REPOSITORY
THE NICOLAUS COPERNICUS UNIVERSITY
IN TORUŃ
is an institutional repository of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The task of the Repository is to promote scientific achievements and research conducted at NCU and to support teaching.
Recent Submissions
Here, There, Nowhere: Urban Eviction as State Erasure of Roma Rights and Heritage between Bulgaria and Germany
(De Gruyter Brill, 2025-11-13) Trupia, Francesco
The latest urban eviction of dwellers from Sofia’s district of Zaharna Fabrika, home to one of the oldest Roma settlements in the city, has shone a spotlight on an “archipelago” of residential clusters in which spatial confinement and the steady erosion of basic rights wall off Roma communities and shrink their space for political participation. In his commentary, the author advances an intersectional reflection that foregrounds the deep-seated anti-Roma discourse and neoliberal urban replanning– phenomena that both had a particularly significant impact on the Bulgarian Roma and fostered far-right violence. Based on previous fieldwork and qualitative studies, this article highlights how the neoliberal restructuring and rescaling of cities drive the patterns of migration from Southeastern to Northern Europe, while the far-right’s anti-migration discourse is taking root within urban migrant/minoritised spaces.
Imination enables efficient formation of a pillararene-inspired host with endo-cavity hydrogen-bonding capability
(Elsevier, 2025) Bleus, Sem; Ribone, Sergio; Losus, Renny Maria; Dobrzańska, Liliana; Van Meervelt, Luc; Dehaen, Wim
The efficient design of novel macrocycles with enhanced properties over their parent scaffold represents a major challenge in supramolecular chemistry. Here, we exemplify imination as a purification-free method to develop novel pillar[n]arene-like macrocycles with partial-belt nitrogen functionalization. Compared to similarly sized pillar[n]arene-inspired arenes, the strategy provides an increased scalability and an up to 16-fold improvement in macrocyclization yield. X-ray crystallography and theoretical calculations reveal a similar electron density and cavity size as pillar[5]arene. The altered geometry and enhanced flexibility, however, permit complexing di-, tri- and tetrasubstituted cyanobenzenes, generating guest complementarity to all-carbon pillar[n]arenes. The suitable positioning of hydrogen bond acceptors facilitates binding based on endo-cavity hydrogen bonding, a feature largely unreported in peralkylated pillar[n]arenes. Reduction straightforwardly afforded a polyamine macrocycle of modified geometry.
Antarctic Security and Adequacy of Legal Regulations
(Elsevier, 2025-11-10) Szpak, Agnieszka
This paper critically examines the adequacy of the current legal framework governing Antarctica – the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) – in addressing emerging security-related risks in the region. With Antarctica facing mounting environmental threats from climate change, increasing tourism, potential bioprospecting, and strategic interest from global powers, the paper explores whether existing legal instruments are sufficient to mitigate these challenges. The study identifies significant regulatory gaps and ambiguities using legal and content analysis of relevant literature. These include unclear provisions on bioprospecting and resource use, limited enforcement and inspection mechanisms, insufficient responses to maritime and human security risks, and the growing dualuse nature of scientific activities with possible military applications. The analysis suggests that while the ATS has thus far maintained peace and environmental protection, its effectiveness is undermined by geopolitical competition and evolving global demands. The paper concludes that without legal and institutional reforms, such as more precise definitions, stronger enforcement mechanisms, and enhanced transparency, the long-term stability and credibility of the Antarctic governance regime may be at risk.
AI Images vs. Real Photographs: Investigating Visual Recognition and Perception
(2025) Osińska, Veslava; Kortas, Weronika; Szalach, Adam; Welter, Marc
Recently, the photorealism of generated images has improved noticeably due to the development of AI algorithms. These are high-resolution images of human faces and bodies, cats and dogs, vehicles, and other categories of objects that the untrained eye cannot distinguish from authentic photographs. The study assessed how people perceive 12 pictures generated by AI vs. 12 real photographs. Six main categories of stimuli were selected: architecture, art, faces, cars, landscapes, and pets. The visual perception of selected images was studied by means of eye tracking and gaze patterns as well as time characteristics, compared with consideration to the respondent groups’ gender and knowledge of AI graphics. After the experiment, the study participants analysed the pictures again in order to describe the reasons for their choice. The results show that AI images of pets and real photographs of architecture were the easiest to identify. The largest differences in visual perception are between men and women as well as between those experienced in digital graphics (including AI images) and the rest. Based on the analysis, several recommendations are suggested for AI developers and end-users.
"It's my fourth child." The affective and personal impact of community archives
(2025-10) Wiśniewska-Drewniak, Magdalena
The paper reports partial results of the research project “The impact of independent community archives” funded by the National Science Center in Krakow, Poland (grant no. 2022/47/D/HS3/00914; 2023-2026). The aim of the project is to describe the social and affective impact of Polish independent community archives on their creators, contributors, audiences, and the community they document. The project's goal is achieved through three in-depth case studies of contemporary independent archives. The primary source of information is qualitative interviews with people associated with the archives, particularly community archivists.
The paper addresses, in particular, the affective (emotional) impact and personal impact. The citation used in the title, 'It's my fourth child', comes from one of the interviewed community archivists (mother of three children) and shows an interesting way of describing archivist's personal and affective involvement in the archive.
The presentation includes: a short discussion on the Polish context of community archives; a description of the research process; partial results - several influences found in two Polish community archives studied so far: German Minority Research Center (Polish: Centrum Badań Mniejszości Niemieckiej) and Dogs Community Archive (Polish: Psie Archiwum Społeczne); reflections on the challenges of studying the affective and personal impact of archives. In terms of influences, the presentation discusses: trust/distrust, archival toil/burden, sense of mission, sensitivity/empathy, negative emotional impact, hard and educational personal impacts, and "soft" personal impacts.