Data mining nowadays belongs to the most prominent Information
technologies, experiencing a boom of interest from users and software producers. Traditionally, extracting knowledge from data has been a domain of statisticians, and the largest variety of rnethods encountered in commercial data mining systems are actually methods for statistical data analysis tasks. One of the most important ones among them is testing hypotheses about the probability distribution underlying the data. Basically, it consists in checking the null hypothesis that the probability distribution, a priori cissumed to belong to a broad set of distributions, actually belongs to one of its narrow subsets, which must be precisely delimited in advance. However, in a situation in which the data mining is performed, there are seldom enough clues for such a precise delimitation. That is why the generalizations of statistical hypotheses testing to vague hypotheses háve been investigated for more than a decade, so far following the most straightforward way - to replace the set defining the null hypothesis by a fuzzy set. In this páper, a principally different generalization is proposed, based on the observational-logic approach to data mining, and in particular to hypotheses testing. Its key idea is to view statistical testing of a fuzzy hypothesis cis an application of an appropriate generalized quantifier of a fuzzy predicate calculus to predicates describing the data. The theoretical principles of the approach are elaborated for both crisp and fuzzy significance levels, and illustrated on the quantifier lower critical implication, well known from the data mining system Guha. Finally, the implementation of the approach is briefly sketched.
The aim of this paper is to analyze changes in fertility in Slovakia in interwar period and to describe its overall character in transversal and longitudinal perspective. The article is based on data from vital statistics of Statistical office. Special attention is paid to the level of concious fertility control and spatial differencies. and Branislav Šprocha, Pavol Tišliar.
Tento text představuje komplexní úvod k systému NESSTAR. Je určen především (potenciálním) uživatelům tohoto programového balíku, určeného pro publikování, prohledávání a analýzu dat na webu. V úvodní části je popsán vznik tohoto programu, jeho jednotlivé části a také možnosti, které nabízí producentům a depozitorům dat. V druhé části je pak Nesstar představen jako nástroj pro on-line prohledávání a analýzu dat. Jde současně o uživatelský manuál, který by měl ukázat cestu k sociologickým datům na internetu., Tomáš Čížek, Martin Vávra., 22 obrázků, and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this study is to explore the sources of attitude constraints regarding the role of government in the economy, and to find out whether the sources of these constraints are the same as in Western democracies. Use is made of Converse’s approach to conceptualize attitude constraint where an individual’s belief system is seen to be a configuration of attitudes and values characterized by a functional interdependence, or constraint. This constraint may be interpreted in terms of the probability of being able to predict one attitude having knowledge of another. In this study, there is a review of the sources of attitude constraint and related measurement issues. Using ISSP 2006 (Role of Government module) an analysis of attitudinal constraints is presented using two attitudinal scales. This research confirms that the sources of attitude constraint in the Czech Republic are similar to those observed in Western Europe and the USA. Specifically, class, education, and other social-demographic variables are shown to have very limited effects. Moreover, Converse’s contention that attitude constraints are strongly determined by political involvement, political knowledge, or party identification is also shown to be valid for Czech society., Lukáš Linek., 1 obrázek, 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
This article explores how aggregate level data may be used to make inferences about individual level behaviour. A common strategy in the past was to assume that the relations evident in aggregated data are also present in individual data. Analysis of datasets where there is both individual and aggregated information demonstrates that this assumption is most often incorrect. This means that the relationships observed between variables at an aggregated level are unlikely to be observed in individual level data. This is a problem because quite often social scientists only have aggregated data for exploring individual level behaviour. A key question explored in this article is how is it possible to validly and reliably use aggregated datasets to make inferences about relationships between variables at the individual level. An example analysis is given using electoral data from the Czech Republic., Pat Lyons., 4 obrázky, 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
In this paper a comparison is made between the Czech Republic and other European countries regarding attitudes toward the ideal timing for childbirth. In 1990s there was a sharp increase in the postponement of the transition to parenthood in the Czech Republic. This development raises the question: Are normative beliefs in the Czech Republic regarding the timing of childbirth changing, and if so, are they becoming similar to the attitudes present in Western Europe? After a brief outline of the concept of age norms, beliefs regarding the ideal age of when to become a parent in European countries are explored using data from the European Social Survey 2006. In the final part of this paper there is a detailed analysis of Czech attitudes toward the ideal timing of the birth of the first child, using CVVM survey data from 2006, with a specific focus on cohort and educational differences. This research reveals that Czech attitudes toward the ideal age for mothers having a first child is intermediate between the patterns observed in (a) East European countries where the ideal is for a younger age, and (b) West European states where an older age preference is prevalent. In contrast, the ideal age for becoming a father for the first time in the Czech Republic is one of the oldest in Europe. Significantly, the proportion of the population that rejects age norms for reproduction exhibits little systematic pattern across Europe. Within the Czech Republic the survey evidence indicates that those who are less than 35 years old, and those who are most educated have a significantly older ideal age for having a first child than all others., Jana Chaloupková., 2 grafy, 6 tabulek, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
V roce 2015 se na internetu v České republice zvedla vlna nenávistných projevů proti migrantům, zejména muslimského původu. Tento článek prezentuje výsledky výzkumu nenávistných projevů vůči migrantům a uprchlíkům na Facebooku v České republice v létě 2015. Za pomoci kombinované metody analýzy využívající automatický sběr dat a následnou manuální triangulaci výsledků bylo možné odpovědět na některé základní otázky o procesu vytváření a šíření nenávistných projevů na Facebooku. Je zřejmé, že vlna nenávistných projevů proti migrantům v roce 2015 byla cíleně i nezamýšleně podpořena společnými aktivitami různých uživatelů Facebooku (především mužů ve středním věku příslušejících ke střední střídě), propagandistickými aktivitami extremistických skupin, zpravodajstvím masmédií a také designem samotné komunikační platformy., The increased influx of refugees and migrants to the EU in 2015 has been followed by a noticeable presence of online hate speech against migrants in many countries across Europe. The article presents the results of a study of hate speech proliferation on Facebook in the Czech Republic during the summer of 2015. Its goal is to identify the producers of hate speech and determine their social background, explore the main channels of hate speech proliferation, determine the specific groups of migrants targeted by hate speech, put the hate speech in the context of online political communication, and discuss the role of media and politicians in the process of hate speech proliferation. With regard to the works of Castells, Skocpol or Bennett and Segerberg, online hate speech can be perceived as an extreme variety of new, rapidly evolving modes of political communication as such. Social and political activism has been shifting from membership-based organizations and parties towards flexible movements and initiatives with strong emphasis on the logic of identity politics. People may or may not engage in hate speech production as lone independent actors, but they still perceive their actions as part of larger collective efforts. When we focus on hate speech as a form of civic activism or networking, new interesting patterns can emerge. The study is based on a mixed-method analysis; computer-assisted data collection via the Social Insider software tool was further triangulated by random sampling and subsequent manual coding and analysis of selected Facebook posts, comments and other content. The question of reception and influence of hate speech was largely omitted from the analysis, due both to the research methods chosen and to the inherently cyclical nature of social network communication. Hate speech itself was identified according to a custom-made definition based on various existing legal definitions and scholarly perspectives of legal and media science. The results of the analysis indicate that the wave of hate speech against migrants was aggravated both intentionally and coincidentally by the combined forces of disparate Facebook users, extremist groups´ propaganda, news media and the design of the social network itself. As for the social background of frequent producers of hate speech, there was a strong prevalence of middle-aged and middle-class males, and a significant under-representation of both elderly and young Facebook users. The majority of the hate speech content was produced and spread in small-scale communication exchanges, i.e. under articles posted on individual user profiles etc. The communication activities of larger, well-organized populist groups, political parties or communities were visibly present, but they did not play a significant part in the hate speech production itself - although their possible involvement in agenda setting cannot be underestimated. All the datasets indicated that a vast majority of the hate speech in the given time period was aimed either against migrants in general or Muslims, while these two groups often overlapped. The role of mass media and of the design of the Facebook platform in the entire process should be discussed further. It became apparent that the producers of hate speech themselves seldom created any substantial shared content such as articles or videos. To the contrary, many hateful comments occurred through sharing and subsequent discussion of articles produced by online news outlets. As the Czech mass media are defined by transformation, uncertainty, layoffs and disintegration of professional routines, this creates a dangerous mix that could lead to further proliferation of hate speech., Matouš Hrdina., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The paper deals with powerlessness as one of the possible meanings of alienation, and presents Neal’s Powerlessness Scale as a means for measuring this concept. The aim of this research is to find out if it is possible to adopt the Neal’s research technique, developed in the context of the American culture in the late 1950s, to empirical sociological research in the Czech Republic. This issue is important because there is at present no standard attitudinal instrument for measuring a persons’ perception of their power to exert influence over socio-political events. An initial test of the reliability and internal and external validity of Neal’s scale is undertaken using a non-representative sample of the Czech population. Results of this quantitative analysis suggest that a subset of nine items from the original twelve item scale is the most reliable and valid measure of a person’s sense of control over the socio-political events within the Czech cultural milieu. Importantly, the process of data collection reveals several problematic features of Neal’s powerlessness scale, and it is recommended that certain alterations before its further use in the Czech context., Marie Traxlerová, Ladislav Rabušic., 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
Tento článek zkoumá způsoby měření politických znalostí. Hlavním předpokladem většiny prací v daném oboru je myšlenka, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou, která náleží pouze jedinci. Výzkum, na němž je založen tento text, předpokládá, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou jak jedinců, tak způsobů měření těchto znalostí. Analýzy jsou založené na baterii otázek na politické znalosti, jež byla implementována v šetření ISSP Role vlády IV (2006). Tento článek demonstruje, že předpoklad jednodimenzionality politických znalostí nesmí být chápán jako daný a musí být naopak testován. Přítomnost více než jedné dimenze politických znalostí je teoreticky důležitá, neboť implikuje, že někteří občané se zajímají pouze o specifické aspekty politiky. To má významné důsledky pro naše chápání a hodnocení demokratického systému vládnutí., Pat Lyons., 7 tabulek, and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this article is to present a trend in research on measurement error in survey data and to suggest some problematic aspects of this approach. The article describes the Multitrait Multimethod experimental design and its modifi cation into a 2 Split-ballot Multitrait Multimethod (2 SB MTMM), which is used for experimental data collection in the European Social Survey. The text shows how to analyze 2 SB MTMM data to obtain estimates of construct validity, reliability and common method variance for a single questionnaire item, and how to make use of these estimates. It also points to some problems encountered in 2 SB MTMM data analysis., Johana Chylíková., and Obsahuje bibliografii