Goals and Policies of Higher Education Reform

If the university as an institution is to achieve its aims with increased effectiveness, it must modify its structures by organizing both teaching and research in a more flexible manner and also by ensuring raised standards in these two areas. This reorganization should be marked by a greater supervision and a more thorough exploitation of the teaching and research resources at the disposal of the institution. The following discussion centers on two questions: (i) the need for agreement between the university and its employees concerning their mutual obligations in terms of a regulated work contract; (ii) the creation of separate structures for teaching and research, which by relying on market mechanisms both internal and external to the university would enable the latter to tackle its educational and research tasks more efficiently and flexibly.     

The Role of Legal Deposit of Books in the Polish Library Scheme: The Case of Poznań University Library

This article discusses the legal deposit system in Poland, outlining important issues, legal regulations, cooperation with publishers, and the importance of delivering books for academic environment. It emphasizes the significance of legal deposit for shaping collections and improving institutional quality. Poznań University Library is presented as an example of the Polish approach to the issue of book acquisition, including the library’s mission statement and elements of its collection development policy. The author also writes about tasks for the Legal Deposit Office and the library in the near future, including implementation of electronic legal deposit in Poland.     

Condition of Reinforced Concrete Structures and Their Degradation Mechanism at the Former Auschwitz Concentration and Extermination Camp

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of investigations on reinforced concrete structures present in the former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Field inspection employing the non-destructive method of reinforcement potential measurement according to the ASTM-C 876–15 standard, followed by laboratory investigations performed on genuine historic reinforced concrete samples collected from the former Auschwitz camp, allowed assessment of the actual condition of this 70-year-old construction material. Electrochemical potential measurements allowed mapping of the regions characterized by enhanced reinforcement corrosion risk and the regions of its immunity. The composition of concrete, water absorbency, content of detrimental salts, and degree and profile of carbonation as well as mechanical properties were evaluated. Results revealed the most common and probable mechanism responsible for degradation of the reinforced concrete structures in the former Auschwitz camp.     

Dual-task effect on postural control in high-level competitive dancers

Abstract

We investigated balance in 33 competitive dancers (17 females, 16 males) and 22 controls (17 females, 5 males) (age 16–27 years) on a force plate in two conditions: single task (quiet stance) and dual task (with a concurrent mental task). Balance was evaluated using centre-of-pressure shift (sway) variability, mean speed, frequency, and sample entropy. The effect of the dual task in the medio-lateral plane was comparable in both groups, decreasing sway variability (P < 0.05) and increasing mean speed (P < 0.001), frequency, and sample entropy (P < 0.001), showing that the participants effectively increased the level of automaticity. In the antero-posterior plane, the dual task also increased sway frequency and sample entropy (P < 0.01) in dancers without affecting their standing performance. In contrast, postural control in non-dancers was vulnerable to reduced cognitive investment, which adversely interfered with baseline performance. There were very high correlations between sway sample entropy and frequency in each group, plane, and task (r = 0.92–0.98, P < 0.001), indicating that both parameters may measure the same characteristic of postural control and that higher sway frequency may play an important role in protecting stability in dual tasking. The postural control of dancers and non-dancers appears to be similar, although dancing seems to facilitate the increased level of automatic control in the antero-posterior plane.     

Sport and Politics in Archaic Greece

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between sport and politics in archaic Greece (eighth to sixth centuries BC). Although the issue of this relationship has been widely addressed by the academic literature devoted to the subject of ancient sports, there are no studies describing the relationship between both phenomena in the archaic period per se, as well as the factors which triggered them. This paper primarily draws on the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, as well as the works of Xenophanes and Pindar. Firstly, the study discusses the place of both sport (agon) and politics in the archaic polis. The second part shows how sport was used in various ways by individuals for political purposes, while the third part presents the role of sport in the politics of the poleis. At every level of this analysis, one can see a strong connection between both phenomena. Social, military, and political changes, caused, in particular, by the second Greek colonization and the new phalanx formation of hoplites, highlight the role of sport as an indicator of political domination – from the perspective of both the individual and the poleis as a whole. Indeed, this entire study shows that from the very first moment of its being shaped into organized events, sport was connected to politics.     

The Role of Private Universities and Colleges in the Spatial Restructuring of Higher Education in Poland

The development of private higher education institutions in Poland since 1989 has become a thorny political issue. The question is discussed in terms of the overall expansion of higher education in Poland, the Polish national development strategy, the spatial distribution of higher education institutions in Poland, and the role of higher education in the formation of the Polish national e´lite. The author argues strongly in favour of the equal treatment of private higher education.     

Factors affecting success of training companies

This study aims to identify the key factors which influence the functioning quality and success of training companies. Based on an analysis of the requirements included in the quality management system standards for providers of education and training services, a set of twenty factors has been developed. This was followed by a survey for specifically selected managers of 90 Polish firms, which provide training, who evaluated both the influence of the factors on the probability of success and also the level of difficulty required to accomplish the factors. The findings indicate that the managers of the learning providers need to focus on employing qualified trainers and providing a curriculum which is unique and adjusted to their customers’ needs.