West Bohemia Research Articles

Development and Production of a Children's Upper-Limb Cycling Adapter Using 3D Printing.

The research described in this study focuses on the development of an innovative upper-limb adapter for young children aged 1-3 years who have congenital upper-limb defects. The objective was to create a functional and affordable solution that allows children to engage more safely and actively in physical activities such as cycling. The adapter was designed within the DESIGN+ project at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen in collaboration with the German company Ottobock. The development included a detailed analysis of hand movements during cycling, modelling using CAD software (NX 1888), prototype manufacturing through 3D printing, and subsequent testing. The result is an adapter that allows 360° rotation around the arm axis, provides natural hand movement while turning, and is made of soft material to enhance safety. Despite initial challenges and necessary prototype adjustments, a functional and reliable design was achieved. This adapter will contribute to improving the quality of life for children with upper-limb disabilities, supporting their coordination, strength, and confidence in daily activities.

Enhancing Production Quality by Avoiding Dishonest Behavior

Purpose: This paper elucidates the determinants of dishonest behavior affecting various domains and aims to demonstrate how addressing these practices can substantially improve overall quality. Methodology/Approach: A framed laboratory experiment with economics students from the University of West Bohemia was conducted, where participants chose between honest and lower-quality production. Using the Holt-Laury method, we measured risk aversion and personality traits using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Findings: Increased inspection probability significantly reduced lower-quality production, with a statistical significance level of less than 1%. Thinking type of personality and Risk Aversion are significant at the 10% level, indicating a moderate impact. Conversely, punishment and rewards were statistically insignificant, with p-values exceeding 10%. Research Limitation/Implication: The study is limited by its homogeneous sample of economics students from a single university and insufficient gender representation, which may affect generalizability. Originality/Value of paper: This research provides insights into how inspection probabilities, rewards, punishments, risk aversion, and personal characteristics influence dishonest behavior, aiding the development of strategies to reduce dishonesty and improve overall quality.

Does VS30 reflect seismic amplification? Observations from the West Bohemia Seismic Network

The present study addresses verification of average seismic shear-wave velocity from the surface to a depth of 30 m (VS30) as a suitable proxy for a seismic amplification. For this purpose, we used instrumentally homogeneous and spatially dense seismic network WEBNET (West Bohemia Seismic Network), designed to monitor an intraplate earthquake swarm activity in the West Bohemia/Vogtland region (Czech Republic/Germany). Using a Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) shear-wave velocity models and parameters VS30 and H800 (depth of Vs > 800 m/s) were obtained at 17 WEBNET sites. VS30 were compared with (i) H800 and (ii) determined bedrock densities. To understand the relation between VS30 and site amplification, VS30 values were correlated with amplitudes of two earthquakes: (1) Mw 6.4 Petrinja, Croatia (12/2020) and (2) Mw 4.2 SE of Vienna, Austria (03/2021) both recorded by the WEBNET. The correlation analysis examined four categories of seismic waves in nine frequency windows and described the relation between amplification and VS30 using newly defined regression model. The results show that for the regression model, the frequency window with the highest correlation is in the 1–3 Hz range, and this dependence is statistically best observed in the full wave record. The amplification generally decreases with increasing VS30. However, a large scatter in amplification within Eurocode 8 category B is observed. Based on the observations a new general approach is put forward to finely indicate the relation between amplification and VS30 and the use of other site proxies is discussed.

Characterizing shallow fault zones by integrating profile, borehole and array measurements of seismic data and distributed acoustic sensing

AbstractWithin the framework of the Intercontinental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP) ‘Drilling the Eger Rift’ project, five boreholes were drilled in the Vogtland (Germany) and West Bohemia (Czech Republic) regions. Three of them will be used to install high‐frequency three‐dimensional (3D) seismic arrays. The pilot 3D array is located 1.5 km south of Landwüst (Vogtland). The borehole, with a depth of 402 m, was equipped with eight geophones and a fibre optic cable behind the casing used for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) measurements. The borehole is surrounded by a surface array consisting of 12 seismic stations with an aperture of 400 m. During drilling, a highly fractured zone was detected between 90 m and 165 m depth and interpreted as a possible fault zone. To characterize the fault zone, two vertical seismic profiling (VSP) experiments with drop weight sources at the surface were conducted. The aim of the VSP experiments was to estimate a local 3D seismic velocity tomography including the imaging of the steep fault zone. Our 3D tomography indicates P‐wave velocities between 1500 m/s and 3000 m/s at shallow depths (0–20 m) and higher P‐wave velocities of up to 5000 m/s at greater depths. In addition, the results suggest a NW–SE striking low‐velocity zone (LVZ; characterized by = 1500–3000 m/s), which crosses the borehole at a depth of about 90–165 m. This LVZ is inferred to be a shallow non‐tectonic, steep fault zone with a dip angle of about . The depth and width of the fault zone are supported by logging data as electrical conductivity, core recovery and changes in lithology. In this study, we present an example to test and verify 3D tomography and imaging approaches of shallow non‐tectonic fault zones based on active seismic experiments using simple surface drop weights as sources and borehole chains as well as borehole DAS behind casing as sensors, complemented by seismic stand‐alone surface arrays.

Preservation and heritage protection of the archaeological remains of prison and forced labour camps from the period of Nazi occupation and the Communist era in West Bohemia

This article presents research on the material remains of Nazi and post-war communist prison and forced labour camps in West Bohemia (1939-1945 and 1949-1961). The location of a sample of 35 camps was carried out using historical evidence and aerial images from the 1940s and 1950s. Non-invasive surveys and small-scale excavations of selected camps revealed the preservation of the archaeological record and its attributes, which are closely linked to the subsequent use of the sites. The spatial context showed an interconnection of the camp system with WWII as well as Cold War armament production. The heritage protection of these sites, the current state of memorials and the contemporary utilisation of the camp areas has also been examined. Research has shown the potential of neglected archaeological evidence of places of mass repressions, where crimes against humanity were committed by totalitarian regimes in the former Czechoslovakia. It has also revealed the disturbing fact that these sites have been disappearing at an alarming rate without any documentation, as a result of development and construction activities.

In the Footsteps of the Silk Road: Czech-Kyrgyz Geo-environmental Project

Kyrgyzstan can be represented, geomorphologically-speaking, by a transect between the Fergana lowlands and the Tien Shan highlands and is an outstanding area for the study of paleoclimatic conditions relating to climatic changes. These changes have been crucial for the behaviour of past cultures in this area, especially due to the presence of the Silk Road. A Czech environmental team, covering geology, geomorphology, pedology, paleoecology, archaeobotany, malacology, osteology and many other disciplines, has been following up previous survey fieldwork undertaken in this area. Since 2021, the expeditions in the south-eastern Kyrgyzstan (Osh Region) have been aiming at the structure and settlement pattern development in the contact zone between the fertile Fergana basin and the steppe environment at the foothills of the Pamir-Alai and Tian-Shan Mountains, from prehistory until the present, including the material testimony of life on the ancient and medieval Silk Road. This work is a part of an agreement between the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, the Osh State University and the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology named after B. Dzamgyrchinov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic. One of the major challenges of the ongoing geoarchaeological and palaeoecological research is to link climate changes and changes forced by human action with the transformation of settlement and landscape patterns.

Knowledge base for fatigue life evaluation of bodyworks of buses, trolley-buses, and battery-buses

Over the last thirty years, Research and Testing Institute Pilsen (former SKODA RESEARCH) has been developing a complex methodology of computational and experimental investigation of strength and fatigue life of bodyworks of road vehicles for mass passenger transport (buses, trolleybuses, currently battery electro-buses). The methodology continues to be developed in cooperation with the Regional Technological Institute, which is a research center of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Research and development are carried out in cooperation with various domestic and foreign manufacturers of city road vehicles. The amount of collected results already allows the creation of a knowledge base for the quantitative evaluation of the fatigue strength of newly developed bodyworks.

Passion and Politics in Diego de Brea and Jakub Čermák’s "Edward II": Marlowe’s Controversial History on Czech Stages

The present article outlines the stage history of Christopher Marlowe’s history Edward II on Czech stages, focusing chiefly on how the respective directors approached the titular character of Marlowe’s play and his sexuality. The study focuses on two post-2000 productions of the play: Diego de Brea’s Edvard Drugy for the Slovenian National Theatre, which toured to the 16th “Divadlo” International Theatre Festival in Pilsen, West Bohemia, in 2008; and Jakub Čermák’s production of Edvard II. for the independent Czech theatre company “Depresivní děti touží po penězích” (Depressive Children Yearn for Money) that premiered in 2023 in Prague. Since for both Czechs and Slovenians, King Edward II is a minor figure of English history and Elizabethan history plays are generally less appealing to them than other genres, both the directors sideline the political dimension of the story to fully explore the issue of social and sexual norms and relate it to current social and cultural discussions both in the West and the former Eastern Bloc. Stressing the motif of social and sexual otherness even more bravely than most recent Western productions, de Brea and Čermák offered not only valuable contributions to both local and global reception of Marlowe’s Edward II, but also raised the visibility of LGBT theatre in a region where it has only a modest history and tradition.

The Last Remains of the Archaic Block House Tradition in Karachay (Central Caucasus)

This paper explores disappearing vernacular architecture in the Karachay region (Karachay-Cherkessk Republic, Russian Federation). Recent research at the University of West Bohemia in cooperation with Karachay-Cherkessk University focused on the last preserved examples of block buildings in the mountain villages of Greater Karachay in the central Caucasus. Such buildings mostly disappeared in the late twentieth century due to both the Stalinist deportation of the Karachay people and modern development. Dendrochronological evidence has helped to date the surviving vernacular buildings to the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. Interviews with local inhabitants revealed the cultural context of the traditional housing and attitudes towards it. Possibilities for tracing cultural links and elucidating the historical context of this neglected building culture are also discussed.

Assessing the effectiveness of the shear-tensile-compressive model in earthquake source inversions: synthetic experiments and field application

SUMMARY As an alternative to the moment tensor (MT) model for earthquake sources, the shear-tensile-compressive (STC) model offers a kinematic description of the source mechanism and leads to a more robust inversion problem. However, the premise of the source inversion based on STC is to ensure the accuracy of parameter $\kappa $ defined as the ratio of the Lamé constants, $\kappa $=$\lambda /\mu $, in a fault zone. In this study, we carry out a series of synthetic experiments using P-wave amplitudes in source mechanism inversions based on both the STC and MT models, and consider the influence of noise, the uncertainties in source locations and in the velocity model. We show that the nonlinear STC inversion with an appropriate value of $\kappa $ leads to more accurate result compared to the linear MT inversion. We also propose a new joint-STC inversion method to jointly invert for parameter $\kappa $ and the remaining parameters of the STC model (magnitude and the strike, dip, rake and slope angles). The results indicate that our proposed method yields robust results for both the parameter $\kappa $ and focal mechanisms. We apply our joint-STC inversion method to field microearthquake data observed in the West Bohemia region to validate some of the conclusions drawn from the synthetic experiments.

Fast migration episodes within earthquake swarms

SUMMARY The hypocentres of natural earthquake swarms and injection-induced seismicity usually show systematic migration, which is considered to be a manifestation of their triggering mechanism. In many of these cases, the overall growth of the earthquake distribution is accompanied by short episodes of rapid migration, the origin of which is still not sufficiently clarified. We review the possible triggering mechanisms of these migrating episodes and propose a graphical method for distinguishing internal and external triggering forces. We also analyse the theoretical relationship between the evolution of the cumulative seismic moment and the rupture area and propose two models, the crack model and the rupture front model, which can explain the spreading of hypocentres. We developed an automatic algorithm for detecting fast migration episodes in seismicity data and applied it to relocated catalogues of natural earthquake swarms in California, West Bohemia, and Iceland, and to injection-induced seismicity. Fast migration episodes is shown to be relatively frequent during earthquake swarms (8–20 per cent of all events) compared to fluid-induced seismicity (less than 5 per cent of the events). Although the migration episodes were detected independently of time, they grew monotonically with time and square-root dependence of radius on time was found suitable for majority of sequences. The migration velocity of the episodes of the order of 1 m s−1 was found and it anticorrelated with their duration, which results in a similar final size of the clusters scattering around 1–2 km. Comparison of seismic moment growth and activated fault area with the predictions of the proposed models shows that both the rupture front model and the crack model are able to explain the observed migration and that the front model is more consistent with the data. Relatively low estimated stress drops in the range of 100 Pa to 1 MPa suggest that aseismic processes are also responsible for cluster growth. Our results show that the fast migrating episodes can be driven by stress transfer between adjacent events with the support of aseismic slip or fluid flow due to dynamic pore creation.

Bairisch verstehen – auf Hochdeutsch reagieren. Strategien zum Aufbau einer rezeptiven Varietätenkompetenz für (tschechische) DaF-Lerner

Based on previous studies discussing the thematization of German dialects in lessons of German as a foreign language within and outside the German speaking countries, the article outlines a didactic concept for building receptive variety competence of Czech learners of German towards the diatopic varieties of German spoken in the Free State of Bavaria. Using the example of the North and Middle Bavarian dialects, it will be demonstrated how the Bavarian-Austrian loan vocabulary present in the Czech non-standard varieties can be used didactically to enable learners to overcome the phonetic distance between dialect and standard language, which is the main barrier to comprehension. In this respect, the learners’ inner multilingualism is used to differentiate their outer multilingualism. The current foreign German studies background to the concept is the establishment of interdisciplinary Bavarian Studies at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (2019) whose curriculum provides a more profound receptive study of the dialects of Bavaria.

Weather Lore (Pranostika) as Czech Folk Traditions

Every nation has its unique intangible culture that is passed down from generation to generation thanks to what is still alive. Czechia has a rich intangible cultural heritage, e.g., Mardi Gras, Verbuňk dance, blueprints, Christmas-themed beaded decorations, puppetry, etc., which are all on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. However, it also has other traditions, ceremonies, legends, folk tales, and weather lore related to weather forecasting in relation to agriculture. The most popular weather lore is related to the feasts of saints, as the feast’s dates have remained unchanged for a very long time in the calendar. The aim of this study is to bring Czech weather lore, which, even today, in the age of numerical models, has a certain meaning, closer to readers. Some weather lore has been forgotten over time, but most of it still remains in Czech folk traditions, which continue to be spread orally or in written form. We wondered whether young people knew weather lore as part of their cultural heritage. The results of a survey based on a sample of 220 respondents, including students at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and future teachers at primary schools, led to the conclusion that weather lore is well-known among the young Czech generation as well.

New Velocity Structure of the Nový Kostel Earthquake-Swarm Region, West Bohemia, Determined by the Isometric Inversion

New Velocity Structure of the Nový Kostel Earthquake-Swarm Region, West Bohemia, Determined by the Isometric Inversion

Preface: 22nd Conference on Power System Engineering

The Conference on Power System Engineering has a long-term tradition. It is an annual meeting of professors and experts from departments and universities where power system engineering is taught. The 22nd year of this event was held in Pilsen (Czech Republic) between 15th and 16th June 2023 and was hosted by the Department of Power System Engineering of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

Practices of Friendship: The Collective Memory of Twin Towns in Sverdlovsk Region of the USSR and the West Bohemian Region of Czechoslovakia

This article describes the experience of an interdisciplinary field study devoted to the examination of the collective memory of eyewitnesses of twinning ties of small towns of Sverdlovsk Region and the West Bohemian Region of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s–1990s. The study refers to five towns of the Middle Urals: Bogdanovich, Zarechny, Karpinsk, Pervouralsk, and Sysert. The theme of memory unites the efforts of historians and sociologists in the context of a general trend — the turn of society towards the local past, its assessment, and the formation of ideological positions for the present. The purpose of the article is to show the possibilities of historical and sociological understanding of twinning in the aspect of temporal dimensions. The choice and justification of methods for the applied study of the phenomenon of twinning ties is based on the methodology of collective memory: the category of “contextuality” of memory, described in the works of M. Halbwachs, J. Olick, is important for the authors; the study of memories of the recent past is carried out within the theory of the experience of the generation of K. Mannheim and M. Mead; the position of P. Hutton makes a significant basis about the measure of reproduction of the past; the “elaboration” of preliminary prejudices is built within the framework of the methodology of oral history. On the site of the Local History Museums of each of the five towns, round tables were held with participants of twinning ties. In addition, guests who had no such experience attended the events. The topic of interaction with residents of the Western Bohemian Region was proposed for discussion. It could be memories of trips to Czechoslovakia, or the arrival of the twin “brothers” in the Middle Urals. At the time of the events described, the participants of the round tables could perform various social roles.

TVORBA VÝUKOVÝCH MATERIÁLŮ PRO STAVEBNÍ OBORY A TRUHLÁŘE NA PŘÍKLADU ODBORNÉHO CIZÍHO JAZYKA – NĚMČINY

The paper deals with the creation of a digital educational resource (DER) for teaching the German language for specific purposes (GSP) for building trades and carpenters, which was created within the project “Professional foreign language for building trades and carpenters with the implementation of digital education. Builders, let’s go!” It is a comprehensive study material created by teachers from the German Language Department at the Institute of Language Training at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. It informs about the topics of the individual lessons, their structure, and about the types of exercises that have been created for the Internet e-learning portal Moodle. It also mentions teaching videos from the professional environment that had been filmed within the project.

Knowledge Intensive Smes In Transition To Society 4.0: Evidence From The Czech Republic

SMEs have significant role in the area of economy, social and environmental area and also in the areas of social and regional development. The dawn of the Society 4.0 driven by the exponential growth of performance of disruptive technologies of Industry 4.0 is reinforcing the role of knowledge intensive services. University of West Bohemia in partnership with the Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice focused on the adaptation of this segment of businesses in the project „Knowledge-intensive services sector adaptation to the conditions of Society 4.0“, supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. The paper aims to attract attention of the broader community to the project findings and outcomes, to present main research outcomes related to adaptation of SMEs in the service sector, to introduce new insights and approaches to academic and professional community, especially to managers of companies undergoing the transformation process to Industry 4.0 and Society 4.0 conditions, and to raise the level of the knowledge base in the field of SMEs adaptation. The results of qualitative and quantitative research show that most of the companies that answered the questionnaire and participated in interviews were small and micro companies with positive approach to the forthcoming changes, however, there still remains a lot of space for improvement. Companies often use open innovation model to apply knowledge from external resources, as they miss the necessary capacities and face difficult access to financial resources for demanding investments in new technologies and, sometimes, lack of necessary competencies. Relatively low attention is paid to risk management, whose role in current volatile situations becomes extremely important and the company resilience often determines the company failure or success. The project contributed to development of proposals of activities, methods and tools that can contribute to reducing barriers on the road to Society 4.0 related not only to new technologies, but also to broader socioeconomic context, including transformations of jobs and job market. The unavoidable changes of the structure of economy, supply chains, education and training were further emphasized by covid pandemics and current war in Ukraine.

ICDP drilling of the Eger Rift observatory: magmatic fluids driving the earthquake swarms and deep biosphere

Abstract. The new in situ geodynamic laboratory established in the framework of the ICDP Eger project aims to develop the most modern, comprehensive, multiparameter laboratory at depth for studying earthquake swarms, crustal fluid flow, mantle-derived CO2 and helium degassing, and processes of the deep biosphere. In order to reach a new level of high-frequency, near-source and multiparameter observation of earthquake swarms and related phenomena, such a laboratory comprises a set of shallow boreholes with high-frequency 3-D seismic arrays as well as modern continuous real-time fluid monitoring at depth and the study of the deep biosphere. This laboratory is located in the western part of the Eger Rift at the border of the Czech Republic and Germany (in the West Bohemia–Vogtland geodynamic region) and comprises a set of five boreholes around the seismoactive zone. To date, all monitoring boreholes have been drilled. This includes the seismic monitoring boreholes S1, S2 and S3 in the crystalline units north and east of the major Nový Kostel seismogenic zone, borehole F3 in the Hartoušov mofette field and borehole S4 in the newly discovered Bažina maar near Libá. Supplementary borehole P1 is being prepared in the Neualbenreuth maar for paleoclimate and biological research. At each of these sites, a borehole broadband seismometer will be installed, and sites S1, S2 and S3 will also host a 3-D seismic array composed of a vertical geophone chain and surface seismic array. Seismic instrumenting has been completed in the S1 borehole and is in preparation in the remaining four monitoring boreholes. The continuous fluid monitoring site of Hartoušov includes three boreholes, F1, F2 and F3, and a pilot monitoring phase is underway. The laboratory also enables one to analyze microbial activity at CO2 mofettes and maar structures in the context of changes in habitats. The drillings into the maar volcanoes contribute to a better understanding of the Quaternary paleoclimate and volcanic activity.

Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of expectations and needs of engineering students and graduates: a case study at the University of West Bohemia

Abstract A good command of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) among Czech engineers seems to be of crucial importance since the engineering field has been developing rapidly and the Czech labour market is becoming increasingly international (Eurostat 2020). The authors of this article, who supervise the ESP courses offered to the students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FST) at the University of West Bohemia (UWB) in Pilsen (Czech Republic), attempt to meet the changing needs of the engineering field by conducting needs analyses among students, university graduates and prospective employers, and keeping their ESP courses’ syllabi up-to-date and relevant to their engineering students. This paper presents a comparative analysis of a questionnaire that was distributed in the year 2021 among UWB engineering students and graduates. Having analysed the responses that dealt with graduates’ needs and students’ expectations of using ESP in a workplace, the authors noticed several discrepancies between the answers they received from the students and those they received from the graduates. Based on the analysis, a hypothesis that current students sometimes have misconceptions about their future work life has been formulated. To confirm this hypothesis, in the next stage of the research, selected students and graduates are to be interviewed to gather additional information. The authors also wish to examine this hypothesis by having prospective engineering employers reply to the same survey questions.