Non-profit organizations’ participation in the management of public programmes: The case of the Czech Republic

EU Cohesion Policy requires the interaction of public, private and non-profit sectors in policy making. The case of the Czech Republic enables us to identify the major obstacles to the successful implementation of this approach as the Czech population perceives the ability of NGOs to influence policies at the lowest level among all the EU member states. The goal of the study is to identify and explain the determinants of success and failure regarding NGOs’ participation in designing public programmes. The methodology includes a combination of in-depth interviews with NGOs ́' representatives and public servants, a review of official documents, a focus group, and a stakeholders’ review of the study’s conclusions. The main obstacles to the implementation of the partnership principle are the following: insufficient capacities among NGOs; fluctuations in participating public servants and NGO representatives; dependence of partnership on personal contacts; late start and nonconsultative, informative character of partnership

The needs of caregivers

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The effect of a large-scale fishing restriction on angling harvest: a case study of grayling Thymallus thymallus in the Czech Republic

In Central Europe, European grayling Thymallus thymallus is an endangered and vanishing fish species with high recreational angling value. For that reason, in January 2016, the minimum legal angling size for grayling was increased from 30 to 40 cm in the Czech Republic. This study evaluated if the increase in minimum angling size had any effect on grayling harvest. Data from 229 fishing sites covering the years 2011–2017 were used in this study. The data originated from individual angling logbooks, collected in the regions of Prague and Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. Over the 7 yr, anglers visited the studied fishing sites 3.6 million times and harvested 105 000 salmonids. Grayling made up only 0.5% of the overall salmonid harvest. The fishing restriction caused a decrease in grayling harvest per visit. It also decreased the contribution of grayling to the overall harvest as well as the number of fishing sites where anglers successfully harvested graylings. Fish stocking was constant during the study period. Increased minimum angling size led to increased average body weight of harvested fish. In conclusion, the increase in minimum angling size significantly affected fish harvest and composition

The effects of environmental factors and fisheries management on recreational catches of perch Perca fluviatilis in the Czech Republic

The Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis is an important fish species in both commercial and recreational fisheries. However, there is concern that perch populations in Central Europe are decreasing. This study aimed to assess the effects of environmental factors and management on recreational perch catches. Data from individual angling logbooks collected by the Czech Fishing Union on 229 fishing grounds during the period 2005–2016 were used in this study. In total, almost 60 000 perch weighing 17 500 kg were recorded. During the study period, total perch catches decreased by 60%, catch per fishing visit decreased by 70%, average body weight of caught perch increased by 18%, and percentage of fishing grounds with perch catches decreased by 13%. The results indicated that the decreasing catches were due to increasing fishing pressure. Further, fishing grounds with higher fishing visit rates had higher catches in general but lower catch per fishing visit. Larger and more productive rivers also showed higher catches. In contrast, the intensity of fish stocking did not affect catches. In conclusion, perch populations in Central Europe are likely under high fishing pressure, and the pressure is further increasing

Managing Diversity : The Challenges of Inter-University Cooperation in Sustainability Education

One of the main challenges in sustainability discourse is its multifaceted nature often requiring that many different disciplines must cooperate in order to achieve progress. This issue also concerns sustainability education. In the article, we highlighted the experiences from the international cooperation of university teachers and researchers with highly diverse professional backgrounds who worked together on developing educational materials for university students in sustainability-oriented courses. The study is based on qualitative, participatory evaluation research, applying two rounds of open-ended questionnaires distributed to the same respondents (n = 18). For the analysis, we used the open-coding procedure for identifying the main categories. The results show some of the opportunities and barriers that emerged in the process of this cooperation. In particular, we discuss the issues related to the high heterogeneity of the group, such as the clashes of the different perspectives on the topics covered, group dynamics issues, trust, facilitation challenges, and also opportunities that such heterogeneity offers. We highlight the importance of open reflectivity in sustainability-oriented educational projects as the key to their successful implementation. Finally, we believe that results of this participatory study are useful in designing new projects aiming at further improvement of academic education in sustainability and sustainable development

Příspěvek k problematice některých otázek senzomotorických činností a jejich osvojování u neurotiků a schizofreniků

Katedra psychologieFilozofická fakult

Development of the Scale for Measuring Perceived Daily Life Disruption

The measures that were taken in many countries as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic not only brought about new stimuli in the lives of individuals, but also gave rise to various restrictions that led to discontinuities in many aspects of daily life. Therefore, the development of a sound measure for monitoring the level of perceived daily life disruption is important. The Perceived Daily Life Disruption (PDLD) scale is proposed and its initial validation based on the assessment of key psychometric properties is targeted in this study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the PDLD scale was conducted on a representative sample (n = 1372). In addition, univariate statistics were calculated, internal consistency was tested, and unidimensionality based on principal component analysis was performed. The CFA yielded satisfactory results concerning the standard indices and achieved a high internal consistency. It was observed that the scale adequately differentiates the level of perceived daily life disruption among diverse subpopulations. Usage of the PDLD scale can be recommended; it is easy to administer and it yields acceptable results

Theory and Practice of Evaluation Research in theCzech Republic

The main focus of presented thesis is the in-depth analysis of major patterns of how the evaluation methodology is applied within the Czech society environment. The starting point is identification of key processes and activities that distinguish evaluation from other activities and disciplines. Based on comparative analysis among evaluation, primary research, monitoring and auditing the crucial features are defined and further supplemented by other characteristics of the procedural nature. The whole series of researches focus on the extent in which the evaluation methods, techniques and procedures are applied in everyday practice. In this respect, there were identified three different and uncorrelated branches that serve as application environment for routine deployment of evaluation inquiries. Following secondary goals of our thesis, each of the branches represent different example of how the evaluation could be applied/implemented. Desk-research informs about actual patterns of how the evaluation is performed by external evaluators who work for Managing Authorities of EU Operational Programs, it also shows how internally based self-evaluation is performed and last but not least, how the hybrid evaluation based on expert judgment principles could be utilized for evaluation of bachelor thesis. Specific..

Translating and Validating the Frugality Scale among the Czech Population

Frugality is an important psychological trait that is currently of interest as a research construct in a range of fields, from consumer behavior to financial literacy and financial well-being. Increasingly, the concept of frugality is also being linked to environmental responsibility and behavior, as the core of frugality is the reduction or minimization of resources used and consumed, an emphasis on the long-term use of purchased products, and an overall conservation of resources. For many years, researchers have used the Frugality Scale (FS), the specific research tool introduced to measure frugality in a standardized and valid way. The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of FS translated into the Czech language, to evaluate the uni-dimensionality of the construct, and to analyze associations with relevant variables documenting respondents’ attitudes and behavior. For this purpose, the research based on face-to-face interviews among respondents representing the 15–74 years old population of Czechia was conducted. The obtained results showed that the previously developed FS achieved very good results in the Czech environment, where the obtained scores supported the hypothesized uni-dimensional structure of the scale. The CFA results show that the tested model fits well with empirical data. Convergent and construct validity is also shown to be high. Therefore, the Czech version of the Frugality Scale can be considered a reliable and valid instrument that is recommended for further use. By utilizing the FS, researchers and practitioners gain access to a robust tool for quantifying frugality and comprehending its pertinent aspects across diverse contexts