Imbalance relationships and sustainable supply chain

W artykule podjęto problem nierównowagi relacji w kształtowaniu zrównoważonego łańcucha dostaw (SSC). Analiza relacji kupujący-dostawca została przeprowadzona z wykorzystaniem analizy studium przypadku łańcuchów dostaw branży spożywczej. Wykazała ona, że występująca przewaga wymusza osiąganie zgodności z wymaganiami rozwoju zrównoważonego (SD). Cele i inicjatywy SD są określane w sposób arbitralny, a ich koszty oraz ryzyko przerzucane na dostawców. Z perspektywy zarządzania organizacjami praca przyczynia się do lepszego zrozumienia wpływu nierównowagi na wdrażanie rozwoju zrównoważonego.The paper is concerned with the problem of imbalance in supply chain relations in the forming of a sustainable supply chain. Analysis of the purchaser-supplier relationship is conducted with the use of the case study method. It shows that the presence of an advantage enforces compliance with the requirements of sustainable development. The objectives and initiatives of SD are determined in an arbitrary way, but their costs and risks are transferred to suppliers. From a management perspective, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the influence of imbalance on implementing sustainable [email protected]ł Ekonomiczny, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-SkłodowskiejAlvarez G., Pilbeam C., Wilding R., 2010, Nestle Nespresso AAA sustainable quality program: An investigation into the governance dynamics in a multi-stakeholder supply chain network, “Supply Chain Management: An International Journal”, 15 (2).Andersen M., Skjoett-Larsen T., 2009, Corporate social responsibility in global supply chains, “Supply Chain Management: An International Journal”, 14 (2).Barratt M., Choi T. 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Reasons and political consequences of by-elections to the Polish Senate

Wybory uzupełniające do Senatu RP w ocenie polskich polityków spełniają funkcję barometru odzwierciedlającego nastroje polityczne społeczeństwa. Celem artykułu jest wskazanie przyczyn i politycznych skutków wygasania mandatu senatora w trakcie kadencji. Porównując wyniki badań, uzyskane w rezultacie analizy zagadnienia określonego w tytule artykułu, podjęto próbę odpowiedzi na następujące pytania badawcze: 1) jakie czynniki wpływają na wygaśnięcie mandatu senatora w Polsce?; 2) jak kształtuje się frekwencja w tych wyborach na tle frekwencji w wyborach do Sejmu i Senatu?; 3) w jakim stopniu wybory uzupełniające do Senatu wpływają na zmianę jego kompozycji politycznej?; 4) czy stanowią one wiarygodny barometr nastrojów politycznych społeczeństwa? Zastosowane metody badawcze (instytucjonalno-prawna, statystyczna, porównawcza) pozwoliły sformułować wnioski. Dotychczas wygasło 44 mandaty senatorskie (4,9%). Głównymi przyczynami były: śmierć (36,4%), objęcie ważnych stanowisk publicznych (22,8%) i wybór na posła do PE (15,9%). Przeprowadzone 37 razy elekcje uzupełniające do Senatu z reguły wywoływały niewielkie zainteresowanie wyborców (najczęściej około 7%). Jednak zdarzało się, że ich wyniki sygnalizowały nadchodzącą zmianę polityczną (elekcje uzupełniające w IV, V i VIII kadencji) lub kontynuację istniejącego układu politycznego (elekcje uzupełniające w VI kadencji). Skuteczność tego prognostyka jest dość zawodna; okazała się trafna w czterech z siedmiu kadencji Senatu.In the opinion of Polish politicians, by-elections to the Senate of the Republic of Poland have a barometer function, reflecting the political climate in the society. The objective of the present article is to indicate the reasons for and political consequences of mid-term expiry of senators’ mandates. In comparing the research results obtained by analyzing the topic of this article we attempted to answer the following research questions: 1) what factors influence the expiry of senators’ mandates in Poland?; 2) what is voter turnout in these elections, when compared to the ordinary elections to the Polish parliament (Sejm and Senate)? 3) to what extent do the by-elections to the Senate influence the change in its political composition?; 4) do they form a credible barometer of the political climate in the society? The research methods applied (institutional-legal, statistical, and comparative) allowed us to formulate our conclusion. So far, 44 senators’ mandates (4.9%) have expired. The main reasons for that have been death (36.4%), appointment to high public offices (22.8%), or being elected EMP (15.9%). The Senate by-elections have been conducted 37 times, and they have usually generated limited interest of voters (usually around 7%). Nevertheless, in several cases their results signalled the upcoming political change (by-elections in the IV, V and VIII terms) or the continuation of the existing political arrangement (by-elections in the VI term of office). The general efficiency of this forecast is rather elusive; it turned out to be correct in four out of seven terms of Senate

Jacek Kochanowicz – profesor Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego

Jacek Kochanowicz – Professor of the Warsaw University (Summary)The article presents the person of Professor Jacek Kochanowicz, one of the most distinguished Polish economic historians of the past few decades. It discusses the role he played as a scholar, a teacher of generations of students of the Warsaw University and a lecturer at a number of foreign universities, highlighting the way in which he understood economic history – a discipline to which he devoted his scholarly life.Jacek Kochanowicz – Professor of the Warsaw University (Summary)The article presents the person of Professor Jacek Kochanowicz, one of the most distinguished Polish economic historians of the past few decades. It discusses the role he played as a scholar, a teacher of generations of students of the Warsaw University and a lecturer at a number of foreign universities, highlighting the way in which he understood economic history – a discipline to which he devoted his scholarly life

New Allergens of Anise and Caraway

Spices are widely used in cuisine around the world to improve taste and smell values of many dishes and products and are a simple way to achieve good health due to the presence of certain compounds, active substances and even minerals that are needed for our body. Unfortunately they have some disadvantages, as part of their proteins have allergenic properties and contributes to the food hypersensitivity. Allergy to spices makes up approximately 1-4% of all food allergies [1]. Therefore undeclared by manufacturers presence of spices in many dishes and food products pose a threat to health of sensitized persons. The aim of research was identification of potentially allergenic proteins in anise and caraway

Psychosocial burden among offshore drilling platform employees

Conditions of work on offshore drilling platforms are particularly hard due to extreme environmental situations created both by nature and technological processes. Oil drilling workers employed on the open sea are potentially exposed to permanently high stress. Apart from the obvious objective factors affecting drilling platform employees, a great role in the general workrelated stress level is played by the working conditions and work-related psychosocial factors, defined according to Karask’s concept as demands, control, and social support. A total of 184 drill platform workers were examined using objective and subjective research methods. The level of subjective stress among drilling platform workers is lower than the level of objective stress and the stress resulting from prognoses related with specificity of work in extremely hard conditions (audit). The examinations of drilling platform workers reveal a positive role of stress in psychological adaptation, being a special case of the "work ethos" and attachment to the firm. In such investigations of work-related stress on drilling platforms, which are very specific workplaces, a multi-aspect character, sociological and economic aspects, organizational culture conditions in the firm, and a tendency to conceal ailments and the stress experienced should be taken into account. It is important to apply measures referring to at least three different types of evidence (objective demands, subjective stress, health problems reported). Otherwise, the result reflecting work-related stress may not be objective and far from the truth

Application of HPLC-APCI-MS for sensitive determination of bioactive amines in fish-based food products intended for infants and young children

The presence of bioactive amines (BA) such as putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), histamine (HIS), tyramine (TYR), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM) in food products intended for infants and young children should be analysed and controlled in respect to their direct (HIS, TYR) or potential toxicity properties (SPD, SPM). The aim of this work was to evaluate the selected bioactive amines content in fish-based food products intended for infants and young children using optimized HPLC-APCI-MS method

Generating cooperative question-responses by means of erotetic search scenarios

The concept of cooperative question-responses as an extension of cooperative behaviours used by interfaces for databases and information systems is proposed. A procedure to generate question-responses based on question dependency and erotetic search scenarios is presented. The procedure is implemented in Prolog