Theory and Practie: Searching for Critical Literacy Skills in Urban Middle School Students

This action research study examined the critical literacy skills that seventh grade students in an urban middle school demonstrated while reading and discussing Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Three themes were identified and analyzed using the four dimension model of critical literacy developed Lewison, Flint, and Van Sluys (2002). These themes include: identity construction, bringing culture and personal experience to bear on text interpretation, and the recognition of unequal power distribution including suggestions for social action. Analysis of the data collected indicates that students are entering the middle school classroom with at least a rudimentary critical literacy skill set

Modelling Distribution Routes in City Logistics by Applying Operations Research Methods

The article focuses on the up-to-date subject from the practical as well as scientific point of view. It specifically discusses a proposal of an approach concerning transport or distribution problems in the range of city logistics and investigates possibilities to use opted operations research methods in this particular area. Specific suggestions lie first and foremost in using selected tools of operations research (i.e. a set of methods concerning vehicle routing problem) to model multiple variants of distribution paths from a determined hub to multiple spokes in order to minimise the overall travelled distance in an urban area. As far as the very research goes, to define distribution paths to supply multiple logistics objects in the range of city logistics, ensuing methods are step by step used: Clarke-Wright algorithm, Mayer algorithm and the nearest neighbour algorithm. The article consists of a conceptual section, describing the relevant theory as well as data and methods used, the practical part and the section encompassing an assessment of the key findings, along with the discussion. A suitable combination of adequate operations research methods and their application to city logistics issues is where an innovative solution of this research lies

Optimization of Warehouse Management in the Specific Assembly and Distribution Company: a Case Study

This paper discusses the optimization of warehouse management in the assembly and distribution company. As part of complex logistics system, warehouse management plays a significant role in every company, connecting the areas of storage, material flow, production, record keeping and dispatch with the company´s economic objectives. It also has a significant impact on business operations and can be of an important competitive advantage. It may be argued that well-managed logistics, including a continuous material flow, cost minimization as well as overall streamlining of individual processes associated with manufacturing of products, are powerful strategic tools for companies and lead to their strong market position. It is almost an imperative for them to use modern knowledge in this area and strive for improvement. After the introducing chapters, paper includes an optimization proposal using particular methods of multi-criteria evaluation of variants which consists of determining the criteria for variants evaluation, developing the basic multi-criteria matrix and selecting as well as applying the specific method for final evaluation (in our case, the comparison with WSA and TOPSIS methods has been carried out). Final part of the paper outlines the most appropriate option regarding the introduction of an automatic identification system to optimize the warehouse management system

Methodology for Measuring the Customer Satisfaction with the Logistics Services

The article deals with the proposal of methodology for measuring the customer satisfaction with the logistics services. The methodology reflects mostly the subjective quality evaluation which is based on the directly and indirectly measurable characteristics. Researched characteristics result from the customer feelings, wishes, requirements and the experiences of experts which studied the answers from the questionnaire survey. Answers from the questionnaire survey evaluate the quality of logistics services and the importance of evaluation criteria. Objective quality evaluation is verified by the methods for measuring the customer satisfaction. These methods for determining the weights of selected criteria ware verified on the basis of proposed flowchart as well

Erklärungsmodell zur Beurteilung der betriebswirtschaftlichen Vorteilhaftigkeit von E-Business-Transaktionen im BTOC-Bereich unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Gestaltung des Frontend-Bereiches

Mängel in der Ergonomie können Online-Angebote hinsichtlich der Intensität ihrer Inanspruchnahme durch Bankkunden erheblich negativ beeinflussen und das selbst dann, wenn die Grundvoraussetzung – das Offerieren eines Nutzens - erfüllt ist. Damit werden wichtige Potenziale zur Kundenbindung sowie zur Automatisierung banktechnischer Prozesse verschenkt. Die durchgeführte Untersuchung deckte häufig auftretende Gestaltungsmängel auf, welche die Benutzerfreundlichkeit und Gebrauchstauglichkeit von Websites beeinträchtigen. Die vorgenommene Auswahl aus der Gesamtheit aufgedeckter Normverletzungen sollte die Vielschichtigkeit von Aspekten veranschaulichen, die bei der Entwicklung kundenfreundlicher Online-Angebote im Finanzdienstleistungsbereich zu berücksichtigen sind. Sie sind jedoch bei weitem nicht erschöpfend. Die häufigsten Verstöße gegen die Normen zur Gestaltung ergonomischer Benutzerschnittstellen wurden bei der Informationsdarstellung, in der Benutzerführung sowie bei der Dialogführung mittels Menü registriert. Wie gezeigt werden konnte, bot das ErgoNorm-Prüfverfahren eine praktikable Vorgehensweise, um Nutzungsprobleme festzustellen, deren Ursachen zu untersuchen und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Nutzungsqualität zu beurteilen. Die software-ergonomischen Normen lieferten eine geeignete Basis zur Ableitung von Gestaltungsempfehlungen, um vorliegende Mängel zu beseitigen. Die konsequente Einhaltung von Normen hilft, schwere Usability-Fehler und teure Redesign-Zyklen zu vermeiden. --

Proposal of Innovative Flooring Options for Marine Containers

The paper outlines the innovative and progressive flooring options to build and equip marine containers. Several measurements, tests and simulations within this research study have been performed to find out whether it is possible to upgrade the marine container for general purposes with the polypropylene board with aluminum reinforcement. Research has confirmed that the aluminum board has a number of advantages. The main advantages include more than two times longer service lifespan compared to the conventional floors, absolute resistance to biological and chemical agents and simple floor repairs. Due to its durability, the aluminum board has a significant economic benefit for the user as well

Passengers’ Evaluation of the Integrated Transport Systems

This paper presents the outcomes of the research focused on the passengers’ subjective point of view on the Integrated Transport Systems (ITS) comparing with the separate non-integrated traffic lines. The research, within project realized in the Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice, was performed in several cities located in the central part of the EU where the establishing the ITS has been planned. The introductory parts of the paper contain the theoretical approaches of the given issue. Particularly, the issue of ITS such as, the review of performed ITS studies, information on the realized surveys and the draft of the used model are outlined in these parts. The used model includes two variants of the problem solving: ITS and individual bus. The surveyed criteria include: unproductive time, time of drive and travel fee.In the next two parts of the paper, the application of the model to real traffic conditions is presented and the outcomes of the research problem are emphasized

The Quality of Service in the Public Transport and Shipping Industry

This paper deals with the quality system in public transport and the shipping industry. The quality in transport is a significant determinant of the demand. It is an important tool for customer retention and it also has effects on the performance and economic results of the organization in the competitive environment. The increasing level of satisfaction must be one of the main objectives of each organization. The purpose of quality standards in public transport and the shipping industry implementation, as well as the example of measuring customer satisfaction in public transport,will be shown in this article. The questionnaire will be used and those results will be compared with the real value (the measurement of quality criteria in real conditions)

Macroeconomic Evaluation of Projects Regarding the Traffic Constructions and Equipment

AbstractThis paper deals with the issue of macroeconomic evaluation of projects regarding the construction of traffic infrastructure and equipment. The objective of traffic infrastructure projects is to ensure the improvement of public welfare and decrease the negative impacts on the environment. Individual projects must be developed properly therefore the particular elements need to be analyzed in detail. In the paper, the evaluation of projects is made on the basis of comparing the costs on construction of the traffic infrastructure with benefits which the construction will bring, i.e. the macroeconomic aspects within the decision-making process regarding the investments need to be quantified on the basis of Cost – Benefit analysis