IPO Initial Underpricing Anomaly: the Election Gimmick Hypothesis

The relationship between political motivations and underpricing of public offerings of privatized companies is to a great extend unexplored field in the global academic literature. In this paper we offer a new explanation for the IPO underpricing anomaly. We formulate the election gimmick hypothesis, which states that in order to please the voters the treasury may be motivated to leave some money on the table during the IPOs of state-owned enterprises. We test the practical implications of the hypothesis. First we review the previous literature, next we perform empirical research based on a filtered sample of 250 IPOs on the Polish market in years 2005–2013. We examine the abnormal returns in the sample and employing some regression – and simulation- -based methods we examine the sources and variation in underpricing. Our findings suggest that the IPOs of state-owned enterprises are more underpriced than remaining ones and that there is more money left on the table in the months preceding elections.The relationship between political motivations and underpricing of public offerings of privatized companies is to a great extend unexplored field in the global academic literature. In this paper we offer a new explanation for the IPO underpricing anomaly. We formulate the election gimmick hypothesis, which states that in order to please the voters the treasury may be motivated to leave some money on the table during the IPOs of state-owned enterprises. We test the practical implications of the hypothesis. First we review the previous literature, next we perform empirical research based on a filtered sample of 250 IPOs on the Polish market in years 2005–2013. We examine the abnormal returns in the sample and employing some regression – and simulation- -based methods we examine the sources and variation in underpricing. Our findings suggest that the IPOs of state-owned enterprises are more underpriced than remaining ones and that there is more money left on the table in the months preceding elections

The Beginnings of Ethnoarchaeology in Post-War Poland

The article presents the pioneering research conducted in Poland in the field of ethnoarchaeology just before and immediately after the Second World War. The use of this method was pioneered by W. Hołubowicz. The article shows how ethnoarchaeology spread to other research centres in later years. A novelty in the research was the search for solutions in ethnographic materials. It made it possible to study production techniques and ways of using products. Currently, it is used in studies about architecture, workshops, and various classes of monuments. Research on monuments allows us to determine the traces of production and use of items. The described method contributed significantly to the refinement of knowledge about the everyday life of ancient people

Wystrój malarski kaplic kościoła Kamedułów na Bielanach i jego znaczenie dla sztuki Krakowa 1. połowy XVII w. (kaplice Królewska i Delpacowska)

The enormous significance of the Bielany hermitage in the history of Polish art of the transition period between Mannerism and Baroque has long been rightly acknowledged. However, such appreciation concerns primarily architecture and decorations (stuccoes), and to a lesser extent paintings. Studies on the Polish art of the 1st half of the 17th century have repeatedly mentioned the paintings in the Bielany chapels, albeit they were mostly limited to the statement that some decorations are the work of Venetian painter Tommaso Dolabella and his followers (paintings in the Royal and St Romuald's Chapels) and illustrate, as it were, the artist's 'decline', who, having arrived in Poland in the late 17th century, in time abandoned the glorious tradition of the grand Venetian school of the Mannerism epoch, lowered the standard of his artistic output and in a way became "Sarmatised", catering to the taste and expectations of the locals. The authorship of the paintings in the two most prominent chapels of the Bielany church was attributed to Dolabella, his students and followers. The thesis of "Sarmatisation" and the lowering of standards in his work has recently been critically analysed, as the artist's authenticated works from the Royal Chapel have been referred to and "vindicated".L’articolo contiene un’analisi delle investigazioni riguardanti l’arredamento pittorico della chiesa dei monaci camaldolesi a Bielany nei dintorni di Cracovia nei secoli XVII e XVIII. Nell’analisi vennero ordinate le informazioni finora conosciute e furono presi pure in considerazione risultati delle indagini dell’autore riguardanti le due cappelle più importanti della chiesa di Bielany che sono collocate vicino al presbitero: da parte settentrionale – la Cappella di San Benedetto (dedicata prima ai Santi Ladislao e Bonifacio) chiamata anche la Cappella Regia (perchè la fondò il re polacco Ladislo IV Vasa), e da parte meridionale – la Cappella di San Romualdo fondata prima del 1643 da un mercante italiano Rafaello del Pace. All’inizio l’articolo ricorda alcune informazioni sulla chiesa di Bielany che venne costruita negli anni 1609 – 1630 a spese di Mikołaj Wolski secondo un progetto fatto in Italia. Nel secondo periodo dei lavori (dopo 1617) la costruzione si svolse sotto cura dell’architetto lombardo Andrea Spezza. In seguito viene analizzato lo stato dell’indagine delle opere della pittura murale dell’arredamento della chiesa che sono relativamente ben conservate, si trovano in maggior parte nei loro posti e parzialmente sono pure conosciuti i nomi dei loro autori. Vanno ricordati prima di tutto i nomi dei due artisti: Venanzio di Subiaco (1579 c – 1659) e Tommaso Dolabella (1570 c – 1650). A Dolabelli e ai suoi discepoli è attribuita la buona parte del’arredamento della chiesa di Bielany che proviene dalla prima metà del Settecento. L’autore del articolo sostiene però che solo una parte dell’arredamento della Cappella Regia sia l’opera di Tommaso Dolabella, cioè quella proveniente dagli anni 1635–1636 (il ciclo che rappresenta san Ladislao). Le altre immagini di questa cappella e della cappella di San Romulado sono probabilmente un’opera di tre o anche quattro altri studi pittorici di Cracovia della prima metà del Settecento. Gli artisti di quegli studi rimanevano sotto influsso del Dolabella, però erano anche parzialmente indipendenti. Con questa tesi l’autore conclude il suo articolo, però sicuramente vanno condotte ulteriori ricerche.Ogromne znaczenie eremu bielańskiego dla dziejów sztuki polskiej czasów przełomu manieryzmu i baroku jest od dawna należycie docenione. Dotyczy to jednak w pierwszym rzędzie architektury i jej wystroju (stiuków), a w znacznie mniejszym stopniu malarstwa. Wielokrotnie przywoływano w opracowaniach sztuki polskiej 1. połowy XVII w. malarski wystrój kaplic bielańskich, najczęściej jednak ograniczano się do stwierdzenia, że część tej dekoracji jest dziełem weneckiego malarza Tomasza Dolabelli i jego warsztatu(wystrój malarski kaplic Królewskiej i Delpacowskiej) i ilustruje proces niejako „degradacji” tego artysty, który przybywszy do Polski w ostatnich latach XVI w. z czasem zagubił osiągnięcia wielkiej szkoły weneckiej doby manieryzmu, zaniżył standardy wykonywanych dzieł i uległ swoistej „sarmatyzacji”, dostosowując się do gustów i oczekiwań miejscowych odbiorców. W malowidłach dwóch najważniejszych kaplic bielańskiego kościoła widziano dzieła jegosamego, jego uczniów i naśladowców. Teza o „sarmatyzacji” i obniżeniu się poziomu twórczości Dolabelli niedawno poddana została krytycznej analizie, przy okazji której przywołano i w pewien sposób „zrehabilitowano” źródłowo potwierdzone dzieła tego artysty z kaplicy Królewskiej

Fundacje artystyczne księżniczki bawarskiej Marii Klary Wittelsbach, w zakonie siostry Teresy Marii od św. Józefa (1608-1652), karmelitanki bosej w krakowskim klasztorze św. Marcina

Maria Klara Wittelsbach (1608-1652) was a daughter of Ferdinand (brother of Wilhelm V, who ruled in Munich) and Mary. Through her sister she was closely related to the Hapsburgs and Vasas, who ruled in Poland. Beginning with 1618 Maria Clara was brought up at the king’s court in Warsaw. In 1634 she joined the Carmelite order at St. Martin’s church in Cracow and took a name Teresa Maria od sw. Jozefa. In 1649 she was chosen prioress of the convent and in 1652 she died in a plague. On joining the convent the Bavarian princess devoted considerable sums to have a new church built and procure a silver altar set (six altar candlesticks, two chalices, a crucifix, a lamp, a censer), which she ordered in Augsburg, as well as a wooden tabernacle, adorned with silver (the decoration may have been made in Augsburg, too). The altar set was looted by the Swedes during the war 1655-1657. The tabernacle stood on the main altar of St. Martin’s church until 1787, and after the dissolution of the convent it was moved to another church of the same congregation in Cracow (in Kopemika Street). In 1793 the silver decorations from the tabernacle were sold and replaced by a new, much simpler decoration. The tabernacle has been preserved to our times and in its design one can easily trace imitation of a design by an Italian architect Giovanni Battista Montano (1534-1621), released in 1628. No details are known about the silver altar set. There are grounds to infer that the procurement from Augsburg ca 1635 of a sumptuous silver set for religious purposes and its shipment to Cracow helped develop contacts between Cracow’s and Augsburg’s goldsmiths

Możliwość religijnego doświadczenia w świeckim samorozumieniu człowieka

Doświadczenie jest dla człowieka punktem wyjścia w rozumieniu siebie i relacji z otaczającą rzeczywistością. Dominującym dziś sposobem pojmowania doświadczenia jest to, wypracowane przez skrajny empiryzm, w którym znaczenie ma przede wszystkim percepcja zmysłowa, obserwacja i eksperyment. Eliminuje to już w założeniu możliwość doświadczenie wymiaru transcendentnego. Wnikliwa analiza świeckiej egzystencji człowieka wykazuje jednak na różnicę między teoretycznym jej opisem a realnie przeżywaną.  Świeckie samorozumienie pomija bowiem wymiar  tajemnicy i tego, co nieskończone. Nie stawia pytania o sens rzeczywistości, w szczególności wobec cierpienia, przemijania i śmierci. Choć są to elementy doświadczenia, nie zawsze wyraźne i jasno wyartykułowane, to jednak prowadzą do postawienia problemu transcendencji i rodzą potrzebę adekwatnego języka religijnego. Nie są to też wprost przeżycia czy doświadczenia religijne, ale otwierają taką możliwość

Rodzina jako środowisko przeżyć religijnych w świeckiej kulturze

The family is an essential social structure with regard to the presence and importance of religion in contemporary culture. The process of secularization has brought about significant civilizational changes that have affected both religion and the family. Secularism has become the main determinant of a modern person. Studies in cultural anthropology, sociology of religion and fundamental theology show that the theoretical models of homo oeconomicus or homo faber do not fully reflect the existence of the “real person”. A person still has some characteristics of homo religiosus, i.e. a person who feels the drama of existence, the dimension of finality and mystery. In the search for the meaning of existence and the meaning of one’s experience, one creates symbols in an attempt to name the transcendent reality. From this point of view, the family is a fundamental environment that socializes the person, also in the religious dimension, and allows him or her to experience sacred reality.Rodzina jest kluczową strukturą społeczną z punktu widzenia obecności i znaczenia religii w dzisiejszej kulturze. Proces sekularyzacji spowodował poważne zmiany cywilizacyjne, które dotknęły zarówno religię, jak i rodzinę. Świeckość stała się głównym wyznacznikiem tożsamości człowieka. Badania z dziedziny antropologii kultury, socjologii religii czy teologii fundamentalnej wykazują, że teoretyczny model homo oeconomicus czy homo faber nie do końca odzwierciedla obraz egzystencji „realnego człowieka”. Pozostają w nim wciąż cechy homo religiosus, czyli człowieka odczuwającego dramat istnienia, wymiar ostateczności i tajemnicy. Poszukując sensu istnienia i znaczenia swych przeżyć, tworzy symbole, które są próbą nazwania transcendującej go rzeczywistości. W tym aspekcie rodzina jest podstawowym środowiskiem socjalizującym człowieka również w wymiarze religijnym i dającym mu możliwość doświadczenia rzeczywistości sakralnej

THE LOW PRICE EFFECT ON THE POLISH MARKET

In this paper we investigate the characteristics of the low price anomaly, which implies higher returns to stocks with a low nominal price. The research aims to broaden academic knowledge in a few ways. Firstly, we deliver some fresh evidence on the low price effect from the Polish market. Secondly, we analyze the interdependence between the low price effect and other return factors: value, size and liquidity. Thirdly, we investigate whether the low price effect is present after accounting for liquidity. Fourthly, we check to see whether the low price effect is robust to transaction costs. The paper is composed of three main sections. In the beginning, we review the existing literature. Next, we present the data sources and research methods employed. Finally, we discuss our research findings. Our computations are based on all the stocks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in the years 2003-2013. We have concluded that the low price effect is present on the Polish market, although the statistical significance is very weak and it disappears entirely after accounting for transaction costs and liquidity

The Physical and Linear Viscoelastic Properties of Fresh Wet Foams Based on Egg White Proteins and Selected Hydrocolloids

The aim of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of fresh foams based on egg white proteins, xanthan gum and gum Arabic. The distributions of the size of gas bubbles suspended in liquid were determined, as well as density and volume fraction of gas phase of the generated foams. Additionally, the viscoelastic properties in the linear range were measured, and the results were analyzed with the use of the fractional Zener model. It was shown, that foam supplementation with hydrocolloids considerably decreased their volume fraction of gas phase in comparison to pure egg white protein-based foams. Application of gum Arabic did not cause an increase in the size of foam bubbles when compared to pure white egg foam, whereas application of xanthan gum significantly decreased the size of the bubbles. Application of the fractional Zener model allowed to determine the relaxation times, their intensity in analyzed suspensions and also equilibrium module (G(e)). The increase in the concentration of xanthan gum resulted in the prolongation of the relaxation time and increased its intensity. Gum Arabic, when added, weakened the viscoelastic properties of the mixture as a viscoelastic solid