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Poland is currently at the forefront of places in Central and Eastern Europe, where international service centres are located. This shows the importance of analysing the impact they have on the development of the Polish economy. One of the important effects resulting from the presence of service centres is the flow of knowledge, including its transfer to the MSME sector – knowledge, which plays an increasingly important role in the process of shaping competitiveness, both in micro- and macroeconomic terms. The aim of the article is therefore to analyse the interactions between service centres with international coverage and smaller entities operating in local economies. Particular emphasis was placed on the flow of hidden knowledge resulting from the transfer of human capital between service centres and micro-, small- and medium enterprises located in the West Pomeranian region. The study uses quantitative research conducted in the years 2013–2016 on a representative sample of companies in the region. The research results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between the variables studied. They show that companies whose owners or employees have work experience in international service centres exhibit a more dynamic growth in turnover and bring more new products to the market. This has an impact on the competitiveness of these entities, also at the international arena.
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In this work, we present the results of valorisation of geosites for the geotourist path in the lower part of the Chochołowska Valley, with particular emphasis on tourist activity of people using wheelchairs and elderly people with motor disabilities. Five geosites were valorized: (1) Siwiańskie Turnie Outcrop, (2) Wielkie Koryciska Rock Gate, (3) Chochołowski Stream Riverbed, (4) Niżna Chochołowska Gate, (5) Chochołowskie Karst Spring. Selected geosites are easily accessible by people with limited mobility, including wheelchairs. They are located along a wide, flat asphalt road on the distance of 3.5 km and the altitude difference of 100 metres. Various sedimentary rocks, such as limestones, marls, and dolomites can be seen in geosites. These rocks represent two geological-tectonic structures, the so-called: Choč Nappe (geosies: Siwiańskie Turnie Outcrop, Wielkie Koryciska Rock Gate) and Krížna Nappe (geosite Niżna Chochołowska Gate). Two more characteristic phenomena can be observed: hydrogeological phenomena related to the karst processes seen in Chochołowskie Karst Spring, and geomorphological phenomena observed in Chochołowski stream riverbed. The results of valorisation showed that the evaluated geosites of the geoturistic path have very high geotouristic values. This indicates that the lower part of the Chochołowska Valley has a high geotouristic potential for people using wheelchairs and elderly people with motor disabilities who already are, or want to become active geoturists. Benefit of creating of this type of geotourist paths is the expansion of the tourist offer and the development of services in the Podhale region, with particular emphasis on the people with physical disabilities.
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The article refers to research on the industrialisation of ports. Nowadays, apart from the offshore industry, this topic was not discussed in more detail in the literature. The aim of the study was to check the structure of production plants not closely related to maritime economy which operate in seaports of the Baltic Sea Region and to evaluate the role of maritime transport in servicing individual plants. The analysis excluded maritime construction and shipbuilding (production and repair yards), as well as fishing ports due to their specificity in production. The research area covered the Baltic Sea Region understood as 9 countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark. We can distinguish industrial ports that are part of commercial ports or independent ports that are an important link in the industrial production chain. There were about 270 transhipment ports in the study area, two fifths of which were of industrial importance. The types of industry appearing in the surveyed port centres, as well as the conditions of using ports for the needs of industrial plants located in them were characterised. In the structure of the identified plants, the largest group was the wood and paper industry, a significant number of plants also represented the following industries: energy, mineral and metallurgy. Access to maritime transport is crucial for the fuel and energy sector – it was the only or main route for the supply of raw materials for production for a part of refineries and power plants.
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The report provides an assessment of the innovation factor in the reindustrialisation of Eastern Siberia, based on data on R&D costs and the introduction of innovative products. The Krasnoyarsk Territory has the greatest innovative potential, followed by the Irkutsk Region. The terms of modernisation of industrial complexes in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk were compared on the basis of the triple helix model. This model formalises the interrelation of production with university education and the development of interaction between all parties of the innovation process. The leadership of the Krasnoyarsk Territory was confirmed by a more developed innovation infrastructure of universities that interact with local engineering and aerospace corporations. Industrial production of the Irkutsk oblast is more focused on the extraction of minerals and the production of primary processing goods due to its more eastern position and dependence on the needs of the Chinese market.
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The article provides an overview of issues related to planning the development of local service space, with particular emphasis on the implementation of tourist services and the local tourist fishing product based on local endogenous resources, in particular water, mainly in the form of lakes and rivers. The study covered the area of the Szczecinek County located in the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship. The following research methods were used in the article: survey, descriptive, focused group interviews, strategic documents analysis and SWOT analysis. The article indicates important elements that distinguish the Szczecinek County as a fishing area, inventory of water resources was carried out and the most important barriers to the development of this type of service products were indicated. Research conducted in the Szczecinek County has shown that it is an area predestined for the development of this type of tourist products, however, a clear institutional commitment of county authorities, individual communes and county organisations is required. Thanks to their endogenous resources, counties of this type can successfully perform service functions in the field of tourism. Research carried out for the purposes of this article is a supplement to similar research conducted in connection with the development of tourism in other communes and counties of the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship.
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The last 30 years of brewing history in Slovakia were the most turbulent ones. They were influenced by the liquidation of some beer production as well as privatization, integration and acquisitions of global beer producers. As a reaction to the uniform taste of beer produced by the global producers, numerous small craft breweries emerged in Slovakia trying to return the specific beer taste to the regions. Their importance may also be involved in the development of popular beer tourism through beer routes in addition to the fragmentation of the Slovak brewing industry. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential of Slovakia for the development of beer routes. The examination and assessment of the possibilities of creating beer routes in Slovakia required considering the historical context first, and then establishing a database comprising the list of craft breweries in Slovakia and the list of places where beer festivals are organised. Correspondence with the President of the Association of Small Independent Slovak Breweries was used for this purpose. Such a database was then verified, supplemented and compared to the database developed by our team based on information from field research, telephone interviews with thirty representatives of breweries, and an analysis of websites of Slovak breweries. The database was further transformed into space, using a map of isolines (equidistant) expressing the mutual distance of the craft breweries. In compiling the results, dynamic-comparative methods and cartographic presentation methods were also used. All together, we identified 70 craft breweries and proposed three beer routes thanks to their spatial distribution.
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Podgórze, formerly an independent city, was adjoined to Krakow in 1915. Although it has many valuable monuments and attractive places, it still remains in the shadow of both the oldest, historic part of Krakow and Kazimierz. The aim of this article is to evaluate the image of Podgórze and its attractions in the light of the collected and analysed promotional and informational materials. An attempt was made to answer questions about the action being taken and the direction it should go in order to improve the attractiveness and increase the tourists’ interest in the district. In order to achieve this goal, a search was conducted for Internet and printed sources concerning Podgórze, aimed at the average tourist. In order to extend the research, a diagnostic survey was conducted among the students of the Pedagogical University, the Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, surveying their knowledge and opinions on the tourist attractions of Podgórze and the perception of the district. The survey had an initial character and should be repeated on a larger, representative sample, consisting of both domestic and foreign tourists. It should be stressed that a characteristic feature of Podgórze is that the difference in perception of its attractiveness and monuments is significant and clearly visible in promotional and information materials and the tourist offer addressed to the visitors, as well as in the image of the district they create.
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The aim of this study is to present the evaluation of the development and functional situation of 19 ski stations located in the Polish Carpathians. To achieve the aim of the study, a comparative analysis of the transport capacity of ski lift devices and the number of beds in 2012 and 2020 in the studied ski stations was carried out, as well as the classification of these localities according to the length of tourists stay, the indicator determining the place of tourism in the functional structure of the locality, the indicator showing the reception capacity of the locality in the winter season and the indicator showing the place of ski tourism in the structure of tourist function of ski station. In the Polish Carpathians, there is a qualitative development of ski infrastructure. In 2012–2020, ski infrastructure developed the most in Szczyrk, Białka Tatrzańska, Krynica and Tylicz. The largest increase in the number of beds occurred in the ski stations located in the Podhale region, especially in Zakopane, Białka Tatrzańska and Bukowina Tatrzańska. Nine groups of ski stations were distinguished, differing in the level of equipment in the infrastructure for downhill skiing, the level of accommodation development, the time specificity of tourist traffic in the winter season and functional relations with tourist destinations located in their vicinity. Among them, the top places are taken by: Zakopane, Krynica, Szczyrk, Wisła, Białka Tatrzańska, and Bukowina Tatrzańska.
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Thematic villages are an example of one of the niche forms of social entrepreneurship, handling production and services for the socio-economic recovery of rural areas and the development of education in the field of cultural heritage. The Warminsko -Mazurskie Voivodeship is definitely agricultural, and the economy has strong links with natural resources, which favours undertaking actions based on local entrepreneurship using such initiatives. The aim of the article is to present the scope and directions of activities of thematic villages in Warmia and Mazury as an innovative element of entrepreneurship development of a multi -generational society in dissemination and education for the cultural heritage of the region. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: How can thematic villages as social enterprises contribute to stimulating and developing the rural economy through various educational and cultural initiatives and agrotourism services? The paper includes references to specific examples of the use of cultural heritage in the development of entrepreneurship of different age groups in the region. The literature query of the subject and the method of participant observation directly conducted in the examined villages were used. In order to diagnose the development and educational potential of the Warmian-Masurian thematic villages, empirical research was conducted using an interview questionnaire.
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The aim of the article is to determine the desired changes in the international environment which, according to owners of year-round accommodation facilities, would create more favourable conditions for the development of enterprises providing accommodation services. The situation has been assessed based on the author’s own research conducted in April and May 2018 using the CATI method on a sample of 110 entities operating in the Lubelskie Voivodeship. Roughly every fifth entrepreneur can see a great need to change the international environment in the areas included in the study. At the same time, every third participant of the research does not see any such need at all. A greater need for changes is felt by entrepreneurs from urban communes. Respondents from rural and urban-rural communes declare smaller but similar needs in this regard. Although entrepreneurs’ causative power related to the changes in the international environment is marginal, it is important that they should have their own visions of how to shape the conditions for the development of entrepreneurship. They ought to create these conditions and speak about them loudly.
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The paper focuses on the issue of academic failure of university students. First, the concept of academic failure and other related terms are defined. Next, three perspectives are explained through which one can look at study failure. Much space is devoted to the analysis of foreign, European and Czech research, publications and professional studies in this field. We shall point out the factors that are most involved in school dropout.
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The article presents the results of research on functional transformations of industrial and post-industrial areas of the Kłodzko region (Poland) in 2004–2020. The presented research is based on the analysis of statistical data from the REGON database and on the conducted field research. The article shows that the process of functional succession, i.e. the gradual entry of entities with various functions into industrial and post-industrial areas, in the Kłodzko region, takes place both in towns and villages. The observed scale and dynamics of functional changes is much greater in cities than in rural areas. It is largely related to the availability, the possibility of adapting to other functions and the knowledge of this type of land by potential investors. Functional transformations significantly changed the face of industrial and post-industrial areas of the Kłodzko region after 1989, modifying their physiognomy (appearance) and morphology (structure).
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The misbalance between the efforts of state and local authorities to win the financial backing of small and medium-sized enterprises and the lack of the significant change in indicators of the pattern and total volume of investments in the fixed capital is a highly topical issue nowadays. The purpose of the study is to identify the territorial features of the investments concentration in the fixed capital in an industrial region. The study is based on the following methodological approaches. Firstly, the main industry specifics of small and medium-sized enterprises, their contribution to the total volume of capital investments were identified. Secondly, the total volume of investments of large-scale and medium-sized enterprises in fixed capital for each municipality was estimated on the example of an industrial region – Sverdlovsk Oblast in the Russian Federation. The period from 2010 to 2020 is analysed. The rating of territories was compiled depending on the total volume of the attracted investments. Moreover, the obtained data on the investments by territories were compared with the geography of the industrial agglomerations of the region. Methods of statistical comparative analysis and territorial analysis were used. The study has proved that the determining factor affecting the volume and territorial distribution of investments in fixed capital in the industrial region is the concentration of economic activity of large-scale enterprises in agglomerations. A direct dependence of the volume of investments on the number of enterprises in small business has been established.
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Important elements of the trail include its tourist development. It is of great importance in drawing in tourists to visit a particular attraction or region. It is a special element in the development of tourism space. It increases attractiveness of the reception area, similarly to catering or accommodation facilities. The created network of the tourist routes is considered as internal accessibility of the region. The trail that is well-organised and adapted to the conditions, allows for a wide selection of active forms of spending free time. The work focuses on the development of the cultural heritage trail in the province of Alberta (Canada). Based on the literature analysis, the trail was defined as a tourist attraction in itself. From the information received it was found that the tourist route is an inseparable part of the tourist product. An important element of the tourist trail is tourism development. The text emphasizes cultural aspect of the original route. The protected areas and the cultural heritage of the Indians have been characterised in particular. As part of the original route, the following were characterised: accommodation, catering, accompanying facilities and threats that may occur during the journey. Based on a review of the literature and the author’s route, the relation between local heritage and cultural tourism was inferred.
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The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the main milestones in the development of a regional centre in Hungary. Pécs is a centre of a depressed region. The Transdanubian region is among the 20 most disadvantaged regions of the European Union which shows a significant decline compared to previous years. This justifies the need for professional research directed at changing this situation by performing some tangible efforts. Pécs is a 2,000-years old city, acquiring various historical and mutually reinforcing central functions, by virtue of which it has developed into a regional centre. Of the historical drivers of the development of Pécs, the study is able to identify three groups of factors 1) centrality within its region, the regional functions it has fulfilled throughout its history, 2) culture and multiculturalism, and 3) industrial development. This study will analyse the relation of the cultural centre position and the other function of Pécs. The study is the first descriptive result of a research project1 that reviews the development and governance characteristics of a typical case of peripheral regions. Ongoing empirical analysis will allow the development of a development policy concept.
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Our research addresses regional competitiveness as the function of innovation activity. We use 15 indicators to cluster the Russian regions in five different groups, and to propose and to estimate the composite competitiveness quotient of a region in order to further regress it by innovation activity indicators. We prove that different groups of regions – “potential competitiveness leaders”, “traditional competitiveness factor employers”, “competitiveness outsiders”, “moderate competitiveness regions”, “competitiveness leaders” – are prone to respond to innovation parameters change in a different manner, thus uniform regulation and strategies are irrelevant. We contribute to the methodology of regional competitiveness estimation by presenting a ready-to-deploy set of data structures and model propositions. Our measure of competitiveness is economy related and easily adjustable regarding the specific innovation phenomena that influence the corporate and aggregate performance, value or efficiency of regions.
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Due to its positive effects on the economy, tourism is a significant aspect in the development of a country. Therefore, it is necessary to improve facilities at tourism destinations as well as to especially increase the local people’s self-esteem in order to maintain such destinations. The study aims to examine self-esteem referring to the assessments given by tourists and residents in which such assessments can be used to improve the maintenance of tourist attractions in a region. As one of the regencies in North Sumatera Province, Karo owns great tourism potentials due to its various natural attractions as well as cultural richness. However, many of these attractions are not well maintained so self-esteem is considered as a solution. This study has measured four aspects namely evaluation, pride, attachment, and commitment which must become parts of Karo’s identity. This study used the mix method which utilized a combination of 360 questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings show that the aspects of pride, attachment, and commitment became the positive features by the local residents although the assessment to the aspect is poorly evaluated. Moreover, the quality of infrastructures available at main tourism destinations was proved to increase also the residents’ quality of life.
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Reduction of the territorial disparities in terms of their development level is the main aim of the European Union’s (EU’s) regional support. Most of the previous studies investigate the linear relationship between support and growth at countries’ or NUTS1/2 disaggregation level, omitting the question on what is the impact of this support on regional convergence among NUTS3 regions and on whether non-linear effects occur. To fill this gap, we modified the difference-in-differences estimator to test empirically the non-linear convergence effects of the EU’s regional support at NUTS 3 level over the 2000-2006 programming period, taking into account the possible lagging effect. The results revealed that the impact of regional support on convergence is positive with the diminishing marginal effect as the intensity of payments is increasing. Moreover, we find evidence that the return is higher for the post-intervention compared with the intervention period, i.e. the convergence outcomes of the EU’s support occur in the long-run.
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One of the effects of the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine (2013–2014) was the removal of monuments to the Soviet past from public space, including those to Lenin (the so-called leninopad). In 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted decommunization laws obliging local authorities to dismantle such monuments. In Budjak, the region at the southwestern tip of Ukraine, the idea of decommunizing public space did not gain public acceptance. Local communities opposed the removal of Soviet-era monuments. When such removals occurred, representatives of the Bulgarian national minority living there sought to erect new monuments to figures important from the perspective of regional memory and identity. As a result, the process of reconstructing the symbolic space in Budjak led to a strengthening and expansion of the Bulgarian symbolic domain.
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