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Computer keyboard having top molded housing with rigid pointing stick integral and normal to front surface of housing as one unit part to be used with strain sensors in navigational control
A computer keyboard has a pointing stick integrally molded into and projecting from a surface of a plastic housing. Keyboard keys extend through holes in the same plastic housing. Strain-sensitive resistors are formed in a small location onto a circuit substrate. The same circuit substrate that carries the strain-sensitive resistors also carries conductive pads for the key switches. The strain-sensitive resistor location is bonded to the housing adjacent the pointing stick, but on an opposite surface of the housing from the pointing stick protrusion.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to selective visual display systems, and particularly to display peripheral input devices of the joystick or pointing stick type. These devices find primary application with computer operators to control the position of a pointer or cursor on a computer display, though other applications combining keys and navigational control are well known and contemplated by the present inventors. For the purposes of this disclosure, a key will be defined herein as "a button or lever that is pressed with the finger to operate a machine." The machine may be selected from many types of devices, including remote controls for televisions, sound systems and other similar devices, computers and computer displays, appliances, airplanes (both radio controlled and otherwise), large and small machinery, land vehicles, and many other diverse devices too numerous to mention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computing and calculating tools have existed in various form for thousands of years, dating back to devices such as the abacus. These tools simplified basic tasks, thereby saving time and allowing humans to direct their efforts to other important activities.
With the advent of electronic circuits and systems came the development of general purpose computers, which could be used for more than one function. Through special programming, computers could be used to emulate or model other devices and systems, allowing the computer to be applied to diverse and complicated tasks. Many early general purpose computers depended upon punched cards or paper tapes for input of instructions, and, after performing necessary computation, printed output onto paper. This is referred to as batch processing. As might be expected, the instruction set would often be inadequate, and so an operator would be required to replace or add necessary instructions by replacing the punched cards. Needless to say, the computers were not well suited for performing instructions and operations in real time. Furthermore, the computers required large space and enormous electric power, frequently requiring entire rooms and special air-conditioning systems.
As microelectronics progressed, general purpose computers continued to become capable of more and more diverse tasks. Typewriter-style keyboards and other input devices replaced punched cards, and television-style video displays and electronic output complimented paper print-outs. Numerous further developments eventually led to the current interactive video display. Pictorial symbols, commonly known as icons and buttons, provide visual as well as textual identification of functions available to the computer user. Through a navigational control, the user may simply move about the display and select from the icons and buttons. With improved user interface and enhanced capability, computers are now widely used. These computers, more powerful than the greatest super computers of only a few decades ago, are commonly referred to as personal computers or PC's. The enormous computational capability has led to applications for personal computers extending to areas well beyond the initial accounting and typewriter functions, and new applications are continuously being developed.
With the new applications and interactive video display has come a desire for better ways to provide input to the computer. While the keyboard continues to dominate as the best method for textual input, navigational functions including cursor position control are now primarily being performed with input devices such as a mouse, trackball, touch pad, joystick or pointing stick. These devices indicate the user's desire for cursor movement more naturally to the computer than a keyboard can. For example, the movement of a trackball or mouse in one direction, which may be at any angle on a planar surface from zero through 360 degrees, can be precisely translated to the computer. Furthermore, the amount of movement desired is also readily communicated by the relative rate of movement of the mouse or trackball. These desires are communicated from a relatively small device, most frequently smaller than a human hand.
Unfortunately, with a mouse, joystick or many trackballs the user must first remove one hand from the keyboard. Since, as aforementioned, the keyboard is still the primary source for textual input, the removal of one hand therefrom is most undesirable. Rapid placement of the hand upon a keyboard is nearly impossible, and nearly all computer users have experienced the frustration of incorrectly placing one or both hands on the keyboard and mistakenly typing incorrect keys. Furthermore, the mouse in particular requires a relatively large flat surface upon which to travel, which is often unavailable on crowded desktops or when the PC is a portable, notebook type computer.
In recognition of these and other drawbacks of the prior art, a number of devices have been modified or designed. Trackballs have been designed with much smaller dimension, as have touch pads. Unfortunately, neither of these devices is small enough to fit within the existing, already crowded typewriter style keyboard. When a mouse is unsuitable, the pointing stick is presently the most widely accepted device for navigational control. The pointing stick is a small stick which protrudes vertically out from a keyboard, frequently between keys. The pointing stick incorporates several small sensors, frequently of the strain-gauge type, which sense applied force and direction with very little or no actual movement of the stick. Because the pointing stick is force-sensitive, rather than sensitive to actual movement, very little space is required. As already noted, that means that the too pointing stick may be included within a keyboard. Furthermore, the pointing stick may be designed to be sensitive to force along all three spatial axes, rather than the two axes available to a mouse or trackball.
Placement of the pointing stick is frequently in the lower central region of a keyboard. This placement is arrived at out of convenience, allowing a user to control the pointing stick with either the left or right pointer finger. Presently, these pointing sticks are manufactured separately from the balance of the keyboard, and placed within the keyboard during keyboard assembly. Illustrative of this type of assembly are U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,618 to Sellers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,178 to Endo et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,334 to Yaniger et al, each incorporated herein by reference for their respective teachings of pointing device assembly and operation, and all references that each incorporated or included therein. The Sellers reference further provides a side view of a typical notebook computer keyboard assembly. However, none of these prior art references provide for a fully integral pointing device. The need for separate assembly and mounting of the pointing device not only adds to the cost of the finished computer, but complicates assembly therein. Particularly with force-sensitive pointing sticks, the pointing stick must somehow be securely anchored to prevent motion at the base thereof. As can be seen in each of the references, this requires the addition of some type of fastener.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first manifestation, the invention is a computer keyboard having a plastic molded housing. The housing has a first major surface through which keys pass to a wiring layer to control electrical connection. The keyboard further has a backing plate for structural support and protection. The keyboard has in further combination a rigid projection extending normal to the first major surface, between keys, and a strain sensor adhered to the molded housing adjacent the rigid projection.
In a second manifestation, the invention is a display peripheral input device suitable for use in a selective visual display system comprising a keyboard having keys controlled by tactile force and a pointing stick, the pointing stick extending from and normal to a major surface of a generally planar key support structure and transmitting tactile force applied thereto to the planar key support structure, and a strain sensor operatively attached to the planar key support structure to sense transmitted tactile force, wherein a user may apply tactile force to the pointing stick to control a selective visual display system.
In a third manifestation, the invention is a combined keyboard and navigational control comprising a rigid, generally planar key support having formed thereon a small protrusion; a flexible, compliant film adhesively bonded to the key support adjacent the small protrusion; a strain sensor supported upon the flexible compliant film; and electrical traces connecting the flexible compliant film to an electrical connector and therethrough to an electrical device.OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device having few piece parts which is relatively easy to assemble. Another object of the present invention is to provide a robust pointing stick which will withstand relatively high overload forces applied thereto without destruction or failure. A further object of the invention is to provide a reliable pointing device which does not require significant calibration or compensation, and which provides appropriate sensitivity. These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in the exemplary preferred embodiment, which will be best understood in association with the appended drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment by exploded, projected assembly view.
FIG. 2 illustrates the preferred embodiment from a partial cross-section view taken along line 2' of FIG. 1, and additionally includes several alternative component configurations.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates plastic molded housing 110, keyboard keys 150, plastic film 200, and backing plate 300, which are ultimately assembled to form a keyboard assembly 100. Through housing 110 there are a number of cut-out holes 120, through which keys 150 will pass after assembly. It is important to note here that many features common to keyboards and well known in the art have been omitted from the figures to help emphasize components important to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but they will be understood to be included as required and understood by one of ordinary skill. For example, only one key 150 is illustrated, even though modern keyboards typically have one hundred or more keys. Furthermore, only five cut-out holes 120 are illustrated in FIG. 1, while most typical keyboards have similar cut-out holes for each of the hundred keys. None of the electronic circuitry has been illustrated, and so forth. These omitted features are well known and common to computer keyboards and other combined keyboards and navigational controls of the prior art and will be understood to be included herein, even though not expressly illustrated.
Plastic molded housing 110, which is otherwise generally planar in configuration, includes plastic post 130 which protrudes in a direction normal to the major surface of housing 110. Post 130 serves as a pointing stick in assembled keyboard 100, and so may have special features molded therein which will improve tactile contact or assist with placement and retention of caps and other similar covers. Near the base of post 130, and forming a recess around, is force concentrator 140. Force concentrator 140 will typically be formed during the molding operation as a small recess in housing 110 which thins housing 110 to help concentrate forces transmitted through pin 130 to a region adjacent concentrator 140. Because strength, durability and weight are common considerations in computer keyboards, the material selected for housing 110 will most preferably be relatively lightweight and robust. Materials suited for this type of keyboard are usually selected from among polyamides, polyimides and copolymers such as acrylic-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastics, but the material choice is not so limited. Care must, however, be taken to ensure that the material chosen is not unduly brittle or soft, since tactile forces will need to be transmitted from post 130 through concentrators 140 without destruction thereof when an overload force is applied. Such an overload is known to occur when keyboard 100 is accidentally dropped, or when a relatively heavy object such as a stapler or cup is dropped thereon. Housing 110 having cut-outs 120 and post 130 is most preferably formed in a single plastic molding operation, thereby maintaining comparable cost to an entirely planar housing of the prior art.
Immediately adjacent to housing 110 is a plastic film 200 which serves as a printed wiring board with circuit routings patterned thereon. Film 200 may be a single layer film as shown in FIG. 1, or may be a multi-layer film as illustrated by cross-section in FIG. 2 with multiple layers 202, 204, 206 and 208. Most preferably, however, film 200 will be relatively flexible and pliant, for reasons to be detailed below. On a major surface of film 200 there is provided a usual grid of conductive pads 250 that are ultimately electrically connected to end connector 210.
In the region of film 200 which will ultimately be adjacent to post 130 and force concentrator 140, identified in FIG. 1 by the region bounded by line 240, there are four strain sensitive resistors 232-238. These may be manufactured from a variety of techniques, the most simple being the painting or screening of carbon or metal-filled polymer-binder resistive paints. There are a host of known alternatives which could be made to be suitable, such as thin film or metal foil elements and any of the others of the multitude of known strain sensitive materials. However, for the purposes of the preferred embodiment, polymer type paints are most preferred. Four elements are also preferable, though other numbers of elements are known in the art and would also be suitable. Each of the strain sensitive resistors 232-238 are preferably electrically connected to end connector 210, through which measures of strain may be taken.
During assembly, region 240 is adhesively bonded to housing 110 so as to locate resistors 232-238 adjacent to force concentrator 140. By making film 200 pliant, and then adhering region 240, resistors 232-238 will accurately measure forces applied in each of the three orthogonal spatial axes(X, Y, and Z). If film 200 is too rigid, the forces will be distributed throughout rather than being concentrated adjacent force concentrator 140. Additionally, if film 200 is rigid there arises the potential for differential thermal expansion and contraction between film 200 and housing 110, which might result in distorted readings from resistors 232-238. Therefore, most preferably, film 200 is relatively flexible and compliant.
Additional structural support is provided through backing plate 300, which will typically be mechanically attached to housing 110. The material selected for backing plate 300 is not important, so long as the plate serves to provide the structural characteristics desired.
FIG. 2 illustrates a partial cross-section view taken along line 2' in FIG. 1. Therein the geometry of concentrator 140 is more visible. While a curve or trough shape is shown, one of ordinary skill will recognize that there are many known concentrator geometries and that many of the geometries will be suited for this application. The elevation of resistors 232 and 238, as well as the elevation of conductive pad 250, is visible in FIG. 2. While not visible, the adhesive used to bond region 240 to housing 110 may in some instances fill in between each of the resistors 232-238. In some applications it may be desirable to fill and level between each of the components 250 and 232-238, and such would not be beyond the scope of the invention. However, in most applications not requiring hermeticity or water exposure, the presence of gaps is inconsequential.
FIG. 2 also illustrates a passageway 260 through post 130 in a direction co-axial with post 130. This optional passageway 260, not illustrated in FIG. 1, may be used to provide a bore into which a Z-axis switch may be placed. For example, using the multiple layers 202, and 204 of film 200, an electrical contactor 154 may be inserted into bore 260 to make electrical contact through layer 202 to layer 204 or upon the surface of layer 204 through via hole 270. Contactor 154 will typically be actuated by motion of pointer key 152 in the vertical, or z-axis, direction. As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill, bore 260 may serve a variety of diverse purposes beyond a switch, which application is not restricted by the present preferred embodiment or invention.
Once keyboard assembly 100 is complete, assembly 100 may be integrated into a keyboard housing and interconnected through further electrical connectors to a computer as is known in the art. An operator would then apply pressure in any direction, and the same would be sensed through resistors 232-238. The combination of forces along any of the three orthogonal axes may then be computed, or other action taken, as programmed at the computer. For instance, a computer pointer could be moved in accord with the direction and magnitude of applied force. The various keys may also be pressed and sensed through end connector 210. In the alternative embodiment of film 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 having layers 202-208, small vias may also be provided to carry signals from various surface components down into film 200 to one of several additional wiring layers located between layers 202-208. For example, via 251 is electrically conductive and will conduct between conductive pad 250 and wiring between layers 202 and 204. Via 233 electrically connects from resistor 232 to wiring between layers 204 and 206. The wiring commonly found on multilayer substrates is well-known in the substrate art and will therefore not be discussed in detail herein.
The particular combination of features provides a pointing device having few piece parts which is relatively easy to assemble The molded housing 110 requires an only slightly reconfigured mold, and film 200 requires an additional screening process and adhering step. Otherwise, the manufacturing remains the same as might be typical of a standard keyboard without any pointer. As long as the materials are properly chosen as outlined hereinabove, the preferred embodiment will be very robust, capable of withstanding very substantial overload forces.
While the foregoing details what is felt to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, no material limitations to the scope of the claimed invention are intended. Further, features and design alternatives that would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be incorporated herein. For example, while only three layers are illustrated in the preferred embodiment, including housing 110, film 200 and backing plate 300, additional layers which only serve a partial function are certainly contemplated, such as an additional film between film 200 and housing 110 serving exclusively to carry strain gauge resistors 232-238 and having holes therethrough, or even having contacts on a back surface thereof. As aforementioned, applications other than computer keyboards may preferably include only one or a few keys, and may have different relative proportions or dimensions from a computer keyboard. The present invention is contemplated for applications including, but not limited to computer keyboards. These types of alterations and variations for different use, which are well known in the keyboard, switch and navigational control arts, are considered incorporated herein. The scope of the invention is set forth and particularly described in the claims hereinbelow.
1. A computer keyboard having a plastic molded housing having a first major surface through which keys pass to a wiring layer to control electrical connection and further having a backing plate for structural support and protection, wherein the improvement comprises in further combination a rigid projection extending normal to said first major surface between said keys;
- a strain sensor adhered to said molded housing adjacent said rigid projection; and
- a force concentrator formed within said plastic molded housing adjacent said rigid projection;
- wherein said rigid projection, force concentrator and housing are all formed during a single molding process as an integral unit.
2. The keyboard of claim 1, wherein said strain sensor is formed upon said wiring layer prior to adhesion with said housing.
3. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein said strain sensor comprises conductive-particle filled polymer paint.
4. A display peripheral input device suitable for use in a selective visual display system, comprising:
- a) a keyboard, having:
- a1) keys controlled by tactile force;
- a2) a generally planar key support structure with a major surface; and
- a3) a strain sensor operatively attached to said planar key support structure to generate electrical signals in response to receiving applied forces; and
- b) a pointing stick, formed monolithically with said generally planar key support structure and extending from and normal to the major surface, for first receiving and then transmitting an applied tactile force to said planar key support to further transmit said applied tactile force to said strain sensor for generating electrical signals to control said selective visual display system.
5. The display peripheral input device of claim 4, further comprising an electrical wiring substrate supporting electrical traces between electrical switches actuated by said keys and further supporting said strain sensor.
6. The display peripheral input device of claim 5, wherein said strain sensor comprises two discrete strain gauge resistors arranged orthogonally to said pointing stick.
7. A combined keyboard and navigational control, comprising:
- a) a rigid, generally planar key support having formed thereon a small protrusion;
- b) a flexible, compliant film bonded to said key support adjacent said small protrusion;
- c) a strain sensor supported upon said flexible compliant film adjacent said small protrusion; and
- d) electrical traces connecting said flexible compliant film to an electrical connector and therethrough to an electrical device.
8. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of holes through said key support.
9. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of keys passing through said plurality of holes.
10. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of switches activated by said plurality of keys.
11. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claimed 10, further comprising additional electrical traces connecting said switches to said electrical connector and therethrough to said electrical device.
12. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 8, further comprising two force concentrators arranged orthogonally to each other and adjacent to said small protrusion.
13. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 12, wherein said strain sensor further comprises two discrete strain-sensing components arranged orthogonally to each other and in cooperative arrangement with said force concentrators to measure a force amplified by said force concentrators.
14. The combined keyboard and navigational control of claim 13, wherein said force concentrators comprise small indentations in said rigid support adjacent said small protrusion.
15. A pointing device integral to a keyboard, comprising:
- a) a monolithic key support structure through which keys pass from a first key side to a second wiring side and further having a pointing stick forming a part of said monolith;
- b) a bore extending within said pointing stick from a first longitudinal end to a second longitudinal end opposite said first longitudinal end and communicating from said first key side to said second wiring side.
|December 5, 1995
|Collas et al.
|February 6, 1996
|Cali et al.
|March 12, 1996
|Brandenburg et al.
|May 7, 1996
|Lee et al.
|November 26, 1996
|Rutledge et al.
|January 14, 1997
|June 17, 1997
|Endo et al.
|August 19, 1997
|Yaniger et al.
|December 23, 1997
|Brown et al.
|May 5, 1998
|May 19, 1998
|Narusawa et al.
|March 30, 1999
|Engle et al.
|April 13, 1999
Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 2, 1997
Date of Patent: Mar 21, 2000
Assignee: CTS (Elkhatt, IN)
Inventors: Lewis L. Seffernick (Adams, IN), David L. Poole (Portland, IN)
Primary Examiner: Jeffery Brier
Assistant Examiner: Paul A. Bell
Attorneys: Mark P. Bourgeois, Albert W. Watkins
Application Number: 8/982,619
International Classification: G09G 500; G09G 508; H03K 1794;


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Michael O'Shea
NYS Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse CounselorContact Us Schedule an Assembly
Growing up on the streets of Queens, NY, Mike was heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol. Now clean for 30 years, his remarkable recovery and choice to forgive himself has led Mike to devote the rest of his life to helping others escape the powers of addiction.
Themes of his story include:
- Battling feelings of worthlessness
- Finding a mentor whom you can trust
- Recovering from drug & alcohol addiction

subset: commoncrawl


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Nollywood star Rita Dominic reunited with her family after 10 years, during the yuletide.
The actress who revealed that she had to give up 'The Rita Dominic Annual Christmas Party', noted that she was glad she did; having the opportunity again to spend time with her family in Australia.
"Christmas and New Year vacation with my family in Australia. Haven't spent the Yuletide with my family in 10years and though it meant giving up 'The Rita Dominic Annual Christmas Party.' I'm really happy that we got to do this! What an amazing time."
The Theatre Arts graduate is a member of the Royal Waturuocha family of Aboh Mbaise local government area in Imo State. She is the youngest of four siblings.


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here's my horoscope this week from Free Will Astrology: "In the absence of clearly-defined goals," said Cancerian writer Robert Heinlein, "we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it." If this description is even a partial match for the life you're living, now is an excellent time to address the problem. You have far more power than usual to identify and define worthy goals -- both the short-term and long-term variety. If you take advantage of this opportunity, you will find a better use for the energy that's currently locked up in your enslavement to daily trivia.
this description is more than a partial match for my current state. Right now what I need is a schedule and some BIG IDEAS and BIG PLANS. Or maybe just to commit to some of the big ideas and big plans that have already occurred to me. Hmmmm. Still thinking about it. My view has been unnecessarily narrow lately.
In news unrelated to the zodiac, I finally got some pictures uploaded! These are from ages ago ::checks date:: February 7th.
I don't know how many times I've taken pictures of these same trees at the park, but I love them.
Yellow lichen! This was on a fir tree and not on the previously pictured trees.
I think it's pretty.


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E-Town Concrete Time2Shine
Published Aug 01, 1999When Anthrax did the I'm the Man EP a decade ago, they probably didn't realise the impact it would have on popular music. What began as a tongue in cheek metal-meets-rap joke has turned into a whole new musical genre. And even though it's safe to say that 90 percent of the bands that fall into said category are pretty worthless, it sure hasn't stopped them from spreading like scabies at a Phish concert. Which brings us to E-Town Concrete. Laden with tough guy lyrics, wife beater shirts, song titles like "Justwatchastep" and a convenient built in merchandise catalogue featuring the entire E-Town fashion line-up, this is a largely forgettable and totally unoriginal venture. (Resurrection A.D.)


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SMP Announces Issuance of Nickel Patent
December 5, 2001
Superior MicroPowders LLC (SMP) recently announced the issuance of its latest patent related to the production of advanced nickel-based powders. SMP's newly issued patent, U.S. 6,316,100, entitled, "Nickel powders, methods for producing powders and devices fabricated from same," offers intellectual property protection on a range of nickel-based composite powders. The claims issued in the patent relate to unique nickel-based powders that can only be produced by SMP's proprietary spray-based manufacturing technology. The materials protected under the patent have applications in a number of markets, including the multilayer ceramic capacitor market, where composite nickel powders such as nickel-titanate composites offer the ability to control shrinkage and oxidation during firing, which could ultimately lead to higher manufacturing yields and lower costs.
For more information, call (505) 342-1492, fax (505) 342-2168, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or visit http://www.smp1.com.


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Australian photographer, Tracey Moffatt makes varied work, where technique and style vary to fit and expound her themes. The first photo work of her series Something More embodies the ideas and narrative of the series which uses the style and approach of a B movie to tell the story of despair of an outback girl leaving her rural home in Northern Australia to search for a better life and ending in racist violence. The backgrounds and styling may be fabricated and somewhat cliche but the desperation and loneliness creep through the powerfully composed works.
Moffat's up in sky series from 1997 is set in the archetypical Australian Outback and depicts unsettling scenes with a strong hint of actual or impending violence which actualise the racial tensions and divisions that lie within her vision of this landscape.
Moffatt's work is only part autobiographical, as an aboriginal woman brought up by adoptive white parents, identity is obviously key. In her series scarred for life (1994), Moffat re-enacted events and stories from childhood told to her by her friends. The scenes depicted are domestic, at first trivial, suburban, but the large images and bold titles (controlled by Moffat at the bottom of the image) soon draw out the humiliation of childhood and the racism implied.
The following 3 from the Laudanum series by Tracey Moffatt, which is an elaborate recreation of a faux erotic thriller through a series of images that appear to depict the humiliation and gothic erotic torture of an apparently Asian maid by a Victorian lady. This is heavily styled, using all the qualities of original photographic processes, lighting and early horror film make up in the style of Nosferatu the 1921 film, to create on one level, a critique of colonial enslavement, on another an erotic lesbian fantasy.
Blair, F (2009) Twelve Australian Photo Artists, Sydney: Piper Press.


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Rene Preval and Peter MacKay
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay meets with Haitian President René Préval in June.
A program sponsored by Canada in Haiti has helped bring sustainable electrical service to Jacmel, giving the city a level of social and economic development not seen elsewhere in Haiti.
source dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Tags: rene preval, Peter MacKay, Canada Minister of National Defence, Canadian Parliament, Progressive Conservative Party of Canada


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Physical Age, Emotional Age, Spiritual Age
When I was 21 and a new mom, I was a lot younger inside in certain ways. I did not have age-appropriate social skills, as an example. Spiritually, I was still in the hate God, blame God, its all Gods fault stage
which as an incest survivor is a normal stage to go through.
I have inside me my adult self, my inner child, my spiritual higher self, and the part of me that is damaged. The damage for me includes all areas of my internal adult, child, spiritual, emotional and physical self. When I went into my survival mode as a child, I stopped developing social skills and I stopped growing emotionally. All my energies went into surviving the incest assaults and brutal beatings.
So, as the years passed, the gaps between my physical age and my emotional developments grew bigger and bigger. This realization is where the title of my book comes from: I wanted to make up the ground that I lost. Anyway
at one point in my life I was 21 years old, emotionally more like 16 year old, and spiritually more like 3 year old. It is a very important part of your incest recovery to bring these parts into unison, and this will naturally happen as you work through your various struggles. Grow and heal, and you will slowly bridge the gaps. So, in that sense, there is no extra work to do other than to maintain an awareness of the gaps
and as you continue your incest survivor counseling these gaps begin to fill in.
Closing the gaps includes all the other writings thus far and more to come in specially titled postings, except spiritual growth. So that is what I will focus on here instead of repeating everything else or jumping ahead of myself.
I am going to be very honest, as I have been thus far, except what I say may really offend a lot of people
and I am not going to apologize. I believe in freedom of speech, not politically correct speech. I believe I have a right to say what I believe and if it offends you please feel free to stop reading now and leave this site immediately. This is for the rest of us who do believe in our constitution as it was written, not as it is currently being interpreted.
So here we go. I grew up in the Episcopal faith. Church this and church that. But I went home behind closed locked doors to well, you know youve been reading along. I believe there is a heaven and a hell. I been to hell figuratively on earth but did not buy the t-shirt. I believe in God and Jesus and salvation. I have studied many religions in my quest to reconcile my terrible fate as a child of abuse with God. I hated God for many years, and blamed Him for so long and cursed Him. But I made my peace with God. It is my personal journey of faith and spirituality. I won't really go into the details
it is not that pertinent really. What I do want to touch on are a couple of things that are significant for survivors of abuse:
It is very important to have a higher power to turn to for spiritual growth and support. If you feel angry with God, that is normal. I would encourage you to reconcile with God in your own timing. Be wary of fanatical Christians, or fanatical cults, even fanatical churches. Be wary of fanatics. Their fanaticism calls to mind insanity. Or the reverse, which is atheism, and thats just denial altogether.
Churches often interpret the bible in their own way. The more spin they put on the bible (doctrine), then that becomes their own point of view to serve their own agendas, and the further away from God they can take you. I believe that very much. Be wary.
Some people get a disease, what I call: "Good Little Christianitis." You folks need a doctor, ok? You are doing Gods work Satans way. You are running off people like me and other survivors of abuse who want to be part of a group of believers but get thoroughly disgusted by the hypocrisy, dishonesty, pretense and snobby, holier-than-thou behavior you "G.L.C" carriers act like towards others. I have had more hurtful things said to me, been treated very badly by, snubbed by, and ostracized by "G.L.C."s. And I am one voice in countless voices who would agree with me, so snap out of it already. Hiding yourself as a Christian, hiding in Christianity does not make you better than anyone else. There are healthier ways to express your faith and healthier ways to build your self esteem. You certainly don't fool me, ok, I see past the smoke and mirrors.
"Bible Thumpers" spreading the gospel is not anything that I am against, ok, but can we keep this within reason as well? Have you ever had someone say: God Bless You? Its kind a nice, right? But over and over, and in every conversation, does it always have to have scripture quoted
and praise the lord this and praise the lord that? I love God and I am thankful for all He has done to help me through this. I don't blame God anymore.
But please, Bible Thumpers, realize this one thing- my relationship with God is none of your damn business. It is my relationship, it is personal, and it is none of your business. BUTT OUT! All you are doing is pushing people including those in incest recovery away from God because they can't stand your fanaticism, ok? Get a Clue Please! You should really open your eyes to how people are affected by your insane behaviors.
I encourage fellow survivors of abuse to develop your spirituality. It can really be a source of comfort to you, and I encourage you to make peace with God. OK, It is your personal journey and your personal relationship (involves talking to each other). I wish you the best in working it all out. I can offer advice, but in this case I am going to say no more.
If you ever did want to go to church, about the only type of church I could ever attend and not be completely turned off by are the Bible Churches. A dear friend of mine is Baptist. I went to his church several times and enjoyed it quite a bit too. **In fairness, I want to add one thing- bad eggs can be found anywhere, so if your heart is pulling you to worship in a church setting
follow your heart. Just be careful.
But I rarely go. I pray and I am spiritual, but too much hurt has been done to me by G.L.C's and Bible Thumpers.
In Dallas, the Pastoral Counseling and Education Center as well as The Family Place are both great agencies to begin your counseling.
As an incest survivor, some really great books to read that helped me sort things out in this topic are:
Our God is Awesome- I enjoyed it, and I can't say that about a lot of religious material, if you get my drift.
A View From the Zoo- A very light and witty, easy read but wow I liked it a lot. My copy is completely falling apart but the short stories are so entertaining. I keep it around.
****The Shack- < - Read this one first.
Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, you will rise up again whole and renewed!


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A nation's economic potential is always concentrated within cities. Therefore, the development of cities and the debate on possible political strategies for improving urban economic development are especially relevant for countries or regions whose economy falls behind, like the former socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Cities in all CEE countries have been subject to quite drastic changes during the last two decades, since the start of the transition from socialist to market oriented systems. Domestic institutional changes, like the reintroduction of local autonomy for cities, took place in parallel with the process of European integration. The process of integration has not had a uniform impact on the economic development of cities, and this might have resulted in changes in their economic position.
For some cities in CEE, European integration will have led to a more favorable economic development, as compared to all cities within a country or region; for other cities, the impact of integration will have been unfavorable. It is quite obvious that European integration has led to an increase in locational competition between cities (Cheshire 1999). Undoubtedly, these processes are embedded in the general tendencies of globalization.
Poland, compared to other CEE countries, is a large country with many urban areas. This is a considerable advantage with regard to quantitative analyses. Poland entered the EU in 2004. The formal process of integration was gradual. Polish cities had time to adjust their economy to the conditions within the EU.
When analyzing the development of Polish cities in the last two decades, significant changes in their economic position come to the fore. Some cities lost large numbers of citizens and were not ready to develop new economic perspectives. Other cities were able to attract both people and businesses. But, so far, the empirical analysis of the impact of European integration on this development has not been sufficient. This article aims to fill the blank spaces.
The article is organized into five key sections. The first part provides a brief overview of selected studies on factors influencing the economic development of cities and regions (including in particular measures on European integration). In the second section, the research question and hypotheses are presented. Section three is devoted to methods used in empirical tests. The next two sections present and discuss the empirical results. In the last section, the conclusions from the conducted research are presented.
Review of previous studies
With regard to economic theories on the impact of integration on regional development, good summaries are given by Niebuhr and Stiller (2004). According to them, the theoretical view that border regions may profit from integration due to the now closer distance to economic centers, highlights only one aspect. The authors show that such positive developments are scarce, and the process of integration remains open with regard to its results for particular regions. Bröcker (2009) analyzes the consequences of economic integration only for cities with the highest levels of urban hierarchies. The study on Leipzig and Wroclaw by Kunze and Lenk (2007) presents a broad approach for explaining differences in the long-term development of cities, but it was not aimed to present a quantitative analysis.
Cuaresma et al. (2014) tested the impact of 48 variables on the economic growth of 255 NUTS2 regions in the European Union between 1995 and 2005, using econometric models. The results of their research indicate the importance of education (10% increase in the share of workers with higher education is associated with a 0.4% higher growth rate of annual GDP per capita) and location of the capital city within the region. The latter factor is particularly important in CEE countries (regions with capital cities grew on average 1.8 percentage points faster than other regions).
Noseleit (2013), analyzing data for German regions (NUTS3) between 1975 and 2002, came to the conclusion that changes in the structure of the region's economy are an important element in moving from entrepreneurial activity to real economic growth in the region. In regions with a low sectoral diversification of the economy, with the dominance of industry, the development of local entrepreneurship is not associated with economic growth as much as in regions with a more diversified economic structure.
Cullinan et al. (2013) investigated the determinants of relative economic performance for Irish towns (using a data set of 112 Irish towns with over 1000 inhabitants). Their results suggest that these determinants of success can act in different ways for different groups of towns. The dependent variable is a retail turnover per head of population. The group of independent variables consists of connectivity, capacity and competitiveness of the town. Authors construct models for different groups and also a model for all cities. In all cases, education has a positive association with relative retail performance.
There is extensive Polish literature on the organization of EU funds and its impact on regional economic development; however, these works are focused on regional rather than on urban issues (see, e.g. Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego 2010). In addition, the existing Polish literature usually concentrates on the absorption of funds, and not on a wider European integration context. The results of the latest work on the role of nationally managed programmes (EU funds) in financing local government projects show that the largest beneficiaries are especially large cities (Swianiewicz et al. 2013). The development of Polish cities is well documented with regard to demographic issues and economic key indicators (see, e.g. Węławowicz et al. 2010), state control functions (Śleszyński 2007), spatial distribution of large enterprises (Śleszyński 2008) and location decisions made by foreign investors in Polish municipalities (Dziemianowicz 2008) or issues of polycentricity (Gorzelak & Olechnicka 2009). One observation is that in general, the economic development of cities drops as one moves from west to east of Poland. Łukomska (2012) used regression models for all Polish municipalities to investigate factors of local economic development between 1995 and 2008. The results show that factors which may be directly influenced by local governments (like expenditures related to the improvement of local infrastructure, often with the contribution of EU funds) play a certain role in local development processes, although they do not dominate. However, the issue of European integration is hardly touched upon in these publications.
Research questions and hypotheses
The main objective of the research is the identification of the changes in the economic position of large Polish cities in 1992-2013 and an attempt to answer the question: which cities had the chance to improve their economic position, and which cities lost population and economic potential since 1992? The second, but no less important objective of the research is the identification of factors which were the driving forces of these changes. In particular, what was the impact of factors related to European integration?
With reference to the research objectives hypotheses were formulated. Firstly, it was assumed that the changes in the economic position of Polish cities which took place during the last two decades would allow for the identification of the group of "success cities" and "loser cities". The identification of the key drivers of changes in the "success cities" may be slightly more difficult than for "loser cities". Factors that negatively influence the economic position of cities can be somewhat more group-oriented and it could be easier to identify them.
In relation to the second objective it is assumed that particular factors could have been crucial for explaining changes in the economic positions of cities:
- The impact of the process of European integration.Access to EU funds (including pre-accession funds) and economic integration, as well as the exchange of academic staff have contributed to the change in the level of the economic development of Polish cities. In the context of integration, the role of social capital (participation in the European Parliament elections) should not be insignificant to the economic development of cities.Results of studies on European countries indicate the role of integration processes, particularly trade integration in the development of industry in the EU (Krugman & Venables 1996; Tsiapa 2014).
- Location in relation to the main city agglomeration and to airports – theories of location of economic activity show the importance of proximity of agglomerations and central places in the economic development of cities; see, e.g. Weber agglomeration factor (1909); Christaller theory of central places (see, e.g. Kuciński 2004);
- The administrative status of the city – losing the status of a regional capital may have negative consequences for the economic development of a city. According to Dasher (2000), capitals of regions or counties grow faster than other cities in the same area. As regards the capitals of the EU countries, it was empirically proven by Cuaresma et al. (2014);
- Degree of sectoral diversification of cities' economy – cities that based their economy on one industry (especially a declining industry) are exposed to the risk of negative changes in their economic position (Noseleit 2013);
- Human capital and social capital – there is much evidence from previous research on the impact of factors related to the quality of human capital and social capital on economic development (Nelson & Phelps 1966; Putnam 1993; Francois 2002; Coffé & Geys 2005; Cullinan et al. 2014). For Poland, there are several papers on the impact of institutions and social capital on urban economic development (see, e.g. Dziemianowicz et al. 2011; Łukomska 2012);
- State of the modernization of the private sector – cities experiencing positive changes in the private sector and the development of local businesses, have a chance to improve their economic position in the hierarchy of cities. In particular, large and prosperous businesses remain important for the local economy (Śleszyński 2008). In the era of rapid technological progress, investments in fixed assets are extremely important for shaping the competitive advantage of enterprises (Czerwonka & Jaworski 2014). The importance of investments in fixed assets for the development of Polish enterprises has been shown in the research of Kotowicz-Jawor (2001) or Duda (2009). Business development is taking place with the expansion of the market to other countries through export. The weight of exports for the development of the local economy was analyzed by Komornicki (2009).
Dataset and method
The dataset consists of 91 Polish relatively big cities which at the beginning of 1990 had a population of more than 50 thousand. The intention was to have a starting point for the analysis at the beginning of economic and political transformation in Poland. The first year for which comparable data is available is not 1990 but 1992; thus, the starting point for empirical analysis is 1992.
The database for these cities was built for five points in time, which can be considered important for socio-economic changes in Poland:
- 1992 –the beginning of transformation (the earliest available, comparable and complete data);
- 1998 – an administrative and territorial reform resulting in a reduced number of regions (16 new regions were implemented instead of 49 regions); many big cities lost the administrative status of a regional capital;
- 2004 –Poland's accession to the European Union;
- 2008 –Poland entered the Schengen area, the movement of people and goods within the area has become easier;
- 2013 –the newest available data at the moment of conducting the empirical analysis.
Despite numerous empirical studies, development practitioners and academics have not succeeded in developing a uniform and coherent method of comprehensive measurement of economic development. Most often, as pointed out by M. Obrębalski, the measurements used are dependent on the arbitrariness of the research team's approach and information possibilities (Obrębalski 2002).
The first idea was to take into account the most popular indicator of economic growth – GDP per capita. Unfortunately, data on GDP are not available in Poland at the local level (for cities/municipalities). The analysis using this indicator could cover only the six largest Polish cities: Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań and Szczecin (which have NUTS3 status). Finally, taking into account the definition of development as a complex process, several variables were used to construct a synthetic (composite) index. Synthetic indices for 91 cities were constructed for five points in time: 1992, 1998, 2004, 2008 and 2013. Static measures for each given year were used (instead of dynamic indicators) to avoid methodological problems. A simple method for creating synthetic indicators was implemented. It was one of the linear ordering methods called "Z. Hellwig method" (so-called taxonomic measure of development understood as the arrangement of units investigated depending on their distance from a certain artificially constructed point). This method was repeatedly used to measure development phenomena (see, e.g. Łukomska 2012; Pomianek 2010).
The hierarchy index (HI) was constructed of five variables: population, unemployment rate, local budget revenues from personal income tax per capita and measure of local businesses based on local budget revenues from corporate income tax and commercial property tax base per capita. The latter two variables measure the same dimension, which was taken into account by the appropriate weights of variables. All component variables except for the unemployment rate are treated as the stimulants. The indices were calculated according to the following formula:
HI - hierarchy index
x(i, j) – standardized value of variable i for unit j (standardization performed with z-score method1);
x(i, max) – the "best" value (the highest or the lowest, depending on the nature of the variable) within an analyzed sample of the standardized value of variable i. These "best" values were identified for each year under analysis. For this reason, the article analyzes the positions of cities in the individual rankings rather than the values of HI.
The constructed indicators are based on data from the Central Statistical Office and Ministry of Finance (financial reports on the budget execution of municipalities).
In the next stages of the research, the Pearson correlation and regression analyses (OLS and hierarchical OLS) were used. In the case of the multiple linear regression method (OLS), a progressive selection method is used, which consists of a sequential selection of independent variables for the model. The next step of the analysis is based on a hierarchical multiple regression analysis which is a framework for model comparison rather than a statistical method. The procedure involves entering sets of explanatory variables into the model in blocks and allows to test whether the addition of each block has improved the model's match to the data over the previous blocks.
The main dependent variable (change 1992-2013) is characterized by normal distribution, while the distributions of two other dependent variables are a bit skew but not significantly.
Changes in the urban hierarchy
On the basis of the obtained values of HI, the five rankings of the economic position of cities for each of five points in time were created. The next step was the comparison of all five hierarchies, checking which groups of cities are ascending and which are descending the hierarchy.
Which of the analyzed cities made the biggest "leap" in the rankings in 1992-2013? The not very big cities (with less than 80 thousand inhabitants, except Koszalin) within the group of cities experienced the most significant positive changes. They are not concentrated in a given region, but are quite evenly distributed throughout the country. At first glance, it is hard to find distinctive features of this group. This is not the case for the group of cities that lost their economic position dramatically between 1992 and 2013. These are mono-industrial cities located in the Upper Silesia, usually with the dominance of the mining industry in the structure of their economy (see Table 1).
Greatest gain and greatest loss of cities in the ranking 1992-2013
|Greatest gain 1992-2013
|Greatest loss 1992-2013
|Siemianowice Śląskie
|Ruda Śląska
|Wodzisław Śląski
|Piekary Śląskie
How did the rankings change over the years? The analysis has covered the changes in all possible combinations for the above five points over time: 1992-1998, 1992-2004, 1992-2008, 1992-2013, 1998-2004, 1998-2008, 1998-2013, 2004-2008, 2004-2013 and 2008-2013. It was assessed whether there is a relationship between the changes in these periods. Changes in almost all configurations are correlated with the 1992-2013 change. The only exception is the 2004-2008 change (Table 2). Changes in this period do not show a statistically significant relationship with the changes in the whole period of 1992-2013, and this may suggest that the economic changes in cities immediately after Poland's accession to the EU were slightly different from the overall trend of changes throughout the analyzed period.
Pearson correlation coefficients among changes of position in rankings
|Change 1992-2013
If we compare the cities in the 1992 ranking with the 2013 ranking, we can identify four groups of cities (see Figure 1). This diagram is a sort of summary of the first part of the empirical study.
The first group of cities (in the lower left corner of the diagram) – throughout the entire period this group kept its leading place in the ranking of economic development. These are the largest Polish cities. Their position in the hierarchy is stable.
The second group (cities in the upper left corner of the diagram) – their loss was the most dramatic in the rankings. This group comprises almost exclusively mining cities located in Upper Silesia.
The third group (cities in the bottom right corner of the diagram) – they have improved their positions in the rankings between 1992 and 2013. It is difficult to identify distinctive features of these cities. Some of them are very characteristic, e.g. with one large and very prosperous state company located there: Głogów (producer of copper and refined silver – KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.), Puławy (one of the largest melamine producers in the world and the biggest Polish company in the field of chemical synthesis – "Azoty Group Puławy" S.A.).
The fourth group are cities that have maintained a poor ranking for years.
The cities from the second and third group which were described above are the subject of quantitative analyses, as the dependent variables of the models tested are changes in the ranking (in the case of the first and fourth group of cities there were no changes, or the changes were insignificant).
Factors explaining changes in urban hierarchies
Factors that can determine changes in the hierarchy of cities have been described and theoretically embedded in the section with the explanation of the research hypothesis. The next step was the operationalization of these factors. Finding the available data, which would be a good measure of the individual factors, was not an easy task, so in the case of selected factors some assumptions were needed. At this stage, in addition to data from the Main Statistical Office and data from the Ministry of Finance, databases specially prepared for this study were used, i.a. location in the context of communication accessibility, student and teacher mobility within the ERASMUS program, the quality of universities and the location of the biggest 500 companies on the basis of information available in "Wprost" and "Polityka" magazines. The data on the availability of EU funds for local governments in Poland in 1991-2006 prepared by K. Szmigiel (2007) and data on exports based on Komornicki's work (2009) were also used.
The list of variables operationalizing the factors explaining changes in the economic development of cities in the groups is presented in Table 3.
Operationalisation of factors explaining changes in economic hierarchies of Polish large cities
|Explanatory variables
|Expected sign
|European integration
|– Location on the course of route TEN-T (including roads, railways, airports and seaports; one-zero variable; years 2004, 2013)
|– Distance to the EU core cities: Hamburg, Frankfurt, vienna, Berlin, Munich (measured by distance to the city with direct or connecting flights to the above cities) (in km)
|– Distance to the Polish-German border (in km)
|– Turn-out in the elections to European Parliament (in %; 2004, 2009)
|– Turn-out in the EU accession referendum (in %, 2003)
|– EU accession referendum – number of votes "in favor" as % of potential votes (in %, 2003)
|– Academic exchanges within ERASMUS (number of student placements per 10 thousand inhabitants, number of teacher placements per 10 thousand inhabitants; years: 2001, 2007, 2012 and one-zero variable: the Erasmus agreements signed by institutions of higher education between 2000-2007 and 2011-2012)
|– Expenditures of local budget within EU grants (sum for 2005-2013 per capita) (in PLN)
|– The availability of the EU funds in 1991-2006 period
|– Distance to the nearest city with more than 300 thousand inhabitants (in km and minutes, departure on weekdays at noon)
|– Distance to the nearest airport with regular passenger flights (in km and minutes, departure on weekdays at noon)
|Degree of sectoral diversification of cities' economy
|– Local budget revenues from fee on exploitation of natural resources (minerals) over PLN 200,000 (one-zero variable; 2004, 2008, 2013)
|Human capital
|– % of population with higher education (2002, 2011)
|– The quality of higher education institutions (based on rankings from "Wprost" magazine: 1998, 2004, 2007; the average ranking of public and non-public institutions of higher education in the city, in points, maximum value = 100)
|Social capital
|– Turn-out in local elections (in %; 1990,1994,1998,2002,2006,2010)
|– The number of NGO's per capita (1995, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2013)
|Administrative status
|– Losing the status of regional capital (one-zero variable, 1998)
|Modernisation of private sector
|– Change in gross value of fixed assets in enterprises (2004-2013, in %)
|– The number of firms from the list of 500 of the biggest companies in the country located within the city per 100 thousand inhabitants (based on the rankings from "Polityka" magazine; 1998, 2012)
|– The value of exports per capita (in PLN; 2005, 2007)
The results of the regression analysis with respect to the three explanatory variables (changes of the city's ranking in 1992-2013, 1992-2004 and 2004-2013) are presented in Table 4.
Results of OLS regression analyses (progressive selection method)
|Dependent variable
|Change in the ranking 1992-2013
|Change in the ranking 1992-2004
|Change in the ranking 2004 -2013
|R square
|Adjusted R square
|Significance of the model
|Explanatory variables
|Distance to the airport in vienna by plane
|% of population with higher education 2002
|TEN-T (location of the airport in the city)
|Turn-out in local elections 1998
|The value of export per capita 2005
|Distance to the airport in Hamburg
|Losing the status of regional capital
|Turn-out in local elections 1990
|Turn-out in local elections 1994
|Distance to the city with direct flight to Munich
|Distance to the nearest city with more than 300 thousand inhabitants (in minutes)
|Turn-out in the elections to European Parliament in 2003 (w %)
|Number of votes "in favor" as % of potential votes in EU accession referendum
|Change in gross value of fixed assets in enterprises per capita 2004-2013
|TEN-T (railway)
|The availability of the EU funds in 1991-2006 period
The explanatory power of the models tested is not very high (from about 20% in the case of explaining changes in 2004-2013 to about 60% in the model explaining the change in 1992-2004). Many of the independent variables were not statistically significant for explaining the changes in the economic position of cities2.
However, among the variables that are not irrelevant to the shifts in the economic hierarchy, the factors related to European integration can be found. These are the variables related to the availability of communication in relation to the core cities of the European Union:
- -location in relation to the airports in Hamburg and Munich – the closer to these cities, the more positive the change in the hierarchy of economic development;
- -location of the city on the TEN-T rail network - the cities on the main international rail lines (AGC) and the important international combined transport lines (AGTC) experienced an improvement in economic development between 2004 and 2013.
The results show that the closer to vienna, the more negative the change in the economic development of the city. This result of regression analyses could be related to a group of cities located in Upper Silesia that can be characterized by negative economic changes and quite a short distance from the airports nearest to the airport in vienna (Katowice or Kraków).
Among variables that are statistically significant to explaining the changes in the rankings were also the variables related to European integration, such as the turnout in the accession referendum (the higher the turnout in the city, the more positive the change in the ranking of 1992-20043) and the availability of EU funds for local governments in the years 1991-2006 (the higher the rate of availability of EU funds, including pre-accession funds, the more positive the change in the years 2004-2013).
The relevance of "European integration" factors is confirmed by a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, but only for the model with the dependent variable related to the change of 1992-2013. Only for this period, the adding of a "European integration" block of variables to the model increased its explanatory power in a statistically significant way (at 5% level) (Table 5).
Changes in the explanatory power of regression models after adding the variables related to EU integration (hierarchical multiple regression)
|Dependent variable
|Change in the ranking 1992-2013
|Change in the ranking 1992-2004
|Change in the ranking 2004 -2013
|Significance of the model
|R square
|R square after entering to the model block of "EU integration" variables
|R square change
|Significance of R square change
The variables related to human and social capital (% of population with higher education and electoral turnout in 1994 and 1998 local elections4) proved to be important for the economic change. Also, the modernization of the private sector (the value of export per capita and the change in the per capita value of fixed assets5) turned out to be the predictor of a positive change in the economic hierarchy.
The loss of the administrative status of the regional capital turned out to be a variable explaining changes in the economic hierarchy of cities in 1992-2004. This relationship is positive, which means that cities holding the status of a regional capital in the period 1992-1998 have experienced positive changes in their economic positions between 1994 and 2004 (see Table 5).
According to the results of the research, it is easier to identify the factors that played a key role in the loss of the economic position of cities. There is the group of Upper Silesian cities, dominated by the coal mining industry (with industrial monoculture). The economic transformation of the 1990s hit this group of cities quite hard. Coal began to lose popularity (initially lignite and later other sources of energy were introduced, as well as regulations limiting CO2 emissions). Problems began in the first half of the 1990s. It turned out that coal mining in Poland was too expensive. The first layoffs of miners started, the miners joined the unemployed, and later they became long-term unemployed. The negative effects of these processes are evident when we compare the dynamics of the changes in the indicators. It shows that these cities have depreciated more than others, and that the problems of unemployment and falling incomes have affected these cities more noticeably than the others. The monostructure model of these cities, which focus too intently on one branch of economic growth, makes them vulnerable to rapid decline. As a result, a notable population loss could be observed. This phenomenon was identified and broadly presented in the literature within the research on shrinking cities (Hollander & Németh 2011). As the research of German regions shows, even when new companies are established, this does not reflect in economic growth as much as it does in more economically diversified cities (Noseleit 2013).
It is difficult to identify the "success factors" that have allowed cities to make the most positive changes in the ranking. Probably the individual characteristics of these cities, which were not captured in statistical analyses, were crucial. During the investigation it turned out that the "success" of cities was related to the presence of a single large state owned and successful company. But the results of the regression analysis did not confirm the significance of the number of firms from the list of 500 biggest companies in the country. Probably this result could be explained by the domination of the only one prosperous company which is important to the local market in relatively smaller cities. But simultaneous consideration of the dominance and economic condition of the company was difficult to capture in statistical models.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that the factors related to European integration have been shown as important to explaining the changes in the economic hierarchy of Polish cities. In addition to location variables, the availability of EU funds for local governments has proved to be important. Cities that were able to benefit from EU funds in the period 1991-2006 (including the pre-accession funds) in the years 2004-2013, experienced a more positive change in the economic hierarchy than the other cities. This relationship could be associated with the location issue. Most EU funds were available in regions near the western border during accession and pre-accession phases. However, the variable "distance from the western border" turned out to be insignificant when explaining changes in the economic positions of cities.
It is known from earlier studies that variables related to social and human capital are usually very significant in the context of economic development. The results of the conducted research suggest that they are also important for explaining changes in the hierarchy of Polish cities in the analyzed period of time.
Changes in the value of fixed assets in enterprises per capita turned out to be an important variable explaining the changes in the ranking in the years 2004-2013. As indicated by the results of other research, fixed assets in 2001-2010 were the main investment direction of Polish enterprises, accounting for more than half of the total investment. Most fixed assets purchased by companies during this period were new assets. The most dynamically growing expenditures where those financed by budgetary resources – grants from local governments and central government (increase of 190%) and by foreign funds (60%). This was probably related to the launching of investment EU aid programs aimed at enterprises in the post-accession period (Czerwonka, Jaworski 2014).
The empirical investigation presented in the article has been conducted as part of the research project "East-German and Polish Cities in the Process of European Integration (CIT- IN)" (project no. 2014-17, application no. 100272), funded by the German-Polish Scientific Foundation.
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Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego 2010 Wpływ funduszy europejskich na gospodarkę polskich regionów i konwergencje z krajami UE MRR Warszawa
Nelson R & Phelps E 1966 Investment in humans technological diffusion and economic growth' American Economic Review no. 56.
Niebuhr A & Stiller S 2004 'Integration effects in border regions – a survey of economic theory and empirical studies' Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft vol. 24 (1) pp. 3–21.
Noseleit F 2013 'Entrepreneurship structural change and economic growth' Journal of Evolutionary Economics vol. 23 pp. 735–766.
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Noseleit, F 2013, 'Entrepreneurship, structural change, and economic growth',)| false Journal of Evolutionary Economics, vol. 23, pp. 735–766. 10.1007/s00191-012-0291-3
Obrębalski M 2002 'Rozwój regionalny – identyfikacja pomiar i ocena' in Gospodarka lokalna w teorii i w praktyce ed E Sobczak Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomicznej we Wrocławiu Wrocław pp. 11–19.
Pomianek I 2010 Poziom rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego obszarów wiejskich województwa warmińsko-mazurskiego' Acta Oeconomia no. 9 (3) pp. 227-239.
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Szmigiel K 2007 Pomoc zewnętrzna skierowana do samorządów lokalnych w Polsce w okresie transformacji' in Gmina pasywna ed W Dziemianowicz & P Swianiewicz Studia KPZK PAN vol. CXvII Warszawa pp. 39–55 pp. 176-183.
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Śleszyński P 2008 Duże przedsiębiorstwa w strukturze przestrzennej największych polskich miast' Prace Geograficzne vol. 217 Instytut Geografii i Przestrzennego Zagospodarowania PAN Warszawa.
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Tag Archives: printer
5 things to keep in mind when buying a new printer
Image via Wikipedia There is no fixed season for new printer purchasing. Printer manufacturers don't have any particular time of year set aside to introduce their new models. Some manufacturers introduce a new printer once a year, others bring out … Continue reading
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Samsung ML-2525 on sale at Fry's
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Printer Shopping Tips from MacWorld
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Kodak's claims challenged by printer manufacturers
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When you click on "Print"…
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If you're an Illini basketball fan, you've got to feel much better about this loss 78-74 to #9 12-0 Missouri Tigers team than you do about the last three wins.
I'll repeat and explain because I know it's a very odd sounding sentence. You've got to feel much better about this Illinois game tonight when they were down double digits to an undefeated, top ten team yet clawed their way back to take the lead, a few times than: needing Brandon Paul to bail them out in the final minutes at home to a mediocre St. Bonaventure team, failing to close out Coppin St. until late in the second half, and barely escaping by 4 points at home to a .500 Ivy League team (Cornell).
I guess we do their identity now: a team that plays up and down to its competition. Which means they'll fit right in in this wide open Big Ten.
Interesting read from Dave Wischnowsky at CBS Sports Chicago
anyone who didn't think that this Illini squad wouldn't experience its ups and downs just wasn't being rational. And, right now, the downs for those rookies – as well as for inexperienced reserves Crandall Head and Joe Bertrand – are definitely outnumbering the ups.
During the last four games, for example, the Illini bench has combined to make just 5 of 36 shots (that's 13.9 percent for those scoring at home), providing scant production. Now, whether those youngsters break through this wintertime wall or get completely stopped by it as standout sophomore center Meyers Leonard did as a freshman last season remains to be seen.
Indeed entering this game, the Illini bench has been outscored 42-3 in the past two games. Syracuse they're not (The 'Cuse leads all of college basketball at 37 bench ppg, not referring to the child molestation allegations)
Joseph Bertrand came off the bench and had a career-high 19 points on 9-for-9 shooting for Illinois (11-2). His 28 minutes were a lot more than he's used to playing. I'm guessing he's going to get a lot more PT from now on. Brandon Paul added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Meyers Leonard had 14 points and 13 rebounds. If you followed the discussion of the game on Twitter, you noticed that a lot of people criticized Leonard for not playing to his height. He played too much of a perimeter game, didn't bang down low enough. And I understand where they're coming from, I saw a little too much of that tonight.
But on the other hand, he finished with a double double- again! And he did most of his scoring from the post. I think some of the criticism for Leonard, and with it Head Coach Bruce Weber for supposedly enabling this behavior, stems from Mike Tisdale residue. If you're an Illini fan, you know how aggravating it was to watch Tisdale spend most of his college basketball career as a 7-foot-1 shooting guard. Leonard is not Tisdale- realize this! In fact the reason Leonard is considered a potential NBA lottery pick is because he's not Mike Tisdale.
And then there's Mizzou. The Tigers have won three straight in the series and they're 12-0 for the first time since a 19-0 start in 1981-82. This was by far the biggest challenge Mizzou has faced this season, as the Illini were up with 2:01 to play. Granted "M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-O-U-R-I who you know do it better?" (sorry about channeling my inner Nelly, this game was played in St. Louis hasn't played that tough a schedule, but there are undefeated nonetheless. They slaughtered a really bad Notre Dame team, Villanova and a Cal squad ranked #20 at the time. But none of their previous opponents gave them a fight like the Illini.
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"Great" Britain is now known to possess the highest level of Closed Circuit Television systems per citizen in the world (currently thought be increasing at a rate of approximately 300 new cameras per week).
For example, the average London resident is filmed around 300 separate times every day, from a range of public, police, commercial and private cameras. In Middlesborough operators order offenders to
pick up litter, stop being anti-social, etc. through camera-mounted speakers, under threat of fines and police attention.
The city of Manchester possesses the UK's most advanced CCTV Control Centre, covering the city centre with a network of over 400 cameras. Recordings are stored for a minimum of 92 days and are viewable via an 18 metre high screen! Generally the reason given for the introduction of many of these cameras is "to prevent crime", a fact which a 2005 Home Office report (amongst many others) has stated to be demonstrably false. Unfortunately this seems to have done little to hinder the continuing erosion of our liberties – far from it, as more and more councils and public institutions request funding for their unblinking eyes.
Don't get me wrong; CCTV can, when used sensibly, help to provide legal evidence, sometimes crucially. It also definitely gives certain slices of the populace a feeling of security, especially pensioners and the infirm. Unfortunately it is too often being employed by those in power to scrutinise the innocent, with automatic facial ("Mandrake") and number plate recognition technology increasingly being used in
random, Stasi-style, sweeps. Cameras in trouble hot-spots may be effective in the short-term, but they don't stop crime and other "anti-social behaviours", merely moves them elsewhere.
In built up and not-so-built up areas, there are literally cameras everywhere: buildings, phones, cash points, businesses, roads, housing, police, paparazzi, TV… Police forces across the UK are also now starting to use unmanned spy drones for certain specialist tasks – military technology originally used in Iraq and now being utilised
against us. Those futurist Mancunian coppers have their own surveillance plane too – the first police aircraft in the UK able to send and receive live video feeds. Able to stay in the air for over 5 hours at a time, and equipped with thermal cameras & "moving map" capabilities, it's also alleged to be around 40% quieter than a helicopter. This is all part of a worrying trend of technological advance because we can – the so-called "system creep", extending intrusively
into all of our lives.
Another blandly ominous example of the potential for harm is plans by some local councils to connect their camera systems up with the police's prized national network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, an act which will make it particularly simple to scrutinise the movements of targeted individuals.
Speaking of targeting, don't let us forget the practice of "marking", whereby law enforcement tag individuals, vehicles and locations of possible interest. Ever been involved in or even tangentially connected to a criminal act or subculture? You've a good chance of being considered for marking by the beast if so! Moving on (and in a disturbingly Ballardian twist), over 8% of homes in this country now have some form of self-installed CCTV system. Perhaps the proliferation of commercial and government systems (combined with the constant onslaught of "Big Brother" type television) has got us used to the theory and practice of being watched going about our daily business?
One word; SKYNET.
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the
established authorities are wrong"


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I know I broke my streak, I had intended to let this weekend slide by and be back on Monday but good lord let me tell you.. this girl is SICK! I swear Peru screwed with my immune system because I never got sick until I went there and since coming home this is the third horrific cold I have had. Just last month at this very same time I was miserably sick and here I am again not in much better shape!
I haven't done anything the last two days at all.. literally. I made some homemade cream of chicken and wild rice soup..
I added broccoli to mine but Jason was without, I had intended to follow a specific recipe but that didn't happen, I like to do my own thing. But because of that I also cannot share the recipe with you! Next time I will write down what I do so I can share because it was excellent.
So I thought I would stop in today, due to popular demand (Fiona, haha) and tell y'all about our awesome trip to Frenchtown, New Jersey where the McMann's, Jason and I went tubing down the Delaware River. We had intended to go on Saturday but the weather wasn't suppose to be fantastic so we decided to hold off until Sunday. Well we woke up Saturday to rain but we said screw it by the time we got there the weather was suppose to be better and we really wanted to go!
We left the city and headed to farm country ready to hit the water! I will say it was absolutely gorgeous out there, the smell of clean air and just absolutely gorgeous scenery! By the time we arrived it had finished raining thankfully so we got our tubes and headed towards the river!
**Disclaimer: All off the following pictures of the tubing and on the water are courtesy of Tanya and her camera. I didn't trust myself to take my phone or camera, but Tanya was smart enough to have a dry bag and got picture! So thank you to her for sharing them with me so I could then share them with you!**
When we arrived we had to sign a waiver.. you know, if we died they weren't responsible. We selected tubes and life jackets and headed to the bus. We were bused to the drop off location where we were to get into the water.
I mean would it kill him to take a decent picture? I actually didn't even know he made a face until Tanya sent me the pictures yesterday, I almost died.
At least someone got a decent picture!
I was a little anxious when we arrived at the river to get it.. lets be honest I am not much of an outdoors girls and have spent VERY LITTLE time in lake water, I mean very little! We had purchased water shoes because it was mandatory that we wear them and that gave me a little peace of mind, but when my ass hit that cold water I tell ya I had second thoughts!
It actually wasn't all that busy which was great, the weather stayed overcast but it was still really nice.
The river itself was gorgeous, there were beautiful homes surrounding and tons of scenery! I really enjoyed being out there and relaxing!
As adults we were required to take life jackets but didn't have to wear them.. and we didn't... although Jason warned us on the way our possibilities of drowning.
The water was pretty clean, for the most part we could always see the bottom of the river.. that as far as I saw had no fish!
There were rough parts of the water but nothing dangerous. I swear if only you could have heard Jason while this picture was being taken, he was having such a good time!
Halfway down the river there was a place to stop for lunch which was included in our fee. We had a few options of meals, snack and drinks! It was a nice little pit stop to get out and stretch and have a snack.
You couldn't really miss it but if you wanted to you could have floated on by!
When we got to the end of the river we hopped out and there was a bus waiting to take us back to the truck. When we arrived back we all changed into dry clothes and cleaned up before heading into Frenchtown. Naturally it was a quaint little town and Tanya and I wanted to tour around the shops and obviously Josh and Jason didn't feel the same. We encouraged them to get a drink and we wouldn't be long but they insisted on joining us.. they lasted about three stores and decided maybe we knew what we were talking about and headed for that drink!
Typical small town America.. SO CUTE!
Below this bridge is the Delaware River.
Cute little coffee shop with homemade pie. I could never live in a small town but boy do I love to visit them!
This place was a bookstore in a house! All the rooms were themed, it was amazing! I honestly could have lived there and bought one of everything. This little place was so unique and full of my favorite things!
Needless to say most of the shops were unique and had wonderful little trinkets as well as odd larger items.
I got a kick out of this guy, Jason LOVED those little green army men as a kid and talks about them on occasion so when I saw this bottle opener I almost died. I kick myself for not getting it for Christmas or something.
The Canadian girl in me had to take a picture of this Maple Leaf shaped table! It was made out of a birch tree and absolutely gorgeous! This was one of many gorgeous tables in this little shop that I would have loved to take home. Jason was so lucky I didn't have my wallet with me!
After Tanya and I finished exploring we found the guys and decided to find somewhere for dinner. We toured through the town a little more on the way out and then before getting back on the interstate we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for dinner. The McMann's had never been there and you know how much I love it and I hope they did too! The food was excellent as always and so was the atmosphere, it was a great dinner!
I'm not going to lie I was sad to come back, we had such a great day and it was so nice to be out there away from the city and seeing something new and different. I look forward to our weekends and the exploring we do that's for sure.
So that was our weekend, sadly I am feeling miserable and sick but hoping that with the amount of sleep I am getting (I haven't had much choice, I have had zero energy), cold meds, vitamins and lots of fluids I have high hopes to feel better tomorrow. I probably would have ventured out today but it was HORRIFICALLY hot and humid today and with feeling so crumby I just didn't think it was a good idea. God bless my hubby, he came home and asked about dinner.. I really had no answer, I could have cooked something but I really just didn't feel like it so he saved the day and ordered pizza!
He is just off getting a haircut so I thought I would stop by here! My mom is face timing so I am going to head out! I will be back tomorrow.. maybe, haha with more!
Hope you all had a great weekend! If you are thinking about tubing the Delaware River you can check out the company we used HERE.


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VILLA'S Zat Knight has told how he might have been lining up for the opposition in tomorrow's derby – had he not snubbed the Baggies for Benfica.
The towering Brummie defender had a month-long trial with West Brom as a teenager and was given the opportunity to stay on longer at The Hawthorns.
But the lure of Graeme Souness's Benfica proved too much for a young Knight, who was offered a two-year contract at the Stadium of Light instead.
Some 10 years on, after ditching the Portuguese giants to make his name with Fulham, following a spell with Rushall Olympic, Knight has no regrets.
And the 28-year-old, who was also courted by then Baggies boss Gary Megson in 2002, is looking forward to his first involvement in a Villa-Albion derby.
"It should be a good game," said Knight. "I'm sure it will be a typical derby with both teams desperate to win.
"We beat them 2-1 at their place but I didn't play so hopefully I will get to play against them this time.
"I don't know too many of their players, other than Luke Moore, who was here at Villa, but I know they've improved lately and will be fired up.
"I wouldn't say they were one of my old clubs but I did have a trial with them when I was younger.
"It didn't go too badly but around the same time I had the chance to have a trial in Portugal with Benfica – and, no, it wasn't too hard a decision to make."


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