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The article presents the autobiography of the sociologist Jan Szczepanski on the tribulations of a Polish sociologist. He started to study philosophy and sociology in 1932 at the University of Poznan, Poland, under Florian Znaniecki. He received the M.A. degree on the basis of a paper on the semantics of Husserl, and the Ph.D. degree on the basis of a dissertation entitled "The Idea of the Milieu in Rural Sociology," written under the direction of Professor Znaniecki in 1939. Both these works, prepared for printing in 1939, were lost during the war and have never been published, only several articles appearing at that time. He brought with him from his home an interest in rural sociology. His father possessed a small farm in the mountain locality of Ustron in Silesia. Work on this farm was therefore his first experience of any social importance. Sociology in Poland was quickly reconstructed. During the first post-war years the author wrote two textbooks, "Development of the Methods of Sociology" and "History of Social Thought in the Nineteenth Century." However, after the turn towards Stalinism, the publication of the manuscripts proved impossible. Instead he published many papers, and wrote in the weeklies, taking part directly in political discussions and polemics.

This article discusses several papers related to economic history of Italy, published in the several journals. In a short paper "La Polonia medievale tra occidente ed oriente europeo," by A. Giesztor, the author examines economic conditions of central Europe, particularly of Poland about A.D. 1000, with particular reference to agriculture. The author decides that Polish agriculture was well adapted for a variety of crops. The paper "La structure economique et sociale de I'etat de I'ordre teutonique en Prusse," sets out to analyse the role that the Teutonic Order had in the life of Prussia. With an indubitable political function the Order showed also its efficiency in the economic sector, revitalizing internal and external commerce to a degree, which the author describes as exceptional. In 1454 the insurrection put an end to its regime in most of the country. B. Geremek deals with the problem of the origins of pauperism in an essay "La popolazione marginale tra ii medioevo e I'eta moderna'." As is evident from the title, the author believes that the problem of pauperism was born in the period of the transformation of society that occurred at the beginning of the modern era.

This article discusses the functions of Polish trade unions. The research material for this paper has been derived largely from Polish trade union publications. It is the contention of the author, that by examining the Polish trade union press, one can arrive at an objective presentation of the role that trade unions play in Poland. This paper will also attempt to examine the Soviet direction in which these unions have been moving. Moreover, the first to discard the tactic of trade union independence was not a trade union body but the Unity Congress of the Communist and Socialist parties. The part the unions played during the first post-war period in work competition did not take any definite organizational forms. Despite all the measures in Poland, which tend to lessen solidarity among workers, that solidarity continues to persist but its manifestations are different from the first post-war years. The fact that the trade unions, acting in concert with management, are driving workers to produce more, clearly indicates that there is no authority workers may appeal to for the redress of their grievances from the excesses of this programme. The reaction of the workers to this politicalization of all programmes, including entertainment, offered in the culture and recreation halls was to avoid them as far as possible.

Specimens of Stenostomum, which could be attributed to either S. anatirostrum or S. bryophilum, from Britain, Kenya and Poland have been described, and compared with published descriptions of similar material collected in Brazil and Finland. It is concluded that 5. bryophilum ought to be regarded as a synonym of S. anatirostrum. S. anatirostrum is a very variable species with a wide geographical distribution. It occurs in aquatic and damp terrestrial habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the development of the social sciences in Poland. The organization of periodicals is always linked with the structure of scientific institutions. This also holds true in Poland, and it is therefore useful to sketch the organization structure of the social sciences in order to understand the functioning of periodicals in scientific life. Polish scientific institutions are set up in several departments. The divisions among different institutions and organizational sections shape the character and functions of social science periodicals in Poland. The periodicals published by the universities and the Polish Academy of Sciences are of an academic character, i.e., they deal with theoretical studies, information on the advancement of science, methodological problems, etc. Periodicals issued by ministerial institutes which are subordinate to central institutions deal rather with practical problems, applied research in economics, sociology, psychology, social politics and the like. In turn the periodicals of scientific associations deal more with regional problems. This division is not entirely strict, for a number of periodicals devote part of their space to theoretical problems, a part to practical problems and a part to local matters.

Presents an abstract of the article "Polish Abstracts in English, Russian," published in the December 1954 issue of the journal "Chemical and Engineering News." Announcement of the issuance of Polish Technical Abstracts, covering Polish technical papers and books.

1. The problems presented have arisen in practice when carrying out international comparisons of national income and its elements between the CMEA countries. Some rough conclusions are drawn from the nearly completed comparison of consumption level between Poland and Austria. 2. The basic methodological principles of the comparison were similar to the methods used by the group of economists directed by Milton Gilbert and Irving Kravis in their comparison relating to Western European countries. However, a number of new problems have emerged in the course of our work which required practical and theoretical solutions. Some differences in theoretical approach between the Gilbert-Kravis study and ours are discussed. Gilbert and Kravis based their comparison as far as possible on average prices of commodity groups or quantity data, and price indexes for representative goods were applied only as a practical necessity. On the contrary in our study we based our calculation mainly on representative goods and their price relation as this method, in our opinion, takes into account quality differences, which escape from the picture in the Gilbert-Kravis method. 3. Some special theoretical and practical problems of comparisons between countries having market economies and those with planned economies are presented in terms of the example of the comparison of consumption levels between Austria and Poland. Three groups of questions are pointed out: (1) the problem of the definition and boundaries of the aggregates compared; (2) the problem of differences in pricing in the groups of products and services compared, resulting from the social policy of the government concerned; and (3) the problem of differences arising from general price policies in the countries compared. 4. At the end of the paper it is suggested that it would be useful to work out a ‘statistical information system’, which would make possible detailed comparisons of the volume of consumption among several countries and groups of countries without the need of conducting direct comparisons between each pair of countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a seminar on the use of public opinion surveys, held in Warsaw, Poland from September 1-20, 1958. The seminar was attended by French and Polish professors and research workers. For the first week the seminar dealt with the place which sampling occupies, or could occupy in the methodology of the main social sciences. During the following two weeks, the discussions concerned a number of sampling surveys that had been conducted in France and Poland. The seminar opened with a study of economic behavior patterns. The organization of Poland's economy has been severely criticized and a genuine attempt at reconstructing the economic system has been under way. The necessity of the study of scientific organization of labor was discussed. Studies of electoral sociology may simply attempt to describe an election as completely and objectively as possible, as an historical event and for the purposes of history. The Polish press and radio are playing a very important part in introducing the sampling method into Polish sociological research.

The article presents a study, which examined the occurrence of aspartylglycosaminuria in Poland. To this end, a survey of 1,792 low-grade mentally retarded children in Polish institutions was carried out, using two-dimensional paper chromatography for amino acids. The sample examined was found to contain no subjects with aspartylglycosaminuria, but there were fifty-six with phenylketonuria. It was concluded that aspartylglycosaminuria is rarer in Poland than in Finland. In Finland, it is evidently common than in other parts of Europe.

There are two chairs of sociological studies at the Jagellonian University in Cracow, Poland. One is the Chair of General Ethnography and Sociology held since 1935 by professor Kasimierz Dobrowski and the Chair of Sociology and Demography held by professor Pawel Rybicki, established in 1957. The research work in general ethnography and sociology is mainly concerned with two fundamental processes. First, the socio-cultural transformation of the rural milieu and second, the influence on the working class and its culture on the influx of rural population to towns and industrial centers. The research activity of the Chair of Sociology and Demography is concentrated on three problems. The first problem is the history of social thought. Second problem is urban sociology and the third is the demographic and sociological problems connected with the migratory movements of the population. In addition to research work paper, the two chair are also responsible for the teaching of sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the Angelina University.

Explains the development of the Polish Ministry of Labour in 1972. Organizational structure of the labor administration; Features of the Ministry's program; Overview of existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation arrangements in labor administration as of August 1974.

The article presents information on the teaching of written English to advanced and intermediate English students at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in Poland. The article offers practical problems related to some experimental writing materials developed at the Institute of English Studies. A well-known side effect of audio-lingual habit teaching is displayed at the Institute of English Studies by the students. The audio-lingual habit teaching is an ability that offers inspiration to speak English fluently and colloquially coupled with a record in writing. The article offers three principles that are used to develop a series of exercises by the writer. The article offers various excerpts from exercises related to develop writing skills. The teaching material has been designed to cope with a specific teaching situation.

Two species of Stenostomum, viz. S. glandulosum Kepner and Carter and S. anops Nuttycombe and Waters, are recorded for the first time from Poland. Descriptions of the Polish material are given, and these are compared with published information on the structure of the species. A new sub-species, viz. S. corderoi Marcus s. sp. poznanensis s. sp. nov. is recorded from Poland, and fully described. Features which separate the new sub-species from S. corderoi corderoi Marcus are listed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ions found from three peat bogs in Poland. It states that the waters of Polish Sphagnum bog have slightly higher average concentrations of sulphuric acid than the waters of floristically comparable ombrogenous bogs of the British Isles. Analyses of major ions likewise reveal that the British Isles is much richer in sodium chloride as might be expected from their oceanic situation. Moreover, charts depicting climatic data for areas in which bogs are situated are also presented.

Deals with the development of vocational and medical rehabilitation programs for the disabled in Poland. Status of the problem of disability in the country; How rehabilitation programs are planned and organized.

Focuses on the unsatisfactory state of knowledge on different attitudes of men and women towards work. Discussion on the need for research in a world where women are called upon to participate ever more actively in economic life; Findings of a study which examined the various aspects of the problem of women's attitudes towards work in Poland.

The article discusses the planning reforms implemented in Poland during 1964 and 1965. Topics discussed include Stalinist system, a political and economic system implemented in Poland, failure of traditional planning methods in providing services such as quality improvement, innovation and cost reduction, and decrease in sale of industrial products from Poland in its home and foreign market. A table depicting Eastern Europe's industrialization level vs. economic slowdown is presented.

Focuses on the proposed Polish economic reforms of 1970 and illustrates the general nature of the problems faced by the socialist economies. Reason for the deterioration of investment efficiency; Components of the proposed reform; Use of performance indicators to calculate increases in wages and salaries.

The article presents various information related to academics. The Department of Education in the University of Reading has recently established a Centre for Training in Agricultural Extension. This Centre, which is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, will help to meet the need for advanced training for agricultural advisers employed by both national government agencies and commercial firms. In the last three years rural sociology has obtained a more stabilized position among the social sciences in Poland. Before that period it was possible to write about the long tradition of rural sociology in this country and about the quick rate of its growth. To date the rate of growth may be lower and in a certain sense there is reason to be less satisfied with the progress that is made, but the positions have been consolidated more firmly. Another contribution to the integration of rural sociology is the publication of the Annals of Rural Sociology, edited jointly by the Rural Sociology Sections of the Institute of Agricultural Economics and the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology.

Focuses on a study which investigated the consumption of alcoholic drinks by pupils and students of primary, secondary and high schools in different cities in Poland. Main alcoholic beverage drank by young people at the time the investigation was conducted; Average age of girls and boys who were already drinking alcoholic beverages; Age limit for drinking of alcoholic beverages in the country.

This article investigates the occurrence of the more important pathogenic fungi of forest trees in the areas affected by industrial air pollutants in Poland. The impact of air pollutants on forests in countries characterized either by developed or by developing industry became an object of interest to the foresters and phytopathologists. In addition to the immediate impact of industrial emissions on arborescent Plants, an important role is played also by the response of other components of forest environment, mainly that of pathogenic fungi. Frequently, the same species response in a different way to the impact of various components of air pollutants.

Authors begin the description of the development of the public opinion surveys in Poland by indicating the fundamental terminological and conceptual difficulties involved. For even if they disregard the complications encountered by all those who attempt to define the concept of public opinion itself, they must still take into account the fact that the institutions and centers which carry out so-called public opinion surveys undertake investigations on widely different subjects and use a variety of techniques. When speaking of public opinion surveys in the present article, they have in mind surveys of representative samples by means of questionnaires or interviews. The surveys will concern: Information pertaining to such attributes of the respondents as may be defined by objective criteria e.g. sex, age, level of education, income or information concerning their past behavior, information concerning the decisions taken by the respondent in concrete situations in which he finds himself, or may find himself and answers not pertaining to concrete behavior, but general evaluations or opinions e.g. the satisfaction derived from work achieved, attitude to national traditions, or appraisal of reliability of newspaper information. In fact, only the third type of problem could strictly speaking be referred to as a problem of public opinion and studied by survey method, whereas in the first two cases, peoples overt behavior can be studied instead of asking them questions.

The two Polish articles presented in the following pages give a complementary account of the comparative survey conducted at Lodz, at Warsaw and in Silesia. Miss A. Kloskowska outlines the general problem of the study of images and models and, on the basis off actual data, offers some stimulating reflections on the definitions and theoretical studs of basic concepts. Mr. Piotrowski concentrates in his article on attitudes concerning paid work by women, which is one of the most important points in the survey at its present stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Polish Research Guide which is published in Poland under an agreement with the National Science Foundation. It can be referred for the field of library science.