Deterrents to family planning practices were investigated among Swazi women between 1999- 2001. A total of 171 adolescents, women and men participated in focus group interviews. Information obtained in this way served as a framework for designing structured interview schedules. The views of 205 women were investigated, concerning factors deterring them from using family planning practices by means of conducting face to face studied interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using the NU*DIST and for the quantitative data the SPPS computer programs were used respectively. The results revealed that socio-cultural deterrents to family planning included high cultural value of children determining women's social status, the lack of knowledge about contraceptives, women's dependence on their husbands' decisions concerning reproductive issues and inefficient family planning services. Recommendations included that specific adolescent reproductive health services should be instituted and that the policy on reproductive health for Swaziland be revised. Reproductive health issues should be addressed in the school curriculum. All Swazi men and women, both adolescents and adults, should be educated about contraceptives. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

Active layer morphology of polymer-based solar cells plays an important role in improving power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this thesis, the focus is to improve the device efficiency of polymer-based solar cells. In the first objective, active layer morphology of polymer-solar cells was optimized though a novel solvent annealing technique. The second objective was to explore the possibility of replacing the highly sensitive aluminum cathode layer with a low-cost and stable alternative, copper metal. Large scale manufacturing of these solar cells is also explored using roll-to-roll printing techniques. Poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl (PCBM) were used as the active layer blend for fabricating the solar cell devices using bulk heterojunction (BHJ), which is a blend of a donor polymer and an acceptor material. Blends of the donor polymer, P3HT and acceptor, PCBM were cast using spin coating and the resulting active layers were solvent annealed with dichlorobenzene in an inert atmosphere. Solvent annealed devices showed improved morphology with nano-phase segregation revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The roughness of the active layer was found to be 6.5 nm. The nano-phase segregation was attributed to PCBM clusters and P3HT domains being arranged under the solvent annealing conditions. These test devices showed PCE up to 9.2 % with current density of 32.32 mA/cm2, which is the highest PCE reported to date for a P3HT-PCBM based system. Copper was deposited instead of the traditional aluminum for device fabrication. We were able to achieve similar PCEs with copper-based devices. Conductivity measurements were done on thermally deposited copper films using the two-probe method. Further, for these two configurations, PCE and other photovoltaic parameters were compared. Finally, we studied new techniques of large scale fabrication such as ultrasonic spray coating, screen-printing, and intense pulse light sintering, using the facilities at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the University of Louisville. In this study, prototype devices were fabricated on flexible ITO coated plastics. Sintering greatly improved the conductivity of the copper nano-ink cathode layer. We will explore this technique’s application to large-scale fabrication of solar cell devices in the future work.

Die Schwerpunktsetzung der Dissertation fokussiert die lehrkraftorientierte und berufsschulbezogene Auseinandersetzung mit Heterogenität; dabei werden bereits existente Lösungsansätze berücksichtigt. Ein Ziel der Arbeit ist, den Lehrkräften theoretisch fundierte adäquate Umgangsformen mit Heterogenität von Jugendlichen in den Klassen und Lerngruppen zu offerieren. Als theoretische Grundlage dient die Beschreibung von Heterogenitätsmerkmalen von Schülern, die in der einschlägigen Literatur für das erfolgreiche Lernen als signifikant relevant eingeschätzt werden. Des Weiteren rückt die Arbeit die Lehrkräfte mit ihren subjektiven Theorien, Kompetenzbündeln, Belastungsempfindungen und die lernförderlichen Umgangsformen der Lehrkräfte mit Heterogenitäten ins Zentrum sowie die kritische Betrachtung von Konzepten der inneren Differenzierung als mögliches Lösungskonzept. Die empirischen Untersuchungen erfolgen in ausgewählten staatlichen Berliner beruflichen Schulen im Berufsfeld Wirtschaft und Verwaltung mittels Leitfadeninterviews und deren Analyse in Anlehnung an die dokumentarische Methode in vertikaler und horizontaler Richtung. Ergänzt wird der qualitative Forschungsansatz durch eine statistische Dokumentenanalyse. Ein Ergebnis der Arbeit ist, dass Lehrkräfte Heterogenität nicht eindeutig als entweder Belastung oder als pädagogische Herausforderung empfinden, sondern dass der jeweils wahrgenommene Belastungsgrad stark durch die Intensität der jeweils vorliegenden Schülervarianzen in der Klasse/Lerngruppe geprägt ist. Es geht deshalb in den unterrichtsnah formulierten Hilfestellungen, die mittels einer Checkliste ermittelt werden können, um individuell zugeschnittene Handlungsempfehlungen, die sich entweder auf den Kern der Heterogenitätsvorstellung, auf die Reflexion der eigenen Handlungskompetenz, auf spezielle Heterogenitätsdimensionen, auf konkrete Hilfen für die Umsetzung der inneren Differenzierung oder auf die Belastungsreduktion im Berufsalltag beziehen. / The present thesis focuses on the ways in which vocational school teachers address student heterogeneity, giving due consideration to existing approaches. One of the goals is to provide teachers with theoretically well-founded, adequate forms of accommodating adolescent heterogeneity in various class and learning groups. The theoretical basis of this study is provided by a description of student heterogeneity features deemed to be significantly relevant to successful learning in the literature. Another primary concern is with teachers’ professional activity, including their subjective theories, their individual sets of competences, their feelings of stress and learning-conducive ways of addressing heterogeneity. Critical attention is given to differentiation by activity or outcome as a potential approach to dealing with heterogeneity. Empirical studies were conducted in a selection of Berlin-based vocational schools specializing in business and administration, using guided interviews and analyzing these by means of a methodology borrowing from the documentary method and availing itself of both vertical and horizontal perspectives. This qualitative approach is complemented by a statistical document analysis. One finding is that teachers do not view heterogeneity unambiguously as either a stress factor or a pedagogical challenge; rather, the degree of stress felt by teachers is heavily dependent on the extent of student variance inside the class or learning group. Instead, this study offers a checklist that teachers can use to obtain support and recommendations tailored to their individual needs and readily applicable to classroom settings. These recommendations concern the core of teachers’ perceptions of heterogeneity, their ability to reflect on their own ‘action competence’, specific dimensions of heterogeneity, concrete support for implementing differentiation inside the classroom, and stress reduction in day-to-day professional practice.

Deterrents to family planning practices were investigated among Swazi women between 1999- 2001. A total of 171 adolescents, women and men participated in focus group interviews. Information obtained in this way served as a framework for designing structured interview schedules. The views of 205 women were investigated, concerning factors deterring them from using family planning practices by means of conducting face to face studied interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using the NU*DIST and for the quantitative data the SPPS computer programs were used respectively. The results revealed that socio-cultural deterrents to family planning included high cultural value of children determining women's social status, the lack of knowledge about contraceptives, women's dependence on their husbands' decisions concerning reproductive issues and inefficient family planning services. Recommendations included that specific adolescent reproductive health services should be instituted and that the policy on reproductive health for Swaziland be revised. Reproductive health issues should be addressed in the school curriculum. All Swazi men and women, both adolescents and adults, should be educated about contraceptives. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

The subject of this master’s thesis is elaboration of selected parts of the building tech-nology project of residential building Stepnice in Uherske Hradiste. Part of the project is technical report, estate road layout, studies of major technological stages, project of site equipment, design of major machines and mechanisms, technological regulations and control and test plans for prefabricated ceiling and masonry system. Attachment of this master´s thesis is drawings of site equipment, selected construction details, working safety, instructions for using the building, budget by items and a time plan. The aim of the project is to design appropriate and economically effective procedure for realization of the building.

Aim of this thesis is to search the market for suitable autonomous robot to be used by smart house. The research in this work is partly done on the range of abilities of smart houses in matter of sensor systems, ability of data processing and their use by mobile robots. The output of this thesis is robotics application written using Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (C#) and simulated using Visual Simulation Environment. Main feature of this robotic application is the interface between robot and smart house, and robot and user. This interface enables employer to directly control robot's movement or to use automated pathfinding. The robot is able to navigate in dynamic environment and to register, interact and eventually forget temporary obstacles.

digitization, digital transformation, innovation, energy industry, HR, work with students, trainee program, trainee scheme, corporate culture, project management, onboarding, gen Z, generation Z

Aim of this thesis is to search the market for suitable autonomous robot to be used by smart house. The research in this work is partly done on the range of abilities of smart houses in matter of sensor systems, ability of data processing and their use by mobile robots. The output of this thesis is robotics application written using Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (C#) and simulated using Visual Simulation Environment. Main feature of this robotic application is the interface between robot and smart house, and robot and user. This interface enables employer to directly control robot's movement or to use automated pathfinding. The robot is able to navigate in dynamic environment and to register, interact and eventually forget temporary obstacles.

The theme of the diploma thesis is elaboration of selected parts of the construction technology project in building block of flats Hostivař. Content of this project is technological solution for realization of this project. It means working on time planning of construction, right using of human, material and machinery sources and controlling system for selected part of the building. In attachment of the diploma thesis, there are also drawings of building site equipment for different construction phases. The goal of the diploma thesis is design right and economical procedure for realization of the building, comply with the safety, quality and ecology conditions.

La thèse propose l’utilisation d’une pince active instrumentée en force pour automatiser l’assemblage des MOEMS 3D hybrides. Chacun des doigts de la pince instrumentée est composé d’un actionneur piézo-électrique et d’un capteur de force piézorésistif intégré. Le capteur de force intégré présente des performances innovantes par rapport aux capteurs existants dans l’ état de l’art. Cette pince offre la possibilité de mesurer les forces de serrage appliquées par la pince pour saisir un micro composant et d’estimer les forces de contact entre le micro composant et le substrat de micro-assemblage.Un modèle dynamique et non linéaire est développé pour la pince instrumentée. Une commande hybride force/position est utilisée pour automatiser le micro-assemblage. Dans cette commande, certains axes sont commandés en position et les autres sont commandés en force. Pour les axes commandés en force, une nouvelle commande fondée sur une commande en impédance avec suivi de référence est proposée selon un principe de commande non linéaire par mode glissant avec estimation des paramétres en lignes. En utilisant le schéma de commande hybride force/position proposé, une automatisation de toutes les tâches de micro-assemblage est réalisée avec succès, notamment sur un composant flexible à guider dans un rail. / This work proposes the use of an active microgripper with sensorized end-effectors for the automationof the microassembly of 3D hybrid MOEMS. Each of the two fingers of the microgripper is composedof a piezoelectric actuator with an integrated piezoresistive force sensor. The integrated force sensorpresents innovative performances compared to the existing force sensors in literature. The forcesensors provide the ability to measure the gripping forces applied by the microgripper to grasp a microcomponentand estimated the contact forces between the microcomponent and the substrate ofmicroassembly. A dynamic nonlinear model of the microgripper is developed. A hybrid force/positioncontrol is used for the automation of the microassembly. In the hybrid force/position control formulation,some axes are controlled in position and others are controlled in force. For the force controlledaxes, a new nonlinear force control scheme based on force tracking sliding mode impedance controlis proposed with parameter estimation. Using the proposed hybrid force/position control scheme, fullautomation of the microassembly is performed, notably for the guiding of a flexible component in arail.