Currently, there are no computerized tools enabling objective interpretation of observational gait assessment based on Wisconsin Gait Scale, which is a reliable and well-tested tool. The solution envisaged by us may provide a practical tool for assessing gait deviations in patients with hemiparesis after stroke. The present study assessed agreement between a new application software for computerized WGS and 3-dimensional gait analysis, and reliability of the application. The study involved 33 individuals with hemiparesis after stroke. The software was developed based (...) on a model designed taking into account components of the WGS and incorporating auxiliary lines passing through the relevant anthropometric points on the patient’s body, as well as measurements of angular values, distances and duration of the specific gait phases, which make it possible to substantiate assessment based on this scale. Series of videos were made to record gait of the qualified patients. After the gait evaluation was carried out using the app, the data were retrieved from the software. The gait assessment was performed separately by three independent examiners who reviewed the video recording using the new app twice. Additionally, 3DGA was carried out for all the subjects, and the results of the app-aided assessment were compared to those acquired using 3DGA. The findings show statistically significant correlations between majority of the WGS items measured using the new app, and the relevant spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters identified by 3DGA. Agreement between the scores reported by the three examiners was high in both measurements, as reflected by Cronbach’s alpha exceeding 0.8. The findings reflect very good intra-observer reliability and inter-observer reliability of the new application software for computerized WGS. The opportunities offered by the observational gait scale objectified through our new software for computerized WGS result from the fact that the tool provides a useful low-cost and time-effective feedback to monitor ongoing treatments or formulate hypotheses. (shrink)

This article outlines the vision of freedom and its connection with the law found in Wolan’s work `De libertate politica sive civili libellus lectu'. The introductory section presents the tradition of thinking about these two categories and their mutual connections, as well as presenting a profile of the author. The first principal part of the article then analyses the problem of freedom, emphasizing its relevance to the lives of individuals and states and indicating how freedom may come to be (...) restricted in the light of both internal and external factors. The situation in Poland is also considered. The next section of the article then portrays legal frameworks as guardians of freedom. After elucidating this idea, it shows how Poles have sought to protect themselves from the tyranny of domination, before going on to identify particular flaws in the system of law and propose solutions for these. Finally, it shows the relation between freedom and the law, arguing that the best possibilities for realizing this interconnection lie in a form of government of the sort known as monarchia mixta. It argues that real freedom only exists alongside wise laws, and that good laws will not emerge in the absence of freedom. (shrink)