Jerzy Babiak, Polityka kształtowania ustroju rolnego w Polsce, wyd. Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 2010, ss. 281.

Jerzy Babiak, Polityka kształtowania ustroju rolnego w Polsce, wyd. Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 2010, ss. 281.Jerzy Babiak, Polityka kształtowania ustroju rolnego w Polsce, wyd. Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 2010, ss. 281

Determinanty rywalizacji wyborczej w lokalnych elekcjach samorządowych

The paper attempts to present and explain the determinants of electoral competition and results, thereby influencing local political landscapes after the 2014 local government elections. The primary determinants analyzed in the paper include: (1) changes introduced to local government electoral law; (2) the socio-political situation in Poland before the local government elections; and (3) the character of local political arenas. A study has been carried out which demonstrated that political parties have withdrawn from direct electoral competition at the local level. The municipalities examined evidence that numerous local government activists have perfected the skill of “political adaptation to evolving social sentiments. The changes introduced to the electoral law, in particular the implementation of the majority formula in the elections to municipal councils, have resulted in the following, among other things: (1) mayors and their direct political backgrounds have been additionally empoweredin the local system; (2) election results have become disproportionate; (3) individuals lacking institutional political support have been scarcely interested in taking part in the electoral competition; and (4) councilors have focused on the matters of their own respective constituencies in their work. The most influential factor in local government elections and, thereby decisive in shaping the local system of power is the mayor (president of the town).Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie i wyjaśnienie czynników, które wpłynęły na strukturę rywalizacji wyborczej oraz wynik wyborów, a w konsekwencji lokalne sceny polityczne po wyborach samorządowych w 2014 roku. Wśród głównych analizowanych determinant są: 1) zmiany samorządowego prawa wyborczego; 2) sytuacja społeczno-polityczna w Polsce u progu wyborów samorządowych oraz 3) charakter lokalnych scen politycznych. Prowadzone badania uwidoczniły zjawisko wycofywania się partii politycznych z bezpośredniej rywalizacji wyborczej na szczeblu lokalnym. Przykłady badanych gmin wskazują, że wielu lokalnych działaczy samorządowych posiadło doskonałe umiejętności „politycznej adaptacji” do zmieniających się nastrojów społecznych. Natomiast konsekwencją zmian w prawie wyborczym, a zwłaszcza wprowadzenia formuły większościowej w wyborach do rad gmin, są m.in. 1) dodatkowe wzmocnienie pozycji burmistrza i jego bezpośredniego zaplecza politycznego w lokalnym systemie władzy; 2) dysproporcjonalność wyników wyborów; 3) niewielkie zainteresowanie bezpośrednim udziałem w rywalizacji wyborczej osób bez instytucjonalnego zaplecza politycznego oraz 4) koncentrowanie się radnych w swojej działalności na problemach własnego okręgu wyborczego. Czynnikiem w największym stopniu determinującym lokalne elekcje samorządowe, a w konsekwencji charakter i kształt lokalnego systemu władzy, jest osoba burmistrza (prezydenta miasta)

Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe w rywalizacji wyborczej do samorządu wojewódzkiego

Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe to z kilku względów partia wyjątkowa, wyróżniająca się od pozostałych ugrupowań na polskiej scenie politycznej. Przede wszystkim w udany sposób zachowała lokalne struktury z poprzedniego systemu politycznego i wykorzystała je w nowych warunkach ustrojowych. Pozwoliło to na udział partii, jako jedynego ugrupowania Trzeciej Rzeczypospolitej, w rywalizacji wyborczej pod własnym szyldem we wszystkich w pełni rywalizacyjnych wyborach (od 1991 roku). Ponadto program wyborczy partii koncentruje się na problemach polskiej wsi i rolnictwa. Konsekwentnie odwołuje się również do spuścizny polskiego ruchu ludowego oraz osób z nim związanych – W. Witosa, M. Rataja oraz S. Mikołajczyka. Uczestnicząc systematycznie w rywalizacji wyborczej PSL wielokrotnie zapewnia sobie udział w sprawowaniu władzy na różnych szczeblach. Na uwagę zasługuje jednak dobry wynik wyborczy osiągany przez ludowców w wyborach do władz regionalnych. Przeprowadzona analiza skłania autora artykułu do sformułowania kilku prawideł, które determinują wynik wyborczy ludowców do sejmików województw. Przede wszystkim zaplecze organizacyjno – kadrowe dla partii nie stanowią rolnicy, ale kadra kierownicza różnych instytucji publicznych. Elementem sprzyjającym silnej pozycji PSL jest posiadane rozwiniętych struktur partyjnych, sprawowanie władzy na niższych szczeblach oraz wsparcie lokalnych liderów opinii publicznej (sołtysów, prezesów OSP, KGW, itp.). Ponadto w przypadku PSL aktywność i mobilizacja aparatu partyjnego oraz elektoratu występuje wyłącznie w tych elekcjach, których wynik wyborczy ma zasadniczy wpływ na budowę struktur partyjnych, włącznie z możliwością obsady licznych stanowisk w administracji. Polish People’s Party (PPP), clearly distinguishable from other parties on the Polish political scene, is an exceptional organization due to several factors. First and foremost, it succeeded in preserving its local structures which existed during the former regime and has used them in the current political system. The circumstances allowed the party, as the only one of the Third Republic of Poland, to fully take part in all competitive elections (since 1991). Moreover, the electoral program of the party is focused on Polish agriculture and countryside issues, as well as it is consistent in its claim to the legacy of the Polish farmers’ movements and people connected with them: W. Witos, M. Rataj and S. Mikołajczyk. As a result of regular electoral rivalry, PPP has been at the helm of the authority at various levels of government numerous times. Especially, the good results achieved in the local elections are worth noting. The analysis has prompted the present author to formulate a few rules which determine the election results in the provincial assembly. Firstly, it is not the farmers who constitute the party’s pool of staff and are responsible for the party’s organization but authorities from various public institutions. What works in favor of the PPP’s strong position is its well-developed structure, exercising authority at the lower government level and the support of local public opinion leaders (village heads, heads of volunteer fire brigades, country housewives’ clubs, etc.). Furthermore, the party members as well as the constituency become more active only when the election results may have a significant impact on the party structures, including the possibility of appointing numerous administrative positions

Lokalny wymiar pandemii COVID-19. Studium przypadku wielkopolskiej gminy

This article is a part of an interdisciplinary research project entitled „Pandemic traces – Rural communities and institutions”, which was conducted by the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences. The research touched many aspects of local and social experiences and consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. The outcome is a result of a study in one of the Greater Poland communes, which, in addition to direct participant observation and document analysis, mostly used quantitative studies performed in April 2021 on a representative group of adult residents of the commune.The local dimension of the epidemic was measured within 3 research areas. The first one dealt with personal experience, especially the impact of the pandemic on private and professional life. The sec-ond one focused on the evaluation of the institutions and authorities during the pandemic. The last area analyzed how the local community judged the restrictions the state government imposed.During the quantitative analysis a special attention was paid to capture the differences between the respondents as regards their social and professional status, as well as demographics and the residency (a town or a countryside).The research showed some regularities. First of all, the percentage of respondents who were afraid of COVID-19 infection and for whom the epidemic had an impact on everyday life (approx. 53%) was similar. These groups share a common socio-demographic profile. They were dominated by women, seniors, people with higher education and representatives of the liberal professions. Another char-acteristic indication of the respondents was the critical attitude towards the local health service, es-pecially family doctors. Such responses were indicated in particular by rural residents, who probably have had worse access to basic health care.     Development, Polish Academy of Sciences. The research touched many aspects of local and social experiences and consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. The outcome is a result of a study in one of the Greater Poland communes, which, in addition to direct participant observation and document analysis, mostly used quantitative studies performed in April 2021 on a representative group of adult residents of the commune. The local dimension of the epidemic was measured within 3 research areas. The first one dealt with personal experience, especially the impact of the pandemic on private and professional life. The second one focused on the evaluation of the institutions and authorities during the pandemic. The last area analyzed how the local community judged the restrictions the state government imposed. During the quantitative analysis a special attention was paid to capture the differences between the respondents as regards their social and professional status, as well as demographics and the residency (a town or a countryside). The research showed some regularities. First of all, the percentage of respondents who were afraid of COVID-19 infection and for whom the epidemic had an impact on everyday life (approx. 53%) was similar. These groups share a common socio-demographic profile. They were dominated by women, seniors, people with higher education and representatives of the liberal professions. Another characteristic indication of the respondents was the critical attitude towards the local health service, especially family doctors. Such responses were indicated in particular by rural residents, who probably have had worse access to basic health care.Artykuł jest częścią interdyscyplinarnego projektu badawczego „Wiejskie okruchy pandemii – społeczności i ich instytucje” realizowanego w Instytucie Rozwoju Wsi i Rolnictwa Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Celem badań jest analiza zachowań i działań władzy i społeczności lokalnej wobec pandemii COVID-19. Prezentowane w niniejszym tekście wyniki to efekt badań w jednej z wielkopolskich gmin, wykorzystujących obserwację bezpośrednią uczestniczącą, analizę dokumentów, ale przede wszystkim badań ilościowych prowadzonych w kwietniu 2021 r. na reprezentatywnej grupie dorosłych mieszkańców tejże gminy

Recent advances in sensing the inter-biomolecular interactions at the nanoscale – A comprehensive review of AFM-based force spectroscopy

Biomolecular interactions underpin most processes inside the cell. Hence, a precise and quantitative understanding of molecular association and dissociation events is crucial, not only from a fundamental perspective, but also for the rational design of biomolecular platforms for state-of-the-art biomedical and industrial applications. In this context, atomic force microscopy (AFM) appears as an invaluable experimental technique, allowing the measurement of the mechanical strength of biomolecular complexes to provide a quantitative characterization of their interaction properties from a single molecule perspective. In the present review, the most recent methodological advances in this field are presented with special focus on bioconjugation, immobilization and AFM tip functionalization, dynamic force spectroscopy measurements, molecular recognition imaging and theoretical modeling. We expect this work to significantly aid in grasping the principles of AFM-based force spectroscopy (AFM-FS) technique and provide the necessary tools to acquaint the type of data that can be achieved from this type of experiments. Furthermore, a critical assessment is done with other nanotechnology techniques to better visualize the future prospects of AFM-FS

Invalid Votes in Local Government Elections in Poland

Invalid votes in local government elections in Poland, in particular at the regional level, are among the most pressing problems of the electoral process. The number of invalid votes is so large that it serves political conflict in which accusations of election fraud are formulated. These are scarcely justified, though, since over 70% of invalid votes in local parliament elections lack an “x” next to the name of any candidate (rather than the addition of another “x” on the ballot). The analysis of this issue indicates that the reason for such a high percentage of invalid votes can be found in some elements of the electoral system. Large constituencies, sometimes of up to a dozen districts, mean political parties marginalize the smallest units (i.e. rural and urban-rural communities) when drawing up electoral lists and running election campaigns. The candidates on electoral lists for local parliaments very rarely come from rural regions, which does not stimulate the interest of their citizens in elections at this level. Consequently, it is the rural and urban-rural communities that have the largest proportion of invalid votes, accounting for 17.13% and 14.50% respectively. The number of invalid votes in the units which submit the largest number of candidates, that is in urban communities, amounts to 7.19% (such a low percentage results from the fact that no elections are run for county councils in towns with county status as city councils operate at this level of authority). These elements of the electoral system are not the only reasons for the phenomenon of invalid votes. It is also encouraged by Poles’ low civic consciousness and their ignorance of fundamental democratic mechanisms, including the principles of electoral law.Invalid votes in local government elections in Poland, in particular at the regional level, are among the most pressing problems of the electoral process. The number of invalid votes is so large that it serves political conflict in which accusations of election fraud are formulated. These are scarcely justified, though, since over 70% of invalid votes in local parliament elections lack an “x” next to the name of any candidate (rather than the addition of another “x” on the ballot). The analysis of this issue indicates that the reason for such a high percentage of invalid votes can be found in some elements of the electoral system. Large constituencies, sometimes of up to a dozen districts, mean political parties marginalize the smallest units (i.e. rural and urban-rural communities) when drawing up electoral lists and running election campaigns. The candidates on electoral lists for local parliaments very rarely come from rural regions, which does not stimulate the interest of their citizens in elections at this level. Consequently, it is the rural and urban-rural communities that have the largest proportion of invalid votes, accounting for 17.13% and 14.50% respectively. The number of invalid votes in the units which submit the largest number of candidates, that is in urban communities, amounts to 7.19% (such a low percentage results from the fact that no elections are run for county councils in towns with county status as city councils operate at this level of authority). These elements of the electoral system are not the only reasons for the phenomenon of invalid votes. It is also encouraged by Poles’ low civic consciousness and their ignorance of fundamental democratic mechanisms, including the principles of electoral law