The State of the Art of Use of the Concept of Ecosystem Services within Spatial Plans in the Czech Republic

Although the use and management of ecosystem services (ES) resources and the promotionof their provision are a standard and necessary part of spatial planning tools and documents, a directimplementation of this concept is exceptional. Researchers and entire projects have so far focusedmainly on identification of ecosystem services and their resources in urban environment, or on theanalysis of their occurrence in spatial planning documents. That was the goal of our research as well.Spatial planning documents, systematically and methodically re-defined using ecosystem services,are what is still lacking. Our article presents the results of the analysis of the use of ecosystem servicesin spatial plans of five cities, regional centers in the Czech Republic. We used a text evaluationmethodology focused on the explicit and implicit expression of ecosystem services. We analyzed theoverall approach to the creation of spatial plans. In addition to the spatial plans, we also analyzedtheir assignments (SPA). We found that the current spatial planning methodology does not work withthe ecosystem services approach (ESA) systemically. It focuses mainly on ES resources and implicitlyenvisages their provision. SPAs are a more flexible and effective tool for enforcing ESA in spatialplanning than the lengthy legislative process. However, this presupposes greater knowledge of SPAamong the public and decision makers.O

Education as a prevention of fraud

A critical way of thinking developed by teachings of financial audit, accounting and taxation are necessary for any graduate in economics. Combined with ethics it is the essential prerequisite for increasing the resistance of the experts to embezzlement. The aim of this study is to ascertain whether the graduates of business schools in Czech Republic are ready to recognize and expose economic crime/fraud which they might encounter at their workplace. The readiness of the graduates is bilateral as it includes the ability "to recognize" which is discussed in terms of adequate knowledge - which should be obtained especially during the bachelor and master studies, and the willingness "to expose" which is discussed in terms of moral principles of the graduates - which should be augmented during their studies as well. The article summarizes the results of research conducted among Czech universities and their graduates. The research among the Czech universities was carried out as an analysis of the study programs provided by Czech universities and the corresponding syllabi. The research among the graduates was carried out via online questionnaire distributed to graduates through their alumni organizations. This questionnaire was accessible through the Internet from November 2014 to February 2015. During this period 264 respondents undertook the survey. We formulate two theses in this paper. First thesis states that Czech graduates are not equipped with knowledge necessary to recognize economic fraud at their workplace. Second thesis states that Czech graduates don't possess the moral incentives to expose the economic crime. While we were not able to confirm the first thesis unequivocally, we concluded that there is much to improve in the structure of the study programs of Czech universities providing business education. The second thesis was confirmed though. The suggestions we made in this paper based on the research were the following: firstly, to develop a syllabus of a new teaching subject which would incorporate the basic aspects of the advanced financial accounting, auditing, tax and business law and make such subject mandatory for all business graduates at Czech universities. Similar subject - even though less extensive/complex - shall be developed for the secondary business schools as well. Secondly, to eliminate the segmented ethics of secondary school graduates through education based on case-studies and demonstration and focus greatly on raising the ethics standards at both levels of business education.This paper is not a traditional field-based research study. Rather it is a summary/conclusive report on two interconnected research projects. The aim of this paper is to summarize the results from the former research projects and to compare andto confront the findings of these projects in the attempt to find a “common denominator” of both issues raised in the preceding research projects

Identification of Managerial Competencies in Knowledge-based Organizations

Managerial competencies identification and development are important tools of human resources management that is aimed at achieving strategic organizational goals. Due to current dynamic development and changes, more and more attention is being paid to the personality of managers and their competencies, since they are viewed as important sources of achieving a competitive advantage. The objective of this article is to identify managerial competencies in the process of filling vacant working positions in knowledge-based organizations in the Czech Republic. The objective was determined with reference to the Czech Science Foundation GACR research project which focuses on the identification of managerial competencies in knowledge-based organizations in the Czech Republic. This identification within the frame of the research project is primarily designed and subsequently realised on the basis of content analysis of media communications such as advertisements - a means through which knowledge- based organizations search for suitable candidates for vacant managerial positions. The first part of the article deals with theoretical approaches to knowledge-based organizations and issues on competencies. The second part evaluates the outcomes of the survey carried out, and also summarizes the basic steps of the application of competencies. The final part summarizes the benefits and difficulties of applying the competency-based approach as a tool of efficient management of organizations for the purpose of achieving a competitive advantage

Bats and Caves: Activity and Ecology of Bats Wintering in Caves

Temperate regions of the world undergo a marked range of seasonal variation, most becoming extremely cold during the winter. Bats are the only group of vertebrates that have successfully exploited caves as permanent shelter. Although bats may use caves throughout all year, their most important role in ecology of temperate bats is as hibernacula. Here, we summarize various aspects of bat hibernation ecology, including variation in flight activity at the cave entrance; patterns of bat hibernation behaviour; site selection in hibernacula, including the importance of temperature during hibernation; and level of bat movement activity inside the cave. In addition, we review present knowledge on white‐nose syndrome, one of the most important threats to cave‐dwelling bats

Změny v druhovém složení měkkýšů v hornické krajině na příkladu území zaniklého rybničního systému

The development of the industry in last two centuries, and especially intensive coal mining activities definitely changed the local landscape character. It led to the destruction of indigenous biotopes with natural flora and fauna communities. Many ecological studies use a group of molluscs as indicators of changes in the landscape. The advantage of this group is a relatively small number of taxa, relatively simple determination and very good knowledge of ecological requirements and distribution of individual species. The territory of Loucké ponds represents an interesting area in the industrial landscape of Karvinsko, where based on the above aspects of malacocenosis, it is possible to use and compare historical data of their incidence as well as to compare the data with current research. The pond system affected by the declension has an important function in the landscape today. The first malacological researches in the Loucké ponds territory were conducted in 1954 and 1955 (Brabenec, 1954, Ložek, 1964). Detailed survey was conducted by Macha (1978, 1979) who found 29 aquatic species (12 Bivalvia and 17 Gastropoda) and 19 land species of molluscs. This research was followed by the authors' survey in 2006, 2007 and 2013 which confirmed the presence of 48 molluscs species altogether (42 Gastropoda and 6 Bivalvia), from which 21 species were aquatic molluscs and 27 species were land molluscs.Vývoj průmyslu v posledních dvou stoletích, především pak intenzivní těžba uhlí, definitivně změnil místní krajinný systém. To vedlo k destrukci původních biotopů s přirozenými společenstvy rostlin a živočichů. V mnoha ekologických studiích se jako indikátory změn v krajině používá skupina měkkýšů. Výhodou této skupiny je poměrně nízký počet taxonů, poměrně jednoduchá determinacene a velmi dobré znalosti ekologických nároků a rozšíření jednotlivých druhů. Území Louckých rybníků představuje zajímavou oblast v průmyslové krajině Karvinska, kde lze uvedených vlastností malakofauny využít a také srovnat historická data o jejich výskytu a srovnat je se současnými průzkumy. První malakologické výzkumy na Louckých rybnících byly provedeny v roce 1954 a 1955 (Brabenec, 1954, Ložek, 1964). Podrobný průzkum provedl Mácha (1978, 1979), který nalezl 29 druhů vodních (12 druhů mlžů a 17 druhů plžů) a 19 druhů suchozemských měkkýšů. Na tento výzkum, navazuje práce autorů v letech 2006, 2007 a 2013, která potvrdila přítomnost 48 druhů měkkýšů (42 Gastropoda, 6 Bivalvia), z toho 21 vodních druhů a 27 suchozemských druhů