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While data and/or information based education was built on pedagogic, psychology, philosophy of science and didactic disciplines, the new dimension of knowledge based education will involve new disciplines such as Knowledge Management, Epistemology, Systems Theory, Artificial Knowledge Management Systems, Value Theory and Theory of Measurement. It is often assumed that data, information and knowledge are depicted as a pyramid. The data, the most plentiful type, are at the bottom, information, produced from data, is above it and knowledge, produced from information through the hard work of refining or mining, above it. This schema satisfies specific needs of an organisation of warehouse data systems but it does not explain the role of these objects in the educational process. In education, the distinctions among data, information and knowledge need to be distinguished from the complex pedagogical point of view. Knowledge is the engine asking for more information and more data. Knowledge life cycle produces more information, more information asks for more data - that is: there is "just information". Data, information and knowledge can be considered as object oriented measures assigned to real objects (entities). The following measures can be assigned to the objects: Measure of the zero order - name. Measure of the first order - data. Measure of the second order - information. Metrics of the third order - knowledge. Knowledge based curriculum involves knowledge into study plans and it considers knowledge as a distinctive part of study. Knowledge becomes the engine starting cycle of new information acquisition, reproduction and integration. The following problems have to be solved in building of knowledge based curriculum: Methodology and organisation of educational process. Technical support for knowledge based education. Evaluation and assessment of the process.

"The International Year of Microcredit 2005 underscores the importance of microfinance as an integral part of our collective effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Sustainable access to microfinance helps to alleviate poverty by generating income…" (Kofi Anan). One of the important factors which influence disbursement of public debts in the LDCs are Microfinancing institutions. The article characterizes the progress of discharge of bankrupt from the macroeconomic point of view, and in the situation for microfinancing industry. One of the main question is when and under what conditions it is the suitable to accelerate the transformation of informal MFIs to formal institutions. In the conclusion, the basic conditions and hypothesis, which are necessary for functioning of formal MFIs, are mentioned.

The basic feature of an economic reform of the forestry in the Czech Republic after 1990 was separation of supervision in the state forests from operating performance. The Forests of the Czech Republic, state enterprise, was charged with management and supervision, hence economic activities of the subject are provided on the basis of contracts by entrepreneurial units called contractors in the forestry. The purpose of the paper is economic analysis of the Forests of the Czech Republic, state enterprise, in the period 1998-2002. The objective is the construction and testing of an elementary method of financial analysis as well as outline of financial situation and development of the chosen subject generally. The paper contributes to branch economy analysis, common in agriculture and wood-processing industry.

This paper deals with transformation of pure even-aged forest stands to uneven-aged irregular stands on an example of the Klokočná Forest Range. The fully operational management system according to principles of shelterwood or selection systems has been executed here since 1993. An investigation of this transformation process started in 1999 and it is focused on the places with more distinct structural differences. On the basis of research analysis, it is possible to consider about the permanent uneven-aged forest stands in future here. But for successful achievement of this goal it is necessary to continue this transformation step by step for a long time. The transformation is still at the beginning and its result depends on the effort and the forest management goal and the priority of the particular forest functions.

The Czech University of Agriculture in Prague in cooperation with the Business Exchange in Hradec Králové operates an electronic business system EBS, which enables on-line exchange trade negotiations through the Internet. The system fully takes the advantage of possibilities and technologies of e-business, bringing thus forward new opportunities for making use of the exchange trade with agricultural and food commodities on the EU liberal market. The whole procedure is a part of the Agrarian www portal AGRIS.

The identification of the improvement areas and utilization of information and communication technologies in agriculture, as the support of the agricultural development in line with the environmental sustainability criteria, have gained importance and priority in our knowledge driven society. Rules define constraints, conditions and policies of how the business processes are to be performed but they also affect the behavior of the resource and facilitate the strategic business goals achieving. They control the business and represent business knowledge. The article deals with business rules and rule technology and identifies the business and technical opportunities they afford company. It shows also how to specify and classify business rules from the business perspective and to establish an approach to managing them that will enable a faster change in business processes and other business concepts in particular business in agricultural area. This article could provide business analysts with an essential approach to understanding, redesigning and communicating what really happens in the business processes.

In 2001-2004 virulence of the wheat leaf rust population in the Czech Republic was studied on Thatcher near-isogenic lines with Lr1, Lr2a, Lr2b, Lr2c, Lr3a, Lr9, Lr10, Lr11, Lr15, Lr17, Lr19, Lr21, Lr23, Lr24, Lr26 and Lr28. Samples of leaf rust (180 in total) were obtained from different parts of the Czech Republic. Resistance genes Lr9 and Lr19 were effective to all tested isolates like in the previous years. Unlike the previous years virulence on Lr24 and Lr28 was observed. Relatively effective were also Lr1, Lr2a, Lr24, Lr28 and Lr2b. Other Lr genes were defeated by the majority of the tested samples. Our results transformed to the numbers of physiologic races indicate that race 61SaBa prevailed like in the previous years, followed by races 61, 2, 12SaBa, 2SaBa, 14, 77SaBa, 12, 57, 6, 53, 53SaBa, 77, and 14SaBa. Twenty-one winter wheat cultivars registered in 2001-2004 were tested with 8 leaf rust isolates. Out of them 15 showed resistance at least to one rust isolate. High resistance recorded in field trials for cvs Batis and Ilias, which were susceptible to all tested rust isolates at the seedling stage, demonstrates the importance of field (partial) resistance.

The objective of this paper was to obtain information about the effect of interactions and different agronomical measures on autumn saved herbage of different sites in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland). Within the different sites, the effect of the factors pre-utilisation (accumulation since June, July or August) and winter harvest date (November, December or January) on dry matter (DM) yield and digestibility of organic matter (DOM) was investigated over three consecutive years. All results were examined by analysis of variance and least-significance differences (LSD) were calculated (with P < 0.05). For all years, date of winter harvest was the most important source of variance. The highest yields were attained in November (varied from 2.3 to 0.8 t/ha), the lowest in January (from 1.5 to < 0.2 t/ha). The highest DOM concentration (from 70.4 to 52.4% of dry matter) was reached in November, and it decreased until January (from 59.6 to 35.2% of dry matter). Predominantly caused by the prevailing climatic conditions, the DM yields of the sites varied considerably during winter, showing a significance for the interaction winter harvest date × site as well as for the factor site. The utilisation of autumn saved herbage, pre-utilised in July, might be the best opportunity providing an adequate quantity and DOM for suckler cows until the end of the year, but the prevailing climatic conditions at different sites inCentral Europe finally decide on the practicability of winter grazing.

: The aim of this project was to carry out measurements of climatic process occurring in the glasshouse. This article describes the method of measuring the glasshouse microclimate using the Control WEB 2000 software and the ADAM 4000 series input/output modules. Control WEB 2000 is a graphic development environment to create measuring and control applications. Data acquisition was made by using the ADAM modules of 4000 series which ensure the conversion of data and their transmission from the sensors to the control computer. Soil temperature, glasshouse indoor and outdoor air temperatures and air humidity were analyzed during two summer months. The measuring application is further extended by a proposal for microclimate control in the glasshouse.

This paper presents the latest information about the supply of iodine to meet its requirements in hens of laying type, on the basis of iodine content in egg yolk and about the importance of eggs as an iodine source in human nutrition. The Sandell-Kolthoff method was applied to determine iodine content in the yolk of eggs from 9 large flocks (54 eggs) and 16 small flocks (96 eggs) in 2004, and from 10 large flocks (135 eggs) and 15 small flocks (114 eggs) in 2005. Iodine content was also determined in the albumen of 70 eggs. In 2004, the iodine content in the yolk of eggs from large flocks was 1 014.1 ± 356.6 while in 2005 it amounted to 1 663.8 ± 1 179.7 µg/kg fresh matter (P < 0.01); the respective values for the yolk of eggs from small flocks in 2004 and 2005 were 307.1 ± 255.7 and 519.5 ± 508.2 µg/kg fresh matter (P < 0.01). Compared to 1996, in 2005, the iodine content in yolk increased by 123.7% in large flocks, and by 19.2% in small flocks. The iodine content in albumen was 16.2 ± 9.7 µg/kg fresh matter, and it accounted for 2.6-5.0% of the total iodine content in 1 egg. The correlation coefficient between iodine contents in yolk and albumen was r = 0.67. In the Czech Republic, 1 egg from large flocks contains on average 31.2 µg iodine while 1 egg from small flocks contains 10.0 µg. Eggs from large flocks cover 7-14% and from small flocks 2.2-4.4% of the daily iodine requirement in adults. Iodine concentrations exceeding 2 500 µg/kg yolk fresh matter in large flocks were measured between week 32 and 60 of the laying cycle and with daily intake of 0.116-0.132 mg iodine per hen.

The evaluation of property is one of the basic human professions that have accompanied the human race ever since money was first used. At the time of the formation of modern science, this discipline was not included among the economic sciences. The stipulation of the value of property was based not only on theoretical knowledge of the economics, knowledge of goods, technology, agriculture and law, but also practical skills, knowledge of markets and the art of correctly assessing the requirements of customers. This situation continued until the end of the last millennium, when the evaluation of property stood apart from official science and was presented as an activity that links science and art and for this reason it was not possible to include it among the scientific disciplines. There is given analysis of value and valuation of property. On the base of philosophical approach to value and process of valuation, it can be stated that Valuation is a science in terms which in modern science have meaning. This would enable surveyors to participate also in the promotion of their profession on the academic floor and thus have more influence on the general opinion of value and its influence on contemporary society.

This article presents some partial conclusions from the solution to the Research Project QF 4142 Higher exploitation of non-food production in the industry. The funding and supporting programmes of the growing of short rotation coppices (SRC) are described. The establishment of short rotation coppices and the subsequent exploitation of wood mass are promising trends of diversification of farmers' activities in the rural space. Plot sizes in ha and financial support to the establishment of the SRC plantations are given for 2001-2004, when a total of 166 ha of supported short rotation coppices was established. The establishment support is paid at a single installment while the amount paid for the establishment of the SRC production plantation is 60 000 CZK/ha and the amount paid for the establishment of mother plantation (reproduction plantation) is 75 000 CZK/ha.

Damage to forest stands and their decline in the Czech Republic evoked a necessity to elucidate the function of soil in these processes. Main factors affecting acidification of forest soils are assessed in the paper. On the one hand, it refers to natural factors such as properties of soil-forming substrates and species composition of forest stands, on the other hand, to the effects of anthropogenic character such as influences of man-made spruce monocultures and effects of acid depositions. Special attention is paid to the development of forest soils in the Krušné hory Mts., where the effects of acid depositions are highest.

Anthropogenic soils are formed by human activities. The contents of potentially risk elements are one of the most important criteria of the exploitability of such soils for the agricultural production. The aim of this paper is to assess the contents of the selected potentially risk elements in 16 areas of the Sokolov region, including 5 reclaimed areas and 11 natural soils. 116 sampling locations were analysed in total. Another aim is to analyse the relationships between the elements, using multivariate statistical methods. The contents of the risk elements studied were in most cases under the limit values. In some cases, as with Pb, they were very low compared to the limit values. In the principal component analysis, four components explaining 74% of total variability were selected. The first component (30.2% of variability) showed strong correlations with Mn, V, Ni, and Cu contents. The second component (15.8% of variability) correlated with As and Be. The third component (14.3%) correlated with Pb and Cd. The fourth component (13.7%) correlated with Zn and Cr. The mean scores of each area were projected into the component plots, which enables the assessment of the relative importance of each group of elements in each particular area. The reclaimed and the natural soils are clearly distinguished. It can be concluded that the contents of the risk elements studied do not currently present any important problem in the reclaimed areas. Nevertheless, the situation should be further monitored.

The primary goal of our analysis is to evaluate the effects of changes in the Slovak agriculture subsidy system on the selected farms located in different production areas between the years 2003 and 2004. Our comparative analysis divides the farms into two groups: The first group represents all those farms that operate in good farming conditions i.e. primarily the land is more productive (PA). The second group of farms operates in less favorable farming conditions (LFA). The regions differ from each other in terms of geographical position, location, production and climatic conditions, as well as the quality of land. We analyzed data of 119 farms.

In Slovakia, agricultural enterprises have applied the organic way of production from the 90s of the 20th century. We can state that the production of organic products has been improved. More than 90% of organic agricultural products are oriented towards export markets or conventional production. There are only a few storages with eco-products in the Slovak Republic. The paper deals with the factors of the successfulness in the market with organic products from the viewpoint of the vertical line "agricultural enterprise - processor - trade - consumer". These relate to the active market with eco-products in Slovakia.

The production of adult steers for beef could be a profitable use of the territory in some mountain areas in the south of Europe, where this production is nearly inexistent, owing to an increase in the demand for meat from adult animals in specialized markets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the profitability of beef production in three breeds adapted to these areas but varying greatly in their mature size. The studied breeds were a specialized meat breed Limousin, a dual-purpose breed - Brown Swiss breed and - a Spanish local breed Asturiana de los Valles. Higher growth rates (P < 0.05) and higher carcass weights (P < 0.05) were achieved by Brown Swiss and Limousin. In relation to carcass value, better results of dressing percentage (P < 0.001), conformation (P < 0.001) and saleable meat percentages (P < 0.001) were obtained byLimousin. Due to preferences of the adult steers market for carcass with high fatness, Brown Swiss and Limousin could be more suitable to make this production profitable than Asturiana de los Valles (4.7 and 4.2 vs. 2.7, respectively, on the EUROP scale).

In 2001-2005, the effects of game on the condition and development of natural regeneration of a floodplain forest were studied in three permanent transects in the Vrapač National Nature Reserve (NNR). Fraxinus excelsior, Acer pseudoplatanus, Acer campestre and Acer platanoides predominated in the regeneration. The species were markedly damaged by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) browsing, the most affected being Acer pseudoplatanus. In spite of always newly occurring trees from self-seeding, the abundance of trees decreased during the studied period, self-seeding did not grow up from a height of 30-40 cm, the proportion of Acer pseudoplatanus decreased and that of Fraxinus excelsior increased. In addition to browsing, in 2003 and 2005 browsing damage to bark was noted in some places and in 2005 also the breaking of trees with subsequent browsing of terminal shoots, the causal agent of both types of damage being fallow deer. The development of natural regeneration is limited in principle by trophic preferences of game and by the tolerance of particular species to repeated damage. On the basis of these conditions it is necessary to consider the present game stock to be contradictory with objectives of area protection and preservation.

Physical properties of commercial fertilizers play important role from precision application point of view. Granulometric evaluation is usually performed by sieve separation according ČSN 01 5030 standard. The main subject of this work is the presentation of separation results when vertical airflow is used.

Rotaviruses are major cause of acute diarrhea in animals and humans which can result in huge economic losses in farm animals including pigs. We collected 195 samples of feces of diarrhoeic animals. Rotavirus was demonstrated by electron microscopy using the method of negative staining in 27 samples and by ELISA test using monoclonal antibodies to the group antigen VP6 in 44 samples. Nine samples were selected for virus isolation. Three virus isolates (P375/4, P410/4 and P646/1) were successfully adapted to growth in cell line MA-104. These isolates were allocated to group A rotaviruses based on ELISA, immunoperoxidase test and electropherotype analysis. Electropherotype analysis demonstrated changes during passage in cell line in two of the three isolates. The selected sample P543/1 proved negative in ELISA in a fecal sample. Electropherotype analysis of this sample revealed a "longer" electropherotype profile. The profile was suggestive of group C rotavirus. Rotavirus group C was confirmed by RT-PCR and by sequence analysis in this sample.

Czech settlement structure as well as the structure of public administration on municipal level is extremely disintegrated. Besides a great number of very small villages - small settlement units - there exists a big share of very small municipalities with self-government. Those municipalities can and often do cooperate in voluntary associations, which can transfer some of their competencies by a specific municipal treaty. This paper is focused on the discussion of possibilities and limits of cooperation among rural municipalities. Different forms of existing collaboration are discussed and possibilities of new forms of municipal collaboration are drafted, including the possible presumed and real dangers of such collaboration.

The paper is focused on the actual problems of agricultural producers' incomes. Currently these become one of the monitored descriptors of maintaining of social stability in agriculture and in the countryside. There is not judged the height and the income development in the article, but the attention is paid to their structure. Concretely, the relation between incomes, which come from the entrepreneurial activity of producers, and the supports, which farmers get in the frame of the Common Agrarian Policy, is monitored. The aim is to draw attention to the possibility of a certain future disproportion towards strengthening of subsidiary means in the total incomes, which could dampen the own entrepreneurial activities. At the same time, it is necessary in this context to solve also methodological aspects of income level monitoring in agriculture. The European Union (Eurostat) makes available several variants of monitoring. Nevertheless, it is essential that the methodology was unambiguous and transparent, so that the incomes in agrarian sector could be unambiguously quantified. Last but not least, the attention is called to a strong influence of the knowledge approach within fulfillment of the European agricultural model.

Environmental pollution of heavy metals from automobiles has attained much attention in the recent past. The present research was conducted to study heavy metal contamination in roadside soils of northern England. Roadside soil samples were collected from 35 sites in some counties of northern England and analysed for four heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead, zinc). Their concentrations and distributions in different road verge zones (border, verge, slope, ditch) were determined. Lead concentration was the highest in the soil and ranged from 25.0 to 1198.0 μg/g (mean, 232.7 μg/g). Zinc concentration ranged from 56.7 to 480.0 μg/g (mean, 174.6 μg/g) and copper concentration ranged from 15.5 to 240.0 μg/g (mean, 87.3 μg/g). Cadmium concentration was the lowest in the soil and varied from 0.3 to 3.8 μg/g (mean, 1.4 μg/g). Though the levels of heavy metals in roadside soils were higher as compared to their natural background levels in British soils, their concentrations in general, however, were below the 'critical trigger concentrations' for the contaminated soils. All the four heavy metals exhibited a significant decrease in the roadside soils with the increasing distance from the road. The border zone had the highest mean concentration of the four metals whereas the ditch zone exhibited the lowest mean concentration.

A smooth entrepreneurial activity requires adequate cash flows. This need is quantified due to the special position of primary agricultural production. The required volume, structure, quality and availability of financial resources creates economic framework for decision making and managing entrepreneurial activities. The results show the lack of total capital in connection to the needs of investment processes and ensuring operational activities in the selected enterprises. Both legal entities (agricultural cooperatives and business enterprises) decreased the total volume of assets and total liabilities in 2004. The economic result was improved in both types of legal entities, in the case of cooperatives by 3 525 SKK/ha a.l. and in business companies by 1 840 SKK/ha a.l. Receivables and payables also decreased, cash flows from business activities have increased. There is a decrease in the balances of the existing loans and new loans were provided by commercial banks for enterprises in primary agricultural production.

Forestreclamation of spoil banks in mining areas in the North-West of the country started in the second half of the last century. Nowadays forest stands growing on anthropogenic substrates which are still unlike to forest soils, are getting in the phase of possible natural and/or artificial regeneration. The basic characteristics of substrate in the area and ecological attitude of used tree species are driving variables for successful regenerations. The study summarizes the vitality and growth of selected species on anthropogenic substrates in the area with the recommendations of key tree species used for forest reclamation. The results show the best adaptation to anthropogenic substrates for black alder and maple.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of open reading frames 6 and 7 was applied to comparative genetic analysis of live attenuated vaccine strains (Amervac-PRRS/A3, Porcilis PRRS, Ingelvac PRRS) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), registered in the Czech Republic, six field viruses (L-588, L-1606, L-2053, L-3305, L-6558, L-6791), and three PRRSV local field isolates (CAMP V-502, CAMP V-503, VOS 2878) found in pig herds in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. The set of restriction enzymes Hae II, Alu I and BsaJ I allowed the differentiation of local field isolates, field viruses of PRRS, and vaccine strains of the European genotype from North American genotype, but could also distinguish between viruses of the same genotype. Five different RFLP patterns were obtained from twelve examined PRRS viruses by combination of the above restriction enzymes. RFLP code 1-1-1 was the most frequent digestion pattern within all PRRS field viruses (L-588, L-1606, L-2053, L-3305, L-6558, L-6791), CAMP V-502 isolate and vaccine strain Porcilis PRRS, which is suggestive of higher antigenic identity among the compared viruses. In the North American types (Ingelvac PRRS vaccine strain and VOS 2878 isolate), homogeneity in restriction patterns (code 2-x-4) was recorded. These studies indicate that PCR-based RFLP analysis of ORF6 and ORF7 of genes might be a suitable tool in epidemiological studies of PRRSV, similarly to the studies based on genetic analysis of ORF5 gene.

How does an organization utilize knowledge for the reproduction of its culture in innovations, it was a key-point of the question for an approach based on the methodology of social process in the recent past. Then the formation of knowledge was considered a process of power politics with the consequences for knowledge management. In the framework of those projects, attempts were made in organizations to extract the knowledge from experts and specialized professionals that it might be codified and saved in extensive databases; only then the remainder of employees ought to have possibility to consult them and add the results of their own ideas to these databases. Poor success of such attempts only illustrates the methodological failure of utilizing information technologies for knowledge formation, its storage and transfer. Moreover, when a new fact was soon discovered even in the framework of the new approach, that there was an abyss-like difference between information (that information technologies operate with) and the knowledge, then the significance of personality increased again. The research that was done with the "champions of organizational learning" in the framework of knowledge management emphasized their import in catching the best experience, knowledge codification and its distribution in the organizations. Among other qualities, the knowledge is strongly personalized: it means it is connected with personal experience, attitudes, and evaluations. On the other hand, an advantage of new methodology was that the possible social actions, connected with the knowledge management, search for a strategy, and implementation were studied. These very changes in methodology have been a valuable contribution even for the research into the role of personality within this social process, however. They induce circumstances and means for studying the infrastructure of relationships that make possible the impact of individual authority in organization in general. In this paper, we also pay attention to this social process in teams as compared to collectives and how team-leaders emerge within them.

The possibility of the application of near-infrared spectroscopy to the analysis of the selected parameters of quality of the dairy products was followed. The contents of solids and fat, as well as pH in yoghurts (also the titrable acidity), milk semolina, and milk rice were determined. The samples were analysed by reference methods and by FT NIR spectroscope at integrating sphere within reflectance mode in the wavelength range of 10 000-4 000 cm^-1 with 100 scans. To develop the calibration model for the components examined, the partial least squares (PLS) was used and this model was validated by full cross validation. The highest correlation coefficients were found with yoghurt: 0.998 (solids), 0.989 (fat), 0.875 (pH) and 0.989 (titrable acidity), with milk semolina: 0.967 (solids), 0.983 (fat) and 0.992 (pH), and with milk rice: 0.987 (solids), 0.990 (fat) and 0.852 (pH). The results of this study showed the availability of NIR spectroscopy for a quick and non-destructive analysis of the dairy products.

This paper deals with an evaluation of the economics in two commercial plum orchards which were established between 1993-1997 using dense tree-spacing and modern principles of orchard management. This evaluation was conducted in 1994-2004 with the following cultivars: Bluefre, Common Prune, Čačanska lepotica, Čačanska najbolja, Gabrovska, Hamanova, Opal, President, Ruth Gerstetter,Stanley, and Valjevka. Orchard establishment costs, pruning costs, annual orchard operating and pest management costs and returns up to 11 years of growth are given. A denser planting had a positive influence on total yields per hectare with higher returns. Costs per ton of fruit mostly varied between 4 and 7 thousand CZK, whereas farmer prices fluctuated between 7.6 to 13.6 thousand CZK per ton. The highest returns after seven years of growth from one hectare were exhibited by the cultivar President on rootstock St. Julien A in the spacing 4 × 2.5 m followed by the cultivar Stanley on rootstock Myrobalan and the same spacing.