Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

Natural conditions and traditions of agriculture production are challenging by sustainable development in Slovakia. The significant portion of arable land is devoted to the cultivation of crops, especially cereals, feed crops and industry crop. There is a high representation of mountains areas in country, therefore the fertile lowlands in west-south and east part are the primary locations of almost all agricultural production. The main objective of this work is to integrate the bio-physical crop data on yields with the economic data enabling to calculate net returns, in order to identify alternative costs of agricultural management practices for cultivation of 13 most important crops in selected west-south regions of Slovakia. We use bottom up optimization model which is based on linear programming. Management practices are differentiated according to nutrient input and irrigation application in order to evaluate yields as well as environmental factor – water use efficiency. Results suggest that in terms of net returns the management practices with high and medium nutrient input without irrigation are the most profitable but can represent a potential environmental pressure for soil. Such kind of optimization targets to create a better condition to reach environmental and economic balance of crop production.

The goal of the paper is to summarize the results of the authors’ questionnaire survey focused on identification and comparison of possible differences in study motivation and job expectations of students of one private and one public university in the Czech Republic to find out potential sources of students’ dissatisfaction and to propose appropriate measures to improve the teaching process in order to achieve the sustainable development of the professional competencies of university students. The questionnaire survey was conducted by authors from February to April 2017. The respondents were full-time and combined bachelor’s students of the College of Regional Development in Prague (private) and the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies of the Czech Technical University in Prague (public). The relevant data were obtained from 758 students. The data analysis was based on the calculation of relative frequencies (as a share from the total number of respondents) and the evaluation of the dependence of responses on the type of university (students of the private college and students of the public institute) using contingency tables and chi-square tests of independence. The results support the assumption that the current generation of university students studies to succeed in the future, but it has relatively high expectations about work and career that may reduce its employability if it does not have the appropriate work experience and social habits.

Corporate Sustainability (CS) and Organisational Ambidexterity (OA) are two aspects that are capable of facilitating innovation in business. Though the concepts have been elaborately discussed separately, attempts are yet to be made to find out the association between them and blending of the two. Both CS and OA gathered the attention of social scientists and management experts only recently. However, within a short span of a few decades there has been sufficient accumulation of literature in these challenging areas. While CS involves a host of actions by which organizations strive for financial success, even as they accept the responsibility for their actions and its impacts on a diverse group of stakeholders; OA is the ability of an organisation to simultaneously explore and exploit, enabling it to succeed at adaption over time rather than pursing limited activities. The present paper attempts to find out the similarities and associations between CS and OA. It is expected, that the present work will add to the existing body of literature about the two concepts, and provide inputs for further research in this new and exciting area.

Sustainable development of separate regions and countries is affected by array of factors among which energy security plays a cricial role. We claim, that efficient use of energy is very important constutuent of energy security. The first part of the presented paper we wil devote to overview of perception of energy security and revealing waht role energy efficiency plays. Energy efficiency could be estimated by energy intensity indicator, which shows what ammount of energy is used for e.g. one European Euro. This indicator can be calculated for main sectors of economy: various branches of industry, services and agriculture. The higher value added is created in the sector, or, to put it in onother way, the higher activity of sector, the more important that energy in this sector would be used efficiently. In this paper we tackle longterm activity and energy efficiency of agriculture sector in developed and less developed countries.We raise an assumtion that in better developed countries activity of agricultural sector in long-run would diminish, what would be followed by gradular increase in energy intensity; i.e. energy intensity indicator would gradually diminish. Besides, we assume that those tendencies would be slightly different in currently less developed countries; i.e. agricultural sector not necessarely would contract and energy intensity would diminish with higher rates if to juxatopse with better developed countries. In order to verify raised assumptions data of the selected European countries will be used. Better developed countries would be represented by one country – Germany. Less developed European countries would be represented by Bulgaria and Romania. We will forecast activity and energy intensity by using LEAP software. Indicated data for chosen countries will be forecated untill year 2050. Obtained results will indicate if consitent patterns could be traced and respective policy implications formulated.

In this article the current trends of development of crime of the terrorist character and extremist orientation are investigated. On the basis of data of official statistics the state and structure of crime of terrorist character and extremist orientation are reflected. The tendency of steady growth of relative indicators of crimes of the terrorist character and extremist orientation is noted. Stimulation of activity of the terrorist and extremist organizations in the Russian Federation naturally inspired the further development of criminal and legal measures of counteraction of crime. Novelization of the criminal law has caused extension of the list of crimes of the terrorist character and extremist orientation. The restructuring of standards of the criminal law directed to the strengthening of measures of counteraction to encroachments of the terrorist character and extremist orientation is followed during the modern period mainly by criminalization and penalization of acts. The outlined tendency of growth of the criminal tension interfaced to development of the terrorist and extremist activity is reflected on the types and amount of the sentences imposed by the courts for the specified crimes. Special attention is paid to the measures of counteraction to the crimes of terrorist character and extremist orientation interfaced to an improvement of legal regulation of their prevention, stimulation of the state mechanism of counteraction of activity of the terrorist and extremist organizations, expansion of the international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

With the changing global security situation, increase in external threats or emergence of new ones (cyberattacks, non-conventional warfare models, etc.), countries must feel concern regarding consolidation of their security. In this regard, both the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine are taking measures to enhance and expand their military forces. One of the means to fortify military forces is attracting citizens to serve in the civilian national defence service. Authors of the article employ a comparative aspect to analyse the need for statutory servants serving in the civilian national defence service, as well as reveal the number and type of professionals to be required by the national defence system and explore benefits provided by such statutory servants as well as their purpose in the army. Additionally, in the article authors reveal administrational-legal status of civilian national defence services in both the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine, its place in the system of other militarised or civil public administration institutions. Comparative aspect is also used to analyse administrative legal status of statutory servants of civilian national defence service, peculiarities of admission of statutory servants to the national defence system and their service therein, as well as possibilities for motivation and stimulation of citizens to exercise service in the civilian national defence service. Therefore, the article aims to answer the question of what could motivate citizens to carry out service in the civilian national defence service, what incentives (needs, interests, values, stimulus, realisation of importance of certain matters, remuneration, etc.) would result in motivation (attitude and interest in) to serve in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and to participate in international operations.