Marital disruption in the Czech Republic: the role of personal characteristics, individuality, and premarital cohabitation

In this paper, we apply event history analysis to examine the possible determinants of marital disruption in the Czech Republic. We use the method of hazard regression with the baseline captured by multiple duration clocks; the event under observation is the first marital union disruption. We use the Fertility and Family Survey data from 1997, which covers the period between the 1970s and the 1990s. We focus on personal characteristics, the attributes of individuality and on conditions of partnership formation. We are particularly interested in characteristics covering the development of respondent’s individuality in early life stages, like being an only child, experiencing the parents’ divorce, living alone after leaving parental home and cohabiting before marriage. We control among others for the effect of educational enrolment and attainment and for the effect of children on marital stability. Through introducing unobserved heterogeneity into model, we also control for unobserved personal characteristics and examine the role of selection in the marital dissolution process. Some of our results are similar to the results found among Western societies: Parental divorce and premarital cohabitation, as well as young age at marriage and childlessness are shifting the probability of marital breakdown towards upper levels. Moreover, we show that having no siblings and living independently in early adulthood contribute to higher marital disruption proneness of individuals.

Transition of nuptiality and fertility onset in the Czech Republic since the 1990s: the role of women’s education and its expansion

In this article we argue that social and economic changes in the past fifteen years have influenced distinct socio-economic categories of women differently. We show that the transition of family formation behaviours was not uniform but rather dependent on the educational level of women. We found wide differences between educational categories in terms of the changes in level, timing and sequencing of first birth and first marriage, using the techniques of nuptiality and fertility life tables and the hazard modelling of first marriage and first conception. Two different types of “trendsetters” were identified in Czech society. The trendsetters of non-marital fertility are women with primary education, who tend to be lone mothers or to cohabit even after childbirth. The second group of trendsetters are more highly educated women, who postpone their fertility onset until their 30s, but who still place their first childbirth traditionally inside marriage. The number of possible reasons for the family formation transition is manifold, ranging from the changing economic roles of women through actual setting of family policy to the post-modern value change, all further reinforced by educational expansion since the 1990s. There is no general explanation of the transitional behaviour, as women of different education levels are reacting differently to the social and economic changes.

Design of desktop applications using the workflow library

V teoretické části se práce obecně zaměřuje na historii a vývoj knihovny workflow, stručně popisuje její nejdůležitější vlastnosti a možnosti, čímž poskytuje čtenáři základy, potřebné k porozumění a orientaci v dané tematice. V praktické části je pak podrobně rozebrán jeden ukázkový příklad, ukazující možnosti, flexibilitu a výhody spojení knihoven WF a WPF. Především práce v příkladě využívá nejrozšířenější model workflow a ukazuje čtenářům jak předávat informace mezi workflow a WPF.The theoretical part of the thesis generally focuses on history and development of work- flow library, briefly describing most important features and options, which gives the reader basics needed to understand and orientation in the topic. In practical part of the thesis is detailly analized prime example, which is showing options, flexibility and advantages of connecting WF and WPF libraries. Primarily the thesis uses the most widely used model and shows how to pass information between workflow and WPF.

Modelling of mmWave Propagation Channel for Off-body Communication Scenarios

Předkládaná disertační práce je zaměřena na \uv{Modelování propagačního kanálu pro off-body komunikaci v oblasti milimetrových vln}. Navzdory pokrokům v rámci bezdrátových sítí v přímé blízkosti člověka stále systémy 5. generace postrádají dostatečnou šířku pásma a dostatečně nízkou odezvu. To je způsobeno neefektivním využíváním rádiového spektra. Tento nedostatek je potřeba co nejdříve odstranit a právě z tohoto důvodu je hlavním cílem této práce navrhnout vylepšený model rádiového kanálů pro off-body komunikaci. Úkolem tohoto modelu je umožnit uživatelům efektivněji a přesněji simulovat propagaci signálu v rámci daného prostředí. Navržený model je dále optimalizován a ověřen vůči nejnovějším měřením, získaným z literatury. Nakonec je tento model implementován do simulačního nástroje NS-3, pomocí kterého je následně využit k simulaci množství scénářů. Hlavním výstupem této práce je ověřený model přenosového kanálu pro off-body komunikaci v rámci milimetrových vln, společně s jeho implementací do simulačního nástroje NS-3, díky čemuž je dostupný pro širokou veřejnost.This thesis addresses the \uv{Modeling of mmWave Propagation Channel for Off-body Communication Scenarios}. Despite the advancements in the body area wireless networks, the 5G systems are still struggling with not enough bandwidth and large latency due to inefficient utilization of radio spectrum. This issue calls for immediate action and therefore the main aim of this Ph.D. thesis is to propose a novel mmWave off-body channel, which will enable its users to more effectively simulate the signal propagation. The proposed model is further optimized and verified against state-of-the-art measurements from the literature. Finally, the developed model is implemented into the NS-3 simulator and utilized for plethora of simulation scenarios. The main output of this thesis is the verified developed model as well as the implementation inside the NS-3 simulator, which enables a wide society to use it.

The "Ice" Phase of the Cold War on the Spines of Dikobraz: the Hardest Period of the Cold War (1947-1956) in satirical reflection of the West in the Weekly Dikobraz

Práce se soustřeďuje na to, jakým způsobem byl reflektován Západ v nejnebezpečnější fázi studené války na stránkách československého satirického a humoristického týdeníku Dikobraz. Sledované období let 1947-1956 je vymezeno dvěma klíčovými událostmi v historii studené války, a to vyhlášením Trumanovy doktríny na jejím počátku a přelomovým XX. sjezdem KSSS, který vedl k určitému uvolnění nejtvrdšího stalinistického kurzu ve Východním bloku. Práce se snaží postihnout klíčové tendence při tvorbě Dikobrazu, na koho a na co týdeník nejčastěji útočí a proč. Zároveň se dotýká změn v redakci a jejich vlivu na obsah Dikobrazu. Úkolem je mimo jiné dokázat, že Dikobraz sloužil komunistickému režimu v Československu jako významný nástroj protizápadní propagandy. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)The essay is focused on the way the West was being reflected during the most dangerous phase of the Cold War on the pages of the Czechoslovak satirical and humoristic weekly Dikobraz (in English The Porcupine). The observed period 1947 - 1956 is deliniated by two key events in the history of the Cold War, namely the Truman's doctrine in its beginning and the breakthrough 20th congress of the Soviet Union's communist party, which led to a certain relief of the harshest Stalinist course in the Eastern block. The essay seeks to capture main tendencies in creating the content of Dikobraz, who and what were most frequently attacked and why. Together with that the essay touches on changes in the editorial staff and an impact of the changes on its content. The task was, apart from other things, to show Dikobraz as an important instrument of anti-western propaganda in the service of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)Institute of Czech HistoryÚstav českých dějinFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art

Microstructure reconstruction via artificial neural networks: a combination of causal and non-causal approach

We investigate the applicability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in reconstructing a sample image of a sponge-like microstructure. We propose to reconstruct the image by predicting the phase of the current pixel based on its causal neighbourhood, and subsequently, use a non-causal ANN model to smooth out the reconstructed image as a form of post-processing. We also consider the impacts of different configurations of the ANN model (e.g., the number of densely connected layers, the number of neurons in each layer, the size of both the causal and non-causal neighbourhood) on the models’ predictive abilities quantified by the discrepancy between the spatial statistics of the reference and the reconstructed sample

Cohort Fertility, Parity Progression, and Family Size in Former Yugoslav Countries

Yugoslavia was a union of countries at the crossroads of cultures, rich in diversity, bringing together heterogeneous populations with very different demographic transition pathways, particularly with respect to fertility. This paper studies the trends and patterns of cohort fertility in former Yugoslav countries, similarities and differences between the countries, and their possible clustering. Do former Yugoslav countries exhibit persistent diversity to this day, or is there convergence in terms of cohort fertility behaviour? If so, what might account for this homogeneity within Yugoslavia’s heterogeneity? We trace how fertility behaviour changed from the turn of the twentieth century, when Yugoslav countries began their progression from agrarian into industrial capitalist societies. We consider the factors related to a rapid transformation to socialist modernity after 1945 and proceed to investigate the federation’s breakup and the successor states’ transitions to market economies in the early 1990s. Our study thus covers a century of socioeconomic and fertility developments within the region. We analyse census data on children born by means of the completed cohort fertility rate, parity progression ratios, and parity composition. Our results show that while fertility levels decreased in all former Yugoslav republics, this happened at different speeds and taking different paths. Parity progression to higher birth orders was particularly responsible for this development, as well as for the differences and similarities between the respective republics. Former Yugoslav republics are clustered into three groups, where Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia form the low fertility group, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro belong to a higher fertility group. Kosovo remains a special case with exceptionally high fertility in the European context. We conclude that this clustering stems from a complex interplay of historical, political, economic and social factors

Delayed first births and completed fertility across the 1940-1969 birth cohorts

Background: The rise in the age at first birth has been universal in low-fertility countries in the last decades. Mothers who have their first child later tend to have fewer children, and in the absence of fertility catch-up at older ages, delayed fertility contributes to cohort fertility decline. Objective: We aim to study how changes in completed cohort fertility (quantum) relate to delayed age at first birth (tempo) across birth cohorts. Methods: We use birth histories collected in surveys or censuses in ten high-income countries. We rely on a decomposition analysis that quantifies how much the changes in age at first birth, mothers' completed fertility conditional on age at first birth, and childlessness contribute to the total change in cohort fertility over the 1940-1969 birth cohorts. Results: In many countries and cohorts, the fertility intensity of mothers increased more at later ages than at earlier ages, reflecting the catching up of those who had delayed childbearing. However, in most countries studied, the increased fertility intensity of mothers at older ages was not sufficient to offset the depressing effect of delayed first births on cohort fertility rates. Conclusions: Increased childlessness and delayed childbearing are important components of the fertility decline. The chances of a full fertility recovery in the future are minimal, given the inertia of mothers' completed fertility conditional on age at first birth across successive birth cohorts. Contribution: This paper adapts a method of decomposition of completed cohort fertility that specifically includes the timing of first birth. Such an approach enhances the understanding of changes in cohort fertility across countries during periods of fertility delay

Pandemic babies? Fertility in the aftermath of the first COVID-19 wave across European regions

Early evidence demonstrates that the fertility response to the COVID-19 pandemic has varied across European countries. Yet, prior research indicates that fertility responses to disasters are often localized sub-nationally. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 incidence, economic pandemic impacts, and the affectedness by virus containment measures varied subnationally across Europe during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sub-national variation in the fertility response seems therefore possible. We conducted a rigorous data collection effort in 28 European countries (equaling 241 European sub-national regions) and used cutting-edge forecasting methods to assess sub-national variation in the fertility response to the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we find sub-national variation, our results reveal that the fertility response to the pandemic was dominated by the country level, with Southern European countries witnessing more negative fertility response to the early pandemic than Northern Europe. Variance decomposition even indicates a ‘nationalization’ of birth rates during the winter months of 2020, as the withincountry variance in fertility declined and between-country variance increased. Nonetheless, highly urbanized areas in Europe experienced significantly steeper fertility declines as a response to the beginning of the pandemic, which is partly explained by their higher SARSCoV-2 incidence rates. SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates emerged as another important predictor of the fertility response more broadly. Higher incidences were associated with steeper fertility declines across the regions. Overall, country-level estimates represent fertility responses to the COVID-19 pandemic generally well, but the regional dimension provides additional important insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted fertility.publishedVersio

Fertility and family policies in Central and Eastern Europe after 1990

This paper examines fertility and family policies in 15 Central and East European (CEE) countries to establish firstly, likely directions of cohort fertility trends for the coming decade; and secondly, to provide an overview and analysis of family policies in CEE countries, and to assess their impact on cohort fertility trends. Demographic analysis suggests that the cohort fertility decline of the 1960s cohorts is likely to continue at least among the 1970s birth cohorts; stagnation cannot be ruled out. Births that were postponed by women born in the 1970s were not being replaced in sufficient numbers for cohort fertility to increase in the foreseeable future, and shares of low parity women (childless and one child) were larger than shares of high parity women among the late 1960s cohorts than in older cohorts. Also, childbearing postponement which started in the 1990s is reflected in dramatic changes of childbearing age patterns. As period fertility rates have been increasing in the late 2000s throughout the region an impression of a fertility recovery has been created, however the findings of this project indicate that no such widespread childbearing recovery is underway. For the first time ever an overview and analysis of CEE family policies is conceptualized in this paper. It demonstrates that fertility trends and family policies are a matter of serious concern throughout the region. The following family policy types have been identified: comprehensive family policy model; pro-natalist policies model; temporary male bread-winner model; and conventional family policies model. The majority of family policies in CEE countries suffer from a variety of shortcomings that impede them from generating enhanced family welfare and from providing conditions for cohort fertility to increase. The likely further decline of cohort fertility, or its stagnation, may entail long-term demographic as well as other societal consequences, such as continuous declines in total population numbers, changes in age structures, as well as implications for health and social security costs.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe