Featured in this issue is an article by Jiří Wiedermann, the director of the Institute of Computer Science of the ASCR, on periodical research assessment in the field of Computer Sciences in the Netherlands from 2002-2008. All publicly funded research in the Netherlands is evaluated once every six years. The evaluation system aims at three objectives regarding research and research management: improvement of the quality of research through an assessment carried out in accord with international standards of quality and relevance; improvement of research management and leadership; seeking higher levels of accountability by research organizations and funding organizations, government and the society at large. and Jiří Wiedermann.
Knowledge about relations between changes of air pressure, temperature or other meteorological variables in different locations on the Earth is a key to understand what impacts global change. A new mathematical and computational method uncovers causal relations, gateways and mediators that help to comprehend input and spreading of pertubations in complex spatiotemporal systems such as the climate and assessing the effect of geoengineering interventions of global impact of local weather extremes. The method can also be used for uncovering paths for information dissemination in financial markets or for tracing information transmission in the human brain. and Milan Paluš.
We highlight an interview with Věra Kůrková, the head of Department of Theoretical Computer Sciences at the Institute of Computer Sciences of the ASCR. Her research interests are nonlinear approximation theory, mathematical theory of neural networks and the mathematical theory of learning. and Gabriela Adámková.