Closing the Reading Fluency Gap in Six Minutes

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the effects of the implementation of the intervention, The Six Minute Solution, on student oral reading fluency scores. The research study took place in two small reading groups at Rita Murphy Elementary school in Bismarck, ND. One group consisted of three third grade students and one fourth grade students. The second group was made up of three fourth grade students. A total of four data sources were used in the collection of data. These data sources included a district required assessment; AIMSweb benchmark and progress monitoring, The Six Minute Solution placement test/daily progress monitoring, teacher observation, and finally a student survey. The data displayed an overall increase in student oral reading fluency scores over a four week period. Students found this intervention motivating and beneficial to individual progress. The results of this action research indicate that using the intervention, The Six Minute Solution, effective in aiding in the increase of oral reading fluency scores

The Best Practices for Leadership Development in Medium-Sized Companies

In the current business environment, leadership development is being recognized as an important strategic initiative for organizations faced with the challenge of filling critical leadership positions and ensuring their leaders have the capacity to lead their organizations\u27 into the future. Most of the research on leadership development has focused on practices in large companies. The purpose of this research is to study the best practices for leadership development in medium-sized companies. Eleven leadership development professionals were interviewed. Those professionals worked for companies in a variety of industries, with annual revenues of between $300 million and$2 billion. During the interviews, the professionals described their companies\u27 leadership development programs. They also talked about the reasons for offering a leadership development program, future trends in leadership development, the strengths of their programs, their current challenges, and recommendations for companies designing a new program. The results show that medium-sized companies offer similar leadership development elements (mentoring, coaching, classroom training, 360-degree feedback, and action learning) as large companies. However, due to financial constraints, medium-sized companies\u27 programs are executed on a smaller scale than large companies

Rolling contact fatigue failures in silicon nitride and their detection

The project investigates the feasibility of using sensor-based detection and processing systems to provide a reliable means of monitoring rolling contact fatigue (RCF) wear failures of silicon nitride in hybrid bearings. To fulfil this investigation, a decision was made early in the project to perform a series of hybrid rolling wear tests using a twin disc machine modified for use on hybrid bearing elements.The initial part of the thesis reviews the current understanding of the general wear mechanisms and RCF with a specific focus to determine the appropriate methods for their detection in hybrid bearings. The study focusses on vibration, electrostatic and acoustic emission (AE) techniques and reviews their associated sensing technologies currently deployed with a view of adapting them for use in hybrids. To provide a basis for the adaptation, an understanding of the current sensor data enhancement and feature extraction methods is presented based on a literature review.The second part describes the test equipment, its modifications and instrumentation required to capture and process the vibration, electrostatic and AE signals generated in hybrid elements. These were identified in an initial feasibility test performed on a standard twin disc machine. After a detailed description of the resulting equipment, the thesis describes the calibration tests aimed to provide base data for the development of the signal processing methods.The development of the signal processing techniques is described in detail for each of the sensor types. Time synchronous averaging (TSA) technique is used to identify the location of the signal sources along the surfaces of the specimens and the signals are enhanced by additional filtering techniques.The next part of the thesis describes the main hybrid rolling wear tests; it details the selection of the run parameters and the samples seeded with surface cracks to cover a variety of situations, the method of execution of each test run, and the techniques to analyse the results.The research establishes that two RCF fault types are produced in the silicon nitride rolling element reflecting essentially different mechanisms in their distinct and separate development; i) cracks, progressing into depth and denoted in this study as C-/Ring crack Complex (CRC) and ii) Flaking, progressing primarily on the surface by spalls. Additionally and not reported in the literature, an advanced stage of the CRC fault type composed of multiple and extensive c-cracks is interpreted as the result of induced sliding in these runs. In general, having reached an advanced stage, both CRC and Flaking faults produce significant wear in the steel counterface through abrasion, plastic deformation or 3-body abrasion in at least three possible ways, all of which are described in details

Vibrating vaginal balls to improve pelvic floor muscle performance in women after childbirth: Preliminary results (recruitment and survey) of a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Background: Vibrating vaginal pelvic floor training balls are available in Austria and Germany to enhance women’s pelvic floor muscles and thus prevent urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor problems following childbirth. Nonetheless, there is currently little empirical knowledge to substantiate their use or assess their relative effectiveness in comparison to current standard care, which involves pelvic floor muscle exercises [1]. Aims/research question: This feasibility trial aims at assessing practical issues and feasibility of a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine the effectiveness of vibrating vaginal pelvic floor training balls for postpartum pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, at monitoring harms of the experimental intervention, and at exploring women´s perspectives on and experiences with the interventions and the trial [2]. Methods: Design: Single blind, randomised controlled feasibility trial with two parallel groups. 56 women from six weeks until six months postpartum are recruited in Vienna and randomised into one of two intervention groups to use either vibrating vaginal balls or a comparator pelvic floor muscle exercises for 12 weeks. As this is a feasibility study, study design features (recruitment, selection, randomisation, intervention and concordance, retention, data collection methods/tools, sample size calculation for full trial) are assessed, and participants’ views and experiences are surveyed. Tested outcome measure, collected before and after the intervention, is pelvic floor muscle performance as reported by participants and measured by perineometry by a blinded assessor. Descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis serve the preparation of the future trial. Results: The results of this feasibility trial will inform the design and conduct of a full randomised controlled trial and provide insight into the experiences of women regarding the interventions and study participation. At the conference, preliminary results concerning recruitment and participants´ opinion and experiences will be presented. Relevance: Knowledge about pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation after childbirth enables midwives to promote women´s pelvic floor health. Recommendations/conclusions: Recommendations/conclusions of this ongoing study will be available at the conference and focus on the feasibility of the planned RCT and on midwifery practice. Ethical considerations: Approved by the ethics committees of the Medical University of Vienna and City University London. Trial registration: NCT02355327. Financing: This is a PhD project, funded by a City University London Scholarship

Methods of Debugging Technical Mistakes in Running Children of School Age.

Katedra tělesné výchovyFaculty of EducationPedagogická fakult

Performance of dependent work through digital platforms

VÝKON ZÁVISLÉ PRÁCE PROSTŘEDNICTVÍM DIGITÁLNÍCH PLATFOREM ABSTRAKT Tato diplomová práce se zabývá problematikou výkonu práce prostřednictvím digitálních platforem, a to zejména s ohledem na to, je-li možné klasifikovat takovou činnost za "závislou práci" především s ohledem na právní řád České republiky. Diplomová práce reaguje na aktuální právní "vakuum" obklopující výkon práce prostřednictvím digitálních platforem a postavení osob, které takovou činnost vykonávají (v diplomové práci označované jako pracovníci). Zmiňované právní "vakuum" pramení především z absence dostatečné právní úpravy v dané oblasti a "netradičnosti" takového způsobu výkonu práce. Digitální platformy označují pracovníky za samostatné podnikatele, přičemž tuto praxi Česká republika (např. správní úřady) v tichosti toleruje. O pravdivosti daného označení pak lze mít více než důvodné pochybnosti. Proto dochází v diplomové práci nejprve k analýze znaků a podmínek výkonu závislé práce dle právního řádu České republiky, které jsou následně aplikovány na realitu výkonu práce prostřednictvím digitálních platforem. Vzhledem k množství jejich typů a druhů, jakož i rozličným systémům, které platformy zavádějí, byli pro účely této diplomové práce zvoleni tři reprezentanti, kterými jsou digitální platformy UBER, Amazon Mechanical Turk a...PERFORMANCE OF DEPENDENT WORK THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the issue of work performance through digital platforms, especially regarding whether it is possible to classify such activity as "dependent work", particularly with regard to the laws of the Czech Republic. The thesis responds to the current legal "vacuum" surrounding the performance of work through digital platforms and the legal status of persons who perform such activity (referred to in the thesis as workers). The mentioned legal "vacuum" stems primarily from the absence of sufficient legal regulation in the given area and the "unconventionality" of such a way of performing work. Digital platforms describe their workers as independent entrepreneurs, and this practice is quietly tolerated by the Czech Republic (e. g. administrative authorities). However, there can be more than reasonable doubts about the veracity of such proclamation. Therefore, the thesis firstly analyzes the characteristics and conditions of dependent work according to the laws of the Czech Republic, which are then applied to the reality of the performance of work through digital platforms. Due to the number of their types, as well as the various systems that the platforms implement, three representatives were chosen for the purposes of this thesis,...Katedra pracovního práva a práva sociálního zabezpečeníDepartment of Labor Law and Social Security LawPrávnická fakultaFaculty of La

Continued fractions

katedra: KMD

Network protection testing and DoS attacks protection

Cílem této diplomové práce je testování firewallu Cisco ASA\,5510 při působení útoků odepření služeb. Práce obsahuje teoretický popis vybraných útoků a praktické testy. Praktická část obsahuje základní testování firewallu Cisco ASA pomocí testeru Spirent Avalanche 3100B. Byl testován počet souběžných TCP spojení za sekundu a propustnost firewallu na 7. vrstvě ISO/OSI modelu. Dále byl testován vliv útoků odepření služeb na propustnost. V další části je řešeno generování útoků z linuxového serveru na firewall za pomoci skriptů v jazyku Python. Těmito skripty lze generovat pět typů DoS útoků.The aim of this Master thesis is a testing of Cisco ASA\,5510 firewall with affect of Denial of Service attacks. Part of the thesis is a teoretical description some of the attacks and practical tests. Practical part covers basic testing of Cisco ASA with Spirent Avalanche 3100B. Number of TCP connections per second and firewalls throughput on 7th layer of ISO/OSI model were tested. Also the effect of Denial of Service attacks on the throughput. In a next part there is described one possible way how to generate Denial of Service attacks from a Linux server to the firewall. Python scripts were used for generation DoS packets. With those scripts it is possible to generate five types of attacks.