This diploma thesis is written on one of the least investigated and the least known areas of the Russian literature - contemporary Russian poetry. The aim of this thesis is to propose certain perception of, on one hand, the artistic patterns and contents, and, on the other hand, of the historical, cultural, social and aesthetic significance of the contemporary poetry. The key principles of the current poetic scene include the shift of the literary paradigm, aesthetic pluralism, and variety of the artistic styles. This work consists of three parts. The first chapter describes the theory of the forming of the post- Soviet literature, as well as its state after the second half of the 1980's until the present day, in the context of social, cultural and literary factors. The features and certain phenomena of the current literary process are also discussed within the first chapter. The second chapter examines the main aesthetic trends of the contemporary Russian poetry. The last part of the thesis provides the look upon the problematic and thematic characteristics as well as the stylistic features of the contemporary poetry. The research is based on the analysis of the works of some of the most outstanding contemporary Russian poets, which were included in the representative sample of this thesis: A....

This diploma thesis analyses the impact of alternative trends in dieting on consumer behaviour in Czech Republic. Alternative diets and healthy lifestyle are nowadays very popular topics and a lot of consumers are changing their preferences towards alternative types of dining. These changes are affecting producers which need to adapt their supply to market needs which is also affecting their marketing orientation towards these consumers. The aim of this thesis is to review actual trends in dieting and to show their impact on consumer behaviour. The aim of the thesis is also to suggest marketing recommendations which are connected with new trends and evaluate financial burden of particular trends on consumers. The thesis is focused on detailed description of actual trends in dieting, health impacts connected with the new trends and their actual occurrence in Czech Republic. Analysis is based on qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews and quantitative research in the form of questionnaire. The MML-TGI data and actual research papers are also used in the thesis. Based on the semi-structured interview and method of open coding are uncovered important categories which are affecting particular consumers. Subsequently based on the multi-regression analysis is estimated the impact of particular trends in dieting on healthy lifestyle of consumers. The results show that actual trends have significant impact on orientation of consumers towards healthy lifestyle. Based on the multi-regression analysis also other factors affecting consumers in a way to live healthier are discovered. From the results can be seen that the alternative trends do not need to be automatically connected with higher financial burden. According to the research results are suggested complex marketing recommendations. Marketing recommendations are focused on effective promotion of products, potential business opportunities and recommendations how to approach the consumers.

This Master´s thesis entitled Implementation of management 2.0 principles in Czech businesses focuses on innovative ways of managing companies and their employees. The aim of the work is to evaluate based on qualitative research to what extent and in what form are management 2.0 principles pursued in the Czech business environment. The theoretical part contains definitions of basic management concepts, reasons of management model innovation and description of management practices used in both traditional and alternative management. Based on academic literature, the theoretical part prepares the ground for practical work. The practical part is in addition to the analysis of available information based primarily on interviews with managers and employees of Czech companies that are outwardly practicing various approaches to management 2.0. The work is beneficial especially to business executives and management students, who can deepen their knowledge about management trends in the 21st century. The thesis can serve to future job applicants as a source of valuable information on innovative employers on the Czech market.

本篇目的---對於精實企業來說資訊預測的能力扮演舉足輕重的角色，如汽車製造商須要有可靠的資訊來完成各項重要的決策以保持企業競爭力，市場以及消費者的活動提供了新型態的資料可以透過現代科技來處理分，本篇論文希望從2008年至2016年整合的Google 搜尋趨勢資料來建構預測模型。 設計/方法論/方法---基於五階段消費者購買行為，此研究檢視整個過程中合適的Google關鍵字，並利用滯後變數模型和Google搜尋趨勢來驗證銷售和各種經濟變數之間的關係，預測的銷售會更進一步檢視其正確性。 結論與發現---用來檢視預測正確性的兩種最常見的方法指出Google搜尋趨勢可以作為有效的銷售預測依據，研究發現總體經濟變數和時間序列在預測上相較於Google搜尋趨勢在短期相對有效性小。 研究貢獻---僅有少許在汽車銷量預測上的研究將Google搜尋趨勢和合適的時間滯留列入考量，本篇研究提供消費者行為和銷售資料關係的新視角。 / Purpose – The role of forecasting in a lean enterprise is immense. It is crucial for car manufacturers to have reliable information about the future to make important decisions and stay competitive. Developing markets and consumers provide new types of data that demand modern approaches to be handled. This paper aims to create reliable forecasting models through integration of Google Trends data from 2008 to 2016. Design/methodology/approach – Building on the 5-stage-model of consumer buying behavior, the study identifies suitable Google keywords for this process. Autoregressive distributed lag models are used to examine the relationship between sales and macro-economic variables as well as Google Trends. Predicted sales are used to test for accuracy. Findings – Two most common evaluation measurements for forecasting accuracy suggest the use of Google Trends, as predictors for future sales, is outstanding. The finding concludes that macro-economic variables and seasonality are not as valuable as Google Trends in short-term, up to one year, forecasting. Value – Only little research on car sales forecasting takes Google Trends and their appropriate time lags into account. This analysis provides new insights into the linkage of consumer behavior and sales data.

Background: Multiple lines of evidence implicate the insulin-like growth factor(IGF) group of proteins in human type 2 diabetes. The actions of IGF-I and IGF-IIare modulated through their interaction with IGF binding proteins. A holisticapproach to study the IGF system is preferable to analyses of individual proteininteractions as the inter-relationships between these proteins are complex. Inparticular, the associations of IGF-II and its associated binding proteins withcardiovascular risk have been inadequately studied. This study aimed to study indetail the genotype and phenotype interactions of the IGF system with longitudinalcardiovascular risk factor trends and phenotypic outcomes in type 2 diabetes.Methods: 1000 subjects of predominantly Caucasian origin from the SalfordDiabetes Cohort were studied. Measurements of IGF proteins (IGF-I, IGF-II,IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3) were performed in 554 of these patients. 991Caucasian subjects were successfully genotyped for 76 single nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) related to ten genes in the IGF system. In this project weanalysed associations of the studied SNPs with the measured IGF proteins as well aslongitudinal risk factor trends. In addition, the baseline concentrations of themeasured proteins were studied for associations with cardiovascular risk factortrends and vascular outcomes.Results: This project demonstrates for the first time that high serum IGF-IIconcentration at baseline predicts longitudinal increases in high-density lipoproteincholesterol. High baseline IGF-II was also observed to predict longitudinal weightloss. High baseline concentration of IGFBP-2 (which has a preferential associationof IGF-II over IGF-I) was associated with a number of favourable longitudinalcardiovascular risk trends like increased HDL cholesterol and decreased diastolicblood pressure. However high IGFBP-2 was also associated with deterioration inrenal function and increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The IGF2 geneand the genes encoding IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-5 (proteins with IGF-II bindingaffinity) were also associated with longitudinal trends in renal function, bloodpressure and cholesterol concentration.Discussion: This study is the most detailed exploration to date of the genotype andphenotype interactions of the IGF system in a Caucasian population with type 2diabetes. Results from this study strongly hint that changes in IGF-II bioavailabilitymay influence inter-individual variations in cardiovascular risk. The precisebiological role of IGF-II merits clarification in future expression studies in renal,adipose and vascular tissues. Replication of significant results in an independentdiabetes cohort and measurement of other IGF binding proteins will be performed inthe next stage of this study.

Smoking prevalence among adolescents in the Middle East remains high while rates of smoking have been declining among adolescents elsewhere. The aims of this research were to (1) describe patterns of cigarette and waterpipe (WP) smoking, (2) identify determinants of WP smoking initiation, and (3) identify determinants of cigarette smoking initiation in a cohort of Jordanian school children. Among this cohort of school children in Irbid, Jordan, (age ≈ 12.6 at baseline) the first aim (N=1,781) described time trends in smoking behavior, age at initiation, and changes in frequency of smoking from 2008-2011 (grades 7 – 10). The second aim (N=1,243) identified determinants of WP initiation among WP-naïve students; and the third aim (N=1,454) identified determinants of cigarette smoking initiation among cigarette naïve participants. Determinants of initiation were assessed with generalized mixed models. All analyses were stratified by gender. Baseline prevalence of current smoking (cigarettes or WP) for boys and girls was 22.9% and 8.7% respectively. Prevalence of ever- and current- any smoking, cigarette smoking, WP smoking, and dual cigarette/WP smoking was higher in boys than girls each year (p These studies reveal intensive smoking patterns at early ages among Jordanian youth in Irbid, characterized by a predominance of WP smoking. WP may be a vehicle for tobacco dependence and subsequent cigarette uptake. The sizeable incidence of WP and cigarette initiation among students of both sexes points to a need for culturally relevant smoking prevention interventions. Gender-specific factors, refusal skills, and smoking cessation of both WP and cigarettes for youth and their parents/teachers would be important components of such initiatives.

The reasons that motivate companies to invest abroad (foreign direct investment, or FDI) and also the risks associated with FDI and international business in general are discussed. Current global trends in FDI are covered with emphasis on general, territorial and sectoral trends as well as state policy influences. The impact of the current financial crisis on FDI is also examined. Practical examples are discussed to reinforce individual ideas and theories.

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze the current trends in tourism in the European union. Then also determine which factors influence its further development, as well as predict the future trends in tourism in the EU. The thesis is also trying to answer scientific questions regarding the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on the development of tourism in the regions of the European Union, the specific factors affecting the tourism trends in the European Union and the activities of the institutions of the European Union to support the positive development of tourism in the European Union. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first is theoretically based and contains definitions of terms related to tourism, the methodology of its research, its development and its economic importance. The second focuses on the position of the EU in the issue of tourism in comparison with the world and other regions, as well as on current trends in individual regions of the European Union and their main tourist destinations. The third chapter analyzes the current trends, including factors that may affect them. It also includes information about the activities of the institutions of the European Union to promote tourism in this area, information about sustainable tourism development in the EU and specific prediction of the future development of tourism in the European Union.

The theme of this thesis are trends in retail banking and their impact on bank's IT architecture. The history teaches us that the ability to catch trends quickly and to use them can bring significant competitive advantage. At the same time some trends may pose a threat to the company and their (trends) early detection may prevent later problems. It is therefore important to monitor trends and evaluate their impact on bank's business. Roughly half of the overall bank costs consists of IT costs which are determined by IT architecture of the bank. Bank's IT is defined by IT architecture so it is useful to consider examining the impact of trends to the IT architecture. The aim of this thesis is to identify impact of trends in retail banking on bank's IT architecture. In the first part I analyze trends in retail banking in order to find out which are the key. In the next section I compare different reference IT architectures. Subsequently at the most appropriate architecture I identify impact of trends in retail banking on bank's IT architecture. Banks that perceive trends mentioned in this thesis as important and at the same time have similar architecture which I describe in this thesis may use my findings to gain competitive advantage or to take measures necessary to mitigate risks which are connected with coming trends which can have a negative impact on banks.

This thesis analyzes the development and current form of family policy in the Czech Republic and Great Britain. With respect to the different attitude of the two policies, support for families is compared on several levels in order to determine which of these two countries provides families a better and more generous support. It was found out, that the ratio of spending relative to gross domestic product and total social spending in the UK is higher than in the Czech Republic, as well as some amount of support. On the other hand, Czech Republic, for example, provides much greater support in the period after childbirth, which may not be in all respects completely positive. This is one of the parts where possible improvements were suggested using the model of the support system in the UK.