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The article describes the problem of democracy in Japan as an external political system introduced after the end of World War II. The author tries to explore how deeply democratic values were rooted in Japanese society in the first decade after the war. The key objective of this article is to analyse how Japanese democratic values functioned at that time, how they influenced political attitudes and if they were coherent. There are three basic dimensions of the author’s considerations: axiological, normative and institutional. To achieve this, the author describes democratic values, internal elements of Japanese political culture and the democratisation process as a single complex process.
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The paper describes the problems associated with the development of universities and higher education on a global scale and based on the example of Poland. To illustrate the subject, the research focuses on: (1) the idea of university autonomy and elitism from a historical and contemporary perspective, (2) the delusion of elitism and social advancement of education which is attributed to it, (3) the myth of flexibility of education generated among others by politicians. The text indicates the main processes in academia: (1) centuries long removal of the autonomy of universities, (2) the ‘humanistic ethos’ of universities is also removed, (3) universities are transformed into ‘vocational colleges’, (4) higher education is developed as one of the service sectors, (5) universities are transformed into institutions responsible for the labour market, (6) universities are entered in the ‘logic of the free market’, (7), the number of the educated is increasing, (8) the fetishisation of education, (9) the myth of flexibility of education and the its multifunctionality in the context of limited absorption capacity of the labour.
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Forecasting social phenomena can, in many ways, be difficult. The reason is that it is the nature of these phenomena to be closely and multilaterally linked with physical, biological, and other social phenomena. The main aim of this article is to present selected problems related to futurology. Although various research methods are presented in this text, the main focus was put to heuristic methods (their development, rules, ways of application ect.).
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The study of political parties’ political public relations strategies in terms of image building is an interesting and important topic. The aim of the article is a reflection on the place and role of non-parliamentary parties of the Polish left-wing scene. These groups are similar in their organizational structure, platforms (often strikingly similar to the mainstream parties or other peripheral leftist groups), financial situation (no secured budget, which is a significant obstacle in financing of election campaigns and maintaining proper structures).
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The paper is devoted to a critical discussion of normative models of the public sphere. It juxtaposes the broad understanding of the concept with narrow definitions of the public sphere. Using a typology confronting the approaches of Hannah Arendt, liberal models of John Rawls and Bruce Ackerman, as well as the discursive model of the public sphere put forward by Jurgen Habermas, the discussion is focused on the problem of exclusion of particular social categories or elements of discourse from the public domain. The polysemy of the public sphere notion has not been overcome, however, the conclusions of the proposed analysis point to the preference towards possibly most inclusive ways of conceptualising the public sphere.
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The article addresses the topic of a religious picture and small sacred pictures derived from it in the aspect of sacral, aesthetical, and artistic values contained in them and received by a recipient. The phenomenological hermeneutics have been considered to be a proper perspective for analysing questions that bind a religious experience with a sensual one. A category of non-distinguishness that renders the connection between signans andsignatum in reception of art and present in religion, derived from H.-G. Gadamer and expanded by J. Tokarska-Bakir has been applied in the present paper. It allows the investigator to see how the sacral and aesthetic values are recognized in a religious painting or in a small sacred picture
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In the article, a thesis is advanced that communication between fully-abled and disabled persons can be considered as one of the subcategories of intercultural communication and thus may become a component of intercultural education. This concept exceeds the traditional recognition of multiculturalism, which most often is seen in the national and ethnic perspective. In the article, the population with disabilities is perceived as a group of minority status, in many respects “unfamiliar” to the members of a dominant group. As shown in the empirical part, invoked analytical categories, such as prejudices, stereotypes, uncertainty, verbal and non – verbal communication, appear to be equally useful for the understanding of the relationship of the disabled persons and the rest of the society, as for the understanding of the relationship of the Poles – Germans , and in both cases fulfill the function of cultural barriers in communication. Thus it seems desirable to implement a multicultural education, which will take into consideration also the case of relationships of fully-abled and disabled persons.
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The main objectives of the article were to (1) delineate the dilemmas connected with the definition of neglect (compared to abuse) and the consequences of neglect in the short and long term as well as to (2) analyze the recent research on neglect of disabled people, showing the differences in the prevalence of neglect in thegeneral population and in the disabled persons, and presenting common forms of physical and emotional neglect of the disabled . The literature on the subject shows that neglect is the most common form of maltreatment and the disabled are especially at risk of neglect. The common forms of their neglect include: neglect inbasic care, ensuring safety, emotional warmth, stability, stimulation, setting boundaries and guidance. The social context of neglect and disability is also emphasized.
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Deaf people who communicate by natural sign language form a Deaf community. Various researchers frequently treat them as a linguistic, cultural and ethnic minority. The language which is used by the deaf allows them not only to communicate but also it enables them to form a separate culture. Both the sign language and different life experience contribute to the development of a unique sense of humor of the deaf. It plays a special role in the deaf environment because it bonds the whole community and shapes the sense of unity. The article presents the most characteristic topics of jokes present in the deaf culture. They are as follows: presenting deafness as a value, the relationship between a deaf person and a hearing one, making fun of oneself. In the article, Deaf humor has been analyzed with reference to characteristics of ethnic humor
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The collected empirical material has allowed an analysis of how the respondents understand democracy as well as an analysis of their preferred features of a good political system. The selection of certain aspects of the democratic system is simultaneously an indication of the assessment criteria in the macro-structural perspective. The respondents in Sandomierz most often pay attention to the substantial elements of democracy and expect guaranties of prosperity, or at least some assurance of social security. The procedural aspect, which means the possibility of partaking in the free election, was also considered to be important. On the other hand, the possibility of participation in the public life was valued little. The inhabitants of Sandomierz decisively do not accept the totalitarian system and prefer the authority which abides by the lawand puts into practice the principle of equality of citizens. The inhabitants of Sandomierz appreciate the fact that changes for the better have taken place in the town and they perceive the effects of restructuring the territorial self-government. The activity of the city authority was valued as “good,” and “satisfactory.” As it turned out, the majority of the respondents do not attemptto influence the decisions of the city authority, nor do they feel the need to do so. By declaration, the respondents are convinced that it is necessary to cooperate this way. The majority of them feel that they are neither subjects, nor active participants. Commonly, they claim that they do not have any influence on the matters in the city. The representation of the role of city inhabitants in the life of the city is far from the real situation perceived by the respondents. They do not question the benefits resulting from cooperation with the self-government authority and they declare that they want to feel responsible for the appearance of the city even when it is the authority’s responsibility. However, the declarations do not match the sphere of behaviours shown by the respondents.
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The article presents the reflections of Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (1595–1640, Polish Jesuit,Latin poet) on the poetry and the rhetoric of his two treatises: Characteres lyrici and De figurissententiarum. The comments are focused on the very interesting aspects in the poetry: the compatibilityof all elements, the subsection of the emotional expression to the thinking process ofthe author (the poet) and the cognitive and ethical role of the poetry (the poet being the creatorand observer of the world, the philosopher, the teacher, the artist and the theorist). Sarbiewskialso comments on the issue of balance between the subject of the poet and the subjectof the receiver, the reader once the poetry is simultaneously creative and honest.
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The connection between Pieśni dziada sokalskiego w kordonie cesarskim by Franciszek Karpiński(1741–1825) with the folklore is not as intense as in the opinions of the 20th century researchers.Although the author follows the linguistic features of the folk songs, he does not stronglyrelates to the main characteristics of the genre, like the connection between sacrum and profanum,the macabre and emotional descriptions. The use of allegory and philosophical issuescreates a distance between Pieśni dziada sokalskiego w kordonie cesarskim and the folklore aswell as other oral texts. The composition aspires to link with the themes of the higher culture,for example the Golden Age.
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One of the effects of the incorporation of Silesia into the Czech political influences between 13thand 14th centuries was the adaptation of the Czech customs by the Silesian Dukes from the royalPiast Dynasty. The frequent visits of the House of Luxembourg to the castles of the knightsfrom the Piast Dynasty and the upbringing in Bohemia might have resulted in the custom ofthe tournaments. The development of the medieval poetry in Silesia was the result of the visitsof famous artists and the compositions created in Silesia were equally valued as the works ofWestern poets. That was also due to the contacts with Bohemia, where German literature wasgreatly admired and followed.
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The article compares the novels Zamek Koniecpolskich and Matylda i Daniło by Anna Mostowska(ca. 1762– before 1833) with the Baroque Jesuit exempla collected in Historie dziwne i straszliwe.The Jesuit stories from early XVIII century were edited by Mariusz Kazańczuk. The novelsby the Vilnius writer and the Baroque exempla share similarities in presenting the fictional world:the scenery of the events and the characters. The ghosts in Mostowska’s stories have the featuresof the so called ‘returning ghosts’ who come down to the world to ask the living for the prayers.These phantoms appear in the Jesuit texts as well as in Zamek Koniecpolskich and Matylda i Daniło.The ghosts of Władysław and Edgwarda are related to the teachings of the Catholic Church(intensified after the Council of Trent) regarding the purgatory and the penance. Mostowska’s sources of inspirations were diverse. She was inspired with the Western Gothic stories (e.g. The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and The Italian byAnn Radcliffe) as well as religious didactics.
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The paper presents the preliminary results of an acoustic analysis of nasality in Polish nasalised and nasal vowels (“ę”, “ą” – IPA symbols: /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/). Two methods of analysis were employed. One was based on the three-dimensional articulatory model developed by Birkholz [Birkholz 2016] and applied to study the influence of the cross-sectional area of the velopharyngeal port on the vocal tract transmission function and the output sound characteristics. The other object of the research was to study the nasality over time variation during articulation of nasalised and nasal vowels, spoken in word-medial or final positions. The analysis was done on the signals recorded with the use of Separator Handle from Nasalance System [Glottal 2011], enabling dual-channel registration of nasal and mouth signals. The nasalance analysis script, as well the spectra and formants, were processed in PRAAT system [Boersma P., Weenink, D. 2016]. The asynchronous realisation of nasality of Polish vowels was confirmed. The nasal Polish vowels are composed of two segments: a short one – an oral segment followed by a longer one, vocalic nasal glide of gradually increasing nasality. The analysis of the infl uence of the opening of the velopharyngeal port on perceived nasality shows that its cross-sectional area in case of nasal vowels is much weaker than for nasal consonants. The effect of the observed increasing vocalic nasality is mainly due to transient tongue movements from the vowel configuration to the confi guration of the following consonant. This is evident from the analysis of formant frequency movements.
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Phonetic studies of nasal sounds pose numerous obstacles to researchers, there being no unequivocal parameters refl ecting this type of articulation obtained by means of acoustic analysis. Conversely, special systems dedicated to the investigation of nasality are costly, often invasive, and do not examine naturally produced speech. The present paper shows how a multi-channel recorder may be used for detecting nasality in pronunciation of the Polish vowel [ɔ̃] in a non-invasive manner. The described system records multi-channel audio and calculates spatial coordinates of sound propagation sources (3D acoustic fi eld distribution), thus allowing the researcher to establish if the release of a segment is oral, oronasal or nasal.
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The Polish system of sibilants is currently undergoing changes in the speech of young women. The innovation involves alveolo-palatals and can be characterised as a change in progress in its initial stage. The change has recently come to the attention of many Poles. The new variants of sibilants connote childishness and immaturity and are heavily stigmatised among users of the standard variants. We present the results of an acoustic study of the new system of sibilants, in which the contrast [s : ɕ : ʂ] and [͡ts : ͡tɕ : ͡tʂ] has been replaced by [s : sʲ : ʂ] and [͡ts : ͡tsʲ : ͡tʂ]. We have analysed sibilants / s : ɕ : ʂ / and / ͡ts : ͡tɕ : ͡tʂ / pronounced by 16 speakers and divided them into two equal groups: speakers showing the standard realisations and speakers showing the new realizations of alveolo-palatals (i.e. [sʲ], [͡tsʲ]). We have investigated the centres of gravity of the sibilants. The results of linear mixed models reveal statistically significant differences between the standard and the new variants of sibilants and lead us to the conclusion that the alveolo-palatal sibilants are currently undergoing changes in their acoustic realisation. In order to explain the social restriction of the change, we refer to the existence of an iconic association between acoustic energy concentration in higher frequency regions and youth or childishness. The change may be seen as a trait of an emerging feminine accent of Polish. We also consider two other explanations for the change: contrast optimisation in the sibilant system and a speech disorder.
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The paper gives an overview of the existing models of intonation for describing and analysing the speech melody at different levels, including the phonetic and phonological ones. The paper presents the results of an analysis of the prosodic realisation of three modern poems. For this purpose, intonation was described in INTSINT and ToBI systems. F0 was extracted with the use of the Momel tool. The results of the analysis of Bialoszewski’s poems are particularly interesting. They prove that the text functions as a musical score for the vocal performance of the verses in his poetry (Baranczak 1974).
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