This work is focused on the analysis of contractual research in Czechia. The aim of the thesis is to clarify the role and nature of contractual research in the Czech regions. The theoretical framework is grounded in the theory of regional innovation systems and in the concept of knowledge bases. Particular attention is paid to the specific type of cooperation between the research institutions and firms. Through data analysis and network charts, regions are compared based on different characteristics. It turns out that the role and nature of contractual research across regions varies profoundly. Differences are found in the size and number of actors involved in contractual research. The embeddedness of companies in the transfer of knowledge, the openness of regional innovation systems and the field of specialisation are also studied. Using localization quotients, the intensity of representation of knowledge bases in the NUTS 3 regions is measured. Some regions are strongly oriented towards one of the bases, while in other regions the specialization is not pronounced. Finally, network analyses performed according to differentiated knowledge bases, identify the key actors in contractual research.

This thesis examines the position of the Czech power-engineering industry in the global market. The first aim of this thesis is to analyze the level of involvement of the Czech power-engineering firms into the GPN. The second goal is to discover to what extent the position of these firms depends on the quality of the regional innovation systems. It employs two relatively new concepts of the global production networks (GPN) and regional innovation systems (RIS) in order to reach its two main goals. The vast majority of the exemined power-engineering companies connected with global production networks and 12 of them are are identified as lead firms in GPN. Relatively very good positions of the Czech power-engineering firms in GPN caused by the industrial traditions of the Czech firms, the quality of the supporting industries and the presence of the global power- engineering TNCs in Czechia. Most of the companies supply equipment to others branches simultaneously with the power-engineering. The companies carrying out their own R&D&I activities bring the highest value to the industry. The results proved the assumption that the firms embedded in relatively more developed RISs usually enjoy higher positions in GPNs Key words: global production networks, regional innovation systems, Czechia

Over the last ten years the phenomenon of opening new microbreweries has reached Czechia. Since 2008 more than 350 new microbreweries have been opened and the map of breweries has recorded significant changes. Regarding these facts the main goals of this thesis were to analyze the brewing industry in Czechia in the context of ownership structure, concentration tendencies and mergers and acquisitions activity. First part focuses on the characteristics of the breweries' geographical layout related to the ownership structure and size based on annual beer production and in context of selected socioeconomic indicators. Following this part is an analysis of decomposition with use of concentration and cluster ratios. This part aims on cluster forming tendencies of brewing companies. The analytical part is completed with mergers and acquisitions characteristics in this industry sector. The basic figures and signs of the geographical decompositions were identified based on selected analytical methods and complex maps. Several concentration zones where breweries tend to cluster were labeled using the cluster analysis. Mergers and acquisitions reveal the difference in integration activity according to the brewery size. Key words: brewing industry, breweries, ownership structure, concentration, cluster, Czechia

This thesis is focused on the analysis of the housing construction developmental tendencies in selected Czech cities and in their hinterlands. Housing construction is considered as the main indicator of the ongoing suburbanization process. The housing construction analysis covers the last twenty years (1997-2016), because in the mid-1990s suburbanization in Czechia has begun to intensify. The development of housing construction is at first analysed at the level of all municipalities of Czechia, using spatial data analysis. In the next sections of the thesis the development of housing construction and population changes are analysed in the defined functional regions of 120 selected cities. These cities are categorized into groups based on their population size and economic characteristics. The results show an increase of housing construction in the cities' hinterlands, which has been dampened due to the economic crisis. Differences in the development of housing construction between functional regions of cities with different population size and economic categories were successfully demonstrated. There are also other factors influencing housing construction and population changes in cities' functional regions. Especially, the geographical position appears to be of great significance, since the cities...

The PhD thesis The Reception of Milan Kundera in Czech and French Cultural Worlds aims to describe the main tendences and changes in the evolution regarding the reception of Milan Kundera and his work in both of the countries concerned, from its beginning to the year 2015 and their consecutive comparison. The analysis of the perception of the writer's work is based especially on articles from the press and the monographies about the author's work published until now in both of the cultural worlds. An essential part of our work has also become the chapter dealing with the author's occasional texts and translations published in various periodical or in the form of prefaces or postfaces to other monographies.

The perception of agrotourism in selected region of Czechia and Slovakia Abstract This diploma thesis deals with agrotourism and its perception in the Ústecký and Košický regions. The aim of the study is to identify key perceptual indicators that influence the operation of agro-touristic activities in selected regions. For this reason, the diploma thesis focuses on the perception of tourists and owners of economic facilities that operate the given form of rural tourism. The diploma thesis consists of two main parts. At the beginning of the study there is a general entry into the subject, which purposefully serves to understand the basic terms and concepts of the selected topic. The second part is focused on the field survey aimed at questioning tourists in agro-tourism facilities through questionnaire surveys and on structured interviews with property owners. The research itself took place in the months of July and August of 2017 in selected economic facilities in the Ústecký and Košický Regions. The conclusion highlights major benefits, points to further possible work and identifies key perceptual factors and conflicts that have been shown to influence both the provision and use of agrotourism in both regions under consideration. Key words: tourism, agrotourism, rural tourism, perception, Czechia, Slovakia

The main objective of this thesis is to analyze political involvement of national political parties in local politics in Czechia or, more specifically, how successful are these parties in the municipal elections. The main theoretical background of this thesis is divided into two chapters. The first part contains of general definitions of political parties, functions and objectives of political parties, typology of political parties, and development of the party system in Czechia as well as basic characteristics of the different national political parties. The second chapter deals with studies of voting behavior in Czechia, the municipalities themselves and their councils. The second chapter also presents municipal elections. The practical part of this thesis is summarized in one large chapter, which is further divided into smaller subsections. In the first phase the success of parties in drawing up lists of candidates for municipal elections is studied, followed by multiple regression analysis aimed at exploring of relationship between national politics and the success of the political parties at the local level. It also describes other variables which affect that relationship. The third phase of practical part consist of LISA analysis, which is used to determine the local level of spatial...

The goal of this thesis is to understand the innovation policy of Israel and find recommendations for innovation policy of Czech republic. The first chapter aims to define basic theoretical concepts of innovation and measurements of the efficiency of innovation policy and competitiveness of the economy as such. The second chapter analyzes the innovation policy of Israel, its origins, the factors causing innovative thinking, the government tools for the support of innovation and successful innovation projects. The final chapter contains a comparison of the innovative aspects of the two countries, evaluation of cooperation and inspiration for the Czech innovation system based on my research.

Czech Tourist Authority, CzechTourism, decided in 2011 to start a longterm process of destination brand rebranding.The aim of this thesis is to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of the activities carried out so far in all steps.The thesis is divided into several parts, the first part concentrates on brand and image of the country, the second part is focused on corporate identity, the content of the third chapter is a theory about rebranding. Practical part contains a sum of activities and events throughout the history of the country affected the brand as well as the reasons for the rebranding and problem areas. In conclusion various steps of CzechTourism and designs of visual identity are evaluated and analyzed and a few next steps are recommended.

Územní diferenciace elementárního vzdělávání v Česku v 2. polovině 20. století (Vliv na lokální a regionální rozvoj) Od druhé poloviny 20. století jsme v mnoha hospodářsky vyspělých zemích, Česko nevyjímaje, svědky procesu výrazné polarizace prostoru v souvislosti se změnami v rozmístění elementárních škol. Masové uzavírání škol, zejména na venkově, a koncentrace vzdělávací funkce do center regionů vychází z obecných procesů, jakými jsou změny geografické organizace společnosti, stejně jako ze specifických historických podmínek v každé zemi. V této práci se na příkladu Česka pokusíme představit pomocí metod, jež jsou geografům vlastní, změny, které proběhly v síti elementárních škol. Dále budeme specifikovat vybrané důsledky tohoto procesu na stabilitu a fungování lokálních komunit a jeho vliv na marginalizaci obcí. ABSTRACT Territorial Differentiation of Elementary Education in Czechia during the Second Half of the Twentieth Century (Its Influence on Local and Regional Development) We are all witnesses to a process of extensive spatial polarization in the distribution of elementary schools in many economically developed countries, including Czechia, during the second half of the 20th and in the 21st century. Processes of mass school closures, especially in rural areas, and the concentration of...