Etos nauki we współczesnej Polsce

Współczesna nauka odchodzi od idei autonomicznej „republiki” Michaela Polanyi’ego (1962) i stopniowo podporządkowuje się instytucjom politycznym i ekonomiczno-społecznym. Procesowi temu towarzyszą zmiany w jej normatywnej strukturze. Polska, jako państwo z doświadczeniem transformacji ustrojowej, jest idealnym przypadkiem do studium ewolucji etosu nauki pod wpływem czynników rynkowych i politycznych. W artykule tym podejmujemy próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie o to, jakie wartości i normy są podzielane przez naukowców z Polski. Wyniki reprezentatywnego badania sondażowego przeprowadzonego wśród 801 naukowców przeanalizowano z wykorzystaniem konfirmacyjnej analizy czynnikowej i rozmytej analizy skupień. Analiza statystyczna pokazała dużą złożoność struktury normatywnej nauki, wykraczającą poza oczekiwania sformułowane w hipotezie, w oparciu o teorie Roberta Mertona i Johna Zimana. Wyróżniliśmy trzy odrębne grupy badaczy kierujące się w swoim życiu zawodowym różnymi zespołami wartości i norm (nauka akademicka, postakademicka i przemysłowa) oraz klaster badaczy o niezidentyfikowanym systemie zasad. Argumentujemy, że przy podejmowaniu decyzji dotyczących wszelkich przyszłych reform systemu należy brać pod uwagę złożoność normatywną i aksjologiczną nauki.Modern science is moving away from Michael Polanyi’s vision of ‘the Republic of Science’ and gradually becoming subordinate to political and economic social institutions. This process is accompanied by changes in the normative structure of science. Poland provides an interesting case for empirical study of the scientific ethos mostly because in a relatively short time it experienced a significant reform of the science system, especially in terms of evaluating and financing scientific work. In this paper we examine whether different sets of values and norms are embedded in the normative structure of science in contemporary Poland. The results of a representative survey conducted among 801 researchers were examined with the use of confirmatory factor analysis and fuzzy clustering. The statistical analysis revealed a great complexity in the normative structure of science that goes beyond the expectations formulated on the basis of the theories reviewed. We identified three distinctive groups of researchers, guided by different sets of values and norms in their professional conduct (academic science, post-academic science and the industrial science) and a cluster of researchers with an unidentified system of principles. We argue that the complexity of the normative structure of science should be taken into account in the decision-making regarding any future reforms of the science system

Employment in Poland 2007: Security on flexible labour market

This Report is a third in the series Employment in Poland. It consists of four Parts, devoted to empirical analysis of the impact of macroeconomic shocks on EU New Member States labour markets‘ in 1996-2006; utilization of flexible forms of employment on Polish labor market, determinants of wages and wage inequalities in Poland; effectiveness of ALMP in Poland, respectively. In Part I, we present how the cyclical upturn propagated on Polish labour market in 2003-2007 and how the performance of that market evolved relatively to other EU countries. Then we apply a panel SVECM to study propagation of macroeconomic shocks in eight CEE countries which joined the EU in 2004. We show that demand side shocks (foreign demand and labour demand shocks) were of foremost importance to unemployment and employment fluctuations in the region. At the same time, we argue that the wage shocks, thought of as wage rigidities, were important internal disturbances affecting the developments on the labour markets in the region. Part II is devoted to atypical forms of labour employment. We show that in all CEE countries the incidence of nonstandard employment arrangements is much lower than in Western Europe. Although Poland stands out in the whole EU with its dynamic spread of temporary employment and integration of temporary work agencies in the functioning of the labour market, in general the potential of atypical employment in Poland and other CEE is largely unfulfilled when it comes to work- life balance or supporting the economic activity of people who find it difficult to work full-time due to age or health reasons. In case of Poland, we study in more detailed way the legal, infrastructural and tax-related factors affecting the utilisation of nonstandard forms of employment. In Part III, we study wage developments in Poland from macro- and micro-perspective alike. We argue that wage growth in Poland exhibited a significant inertia during the transition period. We find that the concurrent rise of wage inequalities in Poland was due to the fact that rapid technological progress favoured some professional and social groups more than others. The increasing return on formal education and rising premiums on work in managerial positions as well as increasingly diverse individual and market characteristics of Polish workers seem to play the key role. The public sector stands out with higher wage compression than private sector. We show also that, in international comparison, the gender wage gap in Poland is relatively small. Notwithstanding the above, even if differences in individual and employer characteristics as well as working time are taken into consideration, women still earn about ten percent less than men. Part IV focuses active labour market policies (ALMP). We assess the ALMP spending and structure in Poland and we use the survey, conducted for the purposes of this Report, to study to effectiveness of ALMP. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt at producing a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of ALMP effectiveness in Poland in the recent years. Applying Propensity Score Matching, we find that intervention and public works turn out to be completely inefficient when it comes to enhancing employment chances of the unemployed. At the same time, even for those programs that are characterised by positive net efficiency, such as internships and traineeships, the deadweight loss is also high, i.e. support is extended to groups whose situation is relatively good, whereas more difficult cases are neglected. Thus, the placement of ALMP participants in Poland is sub-optimal, which partly reflects very poor job broking and counseling done by PES. We complete the report with policy implications

Employment in Poland 2007: Security on flexible labour market

This Report is a third in the series Employment in Poland. It consists of four Parts, devoted to empirical analysis of the impact of macroeconomic shocks on EU New Member States labour markets‘ in 1996-2006; utilization of flexible forms of employment on Polish labor market, determinants of wages and wage inequalities in Poland; effectiveness of ALMP in Poland, respectively. In Part I, we present how the cyclical upturn propagated on Polish labour market in 2003-2007 and how the performance of that market evolved relatively to other EU countries. Then we apply a panel SVECM to study propagation of macroeconomic shocks in eight CEE countries which joined the EU in 2004. We show that demand side shocks (foreign demand and labour demand shocks) were of foremost importance to unemployment and employment fluctuations in the region. At the same time, we argue that the wage shocks, thought of as wage rigidities, were important internal disturbances affecting the developments on the labour markets in the region. Part II is devoted to atypical forms of labour employment. We show that in all CEE countries the incidence of nonstandard employment arrangements is much lower than in Western Europe. Although Poland stands out in the whole EU with its dynamic spread of temporary employment and integration of temporary work agencies in the functioning of the labour market, in general the potential of atypical employment in Poland and other CEE is largely unfulfilled when it comes to work- life balance or supporting the economic activity of people who find it difficult to work full-time due to age or health reasons. In case of Poland, we study in more detailed way the legal, infrastructural and tax-related factors affecting the utilisation of nonstandard forms of employment. In Part III, we study wage developments in Poland from macro- and micro-perspective alike. We argue that wage growth in Poland exhibited a significant inertia during the transition period. We find that the concurrent rise of wage inequalities in Poland was due to the fact that rapid technological progress favoured some professional and social groups more than others. The increasing return on formal education and rising premiums on work in managerial positions as well as increasingly diverse individual and market characteristics of Polish workers seem to play the key role. The public sector stands out with higher wage compression than private sector. We show also that, in international comparison, the gender wage gap in Poland is relatively small. Notwithstanding the above, even if differences in individual and employer characteristics as well as working time are taken into consideration, women still earn about ten percent less than men. Part IV focuses active labour market policies (ALMP). We assess the ALMP spending and structure in Poland and we use the survey, conducted for the purposes of this Report, to study to effectiveness of ALMP. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt at producing a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of ALMP effectiveness in Poland in the recent years. Applying Propensity Score Matching, we find that intervention and public works turn out to be completely inefficient when it comes to enhancing employment chances of the unemployed. At the same time, even for those programs that are characterised by positive net efficiency, such as internships and traineeships, the deadweight loss is also high, i.e. support is extended to groups whose situation is relatively good, whereas more difficult cases are neglected. Thus, the placement of ALMP participants in Poland is sub-optimal, which partly reflects very poor job broking and counseling done by PES. We complete the report with policy implications.Poland; unemployment; employment; transition countries; labour market shocks; SVECM; wage rigidities; flexible forms of employment, wage inequalities, wage determinants, active labour market policy, ALMP effectiveness

Correlations between polymorphisms in genes coding elements of dopaminergic pathways and body mass index in overweight and obese women

Wstęp: Dopamina jest uważana za kluczowy związek w regulacji łaknienia, przyjmowaniu pokarmów, uzależnienia od leków oraz w stymulacji elektrycznej mózgu. Zwiększony poziom dopaminy obserwuje się po posiłkach w grzbietowej części prążkowia. W brzusznej części nakrywki dopamina odpowiada za motywację. Naturalny poziom synaptyczny dopaminy wynika z gęstości receptorów, ilości uwolnionego neurotransmitera oraz efektywności działania systemu wychwytu zwrotnego. W niniejszym badaniu poddano analizie korelację wartości BMI z polimorfizmem genu DRD4 oraz polimorfizmu SLC6A3. Materiał i metody: Wybrane fragmenty genu były zwielokratniane przy pomocy reakcji łańcuchowej polimerazy (PCR, polymerase chain reaction) z DNA uzyskanego od 506 kobiet. Produkty zwielokrotnienia były poddawane elektroforezie. Wyniki genotypowania analizowano za pomocą testu Kruskal-Wallis (P < 0,05). Wyniki: Analizując wyniki korelacji polimorfizmu SLC6A3 istotne statystycznie różnice w zakresie wartości BMI dotyczyły jedynie kobiet otyłych (P < 0,05), nie potwierdzając się wśród kobiet z prawidłową i nadmierną masą ciała. Średnia wartość BMI była wyższa w przypadku genotypu SS, niż w zakresie rozważanych łącznie genotypów LL i LS. Różnice średnich wartości BMI w kontekście polimorfizmu DRD4 były istotne w całej analizowanej populacji. Wyższa wartość BMI korelowała z obecnością wariantu 7 i więcej powtórzeń motywu 48 par zasad. Wnioski: Prowadząc analizę łącznie korelacji z BMI dla obu polimorfizmów, istotność stawała się większa niż dla poszczególnych genów. Taka sytuacja może dowodzić, iż wpływ polimorfizów obu badanych genów mogą się kumulować i prowadzić do obniżenia działania dopaminergicznego układu nagrody. (Endokrynol Pol 2013; 64 (2): 101&#8211;107)Introduction: Dopamine is considered to be crucial for food craving and intake, drug abuse and electrical brain stimulation. Increased levels of dopamine occur after energy intake in the dorsal striatum. In the ventral tagmental area, dopamine is responsible for motivation. There is a natural synaptic dopamine level, and as a result its activity is controlled by density of receptors, amount of released neurotransmitter, and defectiveness of re-uptake by specific transporters. In our study, we wanted to investigate if there is a correlation between mean BMI values and VNTR polymorphisms in SLC6A3 (rs28363170) and DRD4 genes. Material and methods: Chosen gene fragments were amplified using polymerase chain reaction on the DNA template obtained from 506 women. The products of the reaction were electrophoresed and visualised in 3% agarose gel. The genotyping data was analysed with Kruskal-Wallis tests (p < 0.05). Results: In the case of SLC6A3, statistically significant differences in mean BMI were found in the group of obese women (p < 0.05) but not for the whole population of women with normal weight or with overweight (p > 0.05). The mean BMI was higher for the SS genotype than for combined LL and LS genotypes. The difference in mean BMI values for variants of DRD4 was significant for the whole studied population and in the obese group (p > 0.05), and the higher value was correlated with the presence of a variant with seven or more repeats of 48 bp motif. Conclusions: When the two analysed polymorphisms were combined, the spread between the mean BMI values became greater than for single genes. This suggests that the effect on body mass of these two polymorphisms may combine and cause hypo-functionality of the dopaminergic reward system. (Endokrynol Pol 2013; 64 (2): 101&#8211;107

Working memory, executive function and depressive symptoms in pathological obesity

Introduction. Pathological obesity is a disorder with complex etiology. The main brain-related etiopathological factors of obesity are dysfunction of prefrontal cortex and deficit of serotonin. Several studies have revealed a relation between obesity and occurrence of cognitive deficits and greater intensity of depressive symptoms. The aim of the study was to assess cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms in pathologically obese subjects in polish population. Material and methods. Seventy five subjects with pathological obesity (BMI > 30) - 16 male and 59 female, aged 39 &#177; 11 were enrolled in the study. Control group consisted of 75 age, sex and education years matched healthy subjects. Cognitive assessment was made with Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Depressive symptoms were assessed with 21 item Beck Depression Inventory and 17 item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Results. Obese subjects performed significantly worse on all measures of WCST. Symptoms of at least mild depression in over half of obese subjects were observed. A correlation between depression severity, BMI score and a level of performance in WCST was observed. Conclusions. Pathological obesity is related with deficits of working memory and executive function and greater severity of depressive symptoms.Wstęp. Patologiczna otyłość jest schorzeniem o złożonej etiologii. Czynnikami etiopatologicznymi otyłości na poziomie mózgu są między innymi dysfunkcja kory przedczołowej oraz niedobór serotoniny. Wyniki wielu badań wykazały związek pomiędzy występowaniem otyłości a zaburzeniami funkcji poznawczych i większym nasileniem objawów depresji. Celem badania była ocena funkcjonowania poznawczego i nasilenia depresji u osób z patologiczną otyłością w populacji polskiej. Materiał i metody. Badaniem objęto 75 osób z rozpoznaniem otyłości (BMI > 30) - 16 mężczyzn i 59 kobiet, w wieku 39 &#177; 11 lat. W skład grupy kontrolnej weszło 75 zdrowych osób dobranych pod względem płci, wieku i wykształcenia. Oceny funkcjonowania poznawczego dokonano za pomocą Testu Sortowania Kart Wisconsin (WCST). Oceny objawów depresji dokonano za pomocą 21-punktowej Skali Samooceny Depresji Becka oraz 17-punktowej skali depresji Hamiltona. Wyniki. Osoby z otyłością uzyskały istotnie gorsze wyniki we wszystkich parametrach testu WCST w porównaniu z osobami zdrowymi. U ponad połowy osób badanych zaobserwowano objawy depresji o co najmniej lekkim nasileniu. Badanie wykazało korelację pomiędzy nasileniem depresji oraz wartością współczynnika wskaźnika masy ciała a wykonaniem testu WCST. Wnioski. Występowanie patologicznej otyłości wiąże się z zaburzeniami pamięci operacyjnej i funkcji wykonawczych oraz większym nasileniem objawów depresji

Evaluation of clinical and psychological parameters in subgroups of people with paroxysmal, persistent, and long- standing persistent atrial fibrillation

Background. Atrial fibrillation (AF) may cause worsening of haemodynamic function of the heart, occur-rence of peripheral embolism, emotional disorders, and secondary occurrence of cognitive deterioration. It seems that patients with AF constitute a heterogeneous group in terms of features characterising both the arrhythmia itself and their psychophysical efficiency. Taking this into account, the aim of the work was to assess the psychophysical condition of patients with various forms of AF. Methods. The study included 80 subjects diagnosed with AF. Patients underwent a clinical and neuropsy-chological evaluation, including clinical interview and physical examination, biochemical and echocar-diographic parameters, physical performance (6MWT), cognitive and executive functions (TMT A and B, Stroop 1 and 2, RAVLT), and severity of depressive symptoms (BDI). Results. Analysis of the results of neuropsychological tests revealed significantly worse performance of TMT B and RAVLT A3 by patients with long-standing persistent AF than among patients with non-perma-nent AF. The subjects with long-standing persistent arrhythmia also walked a significantly shorter distance in 6MWT. In 55% of subjects, clinically significant depressive symptoms were observed. However, there were no significant differences in the values of echocardiographic parameters between particular groups. Conclusions. Long-standing persistent type of AF was associated with worse results of psychophysical efficiency, and exercise performance, likewise in cognitive and executive functioning. More than half of patients with AF presented features of depressive disorders

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum concentration and BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in patients with peripheral artery disease: the importance of heart failure

Introduction: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and BDNF Val66Met polymorphism have been associated with cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, congestive heart failure (CHF), hypertension and ischaemic heart disease (IHD). To the authors’ knowledge, such connections have not been described in peripheral artery disease (PAD) yet. Material and methods: 159 PAD subjects and 57 controls were included. All enrolled subjects underwent evaluation of clinical status. Information on comorbidities such as diabetes type 2, hypertension, IHD and CHF, was gathered. Serum concentrations of BDNF were measured by ELISA. Genotypes of the BDNF-AS SNP rs6265 were determined using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay. Results: PAD patients had significantly lower BDNF serum concentrations compared to controls (median values of 7.2 vs. 35.1 ng/mL, P &lt; 0.001). Concentrations were significantly lower in patients with concomitant CHF (P &lt; 0.05). The CHF subgroup was characterised by a greater prevalence of diabetes and ischaemic heart disease (P &lt; 0.01). There was no significant difference between BDNF serum concentrations and other comorbidities, ABI, and medical history including disease duration and past interventions. No important correlations were found for BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. Conclusions: The present study adds to the body of evidence associating BDNF and atherosclerosis. The serum BDNF concentrations were lower in PAD, especially in a subgroup with comorbid CHF. These results suggest that a larger cardiovascular burden is connected with decreased BDNF serum concentrations. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that BDNF gene polymorphism may be a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases such as PAD

Political Legitimacy and Normative Disorientation in European Liberal Democracies

Legitimacy is one of the fundamental topics of the social and political sciences, as well as a valid issue in contemporary Western societies. Legitimacy is based on the existence of a common standard for evaluating social and political systems. If such a standard is absent, legitimacy is impossible by definition (Beetham 1991). The research question of this article is: to what extent is the level of a political system’s legitimacy explained by the effect of normative disorientation? Data from round 5 of the European Social Survey is analyzed by multilevel linear regression models in order to verify hypotheses about the strength and direction of the correlation between political legitimacy and normative disorientation. Analysis showed that normative disorientation is negatively correlated with the level of political legitimacy

Fizykochemiczne aspekty pracy okładzin hamulcowych samochodów osobowych. Cz. 2. Wpływ dodatków smarnych

The paper presents the influence of various systems of lubricating additives which determine the performance of the friction materials of brake linings. The base hybrid friction material formulation was modified with various types of lubricating additives. These additives are divided into groups containing commonly used lubricating materials: carbons and sulphides, compounded in various proportions, influencing the formation and structure of the so-called third body layer (TBL) on the surface of the brake disc because of braking. Raman Spectroscopy (RS), time of flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy with an X-ray analyser (SEM-EDS) equipped with a focus ion beam (FIB) were used for chemical and morphological analysis of the surface layer of brake disc after breaking tests. The results of the physicochemical analysis of TBL were correlated with the results of tribological tests (according to the SAE-J2522 procedure, commonly known as AK-Master) on a brake dynamometer adapted to the measurements of acoustic signals (NVH – noise, vibration, and harshness). The obtained results confirm the important role played by the so-called third body layer, formed on the surface of the brake disc for safety (COF), durability (wear of friction elements) and the acoustic spectrum accompanying braking.W pracy przedstawiono wpływ różnych układów lubrykantów, które decydują o właściwościach materiałów ciernych okładzin hamulcowych. Referencyjny hybrydowy materiał cierny zmodyfikowano różnymi rodzajami smarów stałych. Dodatki te dzielą się na grupy zawierające powszechnie stosowane materiały smarne: węgle i siarczki, mieszane w różnych proporcjach, mających wpływ na tworzenie się i strukturę tzw. warstwy trzeciego ciała (TBL) na powierzchni tarczy hamulcowej w wyniku hamowania. Do analizy chemicznej i morfologicznej powierzchni tarczy hamulcowej po testach hamowania wykorzystano odpowiednio spektroskopię Ramana (RS), spektroskopię masową jonów wtórnych (ToF-SIMS) oraz skaningową mikroskopię elektronową o wysokiej rozdzielczości z analizatorem rentgenowskim (SEM-EDS), wyposażoną w skupioną wiązkę jonów (FIB). Wyniki analizy fizykochemicznej TBL skorelowano z wynikami dynanometrycznych badań tribologicznych (zgodnie z procedurą SAE-J2522, popularnie nazywaną AK-Master) oraz widmami akustycznymi (NVH – hałas, drgania i złożoność sygnału). Uzyskane wyniki potwierdzają istotną rolę, jaką odgrywa warstwa tzw. trzeciego ciała, formująca się na powierzchni tarczy hamulcowej dla bezpieczeństwa (COF), trwałości (zużycie elementów ciernych) oraz widma akustycznego towarzyszącego hamowaniu