces in terms of inflow of patients and costs of their hospitalization, while there was only a small variation in terms of outflow of patients and costs of their hospitalization in the analyzed years. Among the patients hospitalized outside the province where they were registered, there were more women then men, while the age group was dominated by 60-year-olds and their share in the subsequent years increased, while the share of other age groups remained unchanged or decreased. The most and increasingly more from year-to-year hospitalizations outside the regional registration were due to neoplasms and diseases of the circulatory system. The results of the study may significantly contribute to the proper planning of securing the health needs of the inhabitants of particular regions, and to improving the quality and economic efficiency of health services in individual NHF branches.

Transmission of tuberculosis among people living in the border areas of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

In 2007, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia joined the Schengen Agreement, abolishing restrictions on people crossing the borders. Currently, these areas are places of population movements for economic, family, and touristic reasons. This favors the transmission of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, and requires enhanced control over the spread of the source of infection in the population of patients living in the border areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic relatedness among Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from patients living in 3 border areas: Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study group consisted of 209 patients with tuberculosis diagnosed and treated between 2007 and 2011 in health care facilities in the Silesia Province in Poland (121 patients [58%]), Žilina in Slovakia (57 [27%]), and the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic (31 [15%]). Genotyping of strains was performed using spoligotyping and IS6110-Mtb1-Mtb2 polymerase chain reaction. Among 209 strains, 23 molecular families (clusters) were identified. Seventeen clusters were identified as national. Six international clusters consisted of 30 strains isolated from patients of various nationalities. We identified 6 potential outbreaks of tuberculosis transmission between patients of different nationalities. The circumstances favorable to potential contacts of patients included mainly travelling to the neighboring countries, hospital stays, and addictions. However, there was no evidence of an epidemiological link between these patients, so it may be assumed that if they had come in contact with one another, it was accidental. We observed that the greater incidence of tuberculosis on the Polish territory did not affect the incidence in the Czech Republic or Slovakia over the analysis period.

Risk Premium for Loss of Employment within Region

On the basis of the income-based valuation method of intellectual capital of the region in the previous papers, the author discovers a need for a valuation of the risk premium which should be included in the rate that discounts income from work. Undoubtedly, both the loss of employment and the amount of income from work contribute to the intuitive calculation in the economic migration. The income-based valuation of the right to a certain sequence of income at a certain risk level properly integrates these factors as one value, providing a clear criterion of selection. Due to the fact that the labour market does not generate the values that allow the adaptation of the CAPM model, there was offered the original method of the risk premium valuation which provides the results analogous to those based on the CAPM model, and it was applied for the particular provinces in Poland. As a result, there was revealed the equity premium puzzle of the Polish labour market. Because of the significant amount of estimates, the obtained results are the first step towards the problem.

Obraz autointerpretacji profesji lekarskiej – narracje lekarzy

This paper is an attempt to examine the senses and meanings attributed by physicians to the medical profession. The collected material is part of a larger project devoted to the physician-patient relationship reconstructed on the basis of individual narrations provided by physicians. The conducted research is closely linked to the qualitative perspective: Interpretative Paradigm and Interpretive Paradigm. The study was performed in the period 2015-2017. The examined group consisted of 16 subjects (6 female and 10 male physicians) from several provinces of Poland who were highly esteemed (subjective opinions) by their patients. The empirical data were collected by means of narrative interviews and the methodology applied for the analysis of the content was that of phenomenography.

Ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents from Wielkopolska province in Poland: prevalence, risk factors and clinical presentation

Background. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life- -threatening condition frequently present at type 1 diabetes diagnosis (T1D). Younger children are at greater risk of developing this acute complication. It is alarming due to worldwide rise in T1D incidence with the greatest increase in children aged 28 days) (p = 0.014) and diabetes misdiagnosis (p = 0.001). Autoantibody against zinc transporter 8 was detected significantly more often in children with DKA (p = 0.044). In the group with DKA, glycated hemoglobin level was significantly higher (p = 0.0004), while insulin and C-peptide levels were lower (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions. The prevalence of DKA is high and its se­verity is substantial in children with newly diagnosed T1D from Wielkopolska province. Diabetes misdiag­nosis, symptoms’ duration and age under 4 years are the most common risk factors of DKA development at T1D onset. Autoantibody against zinc transporter 8 is associated with acute T1D onset.

Price volatility of agricultural land in Poland in the context of the European Union

In this paper the price volatility of land in Poland is examined during the years 1992-2016. The analysis concentrates particularly on stationarity, variation and GARCH. Differences in land price changes in particular provinces in Poland are presented and land prices in Poland are compared with other EU countries. The land market in Poland is diverse. Purchasers can buy land from private owners in the market and from the government’s Agricultural Property Agency. Generally, land offered by the Agricultural Property Agency is cheaper, but it is also more difficult to purchase. The authors of the paper used and analyzed quarterly price data from the main Statistical Office in Warsaw in PLN. The survey found high variability for land prices in Poland. The price of agricultural land has increased significantly since the integration of Poland into the EU. In 2016 the average price of land from the (APA) Agricultural Property Agency increased by 791% and the average price of private agricultural land increased by 690.2% in comparison to 2004. The prices of land differ regionally in Poland. In 2016 compared to 2005 the price of land increased the most in Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodeship (587,2%), Opolskie voivodeship (547,8%) and Lubuskie voivodeship (534,9%). In 2016 in comparison to 2005 the price of agricultural land increased the least in Małopolskie voivodeship (252,6%), Podlaskie voivodeship (295,0%) and Łódzkie voivodeship (304,9%). The study presents the descriptive statistics of agricultural land. The coefficient of variation of price changes in the years 2005-2016 was the highest in Slovakia (69,8%), Romania (60,4%) and Estonia (59,4%) and the lowest in Italy (9,2%) and France (12,1%). The ADF test (Augmented Dickey-Fuller test) shows that the agricultural land prices data can be classified as not stationary. The implication of the GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model of price volatility of agricultural land is that conditional volatility cannot be confirmed.

Stan cyfryzacji polskich szkół na podstawie badania „Polska szkoła w dobie cyfryzacji. Diagnoza 2017” w kontekście potrzeby wdrożenia nauczania w modelu STEAM

Marlena Plebańska, Digitisation of Polish Schools Based on the “Polish School in the Digitisation Era. The 2017 Diagnosis” Survey in the Context of the Necessity of Implementing the STEAM Model of Teaching, Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, No. 23, Poznań 2018. Pp. 53–70. Adam Mickiewicz University Press.ISSN 2300-391X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2018.23.03&#x0D; The author of the paper presents the concept of teaching in the STEAM model in relation to the necessity of building competence of tomorrow among pupils of primary schools and even preschools. The author sets forth the status of digitisation of Polish schools in the light of the most extensive Polish digitisation survey: the 2017 Digital Diagnosis. The author primarily discusses the conclusions from studies pertaining to the status of digitisation of the Polish schools in the context of implementation of the STEAM model as a concept for developing competence of tomorrow. Results of studies conducted in June 2017 among pupils, parents and teachers are presented. The study was prepared and conducted by a team of researchers/academic employees of the Faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw in cooperation with PCG Edukacja under the supervision of the author of this paper. The study encompassed 100,129 respondents from primary schools, middle schools, high schools, technical schools and vocational schools from all provinces in Poland. The full report presenting the study results is available on website: https://www.librus.pl/doradca-dyrektora/informacje-prawne/organizacja-pracy-szkoly/stan-cyfryzacji-polskich-szkol-ku-refleksji-raport-2017/