Lake Ladoga: Water Resources for the Sustainable Development of North-Western Russia and Finland

The aim of this project was to evaluate the present state and possible changes of water resources in Lake Ladoga and its drainage basin for the purposes of the sustainable development of North-Western Russia and Finland. The group assessed the state of the water resources in quantitative and qualitative terms, taking the system of sustainable development indicators suggested by the International Commission on Sustainable Development as a basis for assessment. These include pressure indicators (annual withdrawals of ground and surface water, domestic consumption of water per capita), state indicators (ground water reserves, concentration of faecalcoliform in fresh water, biochemical oxygen demand), and response indicators (waste-water treatment coverage, density of hydrological networks). The group proposed the following additional indicators and indices for the complex evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative state of the region's water resources: * Pressure indicators (external load, coefficient of anthropogenic pressure) * State indicators and indices (concentrations of chemicals in water, concentrations of chemicals in sediments, index of water pollution, critical load, critical limit, internal load, load/critical load, concentration/critical limit, internal load/external load, trophic state, biotic indicators and indices) * Response indicators (discharges of pure water, polluted water, partly treated water and the ratio between these, trans-boundary fluxes of pollutants, state expenditure on environmental protection, human life span) The assessment considered both temporal and spatial aspects and produced a regional classification of the area according to the index of water pollution. Mathematical models were developed to describe and forecast the processes under way in the lake and can be used to estimate the influence of climatic changes on the hydrological regime, as well as the influence of anthropogenic load on the trophic state of Lake Ladoga and to assess the consequences of accidental discharges of polluting admixtures of different kinds into the lake. The results of this mathematical modelling may be of use to decision-makers responsible for the management of water resources.

Women's Dress as an Expression of Social Development in Bohemia in the Years 1850-1950"

The nature of Czech fashion was shaped both by the social environment - not particularly wealthy, modest, influenced by the Protestant tradition - and by efforts towards women's emancipation. This resulted in a rejection of unnecessarily quirky elements in fashion as early as the 1870s. As far as style was concerned, Czech fashion followed the Viennese, German and French, and from the 1890s also the English models, and also found inspiration in contemporary aesthetic principles. National political ambitions appeared in inspiration drawn from folk costume. Feminist struggles and sports paved the way for the acceptance of reformist and practical dress, in which Czech designers took an active part. These trends reached a peak around 1929, with the design of a complete "civilised" women's apparel, based on trouser suits. The peak periods in the development of Czech fashion were the 1920s and 1930s, when a number of top fashion houses were established and both fashion and society magazines with original fashion designs, photographs and articles were published. These produced a specifically Czech fashion, showing French inspiration but opting rather for an English style, which was artistically advanced, practical, luxurious and democratic. After 1948, fashion too fell under the centralised control of the communist regime.