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A pilot trial evaluating static postural control after gym and pool exercises in females treated for breast cancer

Author(s): Aleksandra Bula,Julia Stróż,Robert Kwiatkowski,Małgorzata Gajda,Dorota Groffik,Wojciech Marszałek,Anna Polak / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: breast cancer; physical activity; physical therapy; postural control

Background: Breast cancer (BC) therapies can cause toxic peripheral nerve injury resulting in postural control disorders and increased risk of falling.Aim of the study: To determine the effects of gym and pool exercises on static postural control in female BC survivors. In this regard, advanced stabilometric parameters, including center-of-foot pressure (COP) excursions, rambling, and trembling, evaluated postural control.Material and methods: This single group pilot included 11 females (30-65 years) treated for stage II-III BC who completed chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy after breast-sparing surgery or mastectomy. The intervention consisted of two 45-minute exercise sessions in the gym and one 60-minute session in the pool at least once a week for six weeks. Static postural control measurements were recorded with participants standing with eyes open and eyes closed on a force plate, which recorded the range, root-mean-square (RMS), and mean velocity of COP, trembling, and rambling.Results: The pre-intervention and post-intervention values of stabilometric parameters obtained with eyes closed were not significantly different. However, eyes open measurements showed significant increases in the range, mean velocity, and RMS of COP, the range and RMS of rambling, and the mean velocity of trembling in the medial-lateral direction (P<0.05).Conclusions: The six-week intervention involving gym and pool exercises resulted in static postural control changes in BC survivors. However, the results of this pilot study need to be verified by high-quality randomized clinical trials.

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Competitiveness of international merchandise trade: The case of Poland

Author(s): Mariusz Jan Radło,Aleksandra Szarek-Piaskowska / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: classifications of goods and industries; Lall’s classification; structure of Poland’s trade; RCA; competitiveness of Poland’s trade;

The aim of the article is to present the possibilities that qualitative classifications of industries and goods introduce to the analysis of structural changes in the economy, as well as to assess changes in the international competitiveness of Polish merchandise trade in the long term. The article presents a review of the literature and the results of authors’ own research on the structure of Polish merchandise trade. The study uses Lall’s classification of goods which is relatively innovative and rarely used in the existing literature. By using this classification and the analysis of revealed comparative advantages (RCA) we also managed to assess the competitiveness of Polish exports. The research shows that since Poland’s accession to the European Union, the international competitiveness of Polish trade in terms of its technological level has changed only slightly. After the growth in the first years of Poland’s EU membership, the share of high technology products in the export structure stagnated in the 2010s and was still lower than that of medium or low technology products. Throughout the researched period, the RCA for high-tech products remained on the “foreign” side.

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Optimum currency areas: State of research, the European Monetary Union

Author(s): Alexander Lucian Drossart-Demond / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: optimum currency areas; Maastricht criteria; eurozone; endogeneity;

The present paper deals with optimum currency areas (OCA). Its main goal is to give a synthesis of the central research areas in this field and provide a link to the real-life example of the European Monetary Union (EMU). Overall, the paper will possibly uncover potential areas for further research, and thus may be able to serve other researchers. The article illustrates the original OCA theory by Robert Mundell and further important research built upon it. The OCA criteria resulting from the foregoing research are then placed aside the actual Maastricht criteria set up by the European Union, necessary to fulfil for joining the eurozone. The question of whether these criteria are even necessary is examined alongside the topic of endogeneity, which is a relatively new field of research in the OCA field. Lastly, the pros and cons of joining a single currency area are analyzed, before the author provides suggestions for potential future research.

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Too big, too small: Why the size of the FOMC does matter

Author(s): Krzysztof Mroziewicz / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: management; public administration; central banking; Federal Reserve System;

The present article discusses the effectiveness of the decision-making body of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC for short) in the context of management. It focuses on the size of the FOMC as a group larger than the optimum of the group’s effectiveness (depending on the study, the optimum size of the group should be three to eight or five to seven people). The article also discusses the potential negative consequences of too large a group and ways to improve group decisions. The last part of the paper includes an explanation of the decision-making structural composition, and thus partially answers the question of why the FOMC consists of seventeen members, and its decision-making composition of twelve.

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Participatory budgeting: Is it a useful tool towards co-creation of public services?

Author(s): Mariusz Dybał / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: participatory budgeting; co-creation; public services; citizens;

The research aim of the present paper was to check whether participatory budgeting fulfills the concept of co-creation of public services in Poland. To achieve this goal, the following research tasks have been implemented: (1) to identify the legal solutions of citizens’ cooperation, (2) to identify the characteristics of participatory budgeting in terms of co-creating public services, (3) to identify the amount and structure of participatory budgeting, (4) to provide cross-country comparison, and (5) to identify difficulties in using participatory budgeting. It has been revealed that in 2021, participatory budgeting was most popular in big cities where it is compulsory. In 2019, Poland (with 2,014 budgets) and Portugal (1,666 budgets) were responsible for 71.69% of all implemented participatory budgets in Europe. In 2018, Europe constituted 48.9% of all worldwide projects, mostly because of their compulsory nature in Poland and Portugal. Participatory budgeting might be successful in its implementation, but needs: involvement of the local community; planning of preparatory activities; communication between all entities involved in the project; appointment of a team that will coordinate the preparation of the participatory budget. According to the research, participatory budgeting is a platform for social activation and providing services better suited to the needs of the inhabitants. Participatory budgeting is a certain form of co-creating public services, as the inhabitants create projects and decide on the allocation of funds for the implementation of public services. Nevertheless, it is a limited version of co-creation, since residents are not involved in all parts of the process. The research covers mainly the years 2018–2022. In the present paper, the following research methods have been used: analysis of scientific literature and normative documents, co-creation methodology, comparative analysis, and statistical analysis.

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The ethical structure of production

Author(s): Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: economics and ethics; cultural economics; ethical capital; economic development; soft institutions;

The main contention of the present paper is that the capital structure of production, the preservation of which is often regarded as the essence of economic sustainability, needs to be grounded in the parallel ethical structure of production in order to remain intact. The article identifies several tendencies conducive to the erosion of the ethical production structure. Subsequently, it suggests that some of these tendencies may well be strongly present in today’s economic and cultural climate in the so-called developed world, thereby jeopardizing its prospects for continued economic growth and progress. Finally, the author indicates that only a widespread and well-established understanding of the relationship between the capital structure of production and its ethical counterpart can prevent a retrogression from the current, historically unprecedented level of global economic well-being.

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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the assets and reserves of the banking sector

Author(s): Emilia Puk / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: banking sector; assets; reserves; COVID-19 pandemic;

The banking sector is a very important part of the financial market. That is why banks, along with the spread of the pandemic, began to implement various strategies and solutions to protect people’s finances against the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis (Flotyński, 2020, 20). Today, it is clear that the pandemic has surprised everyone and the solutions used so far have not been perfect. Therefore, the banking sector requires corrections in current forecasts as well as the preparation of new forecasting models for the financial market. This is particularly important in times of economic, social, and financial instability caused by random events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present article examines the distribution mechanisms shaping and influencing the selection of the appropriate class of models depending on the current economic situation of chosen processes important for the banking sector, that is assets and reserves. The author recognizes the mechanisms shaping both processes during a stable period as well as the way in which the pandemic changed these mechanisms, thus affecting the prognostic abilities of the models used. The analysis shows that the Polish banking sector was well prepared for the economic slowdown, but despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic caused some perturbations.

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The company control threshold in Poland after the reform of mandatory takeover bids

Author(s): Łukasz Chyla / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: takeover bids; investor protection; control threshold;

This article is devoted to the problem of mandatory takeover bids in Poland on the grounds of previously binding regulations and the new legal provisions. After many years of waiting by the Polish investors, on 30 May 2022, amendments to the Public Offering Act came into force. They primarily concern changes in the rules regarding conducting mandatory takover bids for the sale or exchange of shares in public companies on a regulated market. The most important change, which also constitutes the main subject of this article’s discussion, is the introduction of the so-called control threshold for companies, at the level of 50%. The aim of this article is to present the former regime on takeover bids as well as to critically analyze the newly adopted one. Moreover, the author gives comparative insight into the matter and criticizes the current Polish regulation as inconsistent with the European law. The paper concludes with a de lege ferenda call for revision of the control threshold under Polish capital market laws in order to ensure investor protection safeguards compliant with the EU law.

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The institution of entering into a lease of a dwelling after the death of the current tenant (Art. 691 of the Civil Code) in the light of the jurisprudence

Author(s): Alicja Rybak / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: lease agreement; entering into a lease agreement; death of the tenant;

The aim of this study is to explain how an institution can enter into a lease after the death of the tenant in accordance with Art. 691 of the the Polish Civil Code. The author tries to clarify the wording of Art. 691, which raises questions of interpretation on the basis of case law. In particular, the author undertook the examination of the conditions for entering into the rental relationship of a dwelling after the deceased tenant. Subsequently, the focus was on approximating the premises covered by this standard, then on clarifying the terms “residence” and “other persons to whom the tenant owed maintenance,” and on actual cohabitation with the tenant. The legal proceedings relating to the regulation in question are dealt with next, while the final part describes the possibility of terminating the contract by the rightholder and briefly refers to the provision of Art. 691 para. 5 of the Civil Code.

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Rejoinder to Dominiak on bagels and donuts

Author(s): Walter E. Block / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: the Blockian Proviso; private property rights; easements; compensation;

This is but the latest in a series of debates I have been having with my friend and colleague, Łukasz Dominiak. Included are the following texts: Block (2021), Dominiak (2017; 2019; 2021). We have been agreeing and disagreeing with each other concerning the implications of the bagel and donut theory for a while. The present paper continues this tradition: both agreeing and disagreeing with each other in regards to libertarian theory and trespass on private property.

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THE DYNAMICS OF FEMALE LIFE EXPECTANCY AND TOTAL FERTILITY RATE IN BANGLADESH: A TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS

Author(s): Zerin Jannat / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Female life expectancy; total fertility rate; vector autoregressive (VAR) framework; Granger-causality test; impulse response function; Bangladesh;

The association between female life expectancy and total fertility rate (TFR) is seldom explored and little understood. This study empirically explores the nature and dynamics of the relationship between female life expectancy and total fertility rate. Secondary data over the period 1973-2019 have been used from Bangladesh and obtained from the World Bank Dataset. Data have been analyzed using the vector autoregressive (VAR) framework that includes methods of inferences such as the Granger causality test and impulse response analysis. The association between female life expectancy and total fertility rate is negative for Bangladesh. The negative impact of total fertility rate on female life expectancy is statistically significant and prominent. A one standard deviation shock to total fertility rate can lead to a persistent decline in female life expectancy. On the contrary, the impact of female life expectancy of total fertility rate is observed to be of little magnitude. Greater attention needs to be paid to total fertility rate given the substantial impact it exerts on female life expectancy. In Bangladesh, total fertility rate has become static in recent years and a decline in use of all family planning methods has also been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This decline could exert shock on the total fertility rate and thus, lead to a persistent decline in female life expectancy. The findings of this study recommend that pragmatic approaches, such as regular recruitment and training of field-level workers to counsel women on FP methods, be adopted to enhance recovery of FP methods use and cushion the total fertility rate as well as female life expectancy from any shocks caused by decline in use of FP methods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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IMPACT OF THE SARS-COV-2 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC (COVID-19) ON GLOBALIZATION PROCESSES

Author(s): Dariusz Prokopowicz,Piotr Komorowski / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: globalization; pandemic; coronavirus; Covid-19; macroeconomics; global economy; internetization; digitization; sustainability; environmental policy;

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic caused a global health crisis and a recession of the global economy in 2020. As part of the improvement of instruments and recommendations for handling, anti-pandemic security measures, the implementation of ICT and Internet information technologies into remote communication processes, business processes, etc. has increased. The scale of Internetization and digitalization of various aspects of economic activity and citizens' behaviour, social communication,has increased. During the pandemic, the scale of international tourism development decreased significantly and many international supply and supply logistics chains were disrupted. Therefore, coronavirus pandemic caused changes in the nature of economic and information globalization processes. On the other hand, globalization processes may also be determined by the growing importance of green globalization,increasing international importance of achieving sustainable development goals and developing global environmental policies.

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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND PLAUSIBLE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IN HERDSMEN AND FARMERS’ CONFLICTS: A FOCUS ON ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Author(s): Christian Chidi Okeke / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Conflicts; conflict management; peace; economic development; Anambra state;

The study examined the contemporary issues and plausible conflict management techniques herdsmen and farmers’ conflicts in Anambra state, Nigeria. Herdsmen and farmers’ conflicts in Anambra state, Nigeria has persisted, with concerns over the effect such conflicts could have on national development. There has equally been the need to evolve effective conflict-management strategies in order to end the conflicts. These necessitated the study with objectives to find out the causes of herdsmen and farmers’ conflicts in Anambra state, Nigeria; to examine the effects of the conflicts on Nigeria’s socio-economic development; and to identify plausible conflict management techniques needed to end the conflicts. The study applied descriptive survey research design with questionnaire as the major instrument for data collection. The collated data were analyzed using tables and percentages, while the hypotheses were tested using the chi-square statistical tool. The findings of the study revealed that the causes of herdsmen and farmers’ conflicts in Anambra state were multidimensional; the effects of the conflicts included drainage of governments’ resources, obstruction of delivery of public services, discouragement of potential foreign and local investors, among others; and the use of force and competing strategies by the government, the compromising of conflicting parties’ interests, the use of win-win strategy, use of withdrawer model, and accommodating each other's differences were plausible conflict-management techniques needed to curb the conflicts. Based on the findings, the study recommended, among others, that the government at all levels should engage in peace initiative to settle all farmers/herders’ conflicts amicably.

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USE OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS IN ENTERPRISES

Author(s): Magdalena Hryniewicka / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: enterprises; Enterprise Resource Planning Systems; ERP; innovations;

Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) is a type of software used by small, medium and large enterprises due to the diversity of its functions and the opportunities it brings to its users. However, according to the CSO data, it is most often used by large companies. Significant differences also occur in individual voivodeships and industries.

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BRAND DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES IN THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE IN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 4.0

Author(s): Nguyen Trong Diep,Le Quang Hieu,Nguyen Thu Thuy,Nguyen Dinh Trung / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: brand; small and medium enterprises (SMEs);

This study surveys 300 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Thai Nguyen province that have completed corporate branding. The survey results show that building a strong brand has practical benefits for businesses. However, due to limited financial resources, specialized human resources, and size of enterprises, only about 60% of the total number of enterprises surveyed have the goal of expanding and developing the brand name in the near future. The approach and process of implementing brand development activities also differ between businesses, thereby affecting revenue and brand value. SMEs in Thai Nguyen province are also aware that enhancing corporate brand value is very important, especially when the industrial revolution 4.0 is having a great influence on international business trends. Based on the research results, the article suggests a group of solutions related to the management agencies and the internal of SMEs, thereby helping these enterprises to effectively deploy activities related to development. trademark.

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FUNCTIONS OF THE MANAGER IN PLANNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTERPRISE

Author(s): Andrzej Rogowski / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: management; manager; enterprise; development; ethics;

This article deals with the role of managers in enterprise development planning. The development of an enterprise in the long term is influenced by strategic management. Strategic decisions are made at higher levels of management. The orientation of activities is derived from the goals of the enterprise and the strategic plan. These issues are carried out by managers, hence enterprise development planning depends on the skills and strategic competence of managers. The basis for assessing these skills and competencies can be the theses developed by H. Hinterhuber. Skills and competencies can be evaluated at the level of: low - sufficient, medium - good, high - very good. The higher the skills and strategic competencies of the company's executives, the higher the probability of achieving success in the development of the company.

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BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS IN NIGERIA

Author(s): Ejiroghene A. Oghuvbu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Boko Haram; Insurgency; Nigeria; Politics; Religion;

This study examines the roles religion and politics play in the Boko Haram insurgency. In Nigeria, politics and religion occupy a central space. While the two individually generate a plethora of events of varying levels and implications for Nigeria, religion and politics often create a mixture of circumstances and occurrences. The Boko Haram insurgency is one of the many entities that represent the combustible nature of politics and religion in Nigeria. Its activities in the North-East have constituted a challenge to Nigeria’s security. The study adopts the human needs theory to explain Boko Haram Insurgency and its effects on religion and politics in Nigeria. The study employs the qualitative method and relies on secondary sources of data. Specifically, the study draws data from books, book chapters, journals, conference proceedings, newspapers, and online sources. These data are analysed with the use of thematic analysis, to structure the arrangement of the data retrieved by following the objectives of the study. The findings of the study reveal that corruption, radical Islam, and poor governance played salient roles in the development of the sect. In line with these findings, the study recommends that the government must curtail and ultimately defeat the Boko Haram insurgency. To do this, the government must intensify its intelligence-gathering efforts.

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SOME MODELS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THAI NGUYEN IN THE CONTEXT OF URBANIZATION

Author(s): Vu Bach Diep,Dinh Hong Linh,Mai Viet Anh,Vu Bach Điep / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Development; development model; urban agriculture; Thai Nguyen;

In recent years, the area of agricultural land has been increasingly narrowed to make way for urban development and industrial development. Urban agriculture development has become a direction to create safe and quality products, protect the environment and increase income. Urban agricultural development models are the basis for promoting agricultural development in general and developing urban agriculture in the context of urbanization. Thai Nguyen is one of the northern midland and mountainous provinces with strengths in urban agriculture development. The article analyzes the urban agriculture development models through descriptive, comparative and analytical statistical methods in the period 2015-2020.

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CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION AND ITS EFFECTS TOWARDS YOUNG ADULTS’ SHORT-TERM MEMORY RECALL

Author(s): Joana Dianne D. Sarno,Jonel Mark Daligdig Sarno / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Caffeine Consumption; Short-Term Memory Recall; Experimental-Quantitative Research; Philippines;

This quasi-experimental design of the study aimed at determining the effects of caffeine consumption towards young adults’ short-term memory recall. This study utilized purposive sampling method wherein a total of 40 young adults from Kiblawan, Davao del Sur were selected as the research respondents of this study. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group, with the experimental group consuming caffeine. The following statistical tools were employed: The mean was used to determine the pre-test and post-test scores of controls and experimental group. The T-test for Independent Samples was used to address the significant difference between the pre-test mean scores of controls and experimental groups. Sample T-test was employed to assess if there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores of young adults in experimental and control groups. And analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was utilized to determine significant difference in the post-test mean scores between the control and experimental groups with pre-test means scores of covariates. Results revealed that before the implementation of the interventions, both levels of performance of the groups are categorized below the average level of performance in short-term memory recall, which implies that they were having difficulty to recall the words that were tasked to recall. The result showed that there is an improvement in the short-term memory recall of young adults in the experimental group after being exposed to caffeine. The post-test performance of the control group found to be at the low average level of performance, similarly, the experimental group found to be at the low average level of performance as well. Finally, the study revealed that caffeine consumption has a little amount of effect on the short-term memory recall of the participants.

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TRADE PROMOTION TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF TEMPERATE FRUIT PRODUCTS: EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS FOR LAI CHAU PROVINCE

Author(s): Nguyen Thu Thuy,Duong Thi Tinh,Thang Thi Hong Nhung / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: agricultural products; agriculture; temperate fruit trees; trade promotion;

In each country and locality, there are different ways in promoting trade to increase the value of agricultural products in order to expand markets, promote products and enhance the value of local agricultural products. The article studies how to implement and implement solutions to develop agricultural products of Thailand, Portugal and provinces in the country. From there, draw lessons for Lai Chau province in improving the value of temperate fruit trees in particular and developing the agricultural sector in the future of the province.

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