Social Capital as a Predictor of Quality of Life: The Czech Experience

In the paper, we understand social capital as a variable that affects the quality of life. A variable whose change affects another variable is called a predictor. The paper is based on Putnam’s understanding of social capital with the dimensions of trust, norms and networks. Trust is considered the most important dimension, and for the purposes of the paper social capital is identified with trust. Quality of life is a holistic concept with two dimensions expressing an assessment of satisfaction with life. After society became richer - in the 1960's in the West and, after the collapse of the bipolar world, also in Central and Eastern Europe - the need for quantity was replaced by the need for quality. The paper is focused on Czechia, with social capital as a predictor of quality of life being investigated geographically at the level of districts. According to the research hypothesis, social capital will have a strong influence on the quality of life of residents in Czechia, i.e., it will be its predictor. To test the validity of the research hypothesis, research was conducted. The aim of the paper is to outline the epistemology of social capital from the aspect of quality of life, description of quality of life and then to test the validity of the research hypothesis by measurements. The result of the quantification of social capital and quality of life at the level of districts and their correlation is important from an epistemological point of view for two reasons. The first is to question the generally accepted premise of the position of social capital as a strong predictor of quality of life. The second is the recognition that the premise of the position of social capital as a strong predictor of quality of life applies in the districts with the highest quality of life

Povijesni poljoprivredni pejzaž kao predmet istraživanja ekologije pejzaža

This article is focused on historical agricultural landscapes in Slovakia, which have been preserved and have irreplaceable ecological, cultural and historical value. Historical structures of agricultural landscapes (HSAL) are a type of cultural landscape that contains, within a geographic area, both natural and man-made features that typify connected activities, and a cultural expression reflecting past events or patterns of physical development. They are now becoming rare, making them even more valuable, however, on a European scale. The article presents an overview of research activities focused on the historical agricultural landscape and point out different types of historical agricultural landscapes such as viticulture landscapes, mountain grassland-arable landscapes, agricultural landscapes with dispersed settlements etc. The research emphasized land-use changes, driving forces, and threats and trends relating to the historical agricultural landscape in Slovakia.Rad se bavi očuvanim povijesnim poljoprivrednim pejzažima u Slovačkoj, čija je ekološka, kulturna i povijesna vrijednost neprocjenjiva. Povijesne strukture poljoprivrednih pejzaža (engl. HSAL) tip su kulturnog pejzaža koji unutar geografskog područja posjeduje prirodne i ljudskom rukom nastale komponente pejzaža koje predstavljaju njihovu tipičnu poveznicu te kulturni izričaj koji odražava prošle događaje i obrasce fizičkog razvoja. Takve strukture danas su sve rjeđe te je stoga njihovo očuvanje još važnije. Ovaj je rad pregled istraživačkih aktivnosti usmjerenih na povijesne poljoprivredne pejzaže te izdvaja različite tipove poljoprivrednih pejzaža, poput vinorodnih, planinskih travnato-obradivih, s disperznom naseljenošću itd. Istraživanje naglašava promjene iskorištavanja zemljišta, faktore promjene, prijetnje i trendove povezane s poljoprivrednim povijesnim pejzažima u Slovačkoj

Quality of place as the winner of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of quality of life. Will this knowledge strengthen the development of geographical psychology?

The paper is focused on the third wave of the pandemic and its comparison with the first wave in terms of the quality of life of university students in Czechia. In the first wave, the society came together, with solidarity being a prominent manifestation. The third wave differed from the first one in medical (vaccination was already available) as well as social terms. The paper has two objectives, the first is to measure the quality of life and related variables in the third wave of the pandemic and to compare the values found in the third wave with those in the first wave of the pandemic. The second objective is to identify which of the factors related to quality of life are predictors of that quality. The hypothesis assumes different measured values of quality of life for men and women. The measurement yielded knowledge of the high value of quality of place and environmental quality, which can enrich the quality of life epistemology on the one hand and geographical psychology on the other. Trust, health, happiness, quality of place, and safety were identified as factors. The measurement revealed the finding of different quality of life values in the third and first wave of the pandemic. While quality of life values increased in the first wave compared to the pre-pandemic period, both quality of life values and factors decreased in the third wave compared to the first wave. The only exception was one factor that we consider to be a winner of the third wave of the pandemic. The factor that declined in all measurements is considered to be the loser of the third wave of the pandemic. The paper concludes with implications derived from these findings.Slovenská Akadémia Vied, SAV, (VEGA 1/0578/24); Ministerstvo školstva, vedy, výskumu a športu Slovenskej republikyMinistry of Education of the Slovak Republic; Slovak Academy of Science [VEGA 1/0578/24

Self-reported health of university students in Slovakia during the end phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the quality of life

In the paper, we focused on the self-reported health of university students and its relationship to the quality of their life. Self-reported health is part of the growing interest in non-medical understanding of health. Two objectives and three research hypotheses are established. The first goal is to find out what the self-reported health of university students in Slovakia is during the period in the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before starting the measurement, the following research hypotheses were formulated: H1: Respondents will evaluate health on a scale of 0-10 with values of 8 and higher and H2: Differences in self-reported health evaluation of male and female students will be low. The second goal is to determine the impact of self-reported health on students’ quality of life and which of the proposed variables are predictors of self-reported health. In connection with the second goal, the third research hypothesis H3 is formulated: The impact of self-reported health on the quality of life of students measured by the correlation coefficient reaches a value of 0.30 – 0.69, i.e. mean value. Self-reported health, quality of life and other variables are measured on a scale of 0-10. The Shapiro-Wilk test and the non-parametric Wilcoxon one-sample test are used in the measurements. The result is knowledge of high values of self-reported health of men and women, hypothesis H1 was fulfilled. The correlation between health and quality of life is higher than 0.3, self-reported health of men and women is a predictor of their quality of life. Hypothesis H3 was fulfilled.Slovenská Akadémia Vied, SAV; Ministerstvo školstva, vedy, výskumu a športu Slovenskej republiky; Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, VEGA, (1/0706/20

Impact of land consolidation on the visual characteristics (scenery) of a landscape Vplyv pozemkových úprav na vizuálnu charakteristiku (scenériu) krajiny

Abstract New spatial and functional rearrangement of the territory represented by the changed structure of the plots (change of the landscape structure) is one of the main and most visible results of a comprehensive landscape adaptation. Projects of comprehensive landscape adaptation are designed to accommodate for production and landscape value of the territory. Landscape structure belongs to the most important components of landscape character. The landscape structure was evaluated in three levels: historical structure (2 nd military mapping), present-day structure (results of mapping survey in the frame of a comprehensive landscape adaptation) and the new landscape structure (results of the proposed plan of the functional rearrangement of the territory) based on the cadastral territory of Veľké Vozokany in Nitra region (near Zlaté Moravce), South-Western Slovakia. The changes in the landscape are identified by the rearrangement of the arable land, forests, vineyards, gardens, fruit gardens/plantations, permanent grassland, water surfaces, and other areas. In this contribution, we made an attempt to describe the role of the comprehensive landscape adaptations in the process of designing landscape changes which do significantly contribute to modification of the landscape character. Keywords: land consolidation, landscape evolution, landscape adaptation, types of plots Abstrakt Pozemkové úpravy riešia nové priestorové a funkčné usporiadanie územia, ktoré je realizované zmenou druhov pozemkov, teda zmenou krajinnej štruktúry. Projekty sú koncipované tak, aby zohľadňovali súlad medzi výrobnými a krajinárskymi hodnotami krajiny. Krajinná štruktúra patrí k jednej z rozhodujúcich zložiek krajinného rázu. Krajinnú štruktúru posudzovaného územia sme hodnotili v troch úrovniach: historická krajinná štruktúra (2. vojenské mapovanie), súčasná krajinná štruktúra (výsledky účelového mapovania polohopisu v rámci projektov pozemkových úprav) a nová štruktúra krajiny (výsledky návrhu všeobecných zásad funkčného usporiadania územia) na príklade katastrálneho územia Veľké Vozokany. Indikátorom zmien v krajine bolo využitie územia, ktorého základnými kategóriami boli v našom prípade orná pôda, lesné pozemky, vinohrady, záhrady, ovocné sady, trvalé trávne porasty, vodné plochy a ostatné plochy. V príspevku sme sa pokúsili popísať úlohu pozemkových úprav pri tvorbe a návrhu zmien krajiny, ktoré významne prispievajú k tvorbe krajinného rázu územia. Kľúčové slová: adaptácia krajiny, druhy pozemkov, krajinný ráz, pozemkové úpravy, vývoj krajiny Detailný abstrakt Pozemkové úpravy riešia nové priestorové a funkčné usporiadanie územia, ktoré je realizované zmenou druhov pozemkov, teda zmenou krajinnej štruktúry. Projekty sú koncipované tak, aby zohľadňovali súlad medzi produkčnými a krajinárskymi hodnotami krajiny. Krajinná štruktúra patrí k jednej z rozhodujúcich zložiek krajinného rázu. Krajinnú štruktúru posudzovaného územia sme hodnotili v troch úrovniach: historická krajinná štruktúra (2. vojenské mapovanie), súčasná krajinná štruktúra (výsledky účelového mapovania polohopisu v rámci projektov pozemkových úprav) a nová štruktúra krajiny (výsledky návrhu všeobecných zásad funkčného usporiadania územia) na príklade katastrálneho územia Veľké Vozokany. Indikátorom zmien v krajine bolo využitie územia, ktorého základnými kategóriami boli v našom prípade orná pôda, lesné pozemky, vinohrady, záhrady, ovocné sady, trvalé trávne porasty, vodné plochy a ostatné plochy. Územie má ráz poľnohospodárskej krajiny (91 % zastúpenie ornej pôdy). V záujmovom území sa uplatňujú dva geomorfologické celky. V severovýchodnej časti územie spadá do Podunajskej nížiny, v severozápadnej časti do Hronskej pahorkatiny. Má charakter aluviálnej nivy obkolesenej pahorkatinným reliéfom. Ústredný vodný tok -Širočina vytvára svahové rozhranie medzi striedajúcimi sa územiami južnej, juhovýchodnej a severnej, severozápadnej expozície. Prevažujú veľkoblokovo využívané plochy, ktoré sú miestami rozhraničené drobnými plošnými a líniovými porastmi nelesnej drevinovej vegetácie. Územie má charakter silne zvlneného reliéfu s dlhými svahmi a výraznými údolnicami. Aj z tohto dôvodu je výrazne postihnuté vodnou eróziou, má nízke zastúpenie nelesnej drevinovej vegetácie. Pri návrhu novej, budúcej, krajinnej štruktúry sa vychádzalo z identifikácie problémov v území. K hlavným oblastiam, ktoré sa identifikovali patrí: vodná erózia, povodne, nízka ekologická stabilita, podpora rozvoja rekreačného potenciálu územia, budúca výstavba rýchlostnej komunikácie, vysoký stupeň zornenia poľnohospodárskej pôdy a pod. Posúdiť a navrhnúť funkčné, priestorovo vhodné a hlavne estetické riešenie územia musí byť založené na kompromise a viacfunkčnosti navrhovaných opatrení. Návrh využívania krajiny do budúcnosti zohľadňuje súčasné trendy vývoja. Zamerali sme sa hlavne na ochranu a sprístupnenie všetkých pozemkov. Zmeny predpokladáme v miernom poklese ornej pôdy a trvalých trávnych porastov hlavne na úkor ostatných prvkov (komunikácie, ochranné opatrenia...). Ostatné prvky krajiny by mali ostať zhruba v nezmenenej podobe

Impact of land consolidation on the visual characteristics (scenery) of a landscape

New spatial and functional rearrangement of the territory represented by the changed structure of the plots (change of the landscape structure) is one of the main and most visible results of a comprehensive landscape adaptation. Projects of comprehensive landscape adaptation are designed to accommodate for production and landscape value of the territory. Landscape structure belongs to the most important components of landscape character. The landscape structure was evaluated in three levels: historical structure (2nd military mapping), present-day structure (results of mapping survey in the frame of a comprehensive landscape adaptation) and the new landscape structure (results of the proposed plan of the functional rearrangement of the territory) based on the cadastral territory of Veľké Vozokany in Nitra region (near Zlaté Moravce), South-Western Slovakia. The changes in the landscape are identified by the rearrangement of the arable land, forests, vineyards, gardens, fruit gardens/plantations, permanent grassland, water surfaces, and other areas. In this contribution, we made an attempt to describe the role of the comprehensive landscape adaptations in the process of designing landscape changes which do significantly contribute to modification of the landscape character

Land plots valuation in land consolidation in Slovakia: a need for a new approach

The spatial and functional rearrangement of a territory in the process of land consolidation (LC) requires the prior valuation of the land and comparison with the proposed state. This is one of the most difficult stages of the project. The official (information) price of agricultural land is at present determined on the basis of comparing the boundaries of land areas and spatial distribution of the soil-quality ecological units (SQEU). This procedure does not reflect the real value of land and leads to disagreements particularly with large differences in price levels in the neighborhood. Therefore, the authors suggest establishing pricing information using a multicriteria evaluation, into which enters SQEU (through a single price area for the projection unit) as well as the development factor and location factor. The methodological approaches and procedures for land valuation on agricultural land in the LC are illustrated by the example of the cadastral area of Skačany (in northwestern Slovakia). The authors argue that a new approach is more objective to the owners and simplifies the entire process in compliance with the criteria of proportionality

A detailed assessment of the land cover development in a territory with dispersed settlement area (case study Hriňová – Snohy, Slovakia)

This study focuses on the development of the landscape during a period of significant social changes in Central Europe from the middle of the 20th century, and evaluates the impact of the selected natural factors on landscape dynamics in the Snohy dispersed settlement area (cadaster of Hriňová, Slovakia). During the periods of feudalism and the democratic Czechoslovak Republic after 1918, private ownership of land prevailed on the territory of Slovakia. After 1948, in the period of the socialist establishment, the municipality was one of the few localities without collectivisation. We focused on the state and changes to the landscape structure based on remote sensing data analysis (1949, 2003, and 2018), as well as field research and archive photographs inspection. The study area is a part of the proposed Special Area of Conservation SKUEV4026 Meadows of Poľana and is situated near the border between the transition and buffer zones of the Poľana Biosphere Reserve. The state of land cover and its changes have been evaluated using a CORINE Land Cover modification at the 5th level. Results showed that the influence of the slope on agricultural extensification, deforestation, and afforestation, was the most pronounced. Since 1949, more than half of the land cover has changed across the study area. The most extensive changes were recorded in the spatial structure and composition of forest communities

Zemljišni pokrov i upotreba zemljišta u Slovačkoj unutar paneuropske usklađene izmjere LUCAS 2015

The LUCAS project was launched following a decision by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union in May 2000. Eurostat started the LUCAS pilot project in close cooperation with the technical support of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development’s Joint Research Centre in 2001 . The main aim of the project is to provide a common, aligned, in situ overview of agricultural and environmental data, using GNSS and photo documentation for specific, georeferenced points. Research was carried out in Slovakia over a three-year period, starting in 2006. In 2009, an evaluation of land cover/use was carried out. This article presents the process of preparing, securing, conducting and researching the management of land cover and land use in Slovakia. The survey was launched in 201 2. The classification base consists of eight categories of land cover and land use, which are broken down into more detail. The result is a structured database of images and digital records for 2,455 selected points. The largest class mapped is forestland. The stabilization of the sampling scheme allowed the construction of a time series for monitoring land cover changes for selected types.Projekt LUCAS pokrenut je na temelju odluke Europskog parlamenta i Vijeća Europske unije u svibnju 2000. Eurostat je 2001. godine pokrenuo pilot projekt LUCAS u bliskoj suradnji s Ravnateljstvom za poljoprivredu i tehničku podršku ruralnom razvoju Zajedničkog istraživačkog centra. Glavni je cilj projekta zajednička, usklađena izmjera poljoprivrednih podataka i podataka okoliša in situ primjenom dokumentacije GNSS-a i fotografija odrebenih, georeferenciranih točaka. Istraživanje je provedeno u Slovačkoj u razdoblju od tri godine s početkom 2006. godine. U 2009. provedena je procjena zemljišnoga pokrova i upotrebe zemljišta. U radu se opisuje postupak pripreme, osiguravanja, vođenja i upravljanja istraživanjem zemljišnog pokrova i upotrebe zemljišta u Slovačkoj. Izmjera je pokrenuta 2012. godine. Osnova klasifikacije sastoji se od osam glavnih klasa zemljišnog pokrova i upotrebe zemljišta koje se dijele u detaljnije klase. Rezultat istraživanja je strukturirana baza slika i digitalnih zapisa za 2455 odabranih točaka. Najveća kartirana klasa je šumsko zemljište. Stabilizacija sheme uzorkovanja omogućila je izradu vremenskih nizova za nadzor promjene zemljišnog pokrova na odabranim tipovima zemljišnog pokrova