Social Analytics and Esports Research Unit

Head

Justyna Nyckowiak, PhD

Academic and Research Staff

Tomasz Kolodziej, PhD

Piotr Zwarycz, PhD

The Social Analytics and Esports Research Unit was established on the initiative of Justyna Nyćkowiak and Tomasz Kołodziej as a result of their collaboration in conducting research on various political and economic phenomena, as well as on esports. The need to establish the Unit stems from the belief that education in the field of Sociology should provide knowledge and tools necessary for understanding phenomena, forecasting changes, and facilitating decision-making. We therefore understand Sociology as a science with a very practical character. That is why we have expanded the educational offer for first-cycle (Bachelor's) Sociology students with the option to choose the specialization "Social Dimensions of Esports." Esports is one of the fastest growing activities and a phenomenon worth studying from a sociological perspective. Within the Unit, projects concerning esports as a social phenomenon are carried out, including the effectiveness of esports teams. Students who choose the specialization "Social Dimensions of Esports" have the opportunity to participate in projects implemented within the Unit and receive substantive support in writing diploma theses related to esports.

Our publications on this subject include:

• Toward Successful Esports Team: How Does National Diversity Affect Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Video Games, 2023, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Tomasz Kołodziej, Michał Jasny, Piotr Siuda, In: Proceedings of the 56th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), January 3-6, 2023- HICSS (#), Honolulu, USA, Honolulu: University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2023, pp. 3902-3911
• The influence of players' nationality on the effectiveness of esports teams based on the example of The International DOTA 2 tournaments, Review of Nationalities, 2019, Tomasz Kołodziej, Przegląd Narodowościowy = Review of Nationalities, no. 9, 85-99
• Playing DOTA 2: Professional careers in esports, 2018, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Rocznik Lubuski, vol. 44, part I, 145-159
• National diversity of esports teams, 2018, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Tomasz Kołodziej, In: Transborderism in Sociological Perspective. Europe - a divided community?, 2018/scientific eds. Maria Zielińska, Dorota Szaban, Beata Trzop, Zielona Góra: Lubuskie Scientific Society, pp. 201-216

In 2021, in collaboration with Michał Jasny representing the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, we prepared the 47th volume of Rocznik Lubuski, which was dedicated to the social and cultural aspects of esports. This is a special publication because it was the first time that an entire issue of a journal with such a profile was devoted to this topic.

The volume included articles presenting a variety of research perspectives, including texts by:

• Tomasz Sahaj, Od rekreacji do e-sportowej profesjonalizacji. Kulturowo-społeczne aspekty gier elektronicznych (From Recreation to Esports Professionalization: Cultural and Social Aspects of Electronic Games)
• Andrzej Stępnik, Etyka e-sportu jako element wielopoziomowego systemu normatywnego (Esports Ethics as an Element of a Multi-level Normative System)
• Kamil Kleszczyński, Społeczne i kulturowe aspekty grywalizacji w dobie pandemii (Social and Cultural Aspects of Gamification in the Era of the Pandemic)
• Bastian Kordyak, Björn Krus and Björn Niehaves, Explaining consumer engagement in e-sports – demographic and social considerations
• Mehmet Kartal, Cenk Temel, Metaphors regarding the concept of e-sports produced by university students in Turkey
• Natalia Koperska, Możliwość zastosowania gier komputerowych w treningu mentalnym (The Possibility of Using Computer Games in Mental Training)
• Michał Jasny, Tomasz Sodomirski, Sport-related aspects of preparation for preparation for participation in e-sports tournaments based on the game Magic: the gathering
• Michał Dąbrowski, Szachy między grą-zabawą, sportem a e-sportem (Chess Between Game-Play, Sport, and Esport)
• Marek Kołodziej, Polityka emancypacji kobiet oraz mniejszości seksualnych na przykładzie e-sportu: wprowadzenie do tematyki badawczej (The Politics of Emancipation of Women and Sexual Minorities in Esports: Introduction to Research Topics)
• Artur Kinal, Między nerdem a zawodnikiem – autokreacja wizerunku e-sportowców w mediach społecznościowych na przykładzie Facebooka (Between Nerd and Athlete – Self-creation of Esports Players' Image on Social Media Using the Example of Facebook)

Members of the Social Analytics and Esports Research Unit also deal with issues of electoral behavior, the course of political careers, and the mechanisms of functioning of uniformed groups, especially the police. Selected publications on this subject include:

• Młodzi w policji - sytuacja kadrowa policji w latach 2005-2021 (Young People in the Police - Personnel Situation of the Police in 2005-2021), 2022, Tomasz Kołodziej, Rocznik Lubuski, Vol. 48, part 1, 127-138
• Misunderstanding institutional rules: Electoral-list mobility in Poland, 2005-2015, 2021, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Tomasz Kołodziej, In: Designing and Implementing Public Policy of Contemporary Polish Society: Selected Problems, 2021, Göttingen: V&R unipress | Brill (#), pp. 209-226
• Switching Political Affiliation: Electoral-List Mobility in Poland, 2005-2015, 2021, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Tomasz Kołodziej, Polish Sociological Review, Vol. 213, 1, 47-70
• Policja - uwarunkowania karier zawodowych funkcjonariuszy (Police - Determinants of Officers' Professional Careers), 2021, Tomasz Kołodziej, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe FNCE
• Zawodowi politycy w okresie przemian ustrojowych (Professional Politicians During Systemic Transformations), 2020, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa
• Police in the nation state - an apolitical and independent institution?, 2020, Tomasz Kołodziej, Przegląd Narodowościowy = Review of Nationalities: A new wave of separatism in the world, 10, 267-278
• Możliwość aplikacji modelu homo agens-institutionalist w badaniach Policji (Possibility of Applying the Homo Agens-Institutionalist Model in Police Research), 2019, Tomasz Kołodziej, Forum Socjologiczne, Vol. 10, 53-64
• Rola organów administracji rządowej i samorządowej w procesie powoływania komendantów policji (The Role of Government and Local Administration Bodies in the Process of Appointing Police Commanders), 2018, Tomasz Kołodziej, In: Globalne i lokalne perspektywy bezpieczeństwa państwa, 2018 / scientific eds. Jan Maciejewski, Monika Zawartka, Sławomir Fiodorów, Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego (#), pp. 317-328
• International scientific collaboration in the electoral control in eastern Europe project, 2016, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Joshua Kjerulf Dubrow, Tomasz Kołodziej, Rocznik Lubuski: Good Connections. Trust, cooperation and education in the mirror of social sciences, vol. 2, part 2a, 111-123
• Construction and Use of a Relational Database to Analyze the Careers of Professional Politicians in Poland, 1985-2007, 2014, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Ask. Research & Methods, Vol. 23, 115-134, ISSN: 1234-9224
• Perspektywa neoinstytucjonalna w analizach przebiegu karier politycznych (Neo-institutional Perspective in Analyses of Political Career Paths), 2013, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Sociologica, 46, 75-87
• Pokoleniowe uwarunkowania opinii na temat przemian politycznych w Polsce po 1989 roku w świetle danych POLPAN 1993-2008 (Generational Determinants of Opinions on Political Changes in Poland after 1989 in Light of POLPAN 1993-2008 Data), 2011, Justyna Nyćkowiak, Rocznik Lubuski: zrozumieć społeczeństwo, zrozumieć pokolenia. Młodzież, młodość i pokoleniowość w analizach socjologicznych, Vol. 37, part 2, 83-97
• Do Parliamentarians' Careers Influence Their Attitudes Toward the European Union? A Comparison of the 2007 and 2009 Data, 2010, Justyna Nyćkowiak, In: National and European?: Polish political elite in comparative perspective, 2010 / ed. by Włodzimierz Wesołowski, Kazimierz M. Słomczyński, Joshua Kjerulf Dubrow, Warsaw: IFiS Publishers, pp. 57-72
• Political Activity: Is Trust in Democratic Institutions Really a Relevant Determinant?, 2009, Justyna Nyćkowiak, International Journal of Sociology, vol. 39 No. 1, 49-61