Areas Of Central Europe Research Articles

Smart Cities of the Central and Eastern Europe

Goal – the aim of this article is to discuss the essence of smart cities as one of the effects of public sector innovation. More specifically, the attention will be focused on the Central and Eastern European area, analyzing smart cities and their achievements in this region. Research methodology – the article contains review of the literature, an analysis of innovation and smart cities measures and indicators, on the basis of international rankings and good practices. Score/results – the presented statistical data and good practises indicate that the innovativeness of the public sector and a scale of smart cities is growing. Innovations play a key role in creating development and the ability to adapt to constantly changing operating conditions. The implementation of the smart cities concept can be boldly described as an effect of the innovation of the private sector. It is thanks to this type of activities that cities are able to meet the constantly changing expectations of residents, but also of potential investors. It is important to point that smart cities mean both economic and technological development, care for residents, but also sustainable development, i.e., despite striving for continuous technological development, care for the natural environment. Historical facts and belonging to the Eastern Bloc prevented countries from Central and Eastern Europe from achieving such a state of affairs. However, it is comforting to note that despite this developmental backwardness, these economies are actively trying to follow the path of innovation leaders, climbing up the innovation and smart city rankings. Originality/value – the review of the literature on the subject and the conducted analysis have highlighted serious problems with measuring innovation in the public sector and in smart cities. Moreover, the focus was on the somewhat forgotten part of the Central and Eastern Europe, which, despite its developmental backwardness, turned out to be aware of the power of innovation and the implementation of the smart city concept, which it continues to do in small or large steps.

A look at the life of the inhabitants of the estate in Rusovce in the first half of the 20th century

After the forced annexation of the Principality of Nitra, which was ruled by Prince Pribina, to the Principality of Moravia, a relatively powerful Great Moravian Empire was established in the Central European Danube area. After its disintegration in 906, its eastern part, the Principality of Nitra, gradually became part of the multinational Hungarian state. Although it took centuries to form, it eventually disintegrated in 1918 as well. In the history of the Hungarian state, the Slovaks have always played an important role. Even the Slovak Bratislava was its capital between 1538 and 1848. It was the seat of the Hungarian parliament and all the highest state and church authorities. It was also the coronation city of the Hungarian kings. Rusovce is part of Bratislava. It is dominated by the monumental building of the manor house, the seat of the former manor, whose last noble owners were the Lónyai family until 1945. The wife of the Hungarian Prince Elemir Lónyai was Princess Stephanie of Belgium, the widow of the AustroHungarian Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg-Lorraine. The article presents a glimpse into the life of this family and also peeks into the operation of the Rusovce estate in the second quarter of the 20th century, as retold by the maid of this aristocratic couple in her memoirs in 1999.

Central European Convergence Area: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Central European Convergence Area: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Tardenoisian concept in Polish Mesolithic studies

The evolution of the concept of the Tardenoisian in Polish Mesolithic studies visibly falls into three phases, dating approximately to 1900-1970, 1971-1990, 1991-2016. In the first half of the twentieth century the geographical range of the Tardenoisian, known originally from French sites, was extended to areas in Central Europe, Poland included. Although criticised by Polish researchers of the Mesolithic already in the 1960s, this concept continued to appear in the literature until 1970. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s the local cultural taxonomy of the Polish Mesolithic was developed, based on meticulous analyses of the archaeological record. Using these sources, some researchers have recognized influences in southwestern Poland of the Western complex of Mesolithic cultures which includes e.g., the Tardenoisian and Beuronian. New material discovered after 1990 confirmed the presence ofBeuronian sites in the Polish zone of the Sudeten. The upland and mountainous zone of Central Europe with its great diversity of lithic resources was heavily exploited bycommunities of this cultural tradition.

Small Hydropower Plants’ Impacts on the Ecological Status Indicators of Urban Rivers

Water is the basis of life for living creatures and is used for various purposes, especially in agriculture, industry, municipal services, and energy production. Assessing water quality in terms of its various uses is not without significance. This study investigates the water quality within two small hydropower plants (SHPs) in central European urban areas from an environmental perspective. Wrocław I and Wrocław II SHPs on the Odra River in Poland were selected as case studies. This study presents the results of four-year observations (2017–2020) conducted in different locations located upstream and downstream of the barriers. The following aspects were assessed: physicochemical status, trophic status, assessment of fish living conditions, and water quality indices. The results show that SHPs improved the average physicochemical status of the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (i.e., BOD5; by 6.19% comparing the results downstream and upstream of the SHPs), dissolved oxygen (3.85%), PO4-P (3.31%), and electrical conductivity (0.52%); however, they worsened in the case of the pH (by 2.63%) and NO3-N (by 1.83%). Water near the study cases is classified as mesotrophic or eutrophic. The conditions for salmonids and cyprinids were not met due to the increased concentrations of NO2 and BOD5 values; in the case of salmonids, also due to the temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration. The water quality indices differed and indicated the quality from poor to good, depending on the classification. This study provides important insights for policymakers regarding the awareness of the impacts of SHPs on water quality in urban areas and the immediate measure needed to be considered to improve aquatic habitat conditions.

Factors associated with the decrease in depression among adolescents during the first Covid-19 lockdown: a natural experiment

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Who doesn’t take a risk, never gets to drink champagne: women, risk and economics

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Entrepreneurial risk perception and entrepreneurial intention of employed and unemployed in the context of entrepreneurial individual resources

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Fear of crime, security perception and preventive behavior

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Features of the Internet`s use in the daily life of Ukrainian students

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Explaining the ambiguous impact of overconfidence on corporate decision-making: a critique of the research methodology

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Personality traits in relation to the turnover intentions of the qualified employees in the manufacturing industry

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Contemporary signs of magic in the everyday life of Roma minority in the selected areas of Brno, focusing on magical acts like “pokerování” and evil eye

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

How Instagram users influence nature conservation: A case study on protected areas in Central Europe

The popularity of social media such as Instagram has substantially increased in the last years. The use of social media for conservation science has also been on the rise because social media postings can provide an important data source for conservationists. However, it has also been shown that Instagram posts have the power to change the popularity of featured locations, which can increase their visitation rates and may thus lead to overcrowding and subsequently to the degradation of protected areas. This study addresses the question of how Instagram users perceive and evaluate these potentially detrimental impacts on protected areas in Austria, Germany, or Switzerland. We conducted an online survey among Instagram users and measured their personal knowledge and perceptions of nature protection issues, their activities on Instagram and their perceptions of environmentally negative behaviours associated with Instagram usage. The results show that the respondents do have personal knowledge about nature protection. However, they do not want social media to teach them about nature-protection-related topics and do not consider Instagram a good source for such information. When participants were presented with a typical example of an environmentally negative behaviour in a protected area (such as off-road motorbiking) that some people perform while presenting themselves on Instagram, respondents' sentiments changed from indifference towards favouring nature protection. The results of this study provide useful information for better communication on conservation issues in protected areas and the improved incorporation of nature protection content into Instagram users' feeds (e.g. via conservation marketing approaches).

Influence of Tree Species and Size on Bark Browsing by Large Wild Herbivores.

Although an important part of the ecosystem, large wild herbivores (LWH), especially red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), cause significant damage to economically valuable timber in forests of Central Europe. Recent work has demonstrated that less valuable softwood broadleaved trees can act as "biological control" that helps reduce bark browsing on more valuable trees in a mixed stand. To better understand the factors that influence how much bark area and mass are removed by LWH from these broadleaved trees, we took advantage of a novel "natural" experiment that occurred after a breach in a herbivory exclosure surrounding a 10-year old mixed broadleaved/conifer stand in the Western Carpathians in north-western Slovakia. We measured the area of old (up to 2 years previously) and new browsed patches on stems of common aspen (Populus tremula L.), common rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and goat willow (Salix caprea L.), and their position along the vertical profile of the stem. The browsed bark area (cm2) was then converted to the bark mass (g) removed and the proportion of browsed bark to total bark (%) using conversion equations. Our models demonstrated that the amount of bark removed was influenced by tree species, stem diameter, age of browsing (old vs. new), and stem section along the vertical profile. LWH removed the most bark area from willow but the most bark mass from aspen because aspen had thicker bark than the other tree species. Bark browsing was greater on trees > 6 cm basal diameter. The distribution of bark browsing along the vertical profile was symmetrical (unimodal) with maximum intensity at 101-125 cm from the ground, which corresponds with the height most optimal for feeding by red deer. However, previous browsing in 2019 and 2020 caused new browsing on willow in 2021 to be focused in stem sections lower (51-75 cm) and higher (126-150 cm) than that optima. By quantifying browsing patterns and the amount of bark that is accessible to LWH for forage on the most attractive softwood broadleaved trees, our work will contribute to developing better methods for protecting commercially important species such as European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) in areas of Central Europe that are greatly affected by increasing population density of LWH, especially red deer.

Different Drought Tolerance Strategy of Wheat Varieties in Spike Architecture

Spike characteristics include spike length, total spikelet number per spike, number of fertile flowers, spike density, spike fertility, grain number, thousand kernel weight, the number of spikes per square meter, harvest index and the grain yield during the flowering and ripening stage. The six winter and one facultative variety differed in earliness, derived in part from the allele of the Ppd-D1 gene and phenological observation. The two sites significantly differed in the soil moisture, which varied during continual microclimate monitoring. The spike architecture of winter wheat was affected by drought. The plant samples from the site FIELD 2 (more drought stressed) showed a higher reduction in spike characteristics such as a lower spike length, total spikelet number, number of fertile flowers and spike fertility, leading to a lower yield than the site FIELD 1. Both early and late varieties possess compensatory abilities to create the grain yield during drought stress; however, the timing and duration of exposure to drought determine the application and success of the compensatory ability. In our experiment, the late varieties (photoperiod sensitive) performed better in yield than the early varieties during both growing seasons. That is at odds with the generally recommended “drought escape strategy” (early varieties) and suggests a possible direction for variety selection and breeding in arid areas in Central Europe.

Diversity and Functional Relevance of Canopy Arthropods in Central Europe

Although much is known about the ecology and functional importance of canopy arthropods in temperate forests, few studies have tried to assess the overall diversity and investigate the composition and dynamics of tree-specific communities. This has impeded a deeper understanding of the functioning of forests, and of how to maintain system services. Here, we present the first comprehensive data of whole arthropod communities, collected by insecticidal knockdown (fogging) from 1159 trees in 18 study areas in Central Europe during the last 25 years. The data includes 3,253,591 arthropods from 32 taxa (order, suborder, family) collected on 24 tree species from 18 genera. Fogging collects free-living, ectophytic arthropods in approximately the same number as they occur in the trees. To our knowledge, these are the most comprehensive data available today on the taxonomic composition of arboreal fauna. Assigning all arthropods to their feeding guild provided a proxy of their functional importance. The data showed that the canopy communities were regularly structured, with a clear dominance hierarchy comprised of eight ‘major taxa’ that represented 87% of all arthropods. Despite significant differences in the proportions of taxa on deciduous and coniferous trees, the composition of the guilds was very similar. The individual tree genera, on the other hand, showed significant differences in guild composition, especially when different study areas and years were compared, whereas tree-specific traits, such as tree height, girth in breast height or leaf cover, explained little of the overall variance. On the ordinal level, guild composition also differed significantly between managed and primary forests, with a simultaneous low within-group variability, indicating that management is a key factor determining the distribution of biodiversity and guild composition.

The second wave of the Spanish influenza pandemic in selected regions and towns of Slovakia (1918)

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

The return of Poles from France and Belgium and Their Adaptation in the Post-War Reality of the Polish People’s Republic in the Memory of Returnees and Their Families (1945 – 1975)

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.

Systems of Government Support of Minority Activities in Slovakia (2011 – 2020)

The Institute of Social Sciences of the CSPS of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice is an interdisciplinary workplace of social sciences and humanities with a primary research focus on the area of Central Europe in the field of social psychology, sociology and history.