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The disruption of fossil fuel supply chains due to the war in Ukraine has resulted in the need for an urgent reorganisation of the energy supply system, the cost of which has created a substantial increase in electricity prices in many markets. In light of the above, the need for the development of a renewable energy market has become stronger than ever; hence, the authors of this study have oriented their efforts towards investigating the development of the renewable energy market in countries bordering the line of armed conflict in Ukraine, i.e., Poland—strongly dependent on traditional forms of energy production—and Lithuania. The primary objective of the paper is to review the literature on wind energy, which is necessary to establish the current role of this energy dimension in the renewable energy market in the energy systems of Poland and Lithuania. Therefore, this review paper is oriented towards a review and evaluation of the available thematic literature and industry studies, as well as conclusions related to the number and direction of research topics in the area of the explored issues. The basic finding of this review is that the reviewed literature and studies are most strongly oriented towards a general assessment of the ongoing energy transition in the world, in which the thread of the assessment of the energy situation in Poland and Lithuania, including the thread of the analysis of wind energy, is part of broader assessments, most often regarding EU countries. The wind energy of the countries included in the scope of the review is not discussed comprehensively. The gap identified in this respect relates in particular to the aspect of wind energy development potential concerning solutions targeted at the individual consumer. In quantitative terms, studies addressing wind energy in Lithuania represent a lower percentage of the thematic literature acquired for the review. In the area of noted niches, the need for research and analysis is recommended to increase the information supply for developing the renewable energy market in Poland and Lithuania. In doing so, it is important to explore the technical and technological solutions (with a focus on the individual customer) and the economic aspects of wind installations from a micro and macro perspective. In addition, there is a lack of sufficient studies revealing the position of public opinion regarding the development of this dimension of the RES market and the direction of its changes. This is an important problem—particularly in Poland, where the so-called distance law constantly blocks the development of this dimension of RES and where the need to develop energy from renewable sources is particularly urgent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining biomass-fired power generation with CO2 capture and storage leads to so-called negative CO2 emissions. Negative CO2 emissions can already be obtained when coal is co-fired with biomass in a power plant with CCS technology. The need for bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage has been identified as one of the key technologies to keep global warming below 2 °C, as this is one of the large-scale technologies that can remove CO2 from the atmosphere. According to the definition of bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage, capturing and storing the CO2 originating from biomass, along with the biomass binding with carbon from the atmosphere as it grows, will result in net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Another technology option for CO2 removal from the atmosphere is direct air capture. The idea of a net carbon balance for different systems (including bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage, and direct air capture) has been presented in the literature. This paper gives a background on carbon dioxide removal solutions—with a focus on ecology, economy, and policy-relevant distinctions in technology. As presented in this paper, the bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage is superior to direct air capture for countries like Poland in terms of ecological impact. This is mainly due to the electricity generation mix structure (highly dependent on fossil fuels), which shifts the CO2 emissions to upstream processes, and relatively the low environmental burden for biomass acquisition. Nevertheless, the depletion of non-renewable natural resources for newly built bioenergy power plant with CO2 capture and storage, and direct air capture with surplus wind energy, has a similar impact below 0.5 GJ3x/t of negative CO2 emissions. When the economic factors are a concern, the use of bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage provides an economic justification at current CO2 emission allowance prices of around 90 EUR/t CO2. Conversely, for direct air capture to be viable, the cost would need to be from 3 to 4.5 times higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport activities are a significant factor in environmental pollution, especially in cities. Therefore, measures aimed at electrification of public transport are particularly important. The aim of the paper is to present the origins, status and development dynamics of electromobility in Polish cities, especially the second generation of electromobility, i.e. vehicles that do not require continuous connection to the energy source. In practice the second-generation electric vehicles can be identified with battery-powered vehicles, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles. The study was prepared on the basis of an analysis of literature, industry documents or development strategies. In addition, a database of information on zero- and low-emission vehicles in public transport (i.e. electric and hybrid buses) was compiled to analyse the phenomenon. The study shows that the implementation of electromobility in Poland has already emerged from the initial phase. The possibilities for developing battery technology vary in cities of different sizes. In 2021 in Poland, the share of low-emission buses in the public transport fleet was several times higher than that of electric vehicles among passenger vehicles. It is most likely that the Polish road to electromobility leads primarily through public transport. The following factors influencing the development of electromobility were identified: these were primarily EU and Polish legislation and regulations, the presence of manufacturers of rolling stock and electrotechnical equipment, and – at the local scale – organisational, economic and social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium remains the drug of first choice for prophylactic treatment of bipolar disorder, preventing the recurrences of manic and depressive episodes. The longitudinal experiences with lithium administration greatly exceed those with other mood stabilizers. Among the adverse side effects of lithium, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, thyroid, metabolic, cognitive, dermatological, cardiologic, and sexual are listed. Probably, the most important negative effect of lithium, occurring mostly after 10–20 years of its administration, is interstitial nephropathy. Beneficial side-effects of long-term lithium therapy also occur such as anti-suicidal, antiviral, and anti-dementia ones. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions of lithium, mostly those with other drugs, may have an impact on the success of long-term lithium treatment. This paper makes the narrative updated review of lithium-induced side-effects and interactions that may influence its prophylactic effect in bipolar disorder. Their description, mechanisms, and management strategies are provided. The papers appearing in recent years focused mainly on the long-term lithium treatment are reviewed in detail, including recent research performed at Department of Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland. Their own observations on ultra-long lithium treatment of patients with bipolar disorder are also presented. The review can help psychiatrists to perform a successful lithium prophylaxis in bipolar patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows how the hierarchised nature of the EU mobility regime is underpinned by member states' policies in a major country of emigration such as Poland. Drawing on historical institutionalism, this paper documents the path-dependent approach regarding policies that have contributed to the outflow of Polish workers and simultaneously to meet the demand for labour at home. While concerns about the consequences of emigration were raised already in 2005, Polish governments have kept defending the EU policies that underpin this outflow and its hierarchised nature. Rather than to improve the rights of Polish mobile workers, Polish governments have defended companies' rights to use 'wage competitiveness' as a method of increasing mobility. In response to the increasing demand in the domestic labour market, governments first tried return campaigns, but they have since turned to importing labour, especially from Ukraine. In this way, the policies of the Polish state have helped reaffirm the hierarchised nature of the EU mobility regime by exporting workers to be subjected to poor conditions abroad while importing Ukrainian workers to experience poor conditions at home. Thus, Poland occupies an unusual place in the 'migration chain', being, simultaneously, a source of as well as a destination for migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence in Poland is more frequent in individuals who live in a city. There are more studies demonstrating that long-term exposure to air pollutants is an independent risk factor for developing AD. The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiology of AD and food allergy (FA) in school children and adolescents living in Krakow, and to find a potential relationship between the incidence of atopic dermatitis with exposure to polluted air. In this paper, we presented the incidence of AD and FA between 2014 and 2018. We analyzed data collected from nearly 30,000 children aged 7–8 and adolescents aged 16–17 from the population of children and youth in Krakow. We correlated it with annual mean concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, which indicated a gradual improvement in the air quality in Krakow. As our research results show that the prevalence of atopic dermatitis decreased with food allergy prevalence depending on the age group. We can suspect that this is the result of children growing out of a food allergy. It may be also influenced by more consequential eating habits in a group of adolescents and the elimination of allergenic foods from the diet. The decreasing incidence of atopic dermatitis appears to be also related to improvement in air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is indisputable that power systems are being transformed around the world to increase the use of RES and reduce the use of fossil fuels in overall electricity production. This year, the EU Parliament adopted the Fit for 55 package, which should significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels in the energy balance of EU countries while increasing the use of RES. At the end of 2022, the total number of prosumer installations in Poland amounted to about one million two hundred thousand. Such a high saturation of prosumer micro-installations in the power system causes many threats resulting from their operation. These threats result, among others, from the fact that photovoltaics are classified as unstable sources and the expected production of electricity from such installations is primarily associated with highly variable weather conditions and is only dependent on people to a minor extent. Currently, there is a rapid development of topics related to forecasting the volume of energy production from unstable sources such as wind and photovoltaic power plants. This issue is being actively developed by research units around the world. Scientists use a whole range of tools and models related to forecasting techniques, from physical models to artificial intelligence. According to our findings, the use of machine learning models has the greatest chance of obtaining positive prognostic effects for small, widely distributed prosumer installations. The present paper presents the research results of two energy balance prediction algorithms based on machine learning models. For forecasting, we proposed two regression models, i.e., regularized LASSO regression and random forests. The work analyzed scenarios taking into account both endogenous and exogenous variables as well as direct multi-step forecasting and recursive multi-step forecasting. The training was carried out on real data obtained from a prosumer micro-installation. Finally, it was found that the best forecasting results are obtained with the use of a random forest model trained using a recursive multi-step method and an exogenous scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the study was to assess the possibility of practical use of products of pyrolysis of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), i.e., pyrolysis gas, biochar and pyrolysis oil, as an alternative to standard fossil fuels. The subject matter of the paper reaches out to the challenges faced by the global economy, not only in the context of the energy crisis, but also in the context of the energy transformation currently beginning in Europe. The increase in fuel and energy prices prompts countries to look for alternative solutions to Russian minerals. At the same time, the growing amount of municipal waste forces the implementation of solutions based on energy recovery (the amount of municipal waste per EU inhabitant in 2021 is 530 kg). One such solution is pyrolysis of RDF, i.e., fuels produced from the over-sieve fraction of municipal waste. In Poland, insufficient processing capacity of thermal waste conversion plants has led to significant surpluses of RDF (1.2 million Mg of undeveloped RDF in Poland in 2021). RDF, due to their high calorific value, can be a valuable energy resource (16–18 MJ/k). This issue is analyzed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overview: Photovoltaic (PV) systems are widely used in residential applications in Poland and Europe due to increasing environmental concerns and fossil fuel energy prices. Energy management strategies for residential systems (1.2 million prosumer PV installations in Poland) play an important role in reducing energy bills and maximizing profits. Problem: This article aims to check how predictable the operation of a household PV system is in the short term—such predictions are usually made 24 h in advance. Methods: We made a comparative study of different energy management strategies based on a real household profile (selected energy storage installation) based on both traditional methods and various artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which is a new approach, so far rarely used and underutilized, and may inspire further research, including those based on the paradigm of Industry 4.0 and, increasingly, Industry 5.0. Results: This paper discusses the results for different operational scenarios, considering two prosumer billing systems in Poland (net metering and net billing). Conclusions: Insights into future research directions and their limitations due to legal status, etc., are presented. The novelty and contribution lies in the demonstration that, in the case of domestic PV grids, even simple AI solutions can prove effective in inference and forecasting to support energy flow management and make it more predictable and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of ongoing climate changes and the current geopolitical situation, Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are continuously gaining popularity in many countries. Objectives related to environmental protection and the use of RES set by different countries all over the world, as well as by the European Union (EU), are becoming priorities for many. The increase in the installed capacity of photovoltaic systems has been growing steadily for several years, leading to the creation of new systems accompanying PV installations; this phenomenon has also been observed in Poland. This paper presents a photovoltaic system in the form of a bicycle shed next to a school building as an example of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) without connection to the power grid. It was shown that the energy consumption profile should be properly correlated with the production profile, otherwise significant losses occur. Alternative methods to improve the correlation of production and energy consumption by using SCADA systems or building automation to properly manage the electricity generation and consumption installation were also proposed. Furthermore, it was shown that adopting a fixed discount rate in financial analyses can distort the picture of real profits. An analysis of the changes in the NPV ratio using variable discount rates was carried out when analyzing the entire life of the solar plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of the authors' research on the share of energy costs in revenues and their impact on the profitability of companies. This research was inspired by a large increase in energy prices in 2022. The authors analyzed the shares of energy consumption costs in production companies from various industries, using various sources: scientific literature, expert studies, and statistical data. Based on the results of these analyses, the authors simulated the impact of changes in energy prices on the profitability of companies. The research results are as follows: according to the authors, the share of these costs in the value of sales is much lower (several percent) than presented in various literature sources (a dozen or so, and even up to 30% in some cases). Despite this, however, the change in energy prices should significantly reduce profitability according to the simulations conducted by the authors. However, the financial reports analyzed by the authors show that profitability in many cases not only did not deteriorate, but revenues and profits increased in a large number of companies. In many cases, this can be explained by the actions taken by companies to reduce energy consumption costs and by increases in product prices. The authors' research also shows that if factors such as the specificity of the industry or the size of the company have an impact on energy efficiency, it is only to a small extent. The share of energy costs in sales and financial results, even within a given industry and in companies of similar size, varies greatly. The authors therefore believe that the effectiveness of the management of a given company has the greatest impact. Therefore, the results of the analysis differ significantly from the results of studies presented in the literature. Energy consumption data were analyzed using various literature sources from different countries. However, the main analyses conducted by the authors focused on Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The awareness of environmental pollution has been continuously growing in recent decades and is currently reaching its maximum. Europe and most developed countries are determined to ensure safe breathing air for their citizens, and the measures to do so are stricter than ever before. Combustion procedures remain the primary means of producing energy and warmth in Poland. Among the notable constituents of flue gases produced as a result of fuel combustion, solid particles (or particulate matter) hold significant prominence. The paper presents the chemical characterisation of particulate matter emitted from stationary and automotive emission sources. Stationary emission sources included the combustion process of fossil fuels (soft wood, bituminous coal, ecopea coal, culm) in domestic heating units and the process of combustion of bituminous coal in a power plant. Automotive emission sources included light duty and medium duty vehicles fuelled by diesel. Exhaust toxicity tests were carried out maintaining the real conditions of PM emission. In all field measurements particulate matter was gravimetrically measured and collected on quartz or glass fibre filters. Subsequently, the content of carbonaceous fraction, inorganic ions, and metals and metalloids was analyzed using different analytical techniques. The chemical composition of the particulate matter differed depending on the emission source. With respect to stationary combustion sources, the main factors determining solid particle emission are related primarily to the fuel quality. The duty of vehicles was also a factor that influenced the chemical characterisation of the particulate matter emitted from the engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) into energy systems requires a meticulous assessment of various factors, spanning renewable energy potential, legal frameworks, technical considerations, community engagement, and consumer preferences. This article synthesizes a multifaceted discussion on the subject, focusing on the need for comprehensive analyses before deciding to implement SMRs. Drawing insights from geographic information systems (GIS) and lessons from renewable energy development in Poland, this paper underscores the significance of aligning energy strategies with local needs, emphasizing stakeholder participation. This study examines the factors influencing location attractiveness for various energy technologies, including small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), wind, solar, and hydroelectric power plants, within Poland. Employing 17 indicators sourced from Statistics Poland and URE, coupled with the application of the k-means algorithm, we outline four distinct clusters that delineate the zones of location attractiveness for SMRs and other renewable energy sources. While large and medium-sized cities exhibit optimal location attractiveness, coastal counties in northern Poland emerge as more suitable for renewable energy sources than for SMRs. The study outlines four distinct energy development strategies based on typologies of regions, each tailored to maximize the utility of available resources and minimize environmental impact. The strategies encompass renewable energy utilization, energy efficiency enhancement, energy diversification, and adaptation through innovation. Emphasizing the interplay between renewable energy potential, energy demand, and local conditions, the research suggests the strategic deployment of SMRs as part of an energy mix in areas where renewable energy resources are limited. By leveraging SMRs' continuous energy production, these reactors can complement intermittent renewables, bolstering energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is a key driver of all modern economies. Sustainable development is playing an increasingly important role both at regional and local levels. It is a compromise between social and economic needs and the preservation of nature. In the policy of the European Union, the idea of sustainable development and environmental protection is of decisive importance for the implemented programs and economic activities. Contemporary challenges require the transformation of the energy market towards greater use of renewable sources. According to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and European Council on promoting energy from renewable sources, Poland has committed itself to achieving a 23% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030. This goal considers total energy consumption in terms of power, engineering, heating, refrigeration, and transport. The aim of this paper was, firstly, an analysis of the share of renewable energy in the European Union over an 18-year period (2004–2021), with particular emphasis on the position of Poland. The second objective was the analysis of renewable energy at the local level in Poland, i.e., at the local government unit (LAU) level. Changes in the share of renewable energy in Poland compared to other European countries were also examined. The study utilized functional analysis of principal components and cluster analysis based on the data from the Central Statistical Office and EUROSTAT. The study found that while Poland does not differ significantly from other countries in using renewable energy, it does fall below the European average. Principal component analysis suggests that Poland responds adequately to European changes in the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption. This dynamic is stable (over 95% explained by the first component) and applies to most countries surveyed. In addition, the authors sought to answer questions relating to the current status of renewable energy sources in Poland, the barriers and challenges facing the introduction of renewable energy in the country, a comparative analysis of Poland's progress in renewable energy with other global counterparts, and an exploration of the future prospects and potential for the development of renewable energy in Poland. The study found that the potential for renewable energy is greatest in the northern areas of Poland, with photovoltaics and wind power plants providing the greatest capacity. Poland's renewable energy potential is very high and will be determined by technological development, political, economic, and social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of residential CO2 emissions, which are not covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), in 19 European countries between 2000-2017. Using both static and dynamic panel models, we found strong relationships between CO2 emissions per capita, GDP per capita, energy prices and heating needs. We then assessed the impact of European carbon taxation and show that a €20/tonne CO2 tax lowers emissions by 1% on average. We found that this tax affects countries differently in terms of tax revenue-to-GDP ratio. Poland and the Czech Republic would have to pay the highest contribution, and Portugal and Denmark the lowest. Finally, we propose a scenario that equalizes countries' tax burdens. We show that, were Europe to redistribute all tax revenues, the main beneficiaries would be Poland and Belgium, while Denmark and Luxembourg would have to pay a surtax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the management aspect of artificial intelligence development policy by the national regulators of the 27 European Union (EU) member states. The solutions formulated by three of them—Germany, France (as a pioneers), and Poland—are analyzed in depth. The obtained results allow us to conclude that out of 27 EU countries, only one has not yet prepared its strategic project on artificial intelligence (AI) development, while among the existing policies one can find significant differences in the approach to the matter of strategic management. The research methods used are content analysis and comparative analysis of selected source documents. In the course of the deliberations presented, key legal acts concerning the areas of AI and modern technologies are cited. The presented work formulates a starting point for further research and directions of changes in the management of AI development policy. The attention of subsequent researchers should focus on the possibility of a detailed analysis of other documents published by EU member states, a comparison of policies of other countries across the world, and even an attempt to examine the global dimension of AI strategies. The article addresses the problem of creating law only following, rather than preceding, the emergence of technological changes, the lack of systemic regulation of AI tools and mechanisms, as well as the absence of integrated forms of international cooperation with a strategic and long-term dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of people living in cities is continuously growing, and the buildings in topographic maps are in need of frequent updates, which are costly to perform manually. This makes automatic building extraction a significant research subject. Transfer learning, on the other hand, offers solutions in situations where the data of a target area are scarce, making it a profitable research subject. Moreover, in previous studies, there was a lack of metrics in quantifying the accuracy improvement with transfer learning techniques. This paper investigated various transfer learning techniques and their combinations with U-Net for the semantic segmentation of buildings from true orthophotos. The results were analyzed using quantitative methods. Open-source remote sensing data from Poland were used for pretraining a model for building segmentation. The fine-tuning techniques including a fine-tuning contracting path, a fine-tuning expanding path, a retraining contracting path, and a retraining expanding path were studied. These fine-tuning techniques and their combinations were tested with three local datasets from the diverse environment in Finland: urban, suburban, and rural areas. Knowledge from the pretrained model was transferred to the local datasets from Helsinki (urban), Kajaani (suburban), and selected areas in Finland (rural area). Three models with no transfer learning were trained from scratch with three sets of local data to compare the fine-tuning results. Our experiment focused on how various transfer learning techniques perform on datasets from different environments (urban, suburban, and rural areas) and multiple locations (southern, northern, and across Finland). A quantitative assessment of performance improvement by using transfer learning techniques was conducted. Despite the differences in datasets, the results showed that using transfer learning techniques could achieve at least 5% better accuracy than a model trained from scratch with several different transfer learning techniques. In addition, the effect of the sizes of training datasets was also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to develop a proposal for an Active, Inclusive and Trust-Based Framework of Environmental Education of the Elderly. It is based on the concept of environmental education, active and healthy ageing as well as generativity, and also takes into account trust in sources of environmental knowledge. In the course of quantitative research (n = 401) carried out among Poles 55+ in order to validate it, the perception of environmental issues, the awareness of and motivation for undertaking pro-environmental actions, and the credibility of sources of knowledge about environmental behaviour were examined. Elderly individuals in Poland express their belief in the need to take care of the natural environment. They are afraid that maintaining the status quo will cause permanent damage to the environment. In their opinion, pro-environmental behaviour is necessary to save the planet. These key conclusions have confirmed the correctness of the assumptions about the need for environmental education of the elderly, leading primarily to their environmental activation. Varied assessments of the credibility of sources of environmental knowledge indicate the need to assign them adequate priorities in the environmental education of the elderly. Our findings have important implications for shaping non-formal environmental education of seniors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex workers may show extreme sensitivity to power relations during qualitative research due to the previous experiences of stigmatization and marginalization. The purpose of this article is to analyze how technologically mediated communication between researchers and participants during an interview may influence the scope of control exercised by the interactional partners. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, I conducted 16 qualitative phone and videoconference interviews with female sex workers in Poland discussing the social stigmas they encounter. Each interview was followed up with extensive field notes that were analyzed using the procedures of grounded theory methodology. These very field notes serve as the basis for the paper herein. As a result of the analysis, I distinguished areas of power negotiated by the interviewer and interviewees in successive phases: before, during, and after the interview. The sense of control over the respective aspects of a study may contribute to the establishment of a more democratic power relationship between the researcher and the participants who belong to a population bearing a stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of research and analyses related to the development of a new quasigeoid model fitted to GNSS/levelling data for the area of Poland (PL-geoid2021). The model was determined employing two procedures based on the Geophysical Gravity data Inversion technique (GGI method): procedure A consisted of the determination of the gravimetric quasigeoid model in the first step and its subsequent fitting to GNSS/levelling data in the second step, and procedure B consisted of a one-step determination of the model fitted to GNSS/levelling data. Both models were developed using the global geopotential model SGG-UGM-2 and gravity data covering the area of Poland, and slightly extend beyond Poland's southern and northern borders. The average model was adopted as the final model. It was demonstrated that the accuracy of the gravimetric quasigeoid model had a very low dependence on the reference topographic mass density model used. On the basis of this model, the GNSS/levelling datasets were also assessed and outliers were identified. The estimated accuracy of the gravimetric model, determined based on four GNSS/levelling datasets, was in the range of ± 1.2 to ± 1.7 cm, in terms of the standard deviation of the differences between the measured and model-determined height anomalies. Due to partial lack of gravity data just beyond the Polish border, the edge effect was also analysed. The accuracy of the final quasigeoid model (estimated in the same way as the gravimetric model) ranges from ± 1.0 to ± 1.2 cm. It should be noted, however, that this assessment is not fully independent because three of the four sets of GNSS/levelling points used for it, were also used to build the final model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have identified several statistically significant trends in cloud genera frequency over Poland. Notably, there has been an increase in high and convective clouds, along with a decrease in Stratus, Altostratus and Nimbostratus. These earlier studies were, however, only based on traditional, surface data. As the ability to observe mid and high‐level clouds from the ground is limited, due to overlapping, we address the question of whether these trends are confirmed by other sources of cloud data, such as satellite records. In this paper, we analyse cloud data from two fully independent sources to characterize the cloud type climatology over Poland for the period 2003–2021: cloud optical thickness (COT) and cloud top pressure (CTP) parameters retrieved from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and surface (SYNOP) observations of cloud genera from the country's 27 ground‐based stations. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) COT–CTP classification was used to define MODIS cloud types. We explore the hypothesis that MODIS data, classified using the ISCCP philosophy, confirms the changes in cloud type frequencies found in SYNOP observations. Our analysis is based on the application of the Spearman rank correlation test to mean monthly SYNOP and MODIS cloud type frequencies, and we compare per decade trends for two time series. Our hypothesis was confirmed, but only for Cirrus, Altostratus + Nimbostratus and Cumulus. We therefore conclude that the two analysed data sources are not fully consistent, and cannot substitute for each other in cloud type climatologies. Hence, at least for Poland, they should be treated as independent rather than complementary. We also demonstrate that the increase in high‐level cloud frequency over Poland, which has been observed by other authors who based their research on synoptic data, is not due to a decrease in the frequency of low‐ and mid‐level clouds. Our findings are confirmed by satellite records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to give a comprehensive account of translation strategies for English-Ukrainian interpretation of Joseph R. Biden's speech in Poland. Political speeches serve as a multi-purpose tool, shaping people's consciousness and reinforcing political practices and firmly held beliefs. Therefore, the appropriate translation methods are needed to retain such a communicative effect on the recipient audience. Political discourse interpreting requires a high level of pragmatic competence, and interpreters must have the skills and knowledge to effectively convey the speaker's intended meaning in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way. The current research is based on the semiotic and communicative-pragmatic approaches to the study of political discourse interpreting. In this regard, the comparative method and contextual analysis proved efficient in comparing the source language text with the target one. The study results show that interpreting political discourse sets to provoke similar reactions in the source and target text addresses. The studied speech in English is abundant in stylistic devices and expressive means to exert a pragmatic effect. It has been proven that linguo-stylistic features are retained in the interpreted message by incorporating formal correspondences and various transformations. The interpreter of the political speech in question has the ability to adjust the language, style, and delivery of the interpreted message to fit the cultural and linguistic context of the target audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the question how and to what extent EU law instruments (the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Work-Life Balance Directive and the developing European Care Strategy) contribute to creating and/or facilitating fair working conditions for informal carers for the elderly in Poland and in the Netherlands. The analysis revealed that due to the differences in the situations of informal carers (intensity of care provided and the support for informal carers in the social and healthcare sectors) as well the differences in access to formal long-term care, the extent of EU law contributions in each country varies significantly. While in the Netherlands the most necessary actions to be taken are related to gender equality and working conditions of informal carers who mainly work part-time, in Poland the necessary actions cover different and much broader issues related to access to formal long-term care services as well as support and formal recognition of carers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of climate change on forest condition is noticeable. Forest ecosystem stress caused by climate change has already been manifested in several parts of Europe, including Poland. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to investigate for the entire area of Poland a long‐term trend and variability of forest greenness expressed as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), derived from two decades (2002–2021) of remote sensing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. In the next step, selected meteorological elements – temperature (T), precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ETo), derived from ERA5‐Land reanalysis—were used to determine the influence of climatic conditions on the variability of NDVI in forests. The study documents the general greening of forests in Poland in 2002–2021. The greening is mostly visible in central‐eastern Poland, where the annual mean NDVI increased by 0.030 in 20 years, while it is weaker in the Baltic coast and in the southern edges of Poland (increase by 0.009 in 20 years). Overall, the positive, statistically significant trends in annual NDVI prevail over the negative, statistically significant trends and account for 32.5% of forest area, whereas the negative trends account for 3.9%. The study indicates an overall moderate impact of meteorological elements on variability of NDVI in forests in Poland. The most important factors affecting forest condition are P and ETo. The strongest correlations between NDVI and P and ETo reach 0.55 and are located in central Poland, in the form of a belt from western to eastern borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the contemporary phenomenon of online translations of post-Holocaust Polish Jewish memorial books. The memorial books, written primary in Hebrew and Yiddish in the decades after the war, each focus on Jewish life and death in a particular prewar Jewish community. Written originally by and for people from those communities, the books are now being translated and posted online by Jewish genealogists, and, most recently, by Polish non-Jews interested in the histories of their own towns. The paper explores what is lost and gained in the process of translating these inward facing, post-genocidal diasporic volumes for entirely new communities of readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the proliferation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm, the inadequacy of conventional quality management tools has become increasingly apparent. The preliminary investigation presented in this paper focuses on the identification of the Quality 4.0 readiness level of organizations operating in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, as well as affecting factors. The study is based on the review of relevant literature. The web-based questionnaire enabling organizations' representatives through Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) to take part in the study was used. Data from 298 completed responses were subjected to comprehensive analysis. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were applied to analyse the data. Small and medium-sized organizations achieve low levels of Quality 4.0 readiness. Large organizations are better prepared. The study confirmed the dependence between the Quality 4.0 readiness level and whether the organization operates in automotive, while automotive organizations achieved a higher level of Quality 4.0 readiness than other organizations. The significant relationship between the Quality 4.0 readiness level and whether the organization has a certified management system was also confirmed. Received data also enabled the identification of the main barriers and benefits of Quality 4.0 implementation perceived by the organizations. The research findings identify the challenges that enterprises face regarding the Quality 4.0 implementation and the necessary support that organizations require. These findings can be a foundation for developing novel research initiatives and implementation programs. The research results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and bring new information and insights into the field of quality digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to better understand the importance of a long-erased border between two empires that once partitioned Poland and its ongoing effect on regional educational achievement. Previous research has indicated that inherited norms towards education may explain the observed gap in the achievement of students in the former Austrian and Russian partitions of Poland. Findings suggest that although a gap in favour of the former Austrian partition does indeed exist in four school subjects, there is no convincing evidence of the causal effect of historically rooted norms on the achievements of today's students. If such an effect exists, it is probably indirect and works through the accumulated educational attainments of adult generations and quality of instruction rather than by directly influencing the attitudes of today's students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huge amounts of carbon being sequestered in forest ecosystems make them an important land carbon sink at the global scale. Their ability to withdraw carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere, whose concentration is gradually increasing due to anthropogenic emissions, renders them important natural climate-mitigation solutions. The urgent need for transition from high to zero net emission on country, continental, and global scales, to slow down the warming to an acceptable level, calls for the analysis of different economic sectors' roles in reaching that ambitious goal. Here, we examine changes in CO 2 emission and sequestration rates during recent decades focusing on the coal-dominated energy sector and Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) as well as wood production at the country level. The main purpose of the presented study is to examine the potential of storing carbon in standing forest biomass and wood products in Poland as well as the impact of disturbances. The ratio of LULUCF absorption of CO 2 to its emission in Poland has ranged from about 1% in 1992 to over 15% in 2005. From a climate-change mitigation point of view, the main challenge is how to maximize the rate and the duration of CO 2 withdrawal from the atmosphere by its storage in forest biomass and wood products. Enhancing carbon sequestration and storage in forest biomass, via sustainable and smart forestry, is considered to be a nature-based climate solution. However, not only forests but also wood-processing industries should be included as important contributors to climate-change mitigation, since harvested wood products substitute materials like concrete, metal, and plastic, which have a higher carbon footprint. The energy perspective of the paper embraces two aspects. First, CO 2 sequestration in forests and subsequently in harvested wood products, is an effective strategy to offset a part of national CO 2 emissions, resulting largely from fossil fuel burning for energy-production purposes. Second, wood as biomass is a renewable energy source itself, which played an important role in sustaining energy security for many individual citizens of Poland during the unusual conditions of winter 2022/2023, with a scarce coal supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on the varieties of national manifestations of the public good(s) in higher education. Drawing on a set of 33 semi-structured interviews (with politicians, university managers and faculty), it addresses the three following research questions: How do the actors in the field define the public good(s)? To what extent does the global public good play a role in their views? What are the specificities of the national system that shape understandings of the public dimension of higher education in Poland? The three definitions of the public good are proposed. The findings are discussed alongside the following four themes: higher education as a public good, higher education and the state, tuition fees, and the global public good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a parameter identification methodology of the SIRD model, an extension of the classical SIR model, that considers the deceased as a separate category. In addition, our model includes one parameter which is the ratio between the real total number of infected and the number of infected that were documented in the official statistics. Due to many factors, like governmental decisions, several variants circulating, opening and closing of schools, the typical assumption that the parameters of the model stay constant for long periods of time is not realistic. Thus our objective is to create a method which works for short periods of time. In this scope, we approach the estimation relying on the previous 7 days of data and then use the identified parameters to make predictions. To perform the estimation of the parameters we propose the average of an ensemble of neural networks. Each neural network is constructed based on a database built by solving the SIRD for 7 days, with random parameters. In this way, the networks learn the parameters from the solution of the SIRD model. Lastly we use the ensemble to get estimates of the parameters from the real data of Covid19 in Romania and then we illustrate the predictions for different periods of time, from 10 up to 45 days, for the number of deaths. The main goal was to apply this approach on the analysis of COVID-19 evolution in Romania, but this was also exemplified on other countries like Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland with similar results. The results are backed by a theorem which guarantees that we can recover the parameters of the model from the reported data. We believe this methodology can be used as a general tool for dealing with short term predictions of infectious diseases or in other compartmental models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of small district heating systems (DHS) in Poland are supplied with coal and do not have a status of efficient ones according to Energy Efficiency Directive. They should transform into efficient ones by taking an appropriate measures by the end of 2035. At the same time, a significant reduction of CO 2 emissions is expected in this sector. One of the possible solution for such systems is to apply unites fueled with fuels alternative to coal such as biomass. Cost benefits analysis of implementation a biomass ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) cogeneration unit in municipal district heating system of 22 MW thermal capacity is the subject of the paper. The research included building configuration scenarios of a heat source regarding ORC size and operation modes. Different economic inputs such as electricity, fuel and European Union Allowance (EUA) for CO 2 prices as well as financial support mechanisms were considered. Economic indexes (Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and payback times) have been derived for both Polish and German conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parcel lockers seem to be a very interesting and innovative solution for any type of city, beneficial to both customers and online stores. Accounting for the growing number of B2C e-commerce customers, this measure significantly meets their needs. Moreover, this solution solves the challenges of last-mile deliveries, which are one of the major effects of heavy traffic of commercial vehicles in the whole city area. Recipients and senders of parcels through parcel lockers are the main generators of demand for this service. Hence, assessing their satisfaction and requirements is a key indicator of the development of this area. This work focuses on the efficiency of user parcel lockers and compares the situation in Italy, Poland, and Ukraine. This paper also presents an analysis of the already existing data on the satisfaction of parcel locker users, as well as the results of a study conducted among Ukrainian consumers for this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the MBI-SS questionnaire, which measures academic burnout in students. The factorial structure of the tool was examined, and its validity was evaluated using a sample from Polish state universities (N=935). Findings suggest that the MBI-SS possesses strong psychometric parameters. Data supports the tool's 3-factor structure and internal consistency. However, there are reservations regarding one item (MBI_6). Consequently, the 15-item version of the MBI-SS is recommended as a suitable tool for assessing burnout in Polish students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study assessed the effect of long-term, diversified NPK fertilization and cereal monoculture on the physical and water properties of post-mining Technosols. The research was carried out in 2022 at an experimental plot established in 1978. A field experiment was established on the internal heap of the Pątnów KWB Konin (Brown Coal Mine Konin). In the research area, since the beginning of the experiment to the present day, an annual cereal crop rotation has been cultivated (winter rye alternating with winter wheat). In 1988, the area was divided into three experimental sections that received different rates of NPK fertilization. The study area consisted of three plots -- marked in the paper as: 0 NPK, 1 NPK, 2 NPK. In each section the morphology of three soil profiles were described. From each genetic horizon, samples with a disturbed and intact structure were collected. The results of the analyzes were treated as repetitions and statistically processed. The collected material was used to analyze the basic physical, water and chemical soil properties. The tested soils were classified as Spolic Technosols (Pantocalcaric, Katodensic, Pantoloamic, Ochric). Mineral fertilization improved the physical and water properties in the surface horizons, but no effect was observed on subsoil properties. Fertilization with a single NPK application was found to be effective and additional applications were considered superfluous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High P M 10 concentrations are still a significant problem in many parts of the world. In many countries, including Poland, 50 μ g/m 3 is the permissible threshold for a daily average P M 10 concentration. The number of people affected by this threshold's exceedance is challenging to estimate and requires high-resolution concentration maps. This paper presents an application of random forests for downscaling regional model air quality results. As policymakers and other end users are eager to receive detailed-resolution P M 10 concentration maps, we propose a technique that utilizes the results of a regional CTM (GEM-AQ, with 2.5 km resolution) and a local Gaussian plume model. As a result, we receive a detailed, 250 m resolution P M 10 distribution, which represents the complex emission pattern in a foothill area in southern Poland. The random forest results are highly consistent with the GEM-AQ and observed concentrations. We also discuss different strategies of training random forest on data using additional features and selecting target variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents the Polish researchers' opinions on success perception in science and examines the role of bibliometric and altmetric indices/metrics. It also provides respondents' statements on how their work is evaluated at Polish universities. Methods: The data come from in-depth interviews (spring 2023) with early career researchers in Linguistics, Literary Studies, History, Philosophy, Polish studies, Theology, Arts, Music, Plastic/Fine Arts, and Film. Results: The respondents' attachment to indices used in the periodical evaluation of scholars at Polish universities, such as the number of publications, ministerial score points, and external grants, was observed. The respondents were critical of citations as the determinant of success. They were generally not very interested in altmetrics. Value: The importance of this research (National Science Centre grant No 2022/45/B/HS2/00041), which is the Polish continuation of the two international projects (2016-2022), lies mainly in providing a platform to researchers in art and humanities, not included in earlier studies devoted to the sciences and social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assisted reproductive technology (ART) as an infertility therapy remains controversial, although it has been available for more than four decades, with more than five million people estimated to have received the treatment worldwide. In Poland, the legitimacy and acceptability of in vitro fertilization (IVF) are still debated in the public and political realms, with NaProTechnology being the recommended publicly funded method of infertility treatment. Aim of the study: This paper presents the current perceptions and opinions of Polish women of reproductive age on infertility treatment, with particular reference to IVF. Material and methods: The study used an original questionnaire to survey 226 women aged 18-49 on their knowledge and attitudes toward IVF. Results: A high level of knowledge concerning IVF as a method of infertility treatment was demonstrated by 19.9% of respondents. Most women interviewed (65%) had a positive attitude toward IVF, 4.6% would use IVF regardless of the cost, and 12.4% would never use IVF. Only 5.8% of respondents thought that access to infertility treatment is guaranteed in Poland. Conclusions: This is the first study conducted in Poland in which participants professed that their Catholic faith did not influence their lack of acceptance of IVF. Most respondents held the opinion that access to infertility treatment is not guaranteed in Poland. Given the increasing scale of the infertility problem, detailed monitoring of attitudes and acceptance of IVF is needed to support those in Poland struggling with the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of hazardous heavy metals that have been released into the environment due to industrial activities has become an important issue in recent years. The presented study concerned the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solutions using dolomites. Dolomite is a very attractive adsorbent due to its wide availability, low cost, good adsorption, and environmental compatibility. The paper describes the properties of D-I and D-II dolomites from two different open-cast mines in Poland. The properties of natural adsorbents were determined based on point of zero charges (PZC), elemental analysis of the adsorbent composition, FT-IR, XRD, and SEM spectra analysis. Depending on the initial concentration of the solution used, the adsorption efficiency of copper(II) ions was 58–80% for D-I and 80–97% for D-II. The adsorption mechanism in the case of D-II dolomite was mainly based on ion exchange, while chemisorption dominated the D-I dolomite surface. Considering the possibility of the regeneration and reuse of the adsorbent, dolomite D-II is a better material (the desorption efficiency of copper(II) ions was 58–80%). The adsorption behavior of dolomites has been described using six adsorption isotherms. The best fit was obtained for the Redlich–Peterson, Jovanović, and Langmuir isotherms, indicating that monolayer adsorption occurred. The maximum adsorption capacity for copper(II) was 378 mg/g of D-I and 308 mg/g of D-II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An assumption shared for years by Romani studies scholars is that the Roma language is seminal to the group's identity. The text is an in-depth analysis of the beliefs of Roma in Poland regarding their mother tongue. The inspiration for this exploration stems from a theoretical model shedding light on correlations between knowledge of the Romani language and the Roma ethnic identity, the model Marushiakova and Popov developed with reference to the situation of Roma in Central Eastern Europe. The paper focuses on the question: What meaning do Roma in Poland assign to knowledge of the Romani language in the construction of their own ethnic identity? The authors argue that irrespective of the fact that the mother tongue currently appears to be a key element of group identity, Romaniness contains the potential to reproduce itself even under circumstances of language abandonment and even among the most conservative Romani groups. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines institutional change in father‐specific leave ‐ a centre‐piece of the EU's work‐life balance directive (WLBD) ‐ from the perspective of gradual institutional change. The WLBD, a highly contentious directive, represents a litmus test for the possible impact of the European pillar of social rights (EPSR), on welfare state institutions, which are responsible for the organisation, financing and delivery of social rights in member states. The analysis comprises in‐depth case studies in Denmark, Germany, France and Poland, with different combinations of family and parental leave policies prior to the WLBD. The findings reveal that the EU's directive is leading to convergence in paternity leave, but to divergence in parental leave. Our study is important because it shows that even if EU directives in social policy in principle can lead to upwards social convergence across the EU, when they are relatively weak in terms of precise constraint, for instance, for the level of remuneration for leave, this leads to differentiated integration. This could undermine the very purpose of the EPSR, which seeks to improve social rights for all citizens across the EU. Similar dynamics are likely to be present in other areas at the welfare state‐labor market nexus, such as minimum wages or platform work, where the EU is also developing regulation under the auspices of the EPSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a bibliometric analysis to map the field of Corpus Linguistics (CL) research in arts and humanities over the last 20 years, tracking changes in popular CL research topics, outlets, highly cited authors, and geographical origins based on the metadata of 5,829 CL-related articles from 429 Scopus-indexed journals. Results reveal an increase in corpus-assisted discourse studies, lexical bundles and academic writing, alongside newer topics including multilingualism and social media. CL studies span 193 languages/dialects with a significant rise in Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Italian CL research over the past decade. Clusters of highly cited CL researchers are identified spanning (inter)disciplinary research areas. An increase of CL researchers in China, Poland, South Korea, Japan, and more is evidence of the now global reach of CL research. These findings mirror diachronic socio-cultural developments in applied linguistics and society more generally and provide insights into what CL research might come next. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities have always been places that generate problems, but also places where solutions are born. In recent years, cities have become a testing ground for finding and testing solutions to overcome the climate crisis. The subject of the paper is Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) that strengthen the resilience to climate change, influence urban spaces, and improve the quality of life of residents. The study focusses on the identification of NbSs, the diagnosis of its participation in local adaptation activities, and a comparative analysis of the activities planned and implemented in 44 large Polish cities in 2017–2023. The authors analyse data from 44 Polish cities, based on the types of NbSs implemented in European cities that carried out the URBAN GreenUP project. The results of the study show that Polish cities, while introducing sustainable urban lifestyles through NbSs, do not take advantage of all the opportunities inherent in these solutions. They focus on greening urban spaces and implement water interventions and singular green infrastructure measures to a lesser extent. There is negligible use of innovative and energy-using activities. The quantitative data obtained can be used to identify the gaps and potentials in the use of nature-based solutions in the adaptation of Polish cities to climate change and energy transformation. The aim of this work is also to identify recommendations to incorporate NbSs into urban adaptation policies in Poland. The authors conclude that the research conducted can serve to improve the knowledge on the links between NbS planning in adaptation activities and their implementation in urban spaces. An awareness of NbS gaps can influence the intensification of research on the implementation of innovative adaptation solutions, including energy-based solutions. The results obtained can also contribute to a better organisation of urban policies that aim to increase the resilience of cities to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy crisis in Europe in 2022 and its consequences have brought changes to approaches towards the issue of energy security, energy policy, and the ability to react to crisis phenomena in the energy market in a short period of time. European countries that are dependent on Russian fossil fuels have faced numerous dilemmas and challenges in 2022. This paper aims to analyse the instruments and energy policies introduced as the reactions of European countries, specifically with the examples of Poland and Germany, to the ongoing fossil fuel crisis in the context of a short period. Due to the specificity of the energy market, the countries' energy policies mainly concern long- and medium-term goals. In 2022, there was an unprecedented situation in which many European countries had to make significant changes to their fossil fuel imports quickly. We analyse and evaluate how two European countries that are heavily reliant on imported energy resources responded in a short time to the necessity of modifying their patterns of fossil fuel supply and demand. The results of our research are models that illustrate both countries' reactions to the disturbances in the energy market during the initial months of the energy crisis. As part of the research, we conducted an analysis of the energy mix of Poland and Germany, their import energy dependency, and self-sufficiency. We then compared them with the short-term energy policies of both countries. As a result, we elaborate on a comparative analysis of the models of Poland's and Germany's responses to the crisis. The research also assesses the similarities and differences in the response models in Poland's and Germany's short-term energy security policies. The results of our research may help, in the future, to choose the available short-term instruments in the energy policy of countries in the face of a sudden need resulting from disruptions in supply chains. The article contributes to the future discussion on renewed national and regional energy security, as well as efficiency concepts. Our research findings could be valuable in selecting appropriate short-term energy policy tools for countries during supply chain disruptions. This article provides significant input for future deliberations on enhancing national and regional energy security, and also efficiency strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of the EU's institutional action to ensure an appropriate level of energy efficiency demonstrates the key role of pro-saving measures and energy efficiency measures to achieve a climate-neutral economy by 2050. Achieving this goal is therefore also possible through energy performance contracting (EPC), which enables specialised entities called energy service companies (ESCOs) to operate in the market. The creation of an appropriate and favourable framework at the EU level for the use of EPCs does not imply an identical approach by all individual member states. For this reason, the domestic policy of one member state, Poland, was contrasted with the EU framework. Under the influence of the EU guidelines and regulations, the EPC legislations in Poland was amended. This provided a reason to analyse the importance of legal factors (conditions) in implementing the EPC model, especially from the perspective of public institutions. In light of the above, it was attempted to show whether legal regulations would be sufficient to increase the number and level of ESCO projects in public sector units and whether they would remove the barriers to EPC development that are seen in public–private partnerships and the impact of obligations under an energy efficiency improvement agreement on the level of government debt or public finance sector deficit. This paper adopts research methods that are typical to studying EPC topics; however, the research conducted here is theoretical (descriptive analysis) and of dogmatic legal in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for clean energy and the global shift towards renewable sources necessitate reliable solar radiation forecasting for the effective integration of solar energy into the energy system. Reliable solar radiation forecasting has become crucial for the design, planning, and operational management of energy systems, especially in the context of ambitious greenhouse gas emission goals. This paper presents a study on the application of auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models for the seasonal forecasting of solar radiation in different climatic conditions. The performance and prediction capacity of ARIMA models are evaluated using data from Jordan and Poland. The essence of ARIMA modeling and analysis of the use of ARIMA models both as a reference model for evaluating other approaches and as a basic forecasting model for forecasting renewable energy generation are presented. The current state of renewable energy source utilization in selected countries and the adopted transition strategies to a more sustainable energy system are investigated. ARIMA models of two time series (for monthly and hourly data) are built for two locations and a forecast is developed. The research findings demonstrate that ARIMA models are suitable for solar radiation forecasting and can contribute to the stable long-term integration of solar energy into countries' systems. However, it is crucial to develop location-specific models due to the variability of solar radiation characteristics. This study provides insights into the use of ARIMA models for solar radiation forecasting and highlights their potential for supporting the planning and operation of energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article concerns practices related to the so-called the "second circulation" of musical materials in the Polish People's Republic. This phenomenon is studied in relation to the issues of contemporary economics, technological progress and, above all, issues of social institutionalization. The author considers the problems of reception of popular music in the country behind the Iron Curtain and methods of providing access to various types of recordings and their official and alternative tracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we build on a long research effort aimed at identifying the specific conditions, functional and structural characteristics of urban areas, that produce different levels of residential segregation across cities. We explore segregation levels in Poland's 87 largest cities, cities with more than 50,000 residents, by measuring indices of dissimilarity relating to socio‐professional status. We then proceed by examining core structural determinants of the revealed segregation levels, including city size, and housing market characteristics. The results suggests that the structural characteristics of urban regions are indeed significant predictors of the level of socio‐spatial disparities in urban Poland. As expected, larger cities are more segregated than the smaller ones; higher shares of public housing also appear to contribute to more pronounced socioeconomic spatial divisions. Intriguingly, the share of new housing stock alone is not related to strong residential segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the activity of the chosen Polish geodetic research teams in 2019-2022 in the fields of the Earth rotation and geodynamics. This publication has been prepared for the needs of the presentation of Polish scientists' activities on the 28th International Union of Geodesy and Geodynamics General Assembly, Berlin, Germany. The part concerning Earth rotation is mostly focused on the estimation of the geophysical excitation of polar motion using data from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its follow-on (GRACE-FO) missions, and on the improvement of the determination of Earth rotation parameters based on the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellite techniques. The part concerning geodynamics is focused on geodetic time series analysis for geodynamical purposes and monitoring of the vertical ground movements induced by mass transport within the Earth's system, monitoring of the crustal movements using GNSS and newly applied Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), discussing the changes of the landslides and its monitoring using geodetic methods as well as investigations of seismic events and sea-level changes with geodetic methods. Finally, the recent research activities carried out by Polish scientists in the international projects is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the key studies concerning GNSS positioning and applications conducted at leading Polish research institutions from 2019 until 2022. The review also constitutes a contribution to the national report of Poland for the International Union of Geodesy and Geodynamics (IUGG) presented at the 28th General Assembly of IUGG held in 2023 in Berlin, Germany. In particular, we discuss the advances in theory and applications of relative and absolute positioning, troposphere and ionosphere sounding, smartphone and low-cost GNSS data processing, and other specific studies such as those on satellite antenna calibration and clock stability. In light of these recent advances by the Polish scientific community, continuous progress in GNSS theory and processing algorithms is thought to be maintained in the future, and GNSS applications are expected to continue to proliferate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptualization of the EU as a normative power has become a central theoretical framework in the field of European studies. This concept highlights the EU’s role in the promotion of normative principles, particularly those concerning its core values as laid out in article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. While the majority of academic works on NPE have mostly focused on the EU’s external action, there is a growing trend to apply this concept to the study of member States that challenge the core values of the EU. This paper takes a step further in that endeavor through the analysis of Spanish media discourses on the EU, and their role in the discursive construction of the EU as a normative power, both internally and externally. Specifically, our research focuses on how the EU’s commitment to human rights norms and the rule of law are reflected in dominant media discourses on the EU in Spanish media. To conduct our study, six national Spanish media outlets were selected based on the following criteria: Ownership; ideology; consumption; and impact. A final sample of 540 news items published between July 2021 and March 2022 were selected for analysis. Using a qualitative methodological approach that includes content analysis and critical discourse analysis, we analyzed the major discourses identified in relation to the EU, focusing on those in which the construction (or deconstruction) of the EU as a normative power is more prevalent. We also attempted to unfold how this construction is projected internally and externally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]