Regions Of Slovakia Research Articles

The sustainability of social care in Slovakia: Modelling the existing network of residential social facilities for future senior populations

Abstract The possible availability of residential long-term care for seniors in the regions of Slovakia in the period to 2040 is evaluated in this contribution. The study identifies risk in the availability of residential care concerning the future development of the senior population. To highlight the potential risk for regions, three model projections are used. A factor analysis with two-by-two classifications was employed to identify the risk in the regions in terms of the availability of residential care. Due to the expanding senior population in Slovakia, maintaining the current capacity of residential facilities would significantly deteriorate the availability of social services. If the current ratio of residential care capacity to the size of the senior population is maintained, the number of beds will have to increase by 56% by 2040. Demographic ageing is a current challenge for public policy and requires searching for solutions to ensure the quality of social care for the elderly in every society. Our research shows that the risk in the regions of Slovakia varies depending on the existing capacity of residential facilities and the forecasted senior population.

Belonging, mobility, and the socialist policies in Kapišová, Slovakia

The article focuses on the local practice of the central policies of socialist Czechoslovakia that aimed to regulate the movement of the Roma, namely the legal efforts to settle nomadic persons and subsequently the plan of controlled resettlement of the Roma from eastern Slovakia to the Bohemian lands. Although migration was a shared experience of the inhabitants of a historically marginalized region of eastern Slovakia, the mobility of the Roma was securitized and understood in central policies as a qualitatively different movement of the “Gypsies.” Focusing primarily on life trajectories of the Roma that were all connected to the social space of a particular municipality in north-eastern Slovakia, the study examines the ways in which various aspects of their mobility affected negotiations of their ambivalent position in the local hierarchy of socioeconomic relations. Particularly, it shows that in spite of the realization of these restrictive policies, some Roma were able to maintain not only the continuity of migration as an independent economic strategy, but also the continuity of local belonging, even with the help of other non-Romani actors. This locally focused study contributes to a broader debate about the character of the Roma’s agency and their social position in Central and Eastern Europe (see e.g. Marushiakova and Popov 2021). On the one hand it strives to break up with the idea of homogeneity of the Roma experience vis-à-vis the socialist policies, and on the other it builds on the research into the relationship between local belonging and (self-)identification of the Roma.

Changes in Selected Low-Flow Characteristics in the 2001–2015 Period Compared to the 1961–2000 Reference Period in Slovakia

This research is focused on the assessment of drought on surface watercourses in Slovakia. Low-flow characteristics and their changes in the 2001–2015 period in comparison with the 1961–2000 reference period were evaluated at selected representative water-gauging stations. Two different methods were used to calculate the flow duration curves (FDCs): the standard method, based on mean daily discharge data series for the whole evaluated period in descending order, and the alternative method, based on first calculating the values of FDCs for each year of the assessed period and then averaging the corresponding percentile values. The changes were evaluated for selected percentiles of the FDCs (330-, 355-, and 364-day discharge). The number of days with the mean daily flow below the set limits and the seasonality of their occurrence were assessed. The results show significant changes in cases of both methods in the compared time periods, while differences in individual regions of Slovakia were also found. The weakness of the standard method is in allowing the values of the smallest quantiles to be influenced by a small number of long-lasting drought episodes. The alternative method eliminates the aforementioned shortcoming and could be used to determine the ecological flows in Slovakia.

Use of Toxic Substance Release Modelling as a Tool for Prevention Planning in Border Areas

The paper deals with the protection of the population and the environment in crisis management and emergency planning. It includes a proposal for an auxiliary tool for crisis managers and commanders to increase the safety of the population and the environment in the evaluated area. The proposal was developed thanks to a detailed analysis of the border area in selected regions of Slovakia, where extraordinary events may occur during the cross-border transport of hazardous substances. The actual outputs are maps of area-border crossings, including the places of transport of hazardous substances specifying a range of possible adverse effects on the endangered area. The modelling process was based on real conditions in the given area. Various scenarios of the possible occurrence of the release of hazardous substances were developed. The scenarios were applied in the ALOHA CAMEO software. Using the software output, it was possible to draw the most probable emergency scenarios with a cross-border effect. Cross-border impacts are crucial challenges in dealing with an emergency, as there is a need to ensure cooperation and coordination of emergency services in two different countries. The outputs proposed by the authors are a tool suitable not only for taking preventive measures but also as an aid in repressive activities. It is, therefore, suitable both for reducing the probability of the occurrence of given emergencies and minimizing its consequences.

Impact and Potential of Sustainable Development Goals in Dimension of the Technological Revolution Industry 4.0 within the Analysis of Industrial Enterprises

Sustainable technologies, including clean energy in manufacturing and green and reverse logistics, generate conditions for industry development and future growth with the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies and innovations in the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The objective of the article is to identify and analyse the potential of sustainable technologies in synergy with Industry 4.0 innovations and renewable energy initiatives in manufacturing and logistics in the context of SDGs. Qualitative analysis was performed on 105 enterprises of various business sizes, in several regions of Slovakia, within various industry sectors, and within geographical coverage. Based on the summarised results, we can state that more than 82% of surveyed enterprises implement the SDGs. Currently, more than 70% of enterprises prefer environmental aspects in business management. Based on the results, we find a significant relationship between the environmental management of the enterprise in the context of SDGs and sustainability in production and logistics. Statistical analysis confirmed the relationship between the use of renewable energy technology in the industrial sector. A significant relationship was also demonstrated between sustainability in logistics activities in the industrial sector in waste separation and recycling; environmental certification; environmental training of employees; the use of renewable energy sources and the continuous reduction of CO2 in all logistics activities. The results of the study indicate a significant relationship between green manufacturing, green logistics, reverse logistics and selected Industry 4.0 technologies: autonomous robots, renewable energy, advanced materials, virtual technologies, and simulation. We conclude the significant influence of environmental management on business production and logistics.

Modeling Bark Thickness and Bark Biomass on Stems of Four Broadleaved Tree Species.

Considering the surface of individual tree compartments, it is obvious that the main portion of bark, i.e., the largest area and the greatest bulk mass, is located on the stem. We focused on basic bark properties, specifically thickness, surface area, biomass, and specific surface mass (expressed as dry weight per square unit) on stems of four broadleaved species: common aspen (Populus tremula L.), goat willow (Salix caprea L.), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.), and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.). Based on the previous work from mature forests, we hypothesize that bark properties of young trees are also species-specific and change along the stem profile. Thus, across the regions of Slovakia, we selected 27 forest stands composed of one of the target broadleaved species with ages up to 12 years. From the selected forests, 600 sample trees were felled and stem bark properties were determined by measuring bark thickness, weighing bark mass after its separation from the stem, and drying to achieve a constant weight. Since the bark originated from trees of varying stem diameters and from different places along the stem (sections from the stem base 0–50, 51–100, 101–150, 151–200, and 201–250 cm), we could create regression models of stem characteristics based on the two mentioned variables. Our results confirmed that bark thickness, thus also specific surface mass, increased with stem diameter and decreased with distance from the stem base. While common aspen had the thickest stem bark (4.5 mm on the stem base of the largest trees) the thinnest bark from the analyzed species was found for sycamore (nearly three times thinner than the bark of aspen). Since all four tree species are very attractive to large wild herbivores as forage, besides other uses, we might consider our bark mass models also in terms of estimating forage potential and quantity of bark mass consumed by the herbivory.

Mollic soils situated in non-Chernozem regions in Slovakia

Abstract This study is focused on an evaluation of some important soil properties as a result of the genesis of mollic soils which are located outside of the main Chernozem regions in Slovakia. Several soil profiles selected from the Soil Monitoring Network in Slovakia were evaluated and interpreted. Unified analytical procedures used in soil monitoring system have been applied. Following soil indicators: pH, humus content, and qualitative components as humic acids (HA) and fulvic acids (FA) as well as the fractional composition of HA, the content of labile carbon (CL), potentially mineralisable nitrogen (Npot) have been analysed. Based on obtained results in more details, it may be said that the dark-coloured soils in non-Chernozem regions opposite dark-coloured soils in Chernozem regions have a higher content of labile carbon and higher index of lability as well as higher CL: Npot ratio. This indicator seems to be more significant than the often used C/N ratio. In addition, the darkcoloured soils in non-Chernozem regions are characteristic with higher content of aliphatic carbon as well as lower content of carboxylic groups (-COOH) and lower value of the optical parameter (E1% 6). These indicators in more detail are of higher interpretation value for a better evaluation of dark-coloured soils in non-Chernozem regions compared with similar soils in Chernozem regions.

Nursing Students’ Perception of Patient Safety Culture During the Covid-19 Pandemic – Results of a Pilot Study

Abstract Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic posed health and social threats and directly affected the quality and safe care. Many nursing students had mandatory practical training in hospitals to help the national system respond to the crisis. The investigation of nursing students’ perceptions of patient safety culture (PSC) might be beneficial in identifying safety areas that need improvement. Aim: The pilot study aimed to investigate nursing students’ perception of PSC during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The data were collected using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture - Nursing Students (HSOPS-NS). The HSOPS-NS tool was distributed online via the Google Forms platform between February and April 2021. The respondents studied in the 3rd year of the bachelor’s degree in nursing (n = 66). Three nursing faculties from 3 regions in Slovakia were addressed. Descriptive statistics (mean, SD, frequency) was used for the sample characteristics and the HSOPS-NS tool. The Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal Wallis test analysed associations between sociodemographic data. The predictors of outcome dimensions of the HSOPS-NS were analysed by a multiple regression analysis. Results: The nursing students evaluated the overall patient safety grade as very acceptable. Concerning PSC dimensions, the best-rated dimensions were “Feedback & communication about the error” (55.04%) and “Communication openness” (53.53%). The worst-rated dimensions were “Frequency of events reported” (33.32%) and “Staffing” (35.22%). A significant relationship was found between the perception of PSC and age, current area/unit, awareness of reporting systems, and supervision. The overall patient safety grade, the number of reported events, the number of reported events by nursing students were significantly predicted by several PSC dimensions (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: The nursing students’ perspective on PSC revealed a weak perception of reporting adverse events. The awareness of reporting adverse events requires an increase in theoretical knowledge and the support of nursing students during their clinical training. A regular and comprehensive evaluation of PSC may strengthen patient safety and the overall awareness of patient safety among nursing students.

The Role of Banks in Financing the Slovak Agricultural Sector

A well-developed financial system plays an important role in financing individual sectors in the country. In this paper, we analyse credit development in the agricultural sector in the Slovak Republic from various perspectives. We examine the relationship between the agricultural sector's characteristics and the volume of funding at the regional level. The paper's methodology is based on a k-means algorithm for clustering the Slovak regions with four criteria. Then we examine the relationship between financial development and agricultural growth by employing the Cobb-Douglas production function. This study uses annual data covering the period from 2008 to 2019. The results reveal that financial development has a significant and positive effect on agricultural production and agricultural growth.

Public transport-disadvantaged rural areas in relation to daily accessibility of regional centre: Case study from Slovakia

The numerous studies demonstrated the close relation between unfavourable access to “goods and services” by public transport (service of general interest) and social exclusion of affected (especially elder, poor, and disabled) people. The problem of “transport-related social exclusion” is closely related to the problem of “transport-disadvantaged areas,” which concerns the spatial organisation of society in terms of transport accessibility and the transport policies of the state, regions, and localities and the range of services provided by transport operators. Rural areas, which inhabitants are isolated or only poorly accessible from the employment possibilities, healthcare, education and cultural facilities in the regional centre, represent serious problems of the balanced and sustainable spatial development of Slovakia. Therefore, the basic aim of the present study is to contribute to an understanding of the extent and geographical distribution of transport disadvantaged areas in economically underdeveloped region of Slovakia - the Banská Bystrica self-governing region - by identification of rural municipalities and areas whose inhabitants are marginalised or excluded from using of the public transport services when travelling to/from regional centre Banská Bystrica. For the identification of negatively perceived “public transport-disadvantaged areas” we use the concept of “daily accessibility” as a decisive criterion for delimitation of territories which suffer from long distances and travel time to the regional centre, and/or insufficient organisation of public transport.

Participatory Budgeting and Its Implementation Within The Self-Governing Regions in Slovakia

At present, the influence of individual communities of interest on the financing of regional development projects as a space for civic activities in the public interest provided as publicly available services that the region is not executing in an unsatisfactory manner or is not executing at all for various reasons is actively resonating). The article deals with the issue of participatory budgeting as one of the latest budgetary innovations in the field of public sector management and aims to identify the challenges and barriers to the implementation of participatory budgeting in Slovakia at the regional level. It also analyses the implementation of this tool in the regional authorities in the conditions of the Slovak Republic before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly affected public budgets and their redistribution. The methodological approach applied in this research includes a systematic review of the literature on participatory budgeting concerning analyses, comparisons, clarification of causal relations, systematization, abstraction, and concretization, and results of researchers´ activities related to the subject of the conducted research. The chapter “Results” presents the findings of a survey carried out in all eight regional authorities of self-governing regions, and show the extent to which the issue in question has been affected by the ongoing pandemic. The paper provides an overview of the challenges and barriers to PB in Slovakia at the regional level.

Does Cohesion Policy help to combat intra-country regional disparities? A perspective on Central European countries

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the effect of the macroeconomic efficiency of Cohesion Policy on within-country economic cohesion as reflected by various measures of sigma convergence by applying macroeconomic HERMIN models for the Czech, Polish and Slovak regions. The results reveal that from 2021 to 2027, Cohesion Policy will have a relatively small impact on within-country convergence. More importantly, Cohesion Policy seems to be doomed to fail in terms of reducing within-country disparities in the long run; that is, the structural differences among regional economies effectively prevent European Union support from narrowing the development gap between regions.

Controlling Tools Use in Business Processes Management

Controlling fulfils a leading position in the management. The paper deals with controlling tools use in business management. The research focuses on obtaining and evaluating data from a questionnaire survey on the current trends of controlling use in small and medium enterprises in selected region of Slovakia. The results show, predominantly in small companies, that there is no separate controlling departments or position of a controller. In medium enterprises, it is appropriate to optimize the already established controlling concept. The enterprise management will thus obtain information on effectiveness improving, and can immediately take measures to renew its planned business development.

Analytical View on the Sustainable Development of Tax and Customs Administration in the Context of Selected Groups of the Population of the Slovak Republic

Participation in the tax system of the country and tax liability itself are two of the basic characteristics of the functioning of all economically active subjects belonging to national economies. The revenues from taxes represent a substantial part of the resources in each state’s budget, so it is not easy to achieve any form of joint action by all concerned in this area. Within the revenues obtained by taxes, customs, and levies, the issue of taxes is one of the most sensitive areas. Higher efficiency of tax collection is possible to achieve by implementing not only external tools (e.g., tax control, detecting tax fraud, etc.) but also internal ones (e.g., internal motivation of taxpayers). Therefore, it is important to improve the perception of the tax system among the population and thus to influence and create a responsible approach to the collection of taxes and levies. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some changes and restrictions have been implemented into the system of tax and customs collection in the Slovak Republic, but very unexpectedly and purposefully. It results in a more complicated and confused system of tax and customs administration. Therefore, our research efforts are aiming to identify and analyze the key significant factors that affect the perception of tax and customs administration in the Slovak Republic from the perspective of its inhabitants, to capture differences in perception of taxpayers. The novelty of this study lies in its approach to identifying and eliminating redundancies and opacities in tax collection processes performed by institutions of tax and customs administration systems in Slovakia, namely the approach from the taxpayer point of view, to promote voluntary compliance with tax duties. Due to the lack of such oriented studies, a survey performed in three regions of Slovakia using the research tool (the questionnaire) developed by authors is presented in this article. To solve this complex problem, a solving strategy based on exploratory analysis (KMO = 0.641) and later confirmatory factor analysis is proposed to extract four key common factors from the items of the research tool (with a total value of 80.623% of the explained variability). The reliability of the used research tool, pre-tested in the pilot study, is demonstrated by the achieved Cronbach coefficient value of 0.827%. In order to evaluate the obtained data, the respondents were divided into groups by gender, residence, and occupation, in accordance with the indications and outputs of the pilot study. Finally, experimentally obtained data were analyzed and compared. The significant differences in the respondents’ perceptions of the extracted factors between selected groups are confirmed by applied analysis, both between men and women and between respondents depending on the place of residence. The main differences are observed in the questionnaire items Q10 “Administrative complexity of the tax and customs agenda”, Q7 “Ease of tax collection”, Q16 “Labor costs for staff dealing with the tax and customs agenda”, and Q5 “Helpfulness and willingness of administrative workers”. Time costs for tax processing are considered critical.

SEBAVNIMANIE PROFESIJNEJ ZDATNOSTI UCITELOV V INKLUZIVNOM VZDELAVANI

The perceived teacher’s self-efficacy is considered to be one of the important indicators of the professional quality as well as the educational process. In the study, the authors present the results of research focused on capturing the teacher’s self-efficacy in inclusive practice. The research sample consisted of 375 primary school teachers from all regions of Slovakia, more than 80% of whom stated the length of practice more than ten years. The authors monitored the perception of respondents’ self-efficacy in three factors: in inclusive teaching, in cooperation, and in managing pupils' behavior. In all three factors, the results indicate a high level of their perceived self-efficacy in inclusive practice. Based on the data analysis, the relationship between the positioning of teachers in career levels and their perceived self-efficacy has not been proven. In the article, we deal more with the search for connections between the perception of self-efficacy in individual factors and the completion of educational topics that cover the issue of inclusion of pupils.

Slovak raw goat milk as a source of variable, biofilm‐forming staphylococci, and their susceptibility to lantibiotic bacteriocins

AbstractBackgroundGoat milk and products from it are popular with the public in Slovakia. Consumers demand safe food. Therefore, methods to eliminate spoilage bacteria are necessary. This study focuses on susceptibility to lantibiotic bacteriocins of variable staphylococci, which were isolated from raw goat milk. A total of 53 raw goat milk samples collected from 283 goats in the regions of central and eastern Slovakia were analyzed.ResultsIn total, 37 strains were identified to use a combination of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight spectrometry and phenotypization. They were allotted to 14 species, which can be involved in 7 different clusters. Staphylococci showed mostly low‐grade biofilm formation ability; six different strains were high‐grade biofilm‐forming. Staphylococcus xylosus SX 17/1 showed the highest biofilm formation ability value (3.16 ± 1.77). Staphylococci were deoxyribonuclease and mostly hemolysis negative (γ‐hemolysis). They all were susceptible to bacteriocins (inhibition activity up to 204,800 AU/ml).ConclusionsVariable staphylococcal species were detected in raw goat milk, mostly coagulase‐negative species, involving Staphylococcus arlettae. The species Staphylococcus hominis dominated. However, also the coagulase‐positive species Staphylococcus delphini and Staphylococcus schleiferi were detected. This is the first study involving detailed testing of staphylococci from Slovak raw goat milk and indication of a promising practical tool and prophylaxis using bacteriocins.

Regression Analysis and Modeling of Local Environmental Pollution Levels for the Electric Power Industry Needs

Reliability, longevity, and maintenance costs of electric power industry installations and equipment depend strongly on the extent to which their design reflects relevant environmental factors, such as expected levels of local environmental pollution. These factors guide the choice of specific types of components – insulators, towers, conductors, etc. – and are often estimated through complex and tedious long-term field measurements of pollution deposits. In Slovakia, such field measurements were mandated by the national standard STN 33 0405. This standard was retired in 2015 without replacement, which opened the way for developing alternative and less cumbersome methods. One such alternative is to apply artificial intelligence techniques to atmospheric pollution and other relevant data, which is already routinely monitored and collected in many countries. In this paper, we explore the strength of the relationships between the field measurements performed in various regions of Slovakia according to STN 33 0405 and atmospheric pollution data monitored and collected by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ). The paper is focused on input attributes significance, in relation to output attributes. It represents the first phase of our long-term research aiming at the creation of reliable regression models of local pollution in order to replace the cumbersome field measurements mandated by STN 33 0405.

Прешовский самоуправляемый край и его международное сотрудничество

The regional self-government was established in Slovakia in 2001. Since then, it has been legally possible to carry out its own international cooperation. The Prešov self-governing region is one of the eight self-governing regions in Slovakia. It carries out various paradiplomatic activities, from establishing relations with foreign partners at various levels, to the highest level of cooperation – partner regions based on a cooperation agreement. The development of international cooperation of the self-governing region was influenced not only by the political situation, but also by national legislation and national government, as well as the geopolitical situation and integration processes, namely the accession of Slovakia and some neighboring countries to the European Union. The European Union is also linked to the European Structural and Investment Funds and other multifaceted support, such as cross-border cooperation, which encourages self-governing regions to cooperate mutually beneficial on a project basis. In terms of geography, the Prešov self-governing region borders with Poland and Ukraine. Therefore, the neighboring regions of these countries should be logical partners for cooperation, in terms of common history, culture, traditions, and the like. Nevertheless, political instability in Ukraine, but especially the Schengen border and differences in the legal and economic system initially hampered the development of functional cooperation with Ukrainian regions. Before and after Slovakia’s accession to the European Union in 2004, the Prešov self-governing region preferred cooperation with regions from European Union countries. Based on the intensity of cooperation in the form of joint projects and financial benefits, we can state that the most intensive cooperation has taken place and is taking place with the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and the Lesser Poland (Małopolskie) Voivodeship in Poland. In addition to pragmatic alliances with the regions of the old member states of the European Union, there are also historical and cultural alliances with the regions of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia and, due to the national and cultural specificity of the northeastern part of the Prešov self-governing region, with Vologda Oblast of the Russian Federation. The article focuses on selected aspects of international cooperation of the Prešov self-governing region and provides a legislative, organizational and management overview of international cooperation of the self-governing region and an overview of partnership cooperation of the Prešov self-governing region.

Analysis of regional development in the Slovak Republic using selected methods of measuring regional disparities

The aim of the paper is to assess regional disparities within the Slovak Republic with focus on the market concentration that is used to determine the competitiveness of the market. Following the main research aim the regional structure of Slovakia in the light of the selected socio-economic indicators was examined. The most relevant indicator in terms of research carried out is the GDP/capita, the appropriate indicator of socio-economic development in the region. Following step presents the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a measure of market concentration, examining the GDP of regions. The paper focuses on the application of 3 methods used for measuring regional disparities such as variance, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. In accordance with the gained results based on the analysis of RGDP in Slovakia, it can be concluded that the regional disparities between the regions of Slovakia and Bratislava region are gradually disappearing. The obtained data shows that disparities among regions are decreasing, while the decrease was faster during certain years. In 2016 a divergence of disparities can be observed. This year shows a significant divergence, e.g. Trnava region (-0,7217), Nitra region (-0,6243), Banská Bystrica region (-0,2565), Prešov region (-0,4498), which reflects deepening regional disparities compared to Bratislava region. However 2018 recorded values expressing the relationship m>1 (gradual elimination of regional disparities) between the regions - region of Trnava, region of Trenčín, region of Prešov.

Popularity and Common Issues of Teaching Sports Games at Elementary Schools in Slovakia

Within the article, we analyze and evaluate the popularity and common issues of teaching sports games in physical and sport education at elementary schools in Slovakia. A survey was the research instrument for collecting the primary data, aimed at male (620) and female (506) teachers of physical and sport education at the second elementary education stage of three regions of Slovakia. Detecting of teachers' perception was surveyed in period of three years (2017 – 2020). Each answer of male and female teachers was compared and evaluated by using the chi-square test (X2), while the significance level (α) was .01 and .05. In general, the sports games were the most popular activities among the male and female teachers of physical and sport education (58.02 %; n = 653). More than 41 % of male and female teachers' answers about the most significant factors influencing the quality of teaching sports games were spatial and material conditions. The reason for that was partly due to the low time allowance of teaching sports games (28.86 %; n = 152). The traditional sports games (football, volleyball, basketball) were the best secured, in terms of material conditions, in contrast to floorball (34,70 %; n = 390).