The Exchange Rate and Two Price Inflations in Poland in the Period 1999-2009. Do Globalization and Balassa-Samuelson Effect Matter?

The abrupt depreciation of the zloty during the subprime crisis and fast-rising prices are serious problems, because Poland, having to fulfil five Maastricht criteria, makes the dependence of her domestic inflation on price increases in the EU countries the central point of the discussion about the optimal monetary and fiscal policy rules for the next few years. The primary objective of the paper is to test out some hypotheses about the main sources of the volatility of the Polish zloty / euro exchange rate and inflation in Poland. Because several competing theoretical models describing inflationary processes are widely used, special attention is paid to their empirical verification. The working-hypotheses allowing for the country-specific features of the consumer and producer price inflation are formulated and verified in the paper.cointegration, exchange rate, Balassa-Samuelson effect, price-wage loop

Single Star-forming galaxies and Star-forming galaxies in SF+SF and mixed pairs

We compare the SFR of single star-forming galaxies with the SFR of star-forming galaxies in pairs. Volume-limited samples are compared selected from the 2dFGRS, applying a maximum magnitude difference criterion. We show that SF galaxies in SF + SF pairs typically increase their SFR as they get fainter, whereas this does not happen for SF galaxies in mixed (SF + passive) pairs. And we provide evidence that differences between single SF and SF in pairs get more significant when SF galaxies in mixed pairs are excluded from the pair sample. Our analysis confirms that enhanced SFR and the presence of a companion galaxy (on 0.5 h^-1 Mpc scale) are correlated quantities, provided the galaxy is neither too luminous nor too faint, and the triggering galaxy is itself a SF galaxy.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, contributed paper, to be published in ''The Evolution of Starbursts'' (Bad Honnef 2004), ed. S. Huettemeister & E. Manthley (Melville:AIP

The symmetric orbifold of N=2 minimal models

The large level limit of the N=2 minimal models that appear in the duality with the N=2 supersymmetric higher spin theory on AdS_3 is shown to be a natural subsector of a certain symmetric orbifold theory. We study the relevant decompositions in both the untwisted and the twisted sector, and analyse the structure of the higher spin representations in the twisted sector in some detail. These results should help to identify the string background of which the higher spin theory is expected to describe the leading Regge trajectory in the tensionless limit.Comment: 32 page

The Continuous Orbifold of N=2 Minimal Model Holography

For the N=2 Kazama-Suzuki models that appear in the duality with a higher spin theory on AdS_3 it is shown that the large level limit can be interpreted as a continuous orbifold of 2N free bosons and fermions by the group U(N). In particular, we show that the subset of coset representations that correspond to the perturbative higher spin degrees of freedom are precisely described by the untwisted sector of this U(N) orbifold. We furthermore identify the twisted sector ground states of the orbifold with specific coset representations, and give various pieces of evidence in favour of this identification.Comment: 24 pages, v2: minor correction

Even spin minimal model holography

The even spin W^e_\infty algebra that is generated by the stress energy tensor together with one Virasoro primary field for every even spin s \geq 4 is analysed systematically by studying the constraints coming from the Jacobi identities. It is found that the algebra is characterised, in addition to the central charge, by one free parameter that can be identified with the self-coupling constant of the spin 4 field. We show that W^e_\infty can be thought of as the quantisation of the asymptotic symmetry algebra of the even higher spin theory on AdS_3. On the other hand, W^e_\infty is also quantum equivalent to the so(N) coset algebras, and thus our result establishes an important aspect of the even spin minimal model holography conjecture. The quantum equivalence holds actually at finite central charge, and hence opens the way towards understanding the duality beyond the leading 't Hooft limit.Comment: 32 pages, v2: reference added, minor changes in tex

A Theology of Ministerial Practice

Competing agendas and changing culture create a need for churches to consciously determine why they will do what they do the way they do. This project develops four doctrinal bases for a theology of ministerial practice. It summarizes literature on philosophy of ministry. Research in five Lutheran churches identifies gaps in the way people view ministry. Chapter four provides a comprehensive rationale and definition for a theology of ministerial practice. One church\u27s experience demonstrates the value of thinking through and developing guiding principles that apply a church\u27s theology to its culture in shaping ministerial practice

The diverse X-ray properties of four truly isolated elliptical galaxies: NGC 2954, NGC 6172, NGC 7052, and NGC 7785

We investigate the X-ray properties of four isolated elliptical galaxies, selected from the Updated Zwicky Catalog according to strict isolation criteria. Isolated galaxies are not influenced by the group/cluster environment, and their X-ray emission can be studied independently of the often overwhelming contribution of the hot intergalactic medium. They are therefore suited to studying the X-ray characteristics relative to their intrinsic properties. We analyzed our own XMM-Newton and archival Chandra data in detail for three objects, and derived, when possible, the spatial and spectral characteristics of each source. An upper limit for the fourth one was obtained from archival ASCA data. We compared their characteristics with those of other 23 isolated objects for which X-ray and optical data are available in the literature. We explored possible theoretical explanations to interpret our results. In spite of our attempt to select very homogeneous objects, both in terms of optical properties and environmental characteristics, we find a wide range in X-ray luminosities and LX/LB ratios for the four objects: two of them show a hot gaseous halo, whereas no gas is detected in the other two, to a factor >10 in luminosity. In fact, we find a large spread in the LX/LB for all galaxies considered, suggesting that the presence of hot gas is not easily related to the optical luminosity or to the mass, even in isolated systems. Younger objects tend to be less luminous in X-rays than older systems. However, it appears that older objects could span a wide range in luminosities.Comment: [email protected], 12 pages, 14 PostScript figures, 3 tables, LaTeX. The last sentence of Section 2 has been modified. The published version of the manuscript is also available at http://moby.mib.infn.it/~memola/publications.htm

Koehler's satiation theory and Deutsch's neurophysiological model of figural after-effects

A lifetime of work by Gestalt psychologists has culminated in an electrical field theory of cerebral integration which represents an attempt to explain a number of visual phenomena and even provide a bridge between the general areas of perception and learning (Koehler, 1958, 1965; Koehler & Fishback, 1950a, 1950b; Koehler & Wallach, 1944). One of the main objections to this theory is that it is not based upon orthodox physiological principles. According to Prentice, for example, Koehler's theory is regarded as a radical departure from current physiological knowledge of the nervous system because it suggests "••• the importance of physical phenomena other than those that follow anatomical pathways" (1962, p. 46). In 1952 Osgood and Heyer presented a theory which they claimed could explain most of the visual phenomena of Koehler's theory, and which was based on known physiological principles. The logical consistency and neurophysiological assumptions of this theory have since been questioned (Deutsch, 1956), and these assumptions have never been subjected to ex­perimental examination as has been the case with Koehler's theory (Day, Pollack & Seagrim, 1959). Using some of the most recent neurophysiological findings, Deutsch (1964) presented a model which was designed to account for the phenomena covered by the two earlier theories. At present, however, no experimental data are available either to evaluate this theory or to compare it with Koehler's or Osgood's models. Therefore the purpose of the present in­vestigation is to test some of the predictions of this latest theoretical attempt and compare it with the earlier positions. Because most of the predictions of Koehler's satiation theory, Osgood's statistical theory and Deutsch's neurophysiological theory are made in terms of figural after-effects, the present investigations will be largely restricted to these phenomena. In the following sections these phenomena will be described and the three theories broadly outlined. Some of the predictions of these models and relevant experimental evidence will be discussed, and the results of experiments designed to test these predictions will be described. In the final section of this study these theories will be evaluated in the light of the present and earlier experi­mental results