Future Professional Plans of Students in Higher Education

Recent researches underscore the importance of good teachers in ensuring the quality of an educational system (Mourshed & Barber, 2007; Mourshed, Chijioke & Barber, 2010). At the same time we can see that pre-service teachers have poorer academic performan ce and less interest in PhD studies than other stud ents in most European countries. This phenomenon seems to be related to the feminization of the teaching profession. For instance, obtaining a higher academ ic degree is typically a masculine career strategy; when female students and employees try to enhance their cultural capital, they tend to choose courses on the same level of education, instead of innovative doct oral training and researches

The Morality Play Revisited in Margaret Edson’s Wit

Taking into consideration the contrasting views of two medieval drama scholars, this article will explore the elements of a medieval morality play in Margaret Edson’s modern play Wit. The proposed hypothesis assumes that although Wit cannot be treated as an example of a full-scope “modern morality play,” it may be seen as a twentieth-century derivative of the genre. The play presents the story of terminally-ill literature professor Vivian Bearing, for whom the last months of her life turn into a pilgrimage towards an education in ethics which she neither expects nor welcomes. Gradually, as in Everyman, all her earthly resources, and above all her knowledge of metaphysical poetry, become irrelevant as she realises that life and death are entirely new concepts when not discussed in the abstract. In order to locate the play within the paradigms of morality play tradition, Wit will be compared to several medieval and Renaissance plays. The aspects of the morality play to be considered in relation to Wit include its potentially instructive purpose, medieval motifs, the idea of the protagonist’s universality and a number of dramatic devices and solutions.Taking into consideration the contrasting views of two medieval drama scholars, this article will explore the elements of a medieval morality play in Margaret Edson’s modern play Wit. The proposed hypothesis assumes that although Wit cannot be treated as an example of a full-scope “modern morality play,” it may be seen as a twentieth-century derivative of the genre. The play presents the story of terminally-ill literature professor Vivian Bearing, for whom the last months of her life turn into a pilgrimage towards an education in ethics which she neither expects nor welcomes. Gradually, as in Everyman, all her earthly resources, and above all her knowledge of metaphysical poetry, become irrelevant as she realises that life and death are entirely new concepts when not discussed in the abstract. In order to locate the play within the paradigms of morality play tradition, Wit will be compared to several medieval and Renaissance plays. The aspects of the morality play to be considered in relation to Wit include its potentially instructive purpose, medieval motifs, the idea of the protagonist’s universality and a number of dramatic devices and solutions

Strengthening Resilience in the Family – a Contemporary Need

Zjawisko rezyliencji stanowi przedmiot zainteresowań wielu dyscyplin naukowych, w tym także pedagogiki. Celem artykułu był naukowy namysł nad konstruktem rezyliencji w kontekście społecznej zmiany i nowych potrzeb w wychowaniu (rodzinnym) oraz ukazanie znaczenia rezyliencji dla człowieka i jego systemu rodzinnego. Przedstawiono koncepcję rezyliencji i rezylientnej rodziny, wskazując na etymologię nazwy, mechanizmy tego zjawiska i jego związki z środowiskiem rodzinnym, gdzie dokonuje się proces rozwijania i wzmacniania rezyliencji. Zaprezentowano argumenty, że rezyliencja może być istotnym konstruktem dla dzieci i ich rodziców, by byli bardziej odporni na zagrożenia i lepiej przygotowani do przezwyciężania trudności oraz optymalnego funkcjonowania w świecie permanentnej zmiany i budowania satysfakcjonujących relacji międzyludzkich. Proces wspierania rezyliencji można zatem traktować jako obszar rozwoju osoby i rodziny. Tekst zamykają implikacje pedagogiczne, które zawierają wytyczne dotyczące budowania i wzmacniania rezyliencji w rodzinie.The phenomenon of resilience is the subject of interest to many scientific disciplines, including pedagogy. The aim of the article was a scientific reflection on the construct of resilience in the context of social change and new needs in (family) upbringing as well as the importance of resilience for person and his family system. The concept of resilience and resilient family is presented, pointing to the etymology of the name, mechanisms of this phenomenon and its relations with the family environment, where the process of developing and strengthening resilience takes place. Arguments were presented that resilience could be an important construct for children and their parents to be more resistant to threats and better prepared to overcome difficulties. And also that they should be prepared for optimal functioning in the world of permanent change and building satisfying interpersonal relationships. The process of supporting resilience can be treated as an area of development of the person and the family. The text ends with pedagogical implications that provide guidelines for building and strengthening family resilience

A Church Wedding. Why Not? Pedagogical and Psychological Aspects of Working on Oneself at the Time of Preparation for Marriage and in the Marriage

Mimo wielu sprzecznych faktów młodzi ludzie dzisiaj nadal uważają rodzinę za jedną z najważniejszych wartości, przynajmniej na poziomie deklaracji. Trening natychmiastowości, który oferuje człowiekowi doba ponowoczesności, nie sprzyja przygotowaniu do sakramentu małżeństwa. Sprawia to, że młodzi ludzie uciekają od ślubu. W przygotowaniu do ślubu jako drogi życiowego powołania istotną rolę odgrywa praca nad sobą, która prowadzi do coraz bardziej dojrzałej osobowości. We współczesnym świecie trzeba na nowo docenić okres narzeczeństwa, nadać mu pierwotny sens jako koniecznemu etapowi rozwojowemu. Ma on prowadzić do poznania fenomenu miłości odkrywanego najpełniej w relacji małżeńskiej. Dlatego pytanie o ślub kościelny pozostaje aktualne.Despite many conflicting facts, young people today still consider family as one of the most important values, at least at the level of declarations. Immediacy training which is offered to people by the era of post-modernism is not conducive to preparing for marriage. This makes young people evade marriage. In preparation for the marriage as a way of life, it is important to work on oneself which leads to an increasingly mature personality. In today's world it is necessary to attach new value to the period of engagement, give it the original meaning as an essential developmental stage. It is supposed to lead to the understanding of the phenomenon of love. Therefore, the question of church wedding remains valid

A comparison of the in vitro genotoxicity of anticancer drugs idarubicin and mitoxantrone.

Idarubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic used in cancer therapy. Mitoxantrone is an anthracycline analog with presumed better antineoplastic activity and lesser toxicity. Using the alkaline comet assay we showed that the drugs at 0.01-10 μM induced DNA damage in normal human lymphocytes. The effect induced by idarubicin was more pronounced than by mitoxantrone (P < 0.001). The cells treated with mitoxantrone at 1 μM were able to repair damage to their DNA within a 30-min incubation, whereas the lymphocytes exposed to idarubicin needed 180 min. Since anthracyclines are known to produce free radicals, we checked whether reactive oxygen species might be involved in the observed DNA damage. Catalase, an enzyme inactivating hydrogen peroxide, decreased the extent of DNA damage induced by idarubicin, but did not affect the extent evoked by mitoxantrone. Lymphocytes exposed to the drugs and treated with endonuclease III or formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg), enzymes recognizing and nicking oxidized bases, displayed a higher level of DNA damage than the untreated ones. 3-Methyladenine-DNA glycosylase II (AlkA), an enzyme recognizing and nicking mainly methylated bases in DNA, increased the extent of DNA damage caused by idarubicin, but not that induced by mitoxantrone. Our results indicate that the induction of secondary malignancies should be taken into account as side effects of the two drugs. Direct strand breaks, oxidation and methylation of the DNA bases can underlie the DNA-damaging effect of idarubicin, whereas mitoxantrone can induce strand breaks and modification of the bases, including oxidation. The observed in normal lymphocytes much lesser genotoxicity of mitoxantrone compared to idarubicin should be taken into account in planning chemotherapeutic strategies

Every Detail Matters. That Is, How the Interaction between Gα Proteins and Membrane Affects Their Function

In highly organized multicellular organisms such as humans, the functions of an individual cell are dependent on signal transduction through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and subsequently heterotrimeric G proteins. As most of the elements belonging to the signal transduction system are bound to lipid membranes, researchers are showing increasing interest in studying the accompanying protein–lipid interactions, which have been demonstrated to not only provide the environment but also regulate proper and efficient signal transduction. The mode of interaction between the cell membrane and G proteins is well known. Despite this, the recognition mechanisms at the molecular level and how the individual G protein-membrane attachment signals are interrelated in the process of the complex control of membrane targeting of G proteins remain unelucidated. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which mammalian Gα subunits of G proteins interact with lipids and the factors responsible for the specificity of membrane association. We summarize recent data on how these signaling proteins are precisely targeted to a specific site in the membrane region by introducing well-defined modifications as well as through the presence of polybasic regions within these proteins and interactions with other components of the heterocomplex