Jana Jíchová: Crime and its Perception in Urban Environment ABSTRACT Crime is an important social phenomenon that affects many aspects of the functioning of society and the life of every person. It also represents an important interdisciplinary topic that deals with a number of disciplines, including geography. Logically, there is a thematic and methodological overlap; each of the sciences emphasize on different aspects of crime, using various methods and research approaches, interpretations, and therefore contributes to the knowledge of crime differently. The importance of geography is particularly in the enrichment of the crime research on spatial dimension and contributes to its cognition through analysis of the distribution of crime and studies of perception of crime. Although this type of studies is well established in Western crime research, in the Czech geography is paid to them only little attention. This doctoral thesis introduces geography of crime in the Czech context, discusses its theoretical and methodological developments and its applicability and application in our cities.. More emphasis is put on the concept of fear of crime, which constitutes an essential component of feeling of safety affecting daily life, the use of urban space and spatial mobility of individuals. Better understanding of...

Within the framework of the research focused on the polarization of space, or peripheral areas of Czechia respectively, approaches of cultural geography have been applied to a significant extent recently. As far as the issue of such areas development is concerned, the importance of the so- called "soft" socio-cultural development factors (including social and human capital) has been accentuated. The way-out is the belief that with the limited development potential of the peripheral (and rural) areas, activity and activism of local communities (quality of social and human capital) as the important internal (endogenous) development factor become more important. Despite the number of attempts, which have been made, we are not able to find exhaustive answers to questions relating to the actual importance of social and human capital (and different forms thereof) in the (socio-economic) development of these areas or the mutual relation (conditionality) thereof. For this reason, problems can be seen both in the area of theory and methodology (conceptualization) and, in particular, in insufficient verification of such theoretical concepts by means of empirical research, be specific in particular at the micro-regional up to local level. The dissertation therefore focuses on identification and explanation of...

The state plays a prominent role in the process of regional development. State interventions might bring radical influences into the entire socioeconomic system, to which the other actors of regional development have to adapt. Importantly, the state administrates a large amount of funds, creates large numbers of jobs, and it is led by "elites" which might influence the other people's opinions. The need for studying of the role of the state and the expenditure side of its budget for an understanding of the mechanisms of regional development is recognized by many authors. However, deep discussions of the function of the state could be hardly found in regional development theories. The aim of this dissertation thesis is to contribute to understanding of the role of the state as one of major actors in regional development via investigation of the regional impacts of public support programs. To provide concrete scrutiny, parliamentary grants (so-called "pork barrel") were depicted through which deputies annually sent large sums of money from the state budget during its approval process in the Chamber of Deputies on projects with local impact. The topic of parliamentary grants is a traditional topic for international studies within the concept of the so-called pork barrel politics, which includes all activities...

This dissertation deals with the concept of territorial cohesion and place-based approaches that are understood as a tool to achieve territorial cohesion. Specific attention is paid to Territorial Impact Assessment, which is most frequently designed as a method for adjustment of place-based approaches in order to reflect specific needs of particular types of regions. The theoretical part discusses interpretations associated with territorial cohesion in academic literature. It also analyses arguments of proponents and opponents of place-based approaches as a tool for considering territorial specificities in sectoral policies. Further, the dissertation focuses on the evolution of the Territorial Impact Assessment at the European level and its position within other impact assessment tools. The main aim of the empirical part is, first, to identify ways in which EU member states interpret and fulfil the EU goal leading to territorial cohesion and, second, to define how EU member states use place-based approaches to achieve territorial cohesion. Specific attention is given to Czechia, its understanding of territorial cohesion, and its experience with the implementation of place-based approaches. Research shows that EU member states do not deal with territorial cohesion uniformly; instead, they project...

The main topic of the dissertation thesis is the evaluation of the influence of socio- geographical exposure and other factors (natural: altitude, inclination of slopes, productivity of land) on the extensification processes of the land use in Czechia in the period of more than 160 years, 1845-2010. Emphasis is also placed on the associated losses of agricultural and arable land, given that afforestation and increase of grassland took place essentially at the expense of that land. The main data source is the "Database of long-term land use changes in Czechia (1845-2010)", LUCC Czechia, based on cadastral records. It is a detailed monitoring which covers almost 9,000 so-called stable territorial units. Both the extensification processes and the overall intensity of land use (using the coefficient of ecological importance) are evaluated. Given that most of the Czechia's territory is still used as agricultural land, the thesis also includes an overview of the evolution of the selected agricultural intensity indicators. Attention is likewise paid to the wider context of land use changes at the European level. The essential part of the thesis is to build models of socio-geographical exposure of Czechia, which are comparable with the data on land use in the time horizons of 1845, 1896, 1948, 1990 and...

Possibilities of demography implementation in the classes at higher secondary education level Abstract The main goals of the diploma thesis are to evaluate the degree of implementation and the potential of demography during lessons at the higher secondary school level and to suggest specific activities that can be implemented within the lessons. It is the first thesis aimed solely at the didactics of demography. The work uses publicly available online databases of the Czech Statistical Office, the United Nations and the Population Reference Bureau. An analysis of syllabi of subjects from the first years of selected universities, a content analysis of selected secondary school textbooks and a Framework Education Programme were performed. The analyses show a large scope for the implementation of demography not only in the teaching of geography. The work is complemented by specific proposals of activities that can be used in teaching at upper secondary schools. Keywords: Czechia, demography, teaching demography, implementation, upper secondary schools, textbook analysis, Framework Education Programme

The thesis focuses on the cultural and historical potential of the development of peripheral regions of Czechia. The case study covers three model areas - regions of municipalities with an authorised municipal office Horažďovice, Kašperské Hory and Netolice. The aim of the thesis is to accomplish a discursive analysis of the concept of the cultural and historical potential, together with related terms, and to consider feasibility of its embodiment into the context of surrounding regions development in Czechia, to identify cultural and historical potential of selected model areas and to propose possibilities of its usage. The methodology lies in the study of literature and in the research of selected areas. The cultural and historical potential is rated from the identifiable elements and their particular importance. The potential is relative to the area, number of inhabitants and the number of parts of the municipality. The thesis highlights several findings: (i) the coherent definition of the term cultural and historical potential does not exist in scientific literature; (ii) usage of tourism perspectives in the regional development is ahead of focus on local population (regional identity and local cultural life is less frequent); (iii) cultural and historical potential differentiate in the border...

1 Abstract Migration has been an inherent part of population development, and due to its role in shaping settlement system and societal changes also one of the key research interests of social geography. Due to the political regime and the limited movement across state borders, attention was predominantly given to internal migration in Czechia in the second half of the 20th century. Conversely, international migration has only been coming to the fore of academic debate since the 1990s. Despite the broad diversity of aspects of international migration in Czechia and the fact that the city has traditionally been the environment associated with the majority of immigrant population, little consideration has been given to the deeper understanding of the relationship between international migration, the presence of foreign citizens and the urban environment, especially foreigners' influence on socio-spatial differentiation and on social environment of particular urban locales. Czechia is a specific case: a country which was isolated from international migration for four decades became one of the main immigration countries in the post-socialist Central Europe after 1989. It represents a unique occasion to investigate the connection between international migration and the city in a previously unexplored environment...

The thesis discusses the importance of leisure as a part of an individual's everyday life for the formation of social relationships and ties influencing whole society. In fact, leisure is understood as a sample of practices and activities with underlying social and cultural factors. These practices are allocated in time and space, having an impact on space. The study is devoted to the use of leisure, its position and importance in the general time framework of a day. There is also a discussion of the trends and shifts in society associated with broader cultural and institutional processes (transformation of the labour market, globalisation, individualisation, differentiation, post-communist transformation, and the gender question). In addition, the study empirically examines the importance and potential of leisure activities for the formation of place attachment and associated processes of the creation of social capital, contact networks and knowledge transfer. Through these effects, leisure can contribute to the endogenous development of distinct types of area. In fact, attention is focused on two ways of leisure time activities with a considerable local tie and potential for the creation of social capital. These are the second home tourism and activities performed within voluntary associations....

The thesis aims at the specific issues of health-related behaviour among the contemporary Czech youth, with particular emphasis on a socio-geographical dimension of the phenomena. In particular, it aims at identification of selected demographic, social, and contextual factors underlying the inequalities in risky substance use among the Czech adolescent population in its complex multilevel perspective. By applying the advanced methodology of multilevel modelling, the author reveals an integral nature of these factors in space and time, and thus contributes to a deeper knowledge on the structures and processes determining the selected forms of risk behaviours. In addition to an integrative multilevel approach, the author derives recommendations for an effective planning and implementation of preventive measures in agenda of the Czech drug policy as well. Key words: adolescence; substance use; prevalence; socio-geographic inequalities; multilevel analysis; Czechia