The Last Years of Polish Jewry

Ukrainian-born Yankev Leshchinsky (1876-1966) was the leading scholarly and journalistic analyst of Eastern European Jewish socioeconomic and political life from the 1920s to the 1950s. Known as “the dean of Jewish sociologists” and “the father of Jewish demography,” Leshchinsky published a series of insightful and moving essays in Yiddish on Polish Jewry between 1927 and 1937. Despite heightened interest in interwar Jewish communities in Poland in recent years, these essays (like most of Leshchinsky’s works) have never been translated into English. The Last Years of Polish Jewry helps to rectify this situation by translating some of Leshchinsky’s key essays. A thoughtful Introduction by Robert Brym provides the context of the author’s life and work. The essays in this volume, based on years of research and first-hand observation, focus on the period 1935-37. The rise of militant Polish nationalism and the ensuing anti-Jewish boycotts and pogroms; the increasing exclusion of Jews from government employment and the universities; the destitution, hunger, suicide, and efforts to emigrate that characterized Jewish life; the psychological toll taken by mass uncertainty and hopelessness—all this falls within the author’s ambit. Few works in English have the range and depth of Leshchinsky’s essays on the last years of the three million Polish Jews who were to perish at the hand of the Nazi regime. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of Eastern European history and society, especially those with an interest in Eastern Europe’s Jewish communities on the brink of the Holocaust

The Last Years of Polish Jewry

Ukrainian-born Yankev Leshchinsky (1876–1966) was the leading scholarly and journalistic analyst of Eastern European Jewish socioeconomic and political life from the 1920s to the 1950s. Known as “the dean of Jewish sociologists” and “the father of Jewish demography,” Leshchinsky published a series of insightful and moving essays in Yiddish on Polish Jewry between 1927 and 1937. Despite heightened interest in interwar Jewish communities in Poland in recent years, these essays (like most of Leshchinsky’s works) have never been translated into English. The Last Years of Polish Jewry helps to rectify this situation by translating some of Leshchinsky’s key essays. A thoughtful Introduction by Robert Brym provides the context of the author’s life and work. The essays in this volume, based on years of research and first-hand observation, focus on the period 1927–33. The rise of militant Polish nationalism and the ensuing anti-Jewish boycotts and pogroms; the increasing exclusion of Jews from government employment and the universities; the destitution, hunger, suicide, and efforts to emigrate that characterized Jewish life; the psychological toll taken by mass uncertainty and hopelessness—all this falls within the author’s ambit. There is no work in English that comes close to the range and depth of Leshchinsky’s essays on the last years of the three million Polish Jews who were to perish at the hand of the Nazi regime. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of Eastern European history and society, especially those with an interest in Eastern Europe’s Jewish communities on the brink of the Holocaust

METHODS OF STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS (ON THE WORKS BY PROFESSOR-PROTOIEREUS A.V. SMIRNOV (1857-1933))

The article describes the initial stage of scientific knowledge development about the religion in Russia at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. They highlighted the features of training course development on the history of religion in the Russian Empire and the fields of research approaches to the history of religion in theological academies. They describe the scientific and creative path of the Archpriest, Professor A.V. Smirnov at the Kazan Imperial University. Based on the analysis of the work "The Course on the History of Religion", the article highlights and characterizes the methodological principles that guided Professor A.V. Smirnov in the study of the history of religion, provides a detailed analysis of religion classification principles and morphological analysis of religion

TYPOLOGY OF AUTOCEPHALOUS MOVEMENTS IN ORTHODOXY

The article analyzes autocephalist movements. Their study is undertaken to solve the general problem of Ecumenical Orthodoxy unity preservation and to prevent conflicts and schisms in it. For the study, the authors use scientific methods and approaches, among which one of the main ones is dialectical. Movements are viewed as socially conditioned and historically objective phenomena undergoing constant changes. They reveal the attitude of the following states to the autocephalist movements of the Russian Orthodox Church: Russia, Georgia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and the American continent. They presented the typology of autocephaly arising as a result of movements towards them. The typologization of movements was carried out for the first time in Russian religious studies. Recommendations for prevention and settlement of interchurch conflicts are given

Enhancing Ballast Performance Using Geocell Confinement

In past years, railroad transportation has been of growing interest due to its efficiency and advancement in railway technologies. However, many issues arise due to the variability in subsurface conditions along the sizeable lengths of track that exist. One very important issue is the need for significant upkeep and maintenance for railways passing over areas of poor soil conditions due to continuous deformation and a lack of stiffness from the ballasted foundation. One general solution for lack of substructure integrity has been confinement, applied through a variety of reinforcement types, including geocell. To investigate the effectiveness of geocell confinement on ballasted substructure integrity, a series of embankment model tests with different configurations of geocell placement (one layer and two layers of geocell) were constructed and loaded monotonically and cyclically for comparison to unreinforced, control tests. Upon the completion of these tests, the model embankments were simulated numerically using finite element procedures. The results were then used as validation for a parametric study, observing the effects of less competent geocell material, ballast and foundation conditions and their implications. Further numerical simulations were then performed on railroad embankments reinforced with and without geocell to model realistic railroad conditions and the effects of confinement on performance.The tests and numerical simulations demonstrate that geocell confinement effectively increased stiffness and strength of a ballast embankment, while reducing vertical settlement and lateral spreading. Additionally, the parametric study shows that the use of geocell provides a composite, "mattressing" effect that distributes subgrade stress more uniformly than without reinforcement, increasing bearing capacity and reducing settlement, especially on soft foundations or when using weaker ballast. The results suggested that in some site conditions, use of geocell might be an economical alternative to frequent maintenance and/or lower train speeds. Additionally, it implies that geocell might be cost-effective when used in combination withed degraded, weaker ballasts, i.e. inferior local or recycled materials. The use of geocell in ballast stabilization could prove to a sustainable solution for a common and expensive problem

Investigation of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) Coated Bores in Internal Combustion Engines

With increasing fuel economy and emission restrictions being placed onto the automotive industry, there is always a need for innovation and research in striving to reduce energy loss and make internal combustion engines more efficient. An area of potential improvement is through the reduction of frictional parasitic losses in tribological systems. This study investigates the feasibility of use for low-friction Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) coatings on cylinder bores in order to reduce the frictional coefficients along the piston ring and cylinder bore sliding surface. For PEO coatings, wear is a limiting factor and this study aims at understanding the main influencing factors for wear on PEO in cylinder bores. Through fired-engine dynamometer testing, it was determined that large piston-to-bore clearance distances, increased oil retention, and a small dispersed surface porosity morphology created a tribological environment which produced improved wear resistance of PEO coatings in cylinder bores

The use of a Rotary Asphalt Broom to Groom Aggregate Forest Roads

Due to the dispersed nature of forestry operations in much of the world, only a subset of a given forest road network are used in any year. Specifically, spur roads are generally only used when harvesting operations are adjacent to roadways; otherwise, they remain unused or only have infrequent administrative traffic. During these periods of light use, a substantial amount of organic litter may build up on the roads. As this detritus accumulates and decays, it creates conditions that encourage the growth of unwanted vegetation in the roadway, accelerating the contamination of the surface aggregate. This organic material can degrade the road by retaining moisture and creating a less tractive road surface. Contemporary forest practices control this unwanted vegetation by using a combination of grading or herbicides, at significant expense. One potential alternative treatment is the utilization of a rotary-mounted asphalt broom for vegetation and debris removal. A series of field trials were performed on wet, contaminated forest roads, in which we evaluated vegetation, debris removal effectiveness, and tire slip on segments of road before and after sweeping. The combined effects of wire and synthetic bristles on the rotary broom proved effective in both increasing traction and removing unwanted debris and vegetation from the road surface. Application of this technique was expedient, and did not result in significant loss of surface aggregate, removing on average less than 1% of the aggregate surface