Male pre-service and in-service teachers face numerous gender-related challenges. They are often stigmatised and frowned upon because the teaching of young children is considered in many societies to be ‘women’s work’. This paper explores whether male student teachers are aware of the challenges faced by Foundation Phase teachers, and subsequently the challenges they may face when they become Foundation Phase teachers. This qualitative study used focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews to collect data from twenty-eight male students enrolled in the B.Ed Foundation Phase Teaching qualification at a University of Technology. Eleven were fourth-year students, while seventeen were third-year students. Findings revealed that participants were aware of the challenges awaiting them when they enter the teaching profession. They were aware of these challenges before they enrolled in the programme and also experienced and observed them during their teaching practice. The paper contributes to the under-researched issue of male teachers teaching young children. The paper concludes that the participants have realistic expectations of what it entails to be male teachers in a female-dominated field. To encourage males to become Foundation Phase teachers, one recommendation is to raise awareness of the beneficial role men can play in the lives and education of young children.
The purpose of this article is to present the activities of the Border Guard of the Second Polish Republic in the field of border intelligence, specifically in the context of identifying the uniformed services of Poland’s southern neighbour. The article is based on an analysis of source materials from the Border Guard Archives in Szczecin, the Central Military Archives in Warsaw, and the Central State Historical Archives in Lviv. The publication consists of two parts. The first part presents information on the tasks of the Border Guard in Lesser Poland related to the protection of the state border. It outlines the objectives and assignments related to gathering intelligence on the organisational structure and personnel of the Czechoslovak border services, as well as the National Police and Gendarmerie. The second part discusses the knowledge held by the Polish Border Guard about its neighbour, based on an analysis of intelligence documents of the pre-war border formation. The timeframe of the article covers the years 1936–1938. The publication is complemented by scans of documents relevant to the topic, included as an attachment.
The aim of the article is to develop a new method for predicting voluntary employee turnover intention based on the Grey Relational k-NN grey machine learning model. The research problem addressed in this study is the need to predict employee turnover intention when HR data are subjective, imprecise, and often expressed through linguistic assessments rather than precise numerical measures. This method combines the core concept of grey systems theory – grey numbers – with the popular k-nearest neighbors machine learning algorithm. The proposed solution enriches machine learning algorithms with tools that enable modeling the uncertainty characteristic of management sciences (through the use of grey numbers). The developed method can serve as an effective decision support tool for HR department managers. The article includes a literature review on voluntary employee turnover intention, presents the research methods applied - Grey Relational Analysis and the k-NN algorithm – and describes the results of the conducted studies on employee turnover intention using the developed Grey Relational k-NN method.
The digital economy significantly influences the development of logistics. Global internet access has made the flow of data and goods seamless. This study analyzes the impact of modern technologies – such as cloud storage, IoT, robotisation, artificial intelligence, and digital twins – on warehousing and transportation. The paper defines the concept of the digital economy and examines practical implementations by DataConsult S.A. and Mecalux Ltd. The findings indicate that the key benefits of digitalisation include increased precision and operational safety, alleviating monotonous, physical tasks, and reducing human exposure to hazards. The publication combines theory with practice, mapping out the direction of industry automation. In the coming years, the Polish economy will face structural challenges. Rising labour costs and a shortage of manual workers will force investments in robotisation. Digitalisation is permeating all industries, proving that digital transformation in logistics has become a necessity.
The ageing of societies and the growing importance of the ‘silver economy’ are two key challenges facing the advertising and brand communication market. Nevertheless, silvers and seniors remain underrepresented in advertising campaigns as main characters. At the same time, there is a prevailing belief that in advertising they are typically portrayed through the lens of negative stereotypes. However, the author’s analysis of advertising spots does not confirm such a one-sided image of silvers and seniors. However, the following key conclusions can be drawn based on the analyses conducted: advertising is dominated by a positive model of ageing, with negative stereotypes of older adults being marginalised, a move away from a one-dimensional depiction of ageing within a family setting and an aspirational character of the portrayals of the oldest age groups. While advertising campaigns break some of the previously established patterns, especially the negative ones, they simultaneously create new simplifications and stereotypes by presenting the value of the individual through the lens of their activity, fitness, productivity and relationship-building ability. The aim of this article is to define the contemporary portrayals of silvers and seniors in advertising and to identify the dominant roles, traits and narratives attributed to these groups. The study is based on a content analysis of 1,440 advertising spots for 280 brands, primarily from Poland, Europe and the USA.
