Towards corpo-nationalism: a Bourdieusian study exploring the relationship between national branding and the reproduction of Polishness (1999 - 2010).

This thesis interrogates the relationship between the emerging transnational field of nation branding practice and Polish national identity discourse. It sets the analysis of its findings in the contexts of the dominant neo-liberal political economy and promotional culture in Poland, but its examination considers the socio-historical conditions of the post-Soviet era accompanying nation branding as a nation building process. By considering specific settings, it outlines a reflexive case study, addressing a shift in the economy of practices at the crossovers of the Polish state’s structures, business groups, the mass media, and cultural intermediaries of nation branding. This study draws from Bourdieu’s theoretical oeuvre, nationalism scholarship, and corporate communications models. First, it demonstrates the growing impact of corporate communications models on the state as a democratic polity. Second, it sketches out the foundations for the empirical part of the study. Methodologically, it uses an interpretive approach to reveal collective action accompanying the nation branding exercise in Poland. It draws from a range of data to reconstruct the contested vision of the field of nation branding and the dynamics of the relationship between institutional and individual actors performing nation branding in Poland. The findings of this study unfold the implications of the imposition and invasion of nation branding within the Polish field of power, specifically with regards to the marketisation of Polish national identity, its co-construction and reproduction; attempts to further corporatise overseas propaganda on behalf of the Polish field of power; and a growing impact of private sector consultants on public policy making in post-Soviet Poland. Primarily, this thesis argues that one of the biggest consequences of the invasion of nation branding in Poland is the emergence of corpo-nationalism - a form of economic nationalism which was a weak component, until now, of political economy changes in Poland, post 1989

Broadcasting to the masses or building communities: Polish political parties online communication during the 2011 election

The professionalisation of political communication is an evolutionary process (Lilleker & Negrine, 2002), a process that adapts to trends in communication in order to better engage and persuade the public. One of the most dramatic developments in communication has been the move towards social communication via the Internet. It is argued to affect every area of public communication, from commercial advertising and public relations to education (Macnamara, 2010). It is no longer sufficient to have an online presence; we are now in an age of i-branding; with the ‘i’ standing for interactive. Yet, trends in online political electoral campaigning over recent years indicate a shallow adoption of Web 2.0 tools, features and platforms; limited interactivity; and managed co-production. The Internet is now embedded as a campaigning tool however, largely, the technologies are adapted to the norms of political communication rather than technologies impacting upon internal organizational structures, party relationships to members and supporters, or the content and style of their communication. We examine these themes, and develop them through a focus on the targeting and networking strategies of political parties, in more detail in the context of the Polish parliamentary election of 2011. Through a sophisticated content analysis and coding scheme our paper examines the extent to which parties use features that are designed to inform, engage, mobilise or allow interaction, which audiences they seek to communicate with and how these fit communication strategies. Comparing these findings with maps built from webcrawler analysis we build a picture of the strategies of the parties and the extent to which this links to short and long term political goals. This paper firstly develops our rationale for studying party and candidate use of the Internet during elections within the Polish context. Secondly we develop a conceptual framework which contrasts the politics as usual thesis (Margolis & Resnick, 2000) with arguments surrounding the social shaping of technologies (Lievrouw, 2006) and the impact on organisational adoption of communication technologies and post-Obama trends in Internet usage (Lilleker & Jackson, 2011) and posit that, despite the threats from an interactive strategy (Stromer-Galley, 2000) one would be expected within the context of a networked society (Van Dyjk, 2006). Following an overview of our methodology and innovative analysis strategy, we present our data which focuses on three key elements. Firstly we focus on the extent to which party and candidate websites inform, engage, mobilise or permit interaction (Lilleker et al, 2011). Secondly we assess the extent to which websites attract different visitor groups (Lilleker & Jackson, 2011) and build communities (Lilleker & Koc-Michalska, 2012). Thirdly we assess the reach strategies of the websites using Webcrawler technology which analyses the use of hyperlinks and whether parties lock themselves within cyberghettoes (Sunstein, 2007) or attempt to harness the power of the network (Benkler, 2006)

The Populist Style and Public Diplomacy: Kayfabe as Performative Agonism in Trump’s Twitter Posts

This article theorises the interplay between public diplomacy and populism. Building on Baudrillard’s simulacra, we advance the hybridity approach to soft power statecraft by analysing a cultural shift in US presidential public diplomacy. Using discourse analysis, we uncover how, rather than aiding the building of relationships with foreign publics, Donald Trump has brought to the field cultural codes alien to public diplomacy, imploding the meanings central to the endogenous norms of diplomacy, and turning towards an agonistic relational dynamic with foreign publics. This article reveals how digitalisation enables the expansion of Trump’s populist style and foregrounds the populist cultural shift visible in his Twitter discourse. To reveal this dynamic in granular detail, we propose ‘kayfabe’ as an epistemic lens for the interpretation of the populist style at the core of Trump’s ‘simulated public diplomacy’. As well as considering how socialities are re-shaping relational dynamics, this article unpacks the tensions that stem from the expansion of populist style into the realm of presidential public diplomacy. Finally, we reflect on the implications of the epistemic crisis of US public diplomacy for the larger strategic landscape of political uncertainties associated with the proliferation of populism in the field

Neurological symptoms in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and their association with in-hospital mortality

Objectives. To evaluate the spectrum of neurological symptoms in patients with COVID-19 during the first 14 days of hospitalisation and its association with in-hospital mortality. Material and methods. We included 200 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 164 patients, a detailed questionnaire concerning neurological symptoms and signs was performed prospectively within 14 days of hospitalisation. In the remaining 36 patients, such questionnaires were completed retrospectively based on daily observations in the Department of Neurology. Results. During hospitalisation, 169 patients (84.5%) experienced neurological symptoms; the most common were: fatigue (62.5%), decreased mood (45.5%), myalgia (43.5%), and muscle weakness (42.5%). Patients who died during hospitalisation compared to the remainder were older (79 [70.5–88.5] vs. 63.5 [51–77] years, p = 0.001), and more often had decreased level of consciousness (50.0% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001), delirium (33.3% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.001), arterial hypotension (50.0% vs. 19.6%, p = 0.005) or stroke during (18.8% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.026) or before hospitalisation (50.0% vs. 7.1, p < 0.001), whereas those who survived more often suffered from headache (42.1% vs. 0%, p = 0.012) or decreased mood (51.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.003). Conclusions. Most hospitalised patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms. Decreased level of consciousness, delirium, arterial hypotension, and stroke during or before hospitalisation increase the risk of in-hospital mortality