In the last years the number of new forms of workplaces, such as call centers, increases. It is defined as a workstation where the basic tasks of a worker are carried out with the use of a phone and a computer. According to statistics, about 1.3-4% of workers are employed in call centers in the European countries. The noise is one of the harmful and annoying hazards of call center workstations. The paper presents the noise sources in call center rooms, assessment criteria of noise and results of noise measurements in call center workstations. The results of measurements show that the noise at call center workstations (during the use of handset receiver phone by operators) can be harmful (causing the risk of hearing loss) and annoying, as it makes it difficult to carry out the basic work activities and causes additionally auditory disadvantageous changes in health.

In the logistics center (warehouse or distribution center), customer orders need to be picked up by the pickers. In this research, we examine the order-picking problem with sequencedependent constraints with two decision variables (container start time and product quantity) in a distribution center with a one-directional conveyor. The decision-making is based on the developed two variations of two-step matheuristics. At first, the main order-picking problem is divided into two subproblems. Next, each step of each variant of the subproblem is solved using a mathematical programming-based technique. Both matheuristics were better in 85 of 120 test instances compared to the initial model solved by mathematical programming. Pickers matheuristics were better on average at 46.56%, while Buffers matheuristics were better on average at 46.87%. The proposed matheuristics approach allows distributors to schedule orders in the logistics center fast enough and with fewer resources.

The Medical Simulation Center at the Medical University of Białystok was created as part of a broader project. Throughout Poland there are 12 such centers, and each with a somewhat different concept. The common denominator is that they help medical, nursing, and obstetrics students test their knowledge and skills in practice. The Medical Simulation Center in Białystok boasts a sizeable set of simulation facilities, including an operating room, ambulance, emergency ward, labor ward, and nurse’s station. The technicians devise scenarios for students to enable them to practice reacting to specific cases. All the facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art audio-video equipment to record lessons for later review and analysis.

The process of designing and creating an integrated distributed information system for storing digitized works of scientists of research institutes of the Almaty academic city is analyzed. The requirements for the storage of digital objects are defined; a comparative analysis of the open source software used for these purposes is carried out. The system fully provides the necessary computing resources for ongoing research and educational processes, simplifying the prospect of its further development, and allows to build an advanced IT infrastructure for managing intellectual capital, an electronic library that is intended to store all books and scientific works of the Kazakhstan Engineering Technological University and research institutes of the Almaty academic city.

This article discusses the performance of an algorithm for detection of defect centers in semiconductor materials. It is based on direct parameter approximation with nonlinear regression to determine the parameters of thermal emission rate in the photocurrent waveforms. The methodology of the proposed algorithm was presented and its application procedure was described and the results of its application can be seen in measured photocurrent waveforms of a silicon crystal examined with High-Resolution Photoinduced Transient Spectroscopy (HRPITS). The performance of the presented algorithm was verified using simulated photocurrent waveforms without and with noise at the level of 10 ^-2. This paper presents for the first time the application of the direct approximation method using modern regression and clustering algorithms for the study of defect centers in semiconductors.

This article uses the model of dependency between centers and peripheries of scientific knowledge production to create a theoretical framework for investigating predatory journals. The framework is presented as an alternative to the dominant ways of the problem's characterization. Predatory journals are so far described mostly as a newly emerging phenomenon strongly connected with publishing in Open Access and fraudulent publishers. In this article, I argue that predatory publishers are recognized as illegitimate by the center of knowledge production. This geopolitically situated approach let me look more critically on the ways of assigning this illegitimacy. It also allows me to define the ostensible center and reveal a mechanism for functioning many journals accused of being predatory. The ostensible center is understood as an institution disseminating knowledge that is invisible or illegitimate to the center. However, at the same time some actors see an ostensible center as belonging to the center. The presented terms are analytical tools for further research that might enable us to get a wider picture of a modern global system of knowledge production and point out its antiegalitarian mechanism.

In automatic and accurate reading recognition of analog meters based on machine vision, one of important issues is the detection of pointer features, which includes the meter center and pointer image processing. The current automatic-recognition approaches to reading analog meters often consist in locating the meter center based on the dial region or its border. The located center is not coincident with the rotation center of pointer which leads to inevitable reading errors. In the paper, the centripetalism of annular scale lines is used to calculate the position of the pointer rotation center. First, it uses the region growing method to locate the dial region and uses the eccentricity measure to extract annular scale lines. Second, the parameters of these scale lines are estimated with the Hough transform method. Then, the common intersection of a group of lines, i.e., the meter rotation center, is determined with the maximum probability criterion. Finally, the pointer centerline and direction are detected through the calculated center and the Hough transform results. The simulated and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately locate the pointer rotation center and obtain pointer centerline. Moreover, it is applicable to the meter image captured under a slant camera view or with uneven light illumination.

The article presents the results of the simulation studies concerning the impact of random production interruptions on the efficiency of multi-spindle machining centers. Four different machining center configuration models were developed using a dedicated class of stochastic Petri nets. In addition to the number of machine spindles, the number of simultaneously mounted parts, loading time of parts, their machining time, and reliability parameters regarding the frequency of machine interruptions caused by random factors were also taken into account as model parameters. A series of virtual tests was carried out for machining processes over a period of 1000 hours of operation. Analysis of the results confirmed the purpose of conducting simulation tests prior to making a decision regarding the purchase of a multispindle milling center. This work fills the existing research gap, as there are no examples in the technical literature of evaluating the effectiveness of multi-spindle machining centers.

Reduced activity in all life areas due to the coronavirus pandemic is a good moment to reflect on the unfavorable trends in the redevelopment and expansion of Polish cities, especially Krakow. The article draws attention to the fact that the tourist and business attractiveness of Krakow is the cause of excessive densification of the urban fabric with new investments. The subordination of the historic downtown to the tourist function, in turn, violates some of the timeless values of Krakow and limits the participation of residents in the use of the historic downtown. In conclusion, attention was drawn to the need for correction of the current spatial activities in favor of sustainable principles of shaping the urban environment.

The purpose of this paper is to examine two hypothetical models: one in which job satisfaction acts as a mediator of the effects of overqualification on turnover intention and performance, and another in which job satisfaction acts as a mediator of the effects of overqualification on performance. Data were collected from 318 call center employees in Portugal. The relationships were tested using a multiple regression hierarchy with PROCESS. As hypothesized, job satisfaction mediates the relationship between overqualification and turnover intentions. It appears that overqualification alone does not influence intention to quit, but rather does so via satisfaction. Job satisfaction also mediates the relationship between overqualification and job performance. However, perceptions of non-growth appear to be associated with a decline in contextual performance. The effects of overqualification on turnover intentions and job performance of call center employees have not been previously studied. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap. Our study joins the small number of studies that analyze the mechanisms explaining the relationship between this mismatch between job demands and employees' perceived education, skills, experience, and work outcomes.

For many years, the Polish Academy of Sciences has been undertaking activities aimed at increasing the international importance of Polish scientific research by establishing cooperation with international scientific institutions and supporting the participation of Polish scientists in international research programs. Currently, the Polish Academy of Sciences has six scientific centers abroad – in Paris, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Brussels and Kiev. These institutions have different origins. The oldest ones, in Rome and Paris, continue the tradition of Polish emigration from the 19th century. These traditions are also referred to by the much younger station in Vienna, which to some extent has continued the activities of Polish diaspora organizations operating in this area since the beginning of the 20th century. The centers in Berlin and Kiev are relatively young. The first was established in 1996 as the Representation of the German Academic Exchange Service and transformed in 2006 into the Historical Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin. The youngest of the centers has been operating in Kiev since 2013 under the name of the Representation “Polish Academy of Sciences” in Kiev. The Office for the Promotion of Science PolSCA in Brussels, established in 2006, has a different character. Due to its location, the specificity of this facility consists in developing scientific and scientific-technical cooperation through the promotion and expert support of Polish partners in the framework programs of the European Union. The activities of these institutions emphasize the presence of science, culture and intellectual achievements of Poland in the European research area, which is important for building the image of our country abroad. The Polish Academy of Sciences scientific centers are therefore a kind of scientific attaché of the Republic of Poland, the more so as Polish embassies in these six countries do not have such an attaché. The article analyzes the administrative, financial and legal conditions of the station's operation and the expectations towards their substantive activity from the point of view of the Academy's management.

The aim of the article is to show the opportunities and threats for the center of Kraków generated by the design solutions developed by a team led by Stanisław Hager in 1964 in the General Masterplan of the City of Kraków and adopted for implementation in 1967. The article discusses a set of ideas for the redevelopment of the traffic and transport arrangements around the railway station and compare them with paradigms for the development of city centers.

Ozone depletion at southern latitudes has recently increased the fluence of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation striking the ground. This phenomenon has sparked much interest in unravelling the effects of this harmful radiation on living systems. UV-B radiation triggers several responses that affect plant physiology, morphology and biochemistry. In this study, the effect of supplemental UV-B radiation on DNA profile and chlorophyll a (CHl a) fluorescence characteristics were analyzed. An increase in the genetic variability of irradiated plants was observed in the Inter Sequence Simple Repeats products. The effect on photosynthesis was studied through fluorescence emissions. The obtained data showed that photochemical quenching (qP) decreased in irradiated plants. This effect may be attributed to a decrease in the number of open reaction centers of photosystem II (PSII) as suggested by the decreased values of minimal and maximal fluorescence. Likewise, non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) increased in both control and irradiated groups, but treated plants presented lower NPQ values than controls. The heat dissipation mechanism was also altered, probably due to a decrease in the yield of Fm´. According to these findings, UV-B radiation affects the CHl a fluorescence mechanisms and modifies DNA profile. Consequently, these changes influence the yield and growth of plants, which is an important consideration given the current climate change situation.

On May 17, 2018, the National Center for Research and Development announced the initiation of a new procedure within the Hydrogen Storage Program. The objective was to develop a Hydrogen Storage System for use with fuel cells and its demonstration in a Mobile Facility. This is to create an alternative to the use of fossil fuels and create a field for competition in creating solutions in the field of access to “clean” energy. The National Center for Research and Development is responsible for the development of assumptions, regulations and implementation.

The analysis presents the main assumptions of the program is correlated to the current legal situation related to the financing of Research and Development. An in-depth study concerns the ways of using innovative partnership and its placement in the system of European Union legal acts. The idea of the pre-commercial procurement procedure (Pre-Commercial Procurement), which was developed to support the implementation of prototypes of solutions – resulting from research and development – with a high potential for possible commercialization, was described in details. This procedure is characterized by ensuring the financing of a product or service at an early stage of development. Although this creates the risk of failure of the project, it stimulates technological development.

The construction process of the tunnel ground deformation regularity of surrounding rock, stability, deformation control of tunnel surface based on the requirements, combined with the characteristics of shallow tunnel with large-span. Used three-dimensional numerical simulation software, established a dynamic tunnel analysis program to simulate the construction process of center cross-diagram method and double sidewall drift method. Based on the stratum deformation, supporting force and analysis of plastic zone distribution, comparative analysis of engineering adaptability of different construction methods from the construction process and construction mechanics, get optimization tunnel construction scheme.

The self-centering buckling-restrained brace (SC-BRB) may achieve self-restoration for structures and, to a certain degree, diminish the substantial seismic residual deformation following rare earthquakes when compared to the usage of the conventional buckling-restrained brace (BRB). It may be possible to reduce the abrupt change in stiffness at the location of the strengthened stories and make the outrigger better at dissipating energy by improving the design of the energy-dissipation outrigger. This study compares the seismic performances of two types of energy-dissipation outriggers with BRB and SC-BRB web member designs during rare earthquakes so that the changes can be measured. The results show that using the SC-BRB web member design reduces the maximum inter-story drift ratio by an average of 7.68% and increases the average plastic-energy dissipation of the outrigger truss by 8.75%. The evaluation results showthat the SC-BRB outrigger truss structure has better structural regularity and energy-dissipation performance. It has the ability to efficiently regulate the structural seismic response and lessen primary-structure damage.

The aim of this article is to analyze both the motivations of foreign scholars to come to work in Poland – specifically Kraków – and their ways of adapting to this significant Polish academic center. Most studies on highly skilled migrants (HSMs) concentrate on the flows between developing and highly developed countries. We concentrate on Central and Eastern Europe. This paper, based on in-depth interviews with 23 foreign scholars working full-time at four universities in Kraków, is a follow-up to a study presenting a 2015 analysis of websites of universities from Kraków. We look closely at barriers to and facilitators of foreign scholars’ adaptation to Poland and their perceived image of Poland and Polishness, their national identification and international contacts. We propose a typology comprised of “cosmopolitans”, “status seekers”, “enthusiasts”, and “commuters”. Our investigations reveal who decides to move to a semi-peripheral country such as Poland, and why. Certain parts of the narratives can be used in building a strategy of attracting more international scholars to academic centers such as Kraków.

The article raises the issue of zoning of the central area of Zamosc based on downtown unrealized projects. It also explains the genesis of the formation of its range and the spatial layout, which affected the functioning of nineteenth-century fortress. As early as 1804. Entailer Stanisław Kostka Zamoyski planned to demolish the decaying fortifications and sell strip of land fortress for development. Change the situation on the political arena of Europe made Zamosc under Tsarist Russia became a fortress – a closed town, where civilian activity have been pushed to the back burner and separated from the historical center of strategic cordoned off the circuit. It was not until 24 years after the dissolution of the fortress, in 1880. returned to the development concept of post-fortress area in connection with the planned development of the city, but this met with opposition the military commission – the owner of the land. After regaining independence, the magistrate put forward ambitious building projects realization in the esplanade of the formerly fortress, which this time met with the resistance of the military commissions. As a result of the conversion of disputed land in the late 30’s the post-fortress area was possible to invest. An example was enacted in 1939, pioneering in many respects, zoning plan Zamosc by Władyslaw Wieczorkiewicza and Jan Zachwatowicz in which the authors called for implementation of the downtown on the basis of a linear array of bifocal between the old town (Stare Miasto) and the Nowa Osada suburb.

Through this article, the current director of the PolSCA Office in Brussels (Dr. Tomasz Poprawka) and former director of the PAS Scientific Center in Paris (Dr. Kamil Szafrański) share their reflections and thus contribute to the discussion on the functioning and role of foreign centers of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In response to the article co-authored by the former directors of the PAS stations in Vienna, Paris and Brussels – in which they initiated the debate – the authors present their own perspective on a vision of the balanced operation of the stations in three key areas: the action plan, administrative support and communication. Having in mind an effective operation of the PAS centers abroad, the authors wish to share their ideas, based on the experience to date. These include strengthening of the stations in the future, taking up new challenges and searching for innovative solutions for their continuous development, thus meaningfully contributing to the promotion of Polish science abroad. At the same time, the authors declare their willingness to take part in further discussions on the role and operationality of the Academy’s scientific centers abroad. This publication consists of the following elements: introduction, discussion of issues related to science diplomacy, lobbying and advocacy of interests, analysis of administrative issues, an outline of aspects of internal communication and external dissemination, and a summary.

In the article the author deals with the contributions of Goettingian scholars to the study of the so-called “Runic”-Turkic inscriptions discovered in the early 18th century in Siberia during the 18th and 19th centuries before their decipherment by Vilhelm Ludvig Peter Thomsen (1842–1927) and Friedrich Wilhelm Radloff (Vasilij Vasilievič Radlov; 1837–1918). The author points to the scholars speculations on the unknown language of the inscriptions based in Göttingen as well as the research in this field and times outside that town.

Article The Bible in Polish Modern Literature contains reflections on the period 1945-2009, especially about an essay on the Bible written by laics, staying on more or less catholic position. Almost all were poets: Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987), Jan Dobraczyński (1910-1994), Anna Kamieńska (1920-1986), Czesław Miłosz (1911- 2004), Marek Skwarnicki (*1930), Anna Świderkówna (1925-2008), Tadeusz Żychiewicz (1922-1994) and others. These authors began to study the Bible in the middle of their lives, when they were ripe to discuss theological and existential problems of the Holy Scripture. In the contrast to them there are the writers staying on the atheistic or agnostic position: Zenon Kosidowski (1898-1978), Artur Sandauer (1913-1989). Only one author, A. Świderkówna, was really a specialist in a biblical branch as the professor of the ancient mediterranean archaeology on the Warsaw University. She could write series her books Conversations on the Bible which became the bestseller in the end of 20th century.

For all biblical essayists a very important issue was the philological question connected to the langauge of the Bible and with the „semantic energy" of translation (Miłosz). The biblical essayists used the old polish Bible (1600) translation of Jacob Wujek SI or modern group translation made 1965 in Benedictiner Abbey in Tyniec (by Cracow). Beyond a communistic censorship in years 1945-1989 all mentioned writers could publish their articles and books. The most important center of these initiatives was Cracow (weekly „Tygodnik Powszechny" and monthly „Znak", also lisher), Warsaw (Publisher Pax), Posen.