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Immigration became an especially thorny and publicly discussed issue with the so-called Refugee Crisis beginning in 2015. The stance of the Czech and Polish governments was dominated by strong anti-Muslim and anti-immigration rhetoric. Still, both countries have witnessed a steady increase in mainly short-term immigration from various Asian countries such as Bangladesh or Pakistan ever since. This paper analyses Czech and Polish migration policies against the backdrop of a historically constructed notion of anti-illegal immigration policy, and category of temporary migration, coupled with the problematic nature of debt-financed migration in Asia. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Czechia and Poland (2018-2021), in-depth and semi-structured interviews with migration experts, academic and grey literature, official documents, and the method of Accidental ethnography, this paper argues that silencing of actual labor immigration in political communication while employing anti-migration rhetoric represents a discursive gap typical for liberal democracies. It further concludes that rendering migrant labor as a temporary commodity and turning a blind eye on recruitment of international migrants represents a continuity practice of migrant labor subordination within the nation-state, originating during colonialism and the advent of capitalism in the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies how unions used two types of resources, namely, access to national legislation/policy and to collective bargaining, to improve working conditions in healthcare and in agency work in Czechia and Slovakia. It examines how these two types of institutional resources interact, whether they are potentially in competition and how this affects union revitalization. Unions' post-2008 strategies in the two sectors converged towards political action due to their preference for legislative regulation of issues previously bargained about or unregulated. The paper argues that extensive use of institutional safeguards contributes to improving working conditions; however, prioritizing political action may weaken other types of union strategies and undermine future access to collective bargaining. In other words, extensive utilization of one institutional resource (legislation) may gradually weaken other types of resources (collective bargaining) and thereby undermine the overall revitalization capacity of trade unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeless people were a new sight in the post-1989 Czech Republic, as the previous regime effectively criminalized homelessness. Thus, in the 1990s, the new visibility of homeless people was a shock to the public eye. This paper is based on a longitudinal study of how, based on this new visibility, the representations of homeless people developed throughout the 1989–2015 period. The paper focuses on the interplay between physical visibility of homelessness and its visibility for public policy. It introduces a threefold theoretical model of how the former is transformed into the latter: I argue that, to be recognized as "problematic" in public space, a group must (a) be recognized as a distinct category (categorical visibility), (b) be recognized as a threat to the civil order (moral visibility), and (c) that public policy must have legal instruments to perceive and address the issue (the eyes and arms of public policy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the regulatory approaches to open access passenger rail competition. This kind of competition has developed substantially in the EU during the past decade. There have been major entries into the national main lines in Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. These entries have been very popular with passengers and rail ridership has gone up substantially. However, there have also been costs to these entries. The operations of the new entrants are diminishing economies of density, leading to higher unit costs. Further challenges include cherry-picking behaviour, scarce infrastructure capacity, tariff disintegration, and long-term sustainability. The major question is whether the social benefits outweigh the costs. This paper aims to review emerging evidence in the field of open access entries and approaches to their regulation. The scope of this paper is open access passenger rail entries in Europe after 2000 with a particular emphasis on the major entries that took place in Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Sweden after 2011. The contribution of this article to the existing literature is threefold. Firstly, it provides an up-to-date review of open access entries in Europe. Secondly, it combines the results of simulation studies with empirical evidence to provide an overview of market impacts. Lastly, it reviews the spectrum of regulatory approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose a typology of Czech consumers with respect to their attitudes toward the country of origin when purchasing beverages. Attention is paid to four commonly purchased beverage categories: beer, wine, tea and coffee. Using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing method, the total number of fully completed questionnaires obtained was 396. The selection of respondents was determined by gender and age quotas. The measurement of attitudes involved utilizing a set of 22 statements concerning the beverage origin which were evaluated on a five-point scale. As confirmed by the research results, in each beverage category, the country of origin influences consumers' purchasing decisions differently. When purchasing wine, Czech consumers most commonly verify the country from which it originates. The origin is also important to them when it comes to beer, with the strongest preference for beer produced in their own country. The country from which the beverage originates has a considerably lower importance for coffee and is the least important when buying tea. Based on respondents' attitudes toward the country of beverage origin, four consumer segments were identified, namely "Experimenters," "Picky consumers," "Patriots," and "Pro-European consumers." Factor and cluster analysis were used for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the drivers of public sector wage setting (PSWS) within the broader political and economic conditions in Central and Eastern Europe are scarce. To fill this gap, the paper questions to what extent the export-led growth model, based on foreign direct investment as driver of economic growth, influenced PSWS in Czechia and Slovakia after the 2008–2009 crisis. The paper provides new evidence of the appropriateness of the growth model literature, integrated by consideration of global production chains integration, for understanding PSWS in CEE conditions. The analysis shows that PSWS followed institutional traditions and established practices that only indirectly related to the countries' export orientation and integration into global production chains. The indirect growth model impact on PSWS in CEE conditions is channeled through a strong role of the statutory minimum wage, which serves as a wage benchmark both for the export sector and PSWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics usually look for constitutional conventions in Westminster-style democracies, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, or Australia. Nevertheless, growing evidence from practice shows that constitutional conventions are similarly essential attributes of even substantially different political regimes. This article is the first paper to systematically deal with constitutional conventions in the Czech Republic. To be more specific, I identify eight existing constitutional conventions there: (1) respect for the parliamentary majority, (2) institution of a formateur, (3) simultaneous existence of two prime ministers, (4) new cabinet's statement of policy, (5) delegation of negotiation and ratification of international treaties, (6) appointment of a (vice-)governor of the Czech National Bank without a countersignature, (7) missing signature of the president under laws, and (8) single vice-chairperson of the Supreme Court. On one hand, the scrutiny shows that constitutional conventions play an already established and important role even in a Central European democracy. On the other hand, the lack of political respect for unwritten rules and the relative immaturity of Czech democracy confirm that constitutional conventions are as fragile (or as strong) as political actors allow. Thanks to these facts, the study of constitutional conventions in the post-communist country is a precious laboratory with universal findings even for long-existing democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this day and age, it is increasingly important to ask how the cultural industries adapt to the evolution of communication technology. Recent technological changes influencing our understanding of media communication processes are discussed in various fields, with western traditions often predominating. However, the particular impact on industry dynamics is hardly universal. Specifically, the way such changes influence the dynamics of small, distinct peripheral markets remains largely underexamined. To this end, this manuscript focuses on such questions as they relate to the specificities of Central and Eastern Europe and the Czech Republic, a particularly small industry with distinct cultural proclivities. In ascertaining how media representatives/workers comprehend and engage their audiences, this paper presents a fuller understanding of the microsocial processes by which Czech media audiences are framed and conceptualized within Czech media industries and offers insights into the rationales directing the Czech media industry itself, particularly in relation to mediating the dialectic of local dynamics, international competition, and the evolution of digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is some indication that discrimination as well as low levels of life satisfaction render young people at risk of cyberhate victimization. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, this paper examines whether supportive family, peer and school environments may buffer against the effects of perceived discrimination and low life satisfaction on cyberhate victimization. Data from four countries (N = 3396) of the EU Kids Online IV survey on children aged 11–17 (51% girls) revealed a positive association between perceived discrimination and cyberhate victimization, but this impact was moderated by supportive family and peer environments. A negative association between life satisfaction and cyberhate victimization was mitigated by peer support. However, no associations with the school context were found. The current study provides new insights on how social support on different levels of the social environment may buffer against potential risk factors for cyberhate victimization and can inform decision-makers towards intervention and prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper brings together two streams of literature which rarely enter into conversation: diverse economies scholarship and critical readings of postsocialism. Mobilising the cases of food self-provisioning (FSP) in Czechia and agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan as an empirical basis for our reflections, we pursue a two-fold aim. Firstly, we call for attention to the postsocialist East as fertile ground for the study of diverse economies. Secondly, we offer a postcapitalist reading of postsocialism as embedded and emancipated theorising, arguing that diverse economies thinking can support novel representations of this geopolitical area and open space to appreciate economic diversity on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyse where women run for and win seats in local councils of Czech towns between 1998 and 2018. Our results are to some extent contradictory to those from Western Europe. More importantly, this study demonstrates that strategic context impacts on women's emergence and success in local elections in a different way. First, we do not confirm that larger towns are more promising for women's representation. While more fragmented party systems in larger cities contribute to making women's candidacy more common, a large pool of female candidates does not result in their higher presence in local councils. Second, we identify openness of local environment to women, in terms of women's previous representation, as a strong determinant of female representation in Czech towns, both in terms of candidacy and success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the membership of the most important Czech political party, ANO (meaning "yes" in Czech), led by Andrej Babiš, in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Our goals are to reconstruct how Babiš's party joined ALDE and to discuss the ideological differences between ANO and ALDE. The paper shows that ALDE's offer of membership in 2014 was motivated by a pragmatic need to bolster its own position in the European Parliament; ANO, meanwhile, needed to anchor itself in European politics. Andrej Babiš's technocratic and illiberal view was not apparent at the beginning, but more importantly, this did not matter to ALDE. ALDE's Czech "point of contact," ANO's foreign policy expert and the leader of its party group in the European Parliament, Pavel Telička, made ANO's membership credible. However, as a Euro-optimist, Telička was not compatible with ANO's flexible ideological character in the long term and the party group split up. A comparison of the parties' European Parliament election manifestos and positions on crucial controversial European issues clearly reveals a deep division between ALDE and ANO—and their fundamentally opposed ideological positions. We describe the findings as a new hyper-pragmatic trend in the creation of Europarties, which weakens their ideological cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the lack of sufficient non-governmental prisoner re-entry services in the Czech Republic, many post-release activities are provided by faith-based organizations (FBOs). However, the Czech Republic is considered to be one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Most of the Czech population is at least apathetic toward organized religion. This study examines how re-entry FBOs present Christianity to the public in the religiously indifferent Czech Republic. The primary focus is on how the organizations present themselves to the public. We employ qualitative content analysis examining names, logos, mission statements, and other documents of 14 re-entry FBOs. The analysis reveals four general themes within the organizations' public presentations: Ambiguity when expressing religious topics, Christianity as an offer, Christianity as a form of social movement (self-legitimization), and Christianity as a pro-social lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how different meanings of knowledge (transnational, comparative, statistical, local, and personal) relationally stabilise the agential position for the legitimation of educational reform across state and non-state actors. Analysing the materiality and systems of reason of proposals to reform education in the pre-election debates in the Czech Republic, the focus is placed on different patterns of legitimate and legitimating actorship, assembled from global and local relations. Through an ecological conceptualisation the research identifies the problematisation and decomposition of actorship into contradictory assemblages of both traditional actors (teachers and politicians) and relatively new ones (NGOs). The relationship of the civil sector and the state structures allowed the emergence of new non-state, non-professional actors (NGOs) who aggregate their expertise from transnational data and legitimate both their position as experts and the particular educational change. This has consequences for non-experts as politicians and teachers. The transnational and European context penetrated into the Czech educational sphere not through an elite class of system actors but through the representatives of NGOs. Rhetorically saving education from degradation, NGOs engage in spreading the transnational data and externalise the legitimation of educational reform and thus become the bearers (although agentially limited) of the European space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influx of populism in Europe revived the values of illiberal, authoritarian government. This affects the democratic character of Civil–Military Relations (CMR) in the post-communist countries in particular. We analyzed the development of CMR in Czechia (1992–2022) under the influence of populism (2010–2022). Applying the CMR concept of the shared-democratic-values-perspective, our study provides empirical evidence that persistent shortcomings in formal institutional and informal socialization of Czech officers by values of democracy open a dangerous back door for spreading the values of military populism in the Czech Armed Forces. We argue that such development in the last 10 years has resulted into a formation of illiberal alliances between populist leaders and the military elite and poses a risk of the army being misused to politically support the authoritarian populist government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on transparency and contract publication in public procurement. Our main objective is to identify statistical associations between situations when a resulting contract is not publicly available and the outcomes of the procurement, esp. efficiency. By merging multiple databases and web scraping, we have created a unique dataset covering nearly 14,000 public procurements in the Czech Republic during the period 2018-2020. This dataset and recent legislation enable us to run empirical tests of new hypotheses, as well as control for variables already established in the empirical literature, such as procurement type, regime and authority. The results of our quantitative econometric models show that for selected types of projects, the unavailability of the contract is associated with smaller price savings as well as with more frequent single bid outcomes. For all types of projects, we found that failure to publish project prices is positively associated with single bid outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate assessment of cognitive abilities in populations that differ from the majority in cultural and linguistic characteristics is one of the main challenges in cognitive testing. Previously developed methods for assessment of the validity of cognitive scores in individuals with diverse backgrounds, such as the Culture-Language Interpretative Matrix (C-LIM), have not been empirically substantiated. We tested the applicability of the C-LIM in the European context, by comparing selected test scores from the Woodcock-Johnson-IV Test of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-IV) between Roma children aged 7–11 years (n = 399) and their counterparts from the normative population (n = 131). The largest differences were detected in WJ-IV tests requiring abstract reasoning and manipulation with complex signs. Furthermore, the C-LIM did not reliably discriminate between our groups and its use appears to be inappropriate for making diagnostic decisions about children from populations that do not traditionally rely on processes such as categorical thinking, abstract reasoning, and generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the moderating role of social media influence before and after the trip in Vietnam and Czech Republic. Primary data, gathered during time lag data surveys conducted among international tourists travelling to the Czech Republic and Vietnam, was analyzed with the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in R. The findings revealed that social media influence with higher level positively strengthened the connection between tourist motivation and the post trip destination image. Furthermore, social media had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between tourist satisfaction and ecotourism loyalty. However, there are strong differences between the destinations of developed and emerging economies. For Czech Republic, as developed economy, social media influence plays a more important role as a value-expressive mechanism at the post-trip stage whereas for the developing economy of Vietnam, social media plays a more important role as an information source before the trip. This study extends the Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) by introducing the moderating effect of social media influence, which first time measures this moderating effect before and after the trip accounting for the dynamic nature of the destination image as an antecedent of ecotourism loyalty. Limitations, theoretical implications, and recommendations for practice and further research are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to understand siblinghood in old age through the perspective of Czech older adults. Forty-one in-depth interviews were analyzed, and four themes characterizing siblinghood among older persons were identified in the data: (1) Siblinghood as a unique bond, understood through genetic relatedness, the sense of belongingness, shared memories, and awareness of being the last members of the family of origin. (2) Being consanguineous and, as a result, irrevocably bonded by mutual commitments. (3) Being emotionally supportive and ready for help if needed and as resources allow. (4) The rules of doing siblinghood: the genealogical rules vs. the rule of family of procreation priority; the rule of genetic relatedness vs. the selectivity rule, or rather the preferences of particular siblings; the rules of "good siblinghood" (being interested in themselves, mutual respect, no envy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This impact evaluation report describes the effects of the "Parenting Program for Disadvantaged Families" in the Czech Republic. We provide a detailed look at the quantitative data on treatment and control families in a program delivered by social workers to reduce the risk of children's misconduct. Method: The study specifies the results of two waves of quantitative research based on Parenting Young Children (PARYC), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and items measuring parents' attitudes toward punishment of their children. Results: The results of parental self-reported competencies and parent-reported children's behavior indicate that there was a statistically significant impact of the intervention. Discussion: There was a large effect on Supporting Positive Behavior (PARYC), and Prosocial Behavior and Peer Relationship dimensions of the SDQ. Parental practices and attitudes toward punishment are further explored, although the conclusions remain ambiguous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the candidate selection process for realistic list positions with regard to multiple-office holding and personal characteristics in flexible-list proportional representation (PR) systems within the Czech context. More specifically, this issue is explored in the 2006–2017 elections to the Czech Chamber of Deputies. Results of binary logistic regression analysis with observations clustered by party or constituency indicate that incumbents (with or without multiple office holding) stand a significantly higher probability of being selected as a realistic candidate. This probability increases only if the incumbent also has the regional mandate. The results also show that candidates with a PhD degree or higher, with a higher public office position, at the age of forty-one to fifty years, or with residence in a regional capital or in Prague have a significant probability of being selected as a realistic candidate. A specific gender bias was also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of time that people spend in physical activity of various intensities has important health implications. Physical activity (commonly categorised by the intensity into light, moderate and vigorous physical activity), sedentary behaviour and sleep, should not be analysed separately, because they are parts of a time-use composition with a natural constraint of 24 h/day. To find out how are relative reallocations of time between physical activity of various intensities associated with health, herewith we describe compositional scalar-on-function regression and a newly developed compositional functional isotemporal substitution analysis. Physical activity intensity data can be considered as probability density functions, which better reflects the continuous character of their measurement using accelerometers. These probability density functions are characterised by specific properties, such as scale invariance and relative scale, and they are geometrically represented using Bayes spaces with the Hilbert space structure. This makes possible to process them using standard methods of functional data analysis in the L 2 space, via centred logratio (clr) transformation. The scalar-on-function regression with clr transformation of the explanatory probability density functions and compositional functional isotemporal substitution analysis were applied to a dataset from a cross-sectional study on adiposity conducted among school-aged children in the Czech Republic. Theoretical reallocations of time to physical activity of higher intensities were found to be associated with larger and more progressive expected decreases in adiposity. We obtained a detailed insight into the dose–response relationship between physical activity intensity and adiposity, which was enabled by using the compositional functional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present the results of the qualitative research and the thematic discourse analysis of discussions of Facebook groups of parents of pupils in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The aim was to identify how the parents perceived the issue of distance learning during the COVID-2 pandemic and how they approached the problems that they encountered. Parents step into the role of a teacher and of a pupil; they are participants and observers of the educational process and advisors and supporters of their children. They evaluate the educational process from the didactics and the instructive point of view but they lack competencies that belong to teachers. Insufficient digital literacy and lacking equipment in households regarding ICT represent a weak point. Problems linked to the loss of social contacts and isolation are growing in number. Families also struggle with economic and logistics problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the burgeoning research on adult attachment in organizational settings has utilized assessment methods developed for personal or social relationships contexts. Here, we propose and test a novel framework for assessing attachment orientations in the workplace, the Experiences in Work Relationships—Individual (EWR-I), based on a conceptualization of the regulatory functions of attachment dynamics. Using data from two samples comprising early career starters and employees in the Czech Republic (N = 588 and N = 633) analyses confirmed the bifactorial structure of the new scale corresponding to "interpersonal hyperactivation" (involving emotional instability, negative emotionality, and lack of appreciation in work relationships) and a second factor termed "interpersonal deactivation" (involving distancing from others and relationships at work, mistrust and inhibition of positive emotionality). Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity against general relational assessments of adult attachment, and predictive and construct validity against measures of workplace personality, organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior further documented the nature and utility of the new scale. We argue that interpersonal hyperactivation and deactivation represent two distinct and measurable key components of attachment behavior dynamics at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penal populism has repeatedly been described as influencing penal policies, with harsh penal practices presented as evidence of its influence. However, little attention has yet been paid to its role in the development of penal policies in post-authoritarian countries, which generally have large prison populations. Some minimal research has suggested that Central European countries were driven by penal nationalism following the 1989 revolutions. I examine this claim for the Czech Republic, using Garland (2013) 's framework of the five dimensions of a penal state. My analysis of political manifestoes shows that Czech politicians did not employ "law and order" rhetoric. The country's penal reforms were led by lenient penal elites. Nevertheless, a lack of analysis, coordination and sufficient funding resulted in a failure to properly identify or tackle the causes of the country's high imprisonment rate. Even though it gradually became more difficult to impose prison sentences, insufficient attention was paid to the length of the sentences Czech prisoners were serving. The large Czech prison population thus seems to be the result of state actors' negligence, but not of penal populism nor of penal nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unpredictable spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, national lockdowns, and public health measures implemented in the Czech Republic had a negative effect on older adults' mental health and loneliness. The 2,631 older adults in 2020 and 2,083 older adults in 2021 used in this study formed a nationally representative sample of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Almost every third older adult experienced feelings of loneliness in both stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Loneliness increased in 2021 in those individuals who reported their physical health as poor, who felt nervous, sad or depressed, and who had ever left their home since the outbreak. According to age-related drivers of loneliness, feelings of loneliness were prevalent (40% vs. 45%) among younger retirees in both waves. In both data sets, declared feelings of sadness or depression were the strongest sustainable predictor of loneliness (2020 and 2021 models, OR = 3.69; 95% CI [2.90, 4.69] and OR = 2.55; [1.97, 3.30]). Being a woman and feeling nervous equated with a higher likelihood of feeling lonely compared to counterparts. Policy makers should therefore aim to carefully improve psychosocial and health-related consequences faced by this vulnerable population during the pandemic and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are only two European Union (EU) states where hard coal is still mined: Poland and the Czech Republic. One of the key interest groups in the hard coal mining industry are trade unions. They are particularly strong in this sector, almost entirely controlled by the state, in Poland—without their approval, it is in fact impossible to implement any significant reforms. The main goal of the article is to explain the influence of trade unions operating in the hard coal mining sector in Poland and the Czech Republic on the results of the reforms of this sector carried out in 2015–2019. The framework for empirical analysis is the theoretical output on interest groups and the power resources approach. Measuring the influence of an interest group on the decision-making process is one of the greatest challenges in research on interest groups. However, the empirical analysis allows us to conclude that the purposes of mining trade unions both in Poland and in the Czech Republic were consistent, that the shape of the reforms introduced in 2015–2019 was convergent with these goals, and that the activity of trade unions had a very big impact on these reforms. However, in the long run, hard coal mining in Europe is in decline and trade unions are only trying to stop what is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates a specific issue in the Czech prison system: the conflict between prison employment and therapeutic/counselling programmes offered. Drawing on 55 semi-structured interviews with specialized prison personnel from 10 Czech prisons, I argue that prison employment is disproportionately prioritized over the programmes, which undermines and, in some cases, makes it impossible for the personnel to work with inmates on rehabilitation. Since the Czech Prison Service itself declares that most inmates have serious problems involving psychological traumas, drug abuse, and housing insecurity, it would be beneficial to prioritize rehabilitation programmes and then try to employ inmates. The conflict also contributes to an unsuccessful re-entry/resettlement process, which is regarded as a major problem in the Czech prison system and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study is to examine interest in the implementation of five restorative justice programs as reported by 225 employes of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic and to identify the factors that underpin such interest. The results show that perceived usefulness and familiarity with the program are crucial factors that influence the respondent's interest in program implementation. Additionally, awareness of the concept of restorative justice and agreement with its principles are likely to have an indirect effect, mediated through perceived usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unfavourable demographic trends are exerting more pressure on public pension systems in all European countries, and the need for alternative sources of pension provision is increasing. Personal pension products can be considered as a possible solution to the problem of providing adequate pensions. The pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) is the first standardised pension product subject to a uniform EU regime. Now that the regulatory framework for PEPP has been established at the EU level, it is up to the Member States to create an appropriate legal environment in order to promote the successful development of PEPP. This article examines the role of voluntary pension funds and the readiness to implement PEPP in the selected countries. We focus on the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, where the role of private pension funds is growing. We examine how PEPP can fit into the national pension systems and make some proposals regarding regulatory measures to be taken in order to ensure that PEPP is not at a competitive disadvantage against national pension products. We find that PEPP may fill the pension gap in countries where public pensions are the main source of retirement income and the role of occupational pension schemes is insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes historical monuments as instruments of Russia's attempts to impose its aesthetic hegemony in the post-Communist world. Drawing on case studies from the Czech Republic and Estonia, it argues that this hegemony is precarious and vulnerable due to inability to deal with the inherent ambiguity and complexity of historical events and figures. The Russian approach regards historical truth in absolute terms and is underpinned by a zero-sum game understanding of historical narratives. It does not tolerate a multiplicity of perspectives on history and has no appreciation for postmodernist deconstruction of historical symbols. This conflicts with a more diverse, reflexive and inclusive politics of memory as an intrinsic element of cityscapes of Prague and Tallinn where some of the controversial monuments connected with the Soviet occupation have been removed. Russia's reaction to these changes reveals an inherently vulnerable nature of its aesthetic hegemony which is deeply dependent on recognition of the absolute nature of its historical truth that the monuments are supposed to embody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial planning practice is increasingly facing the challenge of managing the complexity of daily urban systems. As a normatively defined spatial imaginary, the concept of polycentricity has become widely used in planning practice in order to mitigate territorial disparities and to enhance urban competitiveness. Although polycentricity has been thoroughly studied as an analytical concept for understanding the dynamics of urban networks, the operationalization of the concept in planning practice has not yet been subjected to critical evaluation, despite recent metropolitan planning practices signalling a misunderstanding of the basic principles of polycentricity. Based on a case study of Czech metropolitan areas, this article addresses the question: Are there any shortcomings related to the operationalization of a normatively defined polycentric vision of spatial development at the level of metropolitan planning agendas? Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study compares different spatial settings of metropolitan areas with spatial visions defined by planning and policy documents. The findings point to several limitations related to a missing link between spatial reality and planning agendas, the weak operationalization of polycentricity, and scale-related miscomprehension. In order to translate the polycentric narrative into planning practice more efficiently, we will argue for a strengthening and formalization of metropolitan planning agendas and a more intensive interconnection of theoretical knowledge with territorial management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current day and age, innovation is the fodder that keeps companies and institutions running, and universities play an important role. During the crisis and in the post-crisis period, financial support for research and development have undergone significant changes especially at universities. The aim of this research is to conduct a patent focus analysis of the public and state universities in the Czech Republic and to analyze the development in patenting focus structure and to identify perspective and suitable research area. Hierarchical clustering was chosen for its clustering overview clarity and due to the relatively small sample size. Ward's method was chosen as the clustering algorithm with squared Euclidean distance as the system of measurement. Each cluster was characterized by five dominant IPC subsections to describe the patent focus. The patent focus segmentation of 115 public and state universities identified five main groups: medical/pharmacological, material, organic, construction and mixed measuring and material processing. Universities today are centers of knowledge. In addition, they support the innovation that spurs economic activity in a society. Universities have the potential to spur industrial activity with innovation and then pass information on to private firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holding two second-order elections simultaneously is expected to increase electoral participation. We exploit a natural experiment in which one group of Czech precincts was "as if" randomly assigned to holding subnational elections concurrently with senatorial ones. Using a unique data set containing variables on more than thirteen thousand precincts in five elections between 2000 and 2016, we detect a modest effect of concurrency only in the first election but no or inconsistent effect in the four subsequent contests. Furthermore, we report a strong effect of concurrency on invalid voting. We check for robustness using difference-in-differences design and matching techniques. Incongruent with existing theories, concurrency does not deliver on its promises and may come at a substantial cost to political representation. The surprising null effect on turnout is attributable to analyzing the effect of concurrency of the less salient on more salient elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the social construction of gangs in Czechia. Although the country is not usually associated with the activities of street gangs, the adoption of gang representations is evident in this context, including the use of the gang label itself. In order to capture the gang glocalization process, I employ the concept of translation, whereby glocalization is conceptualized as a complex process of the transposition of symbols based on the constant assessment and negotiation of the formed equivalent in the new discursive context. This approach allows us to understand the similarities and differences between how gangs are labelled not only across various cultural contexts, but also within them, with a honed analytical focus on the discursive strategies of the actors being studied. The concept of glocalization as translation is illustrated using the example of the Novák collective operating in a marginalized urban area in Czechia. While official discourse characterized this collective as an international drug gang, this construction was entirely absent in the discourse employed by the residents of the area. This discrepancy explains the gang construct within Czech public discourse as an equivalent of organized and sophisticated crime which automatically excludes certain ethnic groups by definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to describe factors influencing the feeling of safety which significantly influences also the subjective well-being and life satisfaction among Czech seniors. The sample consisted of seniors in the age 55 and above, the total number of respondents was 3,071. In the beginning of presented study two crucial questions were asked. Do the Czech seniors feel safe? What are they mostly afraid of? The reported feeling of safety was higher in seniors who perceived their health as good or very good, almost 90% of these seniors reported they felt safe. The survey results showed that the seniors' sense of safety was also influenced by the fact whether they lived with someone or alone where the living alone decreased the feeling of safety significantly. Hypothesis testing revealed that also gender affects the reasons why seniors do not feel safe, as well as household's members and by the place of residence. The survey results have brought an intriguing finding that more than one fourth of Czech seniors reported that one of the reasons why they feel insecure is their fear of migrants. A detailed analysis of the primary data set is focused on factors determining Czech seniors' feeling of safety and identification of possible specific features of the senior group with concerns about migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on factors informing public perceptions of expert trustworthiness was largely conducted during stable periods and in long-established Western liberal democracies. This article asks whether the same factors apply during a major health crisis and in relatively new democracies. Drawing on 120 interviews and diaries conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia, we identify two additional factors not acknowledged in existing research, namely personal contact with experts and experts' independence from political elites. We also examine how different factors interact and show how distrust of experts can lead to exposure to online misinformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerable populations are often excluded from research interviews, as they are considered too difficult to reach. If included, they often face barriers that obstruct active participation and collaboration among participants, such as low literacy levels, a lack of confidence, and mistrust. Based on a body of texts that deal with the inclusion of vulnerable participants, I have developed a methodology aimed at promoting substantive social impact on researched communities. I propose visually based worksheets as a tool to give voice to often silenced individuals, to contribute to social change and justice. In this article, I explore the possibilities of visual methods to facilitate interviews and encourage greater levels of participation. With the use of selected visual methods—image elicitation, drawings, diagrams, and card-based games incorporated into graphic worksheets—I demonstrate how to address low levels of participant cooperation and understanding of interview tasks. This article is based on extensive fieldwork in the form of interviews with people living in poverty in the Czech Republic. Through the example of five of the 17 worksheets I designed, I illustrate the motivations and thought processes that stand behind their creation. The worksheets are aimed at the inclusion of vulnerable populations and bringing their voices into the research while focusing on crucial topics such as housing history, debts and obligations, debt repayment, and financial distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Across the world, mathematical expressions are represented very differently in braille. The aim of this study was (1) to gain an overall insight in mathematical braille notations and (2) to investigate how mathematical braille notations support braille readers in reading and comprehending mathematical expressions. Method: Twenty teachers from sixteen countries (thirteen European Union, EU, and three non-EU) were asked to transform 21 mathematical expressions and equations into the mathematical braille notation currently used by their braille readers. Three mathematical expressions were selected, and the transformed expressions in the different braille notations were qualitatively compared at braille and mathematical structure level. Results: The results illustrated that most mathematical braille notations use mathematical structures that either support braille readers in getting an overview of an expression—for example, by announcing the start and end of a fraction—or facilitate communication between braille readers and people who can see. Discussion: The method of comparing transformed expressions at structure level can be extended to other types of mathematical expressions and other mathematical braille notations. Agreement on the structure of different mathematical expressions can be a first step towards a universal mathematical braille notation. Implications for Practitioners: Mathematics teachers should be aware of and use the strengths of the mathematical braille notation and try to compensate for weaknesses of the notation in the support of braille readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dignity is a multidimensional construct that includes perception, knowledge, and emotions related to competence or respect. Attitudes to aging are a comprehensive personal view of the experience of aging over the course of life, which can be influenced by various factors, such as the levels of health and self-sufficiency and social, psychological, or demographic factors. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes to aging of home-dwelling and inpatient older adults, and whether dignity and other selected factors belong among the predictors influencing attitudes to aging in these two different groups of older adults. Research design: Cross-sectional study using a set of questionnaires: Patient Dignity Inventory, Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire, and Barthel Index. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses and multivariable linear regression were used for statistical processing. Participants and research context: 233 inpatients and 237 home-dwelling older adults participated in the research in two regions of the Czech Republic. Ethical considerations: Institutional Review Board approval was received from the authors' university. Findings: The inpatients had more negative attitudes to aging (M = 74.9±10.9; P <0.0001). The predictors of their attitudes to aging were gender and dignity. Women (β = −2.969, P = 0.045) and inpatients with poor dignity ratings (β = −0.332, P <0.0001) had more negative attitudes to aging. The predictors for home-dwelling older adults were education, living arrangement, and dignity. More negative attitudes to aging were found in older adults with lower levels of education (β = 2.716, P = 0.007) who lived alone (β = 2.163, P = 0.046) and rated their dignity as low (β = −0.325, P <0.0001). Discussion and Conclusions: The results of this study add to the understanding that a sense of dignity is an important predictor of attitudes to aging for both home-dwelling older adults and inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood trauma is associated with many interpersonal and psychosocial problems in adulthood. The aim of this study was to explore the associations with a spiritual area of personality, namely religious and spiritual struggles (R/S struggles). A nationally representative sample of 1,000 Czech respondents aged 15 years and older participated in the survey. All types of CT were associated with an increased level of all six types of R/S struggles, with the highest values for demonic struggles. Thus, the findings of this study might be important for clinical practice and pastoral care as well as a further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the differences in pledge fulfilment strategies in majority and substantive minority governments. Issue ownership and dynamic agenda-setting literature are applied, expecting that government parties will focus on fulfilling the party's most salient pledges, and also the pledges that are publicly salient for the whole electorate. Adding these expectations to the context of substantive minority governments, parties must accommodate these attempts because they face the opposition actor(s) with veto power and their own policy motivation. Compared to majority governments, the odds of adopting party-salient pledges should decrease for minority coalition parties. The effect of public-salient issues should also differ from the majority governments. This analysis is conducted on government party pledges in one minority and two majority governments in the Czech Republic (formed after 2006, 2010, and 2013 elections). The analysis shows a generally weak effect for party and public issue salience on pledge fulfilment. The decreasing effect of party issue salience for minority government parties is supported; the effect of public issue salience does, however, not differ in its decreasing direction from the majority governments. The additional model including combinations of the high and low party and public salience shows that for minority governments, public salience decreases the odds of fulfilment regardless of party issue salience. The article concludes with a contextual explanation of the minority government's special character in the Czech case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a common neurodevelopmental disorder frequently diagnosed between the ages 7 and 10 years. We measured ADHD symptomatology in a representative sample of the Czech population. Material and Methods: Data collection was performed in January 2019 through the European National Panel. The respondents completed a demographic questionnaire focusing on ADHD history and a standardized questionnaire, the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) screener for ADHD symptomatology in adulthood. Results: From the sample of 1,518 respondents, 3% of the respondents reported having been diagnosed with ADHD/hyperkinetic disorder in their lifetime. According to ASRS scoring, 119 respondents were classified as suspected ADHD. Overall, more males than females reported ADHD symptomatology. Age was also significantly associated with ASRS. Education status yielded no significant results. Conclusion: Our study documents that the prevalence of ADHD symptomatology in adults is comparable with that in Western countries despite the different historical and health care backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research aimed to examine the reasons people are single, that is, not in an intimate relationship, across eight different countries—Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, and the UK. We asked a large cross-cultural sample of single participants (N = 6,822) to rate 92 different possible reasons for being single. These reasons were classified into 12 factors, including one's perceived inability to find the right partner, the perception that one is not good at flirting, and the desire to focus on one's career. Significant sex and age effects were found for most factors. The extracted factors were further classified into three separate domains: Perceived poor capacity to attract mates, desiring the freedom of choice, and currently being in between relationships. The domain structure, the relative importance of each factor and domain, as well as sex and age effects were relatively consistent across countries. There were also important differences however, including the differing effect sizes of sex and age effects between countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study illustrates the need to develop efforts that define scientific terms, namely, 'religion'. Despite the fact that such efforts may seem to be practically unattainable, current phenomena testify to the need to continually improve standardized scholarly terminology (such as Invented Religion, Parody Religion). Using specific material (of new religious phenomena in the Czech Republic, specifically the Jedi religion and the Church of Beer), the study identifies several key ambiguities stemming from the cultural and social context in which both contemporary new religions and academic study of religions coexist. The study concludes that in a highly secular society, where the continuity of religious memory is disrupted (as in the Czech Republic), the academic study of religions plays an important role, functioning as an authority for the decision-making of state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]