Proces budowy miasta odpornego na przykładzie Rotterdamu

Potrzeba zapewnienia odporności wynika z istniejących oraz powstających zagrożeń naturalnych i antropogenicznych. Dzięki odporności miasto jest przygotowane na niebezpieczeństwa i może dostosować się do nowych warunków. W artykule podjęto próbę stworzenia schematu budowy miasta odpornego oraz sprawdzono jego funkcjonowanie w praktyce. Za studium przypadku wybrano Rotterdam, lidera w budowaniu odporności na zagrożenia związane ze zmianami klimatycznymi. Przeanalizowano dyskurs miasta odpornego w dokumentach lokalnych oraz praktyczne wdrażanie koncepcji. Wykazano, że budowanie odporności jest złożonym procesem. Rozpoczyna się poprzez współpracę podmiotów, prowadzącą do budowy silnej struktury umożliwiającej przepływ wiedzy, informacji i innowacji. W efekcie powstają projekty, których realizacja może zapewnić miastu długoterminową odporność

How stock short selling impacts the stock markets: evidence from NASDAQ-100

Several researchers have analyzed the impact of short selling on stock price. Some of the authors have concluded that short selling improves price efficiency, while others did not find any statistically significant relation. This study investigates the relationship between short selling and stock returns on a monthly basis, using a panel data setup. To do that, the relation between changes in short positions and stock returns, as well as the relation between the short interest ratio and abnormal return, were estimated. Short interest data for period from April 2010 through August 2019 from NASDAQ-100 companies were used to examine the expected negative relationship. However, the obtained results do not support previous research results. This analysis indicates that changes in short positions have a negative but statistically insignificant impact on stock returns. Furthermore, this study finds that the relation between the short interest ratio and abnormal return is positive and statistically significant. The obtained results suggest that short selling does not have a negative impact on prices, in line with what was reported by several papers.O impacto da venda a descoberto na rendibilidade das ações foi analisado por vários autores. Alguns dos estudos demonstraram que esta prática promove a eficiência dos preços, no entanto outros não encontraram uma relação estatisticamente significativa. Este estudo investiga a relação entre a venda a descoberto e a rendibilidade mensal das ações, usando dados em painel. Para tal foram estimadas duas regressões: a relação entre as mudanças na posição da taxa de “short” e a rendibilidade das ações e a relação entre o rácio de taxa de “short” e as rendibilidades anormais. Os dados utilizados nesta análise referem-se a ações de empresas cotadas no NASDAQ 100, no período compreendido entre Abril de 2010 e Agosto de 2019. De acordo com a revisão de literatura o resultado expectável seria uma relação negativa entre a venda a descoberto e a rendibilidade das ações. No entanto, os resultados obtidos não corroboram com a evidência empírica apresentada pelas investigações anteriores. Esta análise revela que alterações na posição da taxa de “short” têm uma relação negativa com a rendibilidade das ações, no entanto esta não é estatisticamente significativa. Adicionalmente, este estudo demonstra que o rácio de taxa de “short” tem um efeito positivo e estatisticamente significativo nas rendibilidades anormais. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que as vendas a descoberto não têm impacto negativo nos preços das ações, contrariamente ao que foi reportado por vários artigos

The influence of economic activity on the shape of small towns in Polish Carpathians Mountains

The Carpathian region is characterized by the accumulation of numerous natural and cultural resources protected by law. The traditional function of these areas was agriculture and herding. Natural resources are the basis for development of the therapeutic spa function. Construction of railway lines in the second half of the nineteenth century resulted in more dynamic economic development based on industry and tourism. Subsequent actions have contributed to increasing the urbanized area, often in a piecemeal manner, without due attention to spatial order. The consequences of these decisions for landscape, aesthetics, society and economy can have a lasting impact on spatial order and the possibility of sustainable development.Region karpacki charakteryzuje nagromadzenie licznych zasobów środowiska przyrodniczego i kulturowego chronionych prawnie. Historyczną, tradycyjną funkcją tych obszarów było rolnictwo i pasterstwo. Zasoby naturalnych surowców leczniczych są podstawą rozwoju lecznictwa uzdrowiskowego. Przeprowadzenie linii kolejowych w II połowie XIX wieku zdynamizowało rozwój gospodarczy oparty na przemyśle oraz turystyce i wypoczynku. Kolejne działania przyczyniły się i nadal powodują zwiększenie powierzchni zurbanizowanej, często w sposób nieuporządkowany przestrzennie. Konsekwencje krajobrazowe, estetyczne, społeczne, a także w końcu gospodarcze tych decyzji mogą mieć długotrwały wpływ na ład przestrzenny oraz możliwości trwałego i zrównoważonego rozwoju

Spatial Changes of Pilgrimage Centers in Pilgrimage Studies – Review and Contribution to Future Research

Pilgrimages and pilgrimage centres are a subject of research often undertaken from the perspective of geographic sciences. Geographical research on pilgrimage movement and sanctuaries is important due to its focus on the spatial aspect. This article analyses the current state of research on pilgrimage centres. The main trends of the current studies include: the phenomenon of pilgrimage in terms of religion, society, culture and tourism; as well as its impact, including on the development of the settlement and; studies of pilgrimage centres, in particular their impact on space in various spatial and temporal scales, as well as; the conclusions drawn from them. These were all examined and discussed. For the first time, special attention was paid both to the research on the sanctuaries of the Roman Catholic church, their spatial organization and the changes taking place in them, and on the works discussing the managing of pilgrimage centres. In addition, the terminology applied to contemporary sacred places was discussed. In the conclusion, gaps in the existing state of knowledge and research questions that still await an answer, as well as directions set for the future research on pilgrimage centres from the perspective of tourism geography and the geography of religion are indicated

Nouveaux comportements des consommateurs en tant qu’effet des changements sociaux et économiques des villes divisées de la zone frontalière polono-allemande et polonotchèque

The end of the First World War saw a rebirth of the Polish state, but with indeterminate borders. As a result of a conflict between Poland and Czechoslovakia about Cieszyn Silesia, in February 1919 this area, including the town of Cieszyn, was temporarily divided (its part on the left bank of the Olza went to Czechoslovakia). Similarly, after the Second World War the new Polish-German border ran along the Lusatian Nysa and Oder rivers. Also in this case several split towns were created (including Görlitz-Zgorzelec, Gubin-Guben, and Frankfurt on the Oder – Słubice). Besides, despite the strong dividing /separating function of the border, some of the towns with border crossings started to expand towards the state border (e.g. Kudowa-Zdrój and Nachod). After the political transformation of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, split and border towns experienced significant changes in their demographic structures as well as in their economies and services. Thus, they started developing various complementary functions (especially shopping and some services) for the residents of the other side of the border. Demographic changes are most readily visible in the German parts of the split towns, in which shrinkage has accelerated after the unification of Germany. This process involves, among other things, a heavy outflow of inhabitants, primarily young and better educated, to western lands and a steep slump in the total fertility rate. Still, the most important changes observed in the split towns over the last two decades have been consumer behaviour patterns determined, among other things, by differences in prices in the neighbouring states. They involve frequent crossings of the state border to buy goods and services cheaper than in the home town. The chief places intended to serve consumers from the other side of the border are mostly bazaars (on the Polish side) and a network of specialised service facilities.En effet des changements des frontières dans la première moitié du XXe siècle tout près des frontières à l’ouest et au sud de la Pologne sept villes divisées ont apparu. Dans les années 1945–1989, les contacts économiques entres les villes situées de deux côtés de la frontière ont été difficiles. En se basant sur les recherches effectuées dans les années 1990–2010 on a constaté qu’à la suite des changements politiques de la fin des années 80 et du début des années 90 dans les villes divisées ont eu lieu les modifications importantes dans la structure démographique ainsi que dans l’économie et les services. Ces villes ont commencé, entre autres, à développer les différentes fonctions complémentaires (en particulier dans le domaine du commerce et dans certains services), adressées aux habitants de l’autre côté de la frontière

Spatial changes of pilgrimage centers in pilgrimage studies : review and contribution to future research

Pilgrimages and pilgrimage centres are a subject of research often undertaken from the perspective of geographic sciences. Geographical research on pilgrimage movement and sanctuaries is important due to its focus on the spatial aspect. This article analyses the current state of research on pilgrimage centres. The main trends of the current studies include: the phenomenon of pilgrimage in terms of religion, society, culture and tourism; as well as its impact, including on the development of the settlement and; studies of pilgrimage centres, in particular their impact on space in various spatial and temporal scales, as well as; the conclusions drawn from them. These were all examined and discussed. For the first time, special attention was paid both to the research on the sanctuaries of the Roman Catholic church, their spatial organization and the changes taking place in them, and on the works discussing the managing of pilgrimage centres. In addition, the terminology applied to contemporary sacred places was discussed. In the conclusion, gaps in the existing state of knowledge and research questions that still await an answer, as well as directions set for the future research on pilgrimage centres from the perspective of tourism geography and the geography of religion are indicated

Localised capabilities as intermediating factors in the transition from the old to a new development path : the case of post-socialist industrial towns

There are debates in the research literature about the mechanisms responsible for the formation of local development trajectories. What is emphasized, as particularly scarce, are longitudinal studies which show how historical, social and institutional structures are reproduced and/or transformed into new paths of development in the case of industrial towns. This paper aims to capture the role of various social, cultural and institutional features that constitute localized capabilities, in the process of transition from an old to a new developmental path for older industrial towns. The authors use case studies of three medium-sized industrial centres in Poland: Dzierżoniów, Starachowice and Mielec, to illustrate how localized capabilities are shaped by the interplay of earlier economic activity and the characteristics of local firms, on the one hand, and the evolving social, cultural and institutional attributes of the particular town and its region on the other. As a result, industrial towns may differ significantly in their ability to absorb exogenous impulses, as well as their capacity to transform and recombine them into a new development pathway that is more resilient than the old one

Inactivation of aldehyde dehydrogenase by disulfiram in the presence and absence of lipoic acid or dihydrolipoic acid : an in vitro study

The inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) by disulfiram (DSF) in vitro can be prevented and/or reversed by dithiothreitol (DTT), which is a well-known low molecular weight non-physiological redox reagent commonly used in laboratory experiments. These observations inspired us to ask the question whether the inhibition of ALDH by DSF can be preserved or abolished also by dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA), which is the only currently known low molecular weight physiological dithiol in the body of humans and other animals. It can even be metaphorized that DHLA is an "endogenous DTT". Lipoic acid (LA) is the oxidized form of DHLA. We investigated the inactivation of ALDH derived from yeast and rat liver by DSF in the presence or absence of LA or DHLA. The results clearly show that DHLA is able both to restore and protect ALDH activity blocked by DSF. The proposed mechanism is discussed