Suchergebnisse

The article focuses on the role of informality in the life of post-communist societies in Central Europe. Its goal is to question the current negative connotation of informal networks in the context of post-communist society. For this purpose it analyses the criteria used in the relevant literature to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' informal networks. Two main factors (the situational factor and the factor of relationship quality) are analysed from the perspective of their impact on the orientation of informal networks and their ability to predict which networks will have a positive or a negative influence on societal development. The author argues that neither of these two factors alone can fully explain the positive or negative orientation of a particular informal network in a given society. Instead he proposes a solution that combines several dimensions of both factors. In conclusion he identifies five types of informal networks in post-communist society: predatory, redistributory, helping, operating, and participative networks.

This study is an attempt to outline some initial insights into the practice of PA professionals in the Czech Republic. The main goal of our research study was to describe and analyze the state of the field of public affairs (PA). Our main research focus thus was to describe the current situation and build a solid background of the profession and emerging field for further research: first, we characterize professionals working in the field (their professional background, education, income and goals). Next, we attempt to define the main issues they deal with professionally (such as politics, lobbying, the energy sector, etc.). This is followed by a description of the market itself and the level to which it is institutionalized. Finally, we attempt to analyze how PA as a field is understood and perceived by domestic and foreign professionals working in the Czech Republic. In our conclusion, we also state openly a few challenges we encountered during our research and set goals for future research. Adapted from the source document.

International migration & development are among the most often cited issues in contemporary scholarly & political discussions. Reduction of socioeconomic disparities through development of economically less developed countries or liberalization of workforce movement are positioned very high on the political agendas of particular countries, as well as on those of supranational & international organizations. Therefore, it is not surprising that relations between migration & development attract more & more attention not only from the scientific community but from other individuals & organizations as well. In a limited amount of space, this paper uncovers the impacts of international migration, above all of the phenomena of remittances & skilled migration on the development of both receiving & sending countries. The article discusses the challenge of whether international migration is a better development strategy than traditional development tools such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) & argues against some traditional migration myths. This article wants to contribute to the discussion in the Czech Republic on relations between international migration & development with an emphasis on developing countries. The article is structured as follows. The first part is a brief description of international migration theories with development aspects in mind. The second part deals with international migration in the contemporary global world, stressing quantification of migration flows with respect to the level of development. Finally, the third chapter summarizes the most important findings from specific domains of relations between international migration & development (particularly remittances & skilled migration). Adapted from the source document.

Direct action constitutes an important repertoire of action for environmental movements. Direct action is a way to bring attention to problems but it is also a goal and a value in itself. The paper deals with two different concepts of direct action: the liberal concept, which views direct action in instrumental terms, and the anarchist concept, which rather understands direct action in terms of values and as a preferred way of acting. The article particularly pays attention to environmental direct action, which further develops the anarchist concept of direct action as a preferred way of doing things. On the basis of an empirical research that was carried out, it answers the questions of how Czech environmental organisations have employed these different concepts of direct action, why their use of the liberal concept is very limited and why direct action as a preferred way of doing things has not yet become a part of the repertoire of collective action. The article finds an explanation for this in the very specific historical experience of the Czech environmental movement, which has tended to dialogue with power rather than confrontations with it, the political ostracism of the movement in the 1990s, and the different developments of the environmental and anarchist milieus, which did not allow for an overlapping of these milieus that would serve as the basis for the development of the practice of environmental direct action. Adapted from the source document.

This short study provides a comparative analysis of Anglo-Saxon scientific literature (in the form of monographs, articles from reviewed periodicals, Internet sources) in which the phenomenon of coup d'état is the primary subject of research interest. The main goals of this text are (1) to increase awareness of research into coup d'état as an essential phenomenon in the sphere of transitology among Czech political science students, and (2) to present solutions to the terminological problems relating to this political science discipline. To achieve these goals, the text presents a coherent terminological concept of coup d'état based on a semantic analysis of the disparate literature of Anglo-Saxon provenance, in which research into coup d'état has reached an advanced level of knowledge ; This short study provides a comparative analysis of Anglo-Saxon scientific literature (in the form of monographs, articles from reviewed periodicals, Internet sources) in which the phenomenon of coup d'état is the primary subject of research interest. The main goals of this text are (1) to increase awareness of research into coup d'état as an essential phenomenon in the sphere of transitology among Czech political science students, and (2) to present solutions to the terminological problems relating to this political science discipline. To achieve these goals, the text presents a coherent terminological concept of coup d'état based on a semantic analysis of the disparate literature of Anglo-Saxon provenance, in which research into coup d'état has reached an advanced level of knowledge

Foreign and Internal Trade as the main disciplines in the field of research and study have developed theoretical systems that reflected historical development of international economic and business environment, governmental trade policy and international and domestic businesses. They created a basis, on which the Faculty of International Relations after 1989 has designed a new profile discipline "International Trade" in the framework of the "International Economic Relations" program. Very important features of the discipline, both of study and research areas, are a deep internationalization and an interdisciplinary approach. The discipline's development reflects world trends, international scientific knowledge and domestic specificities and introduces new terminology for new qualitative processes of international business to the Czech economy. To the discipline's development, very many excellent teachers and important personalities of the Czechoslovak and Czech economy contributed. The modern discipline comprehends analysis of global economic and institutional relations and of theoretical concepts, together with practical managerial branches. A prove of high standards of teaching and research is a prestigious accreditation EPAS by which the discipline "International Trade" has been awarded by the European Foundation of Management Development in 2012. Adapted from the source document.

After the fall of communist regimes at the turn of the 1990s, a new era of development began in many countries. The transformation from communism wasn't always successful. It is this unfinished transformation which is, as many authors argue, one of the characteristics of post-communism. Post-communist political culture struggles with a number of problems originating in the institutional structure of collapsed regimes. One of them is the high level of corruption. Corruption is not, of course, specific only to post-communist countries. However, as statistical data provided by various organizations show, corruption flourishes in these countries. Moreover, post-communist corruption takes certain forms which are absent in other countries. We may, therefore, classify these forms as the institutional and cultural heritage of communist regimes. The goal of this paper is to introduce the nature of corruption and the causes behind the high level of corruption in post-communist countries; to identify changes which have taken place since the demise of communist regimes; and to present some of the measures employed to fight corruption, as well as the difficulties related to these measures.

The objective of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the factors that influence the educational aspirations of boys & girls in the Czech Republic & vertical inequality in the Czech education system. Drawing on Mateju & Strakova's monograph Unequal Chances in Education, the authors enhance the discussion with a look at the gender aspect of choices of educational trajectory. The authors review existing theories to present the main arguments from research on educational aspirations by gender. They point out the ambiguity of studies to date on the effect of gender in the education system, as they have often arrived at contradictory findings. The authors look at the theories in which the differences in educational aspirations are related to gender & the theoretical & empirical arguments that reject gender as a category for distinguishing educational aspirations. The authors summarize the research to date on gender segregation in the education system, & then offer their own conclusions, based on a secondary analysis of data from the PISA-L in 2003. Their results reveal, in conformity with the analysis by Mateju & Strakova, that while according to these analyses gender does not have an effect on differences in the educational aspirations of boys & girls, it does have an effect on some aspects of the resulting segregation of the education system & thus on a student's choice of secondary school.

The aim of the article is to outline the theoretical grounds of regionalism &, in particular, to explain the basis of this new phenomenon, its forms (stages) & historical development. The core of the explanation is a "new" regionalism as the third wave of regionalism in the world economy: its interpretation, causes, diversity & cases of regional integration. Furthermore, trends in regional development of trade initiatives have been outlined (from the "old" to "new" regionalism, from a "looser" to "deeper" integration, from individual cases to "global" regionalism.) In the conclusion, areas requiring further examination in connection with the impact of regionalism on the Czech economy have been defined. Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

Economic growth of the Czech Republic differed strongly in two periods: 1996-1999 & 2000-2004. While in the first period the economy was hit by the recession & the average annual rate of growth of GDP reached only 0,9%, in the second period the growth accelerated to 3,2%. The economic growth measured by the indicators of real income (namely of real gross domestic income) was faster. This was caused by positive contribution of the terms of trade. On the supply side the main contributing factors were labor & total factor productivity. On the demand side the growth was pulled by domestic demand which grew even faster than GDP. The contribution of foreign trade becomes positive in the year 2004 & mainly in 2005. Macroeconomic stability of the Czech economy improved substantially in the fields of inflation, monetary development & foreign trade. Imbalances persist in general government budget & on the current account of the balance of payment. The process of real convergence accelerated in the years 2000-2004 & was based on the growth of labor & total factor productivity. In 2004 the GDP per capita in purchasing power standards surpassed 70% of the average level in EU-25. The comparative price level of the Czech Republic in this year reached only 53% despite accelerated process of catching-up. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the article is to apply the approach of new institutionalism to the development of the institutional framework for Slovenian regional development policy. In the first part, we present the elementary principles of new institutionalism & its typology, including the three basic types: historical institutionalism, sociological institutionalism, & rational choice institutionalism. We apply the concepts of logic of appropriateness & logic of consequences to explain & understand the stimuli, dynamics & scope of these changes. In Slovenia, one can identify two main phases of institutional adaptation: 1) the architecture of the institutional system for program administration in the pre-accession period (interpretation & translation of the rules); & 2) editing the established structure for the period of full EU-membership. Adapted from the source document.

The field of development studies witnessed an important debate between post-development critics and their opponents. The article presents this debate and focuses on neopopulism in post-development, or more particularly on romanticization, essentialization, the rejection of modern technologies and cultural relativism. It discusses the problem of the homogenization of the development discourse, practice and agency in 'development'. It reacts to the criticism from the field of practice that post-development aims at the old fashioned development discourse instead of focusing on the current discourse on globalization and that it ignores changes within 'development'. And finally, the article deals with the political orientation of post-development, its alleged affinity with neoliberalism, the way it uses statistical indicators and its normativity. The conclusion answers the questions whether post-development is meaningful and whether it can remain an important approach under the light of this debate. Adapted from the source document.

The book deals with the introduction of innovations, particularly environmental innovation. The issue of sustainable development affects all organizations from the economic, social, and environmental perspective. Through environmental innovations, businesses could achieve not only cost cuts and the reduction of their negative impact on environment; the innovations are also a platform for the involvement of employees in improving organizational processes. The publication describes factors influencing the birth and implementation of improvement proposals from the perspective of conservation psychology and organizational psychology. The outcomes of the research could be used as a probe into the system of business innovation support and they also give an idea of how employees view the environmental aspects of innovation activities