Transnational corporations as entities of informal influence. Some reflections based on the example of their engagement in activities directed at LGBT groups in Poland*

The paper explores the assertion about multi-faceted tools of impact used by large corporations that aim to limit the subjectivity of consumers. It is based on the concept of “deep capture” (Hanson & Yosifon, 2003). Deep capture suggests that the consumers have only the idea of their own subjectivity, and that human behaviour is largely dependent on external situational factors rather than the individuals’ dispositions. In this context, the present authors analyse the role of large corporations in shaping the image of LGBT people in Poland. Noteworthy is the consideration to build and strengthen the belief that LGBT people are a group which suffers discrimination, to which anyone should make gestures of support throughout consumer decisions. An overview of the actions of business entities for LGBT groups in Poland allows us state that these actions cannot be called large-scale. The actions of Polish companies can be recognised as not very intense or committed. Western transnational corporations have vast experience in actions for LGBT people, but this is not necessarily the case in Poland

Transnational Corporations as Entities of Informal Inflence. Some Reflctions Based on the Example of Their Engagement in Activities Directed to LGBT Groups in Poland

The paper explores the assertion about multi-faceted tools of impact used by large corporations that they aim to limit the subjectivity of consumers. It is based on the concept of ‘deep capture’ developed by Jon Hanson and David Yosifon. According to this concept consumers have only the idea of their own subjectivity. The authors’ basic assumption is that human behaviour is largely (but not completely) dependent on external situational factors rather than the individual dispositions of individuals. In this context we analyse the role of large corporations in shaping the image of LGBT people in Poland. Noteworthy seems to be the consideration to build and strengthen the belief that LGBT people are a group which suffers discrimination, to which anyone should make gestures of support throughout consumer decisions. An overview of the activities of business entities for LGBT groups in Poland lets us say that they cannot be called large scale actions. The actions of Polish companies can be recognised as not very intensive. Western transnational corporations have huge experience in actions for LGBT people, but this is not necessarily the case in Poland.Artykuł jest elementem projektów, które zostały sfinansowane przez Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu w ramach wydziałowych grantów badawczych: nr 2035-H (Potencjał zmiany. Analiza ruchu mniejszości seksualnych w Polsce w perspektywie teorii ruchów społecznych) oraz 2038-H (Kategoria przechwycenia („capture”) jako narzędzie interpretacyjne działań dużych podmiotów gospodarczych w warunkach globalizacji)

Social Researchers’ Approaches to Research Ethics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study

Preprint artykułu, który ukazał się w czasopiśmie: Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 2021, pp.1-10, (wydawca: SAGE Publishing), Online First: 15.11.2021.The global COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine/distancing measures have forced researchers to cope with a new situation. This paper aimed to analyze how the pandemic and its associated constraints have affected social researchers’ approach to research ethics. Drawing on an online qualitative survey with 193 Polish social researchers conducted in April and May 2020, we distinguished three approaches: nothing has changed, opportunity-oriented, and precautionary. According to the first, the pandemic was not regarded as a situation that required additional reflection on ethical issues or changes in research approaches. By contrast, the other two were based on the assumption that the pandemic affected research project ethics. The difference was in the assessment of changes in the area of ethics. The pandemic presented an opportunity and a threat to the ethicality of research, respectively. We discuss the implications of all three approaches for research and education

Experiences of Living with Fat Bodies with Stigma in Poland. An Intersectional Analysis Based on Biographical Interviews

The article offers an analysis of living with a fat body and ways of experiencing it in everyday life in the context of stigmatization of this type of corporality. Biographical interviews with fat people of varying socio-demographic profiles were conducted. The analyses show that having a fat body/being fat is generally a stigma that discredits the individual in the eyes of the so-called normals based on both physical characteristics and character traits allegedly associated with fatness. The participants mainly medicalize and internalize the stigma of fatness and manage it specifically by passing, covering, and coming out. In transgender people, fatness may never take on the characteristics of a stigma, but instead allows the individual to obscure another stigma or conform to social expectations of appearance in line with the gender identity

Ponadnarodowe korporacje jako podmioty nieformalnego wpływu na przykładzie zaangażowania w działania skierowane do osób LGBT w Polsce

Przedmiotem artykułu jest twierdzenie o istnieniu wielopłaszczyznowych narzędzi wpływu, stosowanych przez wielkie korporacje, które służą ograniczeniu podmiotowości konsumentów. W oparciu o koncepcję „głębokiego przechwycenia” (z ang. deep capture) rozwijanej przez Jona Hansona i Davida Yosifona, w świetle której konsumenci mają jedynie wyobrażenie własnej podmiotowości, przeanalizowana została rola wielkich korporacji w kształtowaniu wyobrażeń na temat osób LGBT w Polsce. Dla autorów koncepcji podstawowym jest założenie, że zachowania ludzkie w dużej mierze (choć nie wszystkie) zależą od zewnętrznych czynników sytuacyjnych, a nie indywidualnych dyspozycji poszczególnych osób. Istotną wydaje się refleksja nad budowaniem i wzmacnianiem przez korporacje przekonania o tym, że osoby LGBT stanowią grupę dyskryminowaną, wobec której każdy może wykonywać gesty poparcia za pośrednictwem decyzji konsumenckich. Przegląd działań podmiotów gospodarczych na rzecz grup LGBT w Polsce pozwala stwierdzić, że nie można nazwać tych aktywności działaniami na dużą skalę. O ile działania polskich firm można uznać za mało intensywne, o tyle ponadnarodowe korporacje zachodnie mają duże doświadczenie w działaniach na rzecz osób LGBT, ale niekoniecznie w Polsce

High accuracy CO2_2 line intensities determined from theory and experiment

Atmospheric CO$_2$ concentrations are being closely monitored by remote sensing experiments which rely on knowing line intensities with an uncertainty of 0.5\%\ or better. Most available laboratory measurements have uncertainties much larger than this. We report a joint experimental and theoretical study providing rotation-vibration line intensities with the required accuracy. The {\it ab initio} calculations are extendible to all atmospherically important bands of CO$_2$ and to its isotologues. As such they will form the basis for detailed CO$_2$ spectroscopic line lists for future studies.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Experiences of Living with Fat Bodies with Stigma in Poland. An Intersectional Analysis Based on Biographical Interviews

The article offers an analysis of living with a fat body and ways of experiencing it in everyday life in the context of stigmatization of this type of corporality. Biographical interviews with fat people of varying socio-demographic profiles were conducted. The analyses show that having a fat body/being fat is generally a stigma that discredits the individual in the eyes of the so-called normals based on both physical characteristics and character traits allegedly associated with fatness. The participants mainly medicalize and internalize the stigma of fatness and manage it specifically by passing, covering, and coming out. In transgender people, fatness may never take on the characteristics of a stigma, but instead allows the individual to obscure another stigma or conform to social expectations of appearance in line with the gender identity

Buffer gas induced collision shift for the 88^{88}Sr 1S0−3P1\bf{^1S_0-^3P_1} clock transition

Precision saturation spectroscopy of the $^{88}{\rm Sr} ^1S_0-^3P_1$ is performed in a vapor cell filled with various rare gas including He, Ne, Ar, and Xe. By continuously calibrating the absolute frequency of the probe laser, buffer gas induced collision shifts of $\sim$kHz are detected with gas pressure of 1-20 mTorr. Helium gave the largest fractional shift of $1.6 \times 10^{-9} {\rm Torr}^{-1}$. Comparing with a simple impact calculation and a Doppler-limited experiment of Holtgrave and Wolf [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 72}, 012711 (2005)], our results show larger broadening and smaller shifting coefficient, indicating effective atomic loss due to velocity changing collisions. The applicability of the result to the $^1S_0-^3P_0$ optical lattice clock transition is also discussed