Unintended and unanticipated consequences of intentional action of non-governmental organizations

The aim of this paper study is to recognize the unintended and unanticipated consequences of intentional actions of non-governmental organizations. This concept used by theorists and researchers, was developed mainly by R. Merton and R. Boudon. This subsequently led to a detailed contemporary analysis of paternalism, particularism, “dirty” networks and cooptation and hybridization in the third sector, as results of organizational action. In the article, readers can find examples of unintended consequences of actions of Polish non-governmental organizations.

Loopholes in Polish legislation concerning culture

Every legal system has got loopholes. We can distinguish a few different types of loopholes, like extra legem loophole (a legislative act does not describe the actual state) or intra legem loophole (a legislative act contains imprecise formulations, which results in a not very specific regulation). The Polish legislative system is not an exception. An extra legem loophole can be noticed in the museums act, which lacks information concerning open-air ethnographic museums, ways of protecting and securing them. The deficiency of a given act can be perceived as a form of a loophole and the example of cultural centers illustrates perfectly how the absence of a separate act makes their functioning more difficult. Lacks of definition in acts may result in serious losses. Intangible cultural goods can be set as an example of how they slowly disappear from Polish tradition and culture. It does happen that a legislator leaves some “missing parts” in a legislative system deliberately. This can be noticed especially in new fields of law. The purpose of such an action is to observe by the legislator how new issues appear with the new branches of law. The Polish legislative system gradually blends in with the European Union directives, which results in reducing the number of loopholes. We need to remember, though, that excessive elaboration in this matter is unwanted.

Importance of the country-of-origin in evaluation of low and highly involving products among young adults in Poland

The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the country-of-origin on product evaluation and purchase intention among young adults (students), using an experimental approach.
The study explored the effects of two sub-components of COO with three countries (homeland – Poland; foreign: Italy and Romania), for two products: highly involving (washing machine) and low involving (chocolate).
Findings suggest that the COO (sub-components) is a factor differentiating the respondents’ choices and confirm the legitimacy of the study of the impact of COO in the case of the differentiated products.

The author describes the dynamics of change and rules of innovation in the Polish post-1989 literary field, applying tools from Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of art. The starting point is the work of the first generation of Polish writers born after 1989, raised as European citizens with no memory of communism (e.g. Dominika Ożarowska, Dominika Dymińska, Daniel Kot). Their projects are shown as innovative and distinct from the previous literary movements, established and consecrated in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Similar and differential aspects of the world representation in the works of Eugène Ionesco and Sławomir Mrożek

The goal of the paper is to compare the way two authors, S. Mrożek and E. Ionesco, perceive the world, and how that perspective is reflected in their plays. By analyzing some of their works, I will show the main differences and similarities that we can encounter, focusing on main themes. The whole essay is concentrated around the idea of death, which is clearly visible in the plays of both authors; however, each of them has a distinct approach to it, and I intend to point out that difference

Culture on Euromajdan

This text is devoted to the events that took place on Independence Square in Kiev during the period of November 2013 – May 2014. The political transformation and liberation struggle that took place during this period were supported by actions in the area of culture. The article discusses the participation and activities of artistic and cultural institutions. Civic initiatives often carried out with the help of social media are also mentioned.

It’s important because it’s yours. Circulation of heritage within a family

Focusing on the institutional protection of heritage we frequently forget about the importance of experiencing it on a private, personal level. Perhaps we have become too used to connecting social practices in this area with the public, communal, visible space.
However, what I want to say in regard to the results of the research project entitled „Family Heirloom” (carried out by the Ethnographic Museum in 2011–2012), is that heritage is only alive and authentic to the extent to which it is experienced individually.That is what the world of family heirlooms is like: here the testimony of the past is brought down to concrete biographies, images, spaces, objects and gestures. Its strength lies in personal commitment and attitude to traces of the past, often understood in opposition to official patterns and interpretations, through individual perceptions of the front page history (for instance, when a German wardrobe which once belonged to the previous residents of the house becomes part of the legacy of a Polish family displaced from the Kresy regions of eastern Poland, which are now in Ukraine or Belarus, to the so-called Recovered Territories, which used to be in Germany before WW2). Memories are spontaneously included in reflections about the lasting character of the community – and we easily find our place in them.
Discovering private – and yet socially relevant – practices in the field of heritage is considered by the Museum as an important part of its mission and of upholding the conviction that reflections about cultural heritage remain suspended in a void if they are robbed of personal references. It is time to see the importance of the domestic space in the dialogue concerning the live circulation of cultural contents and meanings.