CSR has been a more popular subject in the last few decades. However, CSR is seldom connected with SMEs. Many scholars suggest that the reasons are: firstly the attention on CSR practice falls much more on MNCs since publics perceive MNCs have bigger impact on the society. Secondly, most SMEs do not have required resources to work with CSR and many SMEs regard CSR as a burden. However, there are more and more SMEs that start to work with CSR. Therefore the purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of why SMEs work with CSR and how do SMEs implement CSR strategies.   The theoretical framework contains strategy, CSR pyramid, decision making process, stakeholder theory, business opportunity model of CSR for SME, legitimacy, strategy implementation and business relations. The emiprical findings contain the case firms’ view on what stimulate them to work with CSR and how they implement its CSR strategies within and outside the firms.   In the analysis we have connected the theoretical framework with our empirical findings. We analyze who the decision makers are and most important stakeholders within the firm as well as what stakeholders are interested in to be able to answer our firs research quesiton. Furthermore, we describe the implemetion process of our case firms as well as to analyze what types of business relations they have wirh its supplier, which will help us to answer our second research question.   The conclusions of this thesis are that it is profitability that drives SMEs to work with CSR. Furthermore, SMEs carry out its CSR strategy differently and the differences depend on how much resources do firms have and the types of relationship with suppliers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an accelerated and a regular physical education programme on various physical and motor traits of grade one, three, and four children. Two hundred children of Sir Richard McBride Elementary School of Vancouver, British Columbia participated in the study. Two classes in each grade were selected for one experimental and one control group. All experimental classes were tested initially. Fifty-four students of the two hundred control and experimental participants were randomly selected and were tested at the end of the programme. The physical and motor development traits investigated were: 1. Physical Development: height, weight, lung capacity, arm and thigh girths, chronological age, skeletal age. 2. Motor Ability and Agility: standing broad jump, shuttle run. 3. Strength: left and right grips strength, flexed arm bar hang. 4. Cardiovascular Appraisal: submaximal work task. The subjects of the control groups followed the programme outlined by the Department of Education of British Columbia for physical education. The programme was administered by the respective classroom teachers. These groups met twice weekly, for forty minute periods. Exception to the above is grade four, who met three times per week. The subjects of the experimental groups followed a programme designed and administered by the investigator. These groups met three times per week, for forty minute periods. The programme for both experimental and control groups extended over a period of 15 weeks. Review of the final results indicates no statistically significant difference between the two groups, with the exception of the thigh girth for grade three control group. The t value was 2.66, significant beyond the .05 level. The subjects in grade three control group were taller and heavier. It is interesting to note that although the grade three control group was younger chronologically and skeletally, they surpassed the grade three experimental group in all test items, with the exception of standing broad jump. The final results of the experimental group indicate improvement in all variables. Significant improvements beyond the .01 level were demonstrated in standing broad jump (t = 7.78 for grade three, and t = 10.29 for grade four) ; flexed arm bar hang (t = 3.23 for grade four); thigh girth (t = 3.20 for grade three); at the .05 level in shuttle run (t = 2.39 for grade three) . The interpretation of the investigation shows only a marginal difference between the control and experimental groups, in favor of the latter. This difference, however, cannot be considered beyond the limitations of this study. However, this is not to deny the possibility that a more intensive physical education programme, such as administered by the investigator to the experimental groups, may enhance the physical and motor development of children. It seems that such a programme, on a long-term basis, can contribute to the improvement of the physical capacity of children. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Les neutrophiles participent à la défense de l'hôte en phagocytant les agents pathogènes et en les détruisant via notamment la production de formes réactives de l'oxygène (FRO). Les FRO sont produites par un complexe multi- protéique :la NADPH oxydase (NOX2). Celle-ci peut s’assembler à la membrane du phagosome lors de la phagocytose mais aussi à la membrane plasmique lors de la stimulation des neutrophiles par des agents bactériens ou des médiateurs de l’inflammation. La NADPH oxydase est une arme à double tranchant; une activation excessive ou inappropriée de la NADPH oxydase génère un stress oxydant, facteur aggravant des nombreuses pathologies. Cette enzyme doit donc être finement régulée. La NADPH oxydase est activée lorsque les sous-unités cytosoliques de NOX2 (p67phox, p47phox, p40phox) et la petite GTPase Rac s’assemblent avec les sous-unités membranaires (p22phox et gp91phox) à la membrane phagosomale ou plasmique. P67phox régule le flux d'électrons qui transite via gp91phox du NADPH à O2.-. Des travaux récents indiquent que les phospholipides anioniques contribueraient à la régulation de la NADPH oxydase. De plus, Les protéines organisatrices p40phox et p47phox possèdent des domaines de liaison à ces phosphoinositides : p40phox peut se lier au phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) et p47phox au phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PI(3,4)P2). Nous avons donc voulu comprendre le rôle des ces phospholipides dans la régulation de la NADPH oxydase. Dans un premier temps nous nous sommes intéressés au rôle du PI(3)P, présent au phagosome après la fermeture de celui-ci, dans l’activation de la NADPH oxydase. Nos données indiquent que p40phox fonctionne comme un adaptateur, PI(3)P dépendant, permettant de maintenir p67phox dans le complexe de la NADPH oxydase. Le PI(3)P agit comme un « timer » pour l'activation de la NADPH oxydase au phagosome. Nous avons ensuite voulu examiner le rôle du PI(3,4)P2 dans la régulation de la NADPH oxydase à la membrane plasmique. Ce lipide est formé à la membrane plasmique par phosphorylation du PI(4)P par la PI3K de classe I lors de l’activation des neutrophiles. Nous avons montré que, l'activité PI3K de classe I est nécessaire pour maintenir l’activation, intégrine-dépendante, de la NADPH oxydase à la membrane plasmique. / The NADPH oxidase of the professional phagocyte is essential for the immune system. The phagocyte NADPH oxidase, NOX2, catalyze the reduction of molecular oxygen to superoxide. Superoxide is transformed rapidly into other reactive oxygen species (ROS) which play a critical role in the killing of pathogens in host defense. Indeed neutrophils, the first cells that arrive at the site of infections, engulf pathogens in a process called phagocytosis. The production of reactive oxygen species is then triggered by the NADPH oxidase in the phagosome. The importance of ROS production is demonstrated by the recurrent bacterial and fungal infections that face patients who lack functional NADPH oxidase as in the rare genetic disorder known as the chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Upon stimulation by bacterial peptide or in some pathological conditions, NADPH oxidase can also be activated at the phagocyte plasma membrane producing ROS in the extracellular medium. So, an excessive or inappropriate NADPH oxidase activation generates oxidative stress involve in chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease. The NADPH oxidase activity should be tightly regulated. The activity of the enzyme is the result of the assembly of cytosolic subunits (p47phox, p67phox, p40phox and Rac2) with membranous subunits (gp91phox and p22phox). P67phox regulates the electron flow through gp91phox from NADPH to oxygen leading to the formation of superoxide. Recent data indicate that the anionic phospholipids are important for the NADPH oxidase regulation. Moreover, p40phox and p47phox bear a PX domain that binds respectively phosphatidylinositol3-phosphate (PI3P) and phosphatidylinositol (3,4)-bisphosphate(PI(3,4)P2). Our objective was to decipher the importance of these phosphoinositides on the NADPH oxidase activity. We first examined the role of PI3P, which is present on the cytosolic leaflet of phagosome after its sealing, in NADPH oxidase activation. Our data indicate that p40phox works as a late adaptor controlled by PI3P to maintain p67phox in the NADPH oxidase complex. Thus, PI3P acts as a timer for NADPH oxidase assembly. We then examined the role of PI(3,4)P2 in the activation of the NADPH oxidase assembled at the plasma membrane. PI(3,4)P2 and PI(3,4,5)P3 are formed at the plasma membrane, upon neutrophil activation, by phosphorylation by Class I PI3K of respectively PI4P and PI(4,5)P2. We found that class I PI3K activity is required to maintain the integrin-dependent activation of NADPH oxidase at the plasma membrane.

C. glabrata est une levure commensale de l’Homme à l’origine d’infections opportunistes chez les patients immunodéprimés. Les neutrophiles sont les premières cellules recrutées sur le site de l’infection. La production de formes réactives de l’oxygène par ces cellules, initiée dans le phagosome par la NADPH oxydase 2 est un évènement majeur de la maturation du phagosome et fait l’objet de l’étude réalisée. L’objectif de ce travail était de développer des outils expérimentaux permettant l’évaluation du stress oxydant subi par C. glabrata lors de son internalisation par les phagocytes. La levure non pathogène S. cerevisiae, phylogénétiquement plus proche de C. glabrata, a été choisie comme organisme contrôle permettant une étude comparative entre les deux levures. C. glabrata est efficacement internalisée en absence d’opsonisation, par la lignée PLB-985-neutrophile contrairement à S. cerevisiae. L’utilisation de sondes organiques pour la mesure des FRO dans le phagosome est limitée puisque que le marquage des levures par ces sondes n’est pas spécifiquement localisé. Le développement de biosenseurs de FRO à partir de protéines fluorescentes, dont la localisation est maitrisée grâce à un système de marquage, est présenté. Les études réalisées suggèrent cependant que les protéines fluorescentes subissent des modifications dans le phagosome indépendantes de la production de FRO. Des tests de viabilité effectués sur les levures après phagocytose montrent que l’élimination des levures dépend fortement de facteurs indépendants de la production de FRO. Plusieurs méthodes indiquent néanmoins que les phagosomes avec C. glabrata contiennent moins de FRO que les phagosomes avec S. cerevisiae. C. glabrata semble éliminer les FRO plus efficacement que S. cerevisiae. / C. glabrata is a human commensal yeast responsible for opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. Neutrophils are the first cells to be recruited to the infection site. Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the phagosome by the phagocyte NADPH oxidase 2 is a major event of the phagosome maturation and is the subject of the study. The aim of this work was to develop experimental tools allowing the evaluation of the oxidative stress endured by C. glabrata during its internalization by phagocytes. The non-pathogenic yeast S. cerevisiae, phylogenetically close to C. glabrata, was chosen as a control organism allowing a comparative study between the two yeasts. Unlike S. cerevisiae, non-opsonized C. glabrata is efficiently internalized by the PLB-985 cell line. The utilization of organic dyes for the detection of ROS in the phagosome lacks precision since the staining of the yeasts by those dyes is not specifically localized. The development of ROS biosensors based on fluorescent proteins, whose localization can be controlled due to a new staining procedure, is presented here. However the results suggest that fluorescent proteins undergo modifications in the phagosome independently from the ROS production. Viability tests performed on the yeasts after phagocytosis showed that yeast removal depends mainly on factors independent from ROS production. Several methods indicate nevertheless that the phagosomes of C. glabrata contain less ROS than the phagosome of S. cerevisiae. C. glabrata appears to suppress ROS more efficiently than S. cerevisiae.

Tese de mestrado. Engenharia Biomédica. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 2010

Les NADPH oxydases constituent une famille d’enzymes dont la fonction est dédiée à la production de formes réactives de l’oxygène. NOX1, un des membres de cette famille, est abondamment exprimée dans le colon et sa dérégulation pourrait être associée aux maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l’intestin. Les mécanismes qui modulent l’activation de NOX1 demeurent mal connus. Au cours de ma thèse je me suis donc intéressée à l’étude de la phosphorylation de NOXA1 et NOXO1, deux sous-unités régulatrices du complexe NOX1 et ai démontré 1) que la phosphorylation de NOXA1 constitue un mécanisme de régulation négative de l’activité de NOX1 en vue de maintenir l’activité constitutive du complexe à un niveau adéquat et non excessif. 2) pour la première fois, que NOXO1β est phosphorylée et que cette phosphorylation entraîne une hyperactivation de NOX1. L’ensemble de ces données montre que NOX1 est finement régulée. Par ce biais, NOX1 pourrait être impliquée dans la défense anti-infectieuse de l’intestin. / The NOX family of NADPH oxidases are enzymes which function is dedicated to the production of reactive oxygen species. NOX1, a member of this family is expressed abundantly in the intestine and its disregulation could be linked to inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases. However, the molecular basis of NOX1 regulation remains unclear. During my thesis, I demonstrated that 1) NOXA1, the activator cytosolic subunit of the NOX1 complex, is phosphorylated and its phosphorylation prevents hyperactivation of NOX1 in order to maintain a constitutive activity which would not be too excessive. 2) phosphorylation of human NOXO1, the organizer subunit of the complex is a prerequisite of full activation of NOX1. Taken together, these results demonstrate that NOX1 is tightly regulated by phosphorylation events. By this mean, NOX1 could be involved in host immune defense of the intestine.

Les NADPH oxydases constituent une famille d'enzymes dont la fonction est dédiée à la production de formes réactives de l'oxygène. NOX1, un des membres de cette famille, est abondamment exprimée dans le colon et sa dérégulation pourrait être associée aux maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l'intestin. Les mécanismes qui modulent l'activation de NOX1 demeurent mal connus. Au cours de ma thèse je me suis donc intéressée à l'étude de la phosphorylation de NOXA1 et NOXO1, deux sous-unités régulatrices du complexe NOX1 et ai démontré 1) que la phosphorylation de NOXA1 constitue un mécanisme de régulation négative de l'activité de NOX1 en vue de maintenir l'activité constitutive du complexe à un niveau adéquat et non excessif. 2) pour la première fois, que NOXO1β est phosphorylée et que cette phosphorylation entraîne une hyperactivation de NOX1. L'ensemble de ces données montre que NOX1 est finement régulée. Par ce biais, NOX1 pourrait être impliquée dans la défense anti-infectieuse de l'intestin.

The aim of this thesis is the analysis of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium Enterprises (IFRS for SME). The first part deals with reasons for the Standard, its contents, structure and its relationship to the full version of IFRS. Next section is focused on individual parts of financial statements in accordance with IFRS for SME, description of rules and principles for reporting and comparison with full IFRS. Theoretical foundings are illustrated on the financial statements of MES-IMPILO, company which uses IFRS for SME. Final chapters examine possibilities of implementation the IFRS for SME in EU and Czech Republic, countries which have already addopted IFRS for SME and application IFRS for SME in companies.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing performance management system (PMS) in enhancing performance at this freight rail organisation (FRO). The focus of this study was to establish whether the performance management processes are effective in enhancing the individual performance level in this FRO. The performance management processes referred to in this study include conceptualising and exploring; performance management and its processes, the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a tool of performance management and explaining the relationship between performance management and a reward system within the FRO. A qualitative research design was used for this study to answer the research question. The research design consisted of a case study where thirty semi structured interviews were conducted with the first line managers, junior managers, middle managers and senior managers at this FRO. The interviews were transcribed, and research data was analysed using a content analysis method. This study yielded a number of benefits in terms of the research findings, conclusions and recommendations about the effectiveness of performance management processes, the BS and the relationship between individual performance and reward. As a result, the study will not only benefit management in dealing with a strategy and drive individual performance, but will also assist all levels of employees within the FRO and other organisations in understanding the day-to-day operational activities of performance management. It will also help human capital professionals, industrial psychologists at the FRO and other organisations in knowing and understanding the best practices to adopt, in managing their individual performance levels. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)