This Diploma thesis deals with economical analysis of ZEPRIS s.r.o company during years 2007 and 2013. Used methodological apparatus includes both absolute indicators and ratios, economic value added, financial distress prediction models, analysis of financial and operating leverage and stock analysis. In the practical part selected indicators are applied to company. Comparison with the industry of engineering construction is done according to the available data for the period 2007-2012.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The U.S. has a problem: it is not effectively utilizing all the bright young minds available to its science & engineering workforce. In 2012 the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) reported that a million more STEM professionals in the U.S. workforce were needed over the next decade. PCAST reported that the situation is far worse for underrepresented students, who make up 70% of undergraduate students but only 45% of the STEM degrees. Recent reports suggest women in science and engineering have made small gains, while historically underrepresented ethnic groups (Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians) continue to be significantly underrepresented. The lack of diversity in the U.S. workforce is not reflected in the USA population nor is it reflected in the undergraduate student population. As the U.S. aspires to retain a leadership role in research and development in an increasingly diverse and globally interconnected society, this disparity is unsustainable. What if having more culturally interesting, more culturally responsive STEM classes is a way of increasing the diversity of the science and engineering workforce in the U.S.? This study focuses on a topic that has been generally overlooked by the STEM educational community, but one that is directly relevant to student engagement and learning outcomes: the role of culture as a variable in student learning. This study examines how different pedagogical approaches shape student outcomes in Astronomy 101 courses. In a comparative study two different pedagogical approaches were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods in a semiexperimental nonequivalent group research design. The theories of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), active learning theory in STEM, and Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) ground this approach. The findings of this study show important gains for all students. Underrepresented minority students (URM) in the course with increased culturally responsive pedagogy were exceptionally engaged and learning gains soared. By measure of the concept inventory, the URM students in the course with increased culturally responsive pedagogy outperformed all other students in the study. As the U.S. will have a non-white majority by the year 2045 and diversity in STEM faculty lags there is a need for tangible, evidence-based, culture-based curriculum and pedagogy. There is a problem and based on the evidence found in this study, there is a way to fix it. / The U.S. has a problem: it is not effectively utilizing all the bright young minds available to its science & engineering workforce. In 2012 the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) reported that a million more STEM professionals in the U.S. workforce were needed over the next decade. PCAST reported that the situation is far worse for underrepresented students, who make up 70% of undergraduate students but only 45% of the STEM degrees. Recent reports suggest women in science and engineering have made small gains, while historically underrepresented ethnic groups (Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians) continue to be significantly underrepresented. The lack of diversity in the U.S. workforce is not reflected in the USA population nor is it reflected in the undergraduate student population. As the U.S. aspires to retain a leadership role in research and development in an increasingly diverse and globally interconnected society, this disparity is unsustainable. What if having more culturally interesting, more culturally responsive STEM classes is a way of increasing the diversity of the science and engineering workforce in the U.S.? This study focuses on a topic that has been generally overlooked by the STEM educational community, but one that is directly relevant to student engagement and learning outcomes: the role of culture as a variable in student learning. This study examines how different pedagogical approaches shape student outcomes in Astronomy 101 courses. In a comparative study two different pedagogical approaches were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods in a semiexperimental nonequivalent group research design. The theories of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), active learning theory in STEM, and Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) ground this approach. The findings of this study show important gains for all students. Underrepresented minority students (URM) in the course with increased culturally responsive pedagogy were exceptionally engaged and learning gains soared. By measure of the concept inventory, the URM students in the course with increased culturally responsive pedagogy outperformed all other students in the study. As the U.S. will have a non-white majority by the year 2045 and diversity in STEM faculty lags there is a need for tangible, evidence-based, culture-based curriculum and pedagogy. There is a problem and based on the evidence found in this study, there is a way to fix it.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis traces the inception and evolution of a combined collaborative action research project and living theory action research project. Six academic staff members attempted to improve our practice of generating locally relevant research in a university psychology clinic. This process impacted not only on the lives of the participants, but facilitated the enactment of the three tasks of universities and so influenced the lives of the student and residential communities to whom we had a responsibility. This thesis explores two research questions that formed the first part of the study, namely: “How can we improve the functioning of Itsoseng Psychology Clinic?” and “How can we increase our research output?” The second part of the study was a self-study action research project in which I examined my attempts to improve my academic practice by inquiring into my practice of facilitating the collaborative action research project as a peer support initiative. In the form of my living theory, this thesis therefore also explored my answers to the questions: “How can I facilitate a peer support research initiative?” and “How can I improve my academic practice through facilitating such an initiative?” I take a macro-level view of the relationship between a university and surrounding communities and discuss within the South African context three discernable mandates or tasks that universities fulfil: teaching, research and community engagement. I discuss the relevance of this study to psychology and specifically university psychology clinics as potential interface between the university and the surrounding community when enacting community engagement as the third academic task. I also discuss the implications of this study to action research methodology and the concept of transformation in emancipatory research. The main argument of my living theory of my academic practice is that the formation and nurturing of a regular, supportive and critical audience in the form of peer support research meetings contributed to the transformation of resources into assets when we worked towards improving the service delivery and local relevance of a university psychology clinic. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Psychology / unrestricted

Resiliency is a critical factor in educational success; the gap exists in the research regarding the effect of resiliency in the educational success of African American female students. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological research (IPR) study was to explore and describe the lived experience of single-gender education through African American female student alumnae to capture and distill their shared experience of educational resilience and competence. Framework drew on gender-relevant education, social capital, racial identity and socialization. Research perspective that participants were viewed consisted of critical race feminism theory and competency versus deficit or risk perspective. Research questions focused on how African American female student alumnae of single-gender educational settings described their experiences in and out of school as they relate to resiliency and competence. The IPR design consisted of 3 interviews per participant; 1 focused on the past, 1 focused on the present, 1 integrated past and present experiences. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze data. Results showed the components that factor into the African American Academic Achieving Female (A4F) include racial identity and socialization, gender relevant education, support systems within cultural and social capital, Guts, Resilience, Initiative, Tenacity (GRIT), Cultural (Re)Appropriation Unity (CRU), personal spiritual relationship. Recommendation for the A4F framework to be used as a foundation to foster growth of the A4F. Social change implication is understanding how African American female alumnae of single-gender schools describe their shared experience of A4F on their lives to foster social change for the African American students.

At a Midwestern university, White novice teachers struggled to be prepared to implement culturally responsive pedagogy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore White novice teachers' perceptions about how their higher education classroom experiences had equipped them for teaching a culturally diverse population of students. The theoretical/conceptual frameworks of this study were White identity development theory, a multicultural education framework, culturally relevant pedagogy, and the motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching. Data were collected by interviewing 8 White novice teachers to convey their perceptions of teaching culturally diverse classrooms and how these perceptions influenced their behaviors. Data were organized by organizational, substantive, and theoretical categories. The themes that emerged from the data were the need for additional cultural knowledge, the implementation of supportive measures, barriers to supporting cultural diversity in classrooms, and the importance of cultural interpersonal skills. This study may lead to positive social change for teacher educators, novice teachers, as well as school districts by developing their understanding of how to support White novice teachers with strategies for teaching culturally diverse students.

African American students across income classes have been found to struggle with mathematics, impeding their ability to complete college, pursue lucrative careers, and address socioeconomic problems. Using the tenets of liberation and critical race theory, this qualitative case study explored the perceptions of a small group of 8 African American adults as to what they believe to be the root causes of mathematics achievement disparity for African American K-14 students, and what role the African American community can play in ameliorating these disparities. As most related studies are on low income communities, this study focused on an affluent African American community. Standardized math test performance data were gathered for local public schools, and 8 African American community leaders were interviewed; all but one were parents and 5 were science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals. Participants identified 4 root causes of disparities and 4 roles the community can play in addressing them. Root causes related to stunted aspirations, cultural obstacles, academic barriers, and poor rewards. Roles included funding a parallel culturally-responsive academic support system, inducing African American organizations to improve support for academic initiatives, improve children's understanding of the importance of math, and strengthen the community's communications with schools. Curriculum for a community training program was designed to support these roles. The results of this study support social change by informing stakeholders on how disparities manifest in mathematics achievement, even in an affluent African American community, and by providing information about how to leverage community participation in developing more culturally relevant and sustainable academic interventions.

Employee Training and Development (T&D) is a crucial component to an organization’s success and its ability to remain competitive. Although researchers in the field have discovered ways to enhance the effectiveness of training programs through the design, delivery, and evaluation process, research has not provided empirically-based recommendations for how to best train individuals whose cultural backgrounds may influence receptiveness of training curriculum. This is particularly relevant for employees whose cultural groups have been historically discriminated against, where cultural norms implicit in the training design may be met with resistance on behalf of the trainees. In the field of multicultural education, an instructional approach has been suggested to overcome cultural differences between instructor, curriculum writers, and students known as culturally responsive education. I evaluated a pre-training video prime based on this approach in the context of multi-site data-use training program for Native American educational professionals. Data-use training was delivered after exposure to one of two videos that framed the objectives of data use either in a culturally responsive way or in a generic mainstream fashion. Participants filled out surveys after the video but before the training, and then again after the training. Prime type was randomly assigned by training location. I hypothesized that participants who received a culturally responsive training prime would learn more during the data-usage training than participants who did not, and that this effect would be mediated by heightened affective motivators immediately following the culturally responsive prime. None of the hypothesized pathways were supported. There was no direct effect of my prime manipulation on knowledge (Hypothesis 1) or skill acquisition (H2), or on pre-training motivation to learn (H3), research-related self-efficacy (H4), goal-commitment (H5), or identification with research (H6). Furthermore, there were no indirect effects of my manipulation on knowledge (H7) or skill (H8) acquisition through pre-training motivation to learn, self-efficacy, goal-commitment, or identification with research. The motivation to learn subscale for valence had a significant positive direct effect on knowledge and skill acquisition and self-efficacy significantly positively predicted skill acquisition. Goal-commitment and motivation to learn subscales for instrumentality and expectancy had a significant negative relationship with skill acquisition. Lack of support for my hypothesized pathways is explained partially by the failure of my independent variable to influence perceptions of cultural responsiveness. A manipulation check revealed that participants did not appraise my culturally responsive priming video as significantly more relevant or culturally appropriate compared to the alternative mainstream video. Findings on the positive effects of valence and self-efficacy are discussed in support of current literature. Negative effects of expectancy are discussed in terms of stereotype threat. The implications and applications for trainers and researchers in training and minority education are followed by a consideration of this study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.

No description available.