Governance in foreign policy-making in Germany and Poland and Polish-German relations:the role of non-state actors

This thesis examines the influence of non-state actors on Polish-German relations by considering foreign policy-making towards Poland in Germany and vice versa. The approach chosen for this thesis is interdisciplinary and takes into consideration literature from domestic politics (Area Studies), Foreign Policy Analysis and International Relations (IR). The thesis argues that IR, by purely looking into the quality of inter-state relations, too often treats these relations as a result of policies emanating from the relevant governments, without considering the policies’ background. Therefore, the thesis argues that it is necessary to engage with the domestic factors which might explain where foreign policies come from. It points out that non-state actors influence governments’ choices by supplying resources, and by cooperating or competing with the government on an issue at stake. In order to determine the degree of influence that non-state actors can have on foreign policymaking two variables are examined: the institutionalisation of the state relations in question; and the domestic structures of the relevant states. Specifically, the thesis examines the institutionalisation of Polish-German relations, and examines Germany’s and Poland’s domestic structures and their effect on the two states’ foreign policy-making in general. Thereafter, the thesis uses case studies in order to unravel the influence of non-state actors on specific foreign policies. Three case studies are examined in detail: (i) Poland’s EU accession negotiations with regard to the free movement of capital chapter of the acquis communautaire; (ii) Germany’s EU 2004 Eastern Enlargement negotiations with regard to the free movement of workers chapter of the acquis communautaire; and (iii) Germany’s decision to establsh a permanent exhibition in Berlin that will depict the expulsions of millions of Germans from the East following WWII.

A strategic perspective of cross-listing by emerging market firms:evidence from Indonesia, Mexico, Poland and South Africa

This paper develops an approach to the analysis of cross-listing that brings together the financial and non-financial benefits of the phenomenon. We employ the real options framework, which offers a detailed characterisation of the strategic issues associated with cross-listing, in the context of internationalisation of emerging market firms. The associated hypotheses are tested using firm-level data from four large emerging market economies with different profiles in terms of institutional quality and financial development. This allows us to extend the existing literature by isolating the relative importance of institutional quality and financial development for the benefits of cross-listing.

The impact of the recession on health care expenditure — How does the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia compare to other OECD countries?

In the past few years, several papers have been published in the international literature on the impact of the economic crisis on health and health care. However, there is limited knowledge on this topic regarding the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The main aims of this study are to examine the effect of the financial crisis on health care spending in four CEE countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in comparison with the OECD countries. In this paper we also revised the literature for economic crisis related impact on health and health care system in these countries. OECD data released in 2012 were used to examine the differences in growth rates before and after the financial crisis. We examined the ratio of the average yearly growth rates of health expenditure expressed in USD (PPP) between 2008–2010 and 2000–2008. The classification of the OECD countries regarding “development” and “relative growth” resulted in four clusters. A large diversity of “relative growth” was observed across the countries in austerity conditions, however the changes significantly correlate with the average drop of GDP from 2008 to 2010. To conclude, it is difficult to capture visible evidence regarding the impact of the recession on the health and health care systems in the CEE countries due to the absence of the necessary data. For the same reason, governments in this region might have a limited capability to minimize the possible negative effects of the recession on health and health care systems.

The impact of the recession on health care expenditure — How does the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia compare to other OECD countries?

In the past few years, several papers have been published in the international literature on the impact of the economic crisis on health and health care. However, there is limited knowledge on this topic regarding the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The main aims of this study are to examine the effect of the financial crisis on health care spending in four CEE countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in comparison with the OECD countries. In this paper we also revised the literature for economic crisis related impact on health and health care system in these countries. OECD data released in 2012 were used to examine the differences in growth rates before and after the financial crisis. We examined the ratio of the average yearly growth rates of health expenditure expressed in USD (PPP) between 2008–2010 and 2000–2008. The classification of the OECD countries regarding “development” and “relative growth” resulted in four clusters. A large diversity of “relative growth” was observed across the countries in austerity conditions, however the changes significantly correlate with the average drop of GDP from 2008 to 2010. To conclude, it is difficult to capture visible evidence regarding the impact of the recession on the health and health care systems in the CEE countries due to the absence of the necessary data. For the same reason, governments in this region might have a limited capability to minimize the possible negative effects of the recession on health and health care systems.

European integration and democratic consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in comparative perspective

The study explored when, under what conditions, and to what extent did European integration, particularly the European Union’s requirement for democratic conditionality, contribute to democratic consolidation in Spain, Poland, and Turkey? On the basis of a four-part definition, the dissertation examined the democratizing impact of European integration process on each of the following four components of consolidation: (i) holding of fair, free and competitive elections, (ii) protection of fundamental rights, including human and minority rights, (iii) high prospects of regime survival and civilian control of the military, and (iv) legitimacy, elite consensus, and stateness. To assess the relative significance of EU’s democratizing leverage, the thesis also examined domestic and non-EU international dynamics of democratic consolidation in the three countries. By employing two qualitative methods (case study and process-tracing), the study focused on three specific time frames: 1977–1986 for Spain, 1994–2004 for Poland, and 1999–present for Turkey. In addition to official documents, newspapers, and secondary sources, face-to-face interviews made with politicians, academics, experts, bureaucrats, and journalists in the three countries were utilized. The thesis generated several conclusions. First of all, the EU’s democratizing impact is not uniform across different components of democratic consolidation. Moreover, the EU’s democratizing leverage in Spain, Poland, and Turkey involved variations over time for three major reasons: (i) the changing nature of EU’s democratic conditionality over time (ii) varying levels of the EU’s credible commitment to the candidate country’s prospect for membership, and (iii) domestic dynamics in the candidate countries. Furthermore, the European integration process favors democratic consolidation but its magnitude is shaped by the candidate country’s prospect for EU membership and domestic factors in the candidate country. Finally, the study involves a major policy implication for the European Union: unless the EU provides a clear prospect for membership, its democratizing leverage will be limited in the candidate countries.

Investigation of Manganese rich river pebbles from Poland and Austria

The author is studying various manganese coated river pebbles which had been given to him for evaluating their chemical properties. Samples were provided for the confluence of the Vistula and the Dunajec river in Poland by Mr. W. Petraschek. Other samples had been acquired earlier from Pr. A. Fraunhofer in the river bed of the Enns river near the town of Ernsthofen in Austria.

Remembrance of things past:the lingering impact of history on contemporary Polish-Ukrainian relations

This article investigates the continuing influence of the past on contemporary politics in Poland and Ukraine by examining the impact of the vocal 'informed' segment of public opinion on mutual relations between the two countries. The section 'What history?' examines the question of exactly what understanding of history matters so much in Polish-Ukrainian relations. The following sections examine how history influences the present, what are the contours of public opinion on Polish-Ukrainian relations within each state, and what is the impact of shared history on the contemporary politics of Polish-Ukrainian relations. Finally, the article suggests a potentially generaliseable hypothesis for future research.

Playing with tension; national charisma at Euro 2012

European National football came together in the summer of 2012 for the 14th occasion. This book sets out to examine the enduring social tensions between supporters and authorities, as well as those between local, national and European identities, which formed the backdrop to the 14th staging of the European National football tournament, Euro2012. The context of the tournament was somewhat unique from those staged in previous years, being jointly hosted for the first time by two post-Communist nations still in the process of social and economic transition. In this respect, the decision to stage Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine bore its own material and symbolic legacies shaping the tournament: the unsettling of neo-liberal imaginings and emergent ‘East-West’ fears about poor infrastructure, inefficiencies and corruption jostled with moral panics about racism and fears surrounding the potentially unfulfilled consumerist expectations of west European supporters. The book seeks to explore the ideologies and practices invoked by competing national sentiments and examine the social tensions, ambiguities and social capital generating potentials surrounding national, ethnic, European identity, with respect to national football teams, supporters and supporter movements.

The Occurrence of Ambrosia Pollen in Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań, Poland: Investigation of Trends and Possible Transport of Ambrosia Pollen from Ukraine

Previous studies have shown that ragweed pollen arrives in Poland from sources in the south, in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. It is likely that ragweed pollen also arrives from sources in the southeast (e.g. Ukraine). This hypothesis is investigated using 13-years of pollen data and back-trajectory analysis. Ambrosia pollen data were collected at three sites in Poland, Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań. The amount of ragweed pollen recorded at Rzeszów was significantly higher than in Poznań and Kraków. This can be related to either a higher abundance of local populations of Ambrosia in south-east Poland or the nearness of Rzeszów to foreign sources of ragweed pollen. The combined results of pollen measurements and air mass trajectory calculations identified plumes of Ambrosia pollen that were recorded at Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań on the 4th and 5th September 1999 and the 3rd September 2002. These plumes arrived at the pollen-monitoring sites from an easterly direction indicating sources of Ambrosia pollen in eastern Poland or Ukraine. This identifies Ukraine as a possible new source of ragweed pollen for Poland and therefore an important source area of Ambrosia pollen on the European Continent.

My Family Biography.

Memoir in four volumes, richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, correspondence, genealogical tables, and newspaper clippings.

Personal values and political activism: A cross-national study

Using data from 28 countries in four continents, the present research addresses the question of how basic values may account for political activism. Study 1 (N = 35,116) analyses data from representative samples in 20 countries that responded to the 21-item version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-21) in the European Social Survey. Study 2 (N = 7,773) analyses data from adult samples in six of the same countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, and United Kingdom) and eight other countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States) that completed the full 40-item PVQ. Across both studies, political activism relates positively to self-transcendence and openness to change values, especially to universalism and autonomy of thought, a subtype of self-direction. Political activism relates negatively to conservation values, especially to conformity and personal security. National differences in the strength of the associations between individual values and political activism are linked to level of democratization.

Der Parlamentarismus : System und Krisis.

Doctoral thesis exploring communist and fascist threats to the parliamentary system

Wilhelm Weinberg Collection 1928-1938

Copies of documents pertaining to the education of Rabbi Wilhelm Weinberg

Factors that Determine the Severity of Betula spp. Pollen Seasons in Poland (Poznań and Krakow) and the United Kingdom (Worcester and London)

The aim of this paper is to analyse variations in the severity of Betula pollen seasons, particularly in relation to meteorological parameters at four sites, Poznań and Krakow in Poland and Worcester and London in the United Kingdom. Results show that there is a significant relationship between Betula pollen season severity and weather conditions in the year before pollination as well as conditions in the same year that pollen is released from the plant. Furthermore, it is likely that the magnitude of birch pollen seasons in Poznań, Worcester and London is linked in some way to different phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Significant positive relationships exist between birch pollen counts at Poznań and temperatures, rainfall and averages of the NAO in the year before pollination. An opposite relationship is evident at the two sites studied in the British Isles. There were significant positive correlations between the severity of birch pollen seasons recorded at Worcester and London and temperatures and averages of the NAO during the year of pollination, and negative correlations with similar variables from the previous year. In addition, Betula pollen seasons in Krakow do not appear to be influenced by the NAO, which is probably the result of Krakow having a more continental climate.

Modelling Atmospheric Concentrations of Ragweed Pollen From Local and Distant Sources

Pollen grains from the genus ragweed (Ambrosia spp.) are important aeroallergens. In Europe, the largest sources of atmospheric ragweed pollen are the Rhône Valley (France), parts of Northern Italy, the Pannonian Plain and Ukraine. Episodes of Long Distance Transport (LDT) of ragweed pollen from these centres can cover large parts of Europe and are predominantly studied using receptor based models (Smith et al., (2013) and references therein). The clinical impact of allergenic ragweed pollen arriving from distant sources remains unclear (Cecchi et al. 2010). Although a recent study has found the major allergens of ragweed in air samples collected in Poznań, Poland, during episodes of long-distance transport from the Pannonian Plain (Grewling et al. 2013). The source orientated models SILAM, DEHM, COSMO-Art, METRAS and ENVIRO-HIRLAM currently report having the capability of modelling atmospheric concentrations of pollen in Europe. The performance of such source-orientated models is strongly dependent on the quality of the emissions data, which is a focus of current research (e.g. Thibaudon et al. (2014)). The output from these models are important for warning allergy sufferers in areas polluted by ragweed, but could also be used to warn the public of ragweed pollen being transported into areas where the plant is not abundant. Areas outside of the main areas of ragweed infection that contain considerable local populations must, however, also include local scale models. These models can be used to predict local concentrations, even when LDT is not present. This concept of combined LDT and local scale calculations has been shown to be work for air pollutants and is considered usable for urban scale calculations of aeroallergens once urban scale maps of aeroallergen sources have been produced.