Magdalena Paciorek

Publications of Magdalena Paciorek

• [Medical press in Poland in the years 1945-1949].

  Authors: Magdalena Paciorek

  Kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki : Kwartal'nyĭ zhurnal istorii nauki i tekhniki -. 01/2010; 55(3-4):149-84.

  In the article was presented a development of Polish medical press in the years 1945-1949. A special attention is drawn by time turning point, which was set up by the Author. A year 1945 is not onlyIn the article was presented a development of Polish medical press in the years 1945-1949. A special attention is drawn by time turning point, which was set up by the Author. A year 1945 is not only the time of the end of World War II and the beginning of consecutive stage of the history, but also is the moment of establishing new scientific institutions, among others--Scientific and Publishing Department at Ministry of Health, which was to protect the remaining scientific output and develop it. A final time turning point--a year 1949--is not only a period of slow elimination of relative democratic privileges, but also is the time of decadent publishing activity of several medical periodicals that were independent of health department. Finally, it is also the beginning of edition 'Słuzba Zdrowia' ['Health Service']--a popular medical weekly magazine, the limb of ZZPSZ, a journal, which was completely subordinated to dictatorship of contemporary political system. In the paper was included an analysis of 9 titles of popular medical periodicals that were issued in the above-mentioned period. A choice of them was intended, because in this kind of magazines the Author could find the answers for the following questions--to what extent in the columns of medical journals one could observe the liberty of authors' opinions and what views concerned the freedom, what one can say about the development of scientific section and the subject matter of discussed issues, how the problems were presented and what said about contacts and cooperation of Polish doctors with foreign countries. Therefore, in the article were discussed first projects and publishing programs prepared by Scientific and Publishing Department. There was also presented chronologically an origin, development and--often--decline of succeeding popular medical periodicals' titles. A special attention was paid to the social issues of medical circles that can turn out to be extremely interesting for the present-day reader and to the scientific section, in which one could find a review of medical bibliography that in those days made it possible to publish the summaries of Western scientific bibliography.

• [The relation to the soul and body in the 'good death' category in the light of Old Polish manuals, guides and wills]

  Authors: Magdalena Paciorek

  Medycyna nowozytna : studia nad historia medycyny / Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki. 02/2007; 14(1-2):43-54.

  The phenomenon of death has accompanied human existence since the dawn of time. In the Middle Ages, it was something regarded as a natural, universal and almost daily occurrence. But it was not aThe phenomenon of death has accompanied human existence since the dawn of time. In the Middle Ages, it was something regarded as a natural, universal and almost daily occurrence. But it was not a concern for the body that absorbed the thinking of ordinary mortals. It was a belief in the afterlife and the immortality of the soul that made the phenomenon of death so essential. The after-death fate of human souls was to depend on that phenomenon, on the manner in which one's temporal life ended. But was only the welfare of the soul taken into account in the Old Polish period was well as more modern times? On the basis of old-time handbooks, guides and instructions manuals devoted to 'good dying', the author has presented various ways people once displayed a concern for the soul's further existence. Prayer, penance, alms and reconciliation with the temporal world were only some of them. A major role was assigned to the drafting of wills. It should be emphasised, that those not only concerned estates. The testaments drafted by Catholics contained requests for pre-paid prayers, masses and sums set aside for alms for the needy. A concern for one's earthly remains was by no means neglected. Both among Catholic and Protestant believers, the custom of holding often sumptuous funerals, referred to as pompa funebris, was a customary right, and requests for a 'quiet' funeral encountered in wills were not widely respected by heirs of the deceased.

• [Problems of the development of Polish Medical Periodicals in the inter-war period with particular focus on the hygiene-related press]

  Authors: Magdalena Paciorek

  Medycyna nowozytna : studia nad historia medycyny / Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki. 02/2006; 13(1-2):93-124.

  During the two decades between the World Wars, the medical press was an indispensable element in the development of medicine. The dissemination of scientific breakthroughs and new medical proceduresDuring the two decades between the World Wars, the medical press was an indispensable element in the development of medicine. The dissemination of scientific breakthroughs and new medical procedures as well as the opportunity to discuss them and formulate opinions thereon were the overriding goals of the scientific medical press. But the difficult economic conditions of the inter-war period were not conducive to the existence of such journals. Nevertheless, during the period under discussion the number of new medical periodicals kept increasing, adversely affecting the readership of existing journals. During the inter-war period, the development of a hitherto unencountered field of medicine, hygiene, was noted. Its further development depended on the dissemination of research results and the promotion of health-protection principles. Therefore it was in free Poland that the hygiene-related press developed apace. The article contains a list of 22 hygiene periodicals, nine of which met the criteria of scientific periodicals (of the archival type or addressed to the general public). The remaining 13 were popular magazines and health guides. An analysis of the form and content of the titles appearing during that period has been conducted.

• [The problems of alcoholism amongst primary-school pupils as reflected in Polish medical journals of 1923-1938]

  Authors: Magdalena Paciorek

  Medycyna nowozytna : studia nad historia medycyny / Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki. 02/2003; 10(1-2):197-219.

  During the period between the two World Wars (1918-1939), alcoholism was a fairly common occurrence in Poland among primary-school pupils. Physicians, educators, social workers and central--as wellDuring the period between the two World Wars (1918-1939), alcoholism was a fairly common occurrence in Poland among primary-school pupils. Physicians, educators, social workers and central--as well as local-government institutions were involved in combating this disease and, above all, stopping its spread. Polish medical journals of the inter-war period played a dominant role in that struggle. They presented the results of anti-alcohol surveys conducted amongst primary-school children, published reports on the activities of anti-drinking societies and organisations and showed the harmful influence of alcohol on young bodies. They also pointed out methods of preventing the rise of alcoholism amongst children. This article is based on an analysis of numerous writings published in several medical journals dealing with children's alcoholism. It discusses the anti-alcohol tests carried out amongst primary-school children in selected Polish cities and towns from 1923 to 1938. On the basis of the completed questionnaires it shows the reasons for the emergence of alcoholism amongst children and presents the methods used at that time to prevent the disease.