Search

Objective: To compare health service use (HSU) between migrants and non-migrants in Germany. Methods: Using data from the population-based German National Cohort (NAKO), we compared the HSU of general practitioners, medical specialists, and psychologists/psychiatrists between six migrant groups of different origins with the utilization of nonmigrants. A latent profile analysis (LPA) with a subsequent multinomial regression analysis was conducted to characterize the HSU of different groups. Additionally, separate regression models were calculated. Both analyses aimed to estimate the direct effect of migration background on HSU. Results: In the LPA, the migrant groups showed no relevant differences compared to nonmigrants regarding HSU. In separate analyses, general practitioners and medical specialists were used comparably to slightly more often by first-generation migrants from Eastern Europe, Turkey, and resettlers. In contrast, the use of psychologists/psychiatrists was substantially lower among those groups. Second-generation migrants and migrants from Western countries showed no differences in their HSU compared to non-migrants. Conclusion: We observed a low mental HSU among specific migrant groups in Germany. This indicates the existence of barriers among those groups that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper fills the gap in research on online public representations of politically active youth by focusing on the discursive representations of Fridays for Future, a youth-led climate movement, in user generated content in Czechia and Hungary. By employing the childism approach, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the exclusion of youth from the public sphere. Our qualitative analysis identified two exclusionary strategies: 1) normative roles attributed to youth; 2) labeling youth for allegedly holding aberrant values. We stress both similarities and differences in the two countries of Central and Eastern Europe, reflecting this region's historicopolitical features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes the notion of a "spectacle of repair," a carefully calibrated social technology of green governance aimed at managing the environmental degradation through control over images in Warsaw, Poland. Using case studies Million Trees for Warsaw project and a candidacy for the Green Capital of Europe and building on political ecology literature that addresses the rise of new opportunities for capitalist expansion through restoration activity, this article claims that the production of the green policy sphere allows for a creation of an array of possible "green" actions in the city that are presented as interchangeable and effectively commensurable. As the municipality heavily invests in greenery and a removal of visible signs of messiness and dirt in the city, the depoliticized spectacle of a clean and green urban space focuses on creating an image of the authorities actively combating the pollution as well as working towards making Warsaw more "livable." At the same time, the two major roots of pollution found in ever-increasing car traffic and old coal-heating systems remain insufficiently addressed amid a lack of political will. The paper argues that mitigation strategy of the city hall thus heavily relies on a management of visibilities; attempting to alleviate the citizens' pressure to tackle the largely invisible air pollution by delivering the tidy greenery desired by the urban elites, keeping the city fit for competing in the global neoliberal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Femina Politica is the property of Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper provides theoretical justification and empirical evidence linking the mode of privatization of state assets in banks and industries to the quality of institutions of legal and financial governance that underpin financial development. The evidence from twenty-five states of Eastern Europe suggests that allowing foreigners to assume the role of strategic investors in banks and industries via direct sale methods of divestiture of state assets contributes to legal and institutional development, particularly a stronger and more impartial legal system, better quality of bureaucratic governance, and stronger legal protection of creditors, while insider privatization schemes, such as voucher privatization or management–employee buyouts, do not fulfill the same role. The empirical results are robust to instrumental variable analysis and to the inclusion of numerous economic and political controls for alternative explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the agri-environment framework in Central and Eastern Europe, the article emphasizes the role and the use of the agri-environment in provision of different ecosystem services. It shows that relevant conservation measures with regard to ameliorating soil degradation contribute to the existence of sustainable land systems. In our study, we (i) identified what the soil water aggregate means, (ii) reviewed how agri-environment schemes (AES) function to support soil water requirements, and (iii) how appropriate soils are identified with regard to the implementation of soil conservation under the agri-environment. Empirical data were surveyed to assess AES as the pivotal subsidy in four countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Quantitative data were assessed to contribute to evidence on and the expenditure effect of the measures. This review found that AES schemes in arable land systems implement several approaches such as cover crops and the reversion of arable land systems to grassland. The costs of AE measures reflect the costs of the particular agri-environmental practice and its constraints on commercial performance by the farmer. The AES budget analysis showed that subsidization moderately increased over the 2000–2020 time frame. However, the magnitude of the AES budget is still largely overshadowed by generic subsidies at farm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinicians and researchers consider that there are a variety of symptoms that constitute negative symptoms in schizophrenia, and they may use different definitions for the same symptoms. These differences are also reflected in a variety of negative symptom rating scales. Both research and clinical work are negatively affected by the lack of consensus regarding the symptoms that constitute negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Leading research groups have investigated ways to reduce heterogeneity in the domain of negative symptoms in schizophrenia; however, little attention has been paid to regional differences in the concepts of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The objective of this review was to collect and summarize information about the assessment and treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Nineteen experts from 17 countries in CEE participated in this project. The participants collected information about their countries, including the following: (1) the most important publications about negative symptoms in schizophrenia (irrespective of the time of their publication); (2) the most frequently used negative symptom of schizophrenia in clinical practice; (3) definitions of frequently used negative symptoms; and (4) treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The participating experts/countries most frequently reported the following five negative symptoms: avolition, blunted affect, alogia, asociality, and anhedonia. Several experts also considered other symptoms as belonging to the negative symptom domain, such as a decrease in energy level and changes in personality. The importance of evaluating the long-term course and the relationship between negative symptoms and other symptom domains was also noted. No noticeable differences were reported in the treatment of negative symptoms compared to currently published guidelines and algorithms. The most frequently reported negative symptoms included those defined by the NIMH-MATRICS consensus statement on negative symptoms and recently endorsed in a guidance paper of the European Psychiatric Association. The main differences in the concepts, names, and definitions of primary negative symptoms, especially those related to personality changes, and to the evaluation of the long-term course and relationship between different symptom domains in CEE compared to the current English language literature deserve the attention of psychiatrists and other professionals in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dysfunctional educational system has been identified as one of the causes of academic dishonesty in the Eastern Europe. This paper describes a case study based on data collected at one Czech university (N = 660) and presents measures that have been taken at the institution after it. The case study combines quantitative self-reported data and qualitative data from students and teachers with hard data from the disciplinary committee. We analyse cases and types of breaches, identify characteristics of students that incline them toward cheating and investigate some of the reasons why. Our research confirms that the inconsistent approach of teachers is a contributing factor to students' propensity to violate academic integrity rules and identifies reasons for such behaviour. Teachers play a key role in prevention, it is their duty to report cases of suspected misconduct, but they need tools to improve the culture of academic integrity. This paper describes in detail the measures which have been at the given faculty as a solution to the identified problem, the authors believe that the presented measures might serve as an inspiration for policymakers on how to tackle the inconsistency of teachers' approaches to student misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Health and social care systems in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have undergone significant changes and are currently dealing with serious problems of system disintegration, coordination and a lack of control over the market environment. Description: The increased health needs related to the ageing society and epidemiological patterns in these countries also require funding needs to increase, rationing to be reformed, sectors to be integrated (the managed care approach), and an analytical information base to be developed if supervision of new technological approaches is to improve. The period of system transitions in CEE countries entailed significant changes in their health systems, including health care financing. Discussion: Large deficits in the public financing of health systems were just one of the challenges arising from the economic downturn of the 1990s, which was coupled with inflation, increasing unemployment, low salaries, a large informal sector and tax evasion in a number of CEE countries. During the communist period, there was universal access to a wide range of health services, proving it difficult to retain this coverage. As a result, many states sought to ration publicly funded health services - for example, through patient cost-sharing or decreasing the scope of basic benefits. Yet, not all of these reform plans were implemented, and in fact, some were rolled back or not implemented at all due to a lack of social or political consensus. Conclusion: CEE health systems had come to practice implicit rationing in the form of under-the-table payments from patients, quasi-formal payments to providers to compensate for lack of funding, and long waiting lists forcing patients to the private sector. All these difficulties pose a challenge to the implementation of integrated care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017 the first television studies university programme in the Czech Republic was officially opened at Palacký University in Olomouc. However, television has been a focus of Czech academics and television and film reviewers and practitioners for a long time. This review aims to introduce various forms of academic thinking about Czech and Czechoslovak television, published both in Czech and English. It distinguishes four academic and one insider position, based on institutional and disciplinary criteria. Additionally, the article points towards possible issues with trying to reflect on and teach television in a small, post-socialist East-Central European country where there is a limited number of original scholarly books, theoretical initiatives and translations of important texts from the field of TV studies. At the same time, the small size of the TV market, language barriers and the post-socialist heritage inform the local academic debate with specific research questions that have the potential of opening new perspectives on issues such as ideology, political power, mediated memory and globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaearctic steppes evolved under the Cenozoic cold arid climate and megaherbivore pressure. A large portion of the biome persisted into the Holocene but has recently been subjected to human land use alternation. Pseudophilotes bavius (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is a steppe specialist sporadically distributed in Eastern Europe and Pontic-Caspian region (from Transylvania to Southern Urals), the Balkans, the South-Eastern Mediterranean and Irano-Anatolian regions. We used samples covering the distribution area to assess the phylogeography and population genetics of the species based on one mitochondrial and four nuclear genes. The basal lineages are situated in the Irano-Anatolian region, forming two Evolutionary Units. The species radiated to the Balkans and Pontic-Caspian steppes probably when the climatic conditions became suitable after the mid-Pleistocene transition and formation of vast steppe biome. In these parts of the range, the species survived both glacial and interglacial periods in situ, forming a third Evolutionary Unit. In the Balkans, the individual populations are distinct and have probably been isolated for a long time, owing to the diversity of Balkan habitats. In the Pontic-Caspian region, population connectivity probably existed until recently, since the life history of the species is unlikely to include long-distance dispersal. The distribution could have become fragmented with the conversion of steppes into cropland during the past centuries. Future conservation will require proper knowledge of the distribution and habitat needs of the species. Management of inhabited sites should respect historical disturbance-succession dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To identify the quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcers in the Visegrad countries. Background The diabetics with foot ulcers are principally evaluated on the basis of physical parameters, but this does not always reveal much about the patient's experience of life with ulceration. Design The cross-sectional study. Methods The standardised generic questionnaire World Health Organization Quality of Life- BREF was used. The sample was made up of 525 participants and the calculations were performed using the IBM spss statistical program. Results The significant negative correlations between demographic data such as age, duration of diabetes mellitus, duration of diabetic ulceration treatment and a lower level of quality of life were found across the sample. The statistically significant differences according to clinical characteristics such as Wagner classification, frequency of foot ulcers, present peripheral vascular disease and pain in terms of quality of life were also revealed. Significant differences of quality of life among Visegrad countries were revealed: Hungary's participants had a worse quality of life than others, while Slovak participants expressed lower satisfaction with their health than Czech. Conclusions Socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics influence the quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcer. Significant differences between patients of Visegrad countries were found in all domains of quality of life: physical, psychological, social and environmental. Relevance to clinical practice The quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcer reflects the conditions and healthcare system in each of the Visegrad countries. We have to respect socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics in nursing care. This could have an impact on managing patient care not only with regard to their diabetic foot ulcer but also with regard to the patient as a personality with their own problems in relation to physical, psychosocial and environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the guest editor features the tourism industry of the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Copyright of Annals of the Association of American Geographers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although passive sampling has been previously used for the monitoring of volatile and semi-volatile contaminants in air, there are limited data on the use of this technique coupled with bioassays based on specific biological responses. Biological responses including those mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptor as well as (anti-)estrogenicity and (anti-)androgenicity of samples from four Eastern European countries (Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia) were determined. To address the potential differences of specific toxic potencies of pollutant mixtures in ambient air in Eastern Europe, each country was characterized by a single more remote location that served to determine regional background conditions and one location in more urbanized and industrialized locations, which were defined as 'impacted' areas. Besides samples from Lithuania, a significant gradient in concentrations of AhR-mediated potency from background and impacted localities was observed. Greatest potencies were measured in samples from impacted locations in Romania and Slovakia. Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that were quantified accounted for 3-33 % of the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin equivalents determined by use of the bioassay. No significant estrogenic potency was detected but anti-estrogenic effects were produced by air from two background locations (Lithuania, Slovakia) and three impacted locations (Lithuania, Romania, and Serbia). Anti-androgenic potency was observed in all samples. The greatest anti-estrogenic potency was observed at the background location in Slovakia. Anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic potencies of studied air samples were probably associated with compounds that are not routinely monitored. The study documents suitability of passive air sampling for the assessment of specific toxic potencies of ambient air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To establish the availability of High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA)- and non HEPA-filtered rooms in eastern European transplant centres and to investigate the impact on incidence of pneumonia and mortality after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation ( HSCT). Background Barrier nursing in HEPA-filtered rooms is generally recommended for patients undergoing HSCT. There are only limited data on the availability of HEPA-filtered rooms and the impact on incidence of pneumonia and mortality. Design A prospective, observational, international study. Methods Monitoring cards were distributed within the East Forum EBMT- Nurses Group cooperating centres, and 689 consecutive patients were registered in 1/2010-6/2012. Patients were monitored for 100 days post-transplant. Results In patients undergoing autologous HSCT, pneumonia developed in 14/400 (3·5%) and was the cause of death in 2/14 (14%) of patients. There was no significant difference in mortality between HEPA-filtered and non HEPA-filtered groups (4·5% vs. 4·9%, respectively). 239/400 (59%) transplantations were performed in single-bed rooms [190/239 (79%) HEPA-filtered] and 161 (41%) in two-bed rooms [28/161 (17%) HEPA-filtered]. In allogeneic transplantation, pneumonia developed in 24/289 (8·3%) and was the cause of death in 11/24 (45%) of patients. There was no significant difference in mortality between HEPA-filtered and non- HEPA-filtered groups (14% vs. 17%, respectively). 281/289 (97%) of allogeneic transplantations were performed in single-bed rooms [254/281 (90%) HEPA-filtered], and pneumonia was more frequent in patients on corticosteroids and in rooms without HEPA. Conclusion The incidence of pneumonia in the autologous transplantation setting is low. More pneumonia was observed in the allogeneic HSCT group, especially in patients on corticosteroids. There was a trend towards a lower incidence of pneumonia in allogeneic HSCT patients treated in HEPA-filtered rooms. Relevance to clinical practice Autologous HSCT transplantation may safely be performed without HEPA filtration. HEPA filtration might be preferable in patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International influences were instrumental in the shaping of democratic outcomes in post-communist countries. The cases of Slovakia and Croatia demonstrate that international actors can play a transformative role during crucial moments in a country’s trajectory (or ‘critical junctures’) by de-legitimizing support for the authoritarian alternatives, shaping choices and resources available to elites, and building consensus on the democratic course at the elite and societal levels. Slovak and Croatian politics show the impact of external factors on the September 1998 and January 2000 parliamentary elections, respectively, that ended the legacy of a previous critical juncture and began a new path-dependent process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Developed market economies show a growing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), attested by the sizeable theoretical and empirical literature on this issue. There is, however, less evidence of its existence in other geographical areas. Therefore, this paper proposes a framework for the study of this phenomenon in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). This will be followed by an analysis of qualitative data obtained during semi-structured interviews with the representatives of 19 companies operating in four CEEC (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria). The paper concludes that CSR should not be considered as the privilege of developed market economies, since a variety of responsible practices do exist in CEEC organizations. However, the study of their specificity appears to be more complex than an approach in terms either of a transposition of models or of legacy would lead us to believe. An evolutionary approach to institutions allows us to consider that the analysis of the CSR forms in the context of transition economies should take into account interactions between elements dependent on the past as well as imported standards and practices which have themselves been subject to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cities of Central and East Europe have by now passed through 20 years of democracy and market economy. The new political, economic and societal climate brought a revival of urban processes which had been interrupted by forty years of socialism. The article discusses the relevancy of the post-socialist city concept. We search for specific aspects of development of cities influenced by socialism taking the example of urban processes, which have been changing the inner spatial structure of Prague. Globalization, new technology and new forms of work and mobility have similar impacts on urban development on both sides of the former Iron Curtain. However we argue that other aspects, such as the inherited physical and social structure of the socialist city as well as the institutional context of post-socialism, have resulted in a specific form of urban processes, at least during the transformation era, in the majority of European post-socialist countries. Although similar key urban processes are forming the spatial patterns of post-socialist and western cities, they often have different causes, dynamics and consequences in the two contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background, aims, and scope Embankment of meandering river systems in many industrial areas results in the formation of artificial oxbow lakes that may act as perennial or intermittent traps for river sediments. Their deposits can be dated using a combination of historical and stratigraphic data, providing a good means to study historical records of contamination transported by rivers. Contamination history over the last few decades is of special significance for Central and Eastern Europe as it can reflect high pollutant levels in the second half of the twentieth century and the subsequent improvement after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The purpose of this study was to investigate recent sediments of an oxbow lake of the Morava River, Czech Republic, their stratigraphic records, sediment architecture, and history of contamination. Materials and methods Seven ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and three sediment cores up to 4m deep were studied. The stratigraphy of the cores was inferred from visible-light spectrophotometry, X-ray radiography, grain size analysis, and semiquantitative modal analysis of sandy fractions. The sediments were dated using the 137Cs mass activity and combinations of stratigraphic and historical data. The cores were sampled for concentrations of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Wet sampled, lyophilized, and sieved sediments were extracted and analyzed for heavy metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) of aqua regia leachate and for persistent organic pollutants by gas chromatography (GC-ECD and GC-MS). Results Three distinct sedimentary sequences (S1, S2, and S3) were identified. The basal sequence SI represents river channel sediments deposited before the formation of the oxbow lake, most likely before the 1930s. The boundary between the S1 and S2 sequence correlates with the level of sediment dredging from 1981 evidenced from historical data. The overlying sequences S2 and S3 represent a post- dredging sediment wedge, which progrades into the lake. 137Cs dating revealed a distinct Chernobyl 1986 peak at ~150 cm depth inferring sedimentation rates up to 7.7 cm/year. Sediment contamination abruptly increased from the pre-1930s deposits to the post-1981 deposits. The concentration levels increased two to five times for Pb, As, Zn, and Cu, about 10 to 15 times for Cr, Sb, and Hg, up to 34 times for Cd, and 25 to 67 times for DDTs, PCBs, and PAHs. The concentrations of most contaminants remained approximately constant until the late 1980s when they started to decrease slowly. The decreasing trends were most prominent for heavy metals and anthracene, less prominent for DDTs, and almost absent for PCBs and most PAHs. Discussion Different temporal and spatial patterns for various contaminants make it possible to distinguish between anthropogenic point sources from local industry (anthracene, Cr, Cd), possible diffuse sources (most PAHs), and geological background (V, Co, Ni, and Mo). The observed recent trends in heavy metal and persistent organic pollutant contamination are generally consistent with data from other Central European rivers. The roughly balanced contamination levels in sediments from the lake and the adjacent river channel suggest that the oxbow lake deposits reflect immediate levels of the contamination bound to suspended particulate matter passing through the river. Conclusions The investigated oxbow lake accumulated suspended sediment from Morava River, developing a thick sedimentary body. The sediments offer a good time framework to study historical contamination of the river on a decade time scale. Continuous contamination trends can be traced back to the early 1980s.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part I. Examines corporate governance of East European countries undergoing changes in their economies through case studies of firms in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Implication of the economic transition to the firms; Description and characterization of each of the firms' management in the wake of privatization.

Abstract: Life expectancy is increasing worldwide and the burden of Parkinson''s disease (PD) is growing. There are several cost-of-illness studies for PD from Western Europe and the USA, however, data about the costs associated with PD in Eastern Europe are still lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate direct and indirect costs in a cohort of Czech patients with idiopathic PD and to identify cost-driving factors. Study participants (n =100) were recruited from the neurological department of the Charles University in Prague. Health-economic data were collected using a “bottom-up” approach. Costs were calculated from the societal perspective and the human capital approach was used to estimate indirect costs. Czech currency was converted into 2004 Euros (EUR) and inflated to 2008 prices. Independent cost-driving factors were identified in multivariate regression analysis. Total semi-annual costs of PD were EUR 5510 (95% CI: 4470–7090) per patient. Direct costs accounted for 60% of the total costs and indirect costs for 40%. Patients'' expenditures accounted for 40% of their income. Independent cost-driving factors included disease severity, motor complications, psychosis and age. In conclusion, our study demonstrates a considerable economic burden of PD in the Czech Republic. Total costs are generally lower than in Western Europe but the proportion of costs that fall on patients is higher because of lower incomes. More intensive government support for patients with chronic diseases such as PD and the development of disease-management programs that incorporate both the clinical and economic effects of PD treatment are needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]