Israeli and Polish Policies toward Returning Residents as a Reflection of Nationhood

This study focuses on Poland and Israel, both commonly classified as ethnic nation-states, and aims to question the expression of ethnic–civic dichotomy in return-migration policies. Policy documents in each country were analysed and complemented by interviews with policymakers and representatives from relevant organizations. Our analysis reveals that, although there are differences in their policies toward returning residents and in the related programmes in both countries, Israeli and Polish policies include both ethnic and civic components. Therefore, our study supports Joppke's (2005) argument that there is no purely civic or ethnic nationalism and there can be no purely civic or ethnic nation. We show that the proportion of ethnic and civic elements may change over time; thus, our findings contribute to the growing literature pointing to the dynamic nature of nationalism.     

Between ‘Pioneers’ of the Cardiovascular Revolution and Its ‘Late Followers’: Mortality Changes in the Czech Republic and Poland Since 1968

After several decades of stagnation, mortality in most Central European countries started to decrease after 1989. The Czech Republic and Poland were the first former Communist countries in this region to experience a rapid and sustained increase in life expectancy. This study focuses on the trends in cause-of-death mortality that have contributed to the recent progress in these two countries. The analysis is based on the cause-of-death time series (1968–2013) reconstructed in accordance with the 10th ICD revision, which makes the data fully comparable over the full period under study. Actual trends in cause-specific mortality are presented, and age, sex and causes of death components of life expectancy changes are disentangled. In both countries, the reduction in cardiovascular mortality at adult and old ages was crucial for the increase in life expectancy after 1991. Results are discussed in the context of institutional changes that occurred after the fall of Communism, such as the reorientation of health policies and the emergence of non-governmental organizations. Changes in health-related attitudes and behaviours as well as structural changes in societies, notably the rising share of persons with tertiary education, are also discussed.     

Some optimal block designs with nested rows and columns for research on alternative methods of limiting slug damage

Some criteria of optimality of a block design with nested rows and columns are considered. The criteria are based on the eigenvalues of the information matrix C or on the eigenvalues of the matrix C with respect to a diagonal matrix R of treatment replications. New constructions of some optimal block designs with nested rows and columns are presented for application to special plant protection experiments.     

Amphibians in an urban environment: a case study from a central European city (Wrocław,Poland)

Urban Ecosystems - In 2016, we studied the occurrence of amphibians in 231 selected ponds in the city of Wroc?aw (Lower Silesia, Poland) and confirmed the occurrence of 10 species: Bombina...     

The value of the Display® campaign as a voluntary energy and environmental performance certification system of buildings for sustainable municipal energy management in Ukraine

Although the significance of sustainable municipal energy management has not yet been widely recognized in Ukraine, important steps to popularize this idea among local authorities have been taken through the introduction of the Display® campaign in 11 Ukrainian municipalities. This European voluntary energy and environmental performance certification system of buildings aims to encourage local authorities to publicly demonstrate the energy and environmental performance of their buildings and to thereby convince citizens to stop wasting energy and water. This paper analyzes to what extent the campaign has been valuable for sustainable energy management in those Ukrainian cities that have set an example of an active bottom-up approach to enhancing the integration of a former Soviet Union country in the European Union on account of their support of the associations Energy Cities and “Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine”, as well as their own endeavors to implement EU climate protection policy.     

The Cucconi Test for Location-scale Alternatives in Application to Asymmetric Hydrological Variables

To identify location-scale trends, which environmental data often exhibit, location-scale tests have to be addressed. The aim of this article was to estimate size and power of the Cucconi rank-based test when applied to various skewed distributions, typical in hydrology. Results of the Monte Carlo simulation revealed great power for series with low coefficient of variation, time of change close to the middle, not very heavy tail, and with length of at least 60. Comparison to the Lepage test discovered larger usefulness of the Cucconi test for short series and change close to the middle. Several practical applications were presented.     

Social Contacts and the Economic Performance of Immigrants: A Panel Study of Immigrants in Germany

Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel, we examined the impact of social contacts on immigrant occupational status and income. In addition to general social contacts, we also analyzed the effects of bonding (i.e., co‐ethnic) and bridging (i.e., inter‐ethnic) ties on economic outcomes. Results show that general social contacts have a positive effect on the occupational status and, in particular, annual income of immigrants. We also find that bridging ties with Germans lead to higher occupational status, but not to increased income. These effects remain visible even when social contacts are measured (at least) 1 year prior to the economic outcomes, as well as when earlier investments in German human capital are considered. Finally, we show that co‐ethnic concentration in the region of residence weakly affects economic returns to German language proficiency and schooling.