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Purpose: The article aims to identify factors that influence changes in revenues in Polish companies during the COVID-19 pandemic and to improve the efficiency of the allocation of state aid. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a logit model to analyze data from a survey of 10950 medium-sized Polish non-financial enterprises, reviews the relevant literature, and focuses on the Polish market. For the purposes of the survey, in addition to the sector breakdown, we proposed measures based on financial data to qualify companies according to their business profile. Findings: The revenues of companies responding to the lockdown are driven by the sector and the company profile. Service companies were more vulnerable to the negative effects of the pandemic, while manufacturing companies and those selling to final retail customers were more resilient. Research limitations/implications: Future research could focus on developing more accurate models to predict the decline in revenues during a pandemic. The study focused on mediumsized enterprises in Poland. Practical implications: The paper suggests that state aid policies should consider not only the sector but also the company profile. It also implies that companies must adapt to market changes and consumer preferences due to the pandemic. Originality/value: This article provides new information on factors that affect changes in revenues in Polish companies during the pandemic. It is valuable for policy makers, researchers, and companies seeking to improve their pandemic response strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how the metropolitan creative classes in Poland reacted to the changes in the organization of everyday life caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, especially its temporality and rhythmicity. The pandemic and lockdowns reorganized previous ways of experiencing and managing time. Based on our empirical research and research by other scholars, we have identified some of the most common disruptions of pandemic temporality. However, a vital element of the article is to specify how the social category we studied dealt with these disruptions. In doing so, we show that the response to the breakdown of the previous order of everyday life was to restore a sense of stability actively. We were also interested in the possible, also negative consequences of the findings for the social category under study. The empirical basis for the article are in‐depth interviews conducted during the fourth phase of the ongoing research project [title anonymized], which began during the first weeks of the lockdown in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: does the pandemic affect the ability to achieve the sustainable development goals? Design/methodology/approach: The article analyzes selected, available literature on sustainable development, from the genesis of the phenomenon to the current situation. It invoked, among other things, the idea of the European Green Deal. The most current issues related to the pandemic reality were addressed. The themes and changes highlighted are based on data from available reports and statistical analyses. Findings: By the time the pandemic broke out, the sustainability goals had been achieved gradually. But the pandemic has forced policymakers to think long-term. The conditions for transition to the green economy, i.e. the green transition, have also become crucial. In many countries, including Poland, the need for better achievement of social goals in addition to economic or environmental ones has become apparent. Further work is needed to achieve the sustainable development goals. Research limitations/implications: The text refers to a limited number of studies. The problems presented in the paper still need to be empirically confirmed in relation to a greater number of examples, which should result in the publication of subsequent studies. It will also be necessary to fully diagnose the post-pandemic situation and retrace the threads taken up. Originality/value: The article points to already visible changes, being the result of the continuing pandemic, from the perspective of sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unexpected and on a large-scale expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global health and economy crisis, affecting many organizations. On the first line of the industries, which challenged the crisis was the healthcare one. This is because this industry on the one hand provided treatment to infected patients putting at risk its employees and on the another faced many business challenges resulting from the economic slowdown. Healthcare industry is considered highly reliant on its stakeholders as it is considerably dependent on medical staff. The objective of this paper is to study the role of significant stakeholders of small and medium sized outpatients’ clinics in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given relatively limited quantum of literature on studied area we employed a multiple case study approach, rooted in two small and medium sized outpatient clinics in Poland. The results of this study indicate the role of stakeholders for studied companies was critical. Right management of stakeholders’ relationships allowed studied cases not only to go through the COVID-19 pandemics but also to expand their activities and improve financial performance. We recommend policy and business decision makers of healthcare industry for future potential pandemics or major economic disruption to focus on stakeholders' management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event which is transforming societies and strengthening the bond between human and technology. However, less attention is paid to nonusers of the Internet. To combat the pandemic, the Polish government introduced, in June 2020, a new policy that made it possible for citizens who had lost their job as a consequence of the crisis to obtain financial support. The application for this allowance was, however, possible only via an online platform. The paper discusses how this violated the right of the unemployed to stay offline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to identify the changes in religiosity among Catholic practitioners in Poland that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the changes in the realization of religious practices by students (N = 354). A questionnaire prepared by the authors was used for the study. We sought to answer the question of the extent to which the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects, a history of COVID-19, and the death of a family member due to SARS-CoV-2 infection differentiated the subjects' opinions about religiosity and their undertaking of religious practices. The paper also addresses the issue of media-facilitated religious practices. The study showed that the frequency of religious practices was influenced by the perceived religiosity of the family, the religiosity of the respondent, and the declaration concerning the belief in God. The same factors most often significantly differentiated respondents' opinions on COVID-19. No relationship was confirmed between having COVID-19 and subjects' beliefs about the pandemic or frequency of religious practice. Among the respondents, the pandemic did not intensify the practice of religion. In the face of danger, respondents did not turn to God; there was no revitalization of religion. The situation of limiting the physical experience communion of the Church was treated not as an acute undersupply but as an opportunity or a pretext to abandon the practice of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Epidemiological Review / Przegląd Epidemiologiczny is the property of National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study offers a sociological contribution to the literature on coping strategies on the labor market, with an explicit emphasis on the crisis context and the resulting job insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic has narrowed employment opportunities and worsened working conditions for many individuals who, in response, needed to cope with the unfolding changes. Based on a qualitative dataset comprising 70 in-depth interviews collected in 2021 in Poland, this paper sheds light on the two main types of coping strategies, namely emotional and problem-solving coping. Juxtaposing coping strategies with age, we discuss how younger and older workers in Poland handle work uncertainty. The paper contributes new data on coping strategies in the context of work-lives and offers evidence on the coping processes emerging in response to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this paper was to examine whether the COVID-19 epidemic has slowed the fulfilment of one of the core tasks of the energy sector "Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All" (SDG7) taking into account corporate social responsibility. Four research questions and hypotheses were posed, relating to the perspectives of local authorities, the activities of large energy companies, the impact of the epidemic on the implementation of the SDG7 and, in addition, to the understanding of CSR principles from the point of view of ordinary entrepreneurs. A qualitative descriptive analysis based on two reliable databases and a survey procedure (Question 4) was used to answer the research questions posed. The goal was achieved by positively confirming three hypotheses and testing one negatively, relating to COVID-19's slowing role in SDG7 implementation. The analysis showed that the 2020–2021 epidemic in Poland has led to more initiatives in this area, contrary to expectations. However, they were linked to the simultaneous implementation of other SDGs, which distorted their importance for achieving Goal 7. In summary, although energy companies were more active than expected during the epidemic, they had a low contribution to SDG 7. This also applies to local authorities. An analysis of the knowledge about CSR in a group of entrepreneurs from the Lublin district (case study) confirmed the opinion appearing in the literature about the lack of understanding of the concept and the need for its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines three case studies: RescEU, SURE, and EU support for SMEs. These case studies represent three relevant EU actions that responded to the first phase of the Covid-19 emergency in the sectors of health, work, and economic support for businesses. The main research questions are: What kind of actions have been financed in these sectors with EU funds? What kind of administrative checks were carried out for these EU emergency funds? The paper looks at these issues from a multilevel perspective: starting from the EU framework it reaches national levels, especially Italy, Poland, Belgium, and Germany. In the conclusions, the paper seeks to understand how promptly the EU emergency actions were taken and whether the planned controls prevented fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected not only global economy and society, but also particular institutions, including those of higher education. The aim of the paper is to determine changes in students' life at selected universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. An online survey was applied, addressed to students of four universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus (n=380). As a result of the pandemic, more than 46% of students declared worsening of their material situation. In comparison to the period before the pandemic, the respondents observed appearance or intensification of various psychosomatic symptoms, and a 12 percent point decrease in the assessment of their own health. The comparative analysis showed similarities between students' life preferences, plans on university education, and differences in their material situation, health, and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling the number of individuals in different states is a principal tool in the event of an epidemic. The natural transition of individuals between possible states often includes deliberate interference such as isolation or vaccination. Thus, the mathematical model may need to be re-calibrated due to various factors. The model considered in this paper is the SIRD epidemic model. An additional parameter is the moment of changing the description of the phenomenon when the parameters of the model change and the change is not pre-specified. Detecting and estimating the moment of change in real time is the subject of statistical research. A sequential (online) approach was applied using the Bayesian shift point detection algorithm and trimmed exact linear time. We show how methods of analysis behave in different instances. These methods are verified on simulated data and applied to pandemic data of a selected European country. The simulation is performed with a social network graph to obtain a practical representation ability. The epidemiological data used come from the territory of Poland and concern the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland. The results show satisfactory detection of the moments where the applied model needs to be verified and re-calibrated. These show the effectiveness of the proposed combination of methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has prompted governments and central banks to take unorthodox measures aimed at protecting the standard of living of people and sustaining the production and service activities of companies. The policy of aggressively increasing the supply of money has entailed a significant rise in the budget deficit and public debt. It is important to consider the extent of its impact on the escalation of inflation processes and to formulate suggestions regarding the economic policy. Inflation is already higher than the official indicators show it, because it is partly suppressed. The increase in the general price level does not fully reflect the actual inflation rate. We are dealing with shortageflation – the simultaneous occurrence of price inflation and repressed inflation accompanied by shortages. It is methodologically interesting to compare this current phenomenon, 3.0, with the suppression of inflation in the war economy, 1.0, and in the economies of state socialism, 2.0. Such comparisons highlight not only the similarities of these processes but also the differences resulting from the specificity of responses of households and businesses. This paper discusses five channels of unloading excessive savings, indicating the most beneficial ones from the point of view of sustainable economic development in the post-pandemic future. It is particularly important to prompt the conversion of compulsory savings into voluntary savings, and at the same time, to stimulate the transformation of the inflationary monetary reserves into the effective demand expanding the use of existing production capacities and investments creating new capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify middle-class consumers' habits in four countries during the pandemic of 2020, with special attention to analogous consumers' reactions to extraordinary circumstances during the recession of 2008. Furthermore, this study tried to detect the impact of the pandemic on conscious shopping. Although the consequences of the ongoing pandemic were unforeseeable, the paper opened new avenues for further research on factors responsible for conscious consumption during the unprecedented externality and its significance on the middle-class consumers in culturally diverse markets. To achieve the aforementioned goals, between June and December 2020, computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI) based on pilot stage research were conducted to answer the following questions: How did the pandemic influence the buyers' shopping habits in terms of conscious consumption? What were the reasons for the changes in shopping habits? What kind of consumer behaviors would middle-class buyers recommend to others? One general conclusion, inter alia, should be stressed remarkably: during the pandemic, irrespective of the cultural differences, the middle-class consumers' behaviors did not vary significantly with regards to most of the investigated variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the impact of various COVID-19 pandemic waves on real estate stock returns and their volatility in developed (US, Australia), emerging (Turkey, Poland), and frontier (Morocco, Jordan) markets. A study using a GJR-GARCHX model revealed that the pandemic outbreak had a limited impact on real estate company stocks. The first pandemic wave only in the US caused a decline in stock returns. In turn, this was the case in Poland and Jordan during the second and third waves. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the pandemic development, an increase in the volatility of stock returns can be observed in the Polish financial market. However, this effect mainly applies to the period of the first disease wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to compare the possibilities of providing education in the field of on-line learning by presenting tools enabling teaching in the pandemic conditions. Design/methodology/approach: The following methods are used: literature review, analysis of websites of companies, which offering the use of education platforms necessary to conduct distance learning, case study analysis of platforms, which are a remote education tool: Integrated Educational Platform, Microsoft Teams, Google Classrooma and ClickMeeting. Findings: One of the first solutions to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic in Poland was the suspension of teaching, educational and care activities in schools and educational institutions for designated periods. The next stage was the introduction and implementation of the obligation to carry out educational tasks using distance learning methods and techniques. Remote learning, which was introduced in a relatively short time, requires meeting many conditions by potential users, i.e. having efficient computer equipment, a place at home to study, access to high-speed internet and educational platforms. Research limitations/implications: The article contains an analysis based on the examples of various educational platforms applied in Poland. In further research, it is possible to create a survey to find out about users’ opinions on educational platforms. With the advancement of technology as well as users' feedback, online learning can be significantly improved in the near future. There are some limitations in research related to conducting distance learning in the country, due to the short period of analysis, lack of information and the difficulty of obtaining comparable data. Originality/value: The presented different solutions, which are used for distance learning, are a comparison of various educational platforms and may constitute their recommendations. Hence the analysis of the case of using various educational platforms in the pandemic reality. The article presents the value of teaching for the society and for its continued proper functioning. Currently, the conditions of the pandemic place significant restrictions on all kinds of education, in schools, colleges, businesses and other training. The article is addressed both to pupils, students, as well as to professionals who use the platforms for training or improvement of their business activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An average case fatality ratio over the first six months after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Poland was 5.43% (95% CI: 5.08% – 5.73%), while among hospitalized cases 16.9% (15.8% – 17.9%). • The case fatality rate had a decreasing trend in time starting from 7.83% (7.08% – 8.61%) during first eight weeks after the outbreak (March – April), to reach 2.52% (2.06% – 3.02%) during the summer season (July – August). • Recent medical care as well as the identification of the source contact, independently of the age, sex and comorbidities, significantly impact an individual mortality risk. After more than one and a half year since the COVID-19 pandemics outbreak the scientific world is constantly trying to understand its dynamics. In this paper of the case fatality rates (CFR) for COVID-19 we study the historic data regarding mortality in Poland during the first six months of pandemic, when no SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern were present among infected. To this end, we apply competing risk models to perform both uni- and multivariate analyses on specific subpopulations selected by different factors including the key indicators: age, sex, hospitalization. The study explores the case fatality rate to find out its decreasing trend in time. Furthermore, we describe the differences in mortality among hospitalized and other cases indicating a sudden increase of mortality among hospitalized cases at the end of the 2020 spring season. Exploratory and multivariate analysis revealed the real impact of each variable and besides the expected factors indicating increased mortality (age, comorbidities) we track more non-obvious indicators. Recent medical care as well as the identification of the source contact, independently of the comorbidities, significantly impact an individual mortality risk. As a result, the study provides a twofold insight into the COVID-19 mortality in Poland. On one hand we explore mortality in different groups with respect to different variables, on the other we indicate novel factors that may be crucial in reducing mortality. The later can be coped, e.g. by more efficient contact tracing and proper organization and management of the health care system to accompany those who need medical care independently of comorbidities or COVID-19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By focusing on the most important agents of social control, this paper goes beyond the legal aspects of protecting freedom of assembly in pandemic-ridden Poland. It gives insight into a gap between the declared police neutrality and the balance between neutrality and partisanship in practice. Embedded in the scholarship on protest policing, the study aims to determine the extent of police partisanship over the critical public assemblies in Warsaw. By drawing upon a qualitative frame analysis, the study deals with the following research question: where does the model of police partisanship developed by the Warsaw Police during the coronavirus pandemic lie on a continuum of antinomic ideal types of neutral and partisan policing? The major argument is that protest policing lies close to partisan policing when the government's ruling position is threatened. In such situations, freedom of assembly is at stake, and protesters' behaviour takes the form of civil disorder. Neutral policing is peculiar to events that do not pose any threat to the government. Such events are peaceful, and assembly participants' freedom is respected. Proper recognition of the characteristics of police bias is particularly important to understand the essence of the practice of safeguarding freedom of assembly and the process of political contestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, the global economy has been dominated by the global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the disease COVID-19. The outbreak of the pandemic was an external threat to companies, which had an impact on their innovation strategy On the other hand, for some companies, the pandemic is an opportunity for development. The global crisis, dynamic socio-technological changes, combined with globalization, cause a dizzying pace of change, there is no permission for failure in enterprises – you have to act and to do so effectively. One of the possible ways is to adapt/implement an innovation strategy The basic hypothesis in this paper is the claim that during the pandemic, the surveyed companies did not significantly limit their innovative activities and used an offensive strategy. The aim of the article is to identify the innovation strategies used in enterprises before and during the pandemic. In order to achieve the assumed goal, the article uses deductive inference, critical analysis of the subject-related literature and the in-depth interview (IDI). The research results presented in the article enrich the knowledge about innovative activities of enterprises during the pandemic. Innovation strategies used by enterprises before the pandemic (in 2016-2019) and during its duration (2020-2022) were identified. To summarise the research carried out, it can be stated that before the pandemic, respondents most often pointed to the offensive strategy, independent and market creation, during the pandemic to the offensive strategy, recruitment and independent. Enterprises that were innovative before the pandemic and applied innovation strategies did not stop doing so during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this article is to present the situation of the housing market in the face of the conditions resulting from the covid-19 pandemic. The research focuses on the phenomena that took place in the individual quarters of the years 2019-2021, i.e. just before the pandemic period, during the restrictive phase of the pandemic and just after the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Data for 16 cities, which are provincial capitals, were analysed. The source data comes from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Report on the Situation on the Residential and Commercial Real Estate Market in Poland in 2019, 2020 and 2021 prepared by the National Bank of Poland. The methodology of the research was based on statistical methods, and a study was made of changes over time in the number of transactions made and average unit prices of residential units and rental rates, as well as the number of dwellings offered. Findings: The research shows that the market dynamics hardly slowed down during the pandemic period. In all surveyed cities, an increase in unit prices of residential units and a decrease in rental rates were observed in selected quarters of 2020. In 2021, the residential property market in the main cities in Poland was in an expansionary phase. The number of transactions made was strongly influenced by the ability to obtain mortgage loans. During the study period, the interest rate was at a significantly low level. On the basis of the research carried out, it must be concluded that the market that defended itself from the pandemic crisis was the residential market. This supports the finding that residential real estate is perceived as a relatively safe investment of capital, which has so far yielded higher rates of return compared to placing cash in safer assets such as Treasury bonds or bank deposits. Originality/value: The publication describes the behaviour of the residential property market during and immediately after the COVID 19 pandemic. Demand, supply and prices of residential units are analysed. The publication is aimed at those analysing the impact of pandemics and other unusual events on markets and real estate professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study concerns the development of compensative and compulsive buying in Poland comparing the results of three waves of a cross-sectional study conducted before and at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Six predictors of susceptibility to compensative and compulsive buying are in focus: materialism, self-esteem, gender, age, frequency of online shopping, and experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the importance of the first four predictors in explaining compensative and compulsive buying is already very well described in the literature, while the novelty consists in the predictive model including the variables that describe frequency of online shopping and negative experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as coronavirus infection, hospitalization or death of a loved one. On the one hand, a stronger susceptibility to compensative and compulsive buying could be a reaction to these negative experiences of the pandemic; on the other hand, the increased frequency of online shopping as a result of the pandemic may be an important factor in the development of compensative and compulsive buying due to the easy implementation of purchase acts and weaker social control. To achieve the above research objectives, the German Compulsive Buying Indicator (GCBI) was used to measure susceptibility to compensative and compulsive buying. The data were obtained within three waves of the study (2010, 2019, 2022) based on a random sample of about 1,000 respondents representing statistically the general adult population. Drawing on this study, the prevalence of compensative and compulsive buying is observed at 12–19% and 2–4%. The predictors of GCBI are materialism, self-esteem, gender in all examined models and additionally age, frequency of online shopping, and experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in selected models. Although the findings related to the role of materialism, self-esteem, and gender in the prediction of GCBI reflect the results reported in the literature, the analogous conclusions about age, online shopping, and experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic are different from the established opinions. The commonly reported effect of age becomes statistically significant when the examined population is limited to Gens Y and Z. Although extensive online shopping co-exists with compensative and compulsive buying in the total population, the obtained data lead to reverse conclusions in the case of women's subpopulation representing Gens Y and Z. The negative experience with the COVID-19 pandemic operationalised as hospitalization of a close friend predicts GCBI, but again only in the case of representatives of Gens Y and Z, especially among women. The findings show how important the creation of appropriate intervention strategies is within the consumer policy directed to representatives of the younger generations who may develop pathological buying as a response to negative experiences such as COVID-19 pandemic. The findings can inform of the goals behind therapeutic support for compulsive buyers, and implications for social work. People affected by excessive compensative or compulsive buying need to be given opportunities to build up their strengths and growth of their psychological resources towards healthy self-esteem, which seems to be the best protection against excessive compensative and compulsive buying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The main purpose of this article is to analyze and understand trends in COVID-19 cases in Poland during what is considered the end of the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The article uses data visualization methods to assess trends and identify key factors influencing the dynamics of the pandemic. The analysis included data on the pandemic in the period from 1 January, 2023 to 30 June, 2023. On 1 July, 2023, the state of epidemic threat in Poland was canceled. Findings: Analysis of epidemiological data showed that the number of new COVID-19 cases in Poland showed a gradual decline during the period considered to be the end of the pandemic. This reduction in case numbers has been consistent across regions of the country, although some areas have seen periodic increases. The data clearly demonstrate the significant impact of vaccinations in reducing the number of new infections and severe disease outcomes. Regions with higher vaccination rates saw lower COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths. Research limitations/implications: The surveys discussed in this article may contribute to further empirical studies, including but not limited to initiating works to improve the pandemic analysis. Practical implications: The study provides important information that can be used by public health decision-makers to shape effective pandemic response strategies. The results highlight the importance of maintaining and adapting intervention measures, such as vaccination, to control the spread of the virus and reduce the number of severe cases. Originality/value: This study stands out from other works on the COVID-19 pandemic by its unique focus on the final stage of the pandemic in Poland. While most studies focus on the early stages of the pandemic or its global impact, our study offers detailed insight into local aspects of pandemic management and its evolution in a specific country. We present a comprehensive analysis that combines epidemiological data, the impact of health policy, social behavior and vaccination effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a sudden and significant change in the conditions of various academic activities. In the present study, we wanted to investigate the influence of the first pandemic lockdown on procrastination tendencies among Polish students. To achieve this goal we employed a mixed-method, embedded longitudinal study. In the quantitative part of the research, the same group of university students completed the procrastination questionnaire twice: a year before, and two months after the introduction of the first pandemic lockdown. The qualitative part included the open-ended questions about the perceived reasons for an observed change in a tendency to postpone tasks after the pandemic outbreak. Our analyses showed a significant increase in academic procrastination after the lockdown introduction. In particular, students reported a decrease in the study interest and lower working discipline. As the causes of higher procrastination during the lockdown period, students most frequently pointed out the reduced monitoring of work progress by supervisors and lower negative consequences of delaying tasks. The second most frequent theme in provided answers included difficulty in restraining from alternative activities and problems with focusing on tasks or ignoring distractions. Embedding qualitative and quantitative data gave a consistent picture of students' situation in the first lockdown and provided potential explanation for the exacerbation of procrastinatory behaviors after the pandemic outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of iconic popular culture symbols is an increasingly common strategy applied by social protest organizers. The Guy Fawkes mask from the 'V for Vendetta' comic book became a symbol of the Anonymous group, and later of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Salvador Dalí mask, popularized in the 'La casa de papel' Netflix series, was used in street protests in Spain and Italy. Motifs taken from the HBO adaptation of 'The Handmaid's Tale' novel gained high visibility in thousands of women's protests against the introduction of the de facto abortion ban in Poland. Basing on images documenting the Polish protests published in social media, we demonstrate how popular culture symbols are transformed into cultural codes which bridge on-street and online protest actions. This connection has become crucial in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using qualitative visual content analysis, we prepared a classification of the symbols employed. Our contribution to the theory of performative protests is to reveal the importance of analogies with the political series that Polish protesters have used by means of the general connotation: Poland is Gilead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes the Structured Multi-criteria Model of Self-Managed Motivation in Organizations based on happiness at work. Employees need to be motivated in order to be efficient at doing a particular task at the workplace. As young people born between 1995 and 2004, called Generation Z, enter the labour market, it is essential to consider how employees' motivation might be affected. In the article a quantitative approach was used to collect new data from 200 Polish respondents completing an online survey. The research was conducted before and during the pandemic time. We report and analyze the survey results conducted in Poland among the representatives of Generation Z, who had been employed for at least 6 months. We developed and validated a new approach to motivation using methodologies called Factor Analysis. Based on empirical verification, we found a new tool that connects employee motivation and selected areas of the Hygge concept called Hygge Star Model, which has the same semantics before and during Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Current Sociology is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article we argue that what is called today a ‘democratic backsliding’ or de-consolidation should be analysed, at least in some cases, as a liberal-constitutional backsliding for which the pandemic of Covid-19 adds a new impetus and creates the situation where violation of constitutionality of law might become a norm. In our theoretical considerations, we propose to examine this problem from two interconnected perspectives: the tension between the liberal and the democratic components of liberal democracy, often overlooked by the dominant democratic theory, and constitutionalism as the major safeguard of individual rights and liberties that limits democratic sovereignty, or the will of the people expressed by democratic representation. To better understand the nature of the current crisis of liberal-constitutional backsliding, we refer to Carl Schmitt’s concept of ‘the administrative state’ where the dominant legal act is an administrative decree which does not require constitutional legitimacy or even the guarantee that it expresses the will of the majority. Our empirical considerations focus on the case of the liberal-constitutional backsliding in Poland exacerbated by the pandemic, which provides a good illustration of how the tensions within the liberal-democratic model itself can be used to justify democratic sovereignty as the only source of political legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The e-commerce industry has been developing extremely dynamically for many years. This development was intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the research conducted by the authors of this paper, in Poland, during the pandemic, the number of delivered parcels increased 20–100%, depending on the courier company. The research of the authors of this article focused on the energy efficiency of the last mile, which is very important for the efficiency of the entire delivery process to customers. As the authors calculated, the last mile can consume over 70% of energy of the whole distribution channel. The article presents the results of research concerning the energy efficiency of deliveries performed by couriers and express companies in Poland. Two models of distribution used Poland have been compared—direct deliveries to final customers, and deliveries to parcel lockers. The research methods are interviews with the managers and couriers, analysis of the literature, and the simulation method. According to the results of the simulations performed by the authors, distribution with the use of parcels lockers can help reduce the consumption of fuel even by 74–87% per parcel or 36% per m3. Apart from this, the authors calculated the impact of scale of operations on the energy efficiency of the transport processes on the last mile, which is an indirect effect of the growth of the e-commerce market, caused by the pandemic. Based on the results of the original research of the authors, it can be assessed that the growth of the number of the delivered parcels during the pandemic resulted in the consumption of fuel per one parcel being reduced in some cases by over 36%. The novelty of the authors' research is that the conducted simulations regarded not only the efficiency of the processes, but also the energy consumption in delivering parcels at the last mile and during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to explore different ways of countering the COVID-19 pandemic in Polish theatre that were not only attempts to provide protection against the potentially lethal coronavirus, but also attempts to actively combat other 'viruses': the capitalist compulsion for productivity and the exclusion of Others (the disabled, the elderly, women or LGBT+ people). Several Polish artists of the lockdown era (participants in the Quarantine Project , Beyond #quarantine and DIY 2020 Masterclasses , members of Theatre 21, Joanna Szczepkowska and Wojtek Ziemilski) have managed to draw the attention of a wider audience to these problems. During the pandemic, they practised the art of resistance in various ways, including the 'art of failure' as a resistance against neo-liberal systems. Therefore their projects can be seen as a dress rehearsal before the emergence of a post-pandemic, post-capitalist, post-growth, more ethically conscious theatre of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Announced by the World Health Organization in early 2020, the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infections has had a huge impact on healthcare systems around the world. Local and international authorities focused on implementing procedures to safeguard the health of the population. All regular daily activities were disrupted. Similar factors related to the global fight against the COVID-19 epidemic also had a large impact on transplantation activity. In this article, the authors present the number of patients qualified for transplantation, transplanted and waiting on the waiting list in Poland during the 2-year period of the pandemic. In the first year of the epidemic (2020), all transplantation figures dropped drastically, by as much as 20–30% compared with 2019. The most disturbing fact is that the number of transplants performed in 2022 is still lower than before the outbreak of the epidemic (2019 and earlier). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electricity consumption and, consequently, on decisions regarding the installation of photovoltaic panels using the example of a selected local authority in Poland—the Szemud Municipality. The analysis was conducted in 2022 and covered the years 2019–2021. An attempt was made to explore the factors that may have triggered an increase in the use of solar energy in households and identify the determinants of installing photovoltaic panels in the period under analysis. Previous analyses of the PV market (and the impact of the pandemic on it) have so far focused on the market as a whole, either in macro or global terms, while studies on smaller municipalities have been limited to examining changes in electricity consumption levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and during lockdown. Therefore, a research gap was identified in that there are no studies analyzing the reasons for the shift from conventional to PV-assisted energy in households, with the COVID-19 pandemic as the background of these changes. The literature research showed that there are currently no studies attempting to establish a link between the increased interest in this type of energy by local authorities and the COVID-19 pandemic. The research confirmed the hypothesis of increased interest in household PV during the pandemic. The main conclusions of the study boil down to the need for further support as well as promotion of the use of solar energy. In addition, the results derived from the empirical research indicate the need to take action at a policy level to counter adverse trends regarding undesirable social behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the problem of mathematical modeling of new corona virus (COVID-19) in Poland and tries to predict the upcoming wave. A Gaussian mixture model is proposed to characterize the COVID-19 disease and to predict a new / future wave of COVID-19. This prediction is very much needed to prepare for medical setup and continue with the upcoming program. Specifically, data related to the new confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day are considered, and then we attempt to predict the data and statistical activity. A close match between actual data and analytical data by using the Gaussian mixture model shows that it is a suitable model to present new cases of COVID-19. In addition, it is thought that there are N waves of COVID-19 and that information for each future wave is also present in current and previous waves as well. Using this concept, predictions of a future wave can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to analyze the mobility of Polish residents and a change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a questionnaire study was conducted on changes in the mobility of Polish residents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was carried out in December 2020, when the second wave of cases of the above-mentioned virus was ongoing in Poland. During the study of Polish residents, questions were asked about the purpose of their trip, means of transport, distance to the destination and duration of the trip, as well as the place of making purchases before and during the pandemic. In addition, respondents were asked whether the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their mobility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mobility of citizens, especially in the cities, has changed. Instead of using the public transport, they used cars, bicycles and walk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the level of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Methods: The online survey was conducted among Polish adult citizens (204 respondents) with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. The level of depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory in Polish. Results: Depressive symptoms of moderate or severe degree appeared in about every fourth person. Women were characterised with higher mean depression scores. In the group of men, significant correlations were found between mental condition and age—the higher the age, the higher the values of depression measures. Those who were asymptomatic with SARS-CoV-2 had the best results—a lack of depression, while those who were fully symptomatic had the worst results—major depressive disorder. Conclusions: There is a need for further research and monitoring of mental health in specific population groups. It is necessary to plan preventive measures to prevent the negative effects of the pandemic, especially in women. Specialist support should be implemented during and after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the situation of enterprises in Poland. For this purpose, the results of the CSO surveys were used (the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic situation), conducted from April 2020 to December 2021. The results of the research indicate a clear differentiation of the situation among enterprises in the analysed period. The problems caused by the pandemic were particularly pronounced among service companies in the accommodation and catering sector, retailers in the textile, clothing and footwear sector, and in the specialist construction sector companies. Moreover, in most cases, within a given problem caused by the pandemic, it was the smaller enterprises that indicated the existence of threats more often. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: During the COVID‐19 pandemic, Poland implemented widespread closure of beauty and cosmetic services to control the virus spread. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic on home face care of women and to analyze changes that have occurred in their daily habits. Patients/Methods: An online survey was completed by 412 women living in Poland during the spring lockdown. Questions addressed changes in face care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results and conclusions: Our questionnaire showed that during the lockdown, women were more interested in face skincare, more often followed the procedure of full home skincare. And after implementing the changes in skincare, they saw a good impact on their skin. The significance of the Internet also increased considerably, not only as a source of knowledge in the field of cosmetology but also as a thriving market selling cosmetic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on ophthalmology residency training in Poland. An anonymous self-administered online survey involving polish ophthalmology residents was conducted between February 15 and 28, 2021. Of the 126 residents who completed the survey, 88.9% (n = 112) and 89.7% (n = 113) felt that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted their surgical training and overall training programs, respectively. Trainees providing care to patients with COVID-19 and female trainees indicated a greater negative impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the specialization program (p = 0.008 and p = 0.015, respectively) and on the acquisition of practical skills (p = 0.014 and p = 0.021, respectively). Approximately 94% (n = 118) of the residents surveyed participated in virtual training during the pandemic, and 99.2% (n = 124) positively assessed the content and usefulness of online teaching in everyday clinical practice. The most common platforms used for online meetings were Zoom (62.7%, n = 79) and Microsoft Teams (50.8%, n = 64). Approximately 79% (n = 99) of residents believed that, after the pandemic is over, at least some of the training courses and conferences should be conducted online. In addition, 13.5% (n = 17) of residents reported that they would like to undergo training and specialization courses in virtual form only after the pandemic is over. In summary, the present findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the implementation of the ophthalmology specialization program in Poland, with the greatest impact on surgical training. Trainees providing care to patients with COVID-19 are more likely to negatively assess the impact of the pandemic on the training process. Replacing traditional training with virtual methods was positively received by residents and considered very useful, and most residents reported a desire to maintain virtual training in ophthalmology in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this article is to identify and analyze the use of mobile payments in two countries, Poland and Turkey. The data for the study were collected with the application of the CAWI method in March 2021. The survey covered nearly 650 respondents in total. The basis for comparisons was populations from two culturally distinct countries, Poland and Turkey, which are at a similar level of development as regards the use of the Internet. The studies were carried out simultaneously in both countries and examined the group of young people aged 18-25. The research surveyed the population, which included the most active Internet users who are taking full advantage of the benefits of globalization, which is facilitated by the development of the Internet worldwide. The survey was translated into the respondents' native languages, initially validated during the pilot studies and then distributed and circulated among the study participants. The obtained findings were subject to comparison, and the differences between the samples were analyzed and commented on to verify the hypotheses formulated in the study. The main limitation of the conducted study was the selection of a random group--the research sample consisted only of members of the academic community. The study presented in the article fills the research gap regarding international comparisons of the use of m-payments in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The obtained results indicate the undoubted fact of increased interest in the use of m-payments in e-commerce and e-banking, and even more importantly, differences concerning 40% of the criteria/attributes applied to assess the use of m-payments in both countries. The findings can be used by business practitioners dealing with the development of m-payments. Another potential application is to attempt to bridge the gaps between countries, which may be supported by globalization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We aimed to examine the change in the number and severity of visits to the emergency departments (EDs) and subsequent admissions for urgent urologic conditions in the early stage of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Poland.Material and Methods: We evaluated data from 13 urologic centers in Poland and compared the number of visits to the EDs and subsequent admissions before and after the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, and before and after the escalating national restrictions. Furthermore, data on types of urologic complaints, crucial laboratory parameters, and post-admission procedures were analyzed.Results: In total 1,696 and 2,187 urologic visits (22.45% decrease) and 387 and 439 urologic urgent admissions (11.85% decrease) were reported in given periods in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The year-over-year difference in daily mean visits was clear (36.1 vs. 46.5; p < 0.001). Declines were seen in all complaints but device malfunction. In 2020 daily mean visits and admissions decreased from 40.9 and 9.6 before lockdowns to 30.9 (p < 0.001) and 6.9 (p = 0.001) after severe restrictions, respectively. There was a trend towards more negative laboratory parameter profiles in 2020, with patients who visited the EDs after severe restrictions having twice as high median levels of C-reactive protein (15.39 vs. 7.84, p = 0.03).Conclusions: The observed declines in ED visits and admissions were apparent with the significant effect of national lockdowns. Our results indicate that some of the patients requiring urgent medical help did not appear at the ED or came later than they would have done before the pandemic, presenting with more severe complaints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Osteoarthritis of the knee, otherwise known as gonarthrosis, accounts for more than 80% of all degenerative joint diseases. Degenerative changes alone affect 80% of the population aged 75 years and older. Currently, 2 public health trends are believed to be the dominant factors in the development of gonarthrosis: increasing body mass index (BMI) and increasing age of the population. Both of these factors are also significant risk factors in the development of life-threatening complications with COVID-19 infection. This retrospective study collected the number of patients admitted to a trauma and orthopedic clinic at one time between 2019–2021 along with isolating the number of patients with a diagnosis of gonarthrosis (M17). In both cases, the results show a significant decrease in the number of patients admitted in the 2nd quarter (Q2) of 2020 and a decrease in overall patient admissions compared to the COVID-19 outbreak in Poland (31.25% decrease from 2019 to 2020). A significant impact on the decrease in the number of patients in Q2 2020 may have been the closure of the outpatient clinics from March 16, 2020 to August 16, 2020. Other factors influencing the subsequent decrease in patients may have been people’s fear of contracting COVID-19, decreased physical activity, worsening dietary habits, and weight gain during the “lockdown”. A review of recent studies on this topic may support this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the problem of combining work and private life. The pandemic conditions have turned out to be particularly difficult for parents who, due to changes in the organization of the education system, have been forced to reconcile their professional duties with the raising of childcare. Thanks to the recommendations for cooperation between schools and parents proposed in this study, it will be possible to reduce the risk and uncertainty of achieving common goals of the education system. (2) Methods: In the preparation of nationwide research, a questionnaire was provided to a sample of 10,331 respondents, including 7800 professional parents, in a trial form before a transition to the study of children. (3) Results: The analysis of the data showed that educational institutions should shape their activities based on cooperation with the family environment of children. (4) Conclusions: Educational institutions can help working parents in times of increased uncertainty. Parents reported that in caring for children, it would be helpful to operate educational institutions in stationary mode. Moreover, they expect increases in extracurricular and extra-curricular activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze and assess the impact of the pandemic on the finances of households in Poland, compared to other CEE countries (including Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), with particular emphasis on changes in the level of their savings, which are considered to be the foundation for the development of the indicated research group. There is no doubt that the pandemic had an impact on the situation of households, which is mainly visible in the labor market (rising unemployment), and thus the question arises to what extent have the households' approaches to financial decisions changed because of this situation? The propensity to save was taken into account as a main aspect of this problem, because it has, among others, a big impact on the financial well-being (in a broader sense). Using the multiple linear regression method, the factors that influence the level of household savings were determined. The results of the research show that these factors are different in the analyzed countries and have a different impact on the level of the explained variable, which is the gross saving rate. The research should also be treated as a preliminary one. It constitutes a contribution to in-depth research with the use of more sophisticated statistical and econometric methods, which will allow for the better assessment of the examined issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated the organisational resilience (OR) levels of rural non-profit organisations (RNPOs) in the areas of activity or non-activity to adapt under the global uncertainty conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, in April/May 2020, the managers of 35 RNPOs located in Poland were queried. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient ( ρ S ), the coefficient of determination ( R 2) and a transformation coefficient (d) were primarily used to verify the hypotheses and interpret the relationships studied. The study revealed four OR descriptive levels—progressive (PR), sustainable (SR), regressive (RR), and downward (DR). The findings also show that the undertaken activities are related to the OR descriptive levels. RNPOs realised one of two adaptations: passive adaptation aimed at returning to the pre-pandemic original state with no changes may lead to a bounce backwards and an uncertain survival, whilst active adaptation leads to a transformation process between OR levels to move forward and thrive in adapting to post-pandemic changes. This study confirmed that building OR requires understanding the ways of transformations among OR levels to undertake activities in strategic areas, i.e., activity scope (AS), cooperation (CO), and finance (FI), to adapt and transform RNPOs' in an environment of post-pandemic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]