Jana Spilková

Social inequalities in alcohol consumption in the Czech Republic: A multilevel analysis

Czech Republic traditionally ranks among the countries with the highest alcohol, consumption. This paper examines both risk and protective factors for frequent of alcohol, consumption in the Czech population using multilevel analysis. Risk factors were measured at the, individual level and at the area level. The individual-level data were obtained from a survey for a, sample of 3526 respondents aged 18-64 years. The area-level data were obtained from the Czech, Statistical Office. The group most inclinable to risk alcohol consumption and binge drinking are mainly, men, who live as single, with low education and also unemployed. Only the variable for divorce rate, showed statistical significance at both levels, thus the individual and the aggregated one. No cross-level interactions were found to be statistically significant.

Culinary Tourism Packages and Regional Brands in Czechia

Abstract The paper discusses the ‘Regional Brand’ initiative as the regional quality certification with potential to build links with viable rural tourism products. This branding system is explained in the context of a multi-functional paradigm in the development of viable rural economies. A questionnaire survey of certified producers conducted for the first part of the research within this paper revealed mainly a strong awareness of the regional branding system, however, with underused further potential. In the second phase of the research, a qualitative study was conducted in the model region of Vysočina, Czechia, and the results of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs in culinary tourism about their involvement in the creation of tourist packages and their cooperation with regional brands were analyzed. The conclusion stresses the need for a significantly more effective interconnecting body at the regional level with the capability of creating fertile links between rural tourism and regional products.

Inequalities in smoking in the Czech Republic: Societal or individual effects?

Smoking constitutes one of the main public health problems worldwide. In the Czech Republic, one of the post-communist countries undergoing societal transition, there was a significant decrease in smoking prevalence during 1985-1997, followed by certain stagnation in prevalence of smokers. The most serious problem is the smoking among young population and socially disadvantaged groups. This paper examines social inequalities in smoking in the Czech population using multilevel approach. Data were analysed by multilevel modelling using smoking in the past, current smoking and current moderate/heavy smoking as outcomes of interest. Men were significantly more likely to be smokers than women. Further, the analysis confirmed that current smoking is the most common among young people. Education was strongly inversely related to all smoking outcomes. Smoking was also significantly more reported by divorced and unemployed individuals. While the association between small-area characteristics and smoking was limited, smoking was more common in the areas with higher unemployment and higher proportion of non-Czech nationals.

Toward the Economy of Pedestrian Movement in Czech and Slovak Shopping Malls

This article examines changes in shopping behavior in two postcommunist countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, by replicating Bitgood and Dukess study of pedestrian choice point behavior. It also extends the former study by applying the methodology to a different type of intersection and subjecting the results to a random resampling statistical test. A survey conducted via naturalistic observation in selected Czech and Slovak shopping malls is presented. Is the movement of shoppers disorganized and unplanned, or is there a tendency to use the principles of the economy of movement, which suggests that pedestrians tend to move in a way involving the least number of steps? A randomization resampling test with 100,000 samples was performed on the data obtained in shopping malls. It can be concluded that pedestrians tend to avoid unnecessary steps by economizing their trajectories (t = 11.34, p = .00013). The results, thus, show that a qualitative change occurred in the shopping behavior of Czech and Slovak shoppers (as compared with year 2002), and there is an obvious tendency to minimize the total distance in correspondence with the principles of the economy of movement.

Czech Physical Planning at the Crossroads: Towards the Regulation of Large-Scale Retail Developments?

The second half of the 1990s saw a dynamic development of Czech retailing and its spatial structure. Recent massive development of large-area commercial outlets in particular has revealed some problematic aspects and has also raised the question of whether their construction needs to be regulated. The role of local government in the decision processes concerning such developments is extremely weak and these processes are also complicated by a notably high level of bureaucracy. Although legislative documents proclaim the concept of sustainability as a key principle of future spatial development, its practical application will always depend on the will of the individual participants in the negotiation process. The authors argue that if a regulative approach to planning is chosen in the Czech Republic, planning offices must be respected bodies with enforceable rights and bound to act as strong authorities and effective agents of spatial plnning.

An increase in substance misuse rather than other mental disorders has led to increased forensic treatment rates in the Czech Republic

It is suggested that limited access to appropriate care forces psychiatric patients towards forensic treatment or to the prison system. According to our data, the number of prisoners, the number of hospitalized psychiatric patients (from 1987 to 2007), the number of court ordered forensic treatments in the Czech Republic (from 1991 to 2007), and the rate of people in psychiatric and sex offender forensic treatment has remained constant. However, an increase (162%) in number of treatments imposed for abusing illicit drugs did occur during this period. This increase contributed to the correlation between both the number of sentences given for protective treatment and the number of all sentenced persons (Pearson cor. 0.647, p < 0,001) and the number of prisoners (Pearson cor. 0.798, p < 0,001). The analysis of all admissions to a forensic facility from a catchment area of 1,260,318 inhabitants shows no increase in number of admission between 2002 and 2007. The same data prove that the number of patients ordered to psychiatric and sexology treatment remained steady and did not reflect changes in the number of prisoners or number of hospitalized patients. This could be explained by a high number of psychiatric hospitalizations protecting the patients from deteriorating to criminal behaviour.

Farmers’ markets’ locavore challenge: The potential of local food production for newly emerged farmers’ markets in Czechia

The shift toward post-productivist agricultural production in developed countries in recent decades has brought a growing focus on local sustainability and quality food production. This trend has been reflected in the development of a variety of alternative food networks and short food supply chain initiatives. In Czechia, the local and good-quality movement has been significantly represented by the boom in farmers’ markets during the past 2 years. The aim of this paper is to examine the actual potential of the Czech agricultural sector to supply the recently developed network of farmers’ markets. Even though these markets are generally considered to offer farmers better revenues than selling their products to big processors and retail companies, many Czech farmers’ market managers face a lack of potential vendors for their markets. Therefore, we ask if there are producers and self-processors of goods typically sold on farmers’ markets of the appropriate size and legal form in suitable locations in relation to the areas of the biggest demand. The quantitative approach applied was based on the national statistical data on the agricultural sector. It was used to develop a set of indicators which have been displayed in maps and further examined. The results show a high theoretical potential of the Czech agricultural sector to supply farmers’ markets because there are relatively many small farmers producing products sellable on farmers’ markets. In the Czech context, where the tradition of running independent businesses was interrupted by the countrys communist past, the lack of experience with private entrepreneurship and marketing among farmers seems to be the main obstacle to broader involvement of farmers on farmers’ markets.

Multiple health risk behaviour in Czech adolescents: family, school and geographic factors

The study examines the relationship of family, school and geographic factors in relation to the prevalence of different health risk behaviours among Czech adolescents (aged 15-16 years) based on cross-sectional study design. Risk behaviours such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and marijuana use among adolescents have often been shown to co-occur with each other. Data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs 2007 were used. A total of 7616 students from the Czech Republic were analysed in the study. About two thirds of students (63.5%) did not engage in any type of considered health risk behaviour, 21.1% reported one risk, 10.8% two risks, and 4.6% three risks. Thus, in sum 15.4% of Czech, students were engaged in multiple risk behaviour forms. Separate multilevel logistic regression models were performed in order to explore the redistribution of factors on categories of multiple health risk behaviour.

Retail Development and Impact Assessment in Czech Republic: Which Tools to Use?

The transformational period and especially the second half of the 1990s meant a dynamic expansion of Czech retailing and its spatial structure. The uncoordinated construction of the recently emerging large-scale retail outlet has raised a question whether their construction should be regulated. Due to the non-existent regulation of retail development on a national level, weak role of the local physical plans and feeble position of Building Offices compared with retailers and developers, no reference framework exists for retail development. In the light of these facts, it is obvious that a sensitive regulation tool is necessary for retail development. The paper discusses the results of a survey among Building Offices in the Czech Republic focused on the opinions on the need of the introduction of Retail Impact Assessment (RIA) study. More than half of the respondents oppose the RIA study and do not consider it necessary, mainly because they believe that the existing legislative and planning documentation is sufficient for the regulation of large-scale retail outlets. The results clearly show that the increase in the planning prestige and use of the existing regulation mechanisms within the physical plan are the priority for the Czech planning practice.

Leisure time preferences and health-risk behavior of teenagers in the post-communist Central European countries

In Central and Eastern Europe (CE), alcohol consumption, smoking, and substance use have become a substantial problem mainly among young people as well as changes of their leisure time occupations. The paper uses the binary logistic regression to measure the association between a certain type of leisure occupations and health-risk behaviors to show which activities are the most prone to health-risk behaviors. The analysis shows one prominent result – the strong relation between health-risk behavior of teenagers and going out in the evenings in the CE countries. There are, however, some specific protective factors of teenage risk behavior; these could be used to focus anti-risk behavior campaigns aimed at teenagers.