Jewish community in Cieszowa in Upper Silesia (1737-1904) and the efforts of Fr. Karl Urban to save its material and spiritual heritage

When in 1908 in Cieszowa, one of the oldest Jewish communities in Upper Silesia, buildings of the dissolved Kehilla were put up for auction, Fr. Karl Urban (1864-1923), the priest of the parish of St. Joseph in Sadów, to which Cieszowa also belonged, purchased a synagogue with the surrounding outbuildings from his own resources, thus protecting them from inevitable liquidation. Cieszowa was one of four villages in Upper Silesia, in which Jews were ordered to reside during Prussian settlement bans, issued in the 1770s and 1780s. The article briefly describes the history of the Jewish community in Silesia, with the emphasis on the religious community set up by them in Cieszowa. In addition, the circumstances of the auctioning of local buildings in 1908 and their purchase by Fr. Karl Urban were described. The author focused on the activity of Fr. Urban, aimed at creating a religious and museum memorial site. Moreover, the author undermines the popular opinion involving the demolition of wooden monuments, allegedly after 1911, postponing the time of their destruction for the years after the death of Fr. Urban, i.e. after 1923.

Who Watches Cricket?

Vidya Subramaniam explores the spectacle of sports in all its dimensions. She interrogates the role of media, technology and market in recent times, through the continuing transformation of cricket into its current form as a hugely marketable, visible entertainment entity, or in other words, a spectacle. While the popular opinion is that this new version of cricket on television and the use of technology in so many aspects of the sport is in fact making for a larger knowledgeable spectators, the author argues the opposite. It may well be that the emphasis on the ‘entertainment quotient’ of the sport is attracting audiences that had started moving away from the sport and may not be knowledgeable about the game. More importantly, in keeping with the dominant thread in sports sociology that a sport can whip up a frenzy much like war, new formats of cricket such as the Indian Premier League are structured to showcase nationalism. The main motivation of large sections of those who follow IPL, the author argues, is country above all else and not a passion for the sport.

The Political Theory of Thomas More’s Epigrammata

This essay argues that More’s Epigrammata contains a coherent political theory that is inspired by ancient Roman republicanism. More defines “liberty” as the people’s willing obedience to virtuous leaders who rule for the common good, and he claims that popular opinion is the source of legitimacy rather than divine sanction. In doing so, More critiques the Tudor regime and presents an alternative theory of kingship based on his understanding of liberty. However, More also criticizes hereditary monarchy as such and explicitly prefers a republican regime of elected men who share authority among equal peers. This republican regime more effectively promotes the common good, but it depends upon virtue in the rulers and in the citizens. More’s satirical epigrams on virtue and vice are part of his political teaching insofar as they establish his conception of citizen virtue, which supports his republicanism.

The wrongful imprisonment of the Guildford Four: Who bears the blame?

<p>This paper discusses the wrongful imprisonment of the Guildford Four, and the reasons why this miscarriage of justice occurred. Contrary to popular opinion that the injustice arose due to police malpractice, this paper will conclude that the blame lies primarily with the judiciary for failing to reverse the 1975 decision even in the face of what seemed to be insurmountable contradictory evidence. This paper analyses the role each branch of government played, as well as discussing the role of public perceptions and societal fears of the time.</p>

The wrongful imprisonment of the Guildford Four: Who bears the blame?

<p>This paper discusses the wrongful imprisonment of the Guildford Four, and the reasons why this miscarriage of justice occurred. Contrary to popular opinion that the injustice arose due to police malpractice, this paper will conclude that the blame lies primarily with the judiciary for failing to reverse the 1975 decision even in the face of what seemed to be insurmountable contradictory evidence. This paper analyses the role each branch of government played, as well as discussing the role of public perceptions and societal fears of the time.</p>

PERIPHERAL ELEMENTS OF THE LEXICO-SEMANTIC FIELD “21st CENTURY CHINA”

В настоящее время средства массовой информации, включая электронные ресурсы, играют значительную роль в формировании общественного мнения по различным вопросам. Это в равной степени можно отнести и к вопросам политики, например, к предоставлению информации о различных странах. Анализ лексических единиц и их подбора для описания образа того или иного государства может быть выполнен с использованием концептуального подхода и теории лексико-семантического поля. Автор статьи анализирует, каким образом Китай представлен в американских газетах и журналах, изданных во втором десятилетии XXI века. Взаимоотношения между двумя крупнейшими экономиками мира представляют огромный интерес для всех остальных стран. Кроме того, Китай выступает в качестве особого политического и торгового партнера России, и это придает всему, что связано с этой страной, особую значимость. Данное исследование является второй частью работы по данной теме; в нем представлен анализ периферических единиц лексико-семантического поля «Китай XXI века». Это такие микрополя, как «Китай - механизм», «Китай - проблема», «Природа», «Здоровье», «Китай - родственник». В статье освещаются лексемы, составляющие данные микрополя, а также приводится анализ возможных причин их употребления в том или ином контексте. Nowadays mass media including electronic resources play a significant role in creating popular opinion on various issues. It stands true for political questions such as proving information about countries. Analysis of lexical units and their choice to describe an image of a country can be done through the use of the conceptual scientific approach and the theory of lexico-semantic fields. The author of the article analyzes how China was represented in American newspapers and magazines in the second decade of the 21st century. Relations between two largest economies in the world are of a great importance to all other countries. Besides, China is a special political and trade partner of Russia, and it makes everything connected with this country particularly significant. This study is the second part of the research on this topic that focuses on the periphery elements of the lexico-semantic field “21st century China”. The analysis showed that these are the following microfields: “China is a mechanism”, “China is a problem”, “Nature”, “Health” and “China is a relative”. The article highlights the lexemes comprising these microfields and discusses the possible meanings and ideas expressed by them.

Counterterrorism Evaluation and Citizens: More Than about Policing?

The police force is one of the few institutions still trusted by the public today. Yet, whilst the recent waves of terrorism have “stimulated” academic activity on the determinants of public fear of terrorism, much less academic effort has been focused on measuring and assessing the effectiveness of anti-terrorism strategies. The present article makes some contributions towards addressing this gap by investigating what shapes public attitudes towards the effectiveness of terrorism policing. Using Eurobarometer data, our results demonstrate that objective national economic, societal and political indicators do not tend to influence popular opinion on the effectiveness of the police in dealing with terrorism. They also show that individuals’ perceptions about the national socio-economic situation are better predictors of public opinion on terrorism policing than individuals’ financial and social positions or levels of education. The influence of these perceptions on public attitudes towards the effectiveness of counterterrorism seems to be more potent than the one on public fear of terrorism found in the extant literature. The implications of these findings are then considered.