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Identification of the Quality Gaps in the Services Offered in Accommodation Facilities in Rural Areas: The Case of the Lublin Region
The quality of services offered in accommodation facilities is one of the factors determining the development of this business activity. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly examine the level of customer satisfaction, their expectations and needs. The systematic collection and analysis of the opinions of tourists make it possible to learn about their changing expectations and allows the service providers to adapt to them. The purpose of the research that constituted the basis of this article was to identify the quality gaps in the services provided in the accommodation facilities in rural areas of the region of Lublin. The Servqual method was used in the study, thanks to which it was possible to assess the quality criteria and the validity of the provided service. A total of 699 respondents took part in the research. According to the study, the reliability and timeliness of the service, the adherence to the terms and conditions of the service, as well as the willingness to solve customers’ problems, were of the greatest importance for the clients, while the completeness and reliability of the advertising materials turned out to be the least important. With the obtained results, it can be concluded that the expectations of the customers in the accommodation facilities in rural areas exceed the actual state of the offered services. The areas that need to be improved, such as reliability and empathy, were identified.
Physical Activity and Sleep Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from a Cluster Analysis
This study examined the relationship between physical activity levels and sleep quality among students during the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying patterns through clustering analysis. A longitudinal cohort of 1,600 students from Wroclaw Medical University, Poland participated from October 2020 to March 2021, with data collected in two stages: Stage I (n = 845) after six months and Stage II (n = 755) after one year. Physical activity levels, measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-S), were categorized as low, moderate, or high in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes per week, while sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), classifying participants as “good” or “poor” sleepers. Clustering analysis applied hierarchical agglomerative clustering (HAC) on 2021 data. Walking MET scores increased for both genders from 2020 to 2021, with significant gender differences. Females showed increased total MET, while male scores remained stable. Four clusters emerged: Clusters 1 and 2, with high walking plus vigorous or moderate activity, had shorter sleep durations, suggesting higher activity supports better sleep. Cluster 3, with low vigorous and moderate activity, had longer sleep duration, while Cluster 4, with irregular activity, showed the longest sleep duration, indicating inconsistent activity may increase sleep needs. Overall, consistent and varied physical activity may support optimal sleep patterns among students.
Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Agritourism Farm Stays and Their Safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Poland
The article presents reasons for the choices and opinions of tourists regarding rest and its safety in agritourism farms in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We used the diagnostic survey method. We distributed the questionnaire via the Internet on Facebook in thematic groups related to tourism. Facebook respondents were also asked to provide a link to the questionnaire to their tourism-active friends (snowball sampling). We conducted the survey in January 2021. Research has shown that well-educated and well-off residents of cities most often chose agritourism. The main reason for the choice is the possibility of rest in peace and quiet, natural values, and an attractive price. Notably, during the pandemic, an important reason for choosing agritourism was to convince tourists that the risk of coronavirus infection was relatively low. This is also evidenced by the fact that most of them visited an agritourism farm for the first time during the pandemic. The attractiveness of staying on an agritourism farm was assessed highly (almost all respondents expressed their willingness to take advantage of this form of leisure again). This is due to the high evaluation of the quality of services provided, the offer’s attractiveness, and price competitiveness.
Społeczny wymiar protestów rolniczych w kontekście wyzwań środowiskowo-klimatycznych w sektorze rolnym
Artykuł podejmuje tematykę protestów rolniczych jako wyrazu społecznego sprzeciwu wobec dynamicznych zmian zachodzących w europejskiej polityce rolnej, szczególnie w kontekście Europejskiego Zielonego Ładu (EZŁ) i jego środowiskowo-klimatycznych implikacji. Na podstawie badań terenowych przeprowadzonych wśród protestujących rolników w maju i czerwcu 2024 r. w Warszawie i Poznaniu, przeanalizowano poziom świadomości uczestników względem założeń EZŁ i szacowane przez rolników konsekwencje wdrożenia tych założeń dla gospodarstw rolnych. Ogólnokrajowa skala protestów, czas ich trwania i liczba uczestników dowodzą wagi problemu dla rolników i silnego oporu wobec reform klimatycznych w sektorze rolnym w proponowanej formie. Główne źródła informacji stanowiły media internetowe oraz wymiana poglądów podczas protestów. W opinii rolników wprowadzenie EZŁ naruszy opłacalność produkcji i wymusi poniesienie dodatkowych kosztów związanych z dostosowaniem gospodarstwa do spełnienia wymogów. Jednak w wielu przypadkach ankietowani nie potrafili wskazać nawet orientacyjnych szacunków tych kosztów, a więc nie znają realnych konsekwencji wdrożenia EZŁ, skutków na poziomie gospodarstwa rolnego. Tym bardziej nie są w stanie oszacować możliwości wykorzystania ewentualnych szans, jakie daje poszczególnym gospodarstwom pozytywna odpowiedź na społeczne oczekiwania stawiane w EZŁ.
Czynniki wpływające na brak zakupu ubezpieczeń rolnych na przykładzie powiatu wągrowieckiego
Celem artykułu była identyfikacja kluczowych czynników wpływających na brak ochrony ubezpieczeniowej w gospodarstwach rolnych. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań ankietowych przeprowadzonych w grupie rolników z powiatu wągrowieckiego. Na podstawie przeprowadzonych badań można stwierdzić, że rolnicy często ograniczają zakres ochrony ubezpieczeniowej gospodarstwa do niezbędnego minimum, a decyzja o zakupie odpowiedniej polisy jest uwarunkowana wieloma czynnikami. W zależności od rodzaju ubezpieczenia głównymi czynnikami determinującymi brak zakupu polisy są złe doświadczenia z zakładami ubezpieczeniowymi, zbyt wysoka składka ubezpieczeniowa, zbyt niskie odszkodowanie czy po prostu przekonanie, że polisa jest niepotrzebna.
The economic situation of households in Poland
The aim of this article was a one-dimensional and multidimensional assessment as well as a diagnosis of the economic situation of households according to socio-economic groups in Poland in the years 2009-2019. In the first stage of the research, the development of objective indicators reflecting the economic welfare of households was analyzed. The analysis of the economic situation of households included indicators of the income and expenditure situation in equivalent terms, the expenditure structure, measures of housing welfare including access to durable goods in households and average usable floor area of household per 1 person in m². In the second stage of the research, with the help of the classic TOPSIS (the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) method, a synthetic measure of the economic situation of the studied aggregate units (socio-economic groups) was built. On the basis of the value of the synthetic measure, a linear arrangement of studied aggregate units was performed, considering variables related to the economic situation of households. The analysis was prepared on the basis of data derived from household budget surveys conducted by Statistics Poland (GUS). The research covered data from the 2009-2019 period. The performed analysis, both one-dimensional and multidimensional, proved that in considerably the best economic situation in the studied period were households of self-employed persons and households of white-collar workers. However, in the worst financial situation were households of pensioners, which occupied the lowest positions in the ranking created on the basis of the value of the synthetic measure.
Financial Security of Social Cooperatives in the Catering Industry: Findings From the Financial Analysis vs. the Management’s Views
Financial security is essential in order for enterprises to survive and thrive in a competitive environment. It becomes especially important in crisis situations where restrictions are imposed that adversely affect business activities. Hence, there is a need for an in-depth exploration of what determines financial security in enterprises facing economic difficulties, especially in those primarily committed to social issues, namely social catering cooperatives. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the financial security of social catering cooperatives active in Greater Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research data was retrieved from 2020-2022financial reports of three social cooperatives. Information on how cooperative members view their financial security was collected during direct interviews based on a standardized questionnaire form. As demonstrated by the analysis of performance ratios, despite efforts made by the management, social cooperatives active in the catering business experienced a difficult financial situation during the COVID-19 threat, although their members had a positive perception of it. The difficulties were reflected in the cooperatives struggling to meet payment deadlines and to generate profits and positive cash flows. In order to avoid such issues in the future, they should focus on efficiently managing their trade credit, more actively seeking financial support from public funds, and strengthening their in-house communications. Managing these areas better can help ensure financial security and enable a more efficient functioning of cooperatives when faced with new economic hurdles.
Postawy młodych konsumentów mięsa wieprzowego w zakresie procesów jego produkcji oraz właściwości zdrowotnych
For years, pork has been one of the most popular types of meat consumed in Poland, due in part to the long tradition of pig farming and pork processing. The aim of the study was to identify and describe the attitudes of young adults from Generation Z towards pork consumption. The study addressed the following questions: What type of meat consumers are young adults from Generation Z? What factors guide their purchasing decisions regarding pork? Which elements of meat-related advertising messages, consistent with the principles of communication ethics, attract their attention the most? Given the specific characteristics of this generation (as “trying consumers”), identified through a literature review and a questionnaire survey, particular emphasis was placed on the structure of advertising messages about meat. Attention was also directed toward messages free from so-called greenwashing, i.e., pseudo-ecological marketing, by conducting a visual analysis of labels provided by meat producers operating within antibiotic-free farming systems. The findings confirmed the pro-ecological orientation of Generation Z young adults. The study showed that they focus not only on the appearance of the product, but above all on the advertising slogan “from antibiotic-free, GMO-free farming”, which highlights the importance of ecological messaging as a key element that captures their attention.
Income inequality of rural households in Poland - analysis by source of income
Rural households live on income much lower than the national average and experience income inequality much higher than the general population. This excess inequality is primarily due to the internal heterogeneity caused by the different nature of household income sources. The purpose of the study was then to assess the level of rural household income inequality and to decompose the inequality index by the main sources of income. The chosen inequality index was Theil-T. The research drew on unidentifiable microdata from the Household Budget Survey conducted by the CSO in 2019-2021.The study found that rural household inequality was slightly higher than that of all Polish households over the analyzed period. Among the various income-source groups, the highest inequality affected farmer households. This group also contributed most to the overall level of inequality in rural areas (44% in 2019 and over 46% in 2021). The pandemic saw an increase in inequality for all identified groups of rural households (the largest – for farmer households) and a decrease in between-group inequality.
Comparative analysis of EU regulations associated to the green deal targets, 4.2, Water quality in domectic law. Poland
Efficiency of European Union wheat producers on world market and analysis of its determinants based on the data envelopment analysis method
Conditions of Polish sovereignty with regard to plant feed protein supply
The study aimed to identify the main factors contributing to the limited physical self-sufficiency of the country in terms of plant protein supply for feed purposes, as well as to indicate the directions of possible actions leading to the improvement of this situation in Poland. Selected methods of descriptive statistics, substitution calculation and descriptive and comparative analysis were used to compile the numerical data. In the summary, it is concluded that the main market factor contributing to the reduction of the country’s physical self-sufficiency in plant protein is the progressive globalisation processes that are seen in Poland both in the sphere of feed production and in pig rearing. It was also recognised that European Union policy measures such as the “Agricultural Green Deal” strategy could result in an increase in the volume of domestically produced protein crops in Poland, which would increase the country’s security of supply of plant protein for feed purposes. It was also stated that in view of the ineffectiveness of market-based measures in developing protein crop production in the country, the government could intervene to introduce a plant protein indicator target to activate the market for this raw material.
