The Nagygate Affair, Corruption and Organized Crime: Corruption Networks and their Potential Impact on the Quality of Democracy in the Czech Republic

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Kupka ◽  
Michal Mocht’ak
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Political System ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Transgressive Behavior ◽  
Widespread Belief

AbstractThis paper addresses the influence of organized crime on the performance of democracy in the Czech Republic and seeks to determine which dimensions of its political system (if any) are most endangered. We construe organized crime in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e., behavior that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that need not be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated using the “Nagygate” affair, which is analyzed using Maltz’s framework of potential harm. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized crime activity. Our findings are that transgressive behavior has a mostly negative impact, including loss of trust, the widespread belief that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely victims of organized crime but also a potential source of transgressive acts.

scholarly journals Aféra Nagygate mezi korupcí a organizovaným zločinem: korupční sítě a jejich možný vliv na kvalitu demokracie v České republice

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Kupka ◽  
Michal Mochťak
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Political System ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Democratic Performance ◽  
Negative Impacts

The paper addresses the question of what sort of influence organized crime may have on democratic performance in the Czech Republic and which dimensions of its political system (if any) are endangered most. We define organized crime narrowly in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e. behaviour that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that do not have to be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated on the case of the "Nagygate" scandal, which is analysed by utilising the framework of possible harms, as developed by Michael Maltz. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized criminal activities. Our findings show that transgressive behaviour has mostly negative impacts that include the loss of trust, widespread beliefs that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and the overall degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely the victim of organized crime but also a possible source of transgressive activities.

scholarly journals Využívání otevřených vzdělávacích zdrojů studenty environ-mentálních oborů v České republice

Envigogika ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Petiška
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Technologies ◽  
Subjective Quality Assessment ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Frequency Of Use

Open educational resources are important innovations in educational technologies. Their proper use can have a number of benefits for both higher education and environmental disciplines. Conversely, poor work when using these resources can have a negative impact on students' knowledge. It is currently unclear what OER students use, how often and for what they use it, and whether they are able to determine any criteria of quality. On the basis of previous findings, we developed a method, and conducted research in the form of a questionnaire-based survey. We investigated a) the frequency of use b) the purposes of use c) subjective quality assessment. Questionnaires were distributed in the environmental courses at five universities in the Czech Republic; 233 questionnaires were evaluated. The results showed that most students use OER often, especially Wikipedia, both its Czech and English versions, although many of the students also have experience with the storage of illegal materials. Resources are especially used as a supplement and secondary resource, as a signpost to other resources, to prepare for a test, or when writing an attestation work. As a quality resource, students especially value Wikipedia. Most students were also able to identify at least some criteria which they use when assessing the quality of a resource.

INTERNATIONAL GRANT COOPERATION AS A TOOL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS

2018 ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
Milan Chmura
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
European Countries ◽  
International Project ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Education And Development

The education and development of university teachers have its justifcation and its importance is signifcant not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. This study provides an analysis of further professional education of university teachers in the Czech Republic and in selected European countries. Subsequently, it presents an international project with participants from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland, which, ultimately, plays a role in the improvement of the quality of higher education.

Review of quality of life studies in the Czech Republic

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (S4) ◽  
pp. 319s-319s
Author(s):  
E. Dragomirecká ◽  
C. Škoda
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
The Czech Republic

Inflammatory bowel disease has a negative impact on patients reproductive behaviour: the first multicentre survey in the Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Dana Ďuricová ◽  
Zuzana Krátka ◽  
Martin Bortlík ◽  
Lenka Slabá ◽  
Kristýna Strnadová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
General Population ◽  
Bowel Disease ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Fertility Rate ◽  
Sexual Life ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Live Births ◽  
Inflammatory Bowel

Background: Several previous studies reported the negative impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on reproductive plans and fertility rate. The aim of our study was to investigate, for the first time, reproductive attitudes and fertility rate among Czech patients with IBD. Methods: Between March and August 2019, consecutive patients with IBD from 22 centres across the Czech Republic responded anonymously to a predefined questionnaire focused on the patients’ demographics, details of IBD and treatment, gynaecological/urological history, reproductive issues and patients’ knowledge on this topic. Results: The questionnaire was filled in by 798 patients (526 women; median age 34 years, 66% with Crohn’s disease). Of these, 58% of the females and 47.1% of the males already had ≥ 1 child (median 2 children). Women with IBD were significantly more worried about infertility (55.5% versus 22.4%), had more limitations in their sexual life (53.2% vs. 26.8%) and more frequently changed their earlier reproductive plans (27.6% versus 11.0%) than the males (p < 0.0001). The total fertility rate in female IBD patients was lower compared to the general population with 1.004 live births/IBD woman versus 1.69 live births/woman in the Czech population. The pattern of decreased fertility was observed in all age-specific categories. Of the childless patients, 14% of the women and 18.1% of the men were voluntarily childless. Approximately one-half of them indicated their IBD to be the primary cause. Conclusions: IBD seems to have a negative impact on patients’ reproductive plans and attitudes. The fertility rate in Czech IBD female patients was decreased compared to the general population in this study.

scholarly journals Quality of malting barley crop 2009 in the Czech Republic.

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo HARTMAN ◽  
Josef PROKEŠ ◽  
Alena HELÁNOVÁ
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Malting Barley ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Barley Crop

VALIDITY AND LEGAL EFFECT OF PUBLISHING LICENSE AGREEMENTS ACCORDING TO NEW CZECH LEGISLATION

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydie Tallova
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Civil Code ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Private Law ◽  
License Agreement ◽  
Industrial Property ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Legal Norms

"This contribution focuses on the new legislation on the publishing license agreement in the Czech Republic. Given the legislative history and its importance in the copyright obligation area, this type of agreement occupies an essential position. The publishing license agreement is the oldest kind of license agreement. It dates back more than sixty years to earlier of the Czech legislation. Since 1953, it has been embedded in the the copyright law as a special subtype of copyright agreements. After the recent reform of the Czech private law, this legal body underwent a fundamental legislative change consisting of the transfer of this piece of legislation from the copyright law to the New Civil Code in order to unify the duality of the previous license agreement legislation formerly embedded in two legal norms of the Czech legal system. While the license provisions for literary, artistic and scientific works were contained in the copyright law provisions, the legal protection for industrial property objects, including corresponding license provisions, were subject to the commercial code. In connection with the private law reform, the New Civil Code came into effect on 1 January 2014 and its framework provided the lawmakers with a chance to unify the previously fragmented license agreement legislation into a single legal provision, while at the same time respecting the particularities of the license under copyright law. The unified license agreement legislation for commercial and civil relations in connection with the reform of local private law is newly defined in Sec. 2358 and 2389 of New Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Sb.), while the publishing license agreement provisions are defined in a special provision in Sec. 2384 and 2386 thereof. The new legislation has adopted the previous legislation from both special acts without any fundamental changes. However, minor changes are introduced to licensing law in the Czech Republic which are further specified in this paper. The issue under review is set in a theoretical framework and simultaneously depicted in a historical context. This paper presents the topic in its complexity by highlighting the overlap of the introduced changes in license agreement legislation with other provisions of the private law."

Quality of Life Modeling at the Regional Level

2012 ◽  
pp. 163-186
Author(s):  
Jirí Krupka ◽  
Miloslava Kašparová ◽  
Pavel Jirava ◽  
Jan Mandys
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Decision Tree ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
First Case

The chapter presents the problem of quality of life modeling in the Czech Republic based on classification methods. It concerns a comparison of methodological approaches; in the first case the approach of the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was used, the second case is concerning a project of the civic association Team Initiative for Local Sustainable Development. On the basis of real data sets from the institute and team initiative the authors synthesized and analyzed quality of life classification models. They used decision tree classification algorithms for generating transparent decision rules and compare the classification results of decision tree. The classifier models on the basis of C5.0, CHAID, C&RT and C5.0 boosting algorithms were proposed and analyzed. The designed classification model was created in Clementine.

scholarly journals Polymorphism of prolamin proteins of the grain of triticale varieties certifiedin the Czech Republic

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 151-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Vyhnánek ◽  
J. Bednář
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Cold Resistance ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Baking Quality ◽  
The Individual

&nbsp;Genetic diversity was detected in 11 varieties of triticale registered in the Czech Republic by means of polymorphism of prolamin proteins using the PAGE ISTA method. The polymorphism of prolamin proteins allowed the differentiation of the individual triticale varieties in 2002 and 2003 harvests. On the basis of Dice&rsquo;s calculations of coefficients of similarity we discovered, in parallel with the uniform genotypes, genotypes with sister prolamin spectrums with a&nbsp;different percentage of participation in the respective years. A uniform spectrum was detected in the following varieties: Disco, Kolor, Lamberto, Marko, Presto, Sekundo, Ticino and Tricolor; Kitaro and Modus were dimorphous varieties. In 2003 three sister prolamin lines appeared in the variety Gabo and in 2004 only two. In 2003 a 5% admixture of a foreign genotype was detected in the variety Marko. Typical of the unknown genotype was the gliadin block Gld&nbsp;1B3, which is the marker of rye translocation T1BL.1RS, gene Sr31 with resistance to black rust, higher cold resistance and lower baking quality of the wheat. The prolamin proteins of triticale grain are suitable for the detection of the genetic diversity and for the assessment of varietal authenticity and purity in seed samples of triticale varieties registered in the Czech Republic.

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