In the latest issues - Mazovia Regional Studies

Community resilience in response to humanitarian and refugee crisis caused by Russian invasion of Ukraine – a case study of Polish border communities

Natalia Bełdyga

DOI: 10.21858/msr.49.02

Vol. no: 49

Since this study aim is to analyze the role of community resilience in response to crisis and uncertainty, two cases of community responses to an unprecedented refugee and humanitarian crisis caused by Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022 made by two Polish border communities from two corners of Poland, one in northeast, in a borderland area referred to as Suwałki Gap and second in southeast, in Biecz, referred to as “Little Cracow” have been studied. The main objective of this study is to gain knowledge of one of core dimensions of community resilience, namely agency which enhances adaptability on both individual and collective level, often referred to as the locus of control [Inglehart, Welzel 2009] as well as a pillar of community resilience and crucial element in the proactive phase of crisis cycle management, civil preparedness defined as the ability to sustain functions vital to society, ensuring basic supply and the State’s capacity to act in a crisis situation [Zekulic et al. 2017] to see if they have enhanced community resilience in this response.

MSR_49_02_Beldyga-1 Pobierz

Implementation of the statutory competences of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and changes in the transport sector over 25 years of self-government activity

Piotr Szpiega, Elżbieta Trzcińska

DOI: 10.21858/msr.49.04

Vol. no: 49

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The article provides an overview of the transport policy of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship since its establishment in 1999. It discusses the statutory competences of the newly formed voivodeship in the field of transport development policy and its evolution over the years, illustrated in successive regional development strategies and spatial development plans. An integral part of this policy is also the development of public transport, primarily railway transport. This is the result of the activities of two railway companies: Masovian Railways and Warsaw Commuter Railway. The article depicts the development path of the companies towards modern rail passenger transport operators, involving new and modernized rolling stock and with efficient technical facilities. The article also discusses the activity of the manager of voivodeship roads, which through numerous road repairs and reconstructions, creates a road network suitable for servicing regional road traffic. In addition, the article highlights the increasing role of bicycle transport in the spatial policy of the voivodeship. An important factor facilitating the implementation of competences in the transport sector is EU funding, which has made it possible to create modern rail and road infrastructure, as well as to purchase and modernize rolling stock.

MSR_49_04_Szpiega_Trzcinska-1 Pobierz

A special element in the environment – interactions. Cultural landscape, its inalienable elements – open-air museum in Nowogród

Barbara Werner

DOI: 10.21858/msr.49.03

Vol. no: 49

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The aim of the article is to demonstrate the complexity of the issue of valuing historical sites and to answer the nagging question: is the role of the ‘special element in the environment’ sufficiently recognized in the 21st century and what role do various organisations, including NGOs such as (Polish National Committee of International Council on Monuments and Sites), play?

MSR_49_03_Werner-1 Pobierz

The dilemmas of healthcare system functioning under the conditions of civilizational turning point

Elżbieta Mączyńska

DOI: 10.21858/msr.48.01

Vol. no: 48

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The analyses presented in this study are focused on identifying new trends and challenges in the healthcare sector, primarily stemming from the ongoing global civilizational turning point as a consequence of the fourth industrial revolution, the digital revolution with its unimaginable potential of artificial intelligence. In such conditions, solutions aimed at optimal utilization of new technologies are particularly crucial, especially those addressing irregularities that result in the wastage of material and intellectual potential in this sector. In the face of almost chronic shortages in healthcare funding sources, characteristic not only of Poland but also many other countries, the rationalization of the utilization of available resources becomes of paramount importance. In Poland, this is particularly significant due to relatively low expenditures on healthcare, both in absolute terms and in relation to GDP. This is confirmed by the international statistics presented in the article. In this context, the article highlights selected rationalizing directions for changes in the national healthcare system.

MSR_48_01_Maczynska-1 Pobierz

Conference on wetland protection in Poland on the occasion of the World Wetlands Day (February 4–7, 2023, Warsaw)

Adam Kapler

DOI: 10.21858/msr.44.05

Vol. no: 44

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The wetlands had been drained for millennia. However, for over a century, many of them have been protected as nature reserves, national parks and/or Natura 2000 sites. Although most of Poland’s marshes have been degraded, it’s worth thinking about their restoration. This is an extremely difficult problem to solve, especially in the era of war in Ukraine, growing social polarization around the NRL, humanitarian crisis on the Poland-Belarus border as well as ecological disaster in the Oder river. That is why the World Wetlands Day 2023, celebrated annually on the initiative of the Wetlands Conservation Centre, on the anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention, had a particularly extensive programme this year. In addition to annual debates, open lectures, poster presentations and field trips, in February 2023 a strictly scientific several-day conference on wetland conservation, two field trips and a number of workshops for practitioners were organized.

MSR_44_05_Kapler Pobierz

Notes on Polonja and outline of work

Walenty Winid

DOI: 10.21858/msr.41.05

Vol. no: 41

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As there are no gentiles, so there are no criminals; thus, the mediocrities themselves, constantly lacking in either independent thinking, the most primitive social ethics, or the desire for the simplest action for the social good.

Walenty Winid, Uwagi o Polonji i zarys pracy Pobierz