Synthesis and Properties of High Tilted Antiferroelectric Esters with Partially Fluorinated Alkoxyalkoxy Terminal Chains

Novel chiral esters with partially fluorinated alkoxyalkoxy terminal chains are described. Their phase transition temperatures, enthalpies, and electrooptical properties are reported. A helical pitch in pure compounds and their mixtures based on selective reflection of light is also characterized

Controversial experience tourism in the eyes of generation Y representatives

This paper was written to contribute to the discussion on the perspectives of the development of selected forms of controversial tourism by means of: 1) surveying opinions of Generation Y representatives on how familiar they are with individual forms; 2) determining the responders’ impressions on acceptance of these forms; 3) gathering opinions on the perspectives of development of these forms. The starting point for the discussion is to approach the motives for such travels from the perspective of the concept of experience economy and to limit the research to tourism forms developing in response to the need of novelty, sensations and experiences. The demand factor connected with the need to maximize sensations shaped a specific form of tourism, described in this study as controversial experience tourism. It comprises sex tourism, drug tourism, disaster tourism, extreme tourism, thanatourism, esoteric tourism, urban exploring and poorism. The study was carried out with the help of the CAWI technique between February and May 2018 and involved 407 participants aged 18–26. The obtained results suggest relatively low future interest in forms of tourism that are perceived as strongly controversial. The thirst for new experiences and sensations is fully satisfied by these forms of extreme tourism that are positively perceived and do not arouse ethical controversies.Celem pracy jest włączenie się w dyskusję nad perspektywami rozwoju wybranych form turystyki kontrowersyjnej poprzez: 1) zbadanie opinii przedstawicieli pokolenia Y na temat oceny stopnia znajomości poszczególnych form, 2) określenie odczuć respondentów na temat ich akceptacji, 3) zebranie opinii na temat perspektyw rozwojowych wskazanych form. Punktem wyjścia do dyskusji jest spojrzenie na motywy podejmowanych podróży z perspektywy koncepcji tzw. ekonomii doświadczeń oraz ograniczenie zakresu problemowego do form turystyki rozwijających się pod wpływem potrzeby poszukiwania nowości, wrażeń, doświadczeń. Czynnik popytu związany z potrzebą maksymalizacji wrażeń ukształtował pewną specyficzną grupę form turystyki, określoną na potrzeby analizy jako kontrowersyjna turystyka wrażeń. W jej zakres włączono: turystykę seksualną, narkoturystykę, turystykę katastrof, ekstremalną, tanatoturystykę, turystykę ezoteryczną, urban exploring i poorism. Badanie wykonano z zastosowaniem techniki CAWI, w okresie od lutego do maja 2018 roku z udziałem 407 respondentów w przedziale wiekowym 18–26 lat. Uzyskane wyniki sugerują stosunkowo niewielkie zainteresowanie w przyszłości formami turystyki, które kojarzone są jako silnie kontrowersyjne. Potrzebę zdobywania nowych doświadczeń i wrażeń w pełni zapewniają formy turystyki ekstremalnej, które postrzegane są pozytywnie i nie wywołują kontrowersji natury etycznej

When dreams come true – urban land use and management trends desired by residents and participatory budgeting – a case study in Toruń

Social participation allows public authorities to learn about communities’ views and thus to jointly work out satisfying solutions. The pre-1989 law in Poland generally prevented the possibility of citizens taking part in the making of decisions about the use of public areas. Over the following years participatory decision-making was adopted, which evolved and expanded as new tools were introduced which encourage citizen involvement. The municipality of Toruń adopted a participatory approach to budgeting in 2014 so that the city’s residents could influence the use of public land in their neighbourhoods according to their needs. The total amount of funding spent on participatory budgets between 2014 and 2017 exceeded PLN 26 million. The aim of the study is to prepare a typology of desired changes in the city of Toruń and to identify the level of social participation on the basis of projects nominated for financing from the participatory budget. To this end, the types of projects and the turnout of the residents who voted were analysed by place of residence. The study showed that both the number of nominated projects and the number of voters increased in the years covered by the survey, thus pointing to the success of participatory budgeting, a form of schooling in local democracy, in Toruń

Idea miast partnerskich a jej znaczenie dla rozwoju współczesnych miast – perspektywa geograficzna. Przykład Leszna

Idea miast partnerskich w obecnym kształcie jest pokłosiem procesów rozpoczętych po zakończeniu II wojny światowej. Nowa rzeczywistość powojenna skłania bowiem kolejne samorządy miejskie do nawiązywania wzajemnych kontaktów w celu wspólnego zapobiegania dalszym konfliktom, a także odbudowy i regeneracji miast. Obecnie kontakty partnerskie miast pojawiają się z różnych względów: podobnej nazwy, historycznych powiązań lub podobieństw infrastrukturalnych. Celem tej pracy było usystematyzowanie dotychczasowych badań nad ideą miast partnerskich oraz określenie jej oddziaływania na rozwój współczesnego miasta na przykładzie średniego miasta w Polsce – Leszna. Wykorzystano wyniki autorskich badań ankietowych przeprowadzonych wśród reprezentantów leszczyńskiego pokolenia Z oraz wywiadów z przedstawicielami samorządu i biznesu. Stwierdzono, że aktywne uczestnictwo w relacjach z miastami partnerskimi ma pozytywne efekty i sprzyja rozwojowi współczesnych miast.The idea of sister cities is actually a result of the processes initiated after the Second World War. The new post-war reality prompted more and more cities to establish partnerships to avoid further conflicts, as well as to rebuild and regenerate. Nowadays, cities create such contacts for various reasons: similar name, historical links or infrastructural similarities. The paper aims to systematize the existing knowledge on the idea of sister cities and to determine the influence of the discussed idea on contemporary city development. The example was a medium-sized city in Poland – Leszno. Results of survey conducted among the generation Z representatives and interviews with self-government and business representatives were used in the paper. The author found that active participation in relations with sister cities has positive effects on the development of the engaged cities

Randall-Sundrum limit of f(R) brane-world models

By setting some special boundary conditions in the variational principle we obtain junction conditions for the five-dimensional $f(R)$ gravity which in the Einstein limit $f(R)\rightarrow R$ transform into the standard Randall-Sundrum junction conditions. We apply these junction conditions to a particular model of a Friedmann universe on the brane and show explicitly that the limit gives the standard Randall-Sundrum model Friedmann equation.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, REVTEX4, minor change

A case of elongated styloid process in a modern-age skull from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela

Background: The styloid process (SP) arises from cartilage of the second branchial arch and tends to calcify during later life. If the length of the SP is more than 30 mm, it can be considered abnormally elongated. Clinical symptoms associated with elongation of this type are defined as Eagle’s syndrome. The paper presents a case of an elongated SP in a modern skull from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, obtained from a series of skulls of African slaves kept at the Department of Anthropology, Polish Academy of Sciences in Wroclaw. Materials and methods: The skull belonged to a male individual, aged ca. 55 years at death (maturus). In terms of basic anthropometric features it had slightly greater facial width parameters in comparison to the cerebral part, and a shorter length of neurocranium when compared to average values of morphological features in African skulls from Uganda. Results: Further macroscopic analysis revealed the presence of an elongated SP (ca. 70.1 mm) with secondary lesions remaining after a healed fracture. Imaging of the bone structure of the elongated SP was carried out using a computed to­mography scan, with multilevel image analysis without contrast. The elongation and calcification of the left ligament in anterior orientation could have caused irritation to the structure of cranial nerves, running within the parapharyngeal space, and to sympathetic fibres running in the wall of cervical arteries. Conclusions: Analyses of craniological materials recovered during excavations or as part of old osteological collections are rare due to the fragility of this bone structure, and for that reason they may be a valuable source of information on the health status of historic human populations

Culture-led regeneration as a vital instrument for preserving the cultural heritage of historical parks in Poland

Historical parks and palace and park complexes deserve special protection for their potential and as the embodiment of national heritage. Most of them are impressive estates that bear witness to their times and reflect the dreams and aspirations of their owners. However, because of the entangled history of post-socialist countries including Poland much of the cultural heritage they represent has been irreversibly destroyed. The aim of the study was to assess the concept of culture-led regeneration as applied to palace and park complexes situated in rural areas at risk of marginalisation in a post-socialist country, Poland, using the case of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. Its findings show that culture-led regeneration is a valuable instrument for protecting historical palace and park estates, which saves the areas from further devastation and boosts local development

Quantum phantom cosmology

We apply the formalism of quantum cosmology to models containing a phantom field. Three models are discussed explicitly: a toy model, a model with an exponential phantom potential, and a model with phantom field accompanied by a negative cosmological constant. In all these cases we calculate the classical trajectories in configuration space and give solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in quantum cosmology. In the cases of the toy model and the model with exponential potential we are able to solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation exactly. For comparison, we also give the corresponding solutions for an ordinary scalar field. We discuss in particular the behaviour of wave packets in minisuperspace. For the phantom field these packets disperse in the region that corresponds to the Big Rip singularity. This thus constitutes a genuine quantum region at large scales, described by a regular solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. For the ordinary scalar field, the Big-Bang singularity is avoided. Some remarks on the arrow of time in phantom models as well as on the relation of phantom models to loop quantum cosmology are given.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure

Tourist potential of a city - a case study of Toruń (Poland)

The presented research aims at analysing and evaluating the subjective reception of the tourist potential of a city by its users – residents and tourists, as well as indicating the qualities (places or symbols) through which it is perceived. This is intended as an assessment of the actions taken in the scope of promoting tourism in the city. The research method related to applying the PAPI method was based on the assumption—present in literature on the subject—that assessing the tourist potential from the perspective of recipients’ impressions may be an alternative to the currently prevalent methods. The research has shown that a positive reception of tourist potential has to translate into its high rating as compared to other places. It is also important to have a coherent image of a place (through the identification of the main symbols) and indicate its universal nature (it may attract a broad range of recipients). These assessments allow for checking the propriety of the direction in which local policies are led; however, it is pivotal that the opinions expressed by residents be in line with the views of tourists and visitors