Logistic activities of dairy enterprises in Poland

PURPOSE: The aim of the research was to identify activities in the field of logistics undertaken by dairy companies in Poland.DESIGN/APPROACH/METHODOLOGY: The research was carried out in 35 dairy enterprises operating in Poland. The research was conducted in 2021 using a guided interview questionnaire. In this study, descriptive, graphical and tabular methods were used, presented in further parts of the work. The research covered a diverse range of questions, corresponding to and falling within the scope of the subject matter of logistic activities undertaken by entities authorized to manufacture and distribute dairy industry products.FINDINGS: In the article, the authors focused mainly on presenting the main logistic activities that dairy companies operating in the country undertook to improve the condition of enterprises and the quality of products, including the issue of quality, the issue of delivery time of the raw material needed for production in the dairy industry, i.e. milk, as well as the subject of dairy industry products. The research shows that the main criteria for choosing a supplier are quality, price and brand.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Thus, it can be concluded that decisions regarding supply are placed high in Polish dairy enterprises.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Identification of the factors determining the functioning of logistics of dairy enterprises in Poland. The director, department manager, or sales manager are those who make the procurement decisions.peer-reviewe

Development of intermodal transport in the EU countries

PURPOSE: The main purpose of the article was to present the development of intermodal transport in individual EU countries. The specific purposes were to show the situation and directions of changes in the importance of intermodal transport in terms of the use of individual modes of transport, to show the leaders in this type of transport.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: All EU countries were selected for research using the purposeful selection method, as of December 31, 2019. In total, 28 EU countries were examined. The research period covered the years 2008-2019. The data come from Eurostat.FINDINGS: In the years 2008-2019, intermodal transport grew in most EU countries, but very quickly in just a few. The concentration of this type of transport in the EU countries has decreased and it is spread over a larger number of countries. In addition, the changes occurred faster in terms of transport performance in tkm than in the volume of cargo in tonnes.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Intermodal transport should be developed in the future. Therefore, it is important to know the current situation and directions of changes so that one can react on an ongoing basis. Decision-makers can use appropriate instruments to influence the right directions of changes in intermodal transport.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Intermodal transport is and will be promoted in the EU. As a rule, the articles discuss transport for one or more countries, but only for the last few years. The analysis covers 12 years, therefore changes can be noticed in the long run.peer-reviewe

WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES PARLIAMENTS

There are large differences in number of women MPs in EU countries parliaments. Some countries try to regulate this by determining quotas of women in the electoral lists, but in some cases the percentage of women elected is high without any regulations. There are also differences in the citizens standards of life depending on the state. The aim of the paper was to compare the women participation in the lower or in the single house of parliament of 28 countries belonging to EU. Beside this calculation, the comparison of Human Development Index (HDI) was compared in correlation to women presence in the government

Changes in Consumer Food Preferences in EU Countries from 2001-2013

This paper attempts to rank EU countries according to changes in consumer food preferences between 2001 and 2013. The size of these changes was determined using a synthetic rate created for this purpose. This rate was intended to accommodate changes in consumption levels in 9 product groups per capita. It turns out that we may use the greatest possible measure of the structure’s dissimilarity as an analogy to the Gini coefficient, to express this rate. Using the “ar” measure to compare structures of food consumption in two separate three-year time periods for each country, scientists may rank and group the countries according to the value of changes in consumer food preferences

Wpływ transportu drogowego na zanieczyszczenie powietrza w krajach UE

The main purpose of the work is to show the level of air pollution emitted by road transport and its relationship with economic development and transport infrastructure in European Union countries. The study presents the diversity in emissions of road transport by countries, shows the dynamics of changes in this area, determines the relationships between the level of economic development, equipping with road infrastructure and emissions of air pollution in EU countries. The research period concerned the years 2006-2017. The sources of data was EUROSTAT database. The ranking built by means of multidimensional data analysis tools indicated Portugal and Luxembourg as countries with relatively high emissions of air pollutants (group 3), countries with moderate emissions are Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus and Sweden (group 2). Analysis of data on the rate of change in emissions and the volume of GDP in EU countries also indicates compliance with the Kuznets environmental curve.Celem głównym pracy było porównanie poziomu zanieczyszczenia powietrza emitowanego przez transport drogowy i jego związku z rozwojem gospodarczym i infrastrukturą transportową w krajach Unii Europejskiej w latach 2006-2017. W pracy przedstawiono zróżnicowanie w emisji zanieczyszczeń przez transport drogowy w krajach UE, ukazano dynamikę zmian w tym zakresie, określono związki i między poziomem rozwoju gospodarczego, wyposażeniem w infrastrukturę drogową, a emisją zanieczyszczeń powietrza. Dane pochodziły z baz i raportów EUROSTAT. Zbudowany za pomocą metod wielowymiarowej analizy danych ranking szeregujący Państwa pod względem emisji związków do atmosfery pochodzących z transportu i uwzględniając infrastrukturę drogową oraz powierzchnię kraju, wskazał na Portugalię i Luksemburg jako kraje o stosunkowo dużej emisji (grupa 3), kraje o umiarkowanej emisji to Bułgaria, Malta, Cypr oraz Szwecja (grupa 2). Analiza tempa zmian emisji zanieczyszczeń do powietrza oraz wielkości PKB w krajach Unii wskazuje także na zgodność ze środowiskową krzywą Kuznetsa

Emisja zanieczyszczeń powietrza w krajach Unii Europejskiej – wielowymiarowa analiza danych

The main purpose of the paper was to show the level of air pollution and its relation to economic development in the European Union countries. All European Union member states were selected for research purposefully. The research period concerned the years 2005-2016. Data was obtained from EUROSTAT and from the literature on the subject. For the analysis and presentation of materials, descriptive, tabular, graphical and gradual data analysis methods were used, including overrepresentation maps and Pearson's linear correlation coefficients. The issue of emissions of air pollutants is crucial because harmful substances contribute to the emergence of many diseases and increased mortality of society. The article focuses on harmful compounds that are subject to emission limits, i.e. sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxide (NOx), emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia (NH3) emissions and PM2.5 fraction dust. Nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds were the most emitted in the EU. The smallest emission was for PM2.5. In the years 2005-2016, sulfur oxide emissions decreased the fastest, while emissions of ammonia and PM2.5 dust increased. Taking into account all five pollutants, the ranking of countries meeting the emission obligations against the EU background is presented. Greece, Croatia and Belgium were the best in this area, while Hungary, Latvia and Germany were the worst. A positive relationship was found between the strength of changes in the level of GDP and the emission of air pollutants. In the EU countries, in the years 2005-2016, regularities between the level of economic development and pollution emissions in line with the environmental Kuznets curve were confirmed. In the economically developed EU countries, despite the pressure of economic development, there was a reduction in air pollution.Celem głównym pracy było ukazanie poziomu zanieczyszczenia powietrza i jego związku z rozwojem gospodarczym w krajach Unii Europejskiej. W sposób celowy wybrano do badań wszystkie kraje członkowskie Unii Europejskiej. Okres badań dotyczył lat 2005-2016. Dane pozyskano z EUROSTAT oraz z literatury przedmiotu. Do analizy i prezentacji materiałów zastosowano metody opisową, tabelaryczną, graficzną, gradacyjną analizę danych, w tym mapy nadreprezentacji, współczynniki korelacji liniowej Pearsona. Problematyka emisji zanieczyszczeń powietrza jest kluczowa, gdyż szkodliwe substancje przyczyniają się do powstawania wielu chorób oraz zwiększonej śmiertelności społeczeństwa. W artykule skupiono się na szkodliwych związkach, które podlegają limitom emisji, a więc dwutlenku siarki (SO2), tlenku azotu (NOx), emisji niemetanowych lotnych związków organicznych (NMLZO), emisji amoniaku (NH3) i pyłów frakcji PM2.5 (PM2.5). W UE najwięcej emitowano tlenków azotu i niemetanowych lotnych związków organicznych. Najmniejsza zaś była emisja pyłów frakcji PM2,5. W latach 2005-2016 najszybciej spadała emisja tlenków siarki, zaś rosła amoniaku i pyłów frakcji PM2,5. Przy uwzględnieniu wszystkich pięciu związków zanieczyszczających powietrze przedstawiono ranking krajów wywiązujących się z obowiązków emisji na tle UE. Najlepiej w tym zakresie radziły sobie Grecja, Chorwacji i Belgia, zaś najgorzej Węgry, Łotwa i Niemcy. Stwierdzono dodatnią zależność między siłą zmian poziomu PKB a emisją zanieczyszczeń powietrza. W krajach UE w latach 2005-2016 potwierdzone zostały prawidłowości między poziomem rozwoju gospodarki i emisją zanieczyszczeń zgodne ze środowiskową krzywą Kuznetsa. W rozwiniętych gospodarczo krajach UE mimo presji rozwoju gospodarczego następowała redukcja zanieczyszczeń powietrza

APPLICATION OF ARMAX MEASURE FOR ANALYSIS OF FOOD PREFERENCE CHANGES IN ASIAN COUNTRIES 2001-2013

The research of food preferences has, besides a sociological aspect, an economic aspect and is a good starting point for estimating the willingness to incur expenditures on the consumption of individual products. In the paper, the authors compared food preferences on the Asian market for 9 product groups. Due to the complexity of the problem, the study included 17 selected countries of Central and Southeast Asia (China, Mongolia, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka). The research was carried out on data from 2001 to 2013 with the use of the methods of gradual data analysis. In some countries there were no major changes in nutrition and food consumption, which can be explained by the stabilized political and socio-economic situation. The best example is Thailand

Using the Hotspot function of the Xerte tool for developing interactive presentations

Due to dynamic development of e-learning tools, which are available on the commercial and non-commercial market, e-learning is today a common and valued form of supporting the learning process. To achieve some cognitive objectives, for example to visualize the structures or patterns, it is very effective to use techniques like interactive presentations. A particularly useful function of the presentation enforcing student's interest is the Hot Spot. This activity is available within a non-commercial tool environment - Xerte. The present publication focuses on the benefits and educational opportunities of this environment. In particular, the authors share their experiences of the Hot Spot activity creation in three different variants. The publication describes, in a comprehensive and detailed way, the creation of Hotspots, saving presentations in SCORM format as well publishing presentations on e-learning platform Moodle

Diversification of lamb meat imports in EU countries and its trends

The paper attempts to compare European Union countries in terms of the dynamics of changes in the value of lamb meat imports in the period 2003-2017. The standard against which this comparison was made was the average value, which should be understood as the growth dynamics of the examined feature for all EU countries together. For this purpose, tools related to the so-called Grade Data Analysis, such as the index of the unlikeness of structures “ar” (in this case a good tool to determine the direction of changes and the speed of these changes for all EU countries) and overrepresentation maps (used to visualise these changes and for their interpretation). Additionally, with the help of GDA methods, EU countries were divided into groups characterised by smaller, medium and higher dynamics of changes in lamb imports. It can be concluded that the most dynamic growth in imports of this type of meat is found among the newest EU member states. This may indicate a change in dietary preferences in these countries. It may also be related to greater accessibility to goods previously considered as luxury, greater awareness of so-called healthy foods and the improved standard of living of societies that have joined the European Union

Shapes of leaves with parallel venation. Modelling of the Epipactis sp. (Orchidaceae) leaves with the help of a system of coupled elastic beams

Static properties of leaves with parallel venation, with particular emphasis on the genus EpipactisZinn, 1757 (Orchidaceae, Neottieae) have been modelled with coupled quasi-parallel elastic “beams.” The non-linear theory of strongly bended beams have been employed. The resulting boundary-value problem has been solved numerically with the help of the finite-difference method. Possible dislocations resulting in additional Dirac-delta like forces have been take into account. Morphological similarity of the model and real leaves has been obtained. In particular, the concentrated forces have been shown to cause undulation in the leaves