The diploma thesis has the character of descriptive case study and it deals with the system of electronic ordering of terms for applications for residence permits, Visapoint, which was introduced between 2009 and 2017 at selected embassies in third countries, which means countries outside the EU and EEA. The main implementer of the Visapoint, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since its introduction promised equal, fair and free access for foreigners to reserve a date. However, the operation of the Visapoint was problematic from the beginning. From the foreigner's point of view, it was not possible to register for the application and many of them used the services of illegal intermediaries who filled the deadlines to sell them dearly. The research in the thesis is based on the theory of implementation, namely the top - down model, which was first developed by Sabatier and Mazmanian. The research used qualitative research methods, especially document research, analysis of actors and a combination of structured interview with open questions with the interview using instructions. The research was aimed at visa applicants from Ukraine, where one of the most problematic approaches to applying was. The research shows that Visapoint was chosen correctly as a tool, but its implementation was problematic.

Nowadays weak single-factor authentication mechanisms like passwords or passphrases are commonly used. Static passwords are easy to use, just remember them in mind. However it has many security weaknesses and even strong passwords are not strong enough. For example, strong secrets are difficult to remember, and people tend to share authentication credentials across systems, which reduce the overall security tremendously. Thus, for security sensitive environment we need strong multi-factors authentication. Smart card based certificate strong authentication solution can be used as a replacement for standard password-based schemes. And also a large existing base of deployed smart cards used to provide authentication in other areas can be reused to reduce costs significantly. This master thesis presents a study of how to implement certificate-based strong authentication on mobile devices using PIV smart card. It proposes a strong authentication protocol based on FIPS 201 Personal Identity verification standard, and FIPS 196 entity strong authentication protocol scheme, and describes the implementation of a mobile security application developed on iOS system using a smart card reader. Our solution can provide high level of security services for mobile applications, and can easily protect their confidentiality, integrity and authenticity.

Contactless cards are everywhere nowadays due to their ease to use and low price to produce. In addition, their reliability is excellent. That is why they are used in systems where security is essential within a low price. To develop the associated systems (cards, readers, terminals), efficient tools are needed. These tools can be a spy analyzing any communication or an emulator that can act and answer exactly as a real contactless card. The objective of this thesis was to develop a contactless card emulator on a product that is currently only spying, the NomadLAB of KEOLABS. The emulator feature is based on a discontinued product, the ProxiCARD, and it has for main objective to be compliant with the ISO 14443 standard. Through the analysis of its architecture and its current performance, I have developed a complete system that can be integrated into the ecosystem of the KEOLABS products. The features I developed take place into the source code of the NomadLAB, at the level of its ARM microcontroller in language C, and in its FPGA in language VHDL. The ARM is here to handle all the smart part of the transmission, while the FPGA to handle the coding and decoding process. In addition, I developed an antenna able to on one hand receive the signal from a reader and on the other hand to reply to it by modulating the magnetic field. I also developed and added my controls to the current computer software. Finally, I have written a lot of testing to make sure that this new system is reliable. The NomadLAB is now able to emulate a contactless card complying with ISO14443 standard, while keeping its spy features, and its control through a computer.

For the last decades there has been a steady shift from cash to card payments and with increased smart phone penetration, payments have started to move into our mobile devices. This thesis studies how mobile payments can change the traditional payment landscape. The purpose is to assess the disruptiveness of the Swedish mobile payment market and describe key stakeholder strategies for managing a potentially disruptive change. The study has been designed as a combination of a theoretical and an empirical study where the theoretical part consisted of a literature review that hinted on a gap in terms of available literature on the disruptiveness of different mobile payment business models. Main theoretical concepts used are; disruptive innovation, business model innovation, and theories on competing solutions and dominant design. The subsequent empirical study consisted of a number of qualitative, indepth interviews with key stakeholder from the Swedish mobile payment industry: five mobile payment providers, one major merchant, and the Swedish Trade Federation. This thesis shows that two fundamentally different types of mobile C2B payments are emerging; mobile payment solutions based on existing card payment schemes and mobile payment solutions that build on new and independent payment schemes. The independent model has been defined as the most powerful disruptive force in relation to the existing market for card payments, mainly because it offers opportunities for innovative players to build simple new payment schemes that bypass traditional card payment players and therefore can be made far more cost efficient. However, many established card payment players are inhibiting this development since they are afraid it could seriously harm their existing card business.

The United States education system has experienced an evolution of school accountability systems that has led to changes and variation in state school grading systems. This study shows that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, a recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, provides greater autonomy to individual states in evaluating and reporting school accountability than in preceding years and provides opportunities for states to implement a more holistic or well-rounded approach to school grading. ESSA policy and this study encourages states to choose to evaluate schools more holistically by implementing a wider and more balanced range of indicators that are used to formulate publicly reported school grades. Many issues and historical events, both in the nation and in Utah, are shared to show their influence on the evolution of school accountability. The relevant components of ESSA are explored. An historical overview of school accountability, standardized testing, school grading, and public educational reporting in the state of Utah is included. Scholarly perspectives about school accountability and reporting systems are also presented. This descriptive study incorporates archival research through a review of grades K-8 school grading systems. The school report card systems and indicators are collected and compared from two sequential time periods: first, the time period after NCLB and before ESSA plans were approved is referred, and second, the current time period, based off of data from currently implemented state ESSA plans. Data from all 50 states and Washington D.C. are analyzed and contrasted with Utah's data. Special focus is placed on the indicators that are not dictated by the federal government but those which are chosen by the state that promote a more holistic measure of accountability. The results from this study show that while a more holistic approach to school grading across the states has resulted from ESSA implementation, Utah's ESSA plan and school grading system, along with the other 49 states and Washington D.C., do not currently reflect an adequate holistic measure of school accountability. State Legislators and State School Board Members will find this study to be enlightening as they create more holistic school grading systems.

In my essay, I illuminate evil from the perspective of whether we can explain evil deeds through the perpetrator's narrative. As an object for my study, I have chosen a popular culture perspective - the character The Joker - which has been portrayed several times. The purpose of the essay is to study if we understand and can come to terms with evil deeds if we also know the perpetrator's narrative. The starting point for this reasoning is the question of whether evil deeds can always be defined as evil? I have limited my thesis to be based on theories based on traditional and historical research in the field of evil. The material I have used for my analysis is limited to the shape of The Joker in the script of the films The Dark Knight and The Joker. Methodologically, the essay is based on textual idea analysis - around evil and myths.  Out of the scripts of The Joker and The Dark Knight I have developed a hypothesis which I finally discuss the reasonableness and test logically. Theoretically, I have based my study on Lars Svendsen's analysis of evil, John Martin Fischer's analysis of the meaning of the narrative and Claudia Card's discussion of grey areas. Based on these, I have analysed, discussed and argued to test my hypothesis and answer the question of the essay: Is The Joker's narrative an explanation for his evil deeds? The study's method and analysis have generated a result that shows that this is not the case. The Joker has made his own free choices that have made him who he is and what he does. His narrative is not an explanation for his demonic evil deeds.

The topic of this diploma thesis is the evaluation of the project of green cards which is a Czech version of the programme of advantageous employment for the foreigners. Green card represents a special type of visa authorization which the citizens from selected countries outside of EU and EEA can apply for. The project was supposed to attract the foreign workers to come and work in Czech Republic in the fields with high demand of labour force, and thus to meet the needs of employers and to stabilize the situation on the labour market. It was expected that it would raise the interest of tens of thousands of foreigners. However, in reality the program is used to the minimal extent and to these days (or so to say by the end of 2012) Czech Republic issued less than four hundred green cards. Therefore, the main aim of this thesis is to define the reasons behind the low and unsatisfactory use of this programme. The thesis is based on the theory of implementation. The main theoretical basis represents: top-down institutional framework of P. Sabatier and D. Mazmanian and an instrumental approach combining multiple perspectives of various authors. Hence the design of the research can be characterised as a case study in which both qualitative and quantitative research methods are applied. Specific data...

Background: Left/right judgment (LRJ) measurement is a potential way to identify dysfunction in cortical body maps, and to measure improvement related to corresponding treatments. Few studies have explored the reliability of various methods for LRJ measurement. Objectives: To determine measurement reliability of LRJ utilizing two methods: card-based (CB) and tablet-based (TB). Establish minimal detectable difference (MDD) for accuracy and reaction time for both assessments. Methods: Testing was done over two different days. Session 1 consisted of testing LRJ utilizing CB assessment with photos of left and right hands over two trial periods. The TB format was also tested over two trial periods. Session 2 tested with the CB assessment for two trial periods. 40 images were used in the basic upright position for both CB and TB formats. Results: Fifty participants (N = 50; female = 35) with an average age of 24.3 (range 19–35) were studied. ICC (2,k) for reaction time for both methods were >0.84. The MDD for reaction time was between 0.19 and 0.49 s for various test points for both methods. Combined left and right accuracy ICC (2,k) for both methods were >0.51, with MDD between 5 and 14%. Conclusions: This study examined the reliability and MDD for the LRJ measurement for card and tablet-based assessments. Generally, LRJ reaction time had good reliability, while accuracy had moderate reliability and varied between testing methods.

The United States education system has experienced an evolution of school accountability systems that has led to changes and variation in state school grading systems. This study shows that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, a recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, provides greater autonomy to individual states in evaluating and reporting school accountability than in preceding years and provides opportunities for states to implement a more holistic or well-rounded approach to school grading. ESSA policy and this study encourages states to choose to evaluate schools more holistically by implementing a wider and more balanced range of indicators that are used to formulate publicly reported school grades. Many issues and historical events, both in the nation and in Utah, are shared to show their influence on the evolution of school accountability. The relevant components of ESSA are explored. An historical overview of school accountability, standardized testing, school grading, and public educational reporting in the state of Utah is included. Scholarly perspectives about school accountability and reporting systems are also presented. This descriptive study incorporates archival research through a review of grades K-8 school grading systems. The school report card systems and indicators are collected and compared from two sequential time periods: first, the time period after NCLB and before ESSA plans were approved is referred, and second, the current time period, based off of data from currently implemented state ESSA plans. Data from all 50 states and Washington D.C. are analyzed and contrasted with Utah's data. Special focus is placed on the indicators that are not dictated by the federal government but those which are chosen by the state that promote a more holistic measure of accountability. The results from this study show that while a more holistic approach to school grading across the states has resulted from ESSA implementation, Utah's ESSA plan and school grading system, along with the other 49 states and Washington D.C., do not currently reflect an adequate holistic measure of school accountability. State Legislators and State School Board Members will find this study to be enlightening as they create more holistic school grading systems.

Modified administration techniques that relied on patient verbalization of reasoning on each item were devised. For the WCST, verbalized scores correlated highly with conventional scores. However, patterns of age, education, and IQ covariates for each scoring condition were very different, raising questions concerning what such verbalized scores measured. Further research based upon a prospective research design was suggested to address this question. Factor analysis of WCST scores for each scoring condition resulted in almost identical three-factor solutions in each case: (a) ineffective, perseverative responding; (b) nonperseverative number errors; and (c) Maintaining Set. A three-part hierarchy of response determinants for the CT was utilized, consisting of (a) concrete perceptual attributes; (b) cognitive organization of perceptual attributes into abstract patterns; and (c) relating abstract patterns to the corresponding number responses. Decision trees were devised to prescribe a set of rules for coding each score. Utilization of this approach yielded adequate test-retest reliability for recoding responses. Sets of variables for each subtest were factor analyzed, with second order factor analysis of all factors from each subtest in order to determine if common cognitive process scores on each subtest described cognitive process scores on other subtests. Results revealed similar factor solutions for each subtest, but subtest-specific factors were not predictive of similar factor scores on other subtests, except for Subtests V and VI, which are based upon the same principle. Factors related to Maintaining Set predicted most of the variance in subtest error scores. Factor scores related to Determinant Shifting were predictive of error scores to a much lesser degree than Maintaining Set factor scores. Determinant Shifting factor scores appeared to be independent of Maintaining Set factor scores, and also showed much more independence from age, education, and IQ covariates. The relationship between CT and WCST factor scores was slightly lower than the relationship between CT error scores and WCST summary scores. Suggestions for further research were discussed.