Centralised or decentralised public financing of clusters

The public funds have become a major source of finance for clusters in the last decade, also in European countries. The source of financing clusters and innovation performance of the countries is directly connected to subjects of the national/regional cluster policy, i.e. to its centralisation. The paper examines the relationship between European country attitude towards financial support provided for cluster and country innovative performance in a sample of 125 clusters from 25 European countries. The own empirical investigation is based on primary research using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney tests with Bonferroni. The investigation is focused on facts whether statistically significant differences in the amount of subsidies from national, regional, local and “European” levels between clusters in European countries influence their level of innovation performance. The finding shows that there are no statistically significant differences in the exploitation of resources from the Structural Funds and community programmes of the EU in the examined clusters in the countries with different levels of innovation performance. However, the clusters in the countries with higher levels of innovation performance receive funds in the form of central government and regional self-government subsidies more frequently than the clusters in the countries with lower levels of innovation performance

Modelling social inclusion, self-esteem, loneliness, psychological distress, and psychological resilience of refugees : does hospitableness matter?

Despite a growing stream of research addressing hospitableness in destinations and hospitality settings, very little is known about the role of hospitableness in fostering favorable social outcomes for vulnerable individuals such as refugees. This omission is intriguing given the heated debate on how local communities in refugee hosting countries can contribute to tackling the refugee crisis. Drawing on data collected from Ukrainian refugees hosted by locals in Slovakia, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model linking hospitableness, social inclusion, self-esteem, loneliness, psychological distress, psychological resilience, and subjective well-being. Using SEM-PLS, the findings confirm that hospitableness can positively enhance social inclusion while mitigating loneliness. Contrary to our predication, however, our results fail to confirm the positive effect of hospitableness on subjective well-being both directly and indirectly mediated by self-esteem and social inclusion. Psychological resilience significantly moderates the relationship between hospitableness and social inclusion. The study makes significant theoretical contributions to the corpus of literature on the social outcomes of hospitableness and provides timely implications for policy makers to utilise “refugee hosting by locals” schemes and “private sponsorship of refugees” programmes as a viable solution to enhance refugees’ social inclusion and foster their overall well-being

Stepping Out of the Shadows: Legacy of the European Capitals of Culture, Guimarães 2012 and Košice 2013

The following materials are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/ 11/5/1469/s1: Interview Guidelines for Guimarães and Košice.The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) is the most ambitious cultural, collaborative programme in Europe. Up until 2000, ECOC projects were hosted by several national capitals and principal cultural cities in Europe. In the second phase, the programme also began to discover second-tier and less well-known cities hidden in the shadow of the cultural capitals. This paper focuses on assessing different ECOC strategies (traditional versus radical) and the corresponding legacies of two medium-sized cities: Guimarães (ECOC in 2012, Portugal) and Košice (ECOC in 2013, Slovakia). Cultural heritage is identified by the capacity of culture to change development trajectory and to boost the economy of cities. The strategies and legacies of Guimarães and Košice have revealed themselves to be comparatively different, especially due to their differences with respect to UNESCO cultural heritage. While Guimarães partially succeeded in enhancing its position as a tourist attraction and the visibility of its historical cultural heritage, the industrial city of Košice is an example of more radical and dynamic culture-led form of development, overcoming the provincialism of the city. Most importantly, and due to the strengthening pride of the locals, both ECOC cities have stepped out of the shadow of stronger cultural capitals in their countries. This joint research offers the possibility of a first-hand comparison of traditional and radical approaches and an in-depth interpretation of their legacies after a period of five years, explaining the mechanisms of forming different legacies in two types of ECOC cities. The results can help future ECOC cities to set their strategies in relation to their desired cultural and economic development.This research was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV) under the contract No. APVV-14-0512.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Identification of Technology Platforms and Innovation Areas with High Regional Impact

The paper is focused on the process of identification of the technological platforms and innovation areas with high regional impact. The aim is to discover future fields of technological innovation which are having a high qualitative and quantitative demand of high potentials. The research has been undertaken within project Innovative Development of European Areas by fostering transnational Knowledge Development – IDEA/ 2CE1175P1 funded by Central Europe Programme. The aim of IDEA project is the development of an adequate strategy which enables the small and medium sized enterprises in the regions of Central Europe to face the increasing demand of high potentials with tested methods and instruments. The target group of IDEA project are so called “high potentials” in the engineering and scientific sector where future-oriented technologies are one of the main sources of innovation

Tvorba marketingového mixu pre oblasť celoživotného vzdelávania

The paper deals with the utilisation of the marketing mix tools for the improvement of the educational services in the area of continuing education. The individual elements of the marketing miy are described with the special focus on the continuing educaion services. The recommendations for the continuing education practitioners are included as well

Ľudské zdroje v kontexte regionálneho rozvoja

Import 21/05/2007Prezenční161 - Oddělení vědy a výzkum

The Identification of Technology Platforms and Innovation Areas with High Regional Impact

The paper is focused on the process of identification of the technological platforms and innovation areas with high regional impact. The aim is to discover future fields of technological innovation which are having a high qualitative and quantitative demand of high potentials. The research has been undertaken within project Innovative Development of European Areas by fostering transnational Knowledge Development – IDEA/ 2CE1175P1 funded by Central Europe Programme. The aim of IDEA project is the development of an adequate strategy which enables the small and medium sized enterprises in the regions of Central Europe to face the increasing demand of high potentials with tested methods and instruments. The target group of IDEA project are so called “high potentials” in the engineering and scientific sector where future-oriented technologies are one of the main sources of innovation.high potential; regional development; innovation; innovation areas

Process Management as a Part of Innovation Management in Selfgovernment

Introduction of innovative practices in the management of self-government is conducted in order to increase the efficiency and quality of public goods and services. The paper deals with process management as part of the modernization processes in reform of public administration in Slovakia in terms of the concept of New Public Management. Empirical data are formed from the results of two surveys carried in municipal authorities within four years. The focus is on the level of implementation of process management, which is according to the findings at a relatively low level, although the knowledge of management on new approaches in the management rises. The city location with respect to large regional differences in Slovakia as a factor in the introduction of modern approaches was not confirmed. There is a particularly big interest in conclusions about the benefits and barriers of the implementation of process management in local government. Overall, there is demonstrated a higher level of agreement with the benefits of process management and selection methods in comparison with its shortcomings

The Impact of Social, Economic and Gender Inequality on Prosperity in the European Union Countries

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the link between the three types of inequality in society and reveal the factors that contribute most to enhancing the prosperity of European Union countries and regions. Methodology/Approach: The first part of the analysis is using correlation matrices to reveal the links between the different forms of inequality. The following parts employ Ordinary least squares models to estimate the significant factors promoting prosperity in countries. Findings: We find a strong positive correlation between European Union countries’ prosperity and gender and social equality. There is also a strong positive correlation between social and gender equality. In contrast, only a very weak negative relationship is shown between economic inequality characterised by the Gini coefficient and prosperity. It turned out, that prosperity has been shown to be strongly impacted by the population’s education. However, also women’s representation in top politics enhances prosperity. Research Limitation/Implication: The scope of the analysis in terms of available data was limited, particularly when examining the determinants of prosperity at the regional level. Data for analysed variables were not available for all European Union regions. Originality/Value of paper: The article not only focuses on a particular type of inequality but examines the relationship between economic, gender and social inequality. It offers insights into their interconnectedness, which allows a better understanding of the impact of inequality on society and a country’s prosperity