350 research outputs found
Higher education students entry characteristics and students’ dropout
No full textThe dataset was created for the purpose of predicting the dropout rate at university by identifying and detecting students at high risk of dropping out, based on their entry characteristics or the registration data of enrolled students.
The dataset was collected from LBTU study centre and includes 971
bachelor students information. Data set consists of 11 variables:
gender, student study direction, status, dropout reasons, study time
(in days and months), priority to study in the programme, finance
source and student grades
Analysis of the Milk Production and Milk Price in Latvia
No full textAbstractDairy farming (milk production) is one of the important sectors in agriculture economic in Latvia. After joining the EU the dairy sector in Latvia has changed, small dairy farms could not complete the new technological requirements of milk production and it was the time when in the country the amount of dairy cows was reduced by 9.3% during the two years from 2003 to 2004. During the last ten years farms involved in commercial milk production often had substantial modernization, the farmers are motivated to improve cows keeping and feeding. The smaller number of dairy cows is partly offset by the regular growth of their milk yield. Thereby average milk yield per cow during the ten years has increased by 42% and has reached 6993kg in 2014. Milk price is depending on the economic and political situation in the world, it is also influenced by the geographic location, seasonality, and raw materials (feed, electricity, fuel) prices. During the last 10 years the average milk price in Latvia has increased by 60% with variation during the seasons therefore the purpose of this paper is to analysis the milk supply and demand to its price, using the forecasting models
Comparative analysis of higher education study programs’ quality, efficiency and effectiveness
No full text[EN] Many definitions of quality, efficiency and effectiveness exist in literature and can be considered as the relationships between inputs, outputs and outcomes. From this point of view efficiency may be defined simply as the relation of outputs to inputs, effectiveness as the relation of outcomes to outputs and inputs, but quality as a measure of change of outputs and outcomes. The objective of this paper is evaluation of higher education study programs quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the case of Latvia University of Agriculture engineering study programs. The conceptual framework of quality, efficiency and effectiveness was defined, which allow to perform the comparative analyze of the study programs inputs, outputs and outcomes depending on the study year. It is concluded that even the quality, as the change of inputs or outputs, decreases, at the same time the quality, as the change of outcomes, can increase. If the efficiency of study program, as the relation of outputs to inputs, decreases at the same time the effectiveness of the study program, as the relation of outcomes to outputs or inputs, can increase depending on study year.Arhipova, I.; Paura, L.; Eiduks, J.; Vitols, G. (2017). Comparative analysis of higher education study programs’ quality, efficiency and effectiveness. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 55-63. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.4857OCS556
Inbreeding evaluation in Latvian local cattle breeds
No full textSubmitted 2020-06-26 | Accepted 2020-08-18 | Available 2020-12-01https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.52-57In this study, inbreeding and effective population size of the Latvian gene conservation cattle breeds Latvian Brown (LB) and Latvian Blue (LZ) were analysed. The study was based on the pedigree data of 319 LB and 712 LZ cows that were alive at the time of data selection. The inbreeding level in LB and LZ has been increasing during the last decade and at the end of the year 2019, it was 2.61% and 5.20% for LB and LZ, respectively. The average increase of inbreeding from 2010 to 2019 was 1.80% for LB and 2.26% for LZ. The proportions of inbred animals with an inbreeding level greater than 10% were 0.60% and 2.14% in LB and LZ, respectively. Effective population size based on the rate of inbreeding decreased and was close or within the minimum range of recommended effective population size. The current study demonstrates that the inbreeding has increased, and the effective population size decreased in both populations. Therefore, the breeding organizations have to monitor and control the rate of inbreeding in LB and LZ populations over time.Keywords: inbreeding, Latvian Brown, Latvian Blue, native breedReferencesAddo, S., Schäler, J., Hinrichs, D. and Thaller, G. E. (2017). Genetic diversity and ancestral history of the German Angler and the Red-and-White dual-purpose cattle breeds assessed through pedigree analysis. Agricultural Sciences, 8, 1033-1047. https://doi.org/10.4236/as.2017.89075Doekes, H. P., Veerkamp, R. F., Bijma, P., de Jong, G., Hiemstra, S. J. and Windig, J. J. (2019). Inbreeding depression due to recent and ancient inbreeding in Dutch Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle. Genetics Selection Evolution, 51(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12711-019-0497-zFAO. ©2019. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS). Retrieved May 2, 2020 from http://www.fao.org/dad-is.Grīslis, Z. (2006). Blue cows in Vidzeme. Jelgava. BŠSA “Zilā govs”, 1–36. In Latvian.Grīslis, Z. and Šimkevica, D. (2018). Latvian Blue selection. BŠSA “Zilā govs”, Jelgava, 1–43. In Latvian.Grīslis, Z., Markey, L. and Zutere, R. (2005). The inbreeding analysis in Latvian Blue cow population. Proceedings of the 11th Baltic animal breeding and genetics conference, Lithuania, 65–69.Groeneveld, E., Westhuizen, B.v.d., Maiwashe, A., Voordewind, F. and Ferraz, J. B. S. (2009). POPREP: a generic report for population management. Genetics and Molecular Research, 8(3), 1158–1178. https://doi.org/10.4238/vol8-3gmr648Jonkus, D., Paura, L. and Cielava, L. (2020). Longevity and milk production efficiency of Latvian local breeds during last decades. Agronomy Research, 18(S2), 1316–1322. https://doi.org/10.15159/ar.20.064LDC. (2019). Latvian brown cow conservation program from 2019 and nearest future. Retrieved May 26, 2020 from https://www.ldc.gov.lv/upload/doc/doc20.pdf. In LatvianMäki-Tanila, A., Fernandez, J., Toro, M. and Meuwissen, T. (2010) Assessment and management or genetic variation. In Mäki-Tanila, A. et al. (eds.) Local cattle breeds in Europe. Development of policies and strategies for self-sustaining breeds. The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers (pp. 98–119)Mc Parland, S., Kearney, F. and Berry, D. P. (2009). Purging of inbreeding depression within the Irish Holstein-Friesian population. Genetics Selection Evolution, 41, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-41-16Mc Parland, S., Kearney, J. F., Rath, M. and Berry, D. P. (2007). Inbreeding effects on milk production, calving performance, fertility, and conformation in Irish Holstein-Friesians. Journal of Dairy Science, 90(9), 4411–4419. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0227Oldenbroek, K. and Van der Waaij, L. (2015). Animal Breeding and Genetics for BSc students. Centre for Genetic Resources and Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands. Retrieved May 26, 2020 from https://wiki.groenkennisnet.nl/display/TAB/Sørensen, A. C., Sørensen, M. K. and Berg, P. (2005). Inbreeding in Danish dairy cattle breeds. Journal of Dairy Science, 88(5), 1865–1872. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)72861-7Zutere, R., Grīslis, Z. and Sjakste, T. 2006. Breeding programs in Latvian livestock. Proceedings of the 12th Baltic animal breeding conference. Jurmala, Latvia, 6–13.
Latvijas apstakliem piemerota bullu ciltsvertesanas modela izstradasana
No full textSummary in English, RussianAvailable from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi
Cause Analysis of Students’ Dropout Rate in Higher Education Study Program
No full textAbstractThe main problem of higher education modernization is the balance between inputs and relevant outputs, specifically, the right balance of enrolled and graduated students. The strategic policy of higher education institutions may cause the number growth but not necessarily the education quality increase of the graduated students. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is, to analyse the causes of the first year students’ dropout rates in higher education institutions using the real data of engineering study program in Latvia University of Agriculture. The following factors were evaluated using the Proportional hazard model of Survival analysis, i.e., students’ gender; secondary school grades the priority of the program to study (first, second, or third) and the finance source (government-financed or self-finance). The results of this study show that the main reasons for dropping out are students’ low secondary school knowledge and low motivation to study engineering
[[alternative]]Fabrication of the Electrostatic Microactuator for Optical Switch Application by LIGA-like Process
No full text[[abstract]]LIGA process, which combines x-ray deep lithography, electroforming and micromolding techniques, is a major method for fabricating sub-micro microstructures with very high aspect ratio and batch production. However, standard LIGA whose lithographic source is x-ray synchrotron radiation is high cost, complex procedure and time-consuming. Thus several analogous processes, including UV-LIGA and Laser-LIGA processes, have been developed to overpass the barrier.
In our work, we have developed electrostatic optical switch which was used UV-LIGA and thick film process. Optical switch was used one set of masks for two processes. One was all SU-8 thick film process, another was UV-LIGA combined SU-8 thick film process. We have finished optical switch which was all in one not assembled. Advantages of optical switch are low cost, decrease micro structures assembled tolerances and increase active range of micromirror by being driven indirectly.
In our study, Actuators of optical switch which was sputtered metal are driven by AC 125V. Reflective ratio of micromirror is 17.6% in visible wavelength (632nm) and 20.5% in IR wavelength (1550nm).
Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Milk Urea and Milk Production Traits of Latvian Brown Cows
No full textThe objectives of this study were to determine the eff ects of environmental and physiological factors on milk urea content (MU) and milk production traits and to estimate heritability and repeatability for MU and milk production traits. Milk yield and MU, fat, protein, lactose, somatic cell count (SCS) and freezing point (FP) of milk were collected from the herd control data from August 2008 to August 2009 from dairy herd of the Study and research farm “Vecauce” of the Latvia University of Agriculture. Milk content parameters for total 794 milk samples were analyzed in accredited milk quality laboratory. The investigation data was processed using a program SPSS. Genetic parameters of MU and milk production traits were estimated by REML method using WOMBAT soft ware applying a repeatability animal model. The average MU was 16.55 mg dL-1 and milk yield was 20.37 kg per test day. The average fat, protein and lactose contents were 4.60, 3.56 and 4.70%, respectively. The average SCS and FP of milk were 2.40 and minus 0.529oC. Milk productivity traits varied depending on season, lactation number and stage of lactation (
Advantages and Disadvantages of Professional and Free Software for Teaching Statistics
No full textTeaching statistics leads to the problem of choosing software and appropriate solutions for necessary statistical course content. Although Excel is a common tool used in the statistical analysis, it is not in general a statistical tool. There are professional commercial statistical packages, such as SPSS and SAS, but they are expensive and therefore are not provided for undergraduate students or individual users. As an alternative way for the data analysis is to use free software. One of the most frequently used software in scientific research is dynamic open- source software and environment R
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