The aim of this study is to examine the complexity of teachers’ assessment practice. It is divided into a two part-studies. The first part aims to determine what type of knowledge is tested in teachers’ written tests, and how they relate to the curriculum. To answer this we analyzed two tests from four different teachers. The second part aims to find out how different factors influence the teacher’s in his or hers test construction. To answer this we interviewed the four teachers who provided the test. Together, the two parts helps us to understand how tests work, as well as why they are constructed the way they are. The study uses two different theories as analytical tools. The first part of the study uses Bloom’s revised taxonomy to determine different types of knowledge. The theory is also used to determine the knowledge of the curriculum. The second theory, which relates to the second part of the study, is a frame factor theory, to define different internal and external factors that influence in a teacher’s work. Methods used in the study are text analysis for the teachers’ tests and the curriculum, and interviews for the frame factors. The results of the first part shows a discrepancy between the knowledge tested in the tests and the knowledge expressed in the curriculum. Most notable was the lack of questions requiring evaluating skills in the tests, while the curriculum mentions it 4 times out of 9 different requirements. The results of the second part showed that a number of factors influence teachers in their test construction. The main factor influencing teachers in the test construction, mentioned by all teachers, were lack of ‘social moderation’, i.e. working within assessment as a group and being able to discuss and reflect with colleagues. Other factors mentioned were time and organization, which were partly mentioned along with the responsibility or involvement of the head teacher.

This dissertation aims to understand how Islamist ideology differs across Islamist political parties in majority-Muslim countries. It asks why, despite drawing from the same religious source, the ideology of Islamist parties differs significantly and ranges from a wide spectrum, reaching from rigid conservative ideologies to flexible and even liberal. In order to address this question, the first step I pursue is to create a classification of different types of Islamism based on a spectrum of Islamist thought and behavior. I call the most literalist approach which aims at top-down Islamization Traditionalist Islamism, while the most flexible variety which argues for a bottom-up approach and relies on secular civil law is is labelled Neo-Islamism. Political parties that do not clearly fall under any of these categories and mix characteristics of both are grouped under the Hybrid Islamism category. I argue that if they could, all Islamist parties would moderate their ideology in order to achieve electoral success. However, both the position of the party vis-a-vis other parties in the system, and a high degree of dependence on an internal clique or an external movement create constraints and limitations which prevent parties from moderating their ideological profile. I find support for my argument by comparing five different Islamist parties in Indonesia. I further strengthen my case by introducing several hadow cases from Turkey, Malaysia and Tajikistan (under the authoritarian regime).

The thesis deals with contractual penalty as a means of corroboration of a debt in business relations. The topic was chosen by the author primarily because of the fact that contractual penalty is a traditional institute of private law. It is frequently used in the law of obligations as an instrument of corroboration of a debt. Therefore its application improves the position of creditor. The aim of this thesis is to scientifically describe and analyze institute of contractual penalty as frequently used tool of corroboration of a debt in the context of the current, relatively new legislation. The work is based on rules of the Civil Code effective since 1. 1. 2014. At the same time, there is a great emphasis on jurisprudence. The work also abounds comparison with the previous legislation, which aims to capture the development of the concept of contractual penalty. The thesis focuses on the most important issues related to the penalty clause. At the same time it offers a comparison with the English legislation in the last chapter. This comparison is particularly interesting due to the diversity of the legal system in the Czech Republic and the legal system in England. The work is divided into eight main chapters, which are divided into subsections according to the content of the topic. The first...

Contractual penalty under the Commercial Code Summary The theme of this Master's degree thesis is Contractual penalty under the Commercial Code. Author chose this topic because contractual penalty is important and very often-used institute through which parties to the contract can secure their obligations. This instrument should guarantee that the debtor would perform his main (primary) commitment to the creditor. If not, he may be punished for a breach of the contract even if there won't arise any damage (loss) on the creditor's side. This fact represents considerable advantage over other similar institutes. The study is focused on issues of contractual penalty in commercial relations, specifically in a situation when both parties to the contract are businessmen and they entered into agreement in connection with their business. However the legislation of the instrument is relatively brief (articles 544 and 545 of the Act No. 40/1964 Coll., The Civil Code and articles 300 to 302 of the Act No. 513/1991 Coll., The Commercial Code, which includes a special regulation for business relations), many questions and uncertainties can be found. Many of them were resolved by adjudications but there are still problematic aspects. Author focuses on their solutions and tries to give response, which will be satisfactory...

Contractual penalty as an instrument of confirming a debt in commercial relations. The Master degree's thesis is concerned with contractual penalty. The topic was chosen because contractual penalty has been an important often-used instrument of confirming debts for many years. Through its functions, it contributes to compliance with the fundamental principle of private law - "pacta sunt servanda". The aim of the study is to analyse and assess contractual penalty on the basis of valid Czech law, related judicial decisions and professional literature chiefly with the use of language, logical, systematic and teleological method of legal reasoning. The text is based on the Act No. 89/2012 Coll., The Civil Code, which is to become effective on 1st January 2014. The Act's legal rules are compared to the former ones so that the changes of law can be described as a result of recodification of private law. The thesis is focused on the most important and the most discussed issues regarding contractual penalty. Chapter one is devoted to general characterization of contractual penalty with respect to its functions and accessory character. Chapter two deals with the prerequisites for commencement of the claim on contractual penalty - a valid and proper agreement on contractual penalty and a breach of the secured...

Contractual Penalty under the Commercial Code (with focus on the discretionary power of a judge to reduce a contractual penalty) Contractual penalty is a concept frequently used by the parties to consolidate the position of the creditor as well as to motivate the debtor to fulfill the obligation as agreed. Not different from the other institutes of private law, the practical application of contractual penalty arises many questions with no uniform answers. The purpose of the thesis is to analyze selected contentious issues concerning the contractual penalty, especially discretionary power of a judge to reduce its unreasonable amount, to confront controversial theoretical opinions as well as non-conforming conclusions drawn from the juristic theory and established practice of the courts and add own opinion on the discussed matters. The paper does not include the exhaustive construction of contractual penalty, and therefore the general aspects are outlined only to the necessary extent. Greater attention is paid to the creation and existence of the right and claim to the contractual penalty. The study shifts the focus on the discretionary power of a judge to mitigate its inappropriate amount comprising different opinions on the related issues. The concept of contractual penalty has been used in private...

The thesis deals with a contractual penalty as an institution of private law. Thanks to the simple application of contractual penalty, it has become a traditional way of ensuring of debts which is frequently used as an instrument for strengthening the cre- ditor's position. Considering the growing non-formality of legal relations in current society, it is possible to expect the increase of contractual penalty's importance in future. The aim of this thesis is to explore the institution of contractual penalty with focusing on actual application issues which arise from its practical use. The thesis relates to the current legislation on contractual penalty of the Czech Civil Code, Act No. 89/2012 Coll. With regard to the nature of the topic, the thesis concentrates on the case law and the comparison with the previous legislation. In this way the legal development is reflected as well. The work consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the legal institution of contractual penalty in a general way, outlining the concept and functions of contractual penalty. This chapter also examines the current legislation on contractual penalty and the comparison with the previous legislation and the European legislation. In the second chapter, the thesis refers to the contractual penalty's negoti- ation...

The current study examined the extent to which associations between participation in a targeted state-funded pre-kindergarten (pre-k) program and children’s literacy, numeracy, executive function (EF), and social-emotional skills were moderated by the quality of teacher-child interactions. Data came from an evaluation of a state-funded pre-k program including children enrolled in pre-k and those in a matched comparison group. The sample consisted of 558 children (Mage = 57.74 months) from two cohorts (48.9% female; 43.7% African American; 0.8% Asian; 32.3% European American; 12.4% Hispanic; 10.4% Multiracial). Children’s school readiness assessments and teacher surveys were collected during fall and spring of the preschool year. Research assistants assessed teacher-child interactions using the Pre-K Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, La Paro, Hamre, 2008) once in the winter of the preschool year. Two-level multilevel linear models were conducted for each school readiness domain and included a variety of control variables. Results suggested that emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support did not significantly moderate the relation between pre-k participation and literacy, numeracy, EF, and social-emotional skills.

Materialism has an ugly face. The dominant view of materialism regards materialists as self-prioritizing individuals who oppose collective and prosocial goals in favor of a lifestyle led by money, possessions, and status. The present research argues that there is a side of materialism that is concerned with collective-oriented interests. We examine the nature and consequences of collective-oriented materialism - the belief system that ascribes importance to possessions for their symbolic and signaling capacities to construct desirable social attributes. Drawing from cultural and consumer theories, we find considerable support that materialists espouse a collective-oriented quality to an otherwise self-oriented interest towards possessions.

Esta dissertação investiga alguns aspectos da história das bebidas no século XVIII. A partir de uma caracterização inicial do processo de domesticação da embriaguez na Europa moderna, fornecemos a descrição de elementos do moralismo lusitano respeitantes à questão dos usos de vinho e aguardentes. Disso extraímos a hipótese de que a moderação teria sido o valor que orientou o comportamento alcoólico na sociedade portuguesa. Já na sociedade colonial, examinada nos dois capítulos finais, defendemos que o referido valor cumpriu a função ideológica de mascarar a experiência etílica dos habitantes daquelas paragens, experiência esta marcada por diferentes formas de beber e de embriaguez. Numa sociedade organizada para a expropriação de recursos valendo-se de mão-de-obra escrava, o beber moderado entrou em choque com as diversas circunstâncias apresentadas aos colonizadores nos trópicos. / This study investigates some aspects of the history of drinks in the eighteen century. From an initial characterization of the domestication process of being drunk in the modern era, provides the key element of moralism Lusitanian relating to the question of the uses of wine and spirits. From this we extract the hypothesis that moderation would be the value that guided the alcoholic behavior in Portuguese society. In the colonial society, examined in the last part, we argue that the value of the ideological function served to mask the experience of the inhabitants of those areas, this experience marked by different forms of drinking and drunkenness. In a society organized for the expropriation of resources by availing itself of slave labor, moderate drinking has clashed with the different circumstances presented to the colonists in the tropics.