The European Union Structural Funds and Regional Development. The Perspective of Small and Medium Enterprises in Eastern Poland

Abstract

The article concentrates on the role of European Union (EU) structural funds in the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The analysis presented in this paper is based on the results of computer-assisted telephone interviews conducted with 394 representatives of enterprises localized in three Polish Voivodships: the Podkarpackie, the Lubelskie and the Podlaskie. The entire EU structural funds are based on the assumption that by additionally financing the development of SMEs, they influence regional development indirectly. Even though EU structural funds are not the only factor influencing economic growth and the creation of Gross Domestic Product, they affect the development potential of enterprises indirectly. However, from the perspective of the representatives of researched SMEs, EU structural funds are not so significant for commitment to investment. Actually, for SMEs in Eastern Poland, they have no effect on future investment plans. This bottom-up perspective researched in one of the poorest areas of the EU puts the assumption of the positive relation between the EU structural funds and regional development into doubt.     

Evolution of the Territorial Coverage of the Railway Network and its Influence on Population Growth: The Case of England and Wales, 1871–1931

Abstract

The introduction of the railway network brought with it an unprecedented improvement in accessibility. In this work, the authors analyze the evolution of the territorial coverage of the railway network and its influence on the uneven distribution of population. To carry out this research, they used comparable data on total population obtained from census records relating to civil parishes of England and Wales, taken at 10-year intervals from 1871. The hypothesis that they wished to test was that good access to a railway station was related to significant increases in population. This exercise provides a better understanding of regional variations in population growth and allows the authors to identify current differences between urban and rural areas that have resulted from their historical evolution.     

The greatest deception: fiction,falsity and manifestation in Spinoza’s Metaphysical Thoughts

ABSTRACT

“The first meaning of true and false”, writes Spinoza in a neglected passage of the Metaphysical Thoughts, “seems to have had its origin in stories”. Ideas are true when they “show” us things as they are; they are false when they do not, when they are fictional. In this essay, I argue that what appears at first sight to be a simple assertion of a correspondence theory of truth in fact opens onto broad historical transformations in the nature of meaning that reshaped the very atmosphere of truth: the emergence of a new kind of fictionality, transformations in the sense of logical interpretation, and ultimately transformations in the structures and sources of the natural light, that “clarity” which constitutes for Spinoza, as for Descartes, an indispensable criterion for certainty.     

Sustainability transformations in the balance: exploring Swedish initiatives challenging the corporate food regime

ABSTRACT

This paper explores to what extent organic initiatives that go beyond mainstream organic (so-called Organic 3.0) can challenge the corporate food regime and how they can push the food system towards sustainability transformations. We depart from the assumption that individual initiatives may differ in their potential to influence the corporate food regime and that this potential can be assessed by examining traits linked to reformist, progressive or radical food regime/food movement trends that they may possess. Rather than establishing a dichotomy between niche and food regime or categorizing Organic 3.0 initiatives within one of these trends, we explore the nuances in niche–regime relationships within the food system from a multi-level perspective, using the cases of two Organic 3.0 initiatives in Sweden. The results show that relations between these initiatives and the food regime share key characteristics, but also differ in important respects. While a reformist strategy facilitates niche growth, progressive and radical approaches are more likely to challenge the regime. The choice of approach in both cases involves trade-offs between growth and organic values. We conclude that one of the primary roles of Organic 3.0 initiatives may be to illustrate the viability of alternative models.     

Place leadership and the challenge of transformation: policy platforms and innovation ecosystems in promotion of green growth

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore how place leadership aims at producing transformational changes in the context of green growth. We ask what the main leadership strategies are that key actors pursue to gain leverage in their efforts to boost green growth. We use the well-known categories of transactional and transformational leadership. The following are the main research questions: (a) What do place leaders do to boost green institutional paths? (b) How do they aim to amplify their limited power base? and (c) How do they amplify their ability to influence both place-based and placeless agents? We scrutinize these questions in the context of green path development in two Finnish regions. The empirical study follows a two parallel single case study design. The cases in this paper deal with the cleantech-related path development in the Tampere city-region and bioeconomy-related path development in Central Finland. The two case studies were carefully chosen to illustrate the two main green growth-related industries in two different Finnish regions. The empirical data was based on 30 interviews of the national and local/regional development agencies as well as from firms and research/educational organizations. Additionally, the written material from the Internet, relevant journals, related newspaper articles and respective policy documents were analysed.     

Population density and the accuracy of the land valuations in the 1798 federal direct tax

Abstract

The peculiar operation of the 1798 federal direct tax has led scholars to question whether tax officials reported the land valuations from their districts faithfully. Peter Lindert and Jeffrey Williamson argue that southern tax assessors systemically under reported the value of southern real estate, and they adjust their income estimates to account for the likelihood of corruption. This paper affirms the reliability of the tax returns by demonstrating that population density, rather than corruption or lax enforcement, can explain nearly all of the variation between the assessment districts. Accepting the tax valuations as accurate would lower Lindert and Williamson’s income estimates, imply slower growth rate between 1774 and 1800, and suggest a higher growth rate between 1800 and 1850.     

Prophecy and Powerlessness

ABSTRACT

This essay attempts to answer questions faced by social movements about whether “prophetic” struggles for justice are necessarily destined either for failure (if they do not win power) or corruption (if they do). It draws on a neglected work of Martin Buber, Der Gesalbte [The Anointed], in which Buber presents the oral core of the Book of Samuel as originating with the school of the prophet Nathan, for lessons about the promise and danger of attempting to combine prophecy and power.     

Chemistry,Population, Resources

Abstract

Chemistry plays a dominant role in the development of modern human societies over the entire globe. Improving the health and nutrition of people has led to a rapid growth in population, especially among the developing nation. Increase in energy supplies has not matched population growth and, arguably, our total stock of accumulated energy capital is diminishing rapidly. The use of coal or nuclear fuels, instead of oil would present their own set of problems. There is however, the possibility of using sunshine directly, and thus living on our annual income of energy from the Sun. It would be possible, argue the following article, to grow hydrocarbon-producing plants in arid or semi-arid regions of the Earth where they would not compete with food production, and produce hydrocarbons at the order of $20.00 a barrel compared with the current crude oil price of $14.00 a barrel.     

Geography in higher education in the USSR

Abstract

Soviet geography in higher education stems from a solid tradition long pre‐dating 1917, but in Soviet times the subject's practical relevance to environmental problems has been especially emphasised. University courses are very specialised, yet in certain respects they are also extraordinarily broad by British standards. Geography graduates usually enter either teaching or scientific/ research bodies, to which they are readily suited by their training. The practical emphasis of geographical education, however, occasionally produces certain strains in the discipline.     

Platforms of Reconciliation? Issues in the Management of Battlefield Heritage in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Although the battlefields of the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim (1691) are situated in the Republic of Ireland they are revered iconic landscapes embodying the religious and cultural identity of the Orange Order and Unionists in Northern Ireland. This paper looks at how these battlefields have been appropriated by some, or actively ignored by others, to reflect a cultural and religious identity and, how they have come to be ever more relevant in a modern political environment with the efforts of reconciliation between the north and south of Ireland.     

“Who teaches,learns”: writing groups in geographical education

Abstract

The ability to communicate is acknowledged by employers to be a valuable attribute of a university graduate. That ability is also vital in fulfilling geography discipline objectives of mutual understanding and emancipation. Writing groups have been used in geography departments in Australia and the USA as a means of improving student skills in written communication as well as to stimulate positive attitudes to writing, intellectual growth and rhetorical skills. From the point of view of teachers, writing groups were employed to fulfil pedagogic objectives and to free up time for instructional improvements and other academic business. This paper outlines the rationale for using writing groups in geography courses, means by which they might be applied, and their merits and shortcomings.     

Phenomenology,geography and geographical education

Abstract

Phenomenology is a way of study which explores and describes the essential nature of things and experiences as they are in their own terms. Phenomenology has value to geographical education; first, because it introduces the student to a way of understanding that requires openness and quiet attentiveness; second, because it provides important insight into the nature of environmental experience and behaviour; and third, because it says much about how people dwell on the earth and how they might dwell better.     

Using Films in Teaching About Africa

Didactic approaches to teaching about Africa are problematic for several reasons: they do not benefit students pedagogically; they cast Western academy/academics as guardians of truth about Africa; and they cast students as possible receptacles of objective knowledge of Africa. An approach based on 'border pedagogy' offers a helpful alternative. This paper outlines the advantages of using films from/about Africa to achieve this. A level 3 UK undergraduate module is outlined, and the eight films used in the module are briefly described. Finally, attention is given to students' reactions to the use of films, and some of the issues raised by these.     

The Military and Edinburgh Society, 1660–1760

Abstract

The most terrible words in all writing used to be ‘There they crucified Him’, but there is a sadder sentence now—‘I know not where they have laid Him’…Surely ‘missing’ is the cruelest word in the language. (Anonymous, To My Unknown Warrior, 1920.)     

Improving the preparation for fieldwork with ‘IT’: Two examples from physical geography

Abstract

Two potential roles for information technology (IT) to enhance the preparation phase for fieldwork are investigated. In the first initiative, a prototype geographical information system (GIS) is developed to support local fieldwork activity. The second initiative develops computer‐based briefing tutorials to prepare students for residential field classes. By enhancing the preparatory phase of fieldwork, students are more quickly acclimatised once they arrive at the field site, they are better able to focus on the key issues, and valuable time in the field can be utilised more effectively.     

Reindeer antlers and what they can tell us about the reindeer population

The form and size of reindeer antlers are due to the animals’ age, genetic constitution, and nutritional condition.

The antlers are shed once a year at different seasons depending on the animals’ age, sex, and, for females, whether they are pregnant or not.

Finds of subfossil antler‐fragments from Heisantj?nn and Sumtangen on Hardangervidda show that the hunting has taken place early in the autumn and that is has been selective for the males.

This article is based on studies of the reindeer, Rangifier tarandus L. on Hardangervidda today, and on a subfossil bone material.     

Food production in the Early Woodland: macrobotanical remains as evidence for farming along the riverbank in eastern Tennessee

ABSTRACT

Open riverbanks and disturbed floodplains are targeted by archaeologists as optimal habitats for the growth of many of the weedy indigenous seed crops in eastern North America, but there is still little evidence for garden locations in the archaeological record. This article combines macrobotanical and geoarchaeological analyses from the Birdwell site (40GN228), located on the Nolichucky River, to give insight into where cultigens were planted and how they were managed in eastern Tennessee during the Early Woodland period. The recovery of uncharacteristic amounts of edible seeds and wood charcoal from the lower terrace of this site suggests that inhabitants were actively managing cultigens along the floodplain of this settlement. The presence of these remains in a non-midden context is evidence that precontact farmers in the Tennessee foothills took advantage of the newly created floodplains of the Early Woodland by implementing a burning regime, an early agricultural strategy aimed at increasing soil productivity and encouraging the growth of weedy annuals on the riverbank. In absence of lines of evidence such as preserved paleosols that can be examined for soil micromorphology, pollen, and phytoliths, integrated paleoethnobotanical and geomorphological analyses can be used to reconstruct land use and archaeologically identify prehistoric cultivated fields.     

The Effecting of all Things Possible

Abstract

Similarities appear when the scientific and philosophical conditions of the seventeenth century are compared with the present world. Hope and despairs existed then as they do now, but the great philosophical revival of the past seems to fail us now. Possible reasons are explored and new parallels discovered. It is the author's faith that the present syndrome of dissatisfaction and unbelief will pass again a there can be no contentment but in proceeding'.