This master thesis Advertisements in Textbooks: A New Medium? covers the field of school textbooks for primary and secondary schools. Its aim is to analyse advertisements, which have become part of some textbooks. The thesis is also examining if the advertisements are in compliance with the Czech law. The project contains descriptive analysis of the found advertisements. It also comprises statements by the textbook publishers and by the Ministry of Education.

Modern cosmology predicts that a galaxy overdensity (e.g., protocluster) will be associated with a large intergalactic medium gas reservoir, which can be traced by Ly alpha forest absorption. We have undertaken a systematic study of the relation between Coherently Strong intergalactic Lya Absorption systems (CoSLAs), which have the highest optical depth (tau) in the tau distribution, and mass overdensities on the scales of similar to 10-20 h(-1) comoving Mpc. On such large scales, our cosmological simulations show a strong correlation between the effective optical depth (tau(eff)) of the CoSLAs and the three-dimensional mass overdensity. In spectra with moderate signal-to-noise ratio, however, the profiles of CoSLAs can be confused with individual high column density absorbers. For z > 2.6, where the corresponding Ly beta is redshifted to the optical, we have developed a selection technique to distinguish between these two alternatives. We have applied this technique to similar to 6000 sight lines provided by Sloan Digital Sky Survey III quasar survey at z = 2.6-3.3 with a continuum-to-noise ratio greater than 8, and we present a sample of five CoSLA candidates with tau(eff) on 15 h(-1) Mpc greater than 4.5x the mean optical depth. At lower redshifts of z < 2.6, where the background quasar density is higher, the overdensity can be traced by intergalactic absorption groups using multiple sight lines with small angular separations. Our overdensity searches fully use the current and next generation of Ly alpha forest surveys, which cover a survey volume of > 1 (h(-1) Gpc)(3). Systems traced by CoSLAs will yield a uniform sample of the most massive overdensities at z > 2 to provide stringent constraints to models of structure formation.

The use of viable and reliable tissue preparations allows for experimental approaches in vitro that would not be possible in vivo. In this experiment, gills were isolated from gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, and subjected to various incubation conditions. A combination of two types of media and two incubation apparatuses were compared in their ability to sustain tissues, as measured by the vital stain trypan blue (TB) and percent lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage. Trypan Blue analysis indicated no significant difference in tissue viability, regardless of the treatment or incubation time. However, percent LDH leakage analysis revealed that the two most influential variables were the medium and apparatus in which the gills were incubated. Interestingly, incubation time did not have a statistically significant influence on gill viability as measured by LDH leakage. The results of LDH leakage analysis suggest that incubation using SW in the 4 ml apparatus is the best combination tested.

This theses is focussed on the issue of reporting of small and medium companies under IFRS for SME. The goal is to evaluate advantages and disadvantages of this reporting in czech enterprenual surrounding. At the beginning of the theses I outline the fundamentals of reporting under czech accounting principles and under IFRS for SME. The practical part is devoted to conversion of Financial Statements from czech accounting principles to IFRS for SME of a construction company that meets the criteria of a medium enterprise.Upon comparing of the both Financial Statements I have come to a conclusion that the Financial Statements under IFRS for SME give certainly a greater evidence than the Financial Statements under Czech accounting principles. Although I have come to a conclusion that the Financial Statements under IFRS for SME are better, their applicability for some companies could be questionable. Such a company could be the one that does not have separate owners and managers.

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / Introduction: Dental caries has one the highest incidences in children and the host’s diet may be a major factor in determining susceptibility to the disease. A proposed tool to screen and identify high risk individuals uses a bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). The goal of this screening tool is to identify mothers and children who are Non-tasters (those who cannot taste PROP) and to educate them about their possible affinity towards sugar substances and its harmful effects on oral and general health. It is suggested that Non-taster children could be prioritized when providing preventative dental treatment. Aim: To validate the use of PROP as a screening tool for determining high caries risk individuals by identifying the taster status of mothers and children, their preference towards sugar, and its impact on their caries status. Methodology: 75 mother/ child pairs were recruited to participate in this study. Caries experience, sugar preference and taster status were determined for all the subjects. Comparisons were made between mothers and their children to find a possible association. Results: Caries experience was greater in individuals who were Non-tasters when compared to Super-tasters. A significant association between taster status and DMFT score was established (p<0.000). A significant association between taster status and sugar preference was established (p<0.000). A positive correlation with regard to taster status, sugar preference and caries experience was observed in mother/child pairs.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The researcher attempted to assess the effectiveness of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) microloan scheme on job creation among micro and small enterprises. This is in view of the unprecedented rise in the unemployment rate in Nigeria and the widely perceived belief that among other policies, harnessing the financial capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may possibly dictate the pace of the country’s achievement of job creation. Despite a wide array of studies on MSME growth, only a handful of rigorous studies are available to provide evidence of the effect of finance on labour market outcomes in the sector, as well as on the use of more relevant assessment techniques on the performance of public policies and interventions related to MSME financing. Through the use of mixed methods including questionnaire administration, key informant interviews, focused group discussions and desk research, this research undertook a theory of change-based assessment of Bank of Agriculture microfinance scheme, to assess the extent to which the scheme is effective in contributing to the achievement of the MSME Policy’s fundamental objective of job creation. Descriptive statistics using frequency tables and graphs as well as OECD COTE (Coherence, Objectives, Targets and Evaluation) Framework for policy formulation were applied as methods of analysis. The findings show a fundamental flaw in relation to the lack of strategic alignment of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) operations with the MSME Policy. The Bank is seen to be operating in a silo as the strategic direction the MSME tilt does not seem to derive from the overall MSME Policy. BOA is also not seen to be positioned to engage the practice of performance measurement and reporting generally and in particular of the fundamental objective of job creation, as stipulated in the MSME Financing Policy of government. It was also revealed that a majority of enterprises that took BOA microloans loans were not able to create jobs as many of them were operating as “survivalists”. Although the BOA microloan scheme is potentially capable of supporting targeted growth-oriented microenterprises in specific trades to create jobs, given the attractive concessional terms, the Bank is not achieving this objective in its present state and form neither is it seen to be positioned to do so due to several supply and demand side factors. An ongoing reform process in the Bank during this research period may be able to address part of this concern if more strategic steps are taken to surmount the constraints. Furthermore, BOA does not have a functional performance measurement framework and monitoring and evaluation system that can be used as the basis for measuring goal attainment such as the goal of job creation, especially in relation to the outcomes of the provision of financial services to the MSME sector. For BOA to be successful and truly developmental in focus especially in relation to its contribution to the strategic objective of job creation, the study therefore recommended the key thrust of a new framework for addressing the current unemployment situation to include an effective alignment of macro, meso (sectoral) and micro policies. At the (micro) institutional level, it is recommended that BOA should: • improve its governance and management system as well as the integration of development impact considerations and measurement; • create innovative financing products for growth-oriented microenterprises especially through cluster financing and cluster-based development; • increase wholesale lending through the provision of on-lending products to performing microfinance institutions (MFIs); • engage the services of BDS organisations to source for credible clients and build clients’ entrepreneurial capacity including assisting them to access markets. In line with the need to integrate development impact considerations and measurement into its entire operations, the researcher designed a monitoring and evaluation framework that can enhance the tracking of the attainment of job creation policy goal in BOA microloan scheme. In this vein, the institution is to adopt formal “lessons learnt” mechanisms to integrate evaluation findings into future activities and “put development back into development banking” (Smallridge, 2017). At the meso level in the study context, horizontal cooperation is recommended where all relevant institutions are aligned and the impact of various policy measures on entrepreneurship and job creation are taken into account. Lastly, an employment – sensitive macro-economic framework must pursue: the relaxation of monetary and credit conditions that are supportive of employment creation in the economy; fiscal prudence in the context of exploiting fiscal space to accommodate investments with high employment potentials; use of legislative mechanisms for ensuring full and effective implementation of annual budgets, program and projects at all levels and development and effective use of computerised Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Nigeria.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has gained increased use in the construction industry in recent years. ICT brings many benefits to an organisation including improving the way information is sourced, manipulated and utilised to increase the efficiency of business processes and improve a company’s productivity. This research demonstrates that while ICT has a role to play in the construction industry, its exploitation by SMEs in South Africa still needs development as they focus on simpler forms of ICT such as mobile phones and landlines, but not advanced solutions such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems and CAD. Furthermore, one of the major challenges identified in this research is the issue of poor ICT skills and the lack of information on available ICT solutions. The government and the private sector have a role to play in ensuring that requisite ICT skills are developed and improved in the sector.

The aim of this study is to present venture creation as an alternative form of alleviating poverty and contributing positively to the economic growth of every African government. This study draws to the attention of policy-makers, the importance of venture creation in emerging economies. The author goes on further to highlights the challenges with the current models used for financing/funding new ventures, in an emerging African economy. The objective of this paper is to also highlight what needs to be done by policy-makers, to create a thriving economic environment for emerging entrepreneurs. This study seeks to highlight some of the prospects, as well as some of the impediments, experienced by the venture capital industry and start-up enterprises. The environment in which the creation of new ventures operates under in emerging African markets is reviewed, and the exit of those enterprises when they mature and graduate from a small, private company, to a publicly held company - through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) process, is examined. The benefits of exiting these ventures through an IPO, versus the more aptly applied private placement exit method, are also discussed. The impact that the behaviour and psychology of investing have on the investment trends in African economies is also discussed. The author used the qualitative research methodology to achieve the results presented in this paper. The outcomes of the study are outlined in chapter four of this paper. The respondents to the survey indicated the importance of the venture capital sector and the critical role that policy makers should be playing. There were no clear responses around the human behaviour in determining the suitable exit platform. What came out clearly in this study; was that each region in the African economy will use a different exit platform driven mainly by the economic environment. The author goes on further to conclude on the outcomes of the study and suggest further research on the topic on venture capital and initial public offerings. The participants who responded to the survey agreed with the literature reviewed, in particular around the adequate form of financing for starting up new enterprises.

Countries with high levels of growth-fostering business deregulation for domestic small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) appear to attract more FDI inflows than countries with low levels of business deregulation. This may be because SMEs in such deregulated countries attract ample cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), which are a major conduit of FDI inflows. This study therefore investigates the relationship between FDI inflow and business deregulation. The study employs a triangulation of quantitative research methodologies and a panel data of 154 countries to analyze the relationship between FDI and deregulation. Results from the study generally show that there are statistically significant and inversely proportional relationships between inbound FDI and the deregulation of: (i) starting a business, (ii) paying taxes, and (iii) export trading, by a country‘s domestic SMEs. The study also documents positive correlations between cross-border M&As and inbound FDI. Thus, countries are likely to attract more FDI inflows, especially through cross-border M&As, as they deregulate the: starting of businesses, payment of taxes and exportation of products for their domestic SMEs. Therefore, on policy front, it is recommended that in order to enhance FDI inflows, countries ought to deregulate these areas of infringement to efficient running of SMEs; this finding provides a complementary and/or substitute policy to the popular outward-looking incentive programs for attracting FDIs.

As vidas-médias dos três primeiros níveis da banda-yrast I=2 construída sobre o estado h11/2- do núcleo de 135Pr, foram medidas, pela primeira vez, através da reação 121,123Sb(16O, 4n)133,135Pr, a 76 MeV, usando-se espectroscopia gama em conjunto com a técnica de medida da distância de recuo (RDM), no Laboratório PELLETRON, São Paulo, e TANDAR/CNEA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Foram calculadas as probabilidades reduzidas de transição B(E2), com o objetivo de extrair informações sobre os parâmetros de deformação, os quais foram comparados às estimativas feitas pelos modelos teóricos para a região de massa A~130, como o modelo de um rotor triaxial mais quasi-partícula, o modelo geométrico e o TRS (\"Total Routhian Surface\"). Os valores experimentais das vidas-médias, dos B(E2) e dos parâmetros de deformação (B2, y) de 135Pr, foram comparados ao caroço de 134Ce, medido em [Hu77]. Os valores experimentais de Q0 obtidos para os três primeiros níveis da banda h11/2- de 135Pr, antes do backbending, são bastante parecidos aos do 134Ce. Cálculos teóricos para os dois núcleos, usando o programa TRS, forneceram resultados que estão em contraste com os experimentais. / Lifetimes of low-Iying states in I=2 bands built on the h11/2- state in the Z-odd nucleus 135Pr were measured by means of the 121,123Sb(16O,4n)133,135Pr reaction at a bombarding energy of 76 MeV, using in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy together with the Doppler-Shift Recoil-Distance Technique at the PELLETRON, São Paulo and the TANDAR/CNEA Laboratory, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Reduced transition probabilities B(E2) were extracted in order to calculate the deformation parameters. These values were compared to theoretical models available for the mass region A~130, such as the Triaxial Rotor plus Quasi-Particle, the Cranked-Shell Model, the Geometrical Model and the Total Routhian Surface. The experimental values of 135Pr lifetimes, B(E2) and deformation parameters (B2, y) were compared to those for the 134Ce core, measured in [Hu77]. It was found that Q0 values for the h11/2- excited levels before backbending in 135Pr nucleus are very similar to those of the 134Ce core. TRS calculations were performed for both nuclei giving theoretical results which are in contrast to the experimental values.