Expectations regarding the contributions of academics to entrepreneurial activity in addition to their primary role of carrying out teaching and research have increased in recent years. Nevertheless, research on academic entrepreneurship has, to date, been carried out mainly in developed nations and there has been little emphasis on developing countries, particularly low income ones. Developing countries, when compared with developed nations, have been reported to face relatively high levels of resource scarcity that involve shortages of skills, finance, physical infrastructure, technology, and institutions needed for innovation and entrepreneurship. This gap in our knowledge leads to the main objective of this study, which is to investigate academic entrepreneurship in a resource constrained environment. Referring to the entrepreneurship and diversification literature, the current study argues that, as a strategy to extract value from a resource constrained environment, academic entrepreneurs may diversify their entrepreneurial engagements, which is named in this research as ‘plural activity’. In order to achieve the main objective, this thesis derives four specific objectives; namely, investigating the ‘plural activities’ of academic entrepreneurs, studying the motivations of academic entrepreneurs, examining the influence of multilevel causal factors on ‘plural activities’, and investigating the impacts of academic entrepreneurship on universities and wider economy. Sequential mixed methods were adopted in three stages; namely, an initial context specific data gathering stage, an on-line survey, and in-depth interviews. Initial context specific data were used to design two subsequent data collection phases. This approach was believed to improve the construct validity of the study. The main purpose of the on-line survey was to obtain a broad understanding of the entrepreneurial engagements of academics, while that of in-depth interviews was to obtain detailed context specific data, required to achieve research objectives. This sequential mixed method design of a survey being followed up by in-depth interviews was also considered to improve the internal validity of this research.The results suggested that entrepreneurial activity was a means of overcoming resource barriers in a resource constrained environment as opposed to resources are a means of becoming entrepreneurial in a resource rich environment. The majority of academic entrepreneurs had overcome resource and opportunity constraints by diversifying their entrepreneurial engagements. ‘Plural activity’ was found to generate synergies between multiple academic entrepreneurial activities. Diversifying into a greater number of different activities was found to generate more synergistic effects than diversifying into a limited number of similar activities. Nevertheless, there remained synergies between those who adopted different diversification strategies. Moreover, academic entrepreneurship was found to enable the overcoming of resource barriers to university teaching and research as well as deliver positive outcomes to universities and wider economy. Furthermore, it was evident that academics were initially motivated by ‘push’ motives and over time the influence of ‘push’ factors declined, while the impact of ‘pull’ motives increased. As a result of a lack of research capabilities of industry and funding for universities, there was a higher mutual interdependence between universities and industry. However, due to the unavailability of supportive mechanisms or formal institutional infrastructure to promote academic entrepreneurship, university-industry interactions were driven by individuals, and thus, were scattered and isolated. Policy implications and future research avenues were considered in conclusion.

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of merger, the individual possibilities, which can be realized. Furthermore, the interest is directed towards the motives leading to this intention and the impact of these activities. One of the strongest motives of mergers is the synergistic effect, whose existence in the selected economic sector is the primary aim of this work or the assessment of its existence in the selected economic sector in specific business entities.

The diploma thesis titled „Proposal of Activities for Development of Strategic Cooperation in the Area of Sales of Bakery Ovens“ focuses on proposals for the creation of a strategic framework with the aim of developing a strategic alliance between the strategic business unit of company Sklářské stroje Znojmo, s.r.o. and chosen partner.

This diploma thesis is aimed at the issue of synergistic effects selected consolidated entities in the Czech Republic. The objective of this thesis is the evaluation of whether the synergic effects arise in selected concerns from "Wholesale trade, retail trade; repairs and motor retail trade" industry. The decision about the presence of synergistic effects is based on the comparison of values of selected indicators for parent company and the concern.

This master thesis deals with the problem of synergistic effects. There is the basic characteristic of transformations of companies and of consolidated financial statements in opening chapters. After that attention is paid to the suitable indicators to monitor the synergistic effects. In following chapters, the thesis is focused on the evaluation of the synergistic effects in the selected companies.

The current academic literature is inadequate on the possibility of applying a typological model of effective cultural integration within the context of public-private partnerships, particularly when governments collaborate with multinational corporations. Using Schein's organizational cultural framework as the foundation, the purpose of this case study of a partnership between a West African government and a multinational petroleum corporation is to understand clearly how synergistic cultural integration coupled with statutory requirements could catalyze public-private partnership success. Data for this study came from interviews with American or Nigerian individuals who were familiar with the partnership in the West African country, a review of documents related to the partnership, and observational notes compiled during interviews. The Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument inspired the interview questions. Data was coded and analyzed using a modification of Strauss and Corbin's 3-tiered analytic procedure. Key findings revealed the need for culturally based positive change dynamics to maximize evolving partnership growth and success. There were also indicators that an effective cultural integration synergistic typology would propel evolving competitive service delivery, efficient policy implementation, workforce motivation, economic and financial profitability, efficient communication channels and technological innovativeness, managerial and administrative expertise. The knowledge of organizational cultural integration dynamics is useful to academicians, public administrators, policy makers, and executives in structuring public and private partnerships in a culturally sensitive way for long-term organizational growth and success.

Pervasive growth in industrialization and advances in technology now exposes much of the world to anthropogenic night light and noise (ANLN), which pose a global environmental challenge in terrestrial environments. An estimated one-tenth of the planet’s land area experiences artificial light at night — and that rises to 23% if skyglow is included. Moreover, anthropogenic noise is associated with urban development and transportation networks, as the ecological impact of roads alone is estimated to affect one-fifth of the total land cover of the United States and is increasing in space and intensity. Existing research involving impacts of light or noise has primarily focused on a single sensory stressor and single species; yet, little information is known about how different sources of sensory stressors impact the relationships within tightly-knit and complex systems, such as within plant-pollinator communities. Furthermore, ANLN often co-occur, yet little is known about how co-exposure to these stressors influences wildlife, nor the extent and scale of how these stressors impact ecological processes and patterns. In Chapter 1, we had two aims: to investigate species-specific responses to artificial night light, anthropogenic noise, and the interaction between the two by using spatially-explicit models to model changes in abundance of 140 of the most prevalent overwintering bird species across North America, and to identify functional traits and contexts that explain variation in species-specific responses to ANLN stressors with phylogenetically-informed models. We found species that responded to noise exposure generally decreased in abundance, and the interaction with light resulted in negative synergistic responses that exacerbated the negative influence of noise among many species. Moreover, the interaction revealed negative emergent responses of species that only reacted when both ANLN were presented in combination. The functional trait that was the most indicative of avian response to ANLN was habitat preference. Specifically, species that occupy closed habitat were less tolerant of both sensory stressors compared to those that occupy open habitat. Species-specific responses to ANLN are context-dependent; thus, knowing the information that regulates when, where, how, and why sensory pollutants influence species will help management efforts effectively mitigate these anthropogenic stressors on the natural environment. In Chapter 2, using field-placed light manipulations at sites exposed to a gradient of skyglow, we investigated the influence of direct and indirect light on the yucca-yucca moth mutualism by quantifying chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) fruit set and the obligate moth (Tegeticula maculata maculata) larval density per fruit. Although many diurnal insects are thought to exhibit minimal phototaxis, we show that direct light attracted adult moths and incited higher pollination activity, resulting in an increase in fruit set. However, larval recruitment decreased with elevated light exposure and the effect was strongest for plants exposed to light levels exceeding natural moonlit conditions (> 0.5 lux). Contrarily, increases in ambient skyglow resulted in an increase in both fruit set and larva counts. Our results suggest that plant-pollinator communities may respond in complicated ways to different sources of light, such that novel selection pressures of direct and indirect light have the potential to benefit or disrupt networks within complex diurnal plant-pollinator communities, and ultimately alter the biodiversity reliant on these systems. By analyzing pervasive stressors across a continental-wide scale, we revealed considerable heterogeneity in avian responses to light and noise alone, as well as the interaction between them. Based on overall responses to the interaction between light v and noise, we suggest management efforts should focus on ameliorating excessive noise for overwintering bird species, which should decrease the impact from synergistic responses, as well as the negative impact from noise alone. There is still much to learn about responses to these stressors and smaller-scale studies should take our approach of systematically assessing interaction responses to ANLN. Moreover, our small-scale study revealed both local sources of direct light and skyglow impact the recruitment for both yucca moths and their reciprocal plant hosts. However, it is still unknown if or why other diurnal pollinators experience positive phototaxis, and whether direct lighting influences the physiology, behavior, or multiple factors relating to reproduction and fitness. Correspondingly, it is unknown if the novel selection pressures of direct and indirect light are disrupting complex diurnal plant-pollinator communities. Future research on artificial night light will need to investigate the intricate responses of diurnal pollinators to both direct and indirect light that will identify concrete mechanisms relating to physiological or behavioral susceptibility and inform predictions on how wide-spread communities will shift with this global driver of emerging change.

Wood is a widely used construction material that has many advantageous properties, and some drawbacks. These drawbacks are mainly associated with the porous vascular structure of wood that makes it a high water-absorbent material. In addition, wood’s properties alter substantially with respect to the moisture content. Amongst the treatment techniques that limit the water uptake capacity of wood, vacuum-aided impregnation has exhibited promising results. However, little research has explored the effect of key parameters (such as the vacuum pressure) on the effectiveness of the impregnation. This study aims to optimize the performance of SiO2 impregnation of spruce wood under vacuum pressures. The main objective of this research is to overcome wood’s weakness by reducing its water uptake capacity through a vacuum-aided impregnation technique and study its effect on the physico-mechanical properties of wood under dry and saturated conditions. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, wood samples underwent impregnation under atmospheric and three vacuum pressures. Density measurements, water uptake tests, microscopy examination, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis were conducted on non-treated and SiO2-treated samples. Quantitative and qualitative analyses demonstrated that SiO2 impregnation performed under -90 kPa was able to effectively enhance the wood’s properties compared to the other conditions. The SiO2 impregnation under high vacuum pressure demonstrated an effective increase in the density of the wood and achieved a significant reduction in the water uptake capacity. The analysis of the wood’s viscoelastic properties revealed that SiO2 impregnation under atmospheric and vacuum conditions triggered two different reinforcing mechanisms: a solid film, causing stick-slip oscillation, and particle diffusion, causing particle-particle and particle-lumen wall friction, respectively. For the second part, characterization methods such as Impact test, DMA, SEM, EDS, Porosity, and SAXS tests were conducted on non-treated and -90 kPa treated spruce wood samples in dry, saturated, and submerged states in order to reveal the synergistic effect of the SiO2 impregnation pressure and water uptake on the wood’s properties. The results showed that high vacuum impregnation pressure has a significant positive reinforcing effect on the wood’s properties. It increased the impact resistance of wood in dry and saturated conditions. A high vacuum impregnation was able to overcome the softening effect of water and caused a significant increase in the Storage modulus by strengthening the wood’s vascular structure, which accordingly increased the wood’s capacity to absorb energy. High vacuum impregnation was also able to counteract the plasticizing effect of water and significantly increased the Loss modulus by increasing the internal friction in the wood with the diffusion of the nanoparticles in the wood’s cell walls and vascular structure. This phenomenon increased the wood's capacity to absorb and dissipate energy under dry and submerged conditions.

M. Tech. (Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most difficult infectious diseases to control in the world today. The disease spreads easily in overcrowded, badly ventilated places and among people who are undernourished. Trends in the incidence of TB together with the development of multi-drug (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant (XDR-TB) strains of TB raises the need to intensify the search for more efficient drugs to combat this disease. Herbal remedies used in traditional medicine provide an interesting and largely unexplored source for the discovery of potentially new drugs for infections such as TB. The aim of the study was to evaluate the in vitro antimycobacterial activity of synthesized compounds from medicinal plants against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). About 40 synthesized compounds isolated from South African medicinal plants were screened against H37RV using microplate alamar blue assay (MABA). Identified active compounds were screened against resistant strains of M. tuberculosis (MDR, XDR and pre-XDR) and sensitive clinical isolates of TB. Cytotoxicity and synergistic drug combination studies were done on active compounds to validate their toxicity and synergy levels. Cytotoxicity was done by sulforhodamine assay (SRB) against the C2C12 cell line. Only six compounds showed activity against M. tuberculosis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) below 10μg/ml. The results obtained indicated that the cytotoxicity effects of the three compounds on C2C12 cells demonstrated marginal toxicity except for MVB 282/61215 which showed a high toxicity at the lowest concentration of 0.156μg/ml with over 100% viable cells at the highest concentration (5μg/ml). MVB 282/61271 had the highest percentage cell viability (65%) at the lowest concentration. Only two compounds had a higher potency evoking a bigger response at low concentrations with treated cells still viable after 3 days of incubation with the compound which was comparable with the treatment of isoniazid (INH). Synergistic activity of the six compounds was less in INH combination as compared to the rifampicin’s (RIF) combination. The results demonstrated that the synergistic interaction between the compounds and RIF could the antituberculosis acitivity. In conclusion the synergistic effects with RIF translate to lower dosing requirements of the compounds and the potential to combat multidrug resistant TB. In deed there is no doubt that natural products, with their range of interesting chemical structures and powerful antimycobacterial effects are certain to remain important participants in the development of new generations of antimycobacterial drugs.

No description available.