The present paper examines how, at a time of post EU-enlargement migration, female Polish migrants in the UK act within, despite and against the social structure of gender regimes in the origin and host societies and how female migrant agents are actively mediating structures in a quest to fulfil their as-pirations. Biographical narrative interviews conducted with female Polish migrant workers in the UK and semi-structured expert interviews provide the empirical data for the analysis of how employment trajectories in migration can challenge or reinforce gender roles, and of the role of female migrants’ agency. The paper shows how some women are limited in their opportunities by gender roles and fa-milial obligations, while others are able to progress professionally either by entering a typical ‘mi-grant’ sector, by undertaking UK education, or by starting their own businesses, challenging the gendered expectations they face. The paper thus contributes to the discussion on female migrants as disadvantaged migrant workers or as active agents of change.

The paper presents the application of similarity theory to investigations of transient heat transfer in materials with complex structure. It describes the theoretical-experimental method for identification and design of the structure of two-component composite walls based on the research of the thermal diffusivity for the composite and its matrix separately. The thermal diffusivity was measured by means of the modified flash method. The method was tested on two samples of double-layer ‘epoxy resin – polyamide’. All the investigated samples had the same diameter of 12 mm and thickness ranging from 1.39–2.60 mm and their equivalent value of thermal diffusivity ranging from (1.21–1.98)×10-7m2/s. Testing the method and research on carbon/epoxy composites was carried out at temperatures close to room temperature.

The Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Technical Sciences (Bull.Pol. Ac.: Tech.) is published bimonthly by the Division IV Engineering Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, since the beginning of the existence of the PAS in 1952. The journal is peer‐reviewed and is published both in printed and electronic form. It is established for the publication of original high quality papers from multidisciplinary Engineering sciences with the following topics preferred: Artificial and Computational Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Control, Informatics and Robotics, Electronics, Telecommunication and Optoelectronics, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Material Science and Nanotechnology, Power Systems and Power Electronics.

Journal Metrics: JCR Impact Factor 2018: 1.361, 5 Year Impact Factor: 1.323, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 2017: 0.319, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 2017: 1.005, CiteScore 2017: 1.27, The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 2017: 25 points.

Abbreviations/Acronym: Journal citation: Bull. Pol. Ac.: Tech., ISO: Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci.-Tech. Sci., JCR Abbrev: B POL ACAD SCI-TECH Acronym in the Editorial System: BPASTS.

The pontificate of Pope Francis, both in documents and in practice, takes on a pastoral character, emphasizing the evangelizing dimension. The encyclical Veritatis gaudium likewise presents the educational and academic mission of the Church from the same perspective. This paper provides a presentation of the Pope’s postulates understood as a new paradigm for Church education, resulting from a new cultural and social context. Pope Francis’ project is set in the more than fifty-year perspective of the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council, in particular Sapientia christiana, the document which has been governing the activities of theological faculties since 1979. Four criteria that ecclesial studies should demonstrate are indicated: a) the Christocentric kerygma building the ecclesial community, with an option for the poor, b) encounter and dialogue, characterized by authentic interaction on the level of religions and cultures, c) inter- and transdisciplinarity, which provide a tool for linking the academic achievements of all disciplines in the perspective of the transcendent Christian revelation, d) integration of academic centers which practice ecclesiastical studies and their collaboration with institutions of different religious and cultural traditions, with a view to an adequate diagnosis of global world problems and their resolution.