This article presents the results of a study of the determinants of energy transformation of coal-dependent regions. The case study was on the region of Silesia. This region is the main producer of hard coal and coking coal in Poland, with nineteen mines and numerous coal-fired power plants. Silesia is highly industrialized and urbanized, contributing significantly to Poland’s GDP. However, it is also a leader in terms of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The study used an approach based on Alvin L. Bertrand’s ‘stress-strain’ theory, to investigate the socio-cultural stresses emerging as a result of the interaction of external factors and internal process dynamics within the region itself. Then, using Marc Wolfram’s systems-based analytical framework approach, the current transformative capacity of Silesia was analyzed. The theoretical framework adopted assumes that socio-cultural stress can be inferred from past situations of tension, influencing the social structure of the region and shaping accepted patterns of adaptation to change. Socio-cultural stress emerges as a key determinant of a region’s coping strategy and shapes its ability to transform in the long term. The research approach presented in this article adopts a comprehensive framework that integrates socio-cultural, socio-ecological and technological dimensions, providing a holistic view of a region’s transformation challenges and opportunities. The research was conducted using focus group interviews and a structured interview questionnaire. Participants in the research were individuals representing a diverse community of experts and activists involved in the energy transition process in Silesia, including local government officials, businesses, professional associations and social activists.

The article highlights the actualization specificity of the notion of epistle in lexicographical and academic sources. The study reveals the semantic structure peculiar features of this notion. The focus of attention consists of two main issues: the history of the origin of the genre in the Ukrainian tradition and the functional‑style differentiation of the epistle as a literary genre. The literary studies approach to determining the genre status of an epistle is limited to its interpretation as a genre of artistic and journalistic styles. An analysis of the texts under study reveals the epistle’s dominant typological features and the peculiarities of their explication within official and artistic styles. There is convincing evidence that religious epistles have one of the most ancient manifestations in the functional‑stylistic system of the Ukrainian language and that they arose both within the specific Ukrainian linguistic context and in the form of the translated texts of the Holy Scripture. The findings of the study give reasons to determine the epistle as a historically established speech genre, which has a functional‑style specificity and stereotypical compositional content organization. The typology of the epistle genre features is most clearly represented at the level of the textual and structural‑stylistic organization.