Aktywność gospodarcza a korelacja między podatkami i długiem sektora general government

Correlation differences between taxes (X) and tax receipts increased by social insurance contributions (X’) and general government sector debt (Y’) in the European Union member states have been studied at two different phases of economic development. The intensity of interdependence and the relationships between the variables analysed under different circumstances existing in individual countries turned out to be very varied. In all analyses conducted, a positive correlation coefficient was predominant. This means that the higher the tax burden the lower the tax base, lower public revenues and a higher deficit. At the same time, the lower the tax burden, the lower the deficit and debt. The results obtained in the course of the analyses performed must be interpreted with caution since the categories used in the analyses are subject to a variety of conditions. However, the results of a statistical study and a descriptive analysis allow us to conclude that the objective of the research has been achieved. Studies on its verification though must continue. Autorka analizuje różnice korelacyjne między podatkami (X) i podatkami powiększonymi o składki na ubezpieczenia społeczne (X’) a długiem (Y’) sektora general government w państwach Unii Europejskiej w dwóch różnych fazach aktywności gospodarczej. Siła istotności badanych zależności w konkretnych warunkach poszczególnych krajów okazała się bardzo różna. We wszystkich badaniach przeważał dodatni kierunek zależności. Oznacza to, że im wyższe były obciążenia podatkowe, tym niższa baza podatkowa i wyższy deficyt i dług publiczny. Tym samym im niższe podatki, tym niższy deficyt i dług. Otrzymane wyniki badania należy interpretować ostrożnie, kategorie mu poddane są bowiem wielostronnie uwarunkowane. Niemniej wyniki badania statystycznego i analizy opisowej wskaźników upoważniają do stwierdzenia, że cel opracowania został zrealizowany. Jego weryfikacja wymaga jednak dalszych badań

Managers’ decisions and strategic actions of enterprises in Poland in the face of digital transformation

Motivation: Digitalisation as a continuous process of convergence of the real and virtual worlds is becoming the main driving force for innovations and changes in most sectors of the economy. What is especially important is that current changes are radical, and in some cases even disruptive, bringing completely different values to market players and consumers. In order to cope with these changes, individual enterprises and whole sectors, public administration, society and national economies need to undertake digital transformation.Aim: The aim of the article is to indicate areas of activity in which information technologies are most often implemented in enterprises in Poland as well as managers’ strategic approach to this problem in the face of digital transformation.Results: In order to assess the degree of enterprises’ engagement in the process of implementing modern information technologies, a survey was conducted. The survey questionnaire consisted of a dozen questions concerning the perception of the issue of digital transformation and its inclusion into key strategic and organisational documents, enterprises’ readiness to implement modern technologies, organisational culture, ICT use and achieved effectiveness. Digitalisation of the economy and society is one of the most dynamic changes of our times, opening up new opportunities to create business models, while bringing uncertainty and various threats connected, among other things, with social consequences of the automation of production processes and security in a broad sense. The paper presents the level of Polish enterprises’ engagement in the process of digital transformation and shows how the progress in terms of implementation of modern ICT

Social Factors Conditioning the Tourist Activity and Destinations of Chicago Polonia

Staying in social groups is inseparably connected with the process of socialization and upbringing. Educational environments play a significant role in shaping human attitudes, including those towards tourist activity. Family and school are part of those educational environments whose impact is of a special nature. The main objective is to present the social factors conditioning tourist activity and destinations among Chicago Polonia. Among these factors, the family situation, family patterns, a lack of family tradition, membership of an organization, an individual desire to discover new places and a lack of free time have been distinguished. The aim is to check whether affiliation to an organization influences a greater frequency of tourist trips of Chicago Polonia and whether it has an impact on the choice of tourist destination

Kadra akademicka szkół wyższych Warszawy i Mazowsza

The author presents the human potential of tertiary education institutions in Warsaw and Mazovia in 2006-2008. She analyses the age structure, employment structure of teaching and research staff (by positions), saturation of academic centres with academic staff. Further on, the author presents the career path of academic teachers, their academic development, the problem of working under multiple contracts of employment and in multiple institutions (very widespread among academic staff), as well as rules of compensation for research and teaching staff. The accumulated data indicate that the analysed academic staff of public and non-public higher education institutions of Mazovia had the following characteristics: high average age, considerable percentage of retired professors (especially in non-public schools), fairly slow academic growth (the number of academic degrees conferred in Mazovia in recent years did not show an upward trend) and a considerable proportion of staff working in multiple jobs (especially among academic teachers for whom a public university is a primary place of employment).Autorka prezentuje potencjał kadrowy szkół wyższych Warszawy i Mazowsza w latach 2006-2008. Dokonuje analizy struktury wieku, struktury zatrudnienia kadry naukowo-dydaktycznej (według stanowisk) oraz nasycenia poszczególnych ośrodków akademickich kadrą akademicką. Przedstawia również ścieżkę awansu nauczycieli akademickich, ich rozwój naukowy, problem wieloetatowości i wielozatrudnienia - który w dużej mierze dotyka kadrę akademicką - oraz zasady wynagradzania pracowników naukowo-dydaktycznych. Zgromadzony materiał wskazuje, iż poddana analizie kadra akademicka publicznych i niepublicznych uczelni Mazowsza charakteryzowała się: wysokim średnim wiekiem, znacznym odsetkiem emerytowanych profesorów (zwłaszcza w uczelniach niepublicznych), zbyt powolnym rozwojem naukowym (liczba stopni naukowych nadanych w ostatnich latach na Mazowszu nie wykazywała tendencji wzrostowej) oraz znacznym wielozatrudnieniem (zwłaszcza nauczycieli akademickich pracujących na pierwszym etacie w publicznych szkołach wyższych)

Słowo w ewolucji. Kłamstwa, seks, plotki i… znajomi na Facebooku

The essay shows the main conceptions upon a biological power of a word: the macchiavellian theory/ theory of a lie, the mating mind theory, that means a theory of handicaps, and the social  selection theory  of  S.  Dunbar.  The  author  proposes  a  thesis  that  a  speech  takes  its power from the biological determinants of the origin of a language, and proves it by fusing various contemporary biological concepts. It is a biological evolution that founds the power of words, and also explains the magic of words in the  various types of relations – among society, but also between sexes, generations and finally, among individuals considered in a biological sense. The essay shows the main conceptions upon a biological power of a word: the macchiavellian theory/ theory of a lie, the mating mind theory, that means a theory of handicaps, and the social  selection theory  of  S.  Dunbar.  The  author  proposes  a  thesis  that  a  speech  takes  its power from the biological determinants of the origin of a language, and proves it by fusing various contemporary biological concepts. It is a biological evolution that founds the power of words, and also explains the magic of words in the  various types of relations – among society, but also between sexes, generations and finally, among individuals considered in a biological sense.

Behavioral effects of corporate governance reforms and their legal implications

Empirical research provides important insights into legal questions within the realm of corporate governance law. My first research project serves as an example of empirical research informing policy choices. My second study illustrates how empirical studies can explore potential adverse effects of a given legal solution on the interests protected by the fundamental rights. In both projects, I employed laboratory experiments - an empirical method that allows examining behavioral effects of corporate governance reforms. In 2011 the Reflection Group on the Future of EU Company Law recommended the EU legislator to introduce a Directive which would allow all public companies to appoint executive directors for different terms (one-year or multiple-year terms not exceeding 4-6 years) and choose between dismissal at-will and for good cause. This was intended to improve directors’ decision-making. The exact impact of appointment terms and dismissal procedures on directors’ performance is, however, an empirical question. In particular, it is unclear how directors will perform if the legislator provides the companies with a menu of options instead of imposing one particular solution. This inspired my first research project in which I investigated how seemingly equivalent appointment and dismissal rules influence individual behavior in a principal-agent relation. I observed that at-will contracts in contrast to fixed-term contracts foster successful relation. The effect is particularly pronounced when both contract types are available. It suggests that it is important to consider the impact of different legal solutions not only in isolation but also as endogenously chosen from possible available options. On a more general level, the results of my research and other empirical studies suggest that it is not only compensation schemes but also the length of appointment and dismissal rules which might potentially influence the decision-making of executive directors. Recent reforms introducing mandatory gender quotas for corporate boards motivated my second experimental study. Both – the German legislator and the EU Commission – claimed that a mandatory quota will not only increase the share of women on corporate boards but also improve corporate and board functioning. In my experimental research, I investigated whether mandatory quotas indeed might improve board performance. In particular, I studied whether a quota rule influences one particular aspect of group behavior (i.e. group cooperation) which might be important for functioning of a board of directors. I showed that the quota-based promotion compared to the performance-based promotion negatively affects group cooperation. I concluded that for evaluating the consequences of a legal intervention, it is crucial to examine the direct impact of the intervention itself rather than of the desired outcome of the intervention (i.e. gender diversity) on group behavior. The experimental method, despite some of its limitations, allowed me to investigate and compare basic behavioral reactions to different legal settings in a controlled environment. In particular, unlike other empirical methods, it enables me to draw conclusions on the causal relationship between a specific legal intervention and the observed behavior. With my research, I showed how experimental results might inform legally motivated questions originating in recent corporate governance reforms

TRADITION – HOW TO TALK ABOUT IT, HOW TO PASS IT ON? THE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE IN INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNICATION

The article focuses on the principal roles and functions that a language performs in every community. The specificity of language in the process of communicating cultural contents has become a salient issue in the recent years, due to co-occurrence of linguistic communications with w broad range of cultural behaviours. Major questions discussed here include in the manner in which the subsequent generations find out about local traditions and how this knowledge will be cultivated and passed on. The article presents specific examples, which need not involve fossilized conditions of cultural transmission; on the contrary, they can and should inspire young generations to ‘acquire’ it

Kwalifikacje i kompetencje absolwentów szkół wyższych Mazowsza - opinie uczelnianych biur karier

The author is presenting findings of colleges conducted amongst academic career development agencies of the Masovian province as part of the project ‘‘Regional foresight for higher education institutions of Warsaw and Masovia «Academic Masovia 2030»” about the demand of employers for determined qualifications and competence of graduates of the college. She is presenting forms of assistance in planning the professional career of students and graduates, offered by career development agencies; problems, with which 1 st and 2nd degree college graduates are reporting to them and factors facilitating the work market penetration for graduates. She is also analyzing fields of cooperation of academic career development agencies with employers, the structure of the demand reported by employers for graduates of higher education institutions and the structure of interest of students and graduates in specific types of job offers. The gathered materiał shows that all graduates (of both second and first degree studies) most often need the help of career development agencies for job finding, internship or trainee-ship, while employers are rather prepared for a less active and involving cooperation, limited to placing job offers on websites and in the database of career development agencies, and to the transmission of information about the company and its needs. The placement is simpler for graduates of public colleges who finished full-time studies, especially in the Computer or technical profile. Graduated-women have much greater problems in finding their first work than men.  Over one third of academic career development agencies is confirming that it is hard for their graduates to find employment and often many-months job-hunt does not bring desired effects. The majority of offers submitted by employers is regarding temporary work -these are proposals of smali and micro companies. Meanwhile potential employees are most interested in a steady job, particularly when it is offered by a big or average company. It is noticed that for employees of career development agencies acting in: technical higher education institutions, Warsaw colleges as well as private higher education institutions do decidedly more rarely see threats connected with acquiring the work by their graduates.Autorka prezentuje wyniki badań przeprowadzonych wśród akademickich biur karier uczelni województwa mazowieckiego w ramach projektu „Foresight regionalny dla szkół wyższych Warszawy i Mazowsza «Akademickie Mazowsze 2030»” na temat zapotrzebowania pracodawców na określone kwalifikacje i kompetencje absolwentów uczelni. Przedstawia formy pomocy w planowaniu kariery zawodowej studentów i absolwentów oferowane przez biura karier; problemy, z którymi zgłaszają się do nich absolwenci studiów I oraz II stopnia oraz czynniki ułatwiające absolwentom wejście na rynek pracy. Analizuje również płaszczyzny współpracy akademickich biur karier z pracodawcami, strukturę zgłaszanego przez pracodawców zapotrzebowania na absolwentów szkół wyższych oraz strukturę zainteresowania studentów i absolwentów określonymi typami ofert pracy. Zgromadzony materiał dowodzi, że wszyscy absolwenci (zarówno studiów II stopnia, jak i I stopnia) najczęściej potrzebują od akademickich biur karier pomocy w znalezieniu pracy, stażu lub praktyki zawodowej, a pracodawcy są gotowi raczej do mniej aktywnej i angażującej współpracy, ograniczającej się do zamieszczania ofert pracy na stronach internetowych i w bazie danych biur karier oraz do przekazywania informacji o swojej firmie i jej potrzebach. Znalezienie pracy jest łatwiejsze dla absolwentów uczelni publicznych, którzy ukończyli studia stacjonarne, zwłaszcza o profilu informatycznym lub technicznym. Kobiety absolwentki mają dużo większe trudności w znalezieniu pierwszej pracy niż mężczyźni. Przeszło co trzecie akademickie biuro karier potwierdza, że ich absolwentom trudno jest znaleźć zatrudnienie i często wielomiesięczne poszukiwania pracy nie przynoszą pożądanych efektów. Najwięcej ofert składanych przez pracodawców dotyczy pracy tymczasowej - są to propozycje firm małych i mikro. Tymczasem potencjalni pracownicy najbardziej zainteresowani są pracą stałą, szczególnie gdy jest ona oferowana przez firmę dużą lub średnią. Zauważono, iż pracownicy biur karier działających w: technicznych szkołach  wyższych, uczelniach warszawskich czy też uczelniach niepublicznych zdecydowanie rzadziej widzą zagrożenia z pozyskaniem pracy przez swoich absolwentów

Identity ambivalence and embodiment in women's accounts of the gynaecological examination

In this article we are interested in the negotiation of identities in women's narratives of their gynaecological examination and more particularly, the shifts of identity positions that permeate their stories