Elementy demokracji deliberacyjnej jako sposób na zwiększenie partycypacji obywateli w polskim życiu publicznym

The participation of citizens in public life, also via deliberation has a positive influence on development of civil society and democracy. citizens’ participation in decision making process increase their influence on important issues of their state. wide consultations let authorities to recognize public problems and solve them in an effective way. however, it is necessary to engage both – citizens and authorities – to provide a proper deliberation development. authorities should create more possibilities for deliberation. accomplishing the consensus is not always possible but it is important to make it possible for every citizen to express their opinion, not only during the elections. the development of new media and the internet promotes deliberation and allows the insight into the public opinion

Positronium as a probe of small free volumes in crystals, polymers and porous media

Positronium (a hydrogen-like bound state of an electron and a positron) is a convenient probe to determine the sizes of subnanometric free volumes (voids) in condensed matter. A review of experimental methods used in positron spectroscopy and examples of their application to the free volume studies are presented

Rola aktywnego obywatela w procesie demokratyzowania demokracji na przykładzie Polski po 1989 roku

Democracy is not an ideal system and probably will never be, but it still aspires to be ideal. What’s more, democracy is not only an institution, but a set of ideals, which are crucial to make this system function effectively. A citizen − active, committed and aware of his influence to a country − is one of the cores of the democracy and plays a major role in a subsequent democrati¬zing, i.e. improving the democratic system and influencing it’s quality. Electoral par¬ticipation is one of the fundamental activities of citizens in a democratic country. Although Poles declare that participation in election is an important feature of democracy, electoral turnout does not reflect this. In this article author triesto analyze reasons of low turnout and electoral absenteeism in Poland

Clothing longevity perspectives: exploring consumer expectations, consumption and use

The production, distribution, use and end-of-life phases of the clothing lifecycle all have significant environmental impacts, but complete lifecycle assessment has identified that extending the active life of garments through design, use and re-use is the single most effective intervention in reducing the overall impact of the clothing industry (WRAP, 2011). In response, Government funded clothing longevity research seeks to develop and test industry-led design strategies to influence and enable consumers to keep garments in active use for longer (Cooper et al., 2014). While recent UK research has indicated significant potential to influence more sustainable consumer behaviour (Langley et al., 2013; YouGov, 2012), up-to-date qualitative research is required to discover how consumer attitudes, expectations and behaviours in relation to clothing lifetimes affects garment care and clothing use. This will help to inform industry-led strategies by understanding where effective changes can be made that will potentially have most impact. This paper presents preliminary findings from a Defra funded action based research project, ‘Strategies to improve design and testing for clothing longevity’. Qualitative research methods are used to explore consumer attitudes, expectations and behaviours at purchase, use and disposal stages of garment lifetimes, and gather data on practices of garment wash, wear, care and maintenance in everyday life. The research findings are discussed in relation to industry-led strategies aimed at extending the life of clothes

MCM-41 silica as a host material for controlled drug delivery systems

The adsorption and release of Naproxen as a model drug was studied. The MCM-41 silica was chosen as a model adsorbent. The synthesis of mesoporous silica was performed by template method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide CTAB as a pore directing agent. Synthesized MCM-41 material of high quality was used as a carrier for Naproxen. The loading procedure was performed at normal conditions and under vacuum. The release of drug was measured for differentially prepared samples. The results for MCM-41 are compared to those measured for silica gel for column chromatography Si-100 containing substantially larger pores. The results are discussed taking into account the penetration of pore system by loading solution as well as in terms of the proportion of dimensions of Naproxen molecule and pore dimensions of MCM-41

Magnetic quenching of positronium in thorium phosphate: an experimental approach to p-Ps pick-off lifetime ?

The effects of magnetic field (B) quenching on positronium (Ps) are studied in solid thorium phosphate by using both the lifetime spectroscopy (LS) and Doppler broadening (DBARL) techniques, in view of gaining information on the pick-off decay rate constant of positronium singlet state (p-Ps) and compare it to that of the triplet state (o-Ps). At B=0, the longest lifetime is [MATH] 700 ps, with an intensity of some 23 %. The effects of B on LS parameter R (normalized integral of counts in a time window) show that [MATH] is ascribable to o-Ps. Fitting the variations with B of both R and [MATH]4 (lifetime of the m=0 o-Ps substate) requires two phenomenological parameters : (i) the contact density parameter, [MATH]0.22 and (ii) either an additional contact density parameter, [MATH]0.36, or a p-Ps pick-off decay constant, [MATH], different from that of o-Ps, [MATH]. Resolving the deconvoluted DBARL spectra to derive the intensity of the intrinsic decay component at B=0 gives a better agreement with the first ([MATH]) than with the second ([MATH]) of these possibilities

The role of positronium decoherence in the studies of positron annihilation in matter

A small difference between the energy of the para-positronium (p-Ps) and ortho-positronium (o-Ps) states suggests the possibility of superposition of p-Ps and o-Ps during the formation of positronium (Ps) from pre-Ps terminating its migration in the matter in a void ('free volume'). It is shown that such a superposition decohere in the basis of p-Ps and o-Ps and the decoherence time is estimated. The time scale of the decoherence estimated here motivates respective correction in decomposition of the positron annihilation lifetime spectra. The way of the correction is sketched. The timescale of the decoherence suggests a need of awareness when experimental data from positron annihilation techniques are processed. More generally, the superposited state of Ps should contribute to the evolution theory of positronium in matter.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure