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In this paper, we propose dynamic, short-term, financial risk management strategies for small electricity producers and buyers that trade in the wholesale electricity markets. Since electricity is mostly nonstorable, financial risk coming from extremely volatile electricity prices cannot be reduced by using standard finance-based approaches. Instead, a short-term operational planing and a proper trade diversification might be used. In this paper, we analyze the price risk in terms of the Markowitz mean–variance portfolio theory. Hence, it is crucial to forecast properly the variance of electricity prices. To this end, we jointly model day-ahead and intraday or balancing prices from Germany and Poland using ARX-GARCH type models. We show that using heteroscedastic volatility significantly improves probabilistic price forecasts according to the pinball score, especially if variance stabilizing transformation is applied prior to a model estimation. The price forecasts are then used for construction of dynamic diversification strategies that are based on volatility-type risk measures. We consider different objectives as well as a buyer's and a seller's perspective. The proposed strategies are applied for the diversification of trade among different markets in Germany and Poland. We show that the objective of the strategy can be achieved using the proposed approach, but the risk minimization is usually related to lower profits. We find that risk minimization is especially important for a seller in both markets, while for a buyer a profit maximization objective leads to a more optimal risk–return trade-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy crisis in Europe in 2022 and its consequences have brought changes to approaches towards the issue of energy security, energy policy, and the ability to react to crisis phenomena in the energy market in a short period of time. European countries that are dependent on Russian fossil fuels have faced numerous dilemmas and challenges in 2022. This paper aims to analyse the instruments and energy policies introduced as the reactions of European countries, specifically with the examples of Poland and Germany, to the ongoing fossil fuel crisis in the context of a short period. Due to the specificity of the energy market, the countries' energy policies mainly concern long- and medium-term goals. In 2022, there was an unprecedented situation in which many European countries had to make significant changes to their fossil fuel imports quickly. We analyse and evaluate how two European countries that are heavily reliant on imported energy resources responded in a short time to the necessity of modifying their patterns of fossil fuel supply and demand. The results of our research are models that illustrate both countries' reactions to the disturbances in the energy market during the initial months of the energy crisis. As part of the research, we conducted an analysis of the energy mix of Poland and Germany, their import energy dependency, and self-sufficiency. We then compared them with the short-term energy policies of both countries. As a result, we elaborate on a comparative analysis of the models of Poland's and Germany's responses to the crisis. The research also assesses the similarities and differences in the response models in Poland's and Germany's short-term energy security policies. The results of our research may help, in the future, to choose the available short-term instruments in the energy policy of countries in the face of a sudden need resulting from disruptions in supply chains. The article contributes to the future discussion on renewed national and regional energy security, as well as efficiency concepts. Our research findings could be valuable in selecting appropriate short-term energy policy tools for countries during supply chain disruptions. This article provides significant input for future deliberations on enhancing national and regional energy security, and also efficiency strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the nature of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, strong regional patterns in the fatal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic related to local characteristics such as population and health care infrastructures were to be expected. In this paper we conduct a detailed examination of the spatial correlation of deaths in the first year of the pandemic in two neighbouring countries – Germany and Poland, which, among high income countries, seem particularly different in terms of the death toll associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis aims to yield evidence that spatial patterns of mortality can provide important clues as to the reasons behind significant differences in the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in these two countries. Methods: Based on official health and population statistics on the level of counties, we explore the spatial nature of mortality in 2020 in the two countries – which, as we show, reflects important contextual differences. We investigate three different measures of deaths: the officially recorded COVID-19 deaths, the total values of excessive deaths and the difference between the two. We link them to important pre-pandemic regional characteristics such as population, health care and economic conditions in multivariate spatial autoregressive models. From the point of view of pandemic related fatalities we stress the distinction between direct and indirect consequences of COVID-19, separating the latter further into two types, the spatial nature of which is likely to differ. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic led to much more excess deaths in Poland than in Germany. Detailed spatial analysis of deaths at the regional level shows a consistent pattern of deaths officially registered as related to COVID-19. For excess deaths, however, we find strong spatial correlation in Germany but little such evidence in Poland. Conclusions: In contrast to Germany, for Poland we do not observe the expected spatial pattern of total excess deaths and the excess deaths over and above the official COVID-19 deaths. This difference cannot be explained by pre-pandemic regional factors such as economic and population structures or by healthcare infrastructure. The findings point to the need for alternative explanations related to the Polish policy reaction to the pandemic and failures in the areas of healthcare and public health, which resulted in a massive loss of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological indicator values are the most common and sufficiently effective method of habitat assessment. The aim of our research review is to analyze current studies from 2020 to 2022 in which researchers have used Ellenberg indicator values to address a variety of problems. We limited the study to papers that are published in journals indexed by Scopus and Web of Science. The total number of records examined was 358. The number of records selected was 98. Visualization of the distribution of studies by country is based on the GeoCharts library. The results revealed that about half of the studies were conducted in Germany and Poland, and the most common objects were forests and grasslands. Almost half of the studies were devoted to ecological niches, habitat analysis, assessment of vegetation dynamics, and influence of various factors on plants. The analyzed articles are actively cited. In general, our research analysis revealed the effectiveness of Ellenberg indicator values for solving a wide range of urgent problems for a variety of plant communities, and different climate zones. The results of our research confirmed the advisability of actively using this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The so-called sports consumption models are looking for the factors that influence the sports spending of households. This paper aims to examine the Hungarian, Polish and German households' sports expenditures which can be an important indicator of physical activity and sporty lifestyle.Methods: Surveying of households in three countries (Hungary, Poland and Germany) has been conducted with a self-designed questionnaire. We have used descriptive and bivariate non-parametric and parametric statistical methods: (1) χ2 test, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test for checking the relationship between sociodemographic and physical activity variables and (2) independent sample t-test and ANOVA for checking the differences in sports expenditures.Results: Our research concluded that men, especially previous athletes, exercise more than women and those who have no history as registered athletes. The choice of sports venues is obviously different between the countries in the sample. Members of the study population spend the most on sports services while they spend the least on sports equipment. German households have the highest spending rates compared to the other two countries.Conclusions: Results are in line with our previous research findings and with other literatures. The difference in preferences of sports venues could have the reason of different supply of sports clubs or the different living standards too. It needs further researches to clear it. Material wealth, income level and sport socialisation can be a determining factor regarding the level of sports spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to understand how the public's beliefs in five countries may change as more families have direct experience with Alzheimer's disease. The data are derived from a questionnaire survey conducted by telephone (landline and cell) with 2678 randomly selected adults in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United States. The paper analyzes the beliefs and anticipated behavior of those in each country who report having had a family member with Alzheimer's disease versus those who do not. In one or more countries, differences were found between the two groups in their concern about getting Alzheimer's disease, knowledge that the disease is fatal, awareness of certain symptoms, and support for increased public spending. The results suggest that as more people have experience with a family member who has Alzheimer's disease, the public will generally become more concerned about Alzheimer's disease and more likely to recognize that Alzheimer's disease is a fatal disease. The findings suggest that other beliefs may only be affected if there are future major educational campaigns about the disease. The publics in individual countries, with differing cultures and health systems, are likely to respond in different ways as more families have experience with Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to offer an assessment of the nature of identity among Poland's German minority and to investigate why since 1950 large numbers of that minority have migrated to Germany. It does so by examining the nature of identity in the historic Polish-German borderlands, by recounting the experiences of those Germans who remained behind in Poland after the post World War Two expulsion process was completed in 1949, and by examining the continued salience of negative stereotypes of Germans and Germany among elements of Polish society. The paper highlights a number of salient factors of importance for members of the minority in deciding whether or not to stay in Poland or to migrate to Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology for selection of the optimal sources of supply, which is also known as the problem of supplier selection. Theoretical considerations are expanded with research related to aluminium supplier selection for a hypothetical manufacturer of aluminium parts for transportation equipment located in Poland. Evaluation of five suppliers of aluminium from Poland, Germany and Slovenia has been conducted using a weighted scoring method, a strengths and weaknesses method and a graphical method. Choosing the best offer and prioritizing suppliers allows not only the most rational decision in the field of supply logistics to be taken but also the quality of service in the metallurgical industry to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper concerns the relation between revitalisation projects and socio-economic polarisation, and discusses the potential of new urban spaces for social inclusion. The phenomenon is considered on the example of recreational facilities that have emerged from brownfields located in the Ruhr region (Germany). It was ascertained that the diversity of implemented projects was important in terms of the significance of revitalisation processes for social polarisation tendencies. It allowed regional authorities to create income-generating facilities and spaces that can be used regardless of income, and to resolve deficits in urban recreational facilities. It was also noted that the Ruhr examples could provide guidance for the recently begun revitalisation processes in the Upper Silesian industrial area (Poland). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a conference on the concept of democracy in Germany and Poland in the 20th and 21st centuries, held in Ciążeń and Poznań, Poland, from September 26-29, 2011. The papers presented discussed such topics as the role of democracy as a political idea and catchphrase in the aftermath of World War I, the democratization of Poland and East Germany after the fall of communism in 1989, and civic engagement in 21st-century German and Polish politics.

Actual ecological research postulates for alder carrs a cyclic alternation of Alnus tree vegetation with open fen or Salix dominated vegetation. Such cycles are also indicated in palaeo-ecological studies, but normally the temporal resolution of these studies is insufficient to resolve the duration of short-term cycles in vegetation development. This paper presents a high resolution palaeoecological study (including pollen, macrofossils and non-pollen palynomorphs) of a Late Holocene wood peat section from the small, long-term Alnus dominated peatland ‘Heger Soll’ in the ‘Rodder Forst’ in Western Pomerania (NE Germany) to reconstruct short-term vegetation changes. During a time-span of ca. 800 years, sedge-dominated fen vegetation types alternated with two phases of Alnus carr and one phase of Salix shrubland. The alder carr decline coincided with the beginning of intensified human activity in the surroundings of the mire and was probably connected to increased water discharge resulting from large-scale deforestation, after which willow scrub and sedge fen became established. Growth of Alnus trees was associated with prolonged phases of reduced human impact and probably less water supply. This study shows that human impact on the uplands surrounding the mire and on the alder carr itself may explain the observed “cyclic” vegetation development of alder carrs, willow scrubs and sedge fens in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of the current paper is to report the levels of OC pesticides (∑HCHs, HCB, ∑DDTs), marker PCBs, PCDD/Fs, and dl-PCBs in the muscle tissue of European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), collected in the Vistula and Szczecin lagoons (Poland), and in the local market. The results obtained were evaluated according to maximum limits adopted by EU, and some national legislatures. The intake of organochlorine contaminants from the consumption of eel from Polish waters is also estimated. The residues of tested contaminants ranged between: 0.6 and 6.0ngg−1 ww for ∑HCHs; 9.8 and 273.9ngg−1 ww for ∑DDTs; 0.4 and 23.8ngg−1 ww for HCB; 4.0 and 533.9ngg−1 ww ∑7PCBs; 0.72 and 8.14pg-WHO-TEQg−1 ww for ∑PCDD/F/DL-PCBs. The levels of OCPs, and PCDD/F/dl-PCBs in the muscle tissues of eels captured in the Vistula and Szczecin lagoons were compliant with European regulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines how the rise and fall of Polish agriculture affected the larger political and economic relationships among Poland and three key members of the western alliance—the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany—in the first decade of the Cold War. This period is revealing precisely because the reversal of fortunes in the Polish agricultural economy required the Polish government and some western counterparts to maneuver through periods of both agricultural advantage and disadvantage. Agricultural strategies as means and ends motivated the Polish, British, West German, and American governments to actions that bent, stretched, and limited some well-established practices in Cold War relations across divided Europe. By explicating the political consequences of changing flows of agricultural exports and imports in one specific context, this essay serves as case study of the role of agriculture in the global context of the Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important developments in the incipient Berlin Republic's memory regime has been the return of the memory of German suffering from the end and aftermath of World War II. Elite discourses about the bombing of German cities, the mass rape of German women by members of the Red Army, and, above all, the expulsion of Germans from then-Eastern Germany and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe have gained massive visibility in the last decade. Although many voices have lauded these developments as liberating, many others within Germany and especially in Poland—from where the vast majority of Germans were expelled—have reacted with fear. Yet, do these elite voices resonate with mass publics? Have these arguments had demonstrable effects on public opinion? This paper delves into these questions by looking at survey results from both countries. It finds that there has been a disjuncture between the criticisms of elites and average citizens, but that the barrage of elite criticisms leveled at German expellees and their initiatives now may be affecting mass attitudes in all cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss air quality assessment in three Italian, German and Polish regions using the index methodology proposed by Bruno and Cocchi. This analysis focuses first of all on the air quality in each of the considered countries, and then adopts a more general approach in order to compare pollution severity and toxicity. In this context, air quality indexes are a powerful data-driven tool since they are easily calculated and summarize a complex phenomenon, such as air pollution, in indicators which are immediately understandable. The use of a unique index should be encouraged in a global European perspective where all countries are commonly involved in assessing air quality and taking proper measures for improving it. In particular, the main objective of this work is to evaluate the index performances in distinguishing different health risk related air pollution patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper explores the persistence of former borders in an integrating economic area, the reborn Polish nation state after World War I. It uses a gravity model of trade for the years 1926–1934 in order to assess the impact of former partition borders that Poland inherited from its period of partition between Germany, Russia, and the Habsburg monarchy (1795–1918). The findings point to a persistent but decreasing impact of former borders over time, interrupted during the Great Depression. Compared to recent findings on border effects between Canada and the US or home bias effects across member states of the contemporary European Union or even between US states the Polish domestic market was quite well integrated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite significant reductions in nitrogen emissions achieved in Europe during the last three decades, eutrophication remains an environmental concern in the Baltic Sea basin. Recently, a number of comprehensive modelling studies have been conducted for the HELCOM Commission to inform the 2021 update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The calculations have focused on trends in airborne nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea and its nine sub-basins during the 2000–2017 period, the identification and ranking of the main contributors to deposition, as well as future projections for 2030, assuming compliance with the Gothenburg Protocol and the EU NEC Directive. This paper synthesizes the main results from these studies and puts them into the context of maximum allowable nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea. According to our results, the airborne annual deposition to the Baltic Sea in 2017 amounted to 122.6 Gg(N) of oxidized nitrogen and 105.3 Gg(N) of reduced nitrogen, corresponding to a decrease since 2000 by, respectively, 39% and 11%. In order to filter out the large inter-annual variability due to meteorology and to better reflect trends in emissions, weather-normalized depositions of nitrogen have been calculated as well, according to which the decreases since 2000 amount to 35%, 7% and 25% for oxidized, reduced and total nitrogen, respectively. In 2017, Germany, Poland and Denmark were the most important contributors to airborne deposition of total (oxidized + reduced) nitrogen to the Baltic Sea. Agriculture contributed most to reduced nitrogen deposition, while the transport sector contributed most to oxidized nitrogen deposition. Agriculture in Germany was the single-most important contributor to nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea in 2017 (accounting for about 15% of the total), but there are numerous other important sectoral contributions. Emissions of nitrogen from the nine HELCOM Contracting Parties contributed 49%, 76% and 61% to oxidized, reduced and total nitrogen deposition, respectively. Assuming full compliance with the EU NEC Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol, significant further reductions in nitrogen deposition can be achieved by 2030, down to an annual deposition of 72.7 Gg(N) and 84.7 Gg(N) of oxidized and reduced nitrogen, respectively. • Airborne nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea has decreased since the 1990s, and this trend is projected to continue. • Germany, Poland, and Denmark are the main contributors to nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea. • Agriculture and transport are the main contributing sectors to nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea. • Agreed emission abatement will lead to large reductions in oxidized nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea by 2030. • Reductions in ammonia deposition by 2030 will be smaller, reflecting the smaller decrease in ammonia emissions by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abstract presents results of the "InterQuality Project - International Research Project on Financing Quality in Healthcare" funded by the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological Development of the European Union. Grant Agreement No: HEALTH-F3-2010-261369 Objective: To assess reliability, validity and completeness of data on pharmaceutical benefit financing components of health care in United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Poland Theory: Information and guidance used by authorities for decision making in the financing of pharmaceutical care should be reliable, valid and complete. Methods: A systematic review of literature published in the last 10 years, found electronically in Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library and SCOPUS, supplemented by a manual search, was conducted. Quality of publications was critically appraised using PRISMA [1], MOOSE [2] and STROBE [3] checklists. Contents of found literature were assessed in terms of consistency, coherence and strength. Results: In total, 439 full text publications were included, of which 198 papers were assessed for quality. Of these, 24,6%, 31,2% and 22,1% publications presented high levels of: consistency, coherence and strength, respectively, and 4,3% presented concurrently high levels of all assessed areas. Several areas of weak data availability were identified. Discussion: No comparable analyses were found. Credible data were often unavailable. A questionnaire and a template helpful to collect data where more information is needed were developed, validated and will be sent to experts from InterQuality Consortium countries. Conclusion: To improve the quality of information available to decision makers, so that it is more credible, multiple sources should be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]