Why It Is So Hard? A History of Highway Concession Contracts in Poland

In this paper we analyze the early stages of the highway construction program in Poland. We argue that the whole investment process could be accelerated if much attention was paid to establishing a better legal framework. Investigating the bids for the A2 highway and the implementation of the concession agreement, we highlight the excessive red tape and poor monitoring system which led to a serious slowdown in the construction process. We also stress the necessity of choosing the best adapted financing method for infrastructure investments, as the use of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme has partially failed because of its financial weakness.Franchising, Contractual Design, Concession Contract, Public-Private

Estimating Economic Regional Effects of Euro 2012

In 2007 Poland and Ukraine were awarded by UEFA to co-host the 2012 European Football Championships. This first "mega-event" to take place in the transition countries is commonly intended to yield large and lasting economic bebefits to the host cities. This point of view is rarely shared by economists, who are aware of misuse of economic impact estimates. In this paper, we modify the Keynesian-style multiplier model to investigate the effects of Euro 2012-related spending on local economies. Our goal is two-fold : on the one hand, we can easily investigate the impact on each demand component, on the other hand, we wish to calculate the magnitudes of these multipliers in order to judge the credibility of potential regional welfare benefits. This analysis is strenghtened by taking into account the regional supply constraints. Our study also reviews the existent body of work on mega-sporting events and our results are in line with those researches who argue that the true economic impact of these competitions is overestimated by a large margin. Finally, we stress the organizational and institutional dimension of hosting a "mega-event" by the transition and developing countries that are constantly struggled to tackle the colossal tasks of upgrading stadiums and modernizing airports, rail and road networks and hotels.Transition, sport economics, Economic impact, mega-events.

Interactions of Ions and Ultracold Neutral Atom Ensembles in Composite Optical Dipole Traps: Developments and Perspectives

Ion-atom interactions are a comparatively recent field of research that has drawn considerable attention due to its applications in areas including quantum chemistry and quantum simulations. In first experiments, atomic ions and neutral atoms have been successfully overlapped by devising hybrid apparatuses combining established trapping methods, Paul traps for ions and optical or magneto-optical traps for neutral atoms, respectively. Since then, the field has seen considerable progress, but the inherent presence of radiofrequency (rf) fields in such hybrid traps was found to have a limiting impact on the achievable collision energies. Recently, it was shown that suitable combinations of optical dipole traps (ODTs) can be used for trapping both atoms and atomic ions alike, allowing to carry out experiments in absence of any rf fields. Here, we show that the expected cooling in such bichromatic traps is highly sensitive to relative position fluctuations between the two optical trapping beams, suggesting that this is the dominant mechanism limiting the currently observed cooling performance. We discuss strategies for mitigating these effects by using optimized setups featuring adapted ODT configurations. This includes proposed schemes that may mitigate three-body losses expected at very low temperatures, allowing to access the quantum dominated regime of interaction.Comment: Contribution to Special Issue "Low Energy Interactions between Ions and Ultracold Alkali Atoms" of Atoms (ISSN 2218-2004). Changes in the updated version: corrected typos in text and references, corrected labeling in figures 5 and

Non-dispersive optics using storage of light

We demonstrate the non-dispersive deflection of an optical beam in a Stern-Gerlach magnetic field. An optical pulse is initially stored as a spin-wave coherence in thermal rubidium vapour. An inhomogeneous magnetic field imprints a phase gradient onto the spin wave, which upon reacceleration of the optical pulse leads to an angular deflection of the retrieved beam. We show that the obtained beam deflection is non-dispersive, i.e. its magnitude is independent of the incident optical frequency. Compared to a Stern-Gerlach experiment carried out with propagating light under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency, the estimated suppression of the chromatic aberration reaches 10 orders of magnitude.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

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This thesis work depicts my process of therapy and rejuvenation found through artwork about abuse I suffered during high school. Through creating metaphors about the abuse, PTSD, and my anxiety, I discovered that my work served as a coping and healing act. My thesis displays fiber art techniques-embroidery, crochet, rusting and decaying fiber, and creating sculpture with hog gut and wire-that illustrate my recovery from abuse, as well as the strategies that now help me cope with residual anxiety

Impact of Individual and Combined Sensory Impairment in Older Australians

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence and examine the clustering patterns of visual, auditory and olfactory impairments; to estimate the associations of olfactory impairment with neurodegenerative and other morbidities; to estimate the associations of visual and auditory impairments with morbidity and mortality using Cox regression; and to examine the associations of visual and auditory impairments with morbidity and mortality using structural equation modelling to identify potential indirect pathways and assess whether Cox regression underestimated the associations between VI, AI and mortality in a representative sample of older Australians. Methods: The Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) examined 3,654 persons aged 49+ during 1992-1994, and after 5 and 10 years. The Blue Mountains Hearing Study (BMHS) invited participants who attended the second cross-sectional survey of the Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES 2). Persons who moved into the study area or study age group, identified from a repeat door-to door census in 1999, were also invited to participate. The Blue Mountains Hearing Study (BMHS) examined 2956 persons aged 49+ years (75.5% response) during 1997-2000. Vision, hearing and olfaction were assessed in BMES 3. Assessment was by interviewer administered structured questionnaire, clinical examination, audiometry, blood testing and the San Diego Odor Identification Test. A total of 1,497 (74.3% of all participants) had complete vision, auditory and olfactory data after BMES 3. Visual impairment (VI) was categorized as either: presenting visual impairment (PVI), VA less than 6/12 Snellen equivalent (25 decibels hearing level (dBHL). Cognitive impairment was defined as mini mental state exam (MMSE) scores <24. Log-linear models were used to assess the concomitant presence of the three sensory impairments (visual, auditory and olfactory). Observed frequencies of concomitant sensory impairments were compared to the expected frequencies estimated assuming they occurred independently (no clustering tendency). Multivariable adjusted logistic regression models were constructed to estimate associations between olfactory impairment and morbidities, including neurodegenerative conditions. Associations between visual impairment and mortality risk, and between hearing loss and mortality risk, were estimated using Cox regression and structural equation modelling (SEM). Odds ratios (OR), hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Australian National Death Index data confirmed deaths until 2005.   Results: After13 years from baseline, 1273 participants had died. After 5 years from BMES 2 (BMHS), 403 participants had died. At BMES 3, the prevalence of PVI, CVI and NCVI was 11%, 8% and 3% respectively. The prevalence of any OI was 27.0% and the prevalence of AI was 43%. The observed prevalence of having all three sensory impairments in persons with PVI (or NCVI) was 2.6 (or 3.0) times greater than predicted if they clustered independently. VI, AI and OI clustered differently in women compared to men. Inverse associations were observed between OI and body mass index (OR per 5 kg/m2 increase, 0.8, CI 0.7-0.9) and between moderate impairment and hypertension (OR 0.6, CI 0.4-0.9). There was no significant relationship with angina, previous myocardial infarction or diabetes. Persons with Parkinson disease had an increased likelihood of both mild (OR 9.8, CI 2.0-47.5) and moderate OI (OR 16.1, CI 3.8-68.2), as did persons with impaired cognitive function (OR 3.3, CI 1.3-8.6 and OR 3.7, CI 1.5-9.6, respectively). After adjusting for mortality risk markers using Cox regression, higher mortality was associated with NCVI (HR 1.35, CI 1.04-1.75). This association was stronger for ages <75 years (HR 2.58, CI 1.42-4.69). Structural equation modelling revealed greater effects of NCVI on mortality risk (HR 5.25, CI 1.97-14.01 for baseline ages <75), with both direct (HR 2.16, CI 1.11-4.23) and indirect effects (HR 2.43, CI 1.17-5.03). Of the mortality risk markers examined, only disability in walking demonstrated a significant indirect pathway for the link between VI and mortality. Disability in walking acted both directly on mortality and via an association with self-rated health. Using Cox regression, hearing loss was associated with increased risk of both cardiovascular (HR 1.36, CI 1.08-1.84) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.39, CI 1.11-1.79) after adjustment for age and sex, but not after multivariable adjustment. Structural equation modelling pathway analysis, however, revealed a higher all-cause mortality risk (HR 2.58, CI 1.64-4.05) in persons with hearing loss, which was mediated by two variables: cognitive impairment (HR 1.45, CI 1.08-1.94) and disability in walking (HR 1.63, CI 1.24-2.15). These variables increased mortality both directly and indirectly through effects on self-rated health. Conclusions: In this representative population of older Australians, over one in ten persons had VI, over one in four persons had OI and almost one in two persons had AI. The prevalence of VI, AI and OI increased with increasing age. The prevalence of AI and OI was higher in males. The prevalence of VI was higher in females. Visual, auditory and olfactory impairments aggregated mutually and dependently. Visual impairment and AI were significantly associated with morbidity and mortality. Visual impairment predicted mortality by both direct and indirect pathways. Auditory impairment predicted mortality via indirect pathways. Disability in walking, which can substantially influence general health, represented a major indirect pathway for both VI and AI. Auditory impairment was also associated with increased all-cause mortality via cognitive impairment and self-rated health. Adjustment for these co-variables using Cox regression underestimated the associations between VI and AI and mortality. Olfactory impairment was inversely associated with BMI and hypertension. Olfactory impairment was significantly higher among persons with Parkinson disease and cognitive impairment. It is important to recognise that persons with sensory impairments are at increased risk of important comorbidities and mortality. Dependent clustering of sensory impairments suggest the possibility of a common underlying mechanism and that separate hearing and vision services may not adequately support older persons

Focus on the cold and ultracold chemistry of atoms, ions and molecules

[No abstract available

Чинник адресата в електронних текстах Yahoo!Answers (The factor of the addressee in electronic texts yahoo!answers)

У статті здійснено огляд ситуацій інформаційного комфорту у віртуальній комунікації та умов, коли інформація сприймається у повному обсязі та відповідно до настанов авторa електронного тексту. Ці характеристики є важливим свідченням урахування чинника адресата в електронних текстах інформаційно-довідкового сервісу Yahoo!Answers. (The article reviews the situations of informational comfort in virtual communication and conditions when information is acquired in a full content and according to the author’s attitude. These characteristics are the important evidence of consideration of the factor of the addressee in electronic texts of information-and-reference service Yahoo!Answers. Analysis of electronic texts in information-and-reference service Yahoo!Answers on the contextual basis proves the existence of two positions of the addressee – obscure position and open position. The addressee can share certain thoughts, uses citations and links, and provides arguments in order to demonstrate the validity or fallibility of one’s assumptions. Obscure position of the addressee testifies the secondary role of the individual as the author of the electronic text, but the authoritative source of information, which one refers to, is in the foreground. In the open position the addressee is in the foreground, it is he / she who determines the conditions and the style of communication and sometimes even dominates the addresser. Important object of the article is the detection of different means of expression of the dominant status and the application of certain communicative tactics by the addressee for affirmation of one’s open position.

Why It Is So Hard? A History of Highway Concession Contracts in Poland

International audienceIn this paper we analyze the early stages of the highway construction program in Poland. We argue that the whole investment process could be accelerated if much attention was paid to establishing a better legal framework. Investigating the bids for the A2 highway and the implementation of the concession agreement, we highlight the excessive red tape and poor monitoring system which led to a serious slowdown in the construction process. We also stress the necessity of choosing the best adapted financing method for infrastructure investments, as the use of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme has partially failed because of its financial weakness