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Do technologies advance our self-identities, as they do our bodies, cognitive skills, and the next developmental stage called postpersonal? Did we already manage to be fully human, before becoming posthuman? Are we doomed to disintegration and episodic selfhood? This book examines the impact of radical technopoiesis on our selves from a multidisciplinary perspective, including the health humanities, phenomenology, the life sciences and humanoid AI (artificial intelligence) ethics. Surprisingly, our body representations show more plasticity than scholarly concepts and sociocultural narratives. Our embodied selves can withstand transplants, bionic prostheses and radical somatechnics, but to remain autonomous and authentic, our agential potentials must be strengthened – and this is not through 'psychosurgery' and the brain–computer interface.

While democratic ideals are cherished by many worldwide, practice and competence in democratic procedures and behaviors are fading. Educating for democracy involves teaching skills that contribute to the democratic ideals, such as fairness, due process, and respect for the dignity, rights, and autonomy of others. In this volume, researchers from throughout the world draw from the Dual-Aspect Theory, the Konstanz Method of Dilemma Discussion, and the Moral Judgment Test, developed by German psychologist Georg Lind to advance democratic competencies. Grounded in Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment, contributors report research at various levels of social engagement, such as schools, workplaces, governments, prisons, and communities, to describe how people can, and do, develop democratic competencies that hold promise for creating interactions and institutions that are just and fair. -- Back cover

The article presents the assumptions of the most recent international criminal legislation on ecocide, its legal definition as the fifth crime against humanity, its relation to the international and national regulations already in force, and, finally, its implications for the domestic criminal law system. The new type of offence is about to be introduced into the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The author shows a number of rationales to justify an appropriate revision of domestic criminal law. Further, she points to the Nuremberg Clause, in which Łukasz Pohl identified an indisputable normative safeguard for the application of international criminal norms to perpetrators of unlawful acts against humanity in case the national legislature would not update the criminal law. The research was carried out by analysing historical (Rafał Lemkin) and current theoretical-legal and philosophical-legal sources, as well as through a dogmatic analysis of legal acts, and, finally by using an exemplification of ecocide as a crime against humanity due to severe and irreversible destruction of the natural environment.

Purpose. The study aims to diagnose the tourist attractiveness of the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship poviats based on features of the geographical and socio-economic environment. The recognition of local development problems regarding organisation in local action groups that affect the creation of the tourist function of a village and the creation of new tourist products are also assessed by residents.
Method. Principal Component Analysis was used as the research method, in which the process of reducing multidimensionality, i.e. reducing the number of features, occurs. A smaller number of new variables explains and simplifies the interpretation of the phenomenon with little information loss. The components are the result of data reduction and a way to obtain a simplified image of the relationship based on the correlation structure between the observed features. Fourteen Świętokrzyskie poviats were analysed due to 10 features that express the multi-faceted nature of the local economy in the aspect of tourist attractiveness and entrepreneurship for 2018. Then, using the hierarchical Ward method, types of poviats with a similar structure of phenomena related to the tourist development of the area were presented. The obtained components can be treated as the main meta-features of the structural dimension of the attractiveness and entrepreneurship space of the Świętokrzyskie region.
Findings. It has been shown is studies that tourism plays one of the key roles in the development of a region. It is an important element of activating the local economy. The 3 calculated main components explain 78.1% of the variation of the original features. The following names for the given factors may be suggested: "poviat entrepreneurship" (explained by the first component - containing 43% variability of the original features), "accommodation and transport availability" (second component - 19% variation of the original features), "EU funding" (third component -16% variation of original features). The classification indicates the similarity of poviats within the distinguished classes from the point of view of more than one factor measuring the level of urbanisation of the area. Four classes of poviats can be distinguished: the first class is the city of Kielce, the second – the buski and kielecki poviats, the third, which is very numerous – 10 poviats and the fourth – the kazimiersk poviat
Research and conclusions limitations. The survey studies were conducted in 2018 on a small sample of 60 people, which does not allow to draw general conclusions, but their results may facilitate the diagnosis of tourism development. Gestors and local government officials involved in local action groups, who agreed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of tourism at their place of residence, were selected for the survey.
Practical implications. The work may be of significance to various decision-making entities interested in the structure and position of their poviat in comparison to other poviats. The study is an assessment and diagnosis of the state of local development related to tourism. The actions implemented for the development of tourism infrastructure, the use of EU subsidies in poviats and the degree of implementation of the activities adopted in the tourism development strategy were identified.
Originality.Detection of unknown dependencies and regularities in tourism economy among spatial systems using multidimensional methods. Comprehensive development using a quantitative and qualitative approach.
Type of paper. A case study - counties of the Swiętokrzyskie voivodeship

AI designers endeavour to improve 'autonomy' in artificial intelligent devices, as recent developments show. This chapter firstly argues against attributing metaphysical attitudes to AI and, simultaneously, in favor of improving autonomous AI which has been enabled to respect autonomy in human agents. This seems to be the only responsible way of making further advances in the field of autonomous social AI. Let us examine what is meant by claims such as designing our artificial alter egos and sharing moral selves with artificial humanoid devices as well as providing autonomous AI with an ethical framework modelled upon the core aspects of moral selfhood, e.g., making decisions which are based on autonomous law-giving, in Kantian terms. ; National Science Centre (NCN, Kraków, Poland), grant OPUS 9, no 2015/17/B/HS1/02381. ; 6 ; 2 ; 169 ; 208 ; 7 ; Filozofia Publiczna i Edukacja Demokratyczna

Problem zmian w środowisku medialnym związany z rozwojem nowych mediów należy do największych wyzwań badawczych dla teorii agenda-setting. Biorąc pod uwagę problem aktualności teorii ustanawiania agendy w środowisku komunikacji internetowej i nowych mediów, rozważania i analizy proponowane w opracowaniu są prowadzone w celu uzyskania odpowiedzi pytanie, czy w związku z rozwojem nowych mediów ogólny wpływ mediów (tradycyjnych i nowych, czy inaczej – horyzontalnych i wertykalnych) na opinię publiczną ulega wzmocnieniu czy osłabieniu.

Die verfrühten Wahlen am 21. Oktober 2007 zum Sejm und zum Senat bringen den Verlauf der Integration zwischen Polen und der EU nach Einschätzung der Autorin auf eine neue und für alle Beteiligten konstruktive Bahn. Nach dem Beitritt Polens zur EU im Mai 2004 hatte noch keine Regierung so eine umfangreiche Agenda wie die unter Premierminister Donald Tusk. Die Regierung von Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz hatte die Polen zwar spektakulär in die europäischen Strukturen eingeführt, sie musste jedoch das erst zu beginnende Werk der Regierung von Jaroslaw Kaczynski übertragen. Danach entfaltete sich die weitere Integration weder linear noch in einer absehbaren Richtung, obwohl sich der polnische Agens gerade hier als "Hardliner" bekannt machte. Es ist daher lohnenswert, die letzten zwei Jahre des Integrationsprozesses zu rekapitulieren. Die Autorin benennt die relevanten Fakten und Debatten, um den heutigen Zustand der europäischen Integration zu verdeutlichen. Ihre Ausführungen beziehen sich auf die demokratische Atmosphäre und die Kompetenzverteilung in der polnischen Gesellschaft, auf das Bild und die Rolle der europäischen Integration in Polen, auf den Reformvertrag sowie auf die Kontroverse um die Grundrechte-Charta in der polnischen Öffentlichkeit. (ICI2)

Since 2006, the use of growth-promoting antibiotics has been banned throughout the European Union. To meet the expectations of livestock farmers, various studies have been carried out with the use of lactic acid bacteria. Scientists are trying to obtain the antimicrobial effect against the most common pathogens in large-scale farms. Supplementing the diet of broilers with probiotics (live, nonpathogenic microorganisms) stabilized the intestinal microbiota, which improved the results of body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI). The positive effect of probiotics based on lactic acid bacteria has been shown to prevent the occurrence of diarrhea during piglet weaning. The antagonistic activity of postbiotics (inanimate bacteria, cell components, or post-fermentation by-products) from post-culture media after lactobacilli cultures has been proven on Staphylococcus aureus—the pathogen most often responsible for causing mastitis among dairy cows. The article aims to present the latest research examining the antagonistic effect of lactic acid bacteria on the most common pathogens in broilers, piglets, pigs, and cow farms.

Digitalization involves an increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in all areas of the economy and all domains of the functioning of a society. Technologies of this kind affect the level of competitiveness of economies. The aim of the article is to compare the levels of competitiveness of European Union countries in the field of information and communication technologies, on the basis of indices developed by international institutions.The European Commission, World Economic Forum and Eurostat databases were used for comparative analysis of economies. Synthetic indices, such as the 9th pillar of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI Pillar 9), the European Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) were used to compare the levels of digitalization of the economies. The actual individual consumption (AIC) value was adopted as an indicator of the wealth of EU economies. Changes in single indices were analysed as follows: in the NRI in 2014–2016, in the GCI Pillar 9 in 2015–2017 and in the DESI in 2016–2018, while the multi-character classification of countries according to the three variables (the NRI, DESI and GCI Pillar 9) was performed for the year 2016. Ward's hierarchical method and non-hierarchical analysis of k-means clusters were used to this effect. The multiple regression model revealed relationships between the welfare level measured by the AIC and the level of digitalization. The NRI turned out to be the best predictor. The results of the analysis indicate that there are still differences between the 'old' and the 'new' EU countries in terms of the development of the ICT sector.

The reprinted paper refers to Georg Lind and his colleagues' MCT-based FORM study conducted at several European universities in 1977-1983, including Polish ones. After a short phase of democratization, in 1981 Polish society suddenly faced martial law. That experience had an impact on Polish students moral-, discursiveand democratic competences, as measured by MCT. When Ewa Nowak started her Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supported research stay under the supervision of Professor Georg Lind (University of Konstanz, 2008-2010), they were inspired to revisit and discuss the puzzling Polish research findings of 1981/3. According to their main hypothesis, martial law restricted free speech at universities, and free speech is a key facilitator of the development of moral and democratic competence. In 2018, after a decade of collaborative research on moral and democratic competence, Lind, Nowak and colleagues started a new international MCT study in several Central- and East European countries to examine the impact of the contemporary constitutional crisis in Poland (and the institutional crisis within the European Union) on students' moral and democratic competencies. In 2018/9 the 40th anniversary of the Moral Competence Test (MCT) and Konstanz Method of Dilemma Discussion (KMDD) will be celebrated. We would like to provide you with the most recent research findings soon.

The reprinted paper refers to Georg Lind and his colleagues' MCT-based FORM study conducted at several European universities in 1977-1983, including Polish ones. After a short phase of democratization, in 1981 Polish society suddenly faced martial law. That experience had an impact on Polish students moral-, discursiveand democratic competences, as measured by MCT. When Ewa Nowak started her Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supported research stay under the supervision of Professor Georg Lind (University of Konstanz, 2008-2010), they were inspired to revisit and discuss the puzzling Polish research findings of 1981/3. According to their main hypothesis, martial law restricted free speech at universities, and free speech is a key facilitator of the development of moral and democratic competence. In 2018, after a decade of collaborative research on moral and democratic competence, Lind, Nowak and colleagues started a new international MCT study in several Central- and East European countries to examine the impact of the contemporary constitutional crisis in Poland (and the institutional crisis within the European Union) on students' moral and democratic competencies. In 2018/9 the 40th anniversary of the Moral Competence Test (MCT) and Konstanz Method of Dilemma Discussion (KMDD) will be celebrated. We would like to provide you with the most recent research findings soon.