The Precariat in Poland– Reasons, Consequences and Potential Improvement of the Situation on the Labour Market

The precariat is a notion and a phenomenon that has drawn special attention of economists since the turn of 20th and 21st centuries. The article is based on the assumption that the precariat involves unwanted and long-term insecurity and uncertainty, a highly changeable situation on the labour market and many other negative consequences. The paper advances the thesis according to which the phenomenon in ques-tion will escalate and be experienced by a growing number of people who have reached pre-retirement age and are no longer mobile in occupational terms. The article is aimed at presenting reasons of possible growth of the problem under discussion, as well as the consequences faced by people who deal with it. Last but not least, potential ways of fighting precarity will be discussed. The analysis will be based on the literature on the subject, data derived from Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) and Eurostat, as well as research con-ducted by the author

Higher education as a stage in competence development

Higher education should enable students to raise their qualifications, and particularly acquire new knowledge, develop their interests, or learn to think critically. As for economics students, tertiary education should provide them with an opportunity to find and follow their career path. Having this in mind, the author of the present paper discusses factors contributing to economics students’ involvement in raising their qualifications. The main aim is to state why they have become less involved in doing so and particularly in acquiring new knowledge.Publication of English-language versions of the volumes of the "Annales. Ethics in Economic Life" financed through contract no. 501/1/P-DUN/2017 from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to the promotion of scholarship

Wykształcenie wyższe a wynagrodzenie - analiza według sekcji i grup zawodów

In early 1990s Poland experienced a dynamic growth of the student population. Motivations to take up university education are varied. Some young people want to explore topics of interest, others think of gaining new knowledge, yet others wish to improve their chances on the labour market or avoid conscription. Some students undertake university education hoping for higher pay in future. As compensation is the most measurable type of motivation in analysis of educational outputs, the author attempted to investigate three problems: 1) the extent to which improved quality of education translated into higher compensations; 2) differences in compensation levels across economic sectors and occupational groups; 3) differences in compensation levels between Poland and old EU member states depending on the sector and occupational group. The article first analyses the average monthly gross income by occupational groups and age bands, moving on to differences in gross monthly compensation across sectors and comparing gross monthly pay in Poland versus ‘old’ UE member states, providing separate data for employees with university degrees.Na początku lat dziewięćdziesiątych XX wieku zaczął następować w Polsce dynamiczny wzrost liczby studentów. Istnieje wiele motywów podejmowania studiów wyższych. Część osób podejmuje studia chcąc rozwijać swoje zainteresowania, część - w celu zdobycia wiedzy, inni - aby zwiększyć swe szanse na rynku pracy bądź uniknąć służby wojskowej. Dla części zaś istotnym motywem są oczekiwania uzyskania wyższego wynagrodzenia. Ponieważ motywem najbardziej wymiernym przy analizie efektów kształcenia są wynagrodzenia, autor podjął próbę zbadania trzech problemów: (1) w jakim stopniu podnoszenie poziomu wykształcenia wpływa na wzrost wynagrodzeń; (2) jak duże występują różnice w wynagrodzeniach w zależności od sekcji gospodarki i grup zawodów; (3) jakie są różnice w wynagrodzeniach między Polską i krajami dawnej Unii Europejskiej w zależności od grupy zawodowej i sekcji gospodarki. Artykuł zawiera też analizę przeciętnego miesięcznego wynagrodzenia brutto według grup zawodów i grup wiekowych, a następnie dynamiki zmian wynagrodzenia miesięcznego brutto według sekcji oraz stosunku wynagrodzenia miesięcznego brutto w poszczególnych sekcjach do wynagrodzenia brutto ogółem w Polsce i dawnej Unii Europejskiej z wyszczególnieniem wynagrodzeń osób z wyższym wykształceniem

Społeczne koszty i efekty wyższego wykształcenia

The author addresses the problem of costs incurred by the society in connection with education, particularly tertiary education, as well as the social outcomes of tertiary education. The main goal is to assess the costs incurred by the Polish society relative to those borne by other EU and OECD member States and to refer to the existing literaturę in order to identify the social outcomes of rising levels of education. The latter goal was pursued in order to verify the claim that the costs incurred by the society on tertiary education are justified.Autor podejmuje problem kosztów ponoszonych przez społeczeństwo na kształcenie, zwłaszcza wyższe, oraz efektów społecznych z kształcenia wyższego. Jego głównym celem jest oszacowanie wielkości kosztów ponoszonych przez polskie społeczeństwo w porównaniu z innymi krajami Unii Europejskiej i OECD oraz, na podstawie analizy literatury przedmiotu, określenie efektów społecznych wynikających z podnoszenia poziomu wykształcenia. Ten drugi cel miał pomóc w zweryfikowaniu tezy, że ponoszenie przez społeczeństwo nakładów na szkolnictwo wyższe jest uzasadnione

Coarse-grained simulations of flow-induced nucleation in semi-crystalline polymers

We perform kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of flow-induced nucleation in polymer melts with an algorithm that is tractable even at low undercooling. The configuration of the non-crystallized chains under flow is computed with a recent non-linear tube model. Our simulations predict both enhanced nucleation and the growth of shish-like elongated nuclei for sufficiently fast flows. The simulations predict several experimental phenomena and theoretically justify a previously empirical result for the flow-enhanced nucleation rate. The simulations are highly pertinent to both the fundamental understanding and process modeling of flow-induced crystallization in polymer melts.Comment: 17 pages, 6 eps figure

Treatment algorithm for infants diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy through newborn screening

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by the degeneration of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord, leading to muscular atrophy. SMA is caused by deletions or mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1). In humans, a nearly identical copy gene, SMN2, is present. Because SMN2 has been shown to decrease disease severity in a dose-dependent manner, SMN2 copy number is predictive of disease severity. To develop a treatment algorithm for SMA-positive infants identified through newborn screening based upon SMN2 copy number. A working group comprised of 15 SMA experts participated in a modified Delphi process, moderated by a neutral third-party expert, to develop treatment guidelines. The overarching recommendation is that all infants with two or three copies of SMN2 should receive immediate treatment (n = 13). For those infants in which immediate treatment is not recommended, guidelines were developed that outline the timing and appropriate screens and tests to be used to determine the timing of treatment initiation. The identification SMA affected infants via newborn screening presents an unprecedented opportunity for achievement of maximal therapeutic benefit through the administration of treatment pre-symptomatically. The recommendations provided here are intended to help formulate treatment guidelines for infants who test positive during the newborn screening process