Diversity and multiculturalism have become pervasive in today’s organizations. Facets of Managing in Cross-Cultural Diversity is a timely publication critically exploring the phenomenon of managing in cross-cultural diversity. This book offers important insights on real issues and studies into management in a cross-cultural, global environment, and uncovers the issues from macro and group-individual perspectives. Unlike most publications on diversity which are limited to a single country’s experience, this book brings together authors who write about and study workplace diversity in the context of different countries and cultures. Associate Prof. Dr. Roziah Mohd Rasdi Universiti Putra Malaysia

Autorzy w przekrojowy sposób opisują sytuację polskich organizacji imigranckich w wybranych krajach europejskich (Niemczech, Francji, Wielkiej Brytanii, Irlandii, Norwegii, Szwecji, Holandii, Włoszech i Hiszpanii) na podstawie przeprowadzonych dogłębnych badań terenowych, takich jak: 1. badanie techniką sondażu internetowego (CAWI) – ilościowe badanie zaangażowania społecznego, stosunku do polskich organizacji imigranckich oraz charakterystyki społeczno-demograficznej Polaków mieszkających w wybranych krajach europejskich, 2. wywiady pogłębione z przedstawicielami instytucji zajmujących się koordynacją, kreowaniem i realizacją polityki polonijnej, 3. wywiady pogłębione z przedstawicielami instytucji zajmujących się koordynacją, kreowaniem i realizacją polityk imigracyjnych i integracyjnych w wybranych krajach europejskich, 4. wywiady pogłębione z ekspertami w zakresie polskich organizacji imigranckich w wybranych krajach europejskich na temat oceny kondycji polskich organizacji imigranckich, 5. studia przypadków polskich organizacji imigranckich w wybranych krajach europejskich, mające na celu szczegółowe zbadanie działalności wybranych organizacji ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem ich kondycji oraz czynników na tę kondycję wpływających, 6. badanie techniką sondażu instytucjonalnego polskich organizacji imigranckich w wybranych krajach europejskich. Prezentowana publikacja ma charakter nowatorski. Przedstawia pierwsze tego typu przekrojowe badania polskich organizacji imigranckich. Pozwala ponadto na dokonywanie porównań oraz uogólnień, które umożliwiają formułowanie nowych propozycji teoretycznych zmierzających do zbudowania modelu wyjaśniającego sytuację organizacji imigranckich. ****** Polish Immigrant Organisations in Europe. In Search of a New Model The authors describe the situation of Polish immigrant organisations in selected European countries (Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain) on the basis of field research. Their aim is to explore and explain the conditions under which they operate. This seminal publication presents the first cross-disciplinary research on Polish immigrant organisations. It allows to compare and generalise, enabling the authors to formulate new theoretical proposals, which aim to build a model explaining the situation of immigrant organisations.

The monograph is the result of the 60th International Conference of AIELF (Association Internationale des Economistes de Langue Française) having place on May 25-27, 2017 at the Poznań University of Economics and Business in Poland with over 120 participants from 25 countries around the world. The conference focused on The issues of economic development in a risked globalization and the book was created around this topic. The monograph consists of 32 chapters that cover the different area of globalization, integration, transformation, innovation, economic growth, monetary policy, public policy, climate changes, labor market, governance, finance and management. The scope of topics is very wide which is the result of broad locals’ problems important for authors geographically scattered around the world (among others Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, French Guiana, Canada). The monograph was published both in the classic version and in the form of an e-book. The publication is treated by the Francophone countries in Africa, South America, North America, Asia and Europe with approval and considerable recognition.

This issue of Sociological Review commemorates the 25th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of The Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989. It should be recalled that the beginnings of children’s studies and the sociology of childhood coincided in time with the introduction of this treaty, which established international standards for children’s protection and development. The Convention aims at safeguarding the youngest society members from different forms of abuse, exploitation and violence, as well as at promoting their rights to a decent standard of living and to broad social participation. The authors of the articles presented herein, representing the current sociological attitude towards children and youth, follow these assumptions. The articles thus mirror some important attributes of contemporary children’s studies – its cognitive multidimensionality, differentiated quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the shift from “research on children” to “research with children”, scholars’ interest in the results of comparative studies (especially the results of natural sciences), and the concern about the practical implementation of research outcomes. The main topics tackled in this collection of texts are children’s poverty and social inequalities rooted in the first phase of their life cycle, suffering and various risks experienced by children and teenagers, framed in both the national and international contexts, as well as children’s quality of life, youngsters’ well-being, youth participation, civic engagement and the new concept of investing in children. Children, considered as equal social actors and citizens – although still most vulnerable to abuse, discrimination and social exclusion – are presented in the framework of their complicated networks of relationships with peers, adults, collectivities and societies, the welfare state, social policy institutions and other organizations, with the notion to important factors decisive for their present life and their future.

The book is a result of close cooperation of three research units: Department of City and Regional Planning of Selcuk University in Turkey, Department of Regional and Local Development of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic and Department of Spatial Economy and Local Administration of Wrocław University of Economics in Poland. The economy at the beginning of the 21st century is increasingly becoming a global economy. This fact entails different consequences for countries, business units, or indi-viduals. At the same time, rapid advances in technology and the use of the achievements in the practice are changing the living conditions of entire societies. The period which now exists in the economy can be defined as a permanent innovation that enters by diffusion into all areas of socio-economic life. As a result, new services and products are introduced, changing fashions, tastes and preferences. This leads to the dynamic changes in the modern world. These changes are cumulative, and for the average per¬son they are often confusing, on the one hand, and very tedious on the other. It is claimed that only constant learning gives people a chance to adapt to these changes. In the context of these general observations the role of space in contemporary realities should be highlighted. On the one hand, with the development of means of communication the space has ‘shrunk.,’ On the other, thanks to the development of communications infrastructure we have got to know its diversity. It turns out that the space is not only the element of nature (animate and inanimate), but also people with their culture, both material and spiritual one. Anthropogenization of space is a reality and must be reconciled; however, these changes should be made in a thoughtful and rational way. This contemporary space is becoming a major-elect of the economy. This book is an attempt of the description of this knowledge. The authors set themselves the task to bring closer to the reader the contemporary socio-economic space, including cultural and political determinants occurring in the space. Therefore, in the text, except for general information relating to the overall basic human activities in space, we find contents concerning the newest forms of management, innovations and creation of the economic networks, etc. According to the authors, such an approach is to bring closer to the reader the knowledge necessary to know the framework for the functioning of the economy in the new reality, not forgetting the spatial aspect, as each human activity has its place in the time and space. We cannot live out of the time and out of the space. The authors would like to thank reviewers for valuable comments which contributed to the improvement of the quality of the publication. Stanisław Korenik, Oğuz Özbek