A comparison of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) management strategies in Ireland and the Czech Republic and the lessons learned

In order to meet the recycling and recovery targets set forth by the European Union's (EU) Waste and Landfill Directives, both the Irish and Czech governments’ policy on waste management is changing to meet these pressures, with major emphasis being placed upon the management of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW). In particular, the EU Landfill Directive requires reductions in the rate of BMW going to landfill to 35% of 1995 values by 2016 and 2020 for Ireland and the Czech Republic, respectively. In this paper, the strategies of how Ireland and the Czech Republic plan to meet this challenge are compared. Ireland either landfills or exports its waste for recovery, while the Czech Republic has a relatively new waste management infrastructure. While Ireland met the first target of 75% diversion of BMW from landfill by 2010 and preliminary 2012 data indicate that Ireland is on track to meet the 2013 target, the achievement of the 2016 target remains at risk. Indicators that were developed to monitor the Czech Republic's path to meeting the targets demonstrate that it did not meet the first target that was set for 2010 and will probably not meet its 2013 target either. The evaluation reports on the implementation of Waste Management Plan of Czech Republic suggest that the currently applied strategy to divert biodegradable waste from landfill is not effective enough. For both countries, the EU Waste Framework and Landfill Directives will be a significant influence and driver of change in waste management practices and governance over the coming decade. This means that both countries will not only have to invest in infrastructure to achieve the targets, but will also have to increase awareness among the public in diverting this waste at the household level. Improving environmental education is part of increased awareness as it is imperative for citizens to understand the consequences of their actions as affluence continues to grow producing increased levels of waste.

Graphical abstract
Despite the differences in the levels of waste generation in both the Czech Republic and Ireland, each country can learn from each other in order to meet the recycling and recovery targets set by the European Union's (EU) Waste and Landfill Directives. Both countries will not only have to invest in infrastructure to achieve the targets, but will also have to increase awareness among the public in diverting this waste at the household level. In addition, there needs to be minimum safe standards when land-spreading organic agricultural and organic municipal and industrial materials on agricultural land used for food production, as well as incentives to increase BMW diversion from landfill such as the increased landfill levy implemented in Ireland and the acceptance of MBT and/or incineration as a means of treating residual waste.

Bursaphelenchus pinophilus Brzeski & Baujard, 1997 (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchinae) associated with nematangia on Pityogenes bidentatus (Herbst, 1783) (Coleoptera: Scolytinae), from the Czech Republic

The occurrence of Bursaphelenchus species in the Czech Republic is poorly known, the first report of the genus being made by Kubátová et al. (2000) who reported the association of B. eremus with the hyphomycetous microfungus, Esteya vermicola, and the bark beetle, Scolytus intricatus, collected from Quercus robur, in central Bohemia. To date, four other species have been reported from the country, namely B. fungivorus (Braasch et al., 2002), B. hofmanni (see Braasch, 2001), B. mucronatus (see Braasch, 2001) and B. vallesianus (Gaar et al., 2006). More recently, a survey for Bursaphelenchus species associated with bark- and wood-boring insects in the Czech Republic identified B. pinophilus Brzeski & Baujard, 1997 from the Moravia region. Although this represents a new country record, it was also associated with nematangia on the hind wings of a new insect vector. A total of 404 bark- and wood-boring insects were collected from declining or symptomatic trees and screened for the presence of Bursaphelenchus. Bark and longhorn beetles were captured manually after debarking parts of the trunk displaying symptoms of insect attacks. Longhorn beetle larvae were also collected together with logs cut from the trunk. Logs were kept at room temperature in the laboratory until insect emergence. Each adult insect was individually dissected in water and examined for nematodes. All nematodes resembling dauer juveniles of Bursaphelenchus were collected and identified by molecular characterisation using a region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) containing the internal transcribed spacer regions ITS1 and ITS2. ITS-RFLP analyses using five restriction enzymes (AluI, HaeIII, HinfI, MspI, RsaI) were performed to generate the species-specific profile according to Burgermeister et al. (2009). Species identification was also confirmed by morphological data after culture of the dauers on Botrytis cinerea Pers. ex Ft., growing in 5% malt extract agar. During this survey, only species belonging to the Curculionidae, subfamily Scolytinae, revealed the presence of nematodes belonging to Bursaphelenchus. Dauers of this genus were found aggregated under the elytra in nematangia formed at the root of the hind wings (Fig. 1). The dauers were identified from 12 individuals of Pityogenes bidentatus (Herbst, 1783) (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) collected under the bark of Pinus sylvestris trunks. Each insect carried ca 10-100 dauers. The ITS-RFLP patterns of the dauers so obtained confirmed the identification of B. pinophilus associated with this insect species. Bursaphelenchus pinophilus has been found mainly in Europe and has been reported from various countries such as Poland (Brzeski & Baujard, 1997), Germany (Braasch, 2001), and Portugal (Penas et al., 2007). The recent detection of this species associated with dead P. koraiensis in Korea (Han et al., 2009) expands its geographical distribution and potential importance. It has been found associated only with Pinus species, but very little is known about the insect vector. The bark beetle, Hylurgus ligniperda, was initially suggested as the insect vector by Pe-nas et al. (2006), although the nematode associated with this insect was later reclassified as B. sexdentati by morphological and molecular analysis (Penas et al., 2007). According to the literature, P. bidentatus has been cited as a vector of Ektaphelenchus sp. (Kakuliya, 1966) in Georgia, and an unidentified nematode species in Spain (Roberston et al., 2008). Interestingly, B. pinophilus was found in the nematangia formed at the root of the hind wings of P. bidentatus. Although this phenomenon is not so common in other Bursaphelenchus species, B. rufipennis has been found recently in such a structure on the hind wings of the insect Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kanzaki et al., 2008). Although other nematode species (e.g., Ektaphelenchus spp.) are frequently found associated within the same nematangia (see Kanzaki et al., 2008), in this particular case, only dauers of B. pinophilus were identified. The association between B. pinophilus and P. bidentatus represents the first report of this biological association and the association with the Scolytinae strengthens the tight and specific links between this group of Bursaphelenchus species and members of the Scolytinae (Ryss et al., 2005).

The Czech Republic from the Perspective of the Varieties of Capitalism Approach

Modern capitalism is not singular. There are varieties of capitalism in the contemporary world. This thesis aims to apply the Varieties of Capitalism approach developed by Hall and Soskice (2001) to the case of the Czech Republic and ascertain whether the Czech market economy is approaching a liberal or a coordinated ideal type defined by these authors. At the same time, such findings might provide an answer to whether the Varieties of Capitalism approach designed for advanced industrialized economies is fully applicable for analysis of a post-socialist country that underwent a complicated process of economic and institutional transformation.

Talents in Migration Processes in the Conditions of the Czech Republic of the Nineties

The transformation of the 1990s has had a bearing on the academic and scientific world, as is becoming increasingly obvious with the changing numbers of foreign students wishing to study in the Czech Republic and of Czech students wishing to study abroad, the virtual collapse of doctoral studies, and the rapidly increasing age of Czech academics (placed at 48 by official sources and at rather more by this research). At the same time there is an apparent lack of interest in analysing and understanding these trends, which Mr. Cermak terms an ostrich policy, although his research showed that academics are in fact both aware and concerned about them. The mid-1990s migration of talent to and from R+D in the Czech Republic is also reflected in the number of talented Czech students studying abroad, who represent the largest and most interesting group of actual and potential migrants. Mr. Cermak's study took the form of a Delphi enquiry participated in by 44 specialists, including experts in the problems of higher education and science policy from the Presidium of the Higher Education Council (n = 23), members of the Council's Science and Research Commission (n = 14), former and current managers of higher education authorities (n = 4) and selected participants of the longitudinal talent research (n = 3). Questions considered included the influence of continuing talent migration from domestic R+D on the efficiency of domestic higher education, the diversification of forms of the brain drain and their impact on other processes in society, the possibility of positive influence on the brain drain processes to minimise the risks it presents, and the use of the knowledge obtained about the brain drain. The study revealed a clear drop of interest in brain drain problems in higher education in the mid-1990s, which is probably related to the collapsed of Czech R+D in the field of talent education. The effects on this segment of the labour market appeared earlier, with a major migration wave in 1991-1993 which significantly "cleared" the area of scientific talent. In addition, prospective talents from the ranks of younger students have not been integrated into domestic R+D, leading to the increasing average age of those working in this field. "Talent scouting" tended to be oriented towards much younger individuals, even in some cases towards undergraduate students. The R+D institutions deprived of human resources considered as basic in a functional R+D system have lost much of their dynamism and so no longer attract not only domestic talent but also talent from other regions. As a result the public, including the mass media and political structures, have stopped regarding the support of domestic science as a priority. This is clear both among the young people who are important for the future development of R+D (support for the education of talented children has dropped), from the drop in the prestige of this area as a profession among university students, and from the lack of explicit support for R+D by any of the political parties. On the basis of his findings Mr. Cermak concludes that there is no basis for the belief that the brain drain will represent a positive force in stimulating the development of the open society. Migration data shows that the outflow of talent from the Czech Republic far exceeds the inflow, and that the latter is largely short-term. Not only has the number of returning Czech professors dropped to half of its level at the beginning of the 1990s, but they also tend to take up only short-term contracts and retain their foreign positions. Recruitment of scientific talent from other countries, including the Slovak Republic, is limited. Furthermore internal contacts between those already involved in R+D have been badly hit by economic pressures and institutional co-operation has dropped to a minimum. There have been few moves to counteract this situation, the only notable one being the Program 250, launched in 1996 with government support to try and attract younger (i.e. under 40) talent into R+D. Its resources are however limited and its effects have not so far been evaluated. The deficit of academic and scientific talent in the Czech Republic is increasing and two major directions of academic work are emerging. Classic higher education science based on the teaching process is declining, largely due to economic factors, while there is an increasing emphasis on special; ad hoc projects which cannot be related directly to teaching but are often interesting to specialists outside the Czech Republic. This is shown clearly by the increase in publishing and in participation in domestic and foreign grant projects, which often serve to supplement the otherwise low salaries in the higher education sector. This tend was also accelerated by the collapse of applied R+D in individual sectors of the national economy and by substantial cutbacks in the Czech Academy of Sciences, which formerly fostered such research. Some part of the output of this research can be used in the education system and its financial contribution does significantly affect the stability of the present staff, but Mr. Cermak sees it as generally unfavourable for the development of talent education. In addition, it has led to a certain resignation on the question of integration into international structures, due to the emphasis on short-term targets, commercial advantages and individualism rather than team work. At the same time, he admits that these developments reflect those in other areas of the transformation in the Czech Republic.

The Recent Structure of Wages in the Czech Republic

The project drew on an extensive firm-level sample of employees to describe in detail the recent evolution of the structure of wages in the Czech Republic between 1995 and 1998. The results of the analysis were then compared with information from EU countries. Regression analysis was used to study a number of specific questions, with particular emphasis being paid to proper weighting of the sample. Jurajda first quantified the effects on male and female hourly wages in the Czech Republic of worker age and education, firm size, region, industry and ownership type. He then examined whether these effects have been changing over time and how they differ by gender, and identified those industrial sectors that carry the largest wage premiums not accounted for by worker or firm characteristics, and measured the effect of unemployment on wages. He found a substantial increase in returns on human capital, with the earning differentials for education increasing substantially between 1995 and 1998, with these gains being largely comparable to those in western countries. Overall, the Czech structure of wages is now very responsive to market forces and is converging rapidly on EU-type flexibility in almost every dimension. It is likely, however, that due to the constrained supply of tertiary-educated workers in particular, the returns on education may keep on rising, surpassing levels typical of western economies and potentially reaching the high levels observed in developing countries.

The Culture of the Deaf Community in the Czech Republic

Romana Mazerova. The Culture of the Deaf Community in the Czech Republic Mazerova set out to discover if the deaf community in the Czech Republic can be said to have its own culture and if so what this is. She began with a comprehensive survey of the history of the deaf from 1786 to the present day, identifying a major turning point in the exclusion of sign language from the education of the deaf around 1930, a move then reinforced in the communist period to the extent that teachers of the deaf had to sign a commitment not to use sign language in their lessons. She also noted the difference between so-called signed Czech, which is an exact translation of the spoken language, and Czech sign language, which has its own structure and even dialects. Following the historical research, Mazerova studied a range of Czech and foreign materials relating to the culture of the deaf, interviewed deaf people about their experiences in school, their participation in the activities of associations for the deaf, and their experiences as a deaf person in a hearing society (these interviews are recorded on video), and visited various associations, clubs and schools for the deaf throughout the country. She concluded that while deaf people share certain behaviours which are quite distinct from those of hearing Czechs, there is little sense of a community as such. The vast majority of deaf people were not born into the deaf community and while feel that they belong together, they do not identify themselves as part of a deaf community and do not work together as a community to achieve their goals.

Central Europe in the Process of European Integration. A Comparative Study of the Strategies of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia towards the Deepening and Widening of the European Union

Membership of the European Union U is usually seen as a strategic goal of the associated states of central and eastern Europe. At the beginning of the 1990s central European countries, where the economic and political transformation was relatively advanced, received preferential treatment from the European Community, which was starting to evolve a policy of differentiation. Podraza studied the strategies of four central European countries towards changes under way in the European Union, analysing several aspects for each case: (1) the process of political transformation (2) decision-making structures in the field of foreign policy and European integration (3) integration strategies: (a) main foreign policy priorities (b) application for membership of the European Union (c) the Commission option on each country (d) accession partnership, including a National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) (e) regular Commission reports (f) accession negotiations

Paleoenvironmental reconstructions from cave sediments of the Moravian Karst, Czech Republic / by Pavel Sroubek.

This thesis presents a paleoclimatic/paleoenvironmental study conducted on clastic cave sediments of the Moravian Karst, Czech Republic. The study is based on environmental magnetic techniques, yet a wide range of other scientific methods was used to obtain a clearer picture of the Quaternary climate. My thesis also presents an overview of the significance of cave deposits for paleoclimatic reconstructions, explains basic environmental magnetic techniques and offers background information on the study area – a famous karst region in Central Europe with a rich history. In Kulna Cave magnetic susceptibility variations and in particular variations in pedogenic susceptibility yield a detailed record of the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Last Glacial Stage. The Kulna long-term climatic trends agree with the deep-sea SPECMAP record, while the short-term oscillations correlate with rapid changes in the North Atlantic sea surface temperatures. Kulna Cave sediments reflect the intensity of pedogenesis controlled by short-term warmer events and precipitation over the mid-continent and provide a link between continental European climate and sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic during the Last Glacial Stage. Given the number of independent climate proxies determined from the entrance facies of the cave and their high resolution, Kulna is an extremely important site for studying Late Pleistocene climate. In the interior of Spiralka Cave, a five meter high section of fine grained sediments deposited during floods yields information on the climatic and environmental conditions of the last millenium. In the upper 1.5 meters of this profile, mineral magnetic and other non-magnetic data indicate that susceptibility variations are controlled by the concentration of magnetite and its magnetic grain size. Comparison of our susceptibility record to the instrumental record of winter temperature anomalies shows a remarkable correlation. This correlation is explained by coupling of the flooding events, cultivation of land and pedogenetic processes in the cave catchment area. A combination of mineral magnetic and geochemical proxies yields a detail picture of the rapidly evolving climate of the near past and tracks both natural and human induced environmental changes taking place in the broader region.

The Response of a Small Stream in the Lesni Potok Forested Catchment, Central Czech Republic, to a Short-Term In-Stream Acidification

Lesni Potok stream drains a forested headwater catchment in the central Czech Republic. It was artificially acidified with hydrochloric acid (HCl) for four hours to assess the role of stream substrate in acid-neutralisation and recovery. The pH was lowered from 4.7 to 3.2. Desorption of Ca and MP and desorption or solution of Al dominated acid-neutralisation; Al mobilisation was more important later. The stream substrate released 4.542 meq Ca, 1, 184 meq Mg, and 2,329 meq Al over a 45 in long and I in wide stream segment, smaller amounts of Be. Cd, Fe, and Mn were released. Adsorption of SO42- and desorption of F- occurred during the acidification phase of the experiment. The exchange reactions were rapidly reversible for Ca, Mg and SO42- but not symmetric as the substrate resorbed 1083, 790 and 0 meq Ca, Mg, and Al. respectively, in a 4-hour recovery period. Desorption of SO42- occurred during the resorption of Ca and Mg. These exchange and dissolution reactions delay acidification, diminish the pH depression and retard recovery from episodic acidification. The behaviour of the stream substrate-water interaction resembles that for soil-soil water interactions. A mathematical dynamic mass-balance based model, MASS (Modelling Acidification of Stream Sediments), was developed which simulates the adsorption and desorption of base cations during the experiment and was successfully calibrated to the experimental data.