The theme of this diploma thesis is a project of the polyfunctional building with offices and sportbar for business activities. The projected building should be located in the village Jemnice in the street ,, Budějovická“ It is a four-storey house with partial basement, which is situated on midly sloping land. The house is built of brick blocks POROTHERM. The ceilings of the house are made out of fundamentals roofs Miako. The partitions are combination of brick systems POROTHERM and Knauf plasterboard partitions. The roof is slant double-coating covering of systém Fatrafol – S810.

A case study has been conducted in a municipal child and educationadministration. The aim was to develop a management system for thesystematic quality work at an overall level and identify what isimportant to think about to make the system work in theorganization. The studied organization has low student results and alarge proportion of the students do not gain admission to the uppersecondary school. The study is based on theories of systematicquality work and laws within the school and theories about offensivequality development. Surveys, interviews, document reviews, processmapping and literature studies have been used in the study. Theprocess mapping shows that the current systematic quality work has atop-down perspective. The results of surveys, interviews anddocument review indicate that there is a lack of commitment at theunit level. The current systematic quality work doesn´t lead to anydevelopment, partly because the follow-ups and analyzes, that arecarried out in the units, do not constitute a sufficient basis forthe top management to prioritize what is needed to do to develop thebusiness. The current top-down perspective is challenged and abottom-up perspective is proposed to gain greater involvement andparticipation. A new process, a management system as well as aproposal for implementation is suggested for the organization. Themanagement system is based on total quality management (TQM). / En fallstudie har genomförts i en kommunal barn- och utbildningsförvaltning i syfte att ta fram ett ledningssystem för det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet på en övergripande nivå och identifiera vad som är viktigt att tänka på för att få systemet att fungera i organisationen. Den studerade organisationen har låga elevresultat och en stor andel av eleverna uppnår inte behörighet till gymnasiet. Studien baseras på teorier och lagstiftning om systematiskt kvalitetsarbete inom skolan och teorier om offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. Enkäter, intervjuer, dokumentgranskningar, processkartläggning och litteraturstudier har använts i studien. Processkartläggningen visar att det nuvarande systematiska kvalitetsarbetet har ett top-downperspektiv och resultatet av enkäter, intervjuer och dokumentgranskningen tyder på att det finns ett bristande engagemang på enhetsnivå. Det nuvarande systematiska kvalitetsarbetet medför inte att verksamheterna utvecklas, bland annat beroende på att de uppföljningar och utvärderingar som genomförs på enheterna inte utgör ett tillräckligt underlag för att huvudmannen skall kunna prioritera insatser som leder till att verksamheten utvecklas. Det nuvarande top-down-perspektivet ifrågasätts och ett bottom-up-perspektiv föreslås för att få ett större engagemang och delaktighet på enhetsnivå. Ett förslag på ny process, ett ledningssystem baserat på offensiv kvalitetsutveckling samt ett implementeringsförslag redovisas i studien.

L'objectif général de cette thèse est d'étudier les relations alimentaires entre différents prédateurs d'intérêt local, appartenant à plusieurs compartiments écologiques. L'échantillonnage, réalisé entre janvier 2012 et décembre 2014 en partenariat avec la filière pêche, s'est concentré sur les principales espèces d'intérêt commercial ou en interactions avec les pêcheries (captures accessoires et déprédateurs). La détermination des sources de matière organique dont elles dépendent, de leurs relations interspécifiques, ainsi que des facteurs de variation de leurs alimentations, a été réalisée grâce à l'analyse des isotopes stables du carbone (δ13C) et de l'azote (δ15N), ainsi que celle des contenus stomacaux. Bien qu'associées au substrat, les espèces profondes (100-600m) dépendent indirectement de la production primaire de surface via leurs proies qui effectuent des migrations verticales dans la colonne d'eau. Cette dépendance aux organismes mésopélagiques induit un chevauchement alimentaire globalement important entre ces espèces, atténué par l'occupation de zones bathymétriques différentes. Concernant les espèces de surface, celles-ci se répartissent selon un gradient côte-large, formant trois groupes aux régimes alimentaires distincts. Les requins tigre semblent former une population homogène constituée d'individus généralistes tandis que les requins bouledogue forment une population hétérogène d'individus spécialisés sur des ressources différentes. Ces résultats indiquent qu'une approche centrée sur l'habitat conviendrait à la gestion des espèces profondes, tandis qu'une approche centrée sur les espèces serait plus efficiente pour les espèces de surface. / The general aim of this Ph.D thesis is to analyse the feeding relationship between the different predators of multiple habitats. Carried out between January 2012 and December 2014 in collaboration with the fishing stakeholders, the sampling focused on species of commercial interest or interacting with fisheries (bycatches and depredators). Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes ratio and stomacal content analysis were used to determine the organic matter they depend on, their interspecific relationships and the factors influencing their diets. Results show a wide disparity between species caught in shallow water and the deep ones. Despite their association with the benthic environment, deepwater species (100-600m) indirectly rely on surface primary production through their vertically migrating prey. This dependence on mesopelagic organism induce consequently a high dietary overlap between pairwise species, although alleviated by their presence in different bathymetric areas. Shallow species are split into three distinct diet categories along a shore-offshore gradient. Tiger shark are likely to form an homogeneous population composed with generalist individuals conversely to bull sharks which are forming an assorted population of individuals specialized on different resources. Those results tend to promote an habitat-focused approach, more suitable for the management of deepwater species, whereas a species-focused approach would rather be more effective for shallow, highly mobile species.

Studien omfattar 50 observationer av bolag inom First North och undersöker två hypoteser relaterade till demografisk mångfald inom ledningsgrupper och strategiska beslut. I studien förväntades demografisk mångfald ha en negativ påverkan på effektiva strategiska beslut och en positiv påverkan på strategiska beslut av kvalitet. Hypoteserna accepterades delvis och studien konstaterade att endast en del av de demografiska karaktärsdragen har en påverkan på strategiska beslut. / The study contains 50 observations of companies in First North and examine two hypothesises related to demographic diversity in top management teams and strategic decisions. The study expected demographic diversty as having a negative impact on effective strategic decisions and have a positive impact on quality of strategic decisions. The hypothesises showed partial support and found that only some of the demographic characteristics had an impact on strategic decisions.

The aim of this study was to investigate sexual activity as well as contraceptive knowledge and use among termination of pregnancy (TOP) clients at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital’s TOP clinic in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This was a non-experimental quantitative study in the form of a cross sectional study. Self-administered questionnaires were used for collecting data from 61 respondents selected non-randomly. The majority of the respondents were single young women between 18 and 27 years of age. Sexual intercourse frequency was mostly once a month (91.8%). Most were unemployed and dependent on government grants and had heard of both contraception in general and emergency contraception. Only 44 (78.6%) had used contraceptives before and the most frequently used method of contraception was the injection (36.6%). Despite the respondents having heard of contraception, the median score of the knowledge of contraception was only 16%. The distribution of knowledge was very wide, but on the whole the level of knowledge of contraception was very low / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

<div>The visual system is responsible for processing visual input, inferring its environmental causes, and assessing its behavioral significance that eventually relates to visual perception and guides animal behavior. There is emerging evidence that visual perception does not simply mirror the outside world but is heavily influenced by contextual information. Specifically, context might refer to the sensory, cognitive, and/or behavioral cues that help to assess the behavioral relevance of image features. One of the most famous examples of such behavior is visual or optical illusions. These illusions contain sensory cues that induce a subjective percept that is not aligned with the physical nature of the stimulation, which, in turn, suggests that a visual system is not a passive filter of the outside world but rather an active inference machine.</div><div>Such robust behavior of the visual system is achieved through intricate neural computations spanning several brain regions that allow dynamic visual processing. Despite the numerous attempts to gain insight into those computations, it has been challenging to decipher the circuit-level implementation of contextual processing due to technological limitations. These questions are of great importance not only for basic research purposes but also for gaining deeper insight into neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterized by altered sensory experiences. Recent advances in genetic engineering and neurotechnology made the mouse an attractive model to study the visual system and enabled other researchers and us to gain unprecedented cellular and circuit-level insights into neural mechanisms underlying contextual processing.</div><div>We first investigated how familiarity modifies the neural representation of stimuli in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Using silicon probe recordings and pupillometry, we probed neural activity in naive mice and after animals were exposed to the same stimulus over the course of several days. We have discovered that familiar stimuli evoke low-frequency oscillations in V1. Importantly, those oscillations were specific to the spatial frequency content of the familiar stimulus. To further validate our findings, we investigated how this novel form of visual learning is represented in serotonin-transporter (SERT) deficient mice. These transgenic animals have been previously found to have various neurophysiological alterations. We found that SERT-deficient animals showed longer oscillatory spiking activity and impaired cortical tuning after visual learning. Taken together, we discovered a novel phenomenon of familiarity-evoked oscillations in V1 and utilized it to reveal altered perceptual learning in SERT-deficient mice.</div><div>16</div><div>Next, we investigated how spatial context influences sensory processing. Visual illusions provide a great opportunity to investigate spatial contextual modulation in early visual areas. Leveraging behavioral training, high-density silicon probe recordings, and optogenetics, we provided evidence for an interplay of feedforward and feedback pathways during illusory processing in V1. We first designed an operant behavioral task to investigate illusory perception in mice. Kanizsa illusory contours paradigm was then adapted from primate studies to mouse V1 to elucidate neural correlates of illusory responses in V1. These experiments provided behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for illusory perception in mice. Using optogenetics, we then showed that suppression of the lateromedial area inhibits illusory responses in mouse V1. Taken together, we demonstrated illusory responses in mice and their dependence on the top-down feedback from higher-order visual areas.</div><div>Finally, we investigated how temporal context modulates neural responses by combining silicon probe recordings and a novel visual oddball paradigm that utilizes spatial frequency filtered stimuli. Our work extended prior oddball studies by investigating how adaptation and novelty processing depends on the tuning properties of neurons and their laminar position. Furthermore, given that reduced adaptation and sensory hypersensitivity are one of the hallmarks of altered sensory experiences in autism, we investigated the effects of temporal context on visual processing in V1 of a mouse model of fragile X syndrome (FX), a leading monogenetic cause of autism. We first showed that adaptation was modulated by tuning properties of neurons in both genotypes, however, it was more confined to neurons preferring the adapted feature in FX mice. Oddball responses, on the other hand, were modulated by the laminar position of the neurons in WT with the strongest novelty responses in superficial layers, however, they were uniformly distributed across the cortical column in FX animals. Lastly, we observed differential processing of omission responses in FX vs. WT mice. Overall, our findings suggest that reduced adaptation and increased oddball processing might contribute to altered perceptual experiences in FX and autism.</div>

Killer whales are the oceans’ apex predator and are known to have important effects on ecosystems. At Subantarctic Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean, they have only been studied opportunistically, resulting in limited knowledge of their ecosystem impact here. This dissertation describes the prey and seasonal abundance, estimates the population size and assesses the predatory impact of killer whales on seals and penguins at Marion Island, using dedicated and opportunistic shore-based observations and photographic identification, from 2006 to 2009. During 823 sightings of killer whales at Marion Island (2006 to 2009) 48 predation events were recorded; in only 10 cases could prey be identified. Killer whales fed on fur seals, elephant seals and penguins. Constant effort (dedicated) observations (259 hours, 2008 to 2009) showed that killer whale abundance, which peaked in September to December with a secondary peak in April to May, is linked to the abundance of seals and penguins. Mark-recapture analyses were performed using nearly 10 000 photographs taken from 2006 to 2009. Following careful quality control criteria 37 individuals were identified and a population size of 42 (95% CI = 35-50) individuals estimated using the open population POPAN parameterization in the software program MARK. The analytical approach is more rigorous than that used in any previous population size assessment at Marion Island. Finally, the above data were integrated to assess whether top-down control of seal and penguin populations at Marion Island is generally plausible using a simple process of elimination. Based on published data I predicted the energetic ingestion requirements of adult male and female killer whales as 1 394 MJ.day-1 and 1 028 MJ.day-1, respectively. Expanding these requirements to the 37 killer whales photographically identified at Marion Island, the population requires 40 600MJ.day-1. Based on available energy density and mass data, I predicted the energy content of available seal and penguin prey and calculated the rates at which killer whales would consume these prey in various scenarios. Penguins and Subantarctic fur seals are relatively insensitive to killer whale predation owing to their large population sizes (10 000s to 100 000s), conversely, the smaller populations (100s to 1 000s) of Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals are sensitive to predation, particularly the latter as they have a high energy content (approximately 2 000 to 9 000 MJ). Populations of these seals are currently increasing or stable and I conclude that presently killer whale predation is not driving population declines, although they clearly have the potential for regulation of these smaller populations. Thus, if population sizes were reduced by bottom-up processes, if killer whale diet shifted, or if prey availability changed, top-down control by killer whales could become significant. This study provides baseline information for the informed management and conservation of killer whales at Marion Island, identifies avenues for further research, and provides a foundation for the continuation of structured and dedicated killer whale research at Marion Island. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Diplomová práce se zabývá analýzou zahraničně-kulturní a vzdělávací politiky SRN s důrazem na vzdělávací sektor ve vztahu k Rusku během třetí vlády Angely Merkelové. Pozornost je věnována především klíčovým změnám a definici normativních, institucionálních a koncepčních rovin. Úvodní část práce se věnuje základnímu uvedení do tématu, stanovení cílů, tezí a výzkumných otázek. Dále je zde popsána metodologie a kritické zhodnocení pramenů a literatury. První kapitola teoreticky vymezuje analytické koncepty soft-power, civilní mocnost, geo- ekonomická mocnost a "Wir müssen kleine Brötchen backen", které umožňují podrobněji popsat zkoumanou oblast. V této části je také definována zahraničně-kulturní politika a její hlavní instrumenty. Druhá kapitola představující empirickou část diplomové práce se podrobně věnuje vzdělávacímu sektoru zahraničně-kulturní a vzdělávací politiky SRN ve vztahu k Rusku v letech 2013 až 2017. Skrze klíčové programy a projekty jsou rozebírány cíle, tematické okruhy, programové, koncepční a částečně i finanční změny zkoumané politiky. Třetí kapitola se věnuje analýze a vyhodnocení těchto změn. Kromě toho je věnována pozornost i kontinuitě ve vybraných oblastech a efektivnosti autorem zavedeného konceptu "Wir müssen kleine Brötchen backen". Následuje závěr práce, který shrnuje...

<p>Urban areas are warmer than surrounding rural areas. During the cold of winter, warming increases surrounding host temperature and may improve the overwintering survival of marginally hardy insects like evergreen bagworms. Similarly, during the summer, it has the potential to increase the fecundity and abundance of sap feeding insect pests such as scale insects in ways that change the capacity of their natural enemies to regulate their populations. </p> <p>Although in parts of Indiana winters can be cold enough to kill bagworm eggs, they thrive in cities. I conducted field experiments to determine the extent to which impervious surface near an infestation could keep temperatures warm enough to affect bagworm survival during cold of winter. My results suggest that the percentage of live eggs inside overwintering pupae decreased as ambient temperature drops. This response was moderated by the presence of impervious surface around an infested plant. Eggs found in bagworms collected from host trees surrounded by more impervious surface had a higher chance of survival than those collected from trees with low levels of hardscape. However, impervious surface has its limit such that egg mortality was not buffered by impervious surfaces at temperatures at or below -21.67°C. Similarly, I also conducted field experiments with sap feeding insects on honeylocust trees, a commonly planted tree in cities. Hot sites had a mean daily temperature more than 1.5 °C warmer than cool sites and scale insects were more abundant and fecund on trees in the hottest part of Indianapolis compared to cooler areas. No differences were observed in rates of parasitism on the scale insect. However, I found strong density dependence relation between parasitoids and scales abundance at scale density at or below the levels present in cool sites. The top-down regulation was prevalent at or below a critical density of scale hosts. Conversely, bottom-up regulation was prevalent above this host density as pests benefit from bottom-up factors. This suggests that urban habitats helped the scales to escape biological control by resident natural enemies above critical density of scale hosts. </p> <p>My findings can be useful to landscape designers to design landscapes that are less prone to insect pests. My finding adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests that planting urban trees with lesser amount of impervious surface can help reducing the urban warming effect and increase the regulation from natural enemies. </p>

No description available.