How Blended Learning Impacts Student Engagement in an Early Childhood Classroom

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if teaching with a blended learning approach increases student engagement in an early childhood classroom. Participants were three year-olds with individualized education plans and general education four and five year-olds in a half day preschool program. Students came from a wide variety of backgrounds and different socio-economic backgrounds. Quantitative data was collected through observation by recording which students were actively engaged, passively engaged, disengaged, or disruptive during a twenty –minute small group time for nine weeks. Qualitative data was collected through observations by the teacher and para-educator, interviews with students, and journal notes

COMPARISON OF OPTICAL METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF GLASS MOSAIC WEATHERING

The work presented in this paper is a part of research project supported by Ministry of Culture and devoted to conservation of precious mosaic of "Last Judgement" on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The aim of the project is to enhance external protective polymeric coating on glass tesserae of mosaic and also to develop optical method for assessment of coating’s surface conditions. The paper concentrates on comparison of various methods for surface evaluation assesses their advantages and disadvantages and also discusses their suitability for long term monitoring of coating state, namely reflectometry, scanning probe microscopy, nanoindentation, white-light interferometry, and scanning electron microscopy. It is found that white-light interferometry and reflectometry methods are the most suitable ones for monitoring purposes

Business risks resulting from engagement in international trade

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá riziky plynoucími z vyvíjení podnikatelské činnosti v rámci mezinárodního obchodu. Představuje rozličné přístupy k rizikům a předkládá možnosti, jimiž je možné rizika spojená s mezinárodním obchodem eliminovat. Na základě vypracování situační analýzy firmy Trevos, a. s. a PEST analýzy Itálie je zde vyhodnoceno, jakou intenzitou je zkoumaný podnikatelský subjekt těmito riziky ohrožován a jakým způsobem se jim brání. Hlavní přínos autora spočívá ve zhodnocení skladby a efektivity metod minimalizace těchto rizik, v upozornění na slabá místa a v navržení doporučení, která budou v souladu s marketingovou strategií firmy a povedou ke snížení rizikovosti mezinárodních obchodních aktivit, čímž do budoucna přinesou firmě vyšší stabilitu.This diploma thesis deals with risks resulting from carrying out business activities within the framework of international trade. It introduces various approaches to risks and presents possibilities through which it is possible to eliminate the risks related to international trade. On the basis of situational analysis of Trevos PLC and PEST analysis of Italy that has been carried out, this thesis evaluates both the intensity by which the business entity is endangered and the way in which the business entity defends itself against them. The main contributions the author has made are these: assessment of composition and efficiency of minimization methods of the risks, pointing out to the weak points and making suggestions leading to reducing the risks of international trade activities which will be carried out in accordance with the marketing strategy of the company. Thus, these measures will result in providing greater stability for the company in the future

Mobile App for Managing Tips in a Restaurant

Táto bakalárska práca sa zaoberá problematikou evidencie sprepitného. Výsledkom je mobilná aplikácia pre tablety, ktorá umožňuje jednoducho zaznamenávať získané finančné odmeny a následne ich transparentne deliť medzi zamestnancov. Táto práca v úvode pojednáva o problematike tvorby mobilných aplikácií pre operačný systém Android. Ďalej sa čitateľ dozvie, akým spôsobom bola aplikácia navrhnutá a implementovaná. V závere sú zhrnuté výsledky z testovania a budúce smerovanie vývoja aplikácie.This bachelor thesis deals with an issue of tip evidence. The result is an Android application for tablets, which provides easy tip recording and its transparent division among employees. In the thesis are described problems with developing application for Android operating system. Reader will read about the process of designing and implementing. The paper is supplemented with results of application testing and its future in way of developing.

An Investigation of the Key Factors that Affect the Adoption of Smartphones in Global Midmarket Professional Service Firms

The evolution and proliferation of mobile devices (m-devices) in the workplace have been rapid. In comparison to conventional services provided by mobile phones (m-phones), smartphones feature sophisticated functionality, such as Internet access, video/audio streaming, and business productivity applications. As a consequence of increased demand for smartphones in the workplace, an understanding of the factors that determine the decision to adopt smartphones in business settings is necessary. The goal of this investigation was to identify the key factors that have an impact on the adoption of smartphones. This dissertation investigation provided an understanding of the key factors that affect the adoption of smartphones for the domain of professional consultants and validated the key constructs of a conceptual map of smartphone adoption through the analysis of data generated from a survey of professional consultants from a global professional services firm, ZS Associates. A total of 130 valid responses from an online survey distributed to 336 ZS Associates professional consultants located in North America, European Union, Japan, China, and India were used in this study. The results of this investigation indicated that social influence, perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU)/compatibility in the workplace, job relevance, and technology are the key factors that affect the adoption of a smartphone. Demographics and observability factors such as age and observing others\u27 using smartphones in the workplace were found to have no significant impact on smartphone adoption. The outcomes of this investigation indicated that there were no significant cultural differences between respondents in the North America, EU, and Asia-Pacific regions in regard to the adoption of a smartphone. The results of this investigation expanded the research on the adoption of smartphones to the domain of professional consultants. The investigation expanded the research of smartphone adoption from a cultural perspective. Further, the research bridged the gap in the information technology (IT) literature on the intention to use a smartphone by incorporating the key constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies (UTAUT), and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI) models

Genetic parameters and genomic prediction of resistance to koi herpesvirus disease using a low-density SNP panel on two Amur mirror carp populations

Koi herpesvirus disease (KHVD), caused by Cyprinid herpesvirus-3 (CyHV-3), is one of the most serious threats to carp farming. In the present study, we investigated the efficiency of a low-density (LD) SNP panel for estimating genetic parameters and breeding values to KHVD resistance in the Amur mirror carp (AMC). Two populations (Pop 1 and Pop 2) of AMC generated from unrelated parents were created using a partial factorial design. One-year old fish (Pop 1 = 1500 individuals.; Pop 2 = 1200 individuals) were challenged with CyHV-3 and phe-notyped to KHVD resistance. 218 SNPs originating from a medium genotyping platform previously applied to Pop 1 (15615 SNPs; denoted as MD panel) with the highest association to KHVD resistance were used as a LD panel to genotype individuals of Pop 2. Genetic parameters and estimated pedigree-based BLUP (EBV) and genomic-based GBLUP (GEBV_MD and GEBV_LD) breeding values were calculated and obtained for Pop 1 using either pedigree, MD or LD panel and for Pop 2 using either pedigree or the LD panel. The heritability estimates of KHVD resistance were very high for both populations ranging from 0.42 to 0.96. Selection for KHVD resistance in Pop 2 using the LD panel would have led to a relative increase of similar to 7% in prediction accuracy compared to the pedigree-based selection. Pearson correlation coefficients between pedigree-based and genomic-based estimated breeding values (EBV vs. GEBV_MD; EBV vs. GEBV_LD; GEBV_MD vs. GEBV_LD) showed a strong association for both populations (0.79 - 0.91). In addition, the concordance rate of individuals selected by pedigree-based (EBV) and genomic-based breeding values (GEBV_MD and GEBV_LD) within selection pressures of 5%, 10% and 20% were not statistically different in most cases. In conclusion, the low-density SNP panel could be useful for a selection program focused on the genetic improvement of KHVD resistance

Histopathological alterations of the heart in fish: proposal for a standardized assessment.

Histopathological alterations in the heart are often reported in fish as a result of exposure to a variety of chemical compounds. However, researchers presently lack a standardized method for the evaluation of histopathological alterations in the cardiovascular system of fish and the calculation of an 'organ index'. Therefore, we designed a method for a standardized assessment and evaluation of histopathological alterations in the heart of fish. As a model species, we used rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, but the protocol was also successfully applied to other fish species belonging to different taxonomic orders. To test the protocol, we re-evaluated sections of atenolol-exposed and unexposed rainbow trout obtained in a previous study. The results were in accordance with those previously published, demonstrating the applicability of the protocol. The protocol provides a universal method for the comparative evaluation of histopathological changes in the heart of fish

Obrazovanje i usavrsavanje u akvakulturi i zaštiti voda na Fakultetu za ribarstvo i zaštitu voda, Univerzitet Južne Bohemije u Češkim Budejovicama, Češka Republika

The Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters (FFPW) of the University of South Bohemia (USB) in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, is one of the most complex working places within Europe with bachelor, master and doctoral studies, scientific and applied research, inaugural and professorial rights in the field of fisheries and protection of waters. The faculty has experimental background for study and research of aquaculture, hydrobiology, toxicology, fish diseases, reproduction, genetics, fish and crayfish culture and a unique fishery library.Fakultet za Ribarstvo i Zaštitu Voda, Univerziteta Južne Bohemije u Češkim Budejovicama, Češka Republika, jedan je od najkompleksnijih radnih mesta u Evropi sa osnovnim, master i doktorskim studijama, naucnim i primenjenim istraživanjima, inoguralnim i profesionalnim pravima (rights?) u oblasti ribarstva i zastite voda. Fakultet poseduje opremu i objekte za bavljenje naukom i istrazivanjima u oblasti akvakulture, hidrobilogije, toksikologije, bolesti, riba, reprodukcije, genetike, gajenja riba i rakova. Fakultet takođe poseduje veliki broj izdanja odnosno jedinstvenu biblioteku iz oblasti ribarstva

Fatigue life prediction of pedicle screw for spinal surgery

This paper is dedicated to fatigue estimation of implants for spinal surgery. This article deals especially with special case of hollow pedicle screw. Implant systems utilizing specially designed spinal instrumentation are often used in these surgical procedures. The most common surgical procedure is spinal fusion, also known as spondylodesis, is a surgical technique used to join two or more vertebra. Implants are subjected to many loading cycles during their life, especially in the case of other degenerative changes in the skeleton, there are often changes in loading conditions, which often cannot be accurately determined. These changes often lead to further bending load in the thread. Hollow screws studied in this work show higher fatigue resistance than other types of implants