[The history of antitobacco actions in the last 500 years. part. 1. Non-medical actions]. / Historia dzialan antynikotynowych w okresie ostatnich 500 lat. Czesc I. Dzialania o charakterze pozamedycznym.

Tobacco was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus, who discovered it in Cuba in October, 1492. Spread of tobacco consumption was initiated by the French diplomat Jean Nicot de Villemain, who in 1560 recommended it in the form of powdered tobacco leaves to the French Queen Catherine de Medice to combat her migraine headaches, and introduced the term Nicotiana tobaccum. Tobacco consumption greatly rose after the I World War, and after the II World War it became very common, especially among man. In the first half of the 20th century the sale of tobacco products rose by 61%, and cigarettes dominated the market of tobacco products. At the beginning of the 20th century cigarettes constituted only 2% of the total sale of tobacco products, while in the middle of the 20th century--more than 80%. Although the first epidemiological papers indicating that "smoking is connected with the shortening of life span" were published in the first half of the 20th century, not until 1950 did Hill and Doll in Great Britain, and Wynder and Graham in USA in 1951 show a statistically significant correlation between cigarettes smoking and lung cancer occurrence. Many controversies according the use of tobacco accompanied it from the beginning of its presence in Europe. The conflicting opinions according to its influence to health coexisted in the 16th to 19th centuries. In this period, especially in the 19th century dominated moral and religious arguments against tobacco. In the 20th century however, and particularly in its second part, development in medical research was enhanced by civil voluntary actions against advertisement and passive smoking. This lead to the significant limitation of tobacco expansion in Europe, USA and Canada in the end of the 20th century.

[Twenty years' experience with the information system "biopsy" used in the work of a department of morbid anatomy].

The long-term use of the information system "Biopsy" has shown its efficiency in improving the organization of the department of morbid anatomy in a large hospital. Its advantages are the availability of materials and necessary information for the shortest period. The introduction of an electronic signature and the storage of signed documents are new real steps to the creation of paper-free technology, including the so-called electronic case history base. Automated exchange of orders for tests and their results not only reduces the time of their obtaining, but also lowers costs and enhances the efficiency of work pf a biopsy laboratory.

From Bhopal to the informating of environmentalism: risk communication in historical perspective.

This essay describes the development of information technology and culture in the environmental field since the 1980s and how this has led to new understandings of risk communication. The essay also describes how environmental information systems operate as instruments of power, in the way they configure and provide access to knowledge, in the way they manage uncertainty, and in the way they build in and project particular modes of subjectivity. The goal is to provide a brief yet compelling glimpse into the "informating of environmentalism."