Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jan HRON Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic Title: Design of experiments for the analysis and optimization of barcodes of food and agricultural products Abstract: The tools and modern techniques used in the Design of Experiments (DOE) have been proved successful in meeting the challenge of continuous improvement of food and agricultural products over the last fifteen years. The current methodological appliance of the DOE is represented by the set of scientific methods for identifying the significant and/or critical parameters associated with the process and thereby determining the optimal settings for those process variables which are able to enhance the performance and capability of the response (e.g. the selected character of a product quality). However, recent researches have shown that the application of these techniques in the food-processing industry and agricultural production are limited due to the lack of statistical knowledge required for their effective implementation (especially in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies). Therefore, this paper focuses on the modified DOE methods (for use in a community of scientists and product engineers), which overcome the problem of statistics by taking a unique approach using graphical tools. The same outcomes and conclusions are reached as by those approaches using statistical methods and the potential users will find the concept in this paper both familiar and easy to understand. In this way, it will ensure a broad practical application of the methodology that is described in this paper. From the theoretical point of view, the main objective of the paper is to optimize the barcode printing processes on food packaging through the effective application of the DOE techniques in order to discover the significant process parameters which affect the means of the so-called "Z-module" (defines the nominal width of the narrow elements), "GS1 International" (defines certain size ranges), "PCS measurement" (means Print Contrast Signal measurement) and also in order to discover the key parameters which affect their variabilities. Keywords: barcode, design of experiments, food packaging, manufacturing process, optimization, printing Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 549-556 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/123/2012-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/123/2012-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201212-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:123-2012-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Helena CHLÁDKOVÁ Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Pavel TOMŠÍK Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jiří SEDLO Author-Workplace-Name: Winegrower Association of the Czech Republic, Velké Bílovice, Czech Republic Title: Changes of the varietal structure of vineyards in the Czech Republic Abstract: The paper describes changes in the structure of varieties grown in the Czech Republic. The authors examine the development taking place in this domain within the last 14 years (i.e. from 1997 to 2010). The paper analyses the reasons of these changes and tries to describe the future development expected after 2010. The article also examines the cost and profitability of growing grapes and wine prices. The current production potential of the Czech Republic is 19 633.45 hectares of vineyards. As compared with 1960, the total acreage of vineyards increased nearly three times and the number of the most frequent varieties has also increased. As far as the percentages of Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling and Sankt Laurent varieties is concerned, it is anticipated that their acreages will further decrease, whereas those of Rhein Riesling, Sauvignon, Lemberger and Zweigeltrebe are expected to grow. The results from the survey of consumer behaviour in the wine market in the CR point to the connection between the structure of the vineyards and consumer demand. Lemberger, Cabernet Sauvignon, Müller Thurgau, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc, Saint Laurent, Blue Portugal, Chardonnay, Riesling and Bohemia Sekt have been the most popular varieties of the market research. Keywords: grapevine varieties, popularity of varieties, structure, trends, vineyard area, wine prices Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 557-565 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/96/2012-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/96/2012-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201212-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:96-2012-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Pavel BACHMANN Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, University of Hradec Králové, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Title: Openness to information disclosure: the case of Czech rural municipalities Abstract: Though information disclosure is an innate part of public corporate governance as well as an important help in the fight against corruption, only a limited research is done in this field. The objectives of the study therefore focus on the municipal website accessibility and the availability of municipal documents offered to the citizens. Primary data on the information disclosure were gathered through the website analysis of rural municipalities in the chosen region (n = 395). The study findings e.g. show that although about nine tenths (87%) of municipalities have their own website, the quality of the web accessibility (including the web existence, web uptodatedness, and web address intuitiveness) was found in less than half (46%) of them only. Concerning the documents offered by the municipality, it is most common to publish the minutes from the municipal council meeting (71%). The information on the local nonprofits is provided by six tenths of the municipalities (60%) and the electronic periodicals were present in less than one third (28%) of the cases. The openness to publishing information also significantly varies according to the population of the municipality. Keywords: Czech Republic, information disclosure, public administration, rural municipality, website Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 580-590 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/2/2012-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2/2012-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201212-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:2-2012-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: editors Title: Volume 58 Contents Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 591-593 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6448-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6448-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:6448-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: editors Title: Author index Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 594-595 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6449-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6449-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:6449-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: editors Title: List of reviewers Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 596 Volume: 58 Issue: 12 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6713-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6713-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:12:id:6713-AGRICECON