National Innovation Network at the Crossroads – in Search of a New Support Formula for Proinnovative Services for Small and Medium Enterprises

Celem artykułu jest analiza jakościowa systemu wsparcia innowacyjnej przedsiębiorczości opartego na Krajowej Sieci Innowacji oferującej usługi proinnowacyjne dla małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw w Polsce. Formułowane wnioski oparte są na wynikach ogólnopolskich badań przeprowadzonych przez autora wśród firm sektora MŚP, będących zarówno beneficjentami usług KSI (ogółem zbadano 381 podmiotów), jak i firm niekorzystających wcześniej z tych usług (próba badawcza liczyła 1100 podmiotów). Podstawowe zastrzeżenia zgłaszane przez małych i średnich przedsiębiorców dotyczą pasywności tych ośrodków w budowaniu partnerskiej współpracy, zdolności do rozpoznania rzeczywistych potrzeb przedsiębiorstwa oraz umiejętności dostosowania oferty usług w odpowiedzi na rzeczywiste potrzeby przedsiębiorstw. W artykule zawarto rekomendacje zmian w systemie świadczenia usług proinnowacyjnych w ramach wsparcia publicznego oferowanego przez ośrodki Krajowej Sieci Innowacji w odniesieniu do „filozofii”, zakresu i instrumentów wsparcia

Network analysis of correlation strength between the most developed countries

A new algorithm of the analysis of correlation among economy time series is proposed. The algorithm is based on the power law classification scheme (PLCS) followed by the analysis of the network on the percolation threshold (NPT). The algorithm was applied to the analysis of correlations among GDP per capita time series of 19 most developed countries in the periods (1982, 2011), (1992, 2011) and (2002, 2011). The representative countries with respect to strength of correlation, convergence of time series and stability of correlation are distinguished. The results are compared with ultrametric distance matrix analysed by NPT.Comment: submitted to Acta Physica Polonica

SUSY FLAVOR v2.5: a computational tool for FCNC and CP-violating processes in the MSSM

We present SUSY_FLAVOR version 2.5 - program that calculates over 30 low-energy flavor observables in the general $R$-parity conserving MSSM. Comparing to previous versions, in SUSY_FLAVOR v2.5 parameter initialization in SLHA2 formats has been significantly generalized, so that the program accepts most of the output files produced by other libraries analyzing the MSSM phenomenology. Number of bugs and inconsistencies have been fixed, based on users feedback. Calculations of several processes implemented in earlier versions have been corrected. New processes of rare decays of the top quark to Higgs boson have been included. Variables controlling inclusion of contributions from various MSSM sectors have been added. Full updated manual of SUSY_FLAVOR v2.5 integrating the details of the modifications listed below can be found at {\tt arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1203.5023}.Comment: 5 pages, New Version Announcement submitted to Computer Physics Communication

The Notion of Action in Kotarbiński’s Praxeology

The aim of the paper is to recast main notions of Tadeusz Kotarbiński’s praxeolology in terms of Donald Davidson’s theory of action. The paper focuses also on ontological commitments of both theories. Though Kotarbiński did not admit events in his reistic ontology, in his praxeology conceived actions as compounded entities without any clue how to reduce the parts of action into things. I argue that Kotarbiński’s restrictive ontological reism cannot be maintained in case of praxeology, and propose to admit events as existing objects. This enables to simplify extremely complicated net of Kotarbiński’s concepts and to find the counterparts of the parts of action in Kotarbiński’s sense in Davidson’s theory of action

Atheism and Agatheism in the Global Ethical Discourse: Reply to Millican and Thornhill-Miller

Peter Millican and Branden Thornhill-Miller have recently argued that contradictions between different religious belief systems, in conjunction with the host of defeaters based on empirical research concerning alleged sources of evidence for ‘perceived supernatural agency’, render all ‘first-order’, that is actual, religious traditions positively irrational, and a source of discord on a global scale. However, since the authors recognise that the ‘secularisation thesis’ appears to be incorrect, and that empirical research provides evidence that religious belief also has beneficial individual and social effects, they put forward a hypothesis of a ‘second-order religious belief ’, with Universalist overtones and thus free of intergroup conflict, and free of irrationality, since supported (solely) by the Fine-Tuning Argument. While granting most of their arguments based on empirical research and embracing the new paradigm of the atheism/religion debate implicit in their paper, I contend that Millican’s and Thornhill-Miller’s proposal is unlikely to appeal to religious believers, because it misconstrues the nature and grounds of religious belief. I suggest that their hypothesis may be refined by taking into account a view of axiologically grounded religious belief that I refer to as ‘agatheism’, since it identifies God or the Ultimate Reality with the ultimate good (to agathon)