X-ray radiography and tomography for monitoring the penetration depth of consolidants in Opuka – the building stone of Prague monuments

Stone consolidation is one of the major restoration treatments used for historical monuments preservation. A natural stone is a complicated heterogeneous porous system making the process of consolidation dependent on many variables. In practical restoration aims, for a given stone type, the selection of a suitable consolidant and consolidation conditions therefore remains a complex issue. The impregnation depth is a key factor for the assessment of the treatment efficiency. The combination of state-of-the-art hybrid pixel semiconductor detectors with newly available micro-focus X-ray sources makes possible to apply X-ray radiography, an ideal non-destructive tool, for penetration depth monitoring. In this study, high-resolution X-ray radiography is used for monitoring the penetration depth of organosilicon consolidants in the Opuka stone. The penetration depth has been evaluated in relation to the time of consolidation, stone porosity and consolidation mixtures properties. The exact influence of the X-ray contrast agent on the consolidation depth has been investigated as well. The information obtained provides supplementary knowledge on the suitability of investigated products for the treatment of this type of stone. In our study, the capabilities of X-ray radiography have been demonstrated on X-ray radiography simple projections, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) as well as on the dynamic processes monitoring. The results thus can serve also as an instrumental and methodological example applicable for consolidation monitoring of other stone types.     

The determinants of international student mobility flows: an empirical study on the Erasmus programme

The Erasmus Programme for higher education students is supposed to play an important socio-economic role within Europe. Erasmus student mobility flows have reached a relevant level of two million since 1987, boosted in recent years by the enlargement of the programme to eastern countries. Thereafter, it seems that flows have staggered. In this context, the article analyses the determinants of Erasmus student mobility establishing relevant hypotheses, which arise from the migration theory and gravity models. A panel data set of bilateral flows for all the participating countries has been used in order to test the factors influencing these student flows. Country size, cost of living, distance, educational background, university quality, the host country language and climate are all found to be significant determinants. Results also reveal that there are other determinants, like a country’s characteristics and time effects, which can affect mobility flows. Based on these findings, some general recommendations are put forward to enhance these flows.     

Approaching Students in Higher Education Governance: Introduction to the Special Issue

Tertiary Education and Management - This article introduces the special issue of Tertiary Education and Management dedicated to the positions and roles of students in higher education governance....     

Occupational Well-being Among University Faculty: A Job Demands-Resources Model

The effects of changing academic environments on faculty well-being have attracted considerable research attention. However, few studies have examined the multifaceted relationships between the academic work environment and the multiple dimensions of faculty well-being using a comprehensive theoretical framework. To address this gap, this study implemented the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model to investigate how job demands/resources in the academic environment interact with multiple dimensions of faculty well-being. The study participants were 1389 full-time faculty members employed in public universities in the Czech Republic. The participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived job resources (influence over work, support from supervisor and colleagues), job demands (quantitative demands, work-family conflicts and job insecurity) and three dimensions of faculty well-being (job satisfaction, stress and work engagement). A structural equation model was used to test the effects of “dual processes” hypothesized by the JDR theory, i.e., the existence of two relatively independent paths between job demands/resources and positive/negative aspects of faculty well-being. The model showed a very good fit to our data and explained 60% of the variance in faculty job satisfaction, 46%, in stress and 20% in work engagement. The results provide evidence for the dual processes, including the “motivational process” (i.e., job resources were related predominantly to work engagement and job satisfaction) and the “health impairment process” (i.e., job demands were predominantly associated with stress, mostly through work-family conflict). The study expands current research on faculty well-being by demonstrating the complex, non-linear relationships between academic work environments and different dimensions of faculty well-being.     

Maximal oxygen uptake and work capacity after inspiratory muscle training: a controlled study

The effect of inspiratory muscle training for 10 min twice a day for 27.5 days was evaluated in 20 human subjects, of whom 10 formed a training group and 10 a sham training group. The maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), maximal ventilation, breathing frequency during maximal exercise and the distance run in 12 min on a track were determined in addition to resting peak expiratory flow, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), with alveolar oxygen tension (pAO2) during maximal exercise being calculated. Inspiratory muscle training increased maximal inspiratory pressure from 93 (range 38-118) to 110 (65-165) mmHg in the training group (P less than 0.0005), but did not affect VO2 max, ventilation during maximal exercise, peak expiratory flow, FEV1 or FVC. However, breathing frequency during maximal exercise decreased slightly from 56 (44-87) to 53 (38-84) breaths min-1 (P less than 0.05) in the training group only; but the calculated pAO2 did not increase from the pre-training value of 126 (116-132) mmHg. The maximal distance run during 12 min increased similarly in the training and sham training groups by 8% (3-12%) and 6% (2-12%), respectively (P less than 0.01). The results of this study show that inspiratory muscle training resulting in a 32% (0-85%) increase in maximal inspiratory pressure does not change FEV1, FVC, peak expiratory flow, VO2 max or work capacity.     

Decrease in pulmonary diffusion capacity after maximal exercise

Oppression of the chest, cough and orthopnea are well known to occur in some athletes after competitions, maybe reflecting an increase in lung water. In order to indicate if lung water increases after maximal exercise we measured pulmonary diffusion capacity before and 2.1 h after a short maximal arm exercise bout in 11 canoeists and showed a decrease of 6.7%. The result may be explained by a calculated 17% increase in alveolar interstitial volume.     

Differences between Czech and Slovak economic higher education from 1945 to 1953

This paper discusses the development of economic higher education in Czechoslovakia from 1945 to 1953, ie before the emergence of new economic universities with the same name: University of Economics (Vysoká ?kola ekonomická) in Prague and Bratislava. Its aim is to determine possible similarities and differences in economic education between the Czech lands and Slovakia. Although the paper embraces the issue comprehensively, the main focus is on the comparison of two of the most important colleges, the Commercial College in Prague and Slovak College of Commerce in Bratislava. It concludes and claims that despite the Czechoslovak uniform policy in tertiary education, there were undoubtedly some national differences. Essentially, they stemmed from different networks and the number of economic schools in the Czech lands and Slovakia and from different prior traditions. Overall, Slovaks endeavoured to continue with the preceding development more than Czechs.     

Teacher Education in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

Teacher education in Czechoslovakia is part of a unified national provision of education; this covers in‐service as well as pre‐service training. The basis is that of training at Higher education level followed by life‐long upgrading.

The Marxist‐Leninist view is that the quality of the teacher is central to the educational process. Consequently, the initial and in‐service training of the teacher are of paramount importance, and the Czechoslovak system aims at an integrated approach to the entire process. In this process, acquisition of ideological, as well as professional, maturity, is seen as essential. Equally, the teacher must master his chosen discipline (s) in the scientific sense.

Additionally, it is important that the teacher be able to participate actively in the community—in, for example, family education, health care and concern for the environment.

Against this background of goals, the author outlines the Czechoslovak institutional provision for initial training, conditions for enrolment and the process of obtaining a post, before providing an in‐depth examination of the country's provision of in‐service education. A final section emphasises the position of the teacher in society, and specifically in socialist society. The teacher is, quite simply, a key figure and teacher education has to be built around this fact.

Svatopluk S. Petrá?ek is Professor of Education and Director of the European Centre of the Charles University for Further Education of Teachers.