Geographia Polonica (2009) vol. 82, iss. 2

Abstract

The emergence of foreign software development centres (SDCs) in Central and Eastern Europehas led to some debate over the reasons and consequences of location decisions. This paper analysesthose factors that infl uence location and also the consequences of foreign direct investment in softwaredevelopment centres in Bulgaria, Estonia and Poland. Foreign companies are compared and contrastedwith the indigenous SDCs which are subcontractors for foreign companies or export to foreign markets.This paper questions the degree to which cost-related considerations infl uence location decisions,contrasting their signifi cance with ‘return migration’ and the search for highly qualifi ed graduates. Toward off growing wage pressure, SDCs provide more value-added services. Foreign SDCs move up thevalue chain, acquiring new competences. It may be argued that an increasing shift can be observed froma dependent mode based on a dependency on a foreign headquarters to a developmental type characterisedby growing freedom. The local embededdness of foreign SDCs in the analysed countries is usuallylimited. However, ‘backshoring’ will not occur in the near future due to their high quality of work andimproved effi ciency.

Keywords: software development centres (SDCs), offshoring, foreign direct investment, return migration, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Grzegorz Micek, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland

Abstract

The paper outlines the creative achievements of nine Polish scholars and political activistsliving in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They were the precursors of the idea of the politicalunifi cation of Europe. They argued, in their various works, that it was necessary to establish the unityand brotherhood of the nations of Europe. They postulated the liquidation of political boundaries and theestablishment of a community of free states on the European continent.

Keywords: Europe, 18th and 19th centuries, integration concepts

Piotr Eberhardt [p.ebe@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Abstract

The paper attempts to defi ne Berlin’s functional profi le, contrasting it with the expectations andevaluations of the last twenty years. By analyzing employment and investment shares according to sectionsof the economy (the SIC index) several activities are identifi ed which fulfi l the following criteria: they arerepresentative of Berlin, they show progressive development trends, and their role is refl ected in the structureof investment outlays. In the analysis, the location co-effi cient is used, which allows for the identifi cationof the characteristic features of Berlin’s functional profi le against the national average structure.The analysis proves that Berlin has been developing in a relatively ambiguous manner, though its functionalspecialization is rather stable, in that it has experienced only slight structural changes since thebeginning of the 1990s. It is also observed that the position of Berlin in the German urban system is quitestable. In this context, the question is posed as to whether Warsaw’s position in the Polish urban system,as expressed in its functional profi le, should, when one considers all the parallels and differences, resembleor not the one held by Berlin in Germany.

Keywords: Berlin, functional profi le, location co-effi cient, employment structure, representative and progressive functions, Warsaw

Ewa Korcelli-Olejniczak [eko@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Abstract

Multifunctional agriculture is nowadays a key issue of the second pillar of the EU’s CommonAgriculture Policy. The concept of multifunctional agriculture is also seen as a possible developmentscenario for EU rural areas. But the question of the territorial impact of such policy tools has been raised.The main aim of the paper is to analyze the application of the multifuncionality concept in selectedEU countries. In particular, the paper engages in a critical refl ection of multifunctional agriculture as aspecifi c scenario for rural development in the Czech Republic in the previous period of the programme,2004 – 2006.

Keywords: agriculture, rural development, multifunctionality

Eva Cudlinova, Economic Faculty of South Bohemian University, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, Post Code: 37005, Czech Republic
Martin Pelucha, Economic Faculty of South Bohemian University, Studentska 13, Ceske Budejovice, Post Code: 37005, Czech Republic

Abstract

This article introduces the issue of the planning of allotment gardening in the case of Ljubljana, Slovenia,as a self-supplying activity by which fresh vegetables are cultivated. Allotment gardening is an activitythat involves just a small percentage of Ljubljana’s population, those enthusiasts seeing this activityas more of a recreation and relaxation than a way of earning money. The city authorities are alreadyanticipating that allotments will be eliminated from locations deemed unsuitable, holders then beingoffered alternatives in more appropriate locations. The appropriateness of these planned locations forallotments was evaluated in respect of whether key exclusion and attractiveness measures were compliedwith. We also determined the partial suitability of selected locations.

Keywords: allotment gardening and keeping, allotment gardener, leisure activity, protection of the environment, spatial planning, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Aleš Smrekar [ales.smrekar@zrc-sazu.si], Anton Melik Geographical Institute Scientifi c Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Gosposka ulica 13, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia