Series:Uniwersytet Łódzki

Music, Literature, Philosophy. Philosophical themes in the works of Richard Wagner and in James Joyce’s “Ulysses”

Muzyka, Literatura, Filozofia. O filozoficznych wątkach w twórczości Ryszarda Wagnera i w Ulissesie Jamesa Joyce’a

Author(s): Marek Rosiak / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: philosophy; opera; drama; Richard Wagner; James Joyce; Ulysses

An attempt to identify and interpret philosophical themes appearing in the dramatic output of Richard Wagner is an essential part of the publication. Presenting my own interpretation, I lay no claim to its exclusive accuracy. In my opinion, every great work of art – to which Tristan und Isolde, The Ring of the Nibelung cycle or Parsifal undoubtedly belong – has a universal message, which means it can be understood in different ways. My analyses on Wagner are completed by a study on absolute music in which I discuss the concept of expressing a certain programmme in music that has no relation to a literary text. The last part of the book concerns itself with the peregrination of the hero of Joyce’s Ulysses from the perspective of transcendental philosophy. Although it is not known if Joyce had studied Husserl’s phenomenology, we can draw a parallel between the contents of his work and the issue of transcendental solipsism that Husserl tackled in the Fifth Cartesian Meditation. Transcendental perspective makes it possible to view the series of incidents befalling Leopold Bloom as a process akin to the progress of a musical piece.

Helping Education in Exile. The Publishing Activity of the Committee for Polish Children in the USSR (1943–1946). Second edition

Na pomoc zesłańczej edukacji. Działalność wydawnicza Komitetu do spraw Dzieci Polskich w ZSRR (1943-1946). Wydanie drugie

Author(s): Albin Głowacki / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Committee for Polish Children; Kompoldiet; Stalinist regime; education in exile; deportation; exile; repatriation

The latest monograph showcases the publishing activity of the Committee for Polish Children in the USSR in the years 1943–1946. It also presents the dramatic state of education among the deportees’ children until 1943 against the backdrop of Polish-Soviet relations. Analysing post-Soviet archives, the author discusses the political conditions and context of the publishing work of the Committee that was meant to shape the consciousness of pupils as desired by the Polish communists. The reader discovers a behind-the-scenes reality of the committee’s efforts to provide teaching programmes and coursebooks steeped in factual as well as ideological and political content to Polish-medium schools. The author offers a particularly interesting commentary on the preparation and publishing of original material, such as the alphabet book, reading practice texts, native literature excerpts and a Polish geography, as well as a Polish history teaching programme. He also makes critical observations on the obstacles to the Committee’s editorial activity, many of which resulted from the limitations of the war period, censorship and political determinants.

The Scholars’ House. The Tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St. in Łódź in the Years 1945-2017

Dom uczonych. Kamienica przy ul. Uniwersyteckiej 3 w Łodzi w latach 1945-2017

Author(s): Adrianna Szczerba / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Scholars’ House; University of Łódź – history; Tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St.; Helena Radlińska; Tadeusz Kotarbiński

This publication relates the history of the tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St. in Łódź, originally designed as a place of residence for the teachers of the Merchant Assembly School (Polish: Szkoła Zgromadzenia Kupców) of the city of Łódź (1898-1939). Since 1945 it has been a university building. It used to house the flats of the founding professors of Łódź University (including Professor Tadeusz Kotarbiński’s – the first rector of the University of Łódź) as well as science departments. Until the early 1990s, private and public space coexisted here, which made it a place with a special and unique atmosphere. The Scholars’ House is also interesting when viewing the transformation of Łódź University, as it reflected the ups and downs of the university itself during the time of the Polish People’s Republic. The book presents the story of the tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St. and the complicated lives of its residents in postwar Poland. It also describes the difficulties of forming an academic environment in Łódź – a working-class city with no scholarly traditions.

Market Intelligence as a Support Program for the Decision-Making Process in the Modern Enterprise

Market Intelligence jako program wsparcia procesów decyzyjnych we współczesnym przedsiębiorstwie

Author(s): Bogdan Gregor,Magdalena Kalińska-Kula / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: marketing; market knowledge; efficient system of gathering information; market intelligence; technological development; globalization; business management

The monograph discusses the role of information and the knowledge of markets and marketing in the management of a business organisation. The contemporary business environment is characterized by uncertainty and complexity. Companies wishing to minimise operational risk must have an efficient system for gathering information and be able to transform the collected data into knowledge. The management process in a business organisation is supported by market intelligence – a practical set of activities designed for the efficient gathering of information about the market and its participants. The publication is of a theoretical and empirical character. The authors, focusing on theoretical studies and empirical research results conducted in enterprises, explain the essence and specify the role of market intelligence in creating useful knowledge needed to support managerial decisions in contemporary business organisations. The book is intended for academics and researchers dealing with knowledge management and new technologies, as well as for economic practitioners. It can also be used in didactics, on different levels of studies, when introducing a more detailed discussion on knowledge management, market and marketing research.

Living with a Disease. Adaptation to Selected Somatic Diseases from the Perspective of Positive Psychology and Cognitive Concepts

Bycie z chorobą. Przystosowanie do wybranych chorób somatycznych z perspektywy psychologii pozytywnej i koncepcji poznawczych

Author(s): Joanna Miniszewska / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: chronic somatic disease; positive psychology; adaptation to disease; psychoeducation about the disease

The publication concerns the adaptation of patients to selected chronic somatic diseases, such as diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic kidney disease. The author distinguishes three groups of variables constituting the process of adaptation to the disease, taking into account its conditions and the final effect: explanatory variables (the subjective significance of the disease for the patient, knowledge about the disease), mediative processes (mediators: the sense of life, coping strategies, benefits associated with the disease; and moderators: the type of disease, its duration) and explained variables (acceptance of the disease and a life with it, mental health, emotional balance, life satisfaction). Adaptation understood as a process and adjustment as an effect of this process have been analyzed from the perspective of positive psychology, emphasizing the strengths of the diseased person, and cognitive psychology, showing the importance of cognitive processes in understanding and adapting to the disease and its related discomforts and restrictions.

Collective Representations of the Peoples of the Former Yugoslavia in the 21st Century. A Political Scientific Perspective

Wyobrażenia zbiorowe społeczeństw byłej Jugosławii w XXI wieku. Perspektywa politologiczna

Author(s): Magdalena Rekść / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: economic crisis; collective memory; Yugoslavia; Balkans; Balkan identity; collective representations

The publication is a novel study in the field of Polish political science regarding collective representations – a category associated mainly with sociology – from the point of view of a political sphere researcher. The theoretical model adopted by the author has been used to outline and analyze the shapes of collective representations of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia in the difficult period of protracted economic crisis and the accumulation of further political problems. The in-depth diagnosis of ordinary people's feelings about the reality that surrounds them has led to the ascertainment that, over the recent years, rising problems and negative emotions have begun to predominate over optimistic premises, while maintaining stability in the region requires some more determined and well-thought-out actions by the international community. The monograph, written from the perspective of political science and based on qualitative data, combines the elements of other social sciences and humanities, which appeared necessary to explain the interdisciplinary category of collective representations in an integral manner. This broader view of the complicated Balkan region can contribute to improving the knowledge and understanding of it.

Pretranslatory Text Analysis as the First Stage in Translating Poetry

Analiza pretranslatorska tekstu jako pierwszy etap tłumaczenia poetyckiego

Author(s): Anna Bednarczyk / Language(s): Bulgarian,Polish

Keywords: translation studies;translator’s tricks;pretranslatory analysis;poetry translation;translator

The reason is what makes me as a translator look for possible linguistic counterparts and carry out transformations, and the goal is what I want to achieve by implementing these manipulations. Specifying the goal is connected with defining one’s own translational motivation, which results in making conscious choices in the process of translation. From Conclusion “There has been no monograph in the Polish literature on translation which would analyze literary texts as source material from the perspective assumed by the Author” (particularly in regard to the Russian-Polish section of the analysis, based on the Author's own translations) … The currently available body of published work devoted to translation techniques (including pretranslatory analysis) is concerned exclusively with specialized – as opposed to literary – translation. This shortcoming in the field of translation didactics has now been addressed by Anna Bednarczyk’s book. From the review by prof. dr hab. Dorota Urbanek

Academic Spinoff. Knowledge, Resources and Development Paths

Akademicki spin off. Wiedza, zasoby i ścieżki rozwoju

Author(s): Paweł Głodek / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: micro-undertakings;spin off company;spin off companies;commercialization of knowledge;spin off;academic spin off;academic entrepreneurship

Academic spinoffs are enterprises created by former or current staff members of scientific institutions which construct their market offering based on elements of scientific knowledge.They are an important component of modern economy, creating a channel for transferring scientific knowledge into practice.The publication presents academic spinoffs focusing on the intensity of the use of scientific and business knowledge, and analyzing the configuration of their resources and market offering structure. Author's interviews with the owners of selected academic spinoffs show this category of enterprises in a realistic manner which reflects their existing operational diversity.The monograph proposes a categorization of academic spinoffs and offers a detailed description and analysis of each category. Typical development paths have also been presented.The resulting image of academic spinoffs is far from that of the fastest-growing international companies which have spun off from the world’s leading universities. However, it shows the complexity of entrepreneurs' attitudes and activities. It also underscores the ongoing processes of learning and external knowledge acquisition, as well as the link between the use of knowledge and the entrepreneurial process.

„Labor omnia vincit improbus”. Work Ethos in Literature and Culture – Selected Approaches

„Labor omnia vincit improbus”. Etos pracy w literaturze i kulturze – wybrane ujęcia

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: literary studies;work ethos;homo sapiens;homo faber;cultural studies;work in literature;work in culture

A reflection on work ethos from the perspective of literary studies is neither the first, nor the last in the history of university humanities. Attempts to define the condition of homo sapiens from the point of view of homo faber are made again and again. The crux of the matter is to break the stereotypes in the perception of the meaning of work and to expose misrepresentations. […]It is worth stressing that the book offers a fresh look at various aspects of the human creative effort. […] The presence and recurrence of work ethos in the cultural tradition stems from the essence of the human condition, human destiny and the structure of human existence. […]The subject of work in literature and culture has been treated by the authors of the publication as a testimony to the specific manner in which humans experience the world. It is all about noticing the ways of infusing aesthetics into various forms of human activity (usually in connection with the underlying reasons and moral assessment).The authors of the individual chapters base their analyses on a similar premise. A concept shared across the book is the understanding of the category of subject as the cornerstone of a painting, literary work or a film. The conclusions are determined by the subject and scope of research. For example, in Michał Sadowski’s contribution, work turns out to be above all a striving to improve living conditions, whereas in her conclusion, Aleksandra Goszczyńska puts in an assessment of political, civilizational and moral differences between the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe.From the review by prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Błażejewski

Metacollage. On the Canon of Metaphorical Thinking

Metakolaż. O kanonie myślenia metaforycznego

Author(s): Dorota Rybarkiewicz / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: metaphorical thinking; cognitive process; metaphor; metaphorology; metacollage

The author explains the construct of meta-collage by discussing the hybrid concept of metaphor and ways of metaphorical thinking in philosophy, science and ideology. A multi-themed description of various metaphors performing the function of mental models reveals their similarity to a sheet of glass. We look through it, discovering the world, but we do not know if it is transparent or just translucent, scratched or maybe covered with textural marks and colours superimposed on what we are trying to discern beyond it. Metaphors create cognitive categories that are a source of interpretation for incoming data. Their double role puts us against the question about the truth of cognition based on this mechanism and the scope of cognitive uncertainty where the mind can be led astray. The author gives many examples of reaching such limits of cognition and tries to explore issues related to the role of this mechanism in thinking, also of the scientific kind, as well as to its impact on cognition and its assessment. The book will not only help the reader find their way around metacollage: by dint of stimulating ratiocination, it can also contribute to improving the cognitive process and to increasing the chances for a better interpretation of the changing reality.

Philology as the Ordering of Chaos. Language and Text Studies. Ad honorem Professoris Marci Cybulski

Filologia jako porządkowanie chaosu. Studia nad językiem i tekstem. Ad honorem Professoris Marci Cybulski

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

A Spiritual Biography and Christian Anthropology of the Metropolitan Bishop Anthony Bloom (1914–2003)

Biografia duchowa i antropologia chrześcijańska metropolity Antoniego Blooma (1914–2003)

Author(s): Aleksy Kucy / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: The Orthodox Church in Great Britain;The Russian Diaspora;Russian emigration;Bloom Anthony

In his monograph A Spiritual Biography and Christian Anthropology of the Metropolitan Bishop Anthony Bloom (1914–2003) the author presents the figure of the first head of Russian Orthodoxy in Great Britain.The book is not only a description of the life and views of the Metropolitan Anthony, but also an extremely interesting reflection on the fate of contemporary Orthodoxy and its confrontation with the modern times and the Western culture.This is a very interesting work that goes beyond the biography of the Orthodox hierarch, showing the historical background of the described events and discovering a new interpretative perspective of his thoughts. From the review by prof. dr hab. Urszula PawluczukThe University of Białystok

Senior Policy in Hungary, Poland and Russia

Senior Policy in Hungary, Poland and Russia

Author(s): Bogusława Urbaniak,Yaroslava Evseeva,László Patyán / Language(s): English

Keywords: European Union; senior policy; social policy; demographic situation in EU; economic situation of older people

The monograph considers the notion and scope of senior policy vis-à-vis similar policies, such as social policy on ageing, social policy on old age, and social policy on the elderly. Although retirement policy is unrelated to senior policy, it is also covered in the monograph because of its influence on the financial situation and well-being of the elderly and older adults. A brief review of the demographic situation and main population trends in EU-28 countries is followed by a presentation of senior policies in Hungary, Poland and Russia, and the impact of their retirement policies on the economic situation of older people.

Finance Management. Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Zarządzanie finansami. Aspekty teoretyczne i praktyczne

Author(s): Witold Kasperkiewicz,Wacława Starzyńska,Ewa Bojar,Jakub Bis,Adrian Majcher,Ryszard Borowiecki,Barbara Siuta-Tokarska,Tomasz Kusio,Tomasz P. Czapla,Wiesław Dębski,Jan Jeżak,Jerzy Kitowski,Irena Pyka,Roman Sobiecki,Grzegorz Urbanek,Ewa Walińska,Jerzy Węcławski,Mirosław Wypych,Dorota Starzyńska,Justyna Bogołębska,Bogna Kaźmierska-Jóźwiak,Paweł Sekuła,Błażej Socha,Damian Kaźmierczak,Paweł Kopczyński ,Jakub Marszałek / Language(s): English,Polish

Keywords: central bank;municipal financing;enterprise value;corporate finance;hybrid capital;financial analysis;real estate market;euro area;eurozone

The monograph presents the complex nature of finance management processes. The authors show a wide spectrum of research in this area – both in theoretical and practical terms. They also emphasize relationships that connect finance management with other fields of science. The book introduces the reader to topics associated with research within the discipline of finance, such as capital structure, the role, structure and operation of capital markets, problems of valuation and value analysis. This subject matter has been laid out in a broad context – from accounting, through financial, to strategic. Macroeconomic and market aspects related to finance management processes have also been discussed.

Education towards Self-Reliance. Workshops in Philosophical Inquiries. Theory and Methodology

Edukacja do samodzielności. Warsztaty z dociekań filozoficznych. Teoria i metodyka

Author(s): Aldona Pobojewska / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: philosophical inquiries;existential dialogue;intellectual dialogue;Socratic dialogue;duality of philosophy;philosophizing;ethical education;contemporary education

The chief merit of the book is the meticulous precision with which the author handles difficult philosophical issues (without resorting to unnecessary, overly formal references), and the high quality of substantive deliberations. It has been written by a practitioner, but one deeply aware of the extensive theoretical and conceptual background underlying the specific solutions. This is not only a lecture on a particular method of education, but also, or perhaps above all – a powerful ethic. This is not merely a book that describes a teaching technique with special emphasis on ethics: it conveys, perhaps on a more fundamental level, a moral message that should inform the work of every teacher. It is all the more important because, not limited to one context of ideas (worldviews), it shows ways to navigate through a diversity of these ideas.

Everyday Life under Stalinism. Łódź in the Years 1949–1956

Stalinowska codzienność. Łódź w latach 1949–1956

Author(s): Grzegorz Mnich / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: propaganda in the Polish People’s Republic;1956 strikes;protests and riots;Stalinist security;newspapers in Łódź;protests; censorship;housing policy and architecture in Łódź;Stakhanovite movement;top workers

The book is the second in the series Łódź in the PRL. The PRL in Łódź. The authors of the five-volume project have embarked on the task of depicting the consecutive phases which the City upon Łódka went through in the years 1945–⁠1989. The goal is to popularize the knowledge about Łódź in the most accessible way in the context of the historical reality of the PRL, or the Polish People’s Republic. This is a popular science publication presenting the history of the city on the river Łódka under totalitarian regime. Drawing on source research and literature, the author shows both the ruthless repression policy of the Department of Security (Polish: Urząd Bezpieczeństwa – UB) and the everyday reality of Poles: long queues in retail stores, subsistence wages, the eternal undersupply of goods, and, finally, social protests on economic grounds as well as opposition to the imposed communist regime. We are observing the very slow development of Łódź in such areas as urban transport, construction and healthcare, while witnessing a nascent social rebellion which fully manifested itself in the so-called “Polish thaw” of 1956. The distinguishing feature of this publication is the presentation of the attitudes, material situation and social advancement of the journalistic community of that time that used to be at the communist party's beck and call. The author also explains how censorship ensured applying the correct overtones to all propaganda content. The book may be an interesting proposition for anyone interested in popularizing the history of Łódź. An additional merit of the monograph is the analysis of the functioning of the press under the communist regime.

Social Pedagogy. Understanding Activity in the Field of Practice

Pedagogika społeczna. Pojmowanie aktywności w polu praktyki

Author(s): Ewa Marynowicz-Hetka / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: educational practice;activity orientations;transformation options;conceptualization;conceptual framework;social pedagogy

The monograph, constituting a synthesis of the author's many years of research, paves a new way towards the understanding of activity in the field of practice analyzed from a social-⁠pedagogical perspective. It presents a reflection on social pedagogy, its current perception in relation to its traditions and first formulations as well as to contemporary discourse conducted in humanities and social sciences. The book provides an outline of the metatheory regarding the identity of the discipline, its role, relationship with other fields of science, the cultural and social environment and the practice of social educators. However, practice is also recognized in general terms. The author is interested in discovering how action affects thinking about action, what action results from and what purpose it serves. Marynowicz-Hetka draws on Jean-Marie Barbier’s theory of activity analysis and the creation of a symbolic institution, employing a Barbierian perspective of understanding activity as the main category of the social-⁠pedagogical angle of practice. A set of ideas and concepts structured and shared by practice field participants creates a transversal paradigm of social pedagogy. The publication may be of interest to readers interested in a detailed reflection on the social-⁠pedagogical perception of the fields of educational, social and caring practice as well as in searching for tools for analyzing the processes occurring in these fields.

The Gierek “Prosperity”. Łódź in the Years 1971–1980

Gierkowska „prosperita”. Łódź w latach 1971–1980

Author(s): Witold Jarno / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: Edward Gierek;1976 strikes;subbotnik;housing policy and architecture of the Gierek era;plattenbau;large panel system-building;economic boom;culture and education in the PRL;propaganda in the PRL;Solidarity movement;PZPR

The book is the third in the series Łódź in the PRL. The PRL in Łódź. The authors of the five-⁠volume project have embarked on the task of depicting the consecutive phases which the City upon Łódka went through in the years 1945–⁠1989. The goal is to popularize the knowledge about Łódź in the most accessible way in the context of the historical reality of the PRL, or the Polish People’s Republic.The book contains a discussion on a selection of pivotal issues bearing on the history of Łódź in the 1970s. The reader has a unique opportunity to delve into the city records in the decade remembered by many residents as an economic heyday unparalleled in the history of the city throughout the entire Polish People’s Republic time. The author describes the popular expectations that were placed on the new government, its program for the development and modernization of Łódź, the local authorities, as well as demographic and economic changes, conditions of social and cultural life and the birth of the Łódź political opposition.The publication’s audience are people who would be interested in the history of Łódź of the PRL era. The book may also be a vehicle in which the reader can embark on a sentimental journey to a Łódź of bygone days.

Donald Davidson's Philosophy. The Basics of Semantics. Bibliotheca Philosophica 4 (2019)

Filozofia Donalda Davidsona. Podstawy semantyki. Bibliotheca Philosophica 4 (2019)

Author(s): Janusz Maciaszek / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: interpretation theory;non-referential semantics;language teachability;semantic definition of truth;Alfred Tarski;theory of meaning

The structure of the publication reflects the logic of the deliberations, starting with detailed issues (Alfred Tarski's semantic definition of truth in chapter 1) and moving on to those increasingly broad and practical (by linking the theory of meaning with the topic of language learning in chapter 2 and the concept of non-referential semantics in chapter 3), to ultimately arriving at Davidson's philosophy and its coherent concept of types of knowledge, in the acquisition of which the theory of interpretation (discussed in the final chapter of the book) plays a crucial role. Maciaszek shows the evolution of Davidson's views, especially in terms of the theory of meaning, which still poses many interpretative difficulties for commentators reviewing this theory. In his original approach, the author discusses the issue of ontological obligations of semantics (in terms of analytical philosophy) and points to its entanglement in metaphysical considerations. Besides, the more advanced reader can also find detailed critical analyses of the author engaging in polemics both with different approaches to the concept of Davidson semantics today as well as with various interpretations of Tarski’s theory of truth, which underlies this semantics. From the review by prof. Urszula Żegleń

System Conditions of Spatial Planning as an Instrument for Achieving Sustainable Development

Systemowe uwarunkowania planowania przestrzennego jako instrumentu osiągania sustensywnego rozwoju

Author(s): Dominik Drzazga / Language(s): Polish

Keywords: development planning;substantive law;spatial planning;spatial policy;spatial development

There is a shortage of comprehensive studies devoted to theoretical issues of spatial planning in the Polish scientific literature – formal, legal or urban planning aspects predominate. The present book fills this gap to some extent, presenting the issue of spatial planning in the aspect of the contemporary paradigm of sustainable development. The monograph deals with the issues of planning by employing three approaches: theoretical – showing its roots in economic theories describing such phenomena as externalities, public goods, ground rent, property rights and public choice; conceptual – characterizing the spatial planning system through its goals, principles, desirable features and instruments; practical – assessing the effectiveness of the spatial planning system in Poland in the light of the paradigm of sustainable development. The publication ends with a list of recommendations addressed to planning bodies, indicating the desirable directions of system changes. The author highlighted his specific area of interest which is the usefulness of spatial planning in protecting the natural and landscape values of space. This has now become one of the most critical issues related to the use of space by mankind.