This article deals with the role of empathy in the work of Olga Tokarczuk. It begins with an examination of the autocritical reflections in her essays, most notably her view of literature and its functions. This is followed by a discussion of the range of emotional involvement presented in her fiction and the role of empathy in her narrative strategy. The article argues that empathy is at the heart of her creativity and her understanding of literature.

In the paper, a mechanical set composed of a robot (manipulator) and of an elastic beam is considered. The beam is fixed to the top of the robot structure. In most of similar cases, undesired vibrations can be excited in the beam. They create an especially significant problem when dynamics in the robot braking period is examined. In the paper, estimation and modification of length of the braking period is proposed, in order to reduce the undesired vibrations. Investigations are restricted to numerical models, only. The rigid finite elements modelling and the multibody modelling are used together to obtain the numerical model required for the system. Instead of the classical rigid finite elements, its modified version is used, where some of the relative deformations are locked between the neighbour elements. As a result, sizes of the obtained matrices can be reduced as well as the time of the numerical calculations.