Multikriteriálna analýza vybraných ukazovateľov procesu nakladania s komunálnym odpadom v mestách Slovenskej republiky

The paper aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the process of municipal waste management in the towns of the Slovak Republic. For multicriteria analysis, we selected three main indicators, namely the amount of separated waste, the amount of landfilled waste, as well as the amount of total current expenditures for waste management. We have stated the values of all sub-indicators of Slovak towns per capita. Waste management information systems in Slovakia publish waste statistics only at the national and regional level, so we had to obtain data from all 141 towns in Slovakia (for 2018) individually. The research confirmed a possible relationship between the population size of the towns and the values of individual sub-indicators, differences in values were also visible among the regions (west, central, and east). The values of the summary indicator of multicriteria analysis of towns were significantly differentiated according to the regions of Slovakia; the population aspect of the towns did not have an impact.

Increasing the accuracy of the WRF-ARW numerical weather prediction model using Corine Land Cover and JAXA data

The geographic data play an important role in atmospheric and weather forecasting. They influence input physical parameters defining the energy balance and heat and moisture fluxes in the planetary boundary layer. The goal of this paper is to increase the accuracy of the widely used Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical prediction model using a more detailed, 100 m resolution Corine Land Cover 2018 (CLC) and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) elevation data in comparison to global data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) containing the MODIS LULC land cover and elevation data. The WRF-ARW variant of the model is applied to a study area of 50x50 km in the Košice region at a microscale level with a spatial resolution of 250 m for June 24, 2020. The GIS4WRF module in QGIS and other GIS tools are used to perform modelling and input and output data preparation and result analysis. The results for both datasets are compared to data measured in local weather stations and statistically evaluated. The use of higher-resolution geographical data improves the overall accuracy of the model for this microscale level.

Landslide susceptibility assessment using an integrated approach of the analytic network process and fuzzy logic, a case of Urmia Lake Basin

The occurrence of landslides has always been a problem in spatial planning as an environmental threat. The aim of the present study was to zoning landslide sensitive areas in the Urmia Lake Basin and to investigate the correlation between the characteristics of the region and the amount of landslide. To achieve these purposes, the situation of landslide sensitive areas in the Lake Urmia Basin was investigated using a combination of Fuzzy and Analytical Network Process (ANP) methods. The criteria' weight is obtained using the ANP, fuzzy Membership command, linear function, the fuzzy weight of the sub-criteria, and their fuzzy membership degree (between 0 and 1) are calculated. The weighted raster layers were combined using the Gamma overlay function. As a result of this operation, a classified map has been obtained which shows that 16.6% of the area has a very high landslide susceptibility, and the highest area of the study area, i.e., 27.32%, has a relatively high landslide susceptibility. The results of the present study were compared with the data recorded using field observations at landslide sites. The results showed that out of 182 points collected, 148 points (equivalent to 81.31%) correspond to class 6 (very high landslide susceptibility) and class 7 (extremely probable). The results of this research can be used in crisis management, identifying the suitability of the region in terms of geomorphological features, identifying environmental and natural hazards.

Regionálne nerovnosti v zdravotnej a sociálnej starostlivosti o seniorov na Slovensku

Slovakia's regional health and social care inequities in old age. This study aims to find and analyse inequity between regions in access to health and social care. Focusing on two age groups above 65 and 80, we investigate a possibility that in some regions health and social care deteriorates towards substandard level. We use a static regression test in spatial Durbin specification for the relationships between distribution of demand for health and social care in senior population, and distribution of service providers' network: general practitioners and medical specialists in the first domain, residential social care facilities in the second domain. Significant regression parameters reveal that health and social care correlate in a complex pattern, including indices of population density, settlement hierarchy and competition. Difference between public and private subjects suggests existence of cost effectiveness driving capacities into suburban area. Current intensity of population aging and related growth in cohort size in senior age encourage a novel attitude and reassessment of wellbeing, housing, security, formal and informal support. Increasing longevity creates a simultaneous participation of three or four generations in the family networks at the same time. Social and economic problems arise on basis of inter-generational responsibility. Social care for senior population is one of the most important components of state's institutional sphere. Despite long history and adaptive capacity of public social sector, on background of different socioeconomic contexts, their scope, structure, and spatial accessibility signal inequities. Regional qualities seem structurally linked with healthcare facilities, part of which evolves in a commercial regime. Supply side may avoid the burden of healthcare in old age when health and mobility decline. We pay attention to relationships between healthcare and social care capacities and suggest practical identification of regions and their parts at the municipality scale, in which inaccessibility aggregates. These regions need future spatially well-focused interventions correcting increasing commercial motive shaping distribution of service providers.

Výzkum učebních úloh v učebnicích geografie: přehledová studie

Although learning tasks are among the key components of Geography textbooks, they are not adequately addressed in research in Czechia and Slovakia. The aim of this study is to describe methodological approaches to the analysis of learning tasks in Geography textbooks applied in textbooks written in English and to synthesize related research findings. A systematic review study was applied to fulfil the objectives of the study. After gradual selection of the relevant sources, 13 studies were analyzed. The results show that within the methodologies used in the studies predominante the analyses of learning tasks which are focused on the categorization of tasks in terms of their cognitive demands and in terms of their potential to develop spatial thinking. The synthesis of the results showed that most learning tasks in textbooks are characterized by low cognitive intensity or develop the lowest categories of spatial thinking. In the light of research findings, we identify the desired directions of research of learning tasks in textbooks of geography and provide recommendations for authors and publishers of textbooks.

Geography of the conservative-liberal cleavage and selected factors influencing the distribution of conservative and liberal voters in Slovakia

The main aim of the paper is to identify the success rate in time and space of political parties with a more conservative electorate and those with a more liberal voters in Slovakia based on the results of parliamentary elections in the last twenty years and to conduct a subsequent correlation analysis of selected socioeconomic parameters (urbanisation rate, registered unemployment rate, the share of persons over 65 years of age, the share of persons with religious faith and share of university-educated persons) and the spatial distribution of conservative or liberal voters. We identify the success rate of parties with a more conservative or more liberal electorate at the level of the Slovak Republic as a whole, as well as in its regions and districts, in the parliamentary elections from 2002 onward, while also evaluating the issue through the spatially disaggregated results of the referendum on the family (2015). Based on statistical analysis, liberal vote rs in Slovakia are more notably concentrated in urban areas, particularly in districts with a lower level of unemployment, a higher share of people with a university education and non-religious residents. On the other hand, conservative voters are more evenly distributed throughout the country, and in their case, the highest statistical association identified among the monitored socioeconomic indicators related to the share of the population professing a certain religion. The highest summary statistical dependence among the examined variables in terms of the conservative-liberal conflict line was identified for indicators of the degree of urbanisation, the share of persons without religious confession and the share of university-educated people. It seems, given the current social situation opening up the liberal or secular ideas, that in the future the conflict of conservative and liberal values represented by specific parties and a significant number of voters in political struggle will become more significant, and not only in post-socialist countries. All the more important will be such studies, e.g. also in the context of setting up appropriate political marketing and effective election campaigns of political parties.

Riverbed response to high flows with installed willow spiling using Multiquadric Radial Basis Function (RBFMQ)

To establish the success of any river engineering revetment, post-project monitoring is a critical part of the process. Vegetation structures often lack detailed biological or geomorphological data to aid management procedures and project planning. Apart from the survival and growth rates, data mapping detailed changes on the riverbed and its response to bankfull events are critical. Riverbed adjacent to two willow spilling structures on the River Stour in East Anglia, UK, was surveyed before and after high flow events. The random field data were gridded using Radial Basis Function with Multiquadric option (RBF MQ) to reconstruct the surface most accurately, as it was found to be the most effective out of three methods tested. Data were gridded, sliced and cross-sections were plotted and compared at each site before and soon after high flow events. Image maps were generated, and volumetric changes were calculated. At both sites, erosion dominated in the upstream and sedimentation in the downstream sections of the bed surveyed. Structure undercutting occurred at gravel site up to 29 cm which is a rate that needs a management intervention to prevent project failure.

Size matters: Development and cooperation of municipalities in the Brno metropolitan area (Czech Republic)

The Czech Republic is typical for its fragmented settlement structure with a high number of small self-governing municipalities. Such a distinction causes many problems, including a non-effective way of their management. Even though various integration methods have already been applied in Europe for several decades, the Czech Republic, due to its historical development influenced by the period of communism, is still looking for intermunicipal cooperation opportunities at a higher (metropolitan) level. The presented text aims to evaluate a municipalities’ willingness to cooperate on particular activities and participate in selected topics on strategic and spatial planning at a metropolitan level. Their willingness is analysed according to the population size category of municipalities so that diverse approaches towards the willingness to cooperate could be identified for municipalities in different categories. The results are demonstrated by the example of the Brno Metropolitan Area, which is regarded to be a leader in the development of inter-municipal cooperation at a metropolitan level in the Czech Republic. The results were obtained from a questionnaire survey carried out with the mayors of the Brno metropolitan area in 2020. From a total of 184 municipalities, 175 municipalities took part in the questionnaire survey. Thus, the return was 95%. The results show that the assumption of the importance of the municipality population size is significant when making decisions about future development and cooperation within a metropolitan area. Although most municipalities in all size categories consider it useful to engage in cooperation and solve selected topics together at a metropolitan level, the municipalities in the smallest size categories of up to 1,000 inhabitants had a significantly lower proportion of very positive responses (definitely yes) than municipalities in the other categories. This fact may be attributed to the specific development of the Czech settlement system and the so-called historical memory of the residents from small municipalities during the directive merger in the 1970s and 1980s.

Shrinkage of the tarns in the High Tatras (Slovakia, Poland)

This paper assesses the shrinkage of glacial lakes in the High Tatras by analysing the series of historical and actual orthophotomaps from 1949 to 2018. The shoreline dynamics during this period were established by detailed retrospective remote sensing, and the decrease in the former surface of the water was caused by intensive interaction between morphodynamic processes and the lake basins. Herein, we have identified 38 tarns with an assumed decline in the area. This assumption was based on a comparison of initial visual analysis of the historical aerial photographs and the current orthophotomaps which capture all High Tatras tarns. We selected ten tarns with the largest or most representative changes and performed detailed cartographic analysis on them. We also attempted this analysis over shorter periods whenever possible and herein we established from 2.5 to 32.2% decrease in lake water surface area during the monitored period. This decrease in shallow lake basins was accompanied by the presence of accumulated debris flows, fine fraction fluvial-proluvial deposits, and vegetation. The shallow glacial lake basins are sensitive indicators of irreversible changes in their catchment areas and this study, therefore, highlights the effectiveness of combining detailed orthophotomaps and historical aerial photos and GIS tools in researching glacial lakes shoreline dynamics in the alpine landscape. Retrospective shoreline analysis facilitates the assessment of the effects of morphodynamic processes on the development of tarns from the postglacial period until today.

Vliv znázornění výškopisu v různých typech reliéfu na grafickou náplň map

The issue of graphic map load is currently very often overlooked. Conversely, having an objective knowledge of the level of a map load helps cartographers to assume the map’s readability and suitability for a target group of users. The aim of this study is, therefore, to use the Graphic Map Load Measuring Tool (GMLMT) and Subband Entropy script as objective metrics to evaluate the influence of terrain type (plains, hills, highlands, mountains, high mountains) and elevation representation method (contour lines, shading, colour hypsometry and their combinations) to graphic map load. The resulting map load values are visualized using multiple bar graphs and tables. Measurements performed using individual metrics confirmed the assumption that the map load of various terrain types differs the most when using contour lines. Hypsography using contour lines also reached the highest graphic map load among other methods. Hillshading and colour hypsography each also react specifically to increasing elevation differences. While graphic map load is increasing with increasing elevation differences, in the case of hillshading, map load seems to be more dependent on small terrain shapes and fragmentation of hillsides’ aspect.