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This article focuses on the association between couple disagreement and partnership stability. In particular, we explore the mediating role of macrostructural gender inequality on the effect of couple disagreements on partnership stability in a cross-national comparative perspective. We analyzed data from two waves of the Gender and Generations Survey (fielded between 2004 and 2011) to explore the varied effects of couple disagreements on thoughts about breaking up and on the dissolution of cohabiting unions. As we expected, the effect of disagreements on thoughts about dissolution was present in all of the countries, but its strength varied significantly. Surprisingly, only moderate effects were found on dissolution itself. The second step of our analysis showed that the strength of the link between disagreement and stability does not decrease systematically with the level of gender inequality in a given country. This means that an egalitarian environment does not play a mitigating role in the process of transforming conflict into a decision to divorce. Our findings support the argument of gender revolution theory that the unfinished and stalled transformation of gender roles increases rather than relieves the tensions in intimate lives.

It can be reasonably assumed that the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on family and interpersonal relationships. Previous research has established that job insecurity and financial hardship lead to reduced relationship quality and a higher incidence of partner conflicts. Our goal is to investigate the dynamics of partnership satisfaction and partnership conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic among Czech couples, focusing on pandemic-related employment change and perceived job insecurity. We use longitudinal panel data from “Czech GGS COVID pilot study”, which was conducted in December 2020, and from a follow-up survey organized in April 2021. Our results show that the immediate effects of economic hardship during the pandemic were not as strong and uniform as we expected. Many families apparently had the resources to bear the economic impacts of COVID-19 in terms of maintaining subjective relationship quality and curbing conflict between spouses. The most important conclusion worth further investigation is the gendered nature of these mechanisms. There are contradictory, gender-specific associations hidden under the weak total effects. This suggests that the perception of family life could be very different for men and women in relation to economic circumstances.

How will the instability and diversity of family forms today impact the nature of people's close social relationships in the future when they are older? In this article I examine how the social participation of older adults is impacted by their different partnership histories. I am particularly interested in whether there are any differences in the social participation (activities involving contact with family, friends, acquaintances, children, grandchildren) of people who experienced divorce in life (I use a decomposition of the divorce rate to distinguish between those who had this experience when they were relatively young, middle-aged, or older). The data source for this analysis is the panel survey 'Dynamics of Change in Czech Society' and especially one unique component of the survey, which are the diaries on how people spend their time. Out of the total sample of respondents who maintained daily diary entries, I analyse the responses of those over the age of 60. The hypotheses that a lower level of social participation would be observed among people who had experienced divorced and that divorcing later in life would have a stronger negative effect on social participation are not confirmed by the data. The level of social participation measured using time-use diaries is found to be comparable across different partnership histories and irrespective of when in life a person gets divorced. In the conclusion of the article, I discuss these findings in a criticism of the overly negative paradigm that governs research on divorce in the social sciences.

This study examines how the public acceptance of divorce has changed in European countries in recent decades. Taking advantage of the large-scale, comparative, and long-run measurement of value orientations in the European Values Study 1981-2017 it focuses on value change connected with divorce in a macro perspective. The article explores the acceptance of divorce in three aspects: (1) it measures and compares the trends in the acceptance of divorce in various European societies between 1981 (1991) and 2017 and contrasts these trends with the data on divorce rates in these countries; (2) it explores the consistency/correlation between divorce attitudes and the affinitive value orientations associated in the broader set of values connected with the concept of the deinstitutionalisation of marriage; (3) it looks for the correlates of divorce acceptance and the changes in acceptance over time at the individual level (sex, education, cohort, family background, religiosity). Because of the descriptive nature of the research, no hypotheses are tested. The results show that divorce acceptance is rising over time in all EVS countries, and the acceptance is connected to divorce levels in given societies. Attitudes towards divorce form a consistent set of values together with other marriage deinstitutionalisation indicators. The acceptance of divorce correlates on an individual level with age, education, and religion, but surprisingly there is only weak difference between men and women.

Sociologists are often questioning the differences between gender roles/norms and actual behaviour in the adult population. The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent attitudes toward gender roles correspond with adults’ participation in various domestic chores, pointing to the differences between men and women in general and within couples in the Czech Republic. We aim to find whether attitudes indicating gender roles equality are reflected in the real behaviour. Our findings indicate certain discrepancies between attitudes and behaviour. Although the attitudes expressed by the respondents appear to lead to more gender equality, their reflection in everyday life is weak. The inclination to equality in the answers to attitudinal questions did not significantly influence the equal distribution of unpaid domestic work, nor did it influence the difference between the work done by each partner in the couple. Furthermore, the results point to the fact that discrepancies do not differentiate by attained educational level (it is an argument against the status differentiation). It requires in further research to look at the factors that allow men and women to handle the demands specific for the different stages in their life.

Dlouhodobé kulturní trendy zvyšující se křehkosti partnerských vztahů, měnící se genderové role a kultura dětství vytvářejí situaci, v níž jsou formy společného rodičovství stále aktuálnější. Cílem této přehledové studie je zpřístupnit českému publiku souhrn zahraničních výzkumů o dopadech porozvodového/rozchodového uspořádání na děti, se zvláštním důrazem na ty formy, při nichž dítě střídavě žije v domácnosti rodičů. V recenzovaných článcích z Web of Science, Scopus, J-Stor, Springer a podobných databází jsme nejprve hledali odpověď na otázku, jaké negativní a pozitivní důsledky střídání domácností přináší. Z přehledu relevantní literatury vyplývá, že předpoklad celkového negativního vlivu střídavé péče není v souladu s výsledky většiny analýz. Srovnání ukazují spíše opak, tj. převahu pozitivních důsledků střídavé péče, avšak modifikovaných okolnostmi. Proto se dále zaměříme na práce, které zkoumají nejdůležitější intervenující faktory, jimiž jsou rodičovský konflikt, status rodiny původu a nové partnerské vztahy rodičů. Podrobný výzkum v této oblasti ukazuje, že pouze v rodinách s výrazně negativními okolnostmi (rozsáhlé a chronické konflikty, ekonomická deprivace atd.) mohou negativa okolností převážit nad výhodami kontaktu s oběma rodiči, které sdílená péče obecně přináší. V závěru textu shrnujeme poznatky ze zahraničních zdrojů, diskutujeme jejich přenositelnost do českého prostředí a na základě literatury navrhujeme oblasti, kterými je třeba se zabývat ve snaze o prohloubení této oblasti výzkumu. Long-term cultural trends of increasing fragility of partnerships, changing gender roles and the culture of childhood create a situation in which forms of shared parenting are becoming increasingly relevant. This review study aims to make available to the Czech audience a summary of foreign research on the impact of post-divorce/separation arrangements on children, with particular emphasis on those forms in which the child alternates between parents’ households. In peer-reviewed articles from Web of Science, Scopus, J-Stor, Springer, and similar databases, we first sought to answer the question of what negative and positive consequences household turnover produces. A review of the relevant literature shows that the assumption of an overall negative effect of alternating care is not consistent with the results of most analyses. Rather, the comparisons show the opposite, i.e. a predominance of positive consequences of shared custody, but modified by circumstances. Therefore, we next focus on papers that examine the most important intervening factors, which are parental conflict, the status of the family of origin, and the parents’ new partnerships. Detailed research in this area shows that only in families with significantly negative circumstances (extensive and chronic conflict, economic deprivation etc.) can the negatives of the circumstances outweigh the benefits of contact with both parents that shared custody generally brings. In the conclusion of the text, we summarize the findings from foreign sources, discuss their transferability to the Czech environment and, based on the literature, suggest areas that should be addressed in an effort to deepen this field of research.

To intensify students learning, it is important to understand why individual students participate in classroom discourse differently. So far, there is no empirical evidence illustrating how student...

In the beginning of the existence of divorce as a social institution, parenthood was not as deeply problematized as the moral aspects of the partnership. In contrast, current public and scientific debates are most frequently involved in the questions of the impact of divorce on the children. Shared custody can be understood as a result of this cultural shift. The knowledge about public attitudes toward this topic and its social differentiation is limited. This study presents a unique source of data on shared custody attitudes from EVS (European Values Study) and CHPS (Czech Household Panel Survey) surveys conducted recently in the Czech Republic. The results show there is a substantive distinction between the attitudes of men and women and that the acceptance of shared custody is higher in younger age groups. No differences according to the social and economic status of respondents and their family backgrounds were found. Concerning the broader attitudinal contingency, we found no relationship between egalitarian gender attitudes and the acceptance of shared custody, but conservative attitudes toward divorce consequences increase the acceptance of shared custody. In the beginning of the existence of divorce as a social institution, parenthood was not as deeply problematized as the moral aspects of the partnership. In contrast, current public and scientific debates are most frequently involved in the questions of the impact of divorce on the children. Shared custody can be understood as a result of this cultural shift. The knowledge about public attitudes toward this topic and its social differentiation is limited. This study presents a unique source of data on shared custody attitudes from EVS (European Values Study) and CHPS (Czech Household Panel Survey) surveys conducted recently in the Czech Republic. The results show there is a substantive distinction between the attitudes of men and women and that the acceptance of shared custody is higher in younger age groups. No differences according to the social and economic status of respondents and their family backgrounds were found. Concerning the broader attitudinal contingency, we found no relationship between egalitarian gender attitudes and the acceptance of shared custody, but conservative attitudes toward divorce consequences increase the acceptance of shared custody.

Water quality in rural catchments is influenced by many societal and bio-physical factors (e.g. different pollution sources, land use and land cover changes). Good ecological status and surface water quality are currently challenged mainly due to different poorly identified pollution sources. The main objective of this study is to estimate the potential of different measures (land use changes and/or reduction in point sources) and their combinations in decreasing the nitrate-nitrogen load from Jankovský stream catchment. The eco-hydrological model SWIM, which simulates dynamics of nutrients in a catchment was used in the study. The simulations for scenario measures showed that nitrate-nitrogen loads at the outlet can be decreased more by reduction of municipal nitrate-nitrogen sources rather than by agricultural land-use change. Overall, the modeling results demonstrated that the most effective scenario was the combination of total reduction of municipal nitrate-nitrogen sources and agricultural land-use change.

This article seeks to contribute to the debate on social stratification in Czech education and at the preschool level in particular. It draws on secondary data from several surveys and examines whether the use of preschool varies by parental education and income. Combined with data on preferred employment regimes, the article explores the question of whether parents with higher levels of education and income are advantaged when it comes to their children attending preschool. The results show that the use of preschool facilities is relatively uniform across Czech households. While preschool attendance is not very common among children up to the age of three, after three years of age daily, full-day attendance predominates, with 94% of children aged five attending preschool. While there are no significant educational differences between mothers in the use of preschool care, there are when it comes to preferences. It is significantly more often university-educated mothers who are found to use institutional childcare less than they would like to, and it is they who are also more often found to be at home with their preschool-age child despite their wishes otherwise. Institutional provisions thus prevent women who would like to return to work earlier or work more than the system allows from pursuing their preferences. The results also show that access to institutional care significantly structures the income opportunities of households (rather than it being that households' income opportunities structure the use of care), and subjective assessment also confirm this.

Reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus inputs into surface waters from nonpoint agricultural sources requires targeted application of differentiated measures. In the study focused on soil and water conservation in the Jihlava river basin upstream of the Dalešice reservoir, we identified areas at potential risk of soil erosion, elevated infiltration and nutrient leaching, tile-drained areas and vulnerable riparian zones of water bodies. We then designed a system of complex protective measures for this river basin in more variants, and their effectiveness was estimated using simple empirical model calculations and research findings. Application of the measures defined by optimal variant 3 in the studied watershed could lead to reduction of the soil erosion effects on the surface water quality by 26.5 %, with simultaneous reduction of the amount of washed out total nitrogen by 22.8 %. The results of our study constitute a partial component of the Qualitative Model of the Jihlava River Basin and they were provided for use to the Vysočina Region authorities and the State Land Office.

Long-term water balance (WB) of four selected crops (winter wheat, oilseed rape, silage maize, semi-early potatoes) was determined at the field block scale in the Czech Republic for all agricultural growing areas (AGAs): maize-, beet-, potato- and mountain-AGAs for the 1981&ndash, 2010 period. A novel approach for the calculation of WB was employed, which combined the FAO-56 method for crop water requirements (CWRs) with sources of available water from precipitation, soil, and groundwater. The computed WB was divided into four categories of soil water availability based on soil hydrolimits and crop features: Categories 1 and 2 with zero or mild occurrence of crop water stress, categories 3 and 4 with intermediate and severe occurrence of crop water stress. The winter crops were affected by water stress to a lesser extent (the area of categories 3 and 4: wheat 20.1%, oilseed rape 14.5%) as compared with spring crops (the area of categories 3 and 4: maize 39.6%, potatoes 41%). The highest water deficit was recorded for all crops in the maize-AGA due to low precipitation and high CWRs. Most available water was revealed to occur in the mountain-AGA. A strong need for the adoption of measures towards the optimization of water regimes on agricultural land was indicated. The present study shows a promising approach for evaluating and proposing changes of area of cultivated crops with the appropriate tillage and agricultural water management in terms of satisfactory crop water requirements.

Socialisation in a single-parent family has been associated with negative consequences both in previous research and popular discourse. This article investigates whether this association may be different in a society with a high rate of divorce and extramarital fertility. Using data from the Czech contribution to the EU-SILC survey, it tests hypotheses concerning the difference between the current situation of adults who grew up in single-parent families and those who were raised in intact families. We look for the infl uence of socialisation on single-parent families in three areas—educational attainment, current partnership situation, and current family income. The results of regression analyses show that the differences between children from single-parent families and those from intact ones are very small in the area of education (the infl uence is apparent only at the secondary school graduation level, no difference is present at the tertiary education level), relatively weak in the area of partnership situation, and imperceptible from the viewpoint of family income. These results exclude a causal explanation for the infl uence of single-parent families on outcomes, cast doubt on selective principles, and open space for interpretation in terms of mechanisms of family de-institutionalisation Socialisation in a single-parent family has been associated with negative consequences both in previous research and popular discourse. This article investigates whether this association may be different in a society with a high rate of divorce and extramarital fertility. Using data from the Czech contribution to the EU-SILC survey, it tests hypotheses concerning the difference between the current situation of adults who grew up in single-parent families and those who were raised in intact families. We look for the infl uence of socialisation on single-parent families in three areas—educational attainment, current partnership situation, and current family income. The results of regression analyses show that the differences between children from single-parent families and those from intact ones are very small in the area of education (the infl uence is apparent only at the secondary school graduation level, no difference is present at the tertiary education level), relatively weak in the area of partnership situation, and imperceptible from the viewpoint of family income. These results exclude a causal explanation for the infl uence of single-parent families on outcomes, cast doubt on selective principles, and open space for interpretation in terms of mechanisms of family de-institutionalisation Socialisation in a single-parent family has been associated with negative consequences both in previous research and popular discourse. This article investigates whether this association may be different in a society with a high rate of divorce and extramarital fertility. Using data from the Czech contribution to the EU-SILC survey, it tests hypotheses concerning the difference between the current situation of adults who grew up in single-parent families and those who were raised in intact families. We look for the infl uence of socialisation on single-parent families in three areas—educational attainment, current partnership situation, and current family income. The results of regression analyses show that the differences between children from single-parent families and those from intact ones are very small in the area of education (the infl uence is apparent only at the secondary school graduation level, no difference is present at the tertiary education level), relatively weak in the area of partnership situation, and imperceptible from the viewpoint of family income. These results exclude a causal explanation for the infl uence of single-parent families on outcomes, cast doubt on selective principles, and open space for interpretation in terms of mechanisms of family de-institutionalisation

Diffuse pollution from agricultural drainage is a severe problem for water quality and it is a major reason for the failure to accomplish “good chemical status of surface waters” according to the Water Framework Directive and for the eutrophication of both freshwaters and coastal waters. Constructed wetlands were proposed as a suitable tool for removal of nitrogen from agricultural drainage in the early 1990s. Until now, the vast majority of constructed wetlands designed to treat tile drainage were free-surface constructed wetlands. In 2018, three experimental constructed wetlands with horizontal subsurface flow were built to treat tile drainage from 15.73 ha watershed. The wetlands have a surface area of 79, 90 and 98 m2 and were planted with Phalaris arundinacea and Glyceria maxima in parallel bands. The substrate in the first two wetlands is gravel (4–8 mm) mixed with birch woodchips (10: 1 volume ratio). In one of those wetlands, the water level is kept 10 cm above the surface, in the second one the water is kept below the surface. The third wetland has 20 cm layer of birch woodchips on top of gravel. The mean total nitrogen concentration eliminations during one-year period were 61.2%, 62.6% and 70.9% for wetlands 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The average load removals amounted to 0.516, 0.323 and 0.399 g N m−2 d−1 or 1885, 1180 and 1457 kg ha−1 yr−1 in wetlands 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The plant uptake and nitrogen sequestration in aboveground biomass contributed only marginally to the overall nitrogen removal. The results revealed that the selection of the best option depends on the fact whether concentration or load is taken as the most important parameter.

The SCS-CN method is a globally known procedure used primarily for direct-runoff estimates. It also is integrated in many modelling applications. However, the method was developed in specific geographical conditions, often making its universal applicability problematic. This study aims to determine appropriate values of initial abstraction coefficients &lambda, and curve numbers (CNs), based on measured data in five experimental catchments in the Czech Republic, well representing the physiographic conditions in Central Europe, to improve direct-runoff estimates. Captured rainfall-runoff events were split into calibration and validation datasets. The calibration dataset was analysed by applying three approaches: (1) Modifying &lambda, both discrete and interpolated, using the tabulated CN values, (2) event analysis based on accumulated rainfall depth at the moment runoff starts to form, and (3) model fitting, an iterative procedure, to search for a pair of &lambda, S (CN, respectively). To assess individual rainfall characteristics&rsquo, possible influence, a principal component analysis and cluster analysis were conducted. The results indicate that the CN method in its traditional arrangement is not very applicable in the five experimental catchments and demands corresponding modifications to determine &lambda, and CN (or S, respectively). Both &lambda, and CN should be viewed as flexible, catchment-dependent (regional) parameters, rather than fixed values. The acquired findings show the need for a systematic yet site-specific revision of the traditional CN method, which may help to improve the accuracy of CN-based rainfall-runoff modelling.

This paper evaluates the quantity and quality dynamics of surface and drainage waters in a small, 7.1 km2 agricultural watershed, located in the crystalline complex of the Czech Republic. Concentrations and monthly solute loads of amonium nitrogen (NH4-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), phosphate phosphorus (PO4-P) and total phosphorus (Ptot) from ten watershed's subcatchments with different soil, land use and tile drainage characteristics were compared for the period March–October from 2009 to 2011. The results and relevant processes were described using regular monitoring as well as event-based sampling approaches, methods of runoff separation and regression techniques. The average baseflow comprised 35–50%, whereas interflow and overland flow were 50–65% of the total runoff. The highest concentrations of NO3-N were detected in waters originating from cultivated and tiled subcatchments; those of NH4-N, PO4-P and Ptot came from subcatchments containing settlements and water ponds. In the monitored sites within the watershed, non-point pollution sources produced on average 23% of NH4-N, approximately 45% of NO3-N, 24% of PO4-P and about 26% of Ptot of total monthly solute loads. The differences in the share of monitored subcatchments in the total load from non-point pollution sources varied from month to month and were caused mainly by miscellaneous hydrological conditions and natural as well as man-altered runoff characteristics. The obtained results confirmed that used methods count for a useful approach for discerning water pollution sources and their dynamics in small, tile drained watersheds.

This work evaluates the changes of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), total phosphorus (P) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations in stream waters as related to the land use/land cover (LULC) alterations within eight small (5–39 km2) tile-drained catchments in the southern part of The Czech Republic in the period 1993–2010, when massive grassing of arable land took place. The robust tools of seasonal Mann–Kendall trend test and LOcally WEighted Scatterplot Smoothing methods were employed to reveal trends of the monitored parameters with adjustment to hydrology. Using principal component analysis and multiple regressions, statistically significant factors with highest impacts on the assessed water quality parameters were identified. Besides indicators of LULC changes in the catchments and their various zones, information of built tile drainage systems were used along with factors reflecting point pollution sources such as the population number, sewerage type and proximity to a watercourse, effectiveness of wastewater treatment, and number of livestock units. The change in LULC was essential only for NO3-N concentrations, when grassing of arable land, presence of water ponds, areas of permanent cultures and also areas of drained land explained up to 90.6 % NO3-N variability and nitrate-nitrogen concentrations showed a significantly decreasing trend in all monitored catchments during the evaluated period. LULC changes within infiltration vulnerable zones were discovered as less important for the assessed water quality parameters compared to LULC changes in the whole catchment area. However, for NH4-N, P and COD, the results did not enable a definite quantification of the effects of LULC changes. The influence of non-point pollution sources on these parameters was revealed as uncertain and was heavily overshadowed by point sources, in particular by wastewater management, and livestock numbers, although the proportion of arable land in tile drainage subcatchments was discovered fundamental in case of the COD. The increasing numbers of livestock, population, and changes in sewage treatment led in some catchments to significant worsening of water quality. Achieved findings may be critical for supporting water quality policy and management decisions.

The expanding “divorce culture” is a relatively new phenomenon that has taken on greater importance over recent decades, and we can assume that it will influence the principles of social reproduction. The theoretical question on the broadest level is this: How will the mechanisms of social reproduction differ in a situation where the growing probability of divorce is expanding the circle of people who are forced to redefine their life paths and reproduction strategies? This article presents the results of comprehensive research following the logic of sequential explanatory design. In this type of mixed research, qualitative research helps to enhance the interpretation of models found in the previous quantitative part of the analysis. Following the principle of grounded theory, I will introduce a theoretical model as an attempt to explain recent changes in reproduction strategies in terms of specific type of individualization habitus and specific re-construction aspect of reproduction strategies.

Sociologicke teorie pracujici s konceptem individualizace předpokladaji mimo jine změny v životnim běhu, zejmena v casovani a výskytu demografických tranzic. Ackoliv neni snadne stanovit jednoznacnou definici individualizace, větsina badatelů pracuje ve vztahu k demografickým jevům s koncepty diferenciace a destandardizace. Pojimame-li tedy individualizaci jako strukturalni fakt a ponechavame-li stranou jeji subjektivni aspekt (individualizovana identita nemusi být nutně propojena se strukturalnimi změnami), musi se projevovat zaprve na agregovane urovni diferenciaci v životnich drahach – v rozdilnějsim casovanim tranzic. Jednotlivci napřiklad vstupuji do manželstvi v různem věku, maji děti v různem věku. Zadruhe se projevuje na individualni urovni ve formě destandardizace životniho běhu – tedy nejen proměnou casovani, ale i pořadi a realizace jednotlivých tranzic. Napřiklad porod nenasleduje nutně po sňatku. Nejedna se tedy pouze o posuny v casovani – ty jsou již v ceske demografii dostatecně prozkoumany, ale hlavně o relativni porovnani distribuci těchto demografických jevů. V nasi analýze pracujeme se dvěma životnimi tranzicemi – sňatkem a porodem prvniho ditěte – a na casových řadach od roku 1920 do roku 2004 zkoumame jak se proměňuje rozptyl casovani těchto tranzic během podstatne casti dvacateho stoleti. Na podrobnějsich datech z transformacniho obdobi po roce 1989 mame dale možnost zkoumat vedle rozptylu take změny ve vzajemne vzdalenosti sňatků a porodů a take vzdělanostni determinaci zkoumaných jevů. Klicovým indikatorem diferenciace životnich drah nam bude rozptyl v casovani sňatků a jeho vývoj ve 20. stoleti. Jako indikator destandardizace životni drahy v 90. letech minuleho stoleti použivame vzdalenost mezi sňatkem a prvnim porodem.

This article describes some findings of an ad-hoc survey “Marriage, Work and Family” conducted in the Czech Republic in 2005. The analysis is focused on couple disagreement about childbearing attitudes, ideals and intentions as well as on the partners’ negotiation process in reproductive decision-making. The results indicate that around one-fifth of Czech couples disagree about the intended number of children. The relatively high share of concordance between partners is the final outcome of a negotiation process within the couple in most cases. The more general the childbearing preferences measures, the higher the level of couple disagreement: one-third of the couples disagree about the family size ideals and two-thirds of them disagree about the reasons for having children. Moreover, one-fourth of Czech partners disagree about the impact of different policy measures on their own reproductive behaviour. This suggests that the potential for a couple’s conflict is quite high and that policy-makers willing to implement effective family-friendly policy measures should target their intervention not only to women but to men as well.

Surface water quality can vary a lot with fluctuating discharge during a Rainfall – runoff event. This paper uses a set of hydrological and hydrochemical variables to explain concentration–discharge loops and hysteresis of , and total suspended solids in a brook dewatering a small upland agricultural catchment in the Czech Republic. Our study is based on data collected by a continuous monitoring approach provided by an automatic ISCO sampler both from snow thawing and rainfall – runoff events. Methods of correlation, regression and principal component analysis (PCA) were employed to reveal possible relationships among the variables. For and , we found several types of concentration–discharge loops due to the loop rotation direction and also the loop curvature shape, in mutual combinations, no matter which type of a hydrological event it was related to. PCA indicated that loops correlated mostly with the length of a rising hydrograph limb and with the slope of the initial phase of a falling hydrograph limb, 5-day amount of precipitation and runoff coefficient. In case of , the concentrations usually increased with elevated discharge, whereas PCA did not detect any closer linkages. For suspended solids, an unambiguous positive monotonic relationship was discovered. Although no definite pattern was found, this study showed the necessity of a continuous water quality monitoring system as an approach for capturing and understanding relationships between solute concentrations and runoff formation for tracing and modelling catchment pollution sources and describing transport processes.

The use of automatic samplers for detailed monitoring of substance concentrations and balance is nowadays an important part of special monitoring of surface waters. The average results of routine monitoring (consisting of point samples) are often underestimated over the real situation.

Presently a demand of sustainable maintenance of water quantity and quality is more and more accented in context of population booming and actual climate change. A research project no. QJ1620040, supported by the Czech Agricultural Research Agency, has started in 2016 with the aim to assess the options for reduction of water pollution both from point and non-point sources with suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus in drinking water sources catchments.

Changes in nitrate pollution in surface waters brought by the construction of tile drainage systems and by conversion of cultivated land to grassland (followed by decrease in fertilizer use) in two districts were examined. The goal was to find out how nitrate concentrations have responded to changes in agricultural management. There were no major changes in land use in the Pelhrimov district after 1990, apart from decrease in mineral fertilizer use. In the Cesky Krumlov district, permanent grassland area increased by 55% (from 228.9 km2 to 353.3 km2) and by 241% (from 5.4 km2 to 13 km2) in the catchments investigated between 1990 and 2000 followed by reduction in use of fertilizers. In these two districts, 31 small catchments where long-term, or repeated, nitrate concentration monitoring was carried out between 1986 and 2005, were analyzed. Trend, regression and factor analyses were conducted on changes in nitrate concentrations, and to assess the impact of several factors on nitrate concentrations in water before and after conversion to grassland. Over the monitoring period 1986–2005, there was a significant decreasing linear trend in N – NO 3 - concentration in surface waters in all catchments in the Cesky Krumlov district. In the Pelhrimov district 3 of 23 catchments showed a significant decreasing trend in nitrate concentrations and 2 a significant increasing trend despite a decrease in mineral nitrogen consumption. The most important environmental factor affecting nitrate pollution was the proportion of ploughed land in the catchment. The greater the share of ploughed land in the catchment, the greater the nitrate contamination of surface water. The proportion of drained land in the catchment after grassing has no markedly influence on nitrate nitrogen concentration.

This paper offers an overview of the history, the present state and the outlook for the future of tile drainage on agricultural lands of the Czech Republic. Being located in a zone of moderate climate, the country does not need drainage as a corrective measure after irrigation. Draining of agricultural mineral soils took place on a large scale over almost the whole of the twentieth century. Today, virtually no drainage systems are being either built anew or rehabilitated, but most of them are still working. Negative and positive impacts of land drainage on catchment runoff, water balance, groundwater hydrology, nitrate leaching and local climate are described. The future of land drainage depends on the prospects of agriculture. At present, the doing-nothing option prevails. In future, some of the existing drainage systems may be rebuilt as controlled systems combining drainage, retention and irrigation. Studies on the impact of land drainage and land use changes on nitrate leaching and microclimate indicate the need for corrective measures. Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Kolektiv autorů z Masarykovy univerzity zpracoval komplexni sociologickou zpravu o přistupu dnesnich Cesek a Cechů k rodicovstvi. Jak se u nas v poslednich dekadach změnila uroveň plodnosti? Je skutecně tak nizka, že povede k zavažným důsledkům? Jak se měni jeji nacasovani a kontext? Jak se vyvijeji odlisnosti v chovani jednotlivých vzdělanostnich skupin a existuji v teto sfeře chovani regionalni rozdily? Při hledani odpovědi na tyto otazky cerpali autoři převažně z ojediněleho datoveho zdroje, jimž je databaze narozených mezi lety 1993–2012. Longitudinalni data v danem rozsahu (vycerpavajici soubor) nebyla dosud analyzovana, a jejich interpretace tak skýta nove perspektivy.

Od pocatků sociologickeho mysleni byla rodina chapana jako zakladni jednotka, zajisťujici reprodukci spolecnosti v rovině biologicke, ale i v rovině socialnich pravidel, norem, hodnot a instituci. Modernizace partnerských vztahů mimo jine přinasi take snazsi možnost vystoupit z neuspokojiveho manželstvi. Rozsiřujici se kultura rozvodovosti je relativně novým fenomenem, jenž nabýva na významu během poslednich desetileti, a je možne, že rozvod ovlivni mechanismy socialni reprodukce. Teoreticka otazka v nejobecnějsi rovině stoji takto: Jak se budou odlisovat mechanismy socialni reprodukce v situaci, kdy narůstajici možnost rozpadu partnerstvi rozsiřuje skupinu lidi, kteři jsou nuceni redefinovat svoje životni drahy a reprodukcni strategie? Jake nove reprodukcni mechanismy můžeme nalezt, jestliže podstatna cast děti projde socializaci v rodinach s jednim rodicem, nebo smiseneho typu? Nas empirický výzkum je veden logikou sekvencniho explanacniho designu v ramci smisených metod. Prvni cast analýzy odpovida kvantitativnimu popisnemu přistupu a prostřednictvim sekundarni analýzy směřuje k popisu různých aspektů porozvodove situace: socialni situace domacnosti rozvedených, rodicovske drahy žen, ktere zažily rozvod a navazovani nových partnerstvi. Zaroveň zkoumame efektivitu mezigeneracniho přenosu vzdělanostni urovně v rozvedených rodinach ve srovnani s intaktnimi. V tomto typu smiseneho výzkumu pomaha kvalitativni výzkum prohloubit interpretaci vzorců nalezených v předesle kvantitativni casti analýzy. V teto fazi obohacujeme nasi datovou zakladnu o kvalitativni hloubkove rozhovory. V souladu s logikou zakotvene teorie přichazime na konci prace s teoretickým modelem, který se snaži vysvětlit změny v reprodukcnich strategiich skrze vznik specifickeho typu individualizacniho habitu a re-konstrukcni složky reprodukcnich strategii.