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In recent years, there has been a growth in interest around the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at seaports. Increasingly, port companies publish their social responsibility policies and the results of their implementation. The following article contains the results of comparative analysis of the ecological and social responsibility of Polish seaports, which are of key importance for the national economy, with the ports of Hamburg and Antwerp as a benchmark. The data used in the article comes from annual reports, official websites, information brochures and interviews with port representatives. The criteria used in the analysis were devised based on selected Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and the Sustainable Development Goals as defined in Transforming Our World – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The aim of this article is to determine whether and in which areas seaports in Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście are socially responsible, and to identify any shortcomings - providing insights which may be useful for entities managing these ports. The study found that the authorities of the most important Polish seaports are socially responsible, but also that the activities undertaken as part of CSR are on a smaller scale than in the ports of Antwerp and Hamburg.

Container terminals need to be competitive in order to play a major role as global or regional transport links. Forwarders' perceptions of competitiveness factors drive transport decisions. This paper aims to understand these factors by surveying the global forwarder community, using a unique snowball-like method, in the modern work environment. The key method is a business oriented social network enabling a semi-automated and highly targeted online survey of professionals. A comprehensive analysis of the highest ranked factors including fast customs and administration clearance as well as level of service and maritime connectivity reveals some important managerial insights. They are valuable building blocks to businesses and port authorities developing smart container terminals. In conclusion, a country's competitive strength strongly depends on port-related soft factors, not only capital-intensive port infrastructure.

Surveying people via the Internet presents both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities include quick access to respondents all over the world enabling fast realization of surveys at low costs. The challenges include a lack of control over both the sampling process and research implementation, as well as low response rates. This article describes a method of obtaining an appropriate sample of people for survey research utilising the power of the Internet, while simultaneously allowing the researcher to minimise risk thanks to enhanced control over the sampling process and the implementation of the survey. The proposed method could be used mainly in economic and social surveys; it allows researchers to reach selected groups of respondents and to conduct surveys on a global scale.•The proposed sampling method uses LinkedIn's network structure to quickly reach a dispersed population•Creating a list of units belonging to the study population resembles the snowball method, though the units are selected for the sample by the researcher and not indicated by the respondents., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

Companies which function in the operation area of Polish seaports, in particular the ones which offer cargo handling and warehousing services tend to display a solid financial condition. High dynamics of revenue prove this situation. In the years 2010–2015, the real revenues of the analysed companies group have increased yearly by 5.7% on average. The profitability of pot handling companies also shows a significant improvement tendency. In the years 2009–2012 the return on sales, return on assets and return on equity ratios were on an acceptable (sufficient) level, while in the years 2013–2015 they increased to a satisfactory (good) level. Good financial results create large investment capabilities for these enterprises. This is especially important due to the fact that the port companies finance most of their investments with their own funds. In the years 2005–2015 the total outlays on property, plant and equipment have increased over 4 times.

To analyse the competitiveness of container ports, it is crucially important to identify and characterize the key factors of competitiveness. Their relative importance depends on the location of the port, the situation in the market and it can be perceived differently by different groups of stakeholders. The aim of this study was to examine factors of global competitiveness of container ports as perceived by shipping lines. The research method applied was a quantitative primary non-random social sampling. Data were collected from survey participants via a business-oriented social network. Two statistical methods were used to rank and group these factors: a Friedman test and a post-hoc analysis involving Least Significant Difference test (LSD). Shipping executives (n = 120) stressed the importance of three factors: container terminal service quality, social harmony with labour and adequate nautical accessibility. This corresponds with growing size of container ships, which require deep water container terminals and reliable port services. Shipping lines' decision makers need services of a high standard and with a low risk of labour-related disruptions to maintain their own high level of service quality. These strong views are held by decision makers of shipping lines with over 250 employees, while smaller organisations are more lenient on container terminal requirements. Survey results were also presented per continent, which clarifies any differences in importance of competitiveness factors based on geographical location. This may be useful for competitiveness gap analysis at a more granular level. Port operators and regulators should take these findings into account and address them in ports’ strategic plans.

Polish seaports operate on international port services markets which are characterised by intense competition. In contested port hinterland, they compete for cargo and carriers’ interest among themselves, with foreign ports (mainly those located on the North Sea coasts and the southern coast of the Baltic Sea), as well as with land transport (including transcontinental connections). This competition undoubtedly contributes to undertaking activities to develop their production potential, to extend their offer of services, to improve the quality of their services , as well as to implement solutions that aim to attract not only shippers and carriers, but also investors. The major Polish seaports are currently among the largest in the Baltic Sea region. The aim of this article is to present their competitive positions on the domestic and the Baltic Sea markets of port services. The goal of the implementation of the strategies adopted by these ports several years ago is to contribute to the improvement of their ability to compete, as well as their competitive positions.

Seaports, being elements of national and international transport systems, are areas for carrying out various economic activities, mainly handling cargo and passengers (in the process of transport) and the means of transport. A special role in today’s markets of port services, play Chinese seaports, in the last decades going through the evolution that brought them to the tops of seaports world rankings. The article presents the position of ports in the landsea transport chains and their economic functions, with the help of which the importance of these objects for the economies of cities, regions and countries is determined. Particular attention was paid to Chinese ports, which role in global maritime transport is not to be underestimated.

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) play an important role in the development and pathogenicity of malaria parasites. One of the most prominent functions of Hsps is to facilitate the folding of other proteins. Hsps are thought to play a crucial role when malaria parasites invade their host cells and during their subsequent development in hepatocytes and red blood cells. It is thought that Hsps maintain proteostasis under the unfavourable conditions that malaria parasites encounter in the host environment. Although heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is capable of independent folding of some proteins, its functional cooperation with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) facilitates folding of some proteins such as kinases and steroid hormone receptors into their fully functional forms. The cooperation of Hsp70 and Hsp90 occurs through an adaptor protein called Hsp70-Hsp90 organising protein (Hop). We previously characterised the Hop protein from Plasmodium falciparum (PfHop). We observed that the protein co-localised with the cytosol-localised chaperones, PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90 at the blood stages of the malaria parasite. In the current study, we demonstrated that PfHop is a stress-inducible protein. We further explored the direct interaction between PfHop and PfHsp70-1 using far Western and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analyses. The interaction of the two proteins was further validated by co-immunoprecipitation studies. We observed that PfHop and PfHsp70-1 associate in the absence and presence of either ATP or ADP. However, ADP appears to promote the association of the two proteins better than ATP. In addition, we investigated the specific interaction between PfHop TPR subdomains and PfHsp70-1/ PfHsp90, using a split-GFP approach. This method allowed us to observe that TPR1 and TPR2B subdomains of PfHop bind preferentially to the C-terminus of PfHsp70-1 compared to PfHsp90. Conversely, the TPR2A motif preferentially interacted with the C-terminus of PfHsp90. Finally, we observed that recombinant PfHop occasionally eluted as a protein species of twice its predicted size, suggesting that it may occur as a dimer. We conducted SPR analysis which suggested that PfHop is capable of self-association in presence or absence of ATP/ADP. Overall, our findings suggest that PfHop is a stress-inducible protein that directly associates with PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90. In addition, the protein is capable of self-association. The findings suggest that PfHop serves as a module that brings these two prominent chaperones (PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90) into a functional complex. Since PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90 are essential for parasite growth, findings from this study are important towards the development of possible antimalarial inhibitors targeting the cooperation of these two chaperones.

Container terminals require continuous benchmarking of competitiveness factors. This paper discusses factors of competitiveness with a main focus on feeder and mixed terminals (in which both feeder and transshipment services are provided). Method statement includes an economic literature review with respect to competitiveness factors and a container port expert survey process to achieve a list of most important factors among global container port operators. Experts were selected from different countries and private container terminals. A questionnaire was developed and sent online to them. Questions required both a ranking of factors as well as assigning monetary values to critical variables. Responses were analyzed using a pre-established strategy. Overall, experts ranked first the role of market related competitiveness factors related to service quality, price level and adaptability to the changing market environment. Intermodal links and general hinterland connections factors were more often mentioned than factors relating to nautical accessibility or other factors. Both assignment of monetary values as well as ranking have produced mutually coherent results. The paper does not claim to be definitive; it aims to provide an update of competitive factors hierarchy and highlights issues for further port development.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a tool used by companies to establish positive relations with their surroundings and gain a competitive edge. This also relates to centres providing services, such as seaports. In the past, these served as loading/off-loading and storage stations as well as ship terminals. At present, they have become versatile complexes administering land and infrastructure as well as playing host to numerous enterprises which offer a wide range of services to carriers and freight forwarders. Not only individual businesses but also entire port service hubs can, or even should, be socially responsible nowadays. The topic of this research is the social responsibility of sea ports. This article will discuss the social responsibility of the Port of Gdynia. The objective is to present socially responsible actions taken by Gdynia Port Authority SA and the largest port operators and to assess the progress made on the implementation of CSR there.