Growth and Performance Factors in Polish Manufacturing Firms in 1998-2003 in the Light of Survey Data

We investigate possible factors of change in employment between 1998 and 2003 in 220 companies from four industries of Polish manufacturing (food, electronics, automotive and pharmaceuticals), that were subject to an enterprise survey. We also seek to explain the differences in performance among companies. We find that firms that were more competitive and more innovative laid off relatively less workers. Ownership status and history seem to be relevant factors too, as companies that were started as private businesses slightly increased employment, while the state-owned enterprises experienced proportionally the largest employment cuts; as for privatized companies, those taken over earlier performed better in terms of employment than those privatized later. However, econometric analysis of premia of early privatization and foreign ownership showed that only the latter factor played a significantly positive role for companies' revenues, productivity, profitability and the level of wages.employment, privatization, FDI, competitiveness, manufacturing

Why so different from other CEECs – Poland’s cyclical divergence from the euro area during the recent financial crisis

The aim of the article is to provide a plausible explanation for the relatively good performance of the Polish economy and the resulting cyclical divergence from the euro area during the recent financial crisis. The investigation of the factors which contributed to this divergence is particularly important in the light of Poland’s prospective accession to the euro area, as it may indicate the problem of asymmetric shocks affecting both economies or asymmetric responses to shocks. The results point out to two reasons for the differential output trajectory in Poland as compared to other CEECs: (i) lower exposure to foreign shocks being the result of a lower degree of economic openness, and (ii) resilient internal activity, which may be the result of structural characteristics of the Polish economy. The recent cyclical decoupling might, however, contribute to the acceleration of Poland’s real convergence to the euro area and consequently speed up the cyclical convergence process.business cycles synchronisation, propagation of shocks, transmission of cyclical fluctuations, real convergence

CPAs\u27 Perceptions of the Impact of SAS 99

In November 2002, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued Statement on Auditing Standard 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. Although SAS 99 was developed before the recent accounting scandals, its release came in their wake. The ASB crafted SAS 99 in response to perceived inadequacies in its predecessor, SAS 82. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 300 Wisconsin CPAs selected from the membership of the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs, which included 150 partners and 150 managers from Wisconsin public accounting firms. The response rate was 35%, with an almost equal balance of partners and managers. Respondents were asked to rate each of the 29 statements in the questionnaire on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 representing that the respondent strongly agreed with the statement, while 5 represented that the respondent strongly disagreed. If any significant differences existed between the responses provided by the partners and by the managers, a statistical t-test was conducted for each question. The results were grouped and presented in the following five categories: 1. auditor responsibility, 2. client interaction and public opinion, 3. fraud risk factors and audit effectiveness, 4. workpaper documentation, and 5. audit procedures. Results of the poll are presented

Around the Hossz\'u-Gluskin theorem for nn-ary groups

We survey results related to the important Hossz\'u-Gluskin Theorem on $n$-ary groups adding also several new results and comments. The aim of this paper is to write all such results in uniform and compressive forms. Therefore some proofs of new results are only sketched or omitted if their completing seems to be not too difficult for readers. In particular, we show as the Hossz\'u-Gluskin Theorem can be used for evaluation how many different $n$-ary groups (up to isomorphism) exist on some small sets. Moreover, we sketch as the mentioned theorem can be also used for investigation of $\mathcal{Q}$-independent subsets of semiabelian $n$-ary groups for some special families $\mathcal{Q}$ of mappings

Hypersensitive response to Potato virus Y in potato cultivar Sárpo Mira is conferred by the Ny-Smira gene located on the long arm of chromosome IX

Potato virus Y (PVY, Potyvirus) is the fifth most important plant virus worldwide in terms of economic and scientific impact. It infects members of the family Solanaceae and causes losses in potato, tomato, tobacco, pepper and petunia production. In potato and its wild relatives, two types of resistance genes against PVY have been identified. While Ry genes confer symptomless extreme resistance, Ny genes cause a hypersensitive response visible as local necrosis that may also be able to prevent the virus from spreading under certain environmental conditions. The potato cultivar Sárpo Mira originates from Hungary and is highly resistant to PVY, although the source of this resistance remains unknown. We show that cv. Sárpo Mira reacts with a hypersensitive response leading to necrosis after PVY(NTN) infection in detached leaf, whole plant and grafting assays. The hypersensitivity to PVY(NTN) segregated amongst 140 individuals of tetraploid progeny of cvs. Sárpo Mira × Maris Piper in a 1:1 ratio, indicating that it was conferred by a single, dominant gene in simplex. Moreover, we identified five DNA markers linked to this trait and located the underlying locus (Ny-Smira) to the long arm of potato chromosome IX. This position corresponds to the location of the Ry(chc) and Ny-1 genes for PVY resistance. A simple PCR marker, located 1 cM from the Ny-Smira gene, can be recommended for selection of PVY-resistant progeny of cv. Sárpo Mira

A diode device combining lateral field-effect transport and vertical tunneling in a multi-quantum-well heterostructure

The authors discuss an electronic device with asymmetric contacts to a InGaAs-InP multilayer heterostructure. Current enters via an alloyed ohmic contact into the quantum wells (QWs) and flows laterally along capacitively coupled channels. It leaves via tunneling between the layers and through a forward-biased surface Schottky contact. A step-like I-V dependence is observed and interpreted by a model calculation

Monolithic Pixel Sensors in Deep-Submicron SOI Technology with Analog and Digital Pixels

This paper presents the design and test results of a prototype monolithic pixel sensor manufactured in deep-submicron fully-depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) CMOS technology. In the SOI technology, a thin layer of integrated electronics is insulated from a (high-resistivity) silicon substrate by a buried oxide. Vias etched through the oxide allow to contact the substrate from the electronics layer, so that pixel implants can be created and a reverse bias can be applied. The prototype chip, manufactured in OKI 0.15 micron SOI process, features both analog and digital pixels on a 10 micron pitch. Results of tests performed with infrared laser and 1.35 GeV electrons and a first assessment of the effect of ionising and non-ionising doses are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods

Physicians and Pharmaceutical Industry: Need for Transparency by Conflict of Interest Declaration and Independent Ethical Oversight

Aim: The collaboration between physicians and pharmaceutical industry are based on financial interests on both sides. Transparency will bring the scientific as well as social public to a position from which they are able to judge whether the physician’s interest dominates over the patients’ benefit