Migration and diversity in a post-socialist context: Creating integrative encounters in Poland

This article explores ‘integrative encounters’ between immigrants and Polish people in Warsaw. Rather than focus on new arrivals we pay attention to the integration experiences of the host population in recognition that this is a group who have been relatively neglected in the literature. Post-socialist European countries where population mobility was circumscribed during the communist era and as a consequence became perceived as relatively homogenous white societies but which are now seeing a rise in immigration, have been largely neglected by non-domestic scholars. In Poland organised group activity is an important means to provide the established population with an opportunity to encounter migrants because such encounters are less likely to occur in everyday spaces. Drawing on research with a Warsaw based NGO which runs a football league to bring Polish people and immigrants together, we argue that attention needs to be paid to the issue of ‘motivation' to participate in integration projects and to the significance of sociality. In doing so, we suggest that creating the conditions for spontaneous connections to develop, even in contrived projects, is a way to overcome indifference to difference. Here, we highlight the qualities of football as a bridging activity to facilitate integrative encounters

Economic downturn results in tick-borne disease upsurge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence of zoonoses is due both to changes in human activities and to changes in their natural wildlife cycles. One of the most significant vector-borne zoonoses in Europe, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), doubled in incidence in 1993, largely as a consequence of the socio-economic transition from communism to capitalism and associated environmental changes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test the effect of the current economic recession, unemployment in 2009 and various socio-economic indices were compared to weather indices (derived from principal component analyses) as predictors for the change in TBE case numbers in 2009 relative to 2004-08, for 14 European countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Greatest increases in TBE incidence occurred in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (91, 79 and 45%, respectively). The weather was rejected as an explanatory variable. Indicators of high background levels of poverty, e.g. percent of household expenditure on food, were significant predictors. The increase in unemployment in 2009 relative to 2008 together with 'in-work risk of poverty' is the only case in which a multivariate model has a second significant term.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Background socio-economic conditions determine susceptibility to risk of TBE, while increased unemployment triggered a sudden increase in risk. Mechanisms behind this result may include reduced resistance to infection through stress; reduced uptake of costly vaccination; and more exposure of people to infected ticks in their forest habitat as they make greater use of wild forest foods, especially in those countries, Lithuania and Poland, with major marketing opportunities in such products. Recognition of these risk factors could allow more effective protection through education and a vaccination programme targeted at the economically most vulnerable.</p

Iedzivotaju izpratne un attieksme pret dzimumu lidztiesibas jautajumiem Latvijas iedzivotaju aptauja

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Petijums par Latvijas iedzivotaju attieksmi pret Nodarbinatibas Valsts dienestu

In the collection &quot;Labklajibas ministrijas socialas politikas petijumu rezultati 2002. gada&quot;Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Sabiedribas attieksme pret Ziemelatlantijas liguma organizaciju (NATO) Latvijas iedzivotaju aptauja

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi

Petijums par Latvijas iedzivotaju attieksmi pret Nodarbinatibas valsts dienestu

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

5.-12. klasu skolnieku attieksme pret informacijas tehnologijam un to izmantosanu skolas, esosas pieejas datoriem un internetam noskaidrosana

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Vidusskolnieku attieksme pret studentu kreditesanu

In 2 partsAvailable from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Iedzivotaju imunizacijas pret difteriju un ercu encefalitu kavetajfaktoru apzinasana un profilakses pasakumu veicinasana Latvijas Republika Latvijas iedzivotaju aptauja

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi