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Abstract writing is a very important since it is the piece of formal writing which should attract the attention of the reader and make him/her read the rest of the paper. Thus, it must be clear, concise, coherent, and powerful enough to attract the reader and provide him/her with the key information about the content of a research paper. All university students have to write an abstract in English in their qualification papers. However, non-native students of English usually have difficulties in writing an abstract in English. For example, the Czech students lack formal writing skills in English since the skill of formal writing is not developed enough in their native language, i.e. Czech. Therefore, the aim of this article is to discuss the use of an off-line scaffolding tool, which can help students develop an abstract in English, as well as to demonstrate how this tool can be incorporated in the whole Course of Practical English taught at the Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic. The application was developed for students as support to a face-to-face class instruction, which proved to be insufficient in teaching students how to write an abstract in English. The application reflects the structure and sentence functions of the abstract and provides students with a model abstract, as well as with additional formulations. Overall, the application was designed with the purpose to enhance student's skill of writing an abstract in English, as well as to lead students to successfully complete the task by making the application user-friendly - easy-to-use, accessible and transferrable as far as the knowledge is concerned. The application aims to enhance students' autonomous learning by tailoring the content to their specific needs and making it accessible anytime and from anywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our reply deals with the investigations of Kropáč et al. (2012) concerning the evolution of Mn-rich garnetites (=coticules) in the Silesian Desná Unit which are closely associated with Fe-rich rocks. Pouba (1970) who described these mineralizations in greater detail, postulated an origin identical with banded iron-formations of the Algoma type. However, Mücke and Losos (2007) excluded a banded iron-formation origin for the magnetite mineralizations and came to the conclusion that these are connected with the Devonian amphibolite of the Sobotín Massif. The older garnetites were inferred to be identical with coticules and, therefore, are comparable with Mn-rich iron-formations of the Algoma type. Concerning the coticules, Kropáč et al. (2012) confirmed the same origin as proposed by us. For the magnetite-rich rocks, on the other hand, Kropáč et al. (2012) strictly followed Pouba (1970) , but did neither present new results or data, nor considered the arguments of Mücke and Losos (2007) . In this reply, the most important results of Mücke and Losos (2007) are discussed in comparison with banded iron-formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper applied the Lintner model at the national level and examines the determinants of FDI profit repatriation in the Czech Republic and OECD countries. • The repatriation rate in the Czech Republic is higher than in most OECD countries. • Financial development and investment opportunities negatively affect the payout ratio of OECD countries as a group, while the appreciation of host countries' currency and higher effective rates positively affect the payout ratio of OECD countries as a group. • In the Czech Republic, only two factors that encourage repatriation are financial development and corruption enforcement. The paper examines the determinants of FDI profit repatriation in the Czech Republic and OECD countries as a group from 2013 to 2019. By applying the Lintner model about repatriation decisions at the national level, the paper finds the following findings. Firstly, the repatriation rate in the Czech Republic is higher than in most OECD countries. Secondly, financial development and investment opportunities negatively affect the payout ratio of OECD countries as a group, while the appreciation of host countries' currency and higher effective rates positively affect the payout ratio of OECD countries as a group. However, in the case of the Czech Republic, two factors that cause a higher payout ratio are financial development and anti-corruption enforcement. It implies that the Czech Republic should improve its financial market development and reduce the level of corruption to keep the profit from FDI in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the decisions of over 15,000 young adults aged 18–35 from nine European countries to choose employment over unemployment or remaining in education. Instead of focusing only on who makes those decisions as is typically done, we attempt to answer the question of why a particular decision is made. Using data from the Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-sufficiency and Entrepreneurship (CUPESSE) project, we estimate a series of country and gender-specific conditional logit (CLGT) models adjusted for individual work values, soft skills, demographic characteristics and local labor markets. We find that young women in Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Italy and both men and women in Spain and the United Kingdom, respond to exogenous wage offers providing some evidence for job search theory and for the reservation wage hypothesis. Our uptake rate simulations show that a 10% increase in wages have the potential to increase employment by as little as 2 percentage points in the UK and by as much as 14 percentage points in Czechia and Spain. Further, if unemployment benefits are also simultaneously reduced by 10% employment increases in these latter countries by 20 and 17 percentage points. We demonstrate the ways that revealed preference (RP) analysis can aid policy makers through strength of preference, uptake rate and willingness-to-pay applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in security has become common in the Czech Republic. This paper focuses on using drones as an example of the application of smart technologies in conjunction with the Internet of Things (IoT) and state security forces, especially in cooperation with the police, fire and medical emergency services in the context of the new Smart Cities concept. Drones are one of the most suitable examples of use along with IoT within the security sector, which play a key role in the daily protection of citizens' safety, public order security and crisis management. It is related to developing and implementing 5G networks, which allow real-time transmission of data obtained by drones directly to information systems, and is also gaining importance. This technology enables fast and efficient communication between the different actors involved in an intervention and creates a platform for fast and effective emergency response. Among other things, paying attention to cybersecurity, such as securing data transmissions, protecting against cyber threats, complying with security standards and legislation, and introducing special procedures and methodologies applicable in crisis, is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present-day situation is associated with less optimistic economic development. At the turn of 2019/2020, the world was struck by a coronavirus pandemic that affected both the economy of the entire country represented mainly by industries and the social level of the population. More than ever, corporate management adhered to the established business rules which include certain fiscal policy rules. These fiscal rules are theoretically referred to as the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy [1] [2] [3]. These Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy include 4 rules related to assets, sources of asset coverage, their longevity and the investment growth rate. The Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy apply in general to any business subject. However, this paper focuses solely on the construction industry. The aim of the paper is to find out, on a sample of construction companies operating in the Czech Republic, whether they comply with the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy within their operation and compare these values to the national average. The sample of construction companies was chosen on the basis of carrying out the same activities, the same size in terms of the number of employees, amount of turnover and amount of assets, and operating in the same region of the Czech Republic. The national average of values under the Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy was determined from the statistical data published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (MIT) on its website [4]. Methods of both vertical and horizontal analyses, which represent the basic methods of financial analysis, were used to determine the values of individual Golden Rules of Fiscal Policy for construction companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Regional Development Strategy of the Czech Republic 2021+ set aside economically and socially endangered rural regions. This paper aims to analyse the situation of these regions in the South Moravian Region in more detail to specify individual threats and possible approaches to rural development. In addition, the paper seeks to determine whether these regions are significantly differentiated internally, allowing the neediest areas to be focused on for growth. The research used geographical analysis and synthesis methods to identify the two most peripheral microregions as the most endangered. Their most significant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were summarised, and possible strategies for further development were indicated. Although the conditions and development assumptions in the two microregions were different, the significance of tourism development was indicated as the most important direction in one case and as a second direction in the other. • The Czech Republic's Regional Development Strategy 2021+ outlined endangered areas. • The endangered rural areas in the South Moravian Region were analysed in detail. • Only the most peripheral parts of the designated regions are at risk. • Regardless of the general strategy, each of the micro-regions must be managed separately. • The development of cultural tourism is one of the promising possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the one-dimensional, thermo-hydraulic model of the sCO 2 cycle Sofia developed to investigate optimal control methods and the behaviour of the cycle during operation. This dynamic model includes all devices such as turbomachinery, heat exchangers, valves, and piping including heat loss, in line with concept of the 1 MWe sCO 2 cycle, to be realised in the site of a fossil power plant in the Czech Republic. The model assembly and calculations were conducted using the commercial Modelica-based library ClaRa + using the simulation environment Dymola and in combination with another Modelica-based library, UserInteraction; the real-time simulations, with some parameter changes during the calculation, are made and described in this paper. Nominal parameters were achieved during the steady-state simulation, except for the lower mass flow of sCO 2. Transient simulation of power turbine start-up from standby state and results are also presented in this paper. The nominal state is achieved with the semi-automatic procedure in approx. 3 h. The simulation results allow more detailed analyses of control methods and a better understanding of real device control and behaviour during start-up, shutdown, or other transients. Careful manipulation of turbine valves in coordination with the pressuriser operation was identified as crucial for optimal control of the system. Also, the initial amount of CO 2 in the pressuriser affects its behaviour during transients. • Models of the PCHE and BPHE heat exchangers were prepared, and turbomachines models determined by CFD simulations were used. • Control system of the electric heater, which is the largest facility in the Sofia cycle, was designed. • Real-time simulations were performed using ClaRa+ and UserInteraction Dymola libraries. • Careful trubine valves manipulation and corresponding pressuriser control were identified as key control interventions. • Initial amount of CO 2 in the pressuriser affects its behaviour during transients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents partial outputs of an applied research project aimed at evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences emerging on the railway and their reflection into the economic evaluation of railway construction projects. The article builds on the research results presented within previous scientific articles where the unit impacts of sub-categories of occurrences on the Czech railways were determined using a detailed Database of Occurrences for the 2011-2018 period. These impacts were related both to one railway station and one kilometre of the wide line for the occurrence sub-categories. The values obtained were subsequently verified on case studies of specific railway infrastructure projects implemented in the Czech Republic. The results of the case studies raised the need to create an alternative methodology for the evaluation of socio-economic impacts, which would more accurately reflect the real situation on the railway. The aim of the paper is to modify the originally designed methodology for evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences into a new methodology, which would relate the impacts of occurrences only to a standard kilometre of wide line, i.e. without taking account of separate impacts of occurrences on one railway station. The proposed methodology was verified on a case study, which compares the real values of socio-economic impacts emerging on the railway in the period under research, the values determined using the original methodology and the values determined according to the newly modified methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The hybrid mode of public service delivery poses governance problems. • The paper explores these problems in the context of waste management. • The authors conducted an in-depth qualitative study of Znojmo municipality. • The hybrid delivery of waste management is found to be successful. In the Western hemisphere, the hybridity of public service delivery is widely acknowledged to generate governance challenges arising from the mutual contestation of the competing institutional logics, such as those of the public and the private for-profit sector. The present paper explores these challenges by means of an in-depth qualitative case study of the waste management service delivery in the municipality of Znojmo, Czech Republic. Encompassing structured interviews of stakeholders and desk research, the case study was aimed at understanding the strengths and weaknesses of waste management hybridity, as well as the impact of hybridity on the relationship between innovativeness and accountability. The overall finding is that the engagement of the private for-profit sector does make this service delivery more innovative, but the useful impact of innovativeness is maximized through a hybrid arrangement. The key benefit of the hybrid arrangement is the stable intersectoral partnership allowing comprehensive control of the waste management service delivery. This benefit possibly rests on the accountability of the hybrid arrangement running on political rather than purely economic lines. Another finding was that the profit maximizing imperative was felt to constrain potential innovation, an outcome that could be prevented by the engagement of the municipality. At the same time, the hybrid mode of waste management service delivery in Znojmo is by no means free of governance challenges, such as the occasional lack of transparency and communication difficulties and disagreements among stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a surface layer method for the analysis of slope stability using finite elements. When stability of a slope is calculated using the strength reduction method, the slope typically fails at local surface irregularities, which leads to numerical divergence that stops the calculation. It is then impossible to quantify the factor of safety for potentially dangerous landslides of larger dimensions. In this paper, a method is introduced in which a weightless elastic surface layer is applied at the surface, which aims to stabilize the surface of a numerical model during the strength reduction. A vertical cut through the surface layer then predefines the surface contour of the landslide, while the shape and depth of the slip surface along with the associated factor of safety is the output of the analysis. A typical use-case scenario is when the landslide shape is known a-priori (for example when analysing existing landslides). If it is not known, various landslide shapes can be tested by searching for an outline with the lowest factor of safety. This is similar to the limit equilibrium method, where a complete slip surface including its surface trace must be predefined. The proposed method was validated using parametric studies both in 2D and 3D; its importance is most pronounced in 3D where the surface morphology is highly complex. Practical application of this method is demonstrated by the back analysis of the Dobkovičky landslide, which occurred in 2013 during construction of the highway D8 in Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest across European contexts in promoting active social lives in older age, and counteracting pathways and outcomes related to social isolation and loneliness for men and women in later life. This is evidenced within national and European level policy, including the 2021 Green Paper on Ageing and its concern with understanding how risks can accrue for European ageing populations in the relational sphere. Research indicates that life-course transitions can function as a source of these risks, leading to a range of potentially exclusionary impacts for the social relations of older men and women. Findings presented in this paper are drawn from the qualitative component of a larger European mixed-methods study on exclusion from social relations (GENPATH: A life course perspective on the GENdered PATHways of social exclusion in later life, and its consequences for health and well-being). We use data from 119 in-depth interviews from four jurisdictions: Austria, Czechia, Ireland and Spain. This research employed an approach that focused on capturing lived experienced insights related to relational change across the life course, the implications of these changes for multifaceted forms of exclusion from social relations and the role of gender in patterning these changes and implications. We focused on transitions that commonly emerged across those jurisdictions for older people: onset of ill-health, bereavement, retirement and relocation. We found that these transitions translate into multidimensional experiences of exclusion from social relations in the lives of older men and women by constraining their social networks, support networks, social opportunities and intimate relationships. • The life-course transitions are experienced differently by older men and women. • Exclusionary outcomes of the life course transitions are gendered. • Exclusion from social relations experienced in transitional trajectories differs in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically analyses and discusses the research gap regarding the current lack of reflection on the importance and potential of applied agricultural research policy for the broader aspects of rural resilience. The basis of the paper is the evaluation and critical reflection of the relevance of applied agricultural research policy to the needs of agricultural practice at the national level, on the one hand, and to general trends in agricultural research needs at the EU level, on the other hand. Special attention is paid to the case of the Czech Republic and international comparison of the situation in neighbouring countries in Central Europe. The results show a certain closedness of the national system of agricultural research in terms of supporting traditional themes related to creating innovations and strengthening the environmental dimension of conventional agriculture. On the contrary, the perception of some key trends at the EU level is weak, i.e. the role of digitisation, Agriculture 4.0 and wider rural aspects. The biggest challenge for applied agricultural research will be to develop the role of agriculture in the context of rural resilience. • Critical reflection of applied agricultural research in the context of rural resilience. • International comparison of the situation in countries in Central Europe. • The focus of agricultural research at EU level is more complex compared to the situation in the evaluated countries. • The results showed a limited emphasis on broader aspects of rural development at the national level of agricultural research. • Digitisation trends enabling wider rural development are also challenging and underused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effort to achieve a balance between industrial development, environment, human health and economic growth in the world represents a driving engine of the latest strategies for resource usage and carbon footprint reduction, which include the application of the Circular Economy (CE) concept. The central idea of the CE concept is to increase the value of resources within a closed system to enable the use of a minimum number of natural resources while providing sustainable economic growth. The aim of this paper is to map the history and evolution of the CE concept to highlight its current application. Historical literary sources and scientific studies were used to map the CE concept evolution while policy instruments provided information mainly on current development. The overview indicates both success and failure of the CE projects over time listed by regions. Successful applications of the CE in the Czech Republic have been identified. The results provide useful information for further research seeking to define the CE concept in practical terms and consider potential opportunities that arise during its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated housing estates represent an important urban, architectural and historical phenomenon in the Czech Republic. Most people prefer to live in prefabricated buildings because of their central location, good transport services and a lot of amenities in their vicinity. Owners or tenants of flats prefer prefabricated buildings after revitalization, as they are more affordable than new developments and at the same time do not have such high energy consumption costs as prefabricated buildings without revitalization. The paper aims to focus on the energy savings of a specific prefabricated building. The heating consumption and the resulting monetary savings are addressed. The aim of the research is the performance of economic and life cycle analyses of the building. Firstly, the original condition of the prefabricated building and the extent of the revitalization carried out in 2001 were specified. Secondly, an energy assessment of the apartment building was carried out, where the heating consumption before and after the revitalization of the apartment building was determined and the resulting heat savings for each year of the assessment were determined in the appropriate units (GJ, kWh/(m2/yr)). Economic indicators and life cycle costs were determined based on the modelling of the heat price development and possible energy savings. Currently, there has been a huge increase in energy prices. The reason for the price increase is the current situation in the wholesale market, where the prices have been reaching extreme amounts for several months and their further development is difficult to predict. The energy crisis has deepened as a result of the geopolitical situation. Customers are expected to experience a further increase in the electricity and gas prices since the prices can increase by up to tens of per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural governance increasingly involves a broad range of political agents – but whom do rural dwellers consider responsible for creating and maintaining local opportunity structures? Focusing on the issue of places to socialise, our paper investigates resident-municipality relations in peripheralised rural regions of Czechia and eastern Germany. We draw from problem-centred resident interviews using an actor-centred, multimodal concept of responsibility. Analysing residents' ideals of active citizenship, mutuality, and municipal care, we find that despite the considerable differences in the ways rural dwellers conceptualise the relationship between the municipality and its residents, the provision of local opportunities to socialise represents a realm in which they perceive the local state as both powerful and responsible for taking action. We conclude that a multimodal understanding of responsibility can provide insights into the normative conditions on which local attributions of responsibility are based. We further argue that research on rural facilities should take into account the symbolic and political meaning that third places have for rural residents. • Rural studies can benefit from multimodal conceptualisations of responsibility. • Experiences of political agency crystallise around mundane places to socialise. • The municipal level is key for rural residents' experience of rural governance. • A perceived lack of places to socialise can foster distrust in the local state. • Resident engagement does not equal identification with active rural citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the determinants of the over-indebtedness of inhabitants in particular municipalities in the Czech Republic. We draw on the theory of regional segmentation of financial markets, which foresees credit rationing in peripheral regions and empirically investigate the role that attractiveness of potential banking clients may play in the level of over-indebtedness in particular regions. We assume that regions with a higher concentration of non-bankable people suffer from a low concentration of bank services as the banks are not interested in serving people who do not meet their credit requirements. The findings from testing our empirical model indicate that regions with a higher level of non-bankable people have a higher concentration of over-indebted inhabitants. Our paper thus contributes to the nascent empirical verification of the theory of regional segmentation of financial markets. In conclusion, our policy recommendation – to support a socially-oriented financial industry, which could fulfil a niche in peripheral financial markets – could help in the battle against the pandemic of over-indebtedness and repossessions with its all negative consequences. • Regions with a higher number of financially excluded people have a higher concentration of over-indebted inhabitants. • The density of the banking servicing is negatively associated with the occurrence of financial difficulties. • A financial industry with a programme of social outreach should be supported in peripheral regions to help fill the credit gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigated the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on teleworking. • Descriptive statistics and logit models revealed trends in Israel and Czechia. • Teleworking for 20+ weekly hours is expected to increase from 10% to 14%. • Mixed trends in commute trips translated to a drop of 9% in such trips. • First-time telecommuters during COVID-19 increase the probability to continue it. The COVID-19 crisis has forced many people to work from home, rather than at their regular workplace. This paper aims to assess the impact of the pandemic on telecommuting and commuting behavior after the end of the crisis: Will people embrace teleworking and reduce commuting, even to some extent, or will they resume their pre-pandemic work patterns? This study, implementing a cross-country survey from Israel and Czechia, combines data regarding revealed preferences about work habits before and during the pandemic and stated intentions data regarding anticipated work patterns when life returns to "normal" after the pandemic. Two models were used for the data analysis, one addressing factors that affect the increased/decreased teleworking trend and the other addressing factors that affect the frequency of actual commutes. The results reveal that most respondents (62% in Israel and 68% in Czechia) will maintain the same telecommuting/working from home balance. About 19% of respondents in both countries expressed their intention to reduce the number of commuting days, while 6% stated they would increase out-of-home days. However, these estimates rely only on workers' expectations not accounting for employers' point of view and other constraints they may have. Not accounting for potential bias, a moderate reduction of 6.5% and 8.7% (in Israel and in Czechia, respectively) in the number of commuting trips is expected in the post-pandemic era. The anticipated decrease in commuting days is accompanied by an increase in teleworking: from 10% to 14% among those who work more than 20 h a week (in both countries) and a drop in the rate of those who telework five hours or less a week (down from 73% to 63% in Israel and from 76% to 70% in Czechia). Self-employment, travel time to work, working solely on premise during the lockdown, and personal preferences regarding telework versus working away from home were found to significantly contribute to a decrease in the number of commuting days and to an increase in teleworking. An interesting finding is the high probability of increased teleworking among people who teleworked for the first time during the lockdown or who increased their teleworking time during the lockdown. This indicates that the teleworking experience due to the pandemic has enabled some people to view working from home as viable. Although, overall, the change in working habits does not seem dramatic, our results suggest that hybrid schemes for combining on premise and telework are expected to be adopted by some sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analysis of a subset data of 533 young people in the Czech Republic (mean age 13.6 years). • Youth identified and described their natural mentors in qualitative descriptive questionnaires. • Results describe the characteristics, risks and perceived benefits of natural mentors in youth' perspectives. • Young people identified peers, family members, and formal and informal education teachers and leaders. • Natural mentors were described as 'a good person' with a caring, attentive, kind, and friendly nature. Natural mentoring is a type of youth-adult relationship distinguished with the supportive and caring qualities. The complex conceptual definition as well as the youth-centred knowledge on this type of relationship in youths' daily experiences are missing in the literature. This empirical article reports the analysis of data subset exploring the experiences of youths in natural mentoring relationships in the Czech context. Overall, 533 young people (aged 11–16, mean age 13.4) in eight secondary schools in the Czech Republic participated in the qualitative open-ended questionnaire, identifying, and describing natural mentors from their social networks. The paper reports results of thematic analysis of selected questionnaire items on young people's experiences and perceptions of their identified natural mentors. Young people identified natural mentors most often (n = 105) among their peers or older friends. Besides, youths mentioned and described grandparents, older siblings, family acquaintances, schoolteachers, youth-group and sport leaders, and one-to-one music teachers as natural mentors. Identified mentors were most often perceived as 'a good person' with a caring, attentive, empathetic, nice, kind, and friendly nature who, as a result, is perceived as helpful and supportive. Results are discussed with recommendations for further exploration of natural mentoring as a type of youth–adult relationship, naturally occurring in institutions, organisations, and various youth-work settings where youth-adult interactions are part of the service/institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the legal aspects of responsible vulnerability disclosure, bug bounty programs and legal risks associated with their implementation in the Czech Republic. Firstly, the authors introduce the basics of vulnerability disclosure procedures, identify different organisational models, and identify risks that may arise on the part of the organisation launching the bug bounty program or the hackers participating in it. The identified risks are divided into those arising from civil law, administrative law, and criminal law. For each identified risk, the authors then propose appropriate technical, organisation or legal solutions that can be applied to eliminate or reduce these risks. Nevertheless, the authors identified two areas that cannot be sufficiently mitigated through existing tools and laws and are likely to require legislative intervention – the matter of safeguarding the anonymity of reporters through confidentiality, and the problematic ability to consent to the testing procedures by the public bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Workflow enabling geomechanical stability evaluation with uncertain stiffness, thermal expansion, strength for the Zar-3 storage complex. • Monte Carlo simulation enable realistic use of uncertainty. • Method developed that is used to illustrate how geomechanical uncertainty limits the safe operation window in a concrete case during the preparation of a CO2 storage pilot into a depleted oil and gas reservoir in Czech Republic. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a pre-requisite to decarbonize CO 2 emissions from industrial sectors and as an industry capable of compensating for hard-to-abate emissions in a net zero scenario. A method was developed to evaluate the geomechanical constraints and safe operating envelope as function of pore pressure and temperature. The probability of failure was estimated from uncertain input stiffness and strength data, and as cooling and re-pressurization shifts the in-situ effective stresses, the safe operating envelope was determined, here given by pressure and temperature. Onshore storages nearby industrial clusters enable energy and cost-effective handling of CO 2. In the South-Eastern European region, onshore depleted oil and gas fields located nearby high-emitting industries may developed into CO 2 storages. This paper describes a method for determining maximum fluid pressure as function of temperature from geomechanical restrictions. The method was employed on a practical example used to evaluate the safe operation envelope for a pilot CO 2 injection site into a depleted onshore naturally fractured carbonate oil and gas field. The tool uses Monte Carlo simulations to perform geomechanical stability analyses by sampling from the inherent uncertainty of the input parameters to probability of failure as function of pressure and temperature. The risk of re-opening natural fractures, induced fracturing and fault reactivation are evaluated so the safe operating envelope can be obtained. The uncertainty of the input parameters is thus directly reflected in the safe operating envelope – thus providing an effective communication of value information to external stake holders when maturing a CO 2 storage pilot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive anatomical and mineralogical study of fossil wood fragments from fields in the vicinity of Bečov and Břvany villages (NW Bohemia, Czech Republic) indicates that Taxodioxylon gypsaceum (Cupressaceae s.l.) predominates, but also identifies another coniferous wood: Pinuxylon parryoides (Pinaceae) and three angiosperms Quercoxylon böckhianum , Castanoxylon bavaricum and Lithocarpoxylon sp. (all Fagaceae). This paper therefore presents the first occurrence of Pinaceae and Fagaceae fossil wood in the volcanic rocks of the České Středohoří Mts. as well as its youngest palaeobotanical record in general, late Oligocene in age (26.56 ± 0.38 Ma). The samples were buried by alkaline pyroclastic deposits and were mineralized by carbonates. Two distinct depositional processes burying the fossil woods were identified. Closer to the vent, the woods occur in a near-vent pyroclastic fall deposits of the former pyroclastic cone, whereas more distant sites consist of pyroclastic flow deposits. Carbonate mineralization mostly consists of dolomite, but subordinate amounts of magnesite (likely the first time this is documented in fossil wood) as well as calcite and siderite are present. Only one sample collected in the same area, bearing clear signs of riverbed transport (Lithocarpoxylon sp.), was perfectly silicified, but its origin remains unclear. • Consideration of individual and interspecific variability in fossil wood anatomy. • Whole-plant concept and its application when defining new fossil plant taxa. • Unique mineralization of fossil wood with magnesite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometric research focuses on the statistical analysis of publications. It is a method that is frequently used to classify the information with various variables such as institutions, journals, countries and authors. This paper presents a general overview of research that has been reported on abrasive water jet machining by using the bibliometric indicators. The essential features of bibliometric indicators are that these indicators come out with a general picture of abrasive water jet research. The paper is divided into key analysis sections which focused on relevant journals, research papers, authors, institutions and countries that have contributed to abrasive water jet research. The bibliometric research is conducted through Web of Science database. The goal of this paper is to be informative with this topic, and the indicators summarize the essential research in this field. The analysis shows that the number of publications on abrasive water jet and their citations are consistently increasing over the past years. The data indicates that the Wang J is the most influential and active author in abrasive water jet research and some of the other main leaders in this field are Hloch S, Kovacevic R and Axinte D. The two most influential journals are the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology and the Journal of Materials Processing Technology and the most influential country is United States of America followed by Czech Republic in abrasive water jet research. Furthermore, the bibliometric analysis reveals the links among the co-authors, co-citation authors and partnering institutions working in AWJ research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Middle and older age are usually ignored in the studies of the processes of coming out. This paper analyses the opportunities, and also the barriers which aging brings to the possibility of articulating one's own sexual identity in relation to others. It presents the life-course perspective as a suitable analytical tool for the study of the impact of historical context and the changing social locations within the life-biography. Analysis presented in this paper is based on 19 in-depth interviews with LGB people aged fifty and older living in the Czech Republic. The paper focuses on the way they relate to the idea of coming out and how they reflect on their previous biography with respect to the possibilities to articulate their sexuality in various phases of their life. It analyses how aging creates possibilities as well as barriers to articulate sexual identity with respect to family and closed ones and points out the need to critically reflect the narratives of coming out as a linear process of leaving "the closet". Older age was by the participants depicted as an important context that disrupted some of the barriers preventing coming out to others. However, the vision of late old age linked with specific age-related contexts (such as life in residential care facilities) was associated with impossibility to express sexual identity. Highlights • The life-course perspective represents a suitable tool for the study of coming out. • Aging has the potential to open up spaces to articulate non-heterosexual relationships. • Life transitions in older age may disrupt some of the barriers preventing coming out. • Late old age was associated with the impossibility to express one's sexual identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The main goal of the paper is an evaluation of the dynamics of golf course (hereafter GC[s]) construction in the Czech Republic (hereafter CR) after 1990 and an assessment of the impacts and the consequences of the GCs on the landscape. The construction of the GCs was evaluated from the point of view of the physical-geography with regards to human geography aspects with a focus on an assessment in relation to climatic, soil, hydrological parameters, land use and financial aspects. The paper is to present the localisation and the geographical description of the GCs and their assessment in the different regions of the CR. An original database was created for the purpose of the localisation and complex evaluation of all the GCs in the CR. The analysis was carried out on 114 GCs in the CR. These GCs covered a surface area of ca. 5106 ha, i.e., 0.06% of the total area of the CR in 2016. A significant share of the GCs was built on agricultural land with high quality (more than 34%), which is clearly a negative phenomenon. The reason for the construction of a large number of GCs on some high-yielding soils can be seen: a) in the low land price, b) in the low rent, c) in the negative results of entrepreneurial income (or in the surplus) of agricultural production up to the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU and d) the distance from large cities (location in regions) and spa town with rich clients. By 2004, the majority of the GCs had been built in the CR already. From the point of view land use, a total of 51% of the GCs area was registered as agricultural land in the Cadastre Land Register. Of the agricultural land, the largest share (35%) was registered as arable land and approximately one third of the GCs occupied permanent grassland. On the contrary, the other area, which should form the majority of GCs, because its areas are registered for sport activities, only accounted for 37% of the golf resorts' area in the CR. The GCs were also built on areas affected by human activity (mines, landfills, fly ash). The area of the GCs in the reclaimed territory was approximately 942 ha, i.e., more than 18% of the total GCs area. The reclamation of such territories by the construction of GCs is one of the variants of the use of such territories. Having assessed the climatic characteristics, it was determined that 20 out of the total of 114 GCs were endangered by potential drought. The theoretical and actual water demand for the irrigation of 9 selected GCs in drought-affected areas has been compared. It can be stated that all the selected GCs manage the irrigation water very well, the actual consumption is in line with the theoretical need. The observed difference in water between the calculated theoretical and realised irrigation of the GCs in mm/m2 of irrigated area, ranges from -10.8 mm to + 9.7 mm in 1 month for an individual GC. The study by model "runoff curve numbers" (CN) showed a positive impact of the grassland in the areas of GCs with regards to the direct runoff. The hydrological impact of grassing the arable land is positive, since it contributes to the retention and accumulation of water in the catchment area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Contracting is most frequent way of delivery of waste services in Czechia. • Contracting also seems to be statistically significant cost reducing factor. • For other factors, the results are as expected by theory, but less significant. This paper analyses the role of selected institutional factors on the costs of waste management in the Czech Republic, a country with extreme territorial fragmentation. The analysis is based on two original datasets from 2,065 municipalities. A model is constructed which determines the relevance of selected factors with respect to the unit cost of waste management service and also highlights the differences between 2014 and 2019. The results are, largely extent, similar to the findings of existing international research related to this topic, but with some specificities. Our data show a significant effect of contracting out on cost reduction and a statistically insignificant effect of public mode of production on unit costs. They also suggest that intermunicipal cooperation has a cost-reducing effect, but public-private partnerships, increased market concentration and the provision by multinationals have a cost-increasing effect. The impact of economies of scale on cost reduction is somehow visible but cannot be confirmed, especially for larger scale territories. The data also suggest a possible beginning of a process of remunicipalisation, but the time series is insufficient to demonstrate this trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The December 2013 Medium Combustion Plants Directive (MCP Directive) proposal was evaluated by the national governments. In the Czech Republic, there are 6710 plants affected by this Directive, which is about 4.6% of the total of 143,000 relevant European plants. The paper introduces our approach of policy impact assessment called SimTool. The costs estimated for the European Commission in the background study (AMEC, 2014) are assumed to reach EUR 5.9 million for the Czech Republic for the preferred scenario by the European Commission. Further presented national impact assessment estimates the induced annual costs of the proposal at EUR 61 million, which is about 10 times greater than the European impact assessment estimate. As part of the national impact assessment, the different fuel categories had to be analyzed separately due to their specific features and different options for achieving the emission limit target values. During the impact assessment, a survey was made in order to determine the source operators’ preferences and responses to the potential adoption of the MCP Directive. Based on the analysis of data from the operators and consultations with experts about the different technologies, technical options for achievement of the proposed emission limits, including an estimate of the operating and investment costs, were proposed. The paper concentrates on the Czech impact assessment approach and discusses the reasons of the discrepancy between the European impact assessment and the Czech version. We argue that the inaccuracies of the European impact assessments are given by usage of the general abatement cost curves in the models which do not reflect the reality sufficiently. This paper states an argument for the necessity to carry out analysis at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores inflows and outflows patterns in retail equity mutual funds related to past and future performance derived from detailed monthly security-level holdings of funds in the Czech Republic. We find that retail investors become sensitive to bad performance in times of aggregate illiquidity and while investing in funds that hold more illiquid assets. Moreover, we document that when facing illiquidity and deteriorating performance, under-performing equity investing funds experience lower investor purchases and a larger share of redemption requests. We observe similar investor behaviour in periods when retail investors face constraints on their disposable income. • Fund flow–performance is analyzed using detailed supervisory data. • Fund inflows and outflows react more to good performance than to bad performance. • Retail equity fund investors react to bad performance during illiquid periods. • Fund flows respond to changing income constraints of retail investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies convert municipal solid, and biomass wastes into affordable renewable heat and power energy. However, there are large uncertainties associated with using waste feed as a renewable energy source. This paper proposes a WTE management tool that provides forecasting and real-time optimization of power generated with the consideration of anomaly. The WTE management framework was designed based on a biological neural network, the Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) coupled with a dual-mode optimization procedure. The HTM model is inspired by the mechanism in the cerebral neocortex of the brain, providing anomaly identification and spatial-temporal prediction. In this work, the HTM-based smart energy framework is demonstrated in an industrial case study for the power generation of a waste-to-energy cogeneration system. HTM was compared with methods such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Fourier Transformation Extrapolation (FTE), persistence forecasting, and was able to achieve mean squared error (MSE) of 0.08466% while giving 35450 Euro profit in half a year. Coupled with a novel dual-mode optimization procedure, HTM demonstrated 11% improvement with respect to only predictive optimization (with HTM) in estimated gross profit. [Display omitted] • A practical, effective and robust smart energy management framework was presented. • A neocortex-inspired algorithm, Hierarchical Temporal Memory was used for prediction. • An industrial cogeneration plant in Czech Republic was used as the case study. • HTM predicted demands better than LSTM, ARIMA and Fourier analysis (MSE = 0.8466%). • Novel dual-mode optimization was used which achieved 27.3% improvement in gross profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been a part of our lives for the second year in a row and it has affected the activities of all economic entities across individual fields and industries. This article deals with research into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction companies in the Czech Republic. The research presented in this paper consists of several consecutive steps: designing a research plan, performing data collection and analysis and compiling research results. Qualitative approaches to data collection and evaluation, especially in-depth interviews and the coding method, were used for contextual understanding and comprehension of the situation in the companies under research. Open questions (topics) related to the respondents' experience, perceptions and opinions were created as a part of the preparation process. The aim was to obtain reliable and relevant answers to the questions asked. The research, which lasted for 5 months, involved 16 medium-scale and large companies from the Czech Republic. The aim of the research described in this article was to find out about the development of construction companies in the first half of 2021 and to specify their results in selected areas of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper repositions homelessness in existing cities by highlighting the importance of transformative economic agency. Relying on a combination of long-term ethnographic research in the city of Pilsen, a traditional industrial second-order city in Czechia, and political–economic analysis, this paper introduces the concept of the quasi-household economy (QHE). This economy connects the informal and formal spheres and involves not only "homeless" people but also some classes of housed people. The paper further argues that the QHE is held together by the politics of the "same boat," a particular way of creating social relations on the street. Thus, the QHE not only plays a crucial affirmative role in the market economy but also has the capability to transform some aspects of the locally enacted global economy. The paper concludes that Czech homelessness, while being a corollary of macro-level processes of integration into the global economy and local policy making, is also being made and re-made in everyday (in)formal socio-economic exchanges. This has important practical and theoretical implications for public policy and urban research. • The paper repositions homelessness by highlighting transformative agency. • Quasi-household economy is an assemblage realized daily through many connected sites. • Quasi-household economy has affirmative as well as transformative capabilities. • Homelessness is being made and re-made in (in)formal socio-economic exchanges. • Creating and implementing solutions to homelessness need to go beyond housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Home-gardening is a widespread practice in Croatia and Czechia. • Main motivation for FSP is fresh and healthy food and not the financial reasons. • FSP brings significant, if usually unintended, environmental benefits. • Framing FSP on Eastern European context broadens the conceptual scope of responses to environmental crisis. European accounts of home gardening or food self-provisioning (FSP) typically frame these practices as primarily economically motivated and need related, and community gardening or urban agriculture as ethical sustainability strategies. Drawing on primary research on FSP in two East European countries, this paper combines analysis of socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of food self-provisioners with analysis of their motivations. There is strong evidence that while economic reasons are present FSP is primarily motivated, even in comparatively less affluent East European societies, by the desire to obtain fresh and healthy food and engage in a pleasurable activity. Based on our findings, we thus propose that a more appropriate framing for FSP in the European East and West alike is characterised by autonomy and community care. This would provide for a reengagement with the epistemology of sustainability-compliant behaviours and attitudes beyond the joy vs. limitations dichotomy. Given the performativity of social scientific research, rooting the framing on knowledge from East European societies, where FSP is widespread in all social groups, including the affluent middle class, is important for lending credence to alternative visions and practices that can enhance the sustainability of overdeveloped societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Links between services and manufacturing help development of GVCs for CEE countries • The Baltics and the Czech Republic rely on financial services-manufacturing links • GVCs in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia base on transport services-manufacturing links • The opposite relationship is also found: GVC development creates more intensive links. The goal of the paper is to verify a causal relationship between forward linkages from domestic services to manufacturing and the participation/position of a country in global value chains (GVCs) in selected Central and Eastern European economies. We observed a strong polarisation pattern: the Baltic countries along with the Czech Republic strengthen their positions and participation in GVCs by having a strong relationship between the financial sector and manufacturing, while Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia have solid linkages between transportation services and manufacturing. We also discover that the reverse relationship is significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with location and exposure of the building in terms of building airtightness. Airtightness of the building envelope is one of the basic prerequisites of energy-efficient buildings. Energy efficient buildings situated in areas with lots of wind and in exposed locations could constitute up to 10% of total heat consumption. The exchange of air through the building envelope is conditional on pressure difference between interior and exterior. The pressure difference is usually caused by a combination of wind effect, stack effect, combustion and ventilation. The location and its parameters (exposure, altitude, wind, temperature and other) can be considered as passive determinative factors of air permeability of the building envelope. The surrounding environment of the building does not have a direct impact on the final airtightness of the building envelope. However, the exposure of the building, the altitude, the strength and wind speed have a significant impact on the pressure effects acting on the building. Pressure effects affect the amount of air flowing through leaks, cracks and gaps in the building envelope. The higher the pressure effects on the building is, the higher the air flow through the building envelope is. The aim of the paper is to verify, or reject, the potential impact of basic parameters of location on the final airtightness of the building envelope. The possible statistical dependence is tested by using test of independence. The calculated levels of significance (Sig.), also called as p-value, are compared with a reference level of significance α (5%). Fundamental data for testing consists of 150 energy passive houses built in the years 2004 -2014 in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the perceived individual psychological costs of adhering to the Euro. We use the difference-in-differences approach (DD), comparing individual levels of satisfaction with the economy in Slovakia immediately before and after the introduction of the Euro, with similar individuals in neighboring Czech Republic, which did not adopt the Euro. Both countries were economically and politically integrated for decades, and display similar macroeconomic behavior before and after the currency change in Slovakia. What we assess is not the actual, economic, costs stemming from the Euro adoption, but the change in utility as perceived by the individuals. There is evidence of substantial psychological costs associated with currency transition, especially for the old, the unemployed, the poorly educated and households with children. Our results are robust to the use of alternative control groups and to estimation procedures using the DD matching approach. The significant perceived costs uncovered in this paper suggest policy-makers should not ignore them when considering a sweeping economic change such as the adoption of a new currency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses migration flows with the purpose of defining functional regions at a micro level. It proposes an innovative approach to the processing of migration data. It includes a reflection on local level migration analysis in relation to local labour markets, and it is inspired by time geographical concepts and research into human spatial behaviour. Relevant identified migration flows are those that occur when a migrant only changes the place of permanent residence, and does not necessarily need to change workplace or most of the localities within a daily timespace context. The paper uses these migration data to delineate local migration areas (daily spatial systems) of the Czech Republic through the application of a standard rule-based procedure of functional regional taxonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The track-bridge interaction is a widely discussed and important topic today, as the modern railway bridges commonly exceed the maximum dilatation lengths allowed for the continuous welded rail. In this case, the Meyer-Wunstorf steering bar is one of the suitable solutions that can move the fixed point of the bridge to the middle of the span and thus exceed the possibility of the application of the continuous welded rail without any rail expansion devices. However, this solution is new in the Czech Republic and its functionality and durability should be verified. The paper deals with the extensive load tests, made on the first Czech railway bridge with the steering bar Meyer-Wunstorf. The two-track railway arch bridge on the Tábor - Sudoměřice track crosses the D3 highway with the span of 100 m. The load tests were focused on the horizontal brake and acceleration forces with the heavy train (totally 1056 t) and four locomotives of weight 318,6 t. During the test, a number of values were measured, such as stresses in the rail and MW system, movements of the MW and the bridge, temperature. The behaviour of the steering bar and the bridge – track interaction is described and compared with the design and theoretical assumptions. The paper also gives the recommendations for the practical design and analysis of the MW system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External energy security has gained importance within the EU due to the current Russian-Ukrainian natural gas dispute, but also because of mid- and long-term issues connected to the availability of energy supply in Europe. The Energy Union proposal is supposed to increase the coherence of the EU in external energy, thus contributing to the energy security of the Community. However, various member states have already expressed different (not always positive) views, concerning this project. In order to shed light on the further development of the Energy Union, the present paper – based on 52 semi-structured interviews – examines members states' support for and opposition to the further deepening of integration in external energy security. By analysing Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this paper argues that member states' preferences depend at least partly on the decision-makers' perceptions of their state's ability to cope with three energy security challenges (external, internal and business). States whose decision-makers believe that their countries are able to successfully cope with these challenges are more likely to oppose further integration in energy security area, while member states whose decision-makers view these tasks as challenging are more likely to support the transfer of competences to the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the students´ perception of the implementation of ICT in higher education, namely in their university education in the Czech Republic. The recent trends in higher education to implement various kinds of eLearning, hybrid learning, blended learning, etc., into university curricula has recently been speeded up by the global pandemic situation forcing us as educators and students as the receivers of education to spend basically all teaching and learning time, respectively, in from of the screens. The research was conducted in this context and focused on the perception of the eLearning by the users of it, i.e. the students. The methodology chosen, i.e. semi structured interviews and focus groups, enabled us to qualitatively analyze in-depth perspectives of their relationship with ICT in the educational context as well as their experience with using ICT in their learning and teaching practices. This research will help ICT professionals who are responsible for designing the on-line courses and eLearning platforms because the voice of the users is indispensable and must not be neglected. Despite the limited research sample, the results are relevant and provide us with a clear insight into the needs of the users of various educational on-line platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Post-market environmental monitoring of GM crops is mandatory in the EU. • The current practice of PMEM limits its aim of detecting unforeseen adverse effects. • PMEM relies on famers' questionnaires and complaint system, and a literature survey. • Farmers lack the knowledge, time, and motivation to report impacts on biodiversity. • The use of environmental surveillance networks agreed by EFSA should be implemented. The EU legislation requests post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) of a genetically modified (GM) organism even if its pre-market risk assessment indicated negligible risks. It has been claimed that the monitoring of the only currently commercially cultivated GM plant in the EU, Bt MON810 maize, has not revealed any adverse effects. However, the implementation of its PMEM has been criticised repeatedly by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Although EFSA agreed with the monitoring plan consisting of four tools, as proposed by the company which markets MON810, in practice PMEM has relied on famers' questionnaires, a farmers' complaint system, and a literature survey. The fourth approach, environmental surveillance networks, has not been utilised yet. Furthermore, PMEM requires that farmers plant a refuge of non- Bt maize in order to sustain the efficiency of the plant in combating the targeted pest. This paper aims to contribute to improved PMEM by means of a critical evaluation of its implementation in the Czech Republic based on interviews and a questionnaire survey of farmers who cultivated MON810. The results indicate that a quarter of the farmers who were surveyed did not comply with the refuge requirement. Moreover, farmers often lacked the knowledge, time, and motivation to observe and report the potential impacts of Bt maize on biodiversity, which is supposed to be monitored by the PMEM farmers' questionnaire. The findings of this study compound the previous criticism and suggest that the current practice of PMEM limits its aim of detecting unanticipated adverse effects of MON810 maize cultivation on human and animal health and the environment. The PMEM plan should be revised before the approval process of the application for the renewal of the authorisation for MON810 cultivation in the EU continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation of historical masonry and plasters is often caused by external conditions; the presented research focused on salts originating from subsoils. The content of salts: Sulphates, Nitrates and Chlorides was analysed from plasters on 5 chosen historic buildings before and after the renovation in this paper. The samples were collected three times between 1998−2018. In some cases, the Sulphates were still present or even with a higher content after the renovation in comparison with the state before renovation. That can be caused by many factors from environment and this work focused on source from the subsoil. To understand better geological background the borehole data around each object were studied. According boreholes were buildings divided in two groups: on clayey subsoil and building on subsoil without clay. By Kruskal–Wallis test was proved, that the Sulphates content in plasters was constant before and after the renovation on clayey subsoils, it didn´t changed in a time. On subsoils without clay (mainly silty to sandy soils) the content of Sulphates declined after the renovation, what was proved by regression analyse on 95% confidence level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current development in mobile learning has seen an unprecedented rise in the last decade and, moreover, the present pandemic situation has speeded up the process of eLearning implementation even in areas that were still rather reluctant in this respect. The paper attempts to provide the results and analysis of the subjective satisfaction of the users of these foreign language learning apps. Qualitative research was conducted at the Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove, the Czech Republic, as a qualitative study through a set of guided interviews with students/users. The respondents (n=18) were the students of information science and data science of the university; therefore, their opinion can prove to be very useful as they are well informed and they also represented the youngest generation, i.e. Millennials, who may have rather different needs from the previous generations, and these needs are, naturally, reflected in their use of technology. The tested apps belong to the most popular and most downloaded free apps for foreign language learning currently available in the iOS and Android markets. The findings of the research clearly show that the main concern of the users of the apps was the lack of AI utilization and old-fashioned interface of the apps despite the fact that they are relatively new. Another major concern was the old-fashioned design, and regarding human-computer interaction in these apps, the lack of machine learning and deep learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Anthropogenic pressure on the ecotone decreases biodiversity at suburban boundaries. • The decline of vegetation and water-absorbing areas in suburbs hinders resilience. • The untapped potential of settlement boundaries negatively affects habitats. Settlement boundaries in suburbanised areas represent a specific environment connecting the settlements with the surrounding open landscape. Traditionally, tall vegetation (such as orchards planted in the backyards) used to form this boundary, providing a gradual transition as well as a wide range of ecosystem services. With suburbanisation, however, there appears to be a trend towards sharper boundaries between the open landscape and the settlement. The degree of the effect of suburbanisation on the boundary has, however, not been thoroughly explored yet. In this paper, the current character of such boundaries is evaluated from the perspective of land use and potential for tall vegetation. In addition, possible impacts of such changes are discussed, and measures for preventing these impacts are proposed. On 50 suburbanised settlements in the Czech Republic, the land use types, water permeability, and suitability for the growth of tall vegetation within an 80 m belt enveloping the boundary between the settlement and open landscape were analysed using ArcGIS tools and artificial intelligence algorithms. The dominant land use types were Residential on the inner side of the margins and Farmland on the outside of the margins, with a few meters of the transitional zone. These homogeneous land use types represented approx. 70 % of land use types at a distance of 10 m or more from the boundary. The representation of water-absorbing areas on the residential side of the boundary declined from 80 % at the settlement boundary to approx. 55 % at 40 m inside the settlement; this drop was even more pronounced for areas suitable for tall vegetation (from 90 % at 20 m outside of the boundary to 70 % at the boundary and 35 % at 40 m within the settlement). However, the potential for planting tall vegetation at the outer margins is underutilised. The dominance of farmland in the immediate vicinity of the boundary between suburbanised settlements and open landscape and the underutilisation of the potential for planting tall vegetation on the outer margins deprive the settlements of ecosystem services of such ecotone and lead to the loss of habitats for wild animal and plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on spatial analyses of sugar beet industry brownfields in the Czech Republic. In the first part of the paper history of sugar beet industry on the area of the Czech Republic is briefly presented, then links between location of these sites and its transport potential are discussed. Benefits of brownfields regeneration for regional development are also evaluated. In the empirical part of the paper 49 brownfield sites within the Czech Republic, where the sugar beet industry was abandoned during the transition period after 1989, are evaluated and classified based on field research and aerial picture analyses. Three examples of reuse of former sugar beet factories are finally presented. It was found that development potential of studied sites is highly depended on their geographical location and some inspiration might be derived from presented examples. More targeted supportive policy in the Czech Republic to support regeneration of brownfields is needed. In the concluding part of the paper further development possibilities of sugar beet industry brownfields and their railway connection are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concentrates on the cycle paths projects economic valuation and risks in the course of their realisation in the area of the Czech Republic. The objective of the paper is to assess possibilities of valuation of efficiency and risks of the cycle paths projects in the Czech Republic and design the structure of the valuation together with the recommended methods. Achievement of objectives is based on the detailed analysis of the current situation in economic valuation and risks assessment in the area of cycle paths realisation as well as in projects from the related fields as road, railway or water infrastructure. Methods suitable for the efficiency and risk valuation based on Cost-benefit Analysis principles or qualitative or quantitative risk analysis are discussed in the article. Possibilities of use of alternative methods functioning on the principles of multi-criterial analysis are also pointed out. The paper raises recommendations for valuation of cycle paths projects efficiency and risks in the area of the Czech Republic resulting from domestic as well as foreign experience and practice. It also suggests future directions of the research into the area of addressed issue. It will be usable for economic efficiency of public investment projects, esp. bicycle paths, evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes an innovative software that is used for real estate evaluation and mapping and analyzing of real estate advertisements published on the internet in the Czech Republic. The software systematically collects, analyzes and assesses data about the changes in the real estate market. For each half year, the software assembles over 650,000 price quotations concerning sale or rental of apartments, houses, business properties and building lots. All real estate advertisements are continuously stored in a software database and are thoroughly analyzed for their credibility. There have been numerous articles concerning real estate market analysis in both mass media and scholarly publications. Unfortunately, not all presented information is objective and unbiased. Many cases by “independent specialists” have stated information with no verified research. We have witnessed manipulation of information by lobbies (such as banks offering mortgage agents, real estate companies and agents, building companies, developers, majority owners, etc.). The author of this paper offers objective and unbiased evaluation of price development in real estate market. The author brings forward information based on extensive research and large amounts of statistical data which has been collected continuously from year 2007 until today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to examine the relationship between health literacy (HL) and health behaviors in the South Bohemia Region in the Czech Republic (CR) and compare them to HL and health behaviors in the Visegrád group countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia). The paper reports the results from the research in the CR. A quantitative descriptive study. The sample was stratified by sex and age and included a representative sample of 303 adults. The data were collected using the combination of a country-specific questionnaire with the HLS-EU-16 standardized questionnaire. Exercise was significantly associated with perceived health and HL; those with a lower level of HL did not exercise during the previous month. Based only on full answers (N = 251), inadequate HL was identified in 17.5% of the respondents (44), marginal HL in 31.5% (77), and adequate HL in 51% (128) of the respondents. Nearly 49% of the participants evaluated their health as 'good', 25.7% rated their health as 'very good' and 'satisfactory' by 25.7%. But 41.6% experienced one or more chronic diseases, 37.6% had some limitations to their health, and 20.5% smoked. For alcohol consumption, 26% drank weekly and 23% drank two to three times a month. Exercise varied from never (29.7%) to daily (7.9%). Based on our results, we conclude that health behavior risk factors are still present in the South Bohemia region of the CR regardless of levels of HL reported on the HLS-EU-16. • Inadequate health literacy (HL) was identified in 17.5% of the respondents, marginal HL in 31.5%. • Exercise was significantly associated with perceived health and HL. • For alcohol consumption, 26% drank weekly and 23% drank two to three times a month. • Health behavior risk factors are still present in South Bohemia region of the CR. • We still have not accomplished universal levels of adequate health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Water Energy Food nexus approach was applied to evaluate the impact of Variable Rate Technology at farm level for a sustainable use of nitrogen. • The results show the importance for farmers of managing inputs in an efficient way, in order to obtain economic and environmental benefits. • The adoption of VRT in input management can provide important benefits, both under economic and environmental perspective. In this paper we assess the sustainability of Variable Rate Technology (VRT) application for different wheat intensive agricultural areas in Europe. Within the H2020 FATIMA project we developed an analytical framework to assess the environmental and economic sustainability of nutrient management in two Case Studies in Greek and Czech Republic, implemented with different fertilization strategies in the winter wheat production, compared with the conventional one. We look at the economic and environmental dimension expressed throughout a set of specific performance indicators implemented under the Water Energy Food (WEF) nexus framework. Considering that fertilization strategies significatively affect environmental impact as well as economic performance at farm level, we investigated how Precision Agriculture (PA) tools, and particularly VRT, most suitable for increasing efficiency in fertilization distribution, can improve and maximize efficiency of inputs and profitability of individual fields by targeting application where needed and at optimum rates. The study shows how, despite a general reduction of production cost and increase in gross margin, farm sizes and the level of efficiency of the "as usual scenario" influence the economic impact of the VRT. Looking instead at the environmental perspective of the analysis, the results provide evidence of a decrease of nitrogen (N) due to lower amount of fertilizers, as well as a better distribution according to the potential productivity of the field, causing reduced impact of groundwater quality (nitrate loss by leaching). On the other side, some constraints arise from the high cost and the investments needed to adopt VRT at farm level, one of the main challenges to be solved through adequate policy instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to identify Paleolithic dogs or incipient dogs have been based mainly on examination of complete or nearly complete crania. Complete skulls are, however, very rare in the archaeological record. Because canid mandible are far more frequently found in Pleistocene assemblages, the objective of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to differentiate these jaws by metric and osteomorphological methods in two morphotypes: Paleolithic dogs and Pleistocene wolves. This paper is mainly based on the very rich canid assemblage from the Gravettian Předmostí site in the Czech Republic, but also includes a few mandible from several other European Paleolithic sites. This study provides additional evidence of the existence at Předmostí of the two canid morphotypes. The metric data indicate that the mandible of the Paleolithic dogs are shorter than those from Pleistocene wolves in all tested measurements of length, and the carnassial crown length is shorter in Paleolithic dogs compared with the length of this tooth in Pleistocene wolves. Furthermore, in eight of nine indexes, the Paleolithic dogs differ significantly from the Pleistocene wolves. The mandible of Paleolithic dogs differ also in non-metric features from the Pleistocene wolves: they present a high frequency of crowded premolars and backwards-oriented apex of the coronoid. This paper furthermore confirms that Paleolithic dogs occur at two late Upper Paleolithic sites (Eliseevichi, Verholenskaya) where previous studies had indicated their presence. In addition, we document the presence of Paleolithic dogs at another Gravettian site, Kostenki-8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents exploratory research on behavior of a lap scarf timber joint used in restoration of historical constructions in the Czech Republic. The joint with oblique faces and a dowel was tested in full-scale and was subjected to both three- and four-point bending where standard, optical and numerical techniques (FEA) were employed. The joint keeps 70–92% and 55–57% of the corresponding solid beam MOE and bearing capacity respectively. The FE analysis revealed the angle of the joint has the highest impact on its MOE. Paper demonstrates the advantages of coupling of full-field measurement technique and FEA in analysis of a timber joint, especially for model verification based on measured displacement of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]