In the last couple of years, the concept of knowledge co-production has become more prominent. However, the meaning of the term and its relationship with the evidence-based policy (EBP) remains ambiguous. The main objectives of the review were to describe how the co-production of knowledge has been defined, the roles that individual actors can play in the process and the relationship between knowledge co-production and the evidence-based policy approach. The author asserted that the knowledge co-production was treated by the researchers both as a participatory research method and as an institutional solution for better policy implementation.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment emphasizes the importance of sociolinguistic competence. Knowledge about a society and its culture is a part of general knowledge about the world. Therefore, it is especially important for a learner of a language to acquire socio-cultural knowledge. There are a lot of stereotypes about a country, its culture and society among its neighbours. Learning Polish in Lithuania promotes a better understanding of Polish culture and helps to overcome stereotypes. Both countries have the common history; however, Lithuanian society's perception of the Poles is not always rational. The public opinion polls show that Lithuanians perceive the Poles worse than they perceive Russians. Does learning the Polish language provide the opportunity to understand the country and the culture as well as to reassess the views on the Poles? The students, who have been learning the Polish language for three semesters (A1-B1) at VMU, were asked to share their opinion. The questions were the following: Why did they choose to learn Polish? What did they know about Poland and Polish culture before the course? What are their insights into Poland after the course? The students were not satisfied with their knowledge about Poland prior to starting the course. It should be noted that they assessed their knowledge on the subject from the perspective of three semesters. In the meantime, some students went to the Summer School of the Polish Language and Culture in Poland and had an opportunity to visit Warsaw. The students, who completed B2 course of the Polish language, have changed their views and perceptions of Poland and its culture. The learning of the language has become an opportunity to learn about Poland and its culture and enabled students to evaluate the country very positively. [.]
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment emphasizes the importance of sociolinguistic competence. Knowledge about a society and its culture is a part of general knowledge about the world. Therefore, it is especially important for a learner of a language to acquire socio-cultural knowledge. There are a lot of stereotypes about a country, its culture and society among its neighbours. Learning Polish in Lithuania promotes a better understanding of Polish culture and helps to overcome stereotypes. Both countries have the common history; however, Lithuanian society's perception of the Poles is not always rational. The public opinion polls show that Lithuanians perceive the Poles worse than they perceive Russians. Does learning the Polish language provide the opportunity to understand the country and the culture as well as to reassess the views on the Poles? The students, who have been learning the Polish language for three semesters (A1-B1) at VMU, were asked to share their opinion. The questions were the following: Why did they choose to learn Polish? What did they know about Poland and Polish culture before the course? What are their insights into Poland after the course? The students were not satisfied with their knowledge about Poland prior to starting the course. It should be noted that they assessed their knowledge on the subject from the perspective of three semesters. In the meantime, some students went to the Summer School of the Polish Language and Culture in Poland and had an opportunity to visit Warsaw. The students, who completed B2 course of the Polish language, have changed their views and perceptions of Poland and its culture. The learning of the language has become an opportunity to learn about Poland and its culture and enabled students to evaluate the country very positively. [.]
The aim of our discussion is to look at the socio-economic analysis. It should be assumed that this is the basic resource of various types of knowledge (policy knowledge), which - in principle - is to provide the basis for making public decisions. As a result, these decisions are to be optimal or better than those decisions that are based only on intuition, belief, etc. This is, therefore, an analysis that is to be a resource of rationalized, verifiable knowledge from reliable sources.
Historical policy versus the politics of remembrance is undoubtedly a policy, or a peculiar way to 'conduct policy,' where the optimally true knowledge of history as well as falsified and mythicized information about the past are a means to maintain, win and participate in power. By this token, historical policy is about the instrumentalization of the knowledge of history and mythicized accounts or opinions of the past for the sake of the implementation of a political agenda.So far, the concept of 'historical policy' has not yet become a clear academic category, which makes it difficult to agree what it actually encompasses. Still, the concept of 'historical policy' stands a chance of becoming an objective category in political science. Some professional historians may lean towards a certain skepticism, especially if they accept the traditional paradigm of studying the history of society.Misunderstandings regarding the issue of 'historical policy' sometimes result in a tendency to reject the possibility of this concept being applied by academics from the humanities and social fields of science. Recently, the issue of 'historical policy' has become of interest to political scientists, whose area of study involves the multiplicity of 'detailed policies.''Historical policy' is also discussed by many journalists who do not always present deepened reflections and concrete attitudes, as they rather tend to express their subjective views. It turns out that some Polish historians, political scientists and journalists are embroiled in the current political dispute in Poland. They frequently assume the role of lobbyists or opponents of one option of historical policy or another. The issue of historical policy requires analysis and explanation in an objective and multidisciplinary manner. It is a positive phenomenon that more and more publications with academic aspirations are emerging on this subject in Poland. One should recommend the cooperation between political scientists and historians in order to review and reliably explain planned and executed historical policy in a comparative manner. ; Historical policy versus the politics of remembrance is undoubtedly a policy, or a peculiar way to 'conduct policy,' where the optimally true knowledge of history as well as falsified and mythicized information about the past are a means to maintain, win and participate in power. By this token, historical policy is about the instrumentalization of the knowledge of history and mythicized accounts or opinions of the past for the sake of the implementation of a political agenda.So far, the concept of 'historical policy' has not yet become a clear academic category, which makes it difficult to agree what it actually encompasses. Still, the concept of 'historical policy' stands a chance of becoming an objective category in political science. Some professional historians may lean towards a certain skepticism, especially if they accept the traditional paradigm of studying the history of society.Misunderstandings regarding the issue of 'historical policy' sometimes result in a tendency to reject the possibility of this concept being applied by academics from the humanities and social fields of science. Recently, the issue of 'historical policy' has become of interest to political scientists, whose area of study involves the multiplicity of 'detailed policies.''Historical policy' is also discussed by many journalists who do not always present deepened reflections and concrete attitudes, as they rather tend to express their subjective views. It turns out that some Polish historians, political scientists and journalists are embroiled in the current political dispute in Poland. They frequently assume the role of lobbyists or opponents of one option of historical policy or another. The issue of historical policy requires analysis and explanation in an objective and multidisciplinary manner. It is a positive phenomenon that more and more publications with academic aspirations are emerging on this subject in Poland. One should recommend the cooperation between political scientists and historians in order to review and reliably explain planned and executed historical policy in a comparative manner.
The following text is an attempt at an analysis of the condition of the Polish minority in Ukraine. The subject of discussion is the tension appearing in relations between minority groups, the country where they live in and their foreign homeland. Loyalty to each of these two countries requires giving up part of their identity. From the perspective of the history of the twentieth century, the author reflects on the (im) possibility of consolidating the Polish movement in the context of the revolutionary events in Ukraine which took place in 2014. The author attempts to apply the principle of triangulation of sources, using the knowledge acquired during qualitative research in Ukraine conducted among the Polish community in February, July and August 2014 and also on the basis of other quantitative studies of a comparative nature conducted among minorities living in Ukraine, including the Polish one and its equivalent in Poland. ; The following text is an attempt at an analysis of the condition of the Polish minority in Ukraine. The subject of discussion is the tension appearing in relations between minority groups, the country where they live in and their foreign homeland. Loyalty to each of these two countries requires giving up part of their identity. From the perspective of the history of the twentieth century, the author reflects on the (im) possibility of consolidating the Polish movement in the context of the revolutionary events in Ukraine which took place in 2014. The author attempts to apply the principle of triangulation of sources, using the knowledge acquired during qualitative research in Ukraine conducted among the Polish community in February, July and August 2014 and also on the basis of other quantitative studies of a comparative nature conducted among minorities living in Ukraine, including the Polish one and its equivalent in Poland.
There are also theoretical issues such as: adequacy of this discipline of knowledge to the analysis of the realities of public action in Poland. This issue arises due to the fact that public policy emerged as a discipline of knowledge in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, on the basis of its specificity. Moreover, the theories evident in public policy science have been developed in the West, mainly in America. The local realities were the basis. Therefore, the question arises whether we should build our theories or adapt those that have been developed elsewhere. Meanwhile, we do not have many or even most elements of the Anglo-Saxon tradition, even in terms of the size of our analytical achievements. We are not even inclined to conduct such an advanced analysis of social and economic phenomena. Hence, it seems important to me to ask about the theoretical potential of this discipline in relation to the analysis of public activities in Poland.
Germany is home to approximately one hundred Polish organizations. Although the history of the Polish movement in Germany dates back to the mid-19th century, the available knowledge on the movement is relatively sketchy and either limited to historical facts or, with respect to the present standing and activities, only cursory. This is evidenced by the fact that the public discourse frequently labels given organizations as weak due judging them mainly on inner rifts and arguments. Is this popular belief true? Have organizations indeed succumbbed to a permanent crisis? If so, what are the true causes of their quandaries? I attempt to address these questions on the basis of the research I have conducted at the Institute for Western Affairs since 2008. I have embarked on defining the most prominent features of Polish organizations in Germany and identifying the factors that have contributed to their present condition.
The increasing complexity of the academic enterprise in Europe is due to several general factors: globalization and Europeanization, educational expansion and massification of higher education, the economic crisis, reform pressures in the public sector, growing pressures for accountability, and knowledge-driven economic competitiveness of nations and regions. Factors generating change in national higher education policies and in national higher education systems have been multilayered, interrelated and often common throughout the continent. Reforms increasingly, and throughout Europe, lead to further reforms rather than to reformed higher education systems. Higher education has changed substantially in most European economies in the last two or three decades but it is still expected by national and European-level policymakers to change even more. Universities, throughout two centuries of their modern history, change as their environments change, especially in connection with changes in the functioning of nation-states and various forms of welfare states. Different directions of current and projected academic restructuring in different national systems add to the complexity of the picture at a European level.
From the perspective of the history of political and legal doctrines, the dichotomous way of looking at actuality through the prism of the struggle between realism and idealism is one of the classical approaches to social sciences. The basic source of knowledge for the political realism idea is the achievements of politicians, historians and philosophers, who are often at the same time creators of political and legal thought. In the research on political realism, however, one should, based on subsidiarity, also use the message found in the rhetorical speeches, recorded and preserved until today. Taking these reservations into account, the subject of the article is to analyze – in a rhetorical perspective – the classical political realism, with the simultaneous narrowing of the research field to international relations. The subject of the analysis are selected ancient Greek rhetorical speeches by authors such as Cleon, Diodotus, Pericles, Demosthenes, Andocides, Isocrates and Lysias. ; Z perspektywy historii doktryn polityczno-prawnych dychotomiczny sposób spojrzenia na rzeczywistość przez pryzmat zmagań między realizmem a idealizmem stanowi jedno z klasycznych ujęć nauk społecznych. Podstawowym źródłem poznania idei realizmu politycznego jest dorobek polityków, historyków czy filozofów, którzy często znajdują się jednocześnie w gronie twórców myśli polityczno-prawnej. W badaniach nad realizmem politycznym należy jednak, na zasadzie subsydiarności, korzystać także z przekazu znajdującego się w utrwalonych i zachowanych do dzisiaj mowach retorycznych. Uwzględniając te zastrzeżenia, przedmiotem artykułu jest analiza – w retorycznej optyce – klasycznego realizmu politycznego, z jednoczesnym zawężeniem pola badawczego do stosunków międzynarodowych. Przedmiotem analizy są wybrane starożytne greckie mowy retoryczne takich autorów, jak Kleon, Diodotos, Perykles, Demostenes, Andokides, Izokrates i Lizjasz.
Evolution of European political sytems in Zygmunt Cybichowski's works (1879-1946)The article presents briefly constitutional reflection of Zygmunt Cybichowski (1879-1946), a world-famous expert in law who became a radical Polish nationalist in 1930s and unsuccessfully tried to collaborate with the Third Reich during WW II. His thought concentrated particularly on two types of democratic system: liberał democracy and so-called 'nationalist democracy'.As a scholar, Cybichowski was following the 'national method' in law studies. According to his method, every legał system, including constitution, rose from a specific, particular culture of its own nation. The same rule or institution could have different meaning in various cultures of law - there were no two similar constitutions among the nations of the world. Understanding legał and political system of any country depended entirely on profound knowledge of local history and traditions.Cybichowski was considered that during interwar period political systems of all European countries underwenta process of totalizing - a rapid expansion of government power and functions. This phenomenon was the most advanced in 'national democracies': fascist Italy and the Third Reich. Cybichowski maintained thatthese two states were truły democratic (but not liberał) because, in his opinion, democracy existed in every political system in which authorities were accepted by their peo- ple and followed the people's will. For Cybichowski democracy and dictatorship were not contradictory to each other - a dictatorial government could have democratic base. According to him, pre-war Poland had an intermediate regime which contained elements of the both types of democracy. This regime formally retained liberał institutions, but in political practice it started to create institutions typical for 'nationalist democracy' such as 'national political organization' and a 'national chieftain'.
Evolution of European political sytems in Zygmunt Cybichowski's works (1879-1946)The article presents briefly constitutional reflection of Zygmunt Cybichowski (1879-1946), a world-famous expert in law who became a radical Polish nationalist in 1930s and unsuccessfully tried to collaborate with the Third Reich during WW II. His thought concentrated particularly on two types of democratic system: liberał democracy and so-called 'nationalist democracy'.As a scholar, Cybichowski was following the 'national method' in law studies. According to his method, every legał system, including constitution, rose from a specific, particular culture of its own nation. The same rule or institution could have different meaning in various cultures of law - there were no two similar constitutions among the nations of the world. Understanding legał and political system of any country depended entirely on profound knowledge of local history and traditions.Cybichowski was considered that during interwar period political systems of all European countries underwenta process of totalizing - a rapid expansion of government power and functions. This phenomenon was the most advanced in 'national democracies': fascist Italy and the Third Reich. Cybichowski maintained thatthese two states were truły democratic (but not liberał) because, in his opinion, democracy existed in every political system in which authorities were accepted by their peo- ple and followed the people's will. For Cybichowski democracy and dictatorship were not contradictory to each other - a dictatorial government could have democratic base. According to him, pre-war Poland had an intermediate regime which contained elements of the both types of democracy. This regime formally retained liberał institutions, but in political practice it started to create institutions typical for 'nationalist democracy' such as 'national political organization' and a 'national chieftain'.
Terrorism is defined as use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to indulge fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, social or religious. Bioterrorism is terrorism by intentional release or dissemination of biological agents, mainly bacteria or viruses. Use of biological weapons is attractive from the terrorists' point of view because of low production costs, major range and easiness of transmission. The first mention of the use of primitive biological weapons date back to the 6th century. Use of plague-infested corpses as offensive means in the 14th century caused a spread of bubonic plague through the whole Europe. The biggest development of biological weapons took place in the interwar period and in the cold war era. Biological weapon trails and research were conducted by super powers such as USSR, UK, USA and Japan. At the beginning of the 20th century a new form of bioterrorism occurred, which put humanity in the face of a terrifying threat. Cholera is a deadly disease that has caused a worldwide phenomenon throughout history. Its imperative weapon, the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, has allowed cholera to seize control and wipe out a huge percentage of the human population. V. cholerae's toxins are the primary causes of cholera's lethal symptoms. The bacterium contains toxins that help it accomplish its job of invading the human system and defeating the body's powerful immune system. With its sibling bacterium Escherichia coli, V. cholerae has become one of the most dominant pathogens in the known world. V. cholerae's strategies in causing the infamous deadly diarrhea have been widely studied, from the irritation of the intestinal epithelium to the stimulation of capillary leakage, as well as the internal effects of the disease such as the Peyer's patches on the intestinal walls. Overall, the Vibrio cholera bacterium has made cholera a tough disease to overcome, and because of its deadly virulence factors, cholera has become one of the most frightening diseases a human body could ever encounter. Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative, comma-shaped bacterium. Some strains of V. cholerae cause the disease cholera. V. cholerae is facultatively anaerobic and has a flagellum at one cell pole. V. cholerae was first isolated as the cause of cholera by Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini in 1854, but his discovery was not widely known until Robert Koch, working independently 30 years later, publicized the knowledge and the means of fighting the disease. V. cholerae pathogenicity genes code for proteins directly or indirectly involved in the virulence of the bacteria. During infection, V. cholerae secretes cholera toxin, a protein that causes profuse, watery diarrhea. Colonization of the small intestine also requires the toxin coregulated pilus (TCP), a thin, flexible, filamentous appendage on the surface of bacterial cells.
: The subject of Borderlands situated further away and close by is presented not by accident. In the Polish historical narrative, we usually remember only about the Eastern Borderlands. Created by Henryk Sienkiewicz's "Trilog", known from the pages of Polish history, being a place of birth to Polish poets, they are inevitably memorable and integral part of Poland's national tradition. This notion is so strong that the word 'Borderlands' is associated only with the formed eastern territories of Poland. We do not use this terminology for other areas. We think only of the eastern borderlands which were gradually lost between the 17th and 20th century. This article also mentions this fact. Nevertheless, the article presents a slightly different perspective, i.e. it tries to present the Borderlands that were distant because they were unknown or known very little, the Borderlands which did not manage to enter the Polish narratives and Polish historical memory for good. They entered Poland for a very short time and disappeared for it very quickly. Nowadays they are abroad and they are practically unknown. The distant, unknown former Polish western Borderlands was Trans-Olza (Zaolzie). The Silesian residents living there in the 19th century shaped mostly Polish national identity, i.e. at the time when the then modern European nations were establishing. Undoubtedly, this was influenced by a strong economic development of the territory of Cieszyn Silesia. On the one hand, it was a blessing, but on the other hand, it turned out to be its curse, causing the rivalry over this land between the Poles and Czechs. The conflict over this territory, where the ethnic issues played no significant role for the powers considering this matter. Moreover, it inscribed into different types of territorial conflicts that Europe experienced after the First World War. For the borders established by the victorious allied forces as part of the Versailles treaty were not entirely fair in any place, which, in turn, is an obvious matter because it is never possible to set borders that would fully satisfy all the parties of the conflict. This was also the case of the Polish-Czech conflict over Cieszyn Silesia. The rivalry did not cease with the borders being established by the allied forces in July 1920, and both countries were still interested in the population living there. The population faced assimilative activities as the so-called 'Polonized Moravians' by the Czechoslovakian Republic. On the other hand, this population became a causation for Poland when reclaiming this area in autumn 1938. In the second part of the article presents the realities of life in Trans-Olza in the second half of the 1930s, which were witnessed by Paweł Hulka-Laskowski. He collected material for his monumental work on Trans-Olza Silesia. This work is practically unknown today, but it is an equivalent of the results of Melchior Wańkowicz's travels around East Prussia in the book Na tropach Smętka. Who has ever heard in Poland of the work by Paweł Hulka-Laskowski Śląsk za Olzą Similarly, who has the knowledge of the long-forgotten Western Borderlands? This article introduces readers to this subject matter.