The main aim of my work is based on learned theoretical knowledge, gained personal experience and collaboration with recruitment agencies to analyze the situation of human resources in the Czech Republic and especially introduce professional selection procedure and obtain the most suitable candidate since recruitment agencies are professionals in their field. The biggest contribution of this thesis is in a comprehensive summary of theoretical and practical knowledge of such an important area as the selection of resources or those employees who are able to develop and form flourishing company. Firms do stand on people, what should be more important than correct selection of its employees. The work will also outline proposals and recommendations to improve services of recruitment agencies.

Agency is the capacity of an entity to act independently in a world. Many previous studies have demonstrated that inanimate objects without human or animal traits are under some circumstances perceived as having features of animate objects and can elicit attribution of mental states like motivation, emotion or intention. There are three main types of cues that evoke attribution of agency: morphological cues (head, face, biomechanical movement), behavioral cues (self-propelled movement, goal-directedness, changes in speed or direction, unpredictability, principle of rational (efficient) action) and communicative cues (interaction). In the current study we focused on examinaton of behavioral irregularity and its role in eliciting agency attribution to simple geometric figures. The aim of this study was to verify whether behavioral irregularity can lead to attribution of agency to irregular object. Two studies were designed to test this possibility. In Study A participants (N=20) watched a sequence of priming videoclips displaying four moving geometric shapes. In every trial one object was automatically selected and participans were asked to evaluate its movement on a seven-point scale. Six attributes related to attribution of agency (animacy, goal-directedness, freedom, dynamism, rationality and...

There are few descriptions of what teachers do to facilitate discussions that support students’ development of mathematical agency. Likewise, little is known about how elementary students conceptualize their own agency. This study explored how teachers’ facilitation of mathematical discussions potentially fostered students’ mathematical agency. Additionally, this study investigated ways in which students conceptualized their own mathematical agency within these classrooms. This study was situated in an urban school with a linguistically, academically, and ethnically diverse student population. The sample consisted of two upper elementary school teachers and their pupils (n = 40). Data, collected during the 2018–19 school year, included 12 observations of mathematics lessons, 4 interviews with the teacher participants, and teacher questionnaires. Student data were collected using the Student Agency Questionnaire (SAQ) and group interviews. Mathematics lessons were videotaped, transcribed, and coded to discern ways in which teacher participants facilitated mathematical discussions. Two case studies focused on participants' classroom discussion practices were created. Themes that emerged from the case studies were that teacher participants fostered students’ mathematical agency through their facilitation of discussions by 1) creating a positive learning community; 2) supporting students’ willingness to publicly engage in mathematical discussions; and 3) sharing the power of teaching and learning. Analysis of the Student Agency Questionnaire (SAQ) data indicated that students in both teacher participant classrooms reported behaviors associated with mathematical agency. Observations and group interview data supported the SAQ results that students in both classrooms displayed mathematical agency. Student group interview data analysis showed that students who considered themselves doers of mathematics exhibited the following characteristics: habits of perseverance, a confident attitude about doing mathematics, and a willingness to actively engage with mathematics. This study provides evidence that teachers’ facilitation moves have the power to maintain and extend students’ mathematical agency. This study will contribute to the little empirical research available on supporting students’ mathematical agency in elementary classrooms. Further research should continue to investigate in a larger array of classrooms at varying levels (elementary, middle and high school).

This dissertation will explore the relationship between human agency and divine agency by bringing the work of Albert Borgmann into conversation with the approaches to preaching found in the New Homiletic. It asks: on what authority is the practice of preaching built? The New Homiletic movement began as a criticism of traditional (logical/propositional) approaches to preaching that emphasised the authority of the preacher. Alternatively, the New Homiletic relies on narrative and dialogical modes of preaching to relocate authority within the experience of the listener. The New Homiletic has made progress by shifting authority from the preacher, but this shift does not go far enough. The question of authority must be framed by way of God’s authority as the primary authority of preaching. This dissertation will draw on the work of Albert Borgmann. Central to Borgmann’s work is the effect of technology on society which he calls the device paradigm. The device paradigm describes the cumulative effect of replacing things with devices. Devices sever the relationship between the means and ends of all things and encourage a life of consumption of commodities. An overemphasis on methodology in preaching risks commodifying preaching by separating the means of preaching from its ends. As an alternative, this dissertation presents preaching as a focal practice. Focal practices are Borgmann’s proposal to counter to the disengaging nature of devices. By putting significant things, focal things, at the forefront of one’s life a person can build their life around engagement. Preaching is a focal practice. The effective power of preaching is external to the practice of preaching, and it is God, as the focal thing, who gives it authority. Building on the principles of Polynesian navigation, the preacher will be presented as a navigator. The preacher cannot create the change they wish to see in their congregation. Instead, they work to orient the community to what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The EAAB (Estate Agency Affairs Board), a statutory body for the South African real estate industry, introduced an extensive Code of Conduct in 1992. The research conducted will serve to determine whether this Code of Conduct is effective in ensuring ethical behaviour by real estate agents. Both qualitative and quantitative research was undertaken, whereby it was determined that there is indeed a level of unethical behaviour amongst real estate agents, that a majority of such agents were unable to interpret specific clauses in the Code of Conduct, and that there was no clear correlation between support for the Code of Conduct and moral intent. Qualitative interviews highlighted the various roles that stakeholders do and should play in training and enforcement of the Code of Conduct, and their insights helped provide the basis for recommendations to the Estate Agency Affairs Board on improving the effectiveness of the EAAB Code of Conduct. Key recommendations to the EAAB were that a revision of the Code of Conduct was needed, entry requirements into the industry should be more stringent, a professional image for the industry should be promoted, and improved communication between the EAAB and stakeholders, improved enforcement and higher penalties, and an extensive training and education programme on Ethics and the Code of Conduct were needed. A Ten Element Model for an Effective Code of Conduct was proposed that detailed ten key themes arising from the research which could also be applicable in other industries. The forces and importance of communication, debate and consultation between society and industry, through regulatory bodies and/or professional associations provided the foundation for the development and revision of the Code of Conduct. To ensure effectiveness, the Code of Conduct needed to be supported by an ethical culture, professionalisation of the industry, support and understanding of the Code of Conduct by stakeholders, exposure, education and training on the Code of Conduct and Ethics, enforcement, penalties and consumer education.

The pitch process is critical for both clients and agencies as it is the time period when clients are trying to identify the best agencies to hire and agencies are trying to win business. There are a multitude of variables that play a large role in the success of a client-agency relationship; however, the specific actions, events, and dynamics that occur during the pitch process can be especially important in setting the tone and influencing the outcome of the partnership. Many studies have examined various dynamics and phases of the client-agency relationship, but few have specifically focused on the earliest phase; the pitching process. This study fills this void by providing insights from clients, advertising agencies, and third-party consultants involved in all aspects of the pitching process to better understand the dynamics of the beginning stages of the client-agency life cycle. The literature review examines personal relationships, business relationships, and client-agency relationships and includes examples of relationship development models. Although these models provide a good backdrop for the way a client and an agency develop their relationship, they do not delve into specific aspects of the Pitch. Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Expectancy Confirmation Theory (ECT) provide insights both into how the pitch process facilitates exchange between clients and agencies and the ways in which all parties involved in a pitch have certain expectations. The extent that expectations are either confirmed or disconfirmed can lead to increased or decreased satisfaction with the overall pitch process. The four main research questions driving this study related to attraction, trust, and satisfaction. Respondents were asked how both attraction and trust were experienced and could be accelerated during the pitch process and were asked to identify the various components that were involved in the “most-satisfying” and “least-satisfying” pitches. The results indicated that both logistical and relational factors played a key role in the way in which a pitch process was experienced and although clients, agency professionals, and consultants shared many thoughts, each constituency offered a unique perspective. This research brings attention to the level of disconnect that occurs among the various constituencies and makes recommendations regarding ways to improve the pitching landscape. / text

I consider two versions of an argument against (so-called) negative action, both of which take it that causation is a defining feature of actions. The first asserts that when an agent refrains, her mental states do not cause the absence of an event; as such, the refraining does not qualify as an action. The second asserts that when an agent refrains, she does not cause the apparent results of her refraining, and so again, the refraining does not qualify as an action. The idea motivating the second argument appears to improve on the first, insofar as it allows for the agent to play a role in her actions. I argue that both accounts rely on a narrow conception of causation, framed in terms of a physical connection between cause and effect. This narrow conception does not appear to be justified, and the focus on physical connection causation leads both accounts to misconceive agency. Fortunately, there is available a broader conception of causation, which is both intuitively plausible and better able to capture the phenomenon. / text

Many well-known arguments in the philosophy of mind use thought experiments to elicit intuitions about consciousness. Often, these thought experiments include mechanistic explanations of a systems’ behavior. I argue that when we understand a system as a mechanism, we are not likely to understand it as an agent. According to Arico, Fiala, Goldberg, and Nichols’ (2011) AGENCY Model, understanding a system as an agent is necessary for generating the intuition that it is conscious. Thus, if we are presented with a mechanistic description of a system, we will be very unlikely to understand that system as conscious. Many of the thought experiments in the philosophy of mind describe systems mechanistically. I argue that my account of consciousness attributions is preferable to the “Simplicity Intuition” account proposed by David Barnett (2008) because it is more explanatory and more consistent with our intuitions. Still, the same conclusion follows from Barnett’s “Simplicity” account and from my own account: we should reassess the conclusions that have been drawn from many famous thought experiments.

The purpose of this study is to examine an example of administrative reorganization which can provide useful information to those interested in the continuing process of administrative reorganization.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to determine what the curriculum offerings were in Texas high schools for General Metalworking I and II during the 1970-71 school year, (2) to determine whether these individual course offerings agreed with the state prescribed curriculum as set forth by the Texas Education Agency, and (3) to determine in what ways the course offerings of the individual schools differed from the state prescribed curriculum.