Financial instruments used by Polish municipalities in response to the first wave of COVID-19

Public Organization Review - Studies on the influence of COVID-19 on municipalities are scarce, although it was precisely municipalities that stood in the first line of combat. It is important to...     

Proactive international strategies of cluster SMEs

In this conceptual paper, proactive international strategies of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the cluster context are discussed. The majority of cluster SMEs assume passive roles as network participants in the process of internationalisation. However, a smaller fraction adopts proactive strategies to foreign expansion acting as leaders of networks. SMEs as network leaders are embedded in the source clusters and dependent on local networks that provide them with complementary resources. We assert that this mutual dependence between a firm's resources and the development of industrial agglomeration should be reflected in the strategic options that SMEs adopt when going international. This paper contributes by synthesising and evaluating a comprehensive range of SME-strategic options and by proposing the proactive competitive strategies of SMEs in the international arena that are both feasible and effective. The feasibility of adopting a specific strategy means the suitability for this group of companies, considering their characteristics. The evaluation of the effectiveness of each strategy was performed according to the objectives of avoiding lock-in and of protecting and developing the core competencies embedded in cluster networks. We address the research gap in evaluating the outcomes of SME international strategies and in synthesising a comprehensive range of cluster SMEs' strategic options.     

An Automatic Test for the Umbrella Alternatives

The paper proposes a new test for detecting the umbrella pattern under a general non‐parametric scheme. The alternative asserts that the umbrella ordering holds while the hypothesis is its complement. The main focus is put on controlling the power function of the test outside the alternative. As a result, the asymptotic error of the first kind of the constructed solution is smaller than or equal to the fixed significance level α on the whole set where the umbrella ordering does not hold. Also, under finite sample sizes, this error is controlled to a satisfactory extent. A simulation study shows, among other things, that the new test improves upon the solution widely recommended in the literature of the subject. A routine, written in R, is attached as the Supporting Information file.     

Development of urban behaviour is associated with time since urbanization in a reed-nesting waterbird

Behavioural adaptations are recognized as crucial determinants for successful establishment and persistence of animal populations in a novel urban environment. Here, we examined mechanisms responsible for the development of urban behavioural type in a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. We compared the behaviour of coots from a rural population and two urban populations that differed in the timing of colonization event (1960s vs. 2000s). We found that some behavioural characters associated with urban life (aggression during nest defence and boldness towards humans during foraging) were more strongly expressed in the older urban population when compared with the recently established urban population. By contrast, coots from the two urban populations showed a similar likelihood of exploiting human-derived food resources, as well as they showed similar levels of physiological stress. Urban coots were generally more aggressive, bolder, and less stressed than their rural conspecifics. Large behavioural and physiological divergence of coots from the recently established urban population and their rural conspecifics suggested that phenotypic plasticity and phenotype sorting may play a key role in the initial stages of urban colonization. On the other hand, increasing expression of boldness and aggression with the time since urbanization may suggest the role of microevolutionary adaptation in response to novel selective forces associated with the urban environment. Our results indicate that a combination of different processes (phenotypic plasticity, phenotype sorting, and microevolution) can determine successful colonization of urban areas by the Eurasian coots, and possibly other bird species.     

Large-scale commonness is the best predictor of bird species presence in European cities

Urban Ecosystems - Urban bird communities are homogenized across large spatial scales, suggesting that the urban environment acts as an environmental filter. We hypothesize that large scale...     

Different Pathways from Transformational Leadership to Job Satisfaction

Transformational leaders are known to inspire and motivate their followers, thereby leading to enhanced job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is an intellectual concept regarding individuals’ attitudes toward their jobs. This study asserts that the underlying mechanisms for transformational leadership to affect employee satisfaction are trust in the community, including the leader (that is, organization) and trust in the self, namely self‐efficacy. Leadership is specifically associated with continual transformations in the higher educational context, and collectivist cultures may manifest different processes underlying the transformational leadership–satisfaction relationship. This study investigated the mediating effects of trust and self‐efficacy on the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. The study sample included academicians from a nonprofit higher education institution in Turkey. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction is fully mediated by both trust and self‐efficacy. The mediator effect of trust was shown to be stronger than self‐efficacy, which is assumed to be the result of the cultural context. The results are discussed in the context of employee satisfaction and cultural determinants of employee satisfaction.     

Assessing the diversity of the benthic oligochaete communities in urban and woodland ponds in an industrial landscape (Upper Silesia,southern Poland)

Studies were carried out in two mining pond complexes in an industrial landscape. The first complex (consisting of six ponds) was located in an urban area and the second one (consisting of six ponds) in a woodland area. The aims of the study were to assess the diversity of benthic oligochaetes and to evaluate which environmental variables are most important in determining variations in the community structure in ponds of varying location. In total, 21 oligochaete species were recorded (7–11 in the urban ponds, 11–15 in the woodland ponds). Aulodrilus pluriseta, Aulodrilus japonicus and Ophidonais serpentina were only found in the woodland ponds, while Potamothrix bavaricus only occurred in the urban ponds. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Limnodrilus claparedeanus, Chaetogaster diaphanus and Ophidonais serpentina dominated in the woodland ponds, whereas Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Limnodrilus claparedeanus, Potamothrix bavaricus and Tubifex tubifex prevailed in the urban ponds. The total density of oligochaetes was higher in the urban ponds thought the values of the diversity indices were higher in the woodland ponds. The local diversity of the ponds was high, while the among-site diversity made only a small contribution to the regional diversity. Nonetheless, a cluster analysis divided all of the ponds into two distinct groups depending on their location. CCA analysis showed that conductivity, pH, total hardness, alkalinity, the concentration of chlorides and the content of organic matter in the bottom sediments were most associated with the distribution of some oligochaete species among the ponds studied.     

Could gonadal and adrenal androgen deficiencies contribute to the depressive symptoms in men with systolic heart failure?

Background: Testosterone (TT) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) are neurosteroids and their deficiencies constitute the hormone risk factors promoting the development of depression in elderly otherwise healthy men. We investigated the link between hypogonadism and depression in accordance with age and concomitant diseases in men with systolic HF using the novel scale previously dedicated for elderly population.

Methods: We analysed the prevalence of depression and severity of depressive symptoms in population of 226 men with systolic HF (40–80 years) compared to 379 healthy peers. The severity of depression was assessed using the Polish long version of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

Results: In men aged 40–59 years the severity of depressive symptoms was greater in NYHA classes III–IV compared to NYHA classes I–II and reference group. In men aged 60–80 years depressive symptoms were more severe in NYHA class III-IV compared to controls (all p?≤?0.001). In multivariate logistic regression model in men aged 40–59 years advanced NYHA class was associated with higher prevalence of mild depression (OR?=?2.14, 95%CI: 1.07–4.29) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with higher prevalence of severe depression (OR?=?69.1, 95%CI: 2.11–2264.3). In men aged 60–80 years advanced NYHA class and TT deficiency were related to higher prevalence of mild depression (respectively: OR?=?2.9, 95%CI: 1.3–6.4; OR?=?3.6, 95%CI: 1.2–10.63).

Conclusion: TT deficiency, COPD and advanced NYHA class were associated with higher prevalence of depression in men with systolic HF.     

Comparing the effectiveness of respondent-driven sampling and quota sampling in migration research

We evaluate the effectiveness in empirical migration research of the respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and the quota sampling with regard to four criteria: quality of the data; sociometric diversity of the sample; geographic coverage of the sample; and cost-effectiveness. We review two surveys of ex-USSR migrants, conducted simultaneously in the Warsaw metropolitan area, each undertaken with the use of one of the two sampling methods. We find that although the RDS was considerably costlier, it enabled faster data collection and posed a lower risk of underestimating the cost of the survey. We also find that the RDS generated higher-quality data, and that it was more successful in surveying short-term circular migrants. This comparative evaluation contributes to the literature on social research methods in that it links the sampling methods with the quality and character of the data, and helps assess the usefulness and applicability of RDS in empirical migration studies.