Doing Fieldwork on Sensitive Topics: Navigating Memories of Intergroup Violence Committed by Ingroups in Contemporary Poland

Sensitive topics in qualitative fieldwork typically include health problems, sexual practices, addictions, illegal activity and death (Campbell 2002; Lee 1993; Liamputtong 2006). Yet, the situation of memories of intergroup violence committed by ingroup members on outgroups ‒ where a community is confronted with the fact that their fellow members have harmed members of other groups ‒ should also be considered as a sensitive topic. An especially sensitive situation occurs when research is conducted in a small community with relatively strong social control maintained through networks of relationships between its members. The aim of this paper is to explore the sensitivity of respondents in their remembering and forgetting of the harm done by members of their own group to the "Others" in local communities, to diagnose the difficulties in conducting fieldwork on this topic, and to present various methods of overcoming them. This article is based on experience from a project dedicated to the social memory of violence committed by Poles against members of other ethnic groups within local communities during World War II

Doing fieldwork on sensitive topics : navigating memories of intergroup violence committed by in-groups in contemporary Poland

Sensitive topics in qualitative fi eldwork typically include health problems, sexual practices, addictions, illegal activity and death (Campbell 2002; Lee 1993; Liamputtong 2006). Yet, the situation of memories of intergroup violence committed by ingroup members on outgroups - where a community is confronted with the fact that their fellow members have harmed members of other groups - should also be considered as a sensitive topic. An especially sensitive situation occurs when research is conducted in a small community with relatively strong social control maintained through networks of relationships between its members. The aim of this paper is to explore the sensitivity of respondents in their remembering and forgetting of the harm done by members of their own group to the "Others" in local communities, to diagnose the diffi culties in conducting fi eldwork on this topic, and to present various methods of overcoming them. This article is based on experience from a project dedicated to the social memory of violence committed by Poles against members of other ethnic groups within local communities during World War II

Carbon monoxide being hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide molecular sibling, as endogenous and exogenous modulator of oxidative stress and antioxidative mechanisms in the digestive system

Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favor of the oxidants capable of evoking tissue damage. Like hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) is an endogenous gaseous mediator recently implicated in the physiology of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. CO is produced in mammalian tissues as a byproduct of heme degradation catalyzed by the heme oxygenase (HO) enzymes. Among the three enzymatic isoforms, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is induced under conditions of oxidative stress or tissue injury and plays a beneficial role in the mechanism of protection against inflammation, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), and many other injuries. According to recently published data, increased endogenous CO production by inducible HO-1, its delivery by novel pharmacological CO-releasing agents, or even the direct inhalation of CO has been considered a promising alternative in future experimental and clinical therapies against various GI disorders. However, the exact mechanisms underlying behind these CO-mediated beneficial actions are not fully explained and experimental as well as clinical studies on the mechanism of CO-induced protection are awaited. For instance, in a variety of experimental models related to gastric mucosal damage, HO-1/CO pathway and CO-releasing agents seem to prevent gastric damage mainly by reduction of lipid peroxidation and/or increased level of enzymatic antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) or glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Many studies have also revealed that HO-1/CO can serve as a potential defensive pathway against oxidative stress observed in the liver and pancreas. Moreover, increased CO levels after treatment with CO donors have been reported to protect the gut against formation of acute GI lesions mainly by the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the antioxidative activity. In this review, we focused on the role of H2S and NO molecular sibling, CO/HO pathway, and therapeutic potential of CO-releasing pharmacological tools in the regulation of oxidative stress-induced damage within the GI tract with a special emphasis on the esophagus, stomach, and intestines and also two solid and important metabolic abdominal organs, the liver and pancreas

"Przeciw-historia" w dyskursie elit symbolicznych i w pamięci zbiorowej. O społecznych reperkusjach publikacji książki "Strach" Jana Tomasza Grossa w Polsce

W artykule przedstawiono i zanalizowano dwa przejawy społecznych reperkusji publikacji polskiego wydania książki "Strach" Jana Tomasza Grossa: medialną debatę wokół książki i przemiany świadomości społecznej. Analiza debaty wokół "Strachu" pozwala dostrzec stanowiska dyskursywne, jakie w debacie wokół wcześniejszej głośnej książki Grossa "Sąsiedzi" wyróżnił Andrzej Paczkowski: "afirmatywne", "obronne otwarte", "obronne zamknięte" i "odrzucające". Charakterystyka tych stanowisk w debacie wokół książki "Strach" służy diagnozie wpływu medialnego sporu elit symbolicznych o trudną polsko-żydowską przeszłość na współczesną polską pamięć zbiorową. Analiza danych z ogólnopolskich sondaży pokazuje, że ów wpływ był niewielki. W artykule przedstawiono ponadto obraz powojennych stosunków polsko-żydowskich i reakcję na książkę Grossa w jednej z polskich "wspólnot pamięci" - Rodzinie Radia Maryja z Rzeszowa. W konkluzji są wskazane przyczyny, dla których "Strach" nie stał się katalizatorem przemian w polskiej pamięci zbiorowej