Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, which began in February 2022, combined with the new stage of the conflict in the Middle East that has been ongoing since October 2023, has created a threat to international security comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) or the high-profile crises in the Taiwan Strait. The analysis of the state of security through the prism of the theory of international relations once again confirms the accuracy of the assumptions of the school of political realism, referring to the factor of strength and power, determining the global and regional balance of power, including in the region of East Asia. There is no doubt that in the light of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East, conflicts and territorial disputes in East Asia are putting the superpowers, i.e. the US and China, to a unique test, especially in terms of their security management capabilities, both on a regional and global scale. The article examines the transformations in the field of security in the East Asian region2 with references to a global scale. The author shows how territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, or especially tensions around Taiwan, remain, on the one hand, a factor generating new forms of cooperation between the security structures of the Euro-Atlantic area and the countries of East Asia, and on the other hand, they are a source of strengthening strategic ties between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
Satoru Noda’s Golden Kamuy is a hit Japanese manga that was adapted into an anime series of the same title. It features Ainu-Polish history motifs as well as Ainu-Polish descendant fictional characters. They are not, however, completely unrelated to real-life persona. Similarities to Bronisław Piłsudski’s life and legacy, his Ainu family and ethnographic discoveries are very telling for how important a role he played in documenting Ainu language and culture, as well as collecting their daily-used tools and utensils for later use at museums. The article discusses Golden Kamuy in relation to Piłsudski’s biography and Ainu research, while drawing a line between animated fiction and real-life occurrences. For Piłsudski’s life and work to have been a part of a popular Japanese series over 100 years after his death, it can be seen not only as a tribute to his life and work but also a chance for Polish academia to become more inclusive and present in popular media.
While humor is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct to traditional, symptom-focused treatments for depression, there remains a lack of integrated clinical guidance for its use. This narrative review synthesizes findings from clinical psychology and humor research to provide a comprehensive analysis of the therapeutic potential of and contraindications to humor interventions in depressed populations. The review examines both the benefits—including emotional gain, responsiveness to humorous material, and the effects of humor-based interventions—and the risks—such as impaired humor skills and possible adverse effects—before integrating the two to offer recommendations for identifying good candidates for humor interventions and for tailoring the content to the profiles of people with depression. Particular consideration is given to the different stages of depressive disorders, the heterogeneous nature of humor, its role as an emotion regulation strategy, and its integration into broader therapeutic frameworks. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for specialized education for practitioners and considering the potential of digital technologies and priorities for future research.
Objective: Misophonia is a subtype of decreased sound tolerance associated with significant distress and reduced quality of life. Although no evidence-based treatments exist specifically for misophonia, cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) show promise. Cognitive reappraisal (CR), a core transdiagnostic CBT intervention, is frequently used in experimental studies, however, its effects on misophonia in ecologically valid conditions remain untested. Similarly, the needs and perspectives of individuals with misophonia regarding treatment are underexplored. This study developed and evaluated a CR protocol tailored for misophonia, assessing feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction, as well as preliminary assessment of the intervention outcomes through an uncontrolled quantitative as well as qualitative design.Methods: The intervention included a 90-minute group session and three 30-minute individual online sessions over four weeks. Adults (N = 23) were recruited using structured interviews. Misophonia symptoms were assessed at two pre-treatment time points and post-treatment. Semi-structured group interviews explored participants’ experiences.Results: No significant changes were observed between the two pre-treatment assessments in three of the five symptom subscales, partially confirming baseline symptom stability. In contrast, a significant post-treatment reduction in externalizing responses to misophonia triggers was observed (Estimate = -8.47, SE = 2.32, t(42.45) = -3.65, p < 0.001), with similar improvements across other S-Five subscales. Qualitative data highlighted feelings of isolation, appreciation for the group format, and a need for more individualized support.Conclusion: CR shows promise as a component of misophonia treatment that warrants further controlled evaluation. The participant’s feedback highlights the importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs and patient perspectives.
The article investigates the Suharto rule regime’s use of necropolitics to construct Indonesia’s memory of the 1965–66 mass murders. These memory politics were based on the anti-communist myth, which was the basis of the memory formation and creation of positive and negative heroes closely related to political changes. The regime used the bodies of generals who were killed during the attempted coup for political purposes, thus permanently anchoring this image in Indonesian society’s space and memory. Herein, the image of the generals’ bodies is juxtaposed with that of the victims’ bodies, which are still cursed and excluded from official Indonesian history. These necropolitics served the Suharto regime’s various interests of power, knowledge, and the clash between sacred and cursed bodies. Thus, the generals’ and victims’ bodies enhanced Suharto’s credibility. In this context, the generals’ bodies are treated as sacred, while the victims’ bodies are considered to be cursed, but both are causative agents of the development of the regime’s historical narrative, collective memory, and national identity.
Pozostałe osiągnięcia naukoweArtykuły (zamknięty dostęp)Journal article
