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Showing papers in "Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis in 2019"


Journal ArticleDOI
Roman Teichert1
TL;DR: Most of the existing models give an incomplete picture of digital maturity, that cultural attributes reflecting a digital culture are not integrated systematically, and that digital maturity models specific to the domain of services are clearly under-represented.
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to present contemporary developments in the field of digital maturity models. By conducting a systematic literature review finally 24 relevant studies including 22 different models were identified and various characteristics of different digital maturity models were extracted. Focus was placed on the dimensions used to measure digital maturity in different model approaches. Special light was shed on organizational culture and to what extent it is represented in the models. Among other things, the findings indicate, that dimensions applied in various models can be very different and that just a few models incorporate transformational in addition to digital capabilities. In particular, organizational culture as a dedicated dimension of digital maturity is represented already in a few models, which indicates the growing importance of culture as an enabler of digital transformation efforts. Beside a comprehensive overview of the most widely used dimensions measuring digital maturity, a synthesis of the most frequently addressed cultural attributes is presented in this paper as well. This review finally reveals that most of the existing models give an incomplete picture of digital maturity, that cultural attributes reflecting a digital culture are not integrated systematically, and that digital maturity models specific to the domain of services are clearly under-represented. It also clearly demonstrates that research about digital transformation maturity as a holistic concept is scarce and needs more attention by research in the future.

107 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a model and computer program of risk assessment of investors' value of projects based on the use of probability theory, methods of mathematical statistics and modeling of work execution for determination of variable costs for feed production are developed.
Abstract: The analysis of the status and trends of the development of territorial communities in Ukraine is carried out. The expediency of the development of tools for assessing the risk of investors' value in projects for the creation of cooperatives for the provision of family dairy farms is substantiated. The model and computer program of risk assessment of investors' value of projects based on the use of probability theory, methods of mathematical statistics and modeling of work execution for determination of variable costs for feed production are developed. It has been established that there are three scenarios for the formation of the value of investors for the creation of FC projects and three zones of their risk. The initial data are grounded for assessing the risk of investors investing in projects for the creation of cooperatives for the provision of family dairy farms. The study of the characteristics of the project environment for the conditions of the "Pokrova" SOK has been performed, which is located on the territory of the Zabolotiv's community of the Brody district of the Lviv region. The statistical characteristics of distribution of expenses for production of feed, their market value and profit of investors of cooperatives forage supply of family dairy farms are substantiated. The level of risk of obtaining value from investments in the project of establishing a cooperative of forage provision of family dairy farms with a given minimum value of their profit is determined.

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used TAM to determine whether there is a relationship between work engagement and mobile learning and whether there are significant variances between the two groups among different generational cohorts.
Abstract: As regards work engagement, different generations are affected by different factors. The aim of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship between work engagement and mobile learning and whether there are significant variances between work engagement and mobile learning among different generational cohorts. Methods: Quantitative research was performed using "Individual Innovativeness Scale" developed by Hurt, Joseph and Cook (1977) and "The Mobile Learning Scale (MBC)", formed by Fatima, Ghandforoush, Khan and Masico (2017), applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research included 231 representatives of different generations working in the organisations which used mobile learning in workplace and employed representatives of all four generations in Lithuania, EU. For statistical analysis two-way ANOVA was used, followed by post hoc pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni correction). Findings: There are significant differences in work engagement by different generations and mobile learning. Vigor, dedication and absorption were significantly affected by generation and by mobile learning. Conclusions: Generation X and Generation Y are more engaged in the workplace than Generation Z. Generation Z is more prone to using mobile learning in the workplace than Generation X and Generation Y; in comparison to other generations, the Baby Boomers are least prone to using mobile learning in the workplace. Recommendation: A focus on Generation Z mobile learning in the workplace would increase their work engagement.

12 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Information is provided that endophytic bacterial consortium originated from forestry plants has the potential as a biocontrol agent of M. incognita, and suppress the severity of the root-knot disease.
Abstract: Yield loss due to root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita infection is reported to reach 35%, depends on factors contributing to infection. Application of several endophytic bacterial isolates (bacterial consortium) to control pathogenic infection is reported to be more effective compared to the application of single bacterial isolate. This study was aimed to obtain endophytic bacterial consortium originated from forestry plant that is effective to control root-knot nematode. The study was conducted through bacterial isolation followed by biosafety test. Bacterial isolates that were found to be safe for plants and mammals and compatible with each other were further grouped as the endophytic bacterial consortium. Phenotypic characterization and physiological characteristics including Gram type, ability to produce protease, chitinase, and lipase enzymes as well as HCN volatile compound were also tested. Moreover, the ability to fix nitrogen and dissolve phosphate were also examined. The endophytic bacterial consortium consisted of several bacterial isolates was further tested for its ability to inhibit M. incognita egg hatching and increase J2 of M. incognita mortality in vitro. Furthermore, test on tomato plants infested with 500 J2 of M. incognita was also performed in the greenhouse. Test results showed that 70 bacterial isolates were successfully isolated from Shorea sp., Swietenia sp., Albizia falcataria, Anthocephalus cadamba, and Juglans nigra. However, 34 bacterial isolates were observed to be safe (did not cause hypersensitivity reaction and did not produce hemolytic toxin). According to physiological characteristics, it was found that 25 isolates were able to produce protease enzyme, 26 isolates were able to produce chitinase enzyme, and 14 isolates were able to produce lipase enzyme. Moreover, it was also detected that 11 isolates were able to produce HCN volatile compound, 23 isolates were able to fix nitrogen (N), and 24 isolates were able to dissolve phosphate (P). Endophytic bacterial consortium obtained in this study was also observed to be able to inhibit M. incognita egg hatching up to 81.33% and increase J2 of M. incognita mortality up to 85% compared to control. In addition, the application of endophytic bacterial consortium was also able to increase the growth of tomato plant infected with M. incognita, and suppress the severity of the root-knot disease. This study provided information that endophytic bacterial consortium originated from forestry plants has the potential as a biocontrol agent of M. incognita.

11 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors performed genotyping of the CSN3, CSN2 and LGB genes in selected dairy cattle breeds in the Czech Republic, to determine genotype and allele frequencies and to perform an associative analysis on milk yield in kg, the percentage of fat and protein content, and fat/protein production in kg.
Abstract: The principal objective of this study was to perform genotyping of the CSN3, CSN2 and LGB genes in selected dairy cattle breeds in the Czech Republic, to determine genotype and allele frequencies and to perform an associative analysis on milk yield in kg, the percentage of fat and protein content, and fat and protein production in kg. The AA was the most frequent genotype for CSN3 with a frequency of 0.474 and the A allele (0.694). The BB genotype (0.814) and the B allele (0.895) predominated in CSN2 gene. Other genotyping was performed for the A1 and A2 alleles, the most frequent were the A2A2 genotype (0.475) and the A2 allele (0.680). The heterozygous AB genotype with a frequency of 0.900 was the most frequent in the LGB gene. A statistically significant higher protein content was found in the AB genotype in comparison to the BB in gene for CSN2. In the remaining cases, the effect of CSN3, CSN2 and LGB polymorphic variations on the milk production indicators was not statistically significant.

11 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between selected financial ratios and the stock prices of food companies listed on selected European Stock Exchanges and found some linkages especially between stock prices and the profitability ratios.
Abstract: Stock prices can be influenced by many factors. It is possible to determine two categories of variables that can affect stock prices: macroeconomic and microeconomic variables. The paper is focused on microeconomic factors, specially financial ratios that reflect business activities of the companies. According to the study of Drummen and Zimmermann (1992) the individual characteristics of companies affect up to 50 % of stock prices. The object of this paper is to examine the relationship between selected financial ratios and the stock prices of food companies listed on selected European Stock Exchanges. Time series on annual frequency are used to examine the relationship between stock prices of selected companies and financial ratios with using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Based on previous research we expect to find some linkages especially between stock prices and the profitability ratios.

10 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented dynamic correlation in the prices of gold, crude oil, exchange rate and Indian stock market from April 1, 2014 to March 28, 2018, and found that gold was an effective hedging commodity for Indian stock investors than Crude Oil.
Abstract: Commodities play a vital role in the development of emerging economies, like India. From this perspective, the study presents dynamic correlation in the prices of gold, crude oil, exchange rate and Indian stock market from April 01, 2014 to March 28, 2018. VARMA-BEKK-GARCH model is estimated for return and volatility spillovers across markets. Bidirectional returns spillover was found between Nifty and WTI and WTI and Gold pair. Whereas the bidirectional volatility spillover between Nifty and Gold pair. From the DCC-GARCH correlational analysis, Gold was found to be effective hedging commodity for Indian stock investors than Crude Oil. The asymmetric impact of shocks in covariance is observed between Nifty 50 and all other variables. The study focuses to aid investors and portfolio diversifiers while taking investment decisions.

10 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new method for chatbot platform evaluation is proposed and the proposed method for the chatbot selection is demonstrated on two sample businesses – a large bank and a small taxi service.
Abstract: Chatbots are going to be the main tool for automated conversations with customers. Still, there is no consistent methodology for choosing a suitable chatbot platform for a particular business. This paper proposes a new method for chatbot platform evaluation. To describe the current state of chatbot platforms, two high-level approaches to chatbot platform design are discussed and compared. WYSIWYG platforms aim to simplicity but may lack some advanced features. All-purpose chatbot platforms require extensive technical skills and are more expensive but give their users more freedom in chatbot design. We provide an evaluation of six major chatbot solutions. The proposed method for the chatbot selection is demonstrated on two sample businesses - a large bank and a small taxi service.

10 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present paper compares Japan and the Czech Republic from the perspective of digitalization of society based on three main aspects: government programs supporting digital technologies, number of technically educated experts and investments in science and research.
Abstract: Digital technologies, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence are seen as mater-of-course parts of the world today. Japan, as one of the leading countries in technological innovations, is the most advanced in terms of approach to digital society. Japanese society and government have been working on a new concept of life where all the digital technologies will communicate through the internet. Society organised in this way is called Society 5.0 - super Smart society. In Japan, this concept is centred about seventeen sustainable goals (United Nations, 2018). Society 5.0 is a reaction to the fundamental technological revolutionary changes known today as Industry 4.0. Thus, Society 5.0 is the consequence of a technological revolution that will eventually affect not just the production but all parts of today's life as well.The new technologies evoke some fundamental philosophical and existential questions. How can technological advances improve the prosperity and functioning of society? What about the privacy and security of all the users? The present paper compares Japan and the Czech Republic from the perspective of digitalization of society based on three main aspects: government programs supporting digital technologies, number of technically educated experts and investments in science and research. The objective is to find out how much the Czech Republic has advanced towards preparations for digital society.

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of coconut water and IAA (Indole-3-acetic acid) application on various concentration as the growth regulator for tribulus growth on the in vitro and its effect toward observation variables.
Abstract: Tribulus (Tribulus terrestris L.) is a medicinal plant with considerable implementation such as aphrodisiac and anti-inflammation drugs. This research was conducted to study the effectivity of coconut water and IAA (Indole-3-acetic acid) application on various concentration as the growth regulator for tribulus growth on the in vitro and its effect toward observation variables. The material used were cotyledon from tribulus embryo and MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium. The research method used a Completely Randomized Design with first factor of coconut water concentration of 0 mL L-1, 50 mL L-1, 100 mL L-1, and 150 mL L-1 and IAA concentration of 0 ppm, 0.15 ppm, 0.20 ppm, and 0.25 ppm as the second factor. Observed variables were shoots emergence time, number of shoots, shoot height, number of leaves, roots emergence time, number of roots and regression between observation variables. The result showed that the combination of 150 mL L-1 coconut water and 0.25 ppm IAA gave the highest shoot height, roots emergence time, and number of roots. Coconut water treatment on 150 mL L-1 concentration alone gave the best result on shoots emergence time, number of shoots, and number of leaves, while IAA concentration of 0.25 ppm independently gave the highest number of leaves. Regression analysis result indicate that the number of roots has a positive correlation with shoots height, number of shoots and number of leaves.

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors quantified the impact of IFRS 16 on selected financial statement items and financial analysis ratios of fifteen European airlines and compared the results with the previous cases studies.
Abstract: Current differences between the accounting models for a financial and an operating lease and their critics from the users of the financial statement forced the IASB issued a new Leases Standard, IFRS 16, which supersedes IAS 17 Leases and its related interpretations in January 2106. IFRS 16 will eliminate dual accounting model for lessees and it is assumed to have significant business implications, especially from lessee's point of view. The paper focuses on quantification of the impact of IFRS 16 on selected financial statement items and financial analysis ratios of fifteen European airlines. The research is also concerned with comparison of the article outputs with the previous cases studies. The paper confirmed that lease capitalization under IFRS 16 will have a material impact on the reported numbers in the balance sheet and income statement and result in significant changes to return and leverage ratios.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study in newborn calves showed that FPT is still an important problem in Czech dairy herds, especially in the Czech Fleckvieh breed, and in smaller herds andespecially in the winter, the prevalence of FPT was very high.
Abstract: Prevalence of failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity remains relatively high worldwide. The aim of this study was to estimate the FPT prevalence in Czech dairy calves and to evaluate the selected factors - breed, herd size, sex of calves, single versus twin births and the influence of the season of birth. A total of 1,175 serum samples were taken from calves of Czech Fleckvieh and Holstein breed from 33 herds between October 2015 and October 2017. Serum IgG concentration was determined by reference method for IgG determination - radial immunodiffusion. Statistical evaluation was performed by Kruskal-Wallis test. The concentration of IgG ranged from 1.5 to 46.6 g/L with average value 13.7 g/L and was significantly influenced by breed, size of the herd and season. Using the criterion IgG < 10 g/L, it was found that 34.6 % of calves had FPT. The prevalence of FPT by breed was 42.9 % vs. 24.2 % (Czech Fleckvieh vs. Holstein), by size of the herd 45.0, 44.4, 25.5 and 22.0 % (< 200, 200-399, 400-599 and ≥ 600 cows per herd, respectively) and by season 25.3, 34.6, 29.9 and 52.5 % (spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively). The sex of calves was not found to be a statistically significant factor. The study in newborn calves showed that FPT is still an important problem in Czech dairy herds, especially in the Czech Fleckvieh breed. In smaller herds and especially in the winter, the prevalence of FPT was very high.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The aim of the study was to isolate and identify the yeast isolated from Dangke and its potential as probiotics, and the isolate that identified as Candida guilliermondii which showed probiotic characteristic.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to isolate and identify the yeast isolated from Dangke and its potential as probiotics. The purified isolates obtained were identified based on observations of macroscopic characteristics of colonies and microscopic cells. The ability as a probiotic yeast is obtained by testing the resistance towards acid conditions, bile salt resistance test and aggregation ability test against pathogenic bacteria using Salmonella sp. The yeast isolates were identified using the RapID Yeast Plus System. The isolation result was obtained D.10.3.d isolate that identified as Candida guilliermondii which showed probiotic characteristic. The yeast colony is round, cream-colored, smooth surfaces, low convex elevations and entire edges, capable of growing on mediums with the pH of 4, containing 1 % and 5 % of bile salts and having the ability to aggregate Salmonella sp. at 15, 60, and 180 minutes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Predicting of mastitis performed better with a shorter distance between test day and mastitis event, yet even for time windows of -21 to +21 days, prediction accuracies were still reasonable, with sensitivities ranging from 0.50 to 0.57 and specificities remaining unchanged.
Abstract: Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is the method of choice for the standard milk recording system, to determine milk components including fat, protein, lactose and urea. Since milk composition is related to health and metabolic status of a cow, MIR spectra could be potentially used for disease detection. In dairy production, mastitis is one of the most prevalent diseases. The aim of this study was to develop a calibration equation to predict mastitis events from routinely recorded MIR spectra data. A further aim was to evaluate the use of test day somatic cell score (SCS) as covariate on the accuracy of the prediction model. The data for this study is from the Austrian milk recording system and its health monitoring system (GMON). Test day data including MIR spectra data was merged with diagnosis data of Fleckvieh, Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian cows. As prediction variables, MIR absorbance data after first derivatives and selection of wavenumbers, corrected for days in milk, were used. The data set contained roughly 600,000 records and was split into calibration and validation sets by farm. Calibration sets were made to be balanced (as many healthy as mastitis cases), while the validation set was kept large and realistic. Prediction was done with Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis, key indicators of model fit were sensitivity and specificity. Results were extracted for association between spectra and diagnosis with different time windows (days between diagnosis and test days) in validation. The comparison of different sets of predictor variables (MIR, SCS, MIR + SCS) showed an advantage in prediction for MIR + SCS. For this prediction model, specificity was 0.79 and sensitivity was 0.68 in time window -7 to +7 days (calibration and validation). Corresponding values for MIR were 0.71 and 0.61, for SCS they were 0.81 and 0.62. In general, prediction of mastitis performed better with a shorter distance between test day and mastitis event, yet even for time windows of -21 to +21 days, prediction accuracies were still reasonable, with sensitivities ranging from 0.50 to 0.57 and specificities remaining unchanged (0.71 to 0.85). Additional research to further improve prediction equation, and studies on genetic correlations among clinical mastitis, SCS and MIR predicted mastitis are planned.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional research of primary and secondary sources is performed along with a Czech micro case study exploring the readiness, implementation and consequences of this new duty on five Czech public sector bodies – Prague municipalities.
Abstract: Electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services ("eIDAS") is a standardized system for trustworthiness, effectiveness and efficiency. Since 2018, Czech public sector bodies have to use qualified electronic signatures when officially acting via electronic documents. This calls for a pioneering study entailing three purposes: (i) to identify provisions set by the EU law and Czech law of this duty and to interpret them, (ii) to study and assess how this duty is materialized and observed while using a pioneering Czech micro case study and (iii) to discuss and compare the yielded results with the status quo in other EU member states. A multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional research of primary and secondary sources is performed along with a Czech micro case study exploring the readiness, implementation and consequences of this new duty on five Czech public sector bodies - Prague municipalities. The qualified electronic signature is a reality in the EU, but its standardized use is welcome and materialized with varying intensities.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the main aim of the paper was to catalogue and analyze the drought impacts in the 11 Central and South Eastern European states located in the Danube river basin, where the identification of dry episodes was based on information from publicly available sources, namely, newspaper and journal articles that reported drought impacts.
Abstract: Drought directly and indirectly affects human society in a number of ways. In many regions of the world climate change will exasperate the effects of droughts, affect national economies more intensely. The main aim of this article was to catalogue and analyze the drought impacts in the 11 Central and South Eastern European states located in the Danube river basin. The identification of dry episodes was based on information from publicly available sources, namely, newspaper and journal articles that reported drought impacts. Information on drought impact occurrences was classified into one of five defined categories in which the drought impact report was most clearly manifested (i.e., agriculture, forestry, soil systems, wildfires and hydrology). In terms of the spatial distribution of drought impacts, individual recorded events were analyzed at the level of EU NUTS regions (or their equivalent in non-EU countries). The analysis highlights country-specific vulnerability to drought. Furthermore, gradual increases in drought events and the number of reported impacts were identified, which was particularly evident in the agricultural sector.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an overview of reference and routine methods for protein determination is presented. But, the use of indirect methods for milk protein analysis requires their specific calibrations according to biological kind of measured milk (cow's, goat's or sheep's milk) or specific conditions of milk technology treatment.
Abstract: Milk protein content is an important component of milk, especially from a nutritional point of view and also for payment purposes. The aim of work was to draw up an overview on reference and routine methods for protein determination. Reference methods perform accurate analyses comply according to the International Standard ISO whereas routine methods perform analyses using routine instrumental techniques for faster and cheaper results with acceptable accuracy and a large number of processed samples. In most of cases, using of routine indirect methods for milk protein analysis requires their specific calibrations according to biological kind of measured milk (cow's, goat's or sheep's milk) or specific conditions of milk technology treatment. Also, the quality control measures have a significant role for result determination reliability.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the performance of fire indices based on weather variables was analyzed with a special focus on the Czech Republic and the relationship between fire danger indices and forest fires during 2018 across the area of the Jihomoravský region.
Abstract: The performance of fire indices based on weather variables was analyzed with a special focus on the Czech Republic. Three fire weather danger indices that are the basis of fire danger rating systems used in different parts of the world were assessed: the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), Australian Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) and Finnish Forest Fire Index (FFI). The performance of the three fire danger indices was investigated at different scales and compared with actual fire events. First, the fire danger indices were analyzed for different land use types during the period 1956-2015. In addition, in the analysis, the three fire danger indices were compared with wildfire events during the period 2001-2015. The fire danger indices were also analyzed for the specific locality of the Bzenec area where a large forest fire event occurred in May 2012. The study also focused on the relationship between fire danger indices and forest fires during 2018 across the area of the Jihomoravský region. Comparison of the index values with real fires showed that the index values corresponded well with the occurrence of forest fires. The analysis of the year 2018 showed that the highest index values were reached on days with the greater fire occurrence. On days with 5 or 7 reported fires per day, the fire danger indices reached values between 3 and 4.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results confirmed the advantages of high‐throughput amplicon sequencing analysis for identification of bacterial communities in contaminated plant in vitro cultures what provides an important information for applying appropriate measures to eliminate bacterial contamination.
Abstract: The study overviews results of bacterial incidence in in vitro plant tissue cultures obtained from commercial laboratory dealing with plants micropropagation. For the exploration, the 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used. Three samples of plant in vitro cultures with visual bacterial contamination were subjected for identification of present bacteria. Eleven genera as Acinetobacter, Lactobacillus, Methylobacterium, Roseomonas, Microbacterium, Mycobacterium, Curtobacterium, Acidovorax, Magnetospirillum, Chryseobacterium and Ralstonia were detected. Obtained results confirmed the advantages of high-throughput amplicon sequencing analysis for identification of bacterial communities in contaminated plant in vitro cultures what provides an important information for applying appropriate measures to eliminate bacterial contamination.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The reproduction and factors affecting on reproduction traits of dairy cows in population of Slovak Spotted cattle from 2007 to 2016 the results for 37,274 dairy cows: days to first service (DFS), days open (DO), number of inseminations per conception (NIC), age of first calving (AFC) and calving interval (CI).
Abstract: The aim of study was to analyse the reproduction and factors affecting on reproduction traits of dairy cows in population of Slovak Spotted cattle from 2007 to 2016 the results for 37,274 dairy cows: days to first service (DFS), days open (DO), number of inseminations per conception (NIC), age of first calving (AFC) and calving interval (CI). The basic statistical analysis were analysed using the SAS version 9.3. For the actual computation a linear models with fixed effects was used: For the actual computation a linear models with fixed effects was used: yijklm = μ + HYSi + BTj+ Fk+ Bl +eijklm. The linear model represents coefficients determination R2 = 0.452117% (P < 0.001) for DFS, R2 = 0.377715% (P < 0.001) for DO, R2 = 0.348442% (P < 0.001) for NIC and R2 = 0.317128% (P < 0.001) for CI with all fixed effects. Correlation coefficients among DFS with DO, NIC, AFC and CI were r = 0.37275, r = -0.06881, r = 0.06493 and r = 0.08348. These coefficients were highly statistically significant (P < 0.001).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a semi-operational experiments of ZD Budisov in relation to the quantity of the applied digestate and simultaneously, the following physical properties of soil were analyzed: porosity, compaction and soil structure.
Abstract: One of the main objectives of crop establishment is adjustment of physical properties of soil, on which indicators of soil fertility as well as economic appreciation of the resulting yield depend. During 2014-2016 yield of corn and sorghum was observed in semi-operational experiments of ZD Budisov in relation to the quantity of the applied digestate and simultaneously, the following physical properties of soil were analysed: porosity, compaction and soil structure. After the application of digestate the porosity and minimal air capacity decreased, and reduced bulk density increased. Soil structure was affected negatively too. Overall, a trend of degradation of physical state of soil in variant with doubled dose of applied digestate was registered. Yields were always higher in variants with digestate due to a higher supply of higher amount of nutrients. Results of this observation indicate that crop yields may be higher but at the same time physical properties of soil may be impaired which may, while increasing doses of digestate, lead to irreversible degradation of soil.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results showed that the average weight of eggs, eggshell, albumen and yolk increased with the age, and the trend of deteriorating egg quality with age was confirmed.
Abstract: The aim was to assess the internal and external quality of consumer eggs of egg-laying hens of two selected genotypes depending on their age. All of these hens were kept in enriched cages. There were compared eggs from Hy-Line Brown and ISA Brown hens at the age from 36 to 64 weeks. In total, 3840 eggs from 300 hens were evaluated. Quality of eggs was determined by their technological value. Statistically significant interactions (P = 0.001) between age and genotype were found in all evaluated parameters except for the yolk colour (P = 0.044), whereas there was not found interaction (P = 0.072) between age and genotype in eggshell strength. The significant effect of hens' age was found in all evaluated parameters, with the only exception of the yolk colour. The results showed that the average weight of eggs, eggshell, albumen and yolk increased with the age. Also the eggshell proportion, its colour and yolk index values increased, whereas the egg shape index, eggshell thickness and strength, albumen proportion, Haugh units, the albumen and the yolk index decreased. Statistically significant effect of the genotype was found in all evaluated parameters except for the yolk index. When comparing both genotypes, the eggs from ISA Brown hens had a better quality. The trend of deteriorating egg quality with age was confirmed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the strategies formulated by Polish energy supply companies as a result of the green management and found common points which are related to the creation of green jobs and the reduction of environmental impact.
Abstract: Environmental goals can be essential for the realization of modern organization strategies, especially in the case of renewable energy sector company's development in Poland. The aim of this article is to discover different strategies formulated by Polish energy supply companies as a result of the green management. The tools to analyse this type of management and to indicate the common direction of undertaken activities are the SWOT analysis and the Hellwig's taxonometric method. These common points can be described by some factors which are related to the creation of green jobs and the reduction of environmental impact. This analytical study explains and describes possible strategies types, which were implemented in companies of studied sector. Therefore, multicriteria analysis of strategy measurement indicators method was used in this article. Performed analysis can open future research area to examine greening of other sectors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the applicability of the key EN 12191-1:2010 standard is discussed, not only for common conditions, but also for specific transport conditions on low-quality road surfaces.
Abstract: The article deals with the subject of the impact which road surfaces have onto cargo and the securing of cargo against shocks during road transport. The applicability of the key EN 12191-1:2010 standard is discussed, not only for common conditions, but also for specific transport conditions on low-quality road surfaces. Part of the article involves carrying out a transport experiment on a road paved with granite blocks and on a highway, from which data on the impact of shocks on cargo (acceleration coefficients values) were obtained. The data were statistically evaluated and compared to the normatively determined values of these acceleration coefficients. A parametric statistical analysis (two-sample t-test) was used to compare the values of the acceleration coefficients from the two types of surfaces. The analysis conducted shows statistically significant differences between the data measured on the road paved with granite blocks and on the highway. Using correlation analysis, the dependence of the acceleration coefficient values and inertial forces affecting cargo during transport were verified. For the relevant axes (x - longitudinal and y - transverse), a very strong correlation was found.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The pedigree analysis showed that in current generation can be expected the pedigree inbreeding at level 0.23 %, and the genomic analysis reflected sufficient level of variability across analysed population of Norik of Muran horses.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to analyse the level of pedigree and genomic inbreeding in a herd of the Norik of Muran horses. The pedigree file included 1374 animals (603 stallions and 771 mares), while the reference population consisted of animals that were genotyped by using 70k SNP platform (n = 25). The trend of pedigree inbreeding was expressed as the probability that an animal has two identical alleles by descent according to classical formulas. The trend of genomic inbreeding was derived from the distribution of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) with various length in the genome based on the assumption that these regions reflect the autozygosity originated from past generations of ancestors. A maximum of 19 generations was found in pedigree file. As expected, the highest level of pedigree completeness was found in first five generations. Subsequent quality control of genomic data resulted in totally 54432 SNP markers covering 2.242 Mb of the autosomal genome. The pedigree analysis showed that in current generation can be expected the pedigree inbreeding at level 0.23% (ΔFPEDi = 0.19 ± 1.17%). Comparable results was obtained also by the genomic analysis, when the inbreeding in current generation reached level 0.11%. Thus, in term of genetic diversity both analyses reflected sufficient level of variability across analysed population of Norik of Muran horses.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on the analysis and evaluation of research and innovation potential in the European Union countries in 2010 and 2015 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).
Abstract: Research and development are important sources of economic growth and social welfare and play a key role in creating new knowledge, products and technological processes. In our paper we focused on the analysis and evaluation of research and innovation potential in the European Union countries in 2010 and 2015 using Data Envelopment Analysis. For the evaluation, seven indicators were selected, as starting point for the evaluation of research activities and the measurement of the innovation performance and of competitiveness of the individual countries. Input capital indicators were - R&D expenditure in the higher education sector and in the business enterprise sector as % of GDP. Input human labour indicators were total researchers (FTE), human resources in science and technology (HRST) as % of active population and employment in total service intensive sectors as % of total employment. Output indicators were the number of scientific publications and high-tech export as % of total export. On basis of DEA super-efficiency analyses results we can make following conclusions. The best group of five countries is characterized by efficient status in both analysed periods 2010 and 2015 (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Croatia and United Kingdom). The second group contains two countries Germany and Italy. This countries improved status from inefficient in 2010 to efficient in 2015. In the third group are five countries that worsened their status from efficient in 2010 to inefficient one in 2015: Portugal, Malta, Poland, Luxembourg and Netherlands. In last fourth group are all other EU28 countries that were inefficient in both analysed periods 2010 and 2015. In group of V4 countries situation is not optimistic. Poland worsened its status from efficient in 2010 to inefficient one in 2015 and three remaining countries - Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia stagnated in inefficient status in both periods. On the opposite there was not significant difference in super-efficiencies in 2010 and in 2015 and in their differences between capitalist and post-socialist EU28 countries.

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TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the relationship between a country's corruption level and the degree of e-government being used in the country, using graphical interpretation of statistical data and regression analysis.
Abstract: Corruption is a highly debated issue that harms both the governments of individual countries as well as citizens themselves. Corruption in the public sector can lead to an increase in public spending and a reduction in the amount of taxes levied, thus increasing fiscal deficits and creating macroeconomic instability. Utilizing electronic administration within the public sector has recently been given much attention a key tool for fighting corruption in public administration. E-administration not only makes it possible to provide more information to the population more simply, efficiently, and quickly, but it also helps to eliminate discretion on the part of officials, i.e., the officials' power to make decisions based on their personal assessment of a situation. This paper focuses on the relationship between a country's corruption level and the degree of e-government being used in the country. Using graphical interpretation of statistical data and regression analysis, it was found that utilizing e-government within public administration has a positive effect on a country's corruption level. However, economic performance demonstrated the greatest influence on the corruption level for the given period and group of countries.

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TL;DR: This study identifies the benefits that traditional communities receive from the tropical rain forest in New Guinea, Indonesia and identifies benefit sharing schemas applied by concession investors in the forest sector and assesses these schema based on equitable principles.
Abstract: This study identifies the benefits that traditional communities receive from the tropical rain forest in New Guinea, Indonesia. In this study, various benefit sharing schema developed by forest concession holder are assessed to understand the precise outcome compared to traditional welfare solutions. It further aims to identify benefit sharing schemas applied by concession investors in the forest sector and assesses these schema based on equitable principles. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from traditional communities, concession holders, and the government. Interviews and field observations were randomly conducted and then analyzed for both quantitative and qualitative descriptions. The results indicate that there were five benefits sharing schemas i.e., those based on financial schema, based on the market, based on infrastructure, based on social management, and based on the transfer of knowledge and technology. Overall, all the schemas that were developed did not fulfil the same criteria. However, there were only two schemas that were considered to be equal and efficient: the financial based-schema and infrastructure based-schema. This is indicated by the larger number of criteria and requirements that they fulfil. Yet, all the schemas still present various conflicts either between customary communities and the government or between the communities and investors.

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TL;DR: In this article, the monetary value of non-timber forest products in Uukolonkadhi Community Forest has been assessed in terms of monetary terms, and the results reveal that there is a potential to generate monetary income from community forests products.
Abstract: The project for community forest of Namibia has a mandate to ensure that rural communities manage and utilize forest resources sustainably in order to promote socio-economic development. Despite the absence of true forests from Namibia, which makes it difficult for timber industry to grow, there is still an abundance of non-timber forest products in Namibian forests. This research aimed at assessing the monetary value of non-timber forest products in Uukolonkadhi Community Forest. The research covered the period of five production years. The value of nine selected non-timber forest products was given in monetary terms. The results reveal that there is a potential to generate monetary income from community forests products. However, due to erratic climatic conditions, there are fluctuations in the income generation, most especially from the products that are directly dependent on the rainfall. Harvesting permits for poles was observed to be the main source of income. Some of the major observed challenges facing the project of community forest were the high level of illiteracy among the management staff. Therefore, it is of vital importance that more qualified foresters and forestry technicians are hired and allocated to all community forests. Furthermore, adequate funds are needed from the government and donors to support incentives and forest activities in community forests.

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of stock market development on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa using a balanced panel data of five selected countries over the period 1993-2013 and the system generalised method of moments dynamic panel estimation framework.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of stock market development on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa using a balanced panel data of five selected countries over the period 1993-2013 and the system generalised method of moments dynamic panel estimation framework. The paper finds a positive impact of stock market development proxied by the turnover ratio of domestic shares and market capitalization on economic growth though minimal. Furthermore, investment, lagged gross domestic product and human capital were found to have a significantly positive impact on growth while trade and foreign direct investment negatively impacted on growth, even though the results for foreign direct investment is not significant in all the models and consequently, not very robust. There should be policy measures aimed at enhancing economic growth using the development of the stocks market as a channel. Such policies should focus on developing the appropriate mix of taxation of investors as well as the development of requisite technology, institutional and regulatory framework that will facilitate an increase in the size and liquidity of the market in the sub-region.