Occupational safety and health in Poland in the 1990s: A regulatory system adapting to societal transformation

The societal transformation underway in Poland createda fundamental challenge to the occupational health and safety system, as the ideological and administrative principles on which it was founded vanished along with the communist-dominated regime. This paper examines the regulatory reform in Poland during the 1990s: its structural elements, implementation record and future prospects. Drawing on five case studies of privatized firms, a mailed questionnaire, and policy and institutional analysis, we find that Poland had considerable success in developing an effective regulatory system for managing occupational health hazards in privatized sector while also achieving considerable socioeconomic progress. The fundamental legitimacy of the regulators and regulatory process, the availability of information about firms and regulatory intents, and the capacity for case-specific decision making, are among the key explanatory factors. The case-specific implementation in Poland is consistent with models advocated by several authors in relation to other industrialized European economies (termed variously as negotiated compliance, tit-for-tat, cooperation-deterrence), despite a uniquely Polish context related to the continuing legacy of the communist era. The study also shows how in Poland a good fit between regulatory institutions and policies on the one hand, and their social context on the other hand, contributes to the effectiveness of the regulatory system.     

Calculation of percent shrinkage in human fetal diaphyseal lengths from fresh bone to carbonized and calcined bone using Petersohn and K?hler's data.

Calculation of age from fetal and newborn remains may be problematic, and when these remains are altered by maceration, decomposition or burning, age may be more difficult to discern. When soft tissue indicators are transformed, then two techniques exist for accurate age determination; dental development, which may prove difficult given the degree of tissue alteration; and appearance, size and fusion of ossification centers, including diaphyseal length, which may yield inaccurate ages if shrinkage is not accounted for. This study is undertaken to facilitate age calculation by systematically re-evaluating diaphyseal shrinkage and determine shrinkage rates from wet to carbonized states and wet to calcined states using Petersohn and K?hler's data, originally published in German and then published in Fazekas and Kósa (1978:362-369). Average shrinkage, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values are calculated for each diaphysis and then for all diaphyses between 4-10 lunar months (LM) and for newborns. Associated values for carbonized diaphyses are: 4 LM--32.50% +/- 12.12%; 5 LM--14.04% +/- 4.44%; 6 LM--6.78% +/- 1.06%; 7 LM--4.18% +/- 0.31%; 8 LM--3.47% +/- 0.42%; 9 LM--3.05% +/- 0.18%; 10 LM--2.46% +/- 0.67%; and in newborns 2.16% +/- 0.29%. Similar values for calcined diaphyses are: 4 LM--40.11% +/- 17.51%; 5 LM--18.29% +/- 4.42%; 6 LM--9.84% +/- 1.27%; 7 LM--9.82% +/- 0.51%; 8 LM--9.42% +/- 0.72%; 9 LM--9.45% +/- 0.33%; 10 LM--8.94% +/- 0.37%; and in newborns 8.96% +/- 0.49%. These findings suggest that percent shrinkage due to carbonization and calcination is greatest in the earliest age groups, decreasing substantially with advancing age. The rates of shrinkage, however, vary by the burning process utilized and age group studied. These general findings are similar to those of Petersohn and K?hler, yet specific values for percent shrinkage vary greatly from values cited in this analysis. These data provide a means to assess the degree of shrinkage that occurs for each diaphysis for each given age group.     

The German community in 19<Superscript>th</Superscript> century Hong Kong

This article examines the development of the German community in Hong Kong between the 1840s and the outbreak of the First World War. It pays particular attention to the question of how the Germans, as a minority group in the crown colony, attempted to strike a good balance between integration and segregation, cultural assimilation and dissimilation, national identity and marginalization. Through investigating their social life, missionary activities and economic activities in Hong Kong, it shows that they, on the one hand, cooperated closely with the British who were in charge of key political and economic affairs, and on the other hand worked with the local Chinese on different social stratums. Although the unification of Germany in 1870 strengthened the sense of nationhood among German people in Hong Kong, they strove to strengthen the German cultural and economic network that already existed in and around the colony, without sacrificing their business and social interests which were interwoven with those of the British and the local Chinese. It is this strategy that enabled them to survive in Hong Kong until 1914.