Tomas Bata University in Zlín
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An economic prognostic study to examine the productivity of agricultural SMEs of Central Europe during the COVID-19 crisis
Get PDFIn 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disturbed the world's Agri-businesses. Several economies are attempting to demonstrate attempts to maintain agribusiness, the agriculture industry, and marketplaces, but distribution networks, access to markets, and affordable farm goods are still vulnerable. The poor and various disempowered populations, particularly those with lower buying power, have been harmed by the COVID-19 outbreak. This study examines the productivity of Central Europe's agricultural SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A predictive model between independent and dependent factors was used to determine and forecast the index or risk for future agricultural SMEs' functioning. The Central European agricultural SMEs' performance indicators were used, such as agricultural output, production of agriculture goods and services, vegetable and horticultural products, fixed capital consumption, agriculture determinants' actual income index, absolute net agriculture business income index, and net agricultural entrepreneurial income. Our results reveal pre and post-COVID-19 agribusiness analyses and their implications for food distribution and sustainability. Our findings also revealed a widespread influence of COVID-19 on Central European areas. The study findings can help agricultural enterprises and policymakers manage the COVID-19 outbreak by providing essential recommendations and consequences
Fabrication and floating test of an asymmetric supercapacitor based on polyaniline and MXene
No full textPolyaniline (PANI) exhibits considerable capacitance at positive potentials in acidic aqueous electrolytes, making it a highly promising pseudocapacitive material. Nevertheless, the absence of appropriate anode materials capable of effectively functioning at negative potentials in its asymmetric supercapacitors hinders the ability to increase the cell voltage, thereby impacting the specific energy. To address this issue, MXene (Ti3C2Tx) was utilized due to its proven efficacy in mitigating hydrogen evolution at highly negative potentials in acidic aqueous electrolytes. In this study, we fabricated an asymmetric supercapacitor consisting of a PANI nanorod array deposited on bacterial cellulose (BC) membrane and a MXene/carbon nanotube (MXene/CNT) film. The device can operate at a cell voltage of 1.3 V and exhibits exceptional specific energy and specific power (12.1 Wh kg−1/0.4 kW kg1 and 7.9 Wh kg−1/1.7 kW kg−1). It demonstrates excellent cycling performance, with a capacitance retention rate of 96% after 2000 galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) cycles. In addition, one practical and reliable approach, the floating test, was applied to assess the stability of this asymmetric supercapacitor. It also maintains 82% of its initial capacitance after 60 h of floating time. Our findings indicate that the combination of PANI and MXene in an asymmetric configuration represents a promising approach for the development of next-generation PANI-based supercapacitors.INTER-EXCELLENCE, (LTT20005); Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports , Czech Republic; Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, Czech Republic; Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, TACR, (TH71020006); Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU, (CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_053/0017879)Technology Agency of the Czech Republic [TH71020006]; Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, Czech Republic, INTER-EXCELLENCE [LTT20005]; International mobility of TBU in Zlin [CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_053/0017879
Self-healing recyclable bio-based magnetic composites with boronic ester vitrimer matrix
No full textThe ongoing energy crisis and increasing consumption of fossil-based feedstock have raised the awareness of researchers about the need to develop sustainable alternatives for conventional plastic materials. A great potential is attributed to vitrimers, a newly emerging class of polymer materials that, despite being covalently cross-linked, can be easily repaired, reprocessed, or recycled with minimal environmental impact. Such properties are achieved due to dynamic cross-links that enable the reversible reactions within their network structure. Here, we report on the development of a novel bio-based magnetic composite by adopting the catalyst-free vitrimer as a host matrix for embedding the magnetic micro-filler. The employed matrix uses a recent generation of the exchange reactions ensured by boronic ester metathesis, following the principles of “green” chemistry. The final composite is endowed with various useful, programmable, and unique features, such as hardening in magnetic fields, electromagnetic shielding capability, and directional self-healing capability, while also being reprocessable multiple times and easily recyclable.US-UK Fulbright Commission, (2022–21–1, RP/CPS/2022/005, RP/CPS/2022/007); Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMTM.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Program of Development [2022-21-1]; DKRVO [RP/CPS/2022/007, RP/CPS/2022/005]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republi
Biocompatibility of colloidal polypyrrole
No full textThe excellent electroconductive properties of polypyrrole (PPy) predetermine its use as cell-instructive or biosensing biomaterial. PPy has potential for application in a physiological environment, and here the cytotoxicity, antioxidant capacity, modulation of neutrophil oxidative burst, antibacterial activity of colloidal PPy stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and long-term stability under physiological conditions are reported. Besides, long-term stability under physiological conditions is also provided. The formation of PPy/PVP colloid was proven by UV-Vis and IR spectroscopy, and its morphology and particle size were detected. The results of cytotoxicity studies show that the safe PPy concentration in colloidal particles for biomedical usage is ≤ 200 µg mL−1. In these concentrations, the PPy/PVP also exhibits excellent antioxidant properties and modulates the immune response. The minimal inhibitory concentration of 234 µg mL−1 was determined against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively. The low cytotoxicity and bioactivity of the colloidal PPy/PVP demonstrate their long-term potential for a variety of applications.DKRVO, (RP/CPS/2022/001, RP/CPS/2022/007); Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU, (IGA/CPS/2023/001); Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT; Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČR, (23-07425S)Czech Science Foundation [23-07425S]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic - DKRVO [RP/CPS/2022/001, RP/CPS/2022/007]; Internal Grants of TBU in Zlin [IGA/CPS/2023/001
Tax holidays and profit-repatriation rates for FDI firms: the case of the Czech Republic
Get PDFThe Czech Republic has been a promising destination for foreign investors due to its locational advantages and tax-incentive policy. However, the profit-repatriation rate in the country is extremely high, which results in less capital being available for development. This paper studies the differences in profit-repatriation rates among FDI (foreign direct investment) firms in the Czech Republic after the appearance of tax-holiday incentives from 2008 to 2019. The precondition is to find the determinants of the repatriation rate of FDI firms, and the results show that the profit repatriation rate of FDI firms is positively affected by firm size and the liquidity of firms and negatively affected by investment opportunities and leverage. The paper divides FDI firms into several groups and examines the differences in repatriation rates between them before revealing the determinants of these differences. Firstly, there is no difference in profit repatriation between FDI firms with tax incentives and those without tax incentives. Next, we divide the FDI firms with tax incentives into two groups: those who still enjoy the tax incentives and those who no longer enjoy the tax incentives. The FDI firms with tax incentives that are in the tax-incentive period repatriate less than FDI firms with tax incentives that are not in the tax period any longer. The difference stems from the endowment effect, and three determinants that can reduce the repatriation rate of FDI firms that are no longer in the tax period are investment opportunities, leverage, and firm size.Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, TACR, (TL03000319); Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně, (RO/2022/04)Technology Agency of the Czech Republic [TL03000319]; Tomas Bata University in Zlin [RO/2022/04
Evaluating kernel functions in software effort estimation: A comparative study of moving window and spectral clustering models across diverse datasets
Get PDFThis study embarks on an in-depth analysis of the performance of various kernel functions, namely uniform, epanechnikov, triangular, and gaussian, in window-based and spectral clustering-based models. Employing seven distinct datasets, our approach evaluated both window sizes (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) and clustering clusters (ranging from 1 to 4). The kernel functions served as weighting functions for regression models, leading to the creation of 192 window-based and 192 clustering-based models. Our analysis underscores the dominance of the uniform kernel function. In most models where the Pred(0.25) was maximal and the Mean Absolute Error was minimal, the uniform kernel function was predominantly utilized. Further, our results exhibit varying outcomes between moving windows and spectral clustering across datasets. For instance, in the fpa-china dataset, while moving windows with a 50% size displayed no significant superiority over spectral-clustering with 1 cluster, spectral-clustering (1 cluster) demonstrated a significantly enhanced performance. However, in datasets like fpa-kitchenham, neither approach proved to be significantly better. This comprehensive exploration into the efficiency of kernel functions in moving windows and spectral-clustering models provides valuable insights for future research and applications in data modelling and analysis.Faculty of Applied Informatics, Tomas Bata University, (RVO/FAI/2021/002)Faculty of Applied Informatics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin [RVO/FAI/2021/002
Assessing the effects of whey hydrogel on nutrient stability in soil and yield of leucosinapis alba and hordeum vulgare
Get PDFAgriculture and related crop production are highly dependent on climate and economic factors, and agricultural intensification is associated with a dramatic increase in the consumption of fertilizers. A significant amount of the elements from the most commonly used fertilizers is degraded and lost due to climatic and environmental factors. The soil application of novel whey-based hydrogel represents an innovative approach toward efficient fertilizing and soil water balance that resonates with the concepts of sustainable agriculture and circular economy of waste products. Results of previous research show the positive effect of whey-based hydrogel on water retention after the various levels of hydrogel have been applied into artificial soil. With a view to verifying the effect of the whey hydrogel on soil quality and related crop cultivation in real conditions, the pot experiment compared two different doses of whey hydrogel with control soil, with the conventional NPK treatment of soil and with a mixing strategy combining the conventional NPK treatment with hydrogel application. The controlled pot experiment was conducted with haplic Cambisol, with white mustard (Leucosinapis alba) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) as the testing crops. Soil pH, organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), available forms of the essential macronutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg), and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) were determined in Cambisol samples before and after the experiment. The crop yields of barley and mustard were compared among the various treatments of experimental soils. Results demonstrated that the amendment of whey-based hydrogel increased the bioavailable nutrients’ concentrations, which persisted even after the harvest. The nutritional quick boost after the whey-based (co)-application significantly increased the experimental crop yield.Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic Project, (MZE-RO0223, QK1910392
Quantification of the impact of innovations in industry and infrastructure for sustainable circular economy production and consumption
Get PDFThe primary aim of this study was to quantify the impact of industry and infrastructure innovations on sustainable production and consumption within the circular economy (CE) in European Union (EU) countries. From the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the relationships between indicators representing SDG 9 and SDG 12 were examined. To achieve this, data from Eurostat for the period 2010–2021 were analyzed using regression and cluster analysis. The analyses revealed significant differences among EU countries in the areas investigated. The Netherlands and Belgium were among the highest-rated countries in terms of the examined relationships. Denmark excelled in industrial and infrastructure innovations, while Romania ranked among the lowest. A year-on-year decrease since 2010 was observed for several indicators, including the circular material use rate and the public transport ratio. Developed countries such as Finland and Luxembourg experienced a recent decrease in circular material use rate. A significant relationship was identified between the circular material use rate and industry and infrastructure innovations. Countries such as Romania, Portugal, Croatia, and Cyprus were in the worst positions. The results of the study are beneficial for policymakers focused on transitioning economies to CE, as well as for experts in business environments, educational policies, and regional development. These results support the development of benchmarking indicators at national and international levels, facilitating the creation of composite models for multidimensional analysis implementation. The findings are relevant for political strategists at both regional and international levels and may provide valuable insights for analytical and research teams designing predictive models.Tomas Bata University in Zlín, TBU, (RO/FaME/2023/03)Tomas Bata University in Zlin [RO/FaME/2023/03
Extended model of mobile shopping acceptance: An empirical study of consumer behaviour
Get PDFAlthough the popularity of mobile commerce is on the rise, mobile shopping is still not widely accepted in Slovakia. Therefore, research and knowledge in this area is insufficient. Based on two research models which explain human behavior (theory of reasoned action) and how the user accepts new technologies (technology acceptance model), the presented study proposes and tests a conceptual model combining the mentioned models and new, stimulating factors (customized offers and price benefits) in order to design a holistic model for predicting consumer behavior with regard to the acceptance of mobile shopping. In the first step of the research, we used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to extract the predicted factors and verify the validity and reliability of the research tool – a questionnaire. The main research was conducted on a sample of 627 students from Slovak universities (part-time study). Using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we performed a measurement model evaluation, and then, using the structural equation modeling – partial least squares (SEM – PLS) method, we evaluated and quantified the expected effects of the investigated factors. These new, stimulating factors, integrated into the theoretical framework of existing models, have been shown to act as direct and indirect predictors of the intention to mobile shopping. However, perceived usefulness proved to be the strongest predictor. The intention to mobile shopping is also significantly influenced by the attitude to mobile shopping, which is also determined by the new factor customized offers. The results the research arrives at may be beneficial for businesses, as they may reduce the costs associated with the creation of mobile shopping channels from an economic point of view and may increase their market competitiveness.Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, VEGA, (1/0488/22, 1/0694/20)[VEGA 1/0488/22]; [VEGA 1/0694/20
Research on the applications of blockchain technology within tourism industry in Vietnam: Proposed model in Phu Quoc Island
Get PDFIn recent years, blockchain technology has garnered interest from a diverse range of industries and areas, mostly due to its enormous possibilities for transforming the way data is stored and utilized, enhancing security and transparency, and facilitating transactions. In light of the rapid advancement of blockchain technology and the trend toward increasing the awareness of its benefits in the tourism sector, the Vietnamese government, particularly Ministry of Culture- Sports and Tourism, has made significant efforts and played a pivotal role in trying to establish an ecosystem, facilitating blockchain technology to gradually integrate into tourism activities. This contemporary study was conducted to ascertain the level of government interest in fostering an environment conducive to the adoption of blockchain technology in Vietnam. To begin, the author collected secondary data on the number of seminars held and sanctioned by local governments in Vietnam about the use of blockchain technology in tourism since 2018. Second, fifteen tourism specialists who work in resorts, travel agencies, and tourism-related enterprises on Phu Quoc Island were chosen to collect primary data using a mix of open- and closed-ended questionnaires. The Delphi technique was used to evaluate the data collected in order to estimate the outcome of a future scenario involving the establishment of a blockchain system on Phu Quoc Island. The findings indicate that local governments are likely to be interested in expanding the legal framework for access to blockchain technology, and tourism organizations are willing to incorporate blockchain technology into their current operations if the legal framework allows for this new technology. According to the findings, there are two distinct views on which business scope should be prioritized first. For example, hotel and resort representatives prefer to integrate booking and luggage checking first, while travel agencies prefer automatic commission allocation for travel parties involved in the entire tourism procedure