Pilsen Region Research Articles

Marie Ulčová and her Contribution to the West Bohemian Museums

While today the Ethnographic Museum of the Pilsen Region represents just one of the departments of the Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen, at the beginning of the twentieth century, in 1915, it emerged as an independent institution devoted to a study of life in the Pilsen region. Ladislav Lábek, the founder and long-time director, bears the greatest credit for this museum. This study presents PhDr. Marie Ulčová, who joined the museum shortly after the Second World War and in 1963 replaced Mr. Lábek on his imaginary throne. The main objective of this article is to introduce the personality of Marie Ulčová and to evaluate the activity of this Pilsen ethnographer and the museum employee with an emphasis on her work in the Ethnographic Museum of the Pilsen Region. The basic aspects of the ethnographic activities, not only of Marie Ulčová but also of the Ethnographic Museum of the Pilsen Region in the years 1963–1988, are described through her professional and popularising articles, archival sources and contemporary periodicals.

Změny ve využití krajiny Brd po transformaci Vojenského újezdu Brdy na Chráněnou krajinnou oblast Brdy

A substantial part of the Brdy Highlands was used for military purposes for ninety years. After the termination of the Military Training Area Brdy on January 1, 2016, the utilization of this area has changed markedly, and gradual changes are also occurring in the surrounding landscape. However, the great expectations associated with the emergence of a new protected landscape area in the sense of possible future economic development of neighbouring municipalities have not yet been fulfilled. The article deals with the various aspects of the Brdy landscape transformation in the first years of existence of the Protected Landscape Area Brdy. The most important changes occurred as regards environmental protection, demilitarization of almost all the territory of the former Military Training Area Brdy and development of some economic activities. Nevertheless, the previously marginalized territory is becoming integrated only slowly into the broader social and economic networks. It remains an inner periphery on the border of the Pilsen region and Central Bohemian region with problematic territorial-administrative governance and low level of economic development.

Formalizing the informal? A non-monetary zone project in Pilsen, Czech Republic

This paper is based on two years of research taking advantage of participant observation and interviews with the organizers as well as visitors of the non-monetary zone in the Pilsen region, Czech Republic. The research reveals that despite the effort to formalize this informal activity, tension between formal and informal conceptualization seems to be an obstruction.

To Join Small-Scale Forest Owners’ Associations or Not? Motivations and Opinions of Small-Scale Forest Owners in Three Selected Regions of the Czech Republic

This article analyses motivations and attitudes of small-scale forest owners in the Czech Republic towards joining associations. The research is a follow-up to a field investigation performed within the National Forest Programme II for 2007–2013 in the Vysocina region in 2010. The present research was carried out in the Pilsen region in 2012 and the Central Bohemia region in 2015, applying the same method of investigation as in 2010—a questionnaire survey. The findings are based on the results of all three surveys and supported by the analysis of legal and forestry-related documents concerning financial subsidies for forest owners’ associations. The study has revealed reluctance of small-scale owners to join associations. Their lack of motivation is caused by insufficient funding from the government supporting the administration and management of associations. The reluctance also results from the request for associations to be legal entities, which most applicants do not meet as they are either not registered or are registered under unsuitable legal forms. Between 2011 and 2013, no contributions were paid by the government to associations, and no new small-scale forest owners’ associations were formed. To increase associations, we propose that the government should provide sufficient funding not only for the administration and management of associations but also for the process of establishing associations and initial investments. It is also necessary to make major innovations in legislature regarding the transition of ownerships to more convenient legal forms.

Asphalt mixtures with a high amount of RAP – case study

A case study of one trial section in the Pilsen region is presented. The pavement in the section was newly constructed in 2015 using one type of an asphalt concrete mixtures with varying RAP content. The constructed surface course comprises of 0% to 50% RAP. In order to restore the aged binder properties and to avoid the embrittlement of the produced mixtures, a rubber-based modifier/rejuvenator was employed. For technological reasons during manufacturing processes, which engage a parallel drying drum, a crude oil-based rejuvenator was also added. This article contains the preliminary data from an on-going project focused on monitoring the properties of bituminous binders contained in asphalt mixtures. The actual bituminous binders were extracted straight after production, after 6 months and after 12 months. The binder characteristics are evaluated using empirical testing as well as functional tests. Low temperature properties are measured by a Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR). The preliminary results show, that the bituminous binders properties change significantly in a relatively short period of time. The progress in binder’ characteristics is contradictory to up-to date knowledge. The probability that the phenomenon of diffusion between aged binder and rejuvenator agents occurs exists. Moreover, the data might indicate that the process of rejuvenator evaporation takes place.

New type of ponds? Changing of quantity and function of water bodies in rural built-up areas (Pilsen Region, Czechia)

Abstract This study is focused on the changing of areas of water bodies in selected villages of the Pilsen Region (Czechia). We researched several different types of rural settlements and three time horizons with the help of old maps, orthophoto maps and GIS tools. To capture the influence of their location within the urban system, we chose 15 places from four categories (inner suburban area, outside suburban area, rural area, periphery rural area) depending on their distance to the core of the Pilsen agglomeration. There is no significant change in the amount of water bodies between the first reference period (1838-1839) and the second period (1957-1963) in the selected settlements. However, the third period (2013-2015) is characterized by the emergence of a large number of small water bodies - swimming pools and garden ponds. Based on the results of our research we identified the declining importance of public water bodies in some of the settlements. However, we have identified a notable prevalence of garden ponds which have a more positive ecological impact than pools. The proportion of private water bodies (covered and uncovered pools and garden ponds) in the total area of water bodies in the rural settlements in most cases is less than 20%, in the suburban settlements up to 100%. Peripheral settlements have a below-average share of these water bodies. The difference between the number of pools in different settlements is related to the proportion of newly built houses there. Although there are relatively fewer pools in rural settlements, the difference compared to the situation in suburban settlements is not pronounced due to the change in lifestyle in rural areas and the change in functions of some villages to recreational areas. Influence of pools on water consumption is dependent on the individual exchange technology of water in swimming pools. Filling of the pool before the season can overload the capacity of the local water supply.

4th International Conference Recent Trends in Structural Materials

COMAT history is relatively new, we started in 2010. COMAT deals with recent trends in structural materials that cover production technologies (casting, forging, rolling…), heat and thermo-mechanical treatments, computer modelling and physical simulations and materials characterisation. The conference was launched by the research institute COMTES FHT a.s. that is very active in the fields covered by COMAT. The idea was to create a base for knowledge sharing between industry and research and academic experts. It is located in the heart of the Pilsen region that is a traditional heavy industry centre in the Czech Republic with rich history spanning over 150 years.COMAT 2016 was held at Angelo Hotel in Plzen on November 9th – 11th. The conference was organized by company TANGER s.r.o. and COMTES FHT a.s. COMAT 2016 was the fourth of the biannually held conferences. The subtitle of the conference this year was the 70th anniversary of Prof. Jozef Zrnik, who has been working in the field of material science for many years. It was great pleasure to welcome some of Prof. Zrnik’s students who came for the conference and made the atmosphere of the anniversary even more pleasant. We were really pleased to welcome more than 140 people from 14 countries attending the conference (Algeria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Romania, Slovakia, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, United Kingdom). The participants presented almost 60 lectures and 48 posters. The conference was divided into seven sessions and a poster session. It the current proceedings, 70 papers are selected. We hope the papers presented here will be interesting for readers and a good base for inspiration for future developments. We are looking forward to seeing more participants in 2018.Yours sincerelyJan DŽUGAN and Zbyšek NOVÝJanuary 2017

Inflammatory bowel disease incidence in Czech children: A regional prospective study, 2000-2015.

AIMTo examine the incidence and trends in pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) over 2000-2015 and project the incidence to 2018.METHODSA 16-year prospective study of IBD patients < 19 years of age was conducted in the Czech Republic (the Pilsen region). All incident IBD cases within a well-defined geographical area were retrieved from a prospectively collected computerized clinical database. Historical Czech data were used for comparison (1990-2001). Our catchment population was determined from the census data. We calculated the incidence by relating the number of newly diagnosed cases to the size of the pediatric population-at-risk in each calendar year. Age/sex, disease type, place of residence, and race/ethnicity were identified.RESULTSIn total, 170 new IBD cases [105 Crohn’s disease (CD), 48 ulcerative colitis (UC), and 17 IBD-unclassified (IBD-U)] were identified. The median age at IBD diagnosis was 14.2 years, 59.4% were males, and 97.1% were Caucasians. A male preponderance of IBD (P = 0.026) and CD (P = 0.016) was observed. With 109209 person-years in the catchment area, the average incidence of IBD per 100000 person-years was 10.0 (6.2 for CD, 2.8 for UC, and 1.0 for IBD-U) for children aged 0 to 19 years; for those aged 0 to 15 years, the incidence rate was 7.3 (4.6 for CD, 2.0 for UC, and 0.7 for IBD-U). An increase in incidence with age was observed (P = 0.0003). Over the 16-year period, the incidence increased for IBD patients (P = 0.01) and CD in particular (P < 0.0001), whereas the incidence for UC (P = 0.09) and IBD-U (P = 0.339) remained unchanged. IBD-projected data from 2016 to 2018 were 12.1, 12.3 and 12.6 per 100000 person-years, respectively.CONCLUSIONPediatric-onset IBD incidence is around its highest point. The increase, which is particularly pronounced for CD, may be challenging to relate to causes of pediatric disease.

Evaluation of spatial differentiation in the Pilsen region from a socioeconomic perspective

Abstract The main objective of this article is to evaluate spatial differentiation in the Pilsen region in the Czech Republic, to create a typology of territorial units, and to evaluate the potential for development and possible threats to development in relation to individual territorial types. To this end, municipal statistical indicators pertaining to population, employment, and economy, were gathered from each of the given territories. The Voronoi map technique was applied to interpolate the values of selected indicators. The typology was created using one of the multivariate statistical methods, namely, the cluster analysis. Furthermore, typological regions and strategies for their development were created.

A Late-Medieval manor farm in Rovný (Rokycany District, Pilsen Region)

A Late-Medieval manor farm in Rovný (Rokycany District, Pilsen Region)

Rural School In The Context Of Community-Led Local Development*

Abstract The paper is based on the general concept of knowledge society and deals with regional development theories which emphasize local environment as an important part of rural development. The following two questions were studied: (1) What is the early experience of municipalities when establishing a Community School? (2) In which other municipalities would it be possible and appropriate to build such a school? For this purpose, both secondary and primary research methods were combined with data collection techniques – document study, observation, and questioning. Because the examined problem is set in the context of community-led local development (CLLD), violation of the ‘bottom-up’ approach principle is also highlighted. The paper presents the first experiences in the establishment of seven Community Schools within the Pilsen region and based on them also recommendations for the feasibility and suitability of establishing this type of school in other rural municipalities. The results show that the educational sector is not assisting in the modernization of rural schools with regard to community education and that the possibility of the contemporary and meaningful existence of schools in small rural municipalities remains ignored.

The influence of subsidies on the economic performance of Czech farms in the regions

The main goal is analysis of the influence of subsidies on the economic performance of farms in individual regions since the Czech Republic joined the EU. The basis for verification of the hypotheses was data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network of the Czech Republic (FADN CR) broken down by regions. The economic performance of farms is determined here on the basis of six selected proportional indicators of financial analysis and their statistical processing using the WSA and TOPSIS methods. By both the WSA and the TOPSIS methods, in 2004–2010 the farms in the Karlovy Vary Region and in the last monitored year (2011) the farms in the Southern Moravia Region were identically evaluated as having the best economic performance. In 2004 the WSA method identified the farms with the worst economic performance as being in Vysočina, while the TOPSIS method rated the Ústí nad Labem Region as having the farms with the worst performance. In 2005–2006, both methods identically put the Pilsen Region in last place for economic performance of farms, while in 2007 the farms in Liberec Region and again in 2008 the farms in Pilsen Region were in last place. In 2009 the WSA and TOPSIS methods identically identified the farms with the worst economic performance as being in the South Bohemia Region. During 2010–2011 the two methods agreed that the farms with the worst economic performance were in Pilsen Region. Economic performance of farms in the regions Ústí nad Labem, Pardubice, Vysočina, Central Bohemia, Hradec Králové, South Moravia, Ostrava, and Olomouc, and also vertical economic performance of farms is dependent on the amount of subsidies received. On the other hand, for economic performance of farms in the Liberec, Pilsen, and Karlovy Vary regions, this dependence must be refuted. The assumption that the Common Agricultural Policy contributes towards the reducing of economic disparities between farms in the individual regions of the Czech Republic, has been confirmed only by the TOPSIS method in absolute expression. Nonetheless, by the WSA method in absolute and relative expression and by the TOPSIS method in relative expression, it must be refuted.

Vliv dosaženého vzdělání a věku na množství a druh pohybové aktivity obyvatel Plzeňského kraje

VÝCHODISKA: Casto provaděna pohybova aktivita (PA) jakehokoliv druhu je důležitou soucasti chovani každeho jedince a vede k udržovani zdravi a k prevenci množstvi civilizacnich chorob. Předpokladame, že vzdělanějsi obyvatelstvo by mělo vykazovat provaděni větsiho množstvi pohybových aktivit než lide se zakladnim a středoskolským vzdělanim. CILE: Cilem studie bylo analyzovat množstvi a druh pohybove aktivity obyvatel plzeňskeho regionu vzhledem k pohlavi a z hlediska dosaženeho vzdělani a věku. Dilcim cilem pak bylo zjistit, jake procento mužů a žen Plzeňskeho kraje plni doporuceni pro množstvi a frekvenci PA, a to z hlediska věku i dosaženeho vzdělani. METODIKA: Pro analýzu jsme použili dotazniky IPAQ (dlouha verze), ktere byly distribuovany v letech 2005-2009 nahodně vybraným rodinam v jarnich a podzimnich měsicich. Celkem bylo zpracovano s pomoci neparametrickeho Kruskal-Wallis testu 1125 spravně vyplněných dotazniků (513 mužů a 612 žen ve věku 25-58 let). VÝSLEDKY: Celkova pohybova aktivita mužů se zvysovala s narůstajicim věkem a klesala s urovni dosaženeho vzdělani. U žen se vztah mezi celkovou PA, věkem a vzdělanim neprokazal. Doporuceni pro PA plni vice muži mladsiho věku (46,6 % plni doporuceni pro intenzivni PA; 60,9 % plni doporuceni pro chůzi) a se zakladnim vzdělanim (48,5% plni doporuceni pro středně zatěžujici PA; 61,3 % plni doporuceni pro chůzi), a ženy se vzdělanim vysokoskolským (48,5 % plni doporuceni pro středně zatěžujici PA; 68,5 % plni doporuceni pro chůzi). ZAVĚRY: Z výsledků analýzy dotazniků vyplýva, že u mužů Plzeňskeho kraje existuje vztah mezi celkovou týdenni PA, věkem a vzdělanim, naopak u žen jednoznacný vztah mezi PA, věkem a dosaženým vzdělanim nebyl prokazan.

Survey and typology of post-industrial landscape in Czechia

The innovative PIL mapping procedure is based on an application of wider selection of datasets available in Czechia. Using a multi-step approach, 128 cases of PIL were identified and classified. Geographically, the territorial concentrations of PILs under research are located in the North-Bohemian Industrial Crescent (from the town of Cheb in the West to town Náchod in the East), in the Central Bohemian Industrial Belt (from Pilsen region to Prague capital region), in Ostrava region (North-east of Czechia, and in the Southern Moravia). Advantages and weaknesses of the applied procedure and reliability of results were also discussed.

G-serotypes of group a rotaviruses in Pilsen region (Czechia)

A total of 260 feces samples from children with confirmed rotavirus infection collected during 1999-2002 were serotyped, using enzymoimmunoassay with VP7 specific monoclonal antibodies for G1-G4 serotypes. The serotypes were identified in 185 feces, i.e. 71.2 %. Individual serotypes occurred in 43, 2, 16 and 2 %; 8 % samples reacted with 2 type-specific monoclonal antibodies. The G1 serotype was prevalent over the whole period. The G3 type occurred with a statistically higher significance in children of up to 36 months (chi2 = 4.6, p = 0.028). In 4 children a different serotype was demonstrated in the first and second, or in the second and third stools, respectively. No dominant serotype was found in children with nosocomial infection.

All in the Family: A Dynasty Approach to Household Migration Evidence from the 19th Century Austro-Hungarian Empire

This paper deals with the rural-urban migration of families in the last decades of the 19th century in one of the most developed regions of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy - the Pilsen region. The analysis indicates that the household head's expected real rural-urban wage gap was not the main factor behind migration. Instead, the observed behavior is consistent with families maximizing a dynastic utility function such that it was the future prospects of children which triggered migration. The results are not based on tracing of families in time but rely on identifying a control group of stayers. Specifically, I compare the structure of migrant families at the time of arrival to an urban area with that of families who stayed in the hinterlands and to decipher migration motifs.