Iveta Vrabková and Václav Friedrich
The purpose of this paper is to identify gaps in performance of city libraries from the Czech and from the Slovak Republic engaged in the project Benchmarking of Libraries. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify gaps in performance of city libraries from the Czech and from the Slovak Republic engaged in the project Benchmarking of Libraries. The subject of research consists of input and output performance variables of selected 51 city libraries for the period of 2011-2015 and their mutual dependence and influence.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyse relationships among ten input and four output variables, the correlation and regression analyses were used. Regression analysis was focussed on four output variables – numbers of physical visitors of libraries, numbers of loans, numbers of visitors using the internet in the library, and numbers of registered readers. Interpretation of results was supplemented with classification multidimensional analysis Chi-square automatic interaction detection.
Findings
Findings reveal that besides others the significant gap in performance was represented by library additions, which means the renewal of library collections. Performance differences were also found between city libraries in the Czech Republic and those in the Slovak Republic.
Research limitations/implications
This paper evaluates gaps in the performance on representative sample of city libraries. The number of population served among individual selected 51 libraries ranges between 15 and 35 thousand inhabitants. Analysed data are from years 2011-2015.
Originality/value
The paper analyses, by using statistical methods, data that are generated within the benchmarking project. This methodology proves and reveals causalities among performance indicators of city libraries in an unconventional way.
Details
Keywords
Robert Kulhánek, Zdeněk Pátek, Petr Vrchota, Pavel Procházka and Vaclav Uruba
Some recent effort showed that usage of Krueger flaps helps to maintain laminar flow in cruise flight. Such flaps are positioned higher relative to the chord to shield the leading…
Abstract
Purpose
Some recent effort showed that usage of Krueger flaps helps to maintain laminar flow in cruise flight. Such flaps are positioned higher relative to the chord to shield the leading edge from the insect contamination during take-off. The flap passes several through critical intermediate position during the deployment to its design position. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the aerodynamics.
Design/methodology/approach
To better understand such flow phenomena, the combined approach of computational fluid dynamics and experimental methods were used. Flow simulation was performed with in-house finite volume Navier–Stokes solver in fully turbulent unsteady RANS regime. The experimental data were obtained by means of force and pressure measurements and some areas of the flow field were examined with 2 C particle image velocimetry.
Findings
The airfoil with flap in critical position has a very limited maximum lift coefficient. The maximum achievable lift coefficient during the deployment is significantly affected by the vertical position of the trailing edge of the flap. The most unfavourable position during the deployment is not the flap perpendicular to the chord, but the flap inclined closer to it is the retracted position.
Research limitations/implications
The flap movement was not simulated either in the simulation or in the experiment. Only intermediate static positions were examined.
Practical implications
A better understanding of aerodynamic phenomena connected with the deployment of a Krueger flap can contribute to the simpler and lighter of kinematics and also to decrease time-to-market.
Originality/value
Limited experimental and computational results of Krueger flap in critical positions during the deployment are published in the literature.
Details
Keywords
This article examines the effect of party composition of government on the centralization of budgeting institutions in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in…
Abstract
This article examines the effect of party composition of government on the centralization of budgeting institutions in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in 1989-1999, and assesses the impact of the centralization of budgeting institutions on the capacity of these countries to meet the fiscal deficit requirement for the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) membership. The article finds that centralization of budgeting institutions through delegation to a strong finance minister and/or prime minister is likely to occur in one-party governments or coalition governments composed of parties which expect to fight repeated elections together, with effective punishment mechanisms. The article finds that countries with centralized budgeting institutions are likely to be more capable of meeting the EMU deficit requirement than countries with decentralized institutions.
Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le…
Abstract
Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le questionnaire envoyé à tous les États européens comportait sous les points 4 et 6 les questions suivantes: ‘Existe‐t‐il un guide général pour les diverses catégories d'Archives ou des guides particuliers pour l'une ou l'autre d'entre elles?’ et ‘Existe‐t‐il des catalogues imprimés, des publications tant officielles que privées, susceptibles de constituer un instrument complet de référence pour tout ou partie importante des fonds d'archives?’ Les réponses des divers pays à ces questions, malgré leur caractère très inégal, ont fait du Guide international un bon instrument d'information générale sur les Archives. Malheureusement les circonstances ont empêché la publication du volume consacré aux États non européens, tandis que le temps qui s'écoulait tendait à rendre périmés les renseignements fournis sur les Archives européennes.
Christian Nestler and Jan Rohgalf
This chapter enquires into the German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and its narrative of the nation under attack. For two reasons, the AfD is a…
Abstract
This chapter enquires into the German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and its narrative of the nation under attack. For two reasons, the AfD is a particular interesting case. Since its foundation in February 2013 the AfD was constantly extraordinarily successful in state, federal as well as European elections. The support garnered in their first elections is without precedent in German post-war history. What is more, no other populist party ever gained a similar backing in Germany. In contrast to other European countries, political culture in Germany for a long time entailed an anti-populist consensus which significantly curbed the outlook of populist parties. The rise of the AfD maybe indicates the erosion of this consensus. The chapter is based on the systematic analysis of all official party documents 2013/14.
Details
Keywords
John E. Elliott and Thomas Hall
This paper examines the origins and the institutions, strategies, and policies of the shift to transition toward capitalism and democracy as the aspired system of political…
Abstract
This paper examines the origins and the institutions, strategies, and policies of the shift to transition toward capitalism and democracy as the aspired system of political economy of Boris Yeltsin and his supporters in Russia in the early 1990s. The paper argues that this process of radical change is very “rocky”, and that its outcome is not yet clear. The shift from socialist democratization under Gorbachev to capitalist transformation under Yeltsin had multiple origins; but a core element in the process was the very likely abandonment of the ancien régime by party, state, and industrial élites themselves. Key factors in the transition in the early 1990s were: continuity amid change in political leadership and governance institutions; the absence of a developed political party system that could have united Yeltsin and the new Russian parliament; and the underlying socioeconomic conditions and attitudes of the Russian population.