This diploma thesis is focused on the competitive advantage of the Czech republic in the global world of nowadays. First, it is important to explain the expression a "knowledge economy" or a "knowledge society". In my thesis, I will introduce the theories of human capital, knowledge economy, innovation, economic growth and divers sources of appropriate informations. After the introduction of these theories, I will follow up with the introduction of the Lisbon strategy and its analysis. Here, I will do a comparison of the EU, Czech Republic and the global economy. The reason of this thesis is to show a possible ways of development and economic growth of the Czech Republic. The Lisbon strategy reflects the complexity of this issue. Thus, the next chapters will be about the analysis of Finland's economic transformation and its current state. Following with the short introduction and analysis of the american and french education, science and research systém and shape. Thus, those acquired knowledge will serve me to make an outline of the possible solutions for the Czech Republic because our current situation enables us to inspire ourselves in the whole diversity and uniqueness of their economic and social systems and to apply their know-how in the broader context of the Czech republic.

The VUCA (which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) conditions have overshadowed the national and global higher education systems, and social and economic systems are increasingly becoming dependent on knowledge and innovations. There is a call for the global higher education systems to attain a new set of quality standards (Waller et al., 2019). Traditional teaching methodologies and outdated pedagogical frameworks lowered motivation and engagement in the learning processes and fueled the rising of the gap between theory and practice (Ferns, Rowe and Zegwaard, 2021; Hays, 2014). Work Integrated Learning is a pedagogical framework that holds tremendous potential for bridging this gap through up to date alternative means while reinforcing a sustainable engagement between industry, students and academia (Hays, 2014). This study was investigating the cause of contemporary challenges and the impact of emerging VUCA conditions in the ecosystem of students, academia, and industry. In the following, the main features and potential utilities of work-integrated learning (WIL) as a framework for presenting interactive learning innovations were explored. Moreover, the paper was also looking at the concept of the knowledge economy as a growth paradigm under the influence of the emerging internet tools which pave the doors for conducting simulated or virtual work-integrated learning by changing the ways of knowledge creation and its delivery. The primary research is based on a quantitative survey shared with a sample space of 35 KTH masters students, who were purposively selected due to, firstly their remote education experience, and secondly their participation in the learning through a scenario-based gamified online course. The research aims to identify the main areas that VUCA threatening higher education while assessing the utility of work-integrated learning to bridge the theory and practice gap and form a sustainable partnership between industry, students, and academia.  This study indicated the learning process in the higher education systems needs to be innovated by replacing the traditional teaching methods with more interactive alternative means. Hence, learning transformation per se can be considered as a major stimulus factor increating turbulence and VUCA conditions which affect student life, the higher education systems and the economic system as a whole. Our findings confirm students' high level of satisfaction in the experience of learning throughthe scenario-based simulated game, students experienced more engagement and collaborationwhile acquiring knowledge and skills in a more practical way. They also expressed a positive adaptive behaviour toward increasing the deployment of these alternative learning methods. Despite unfulfilled students' expectations with respect to soft skills developement and the quality of remote learning experiences, most of these issues are falling within the scope of pedagogical capabilities and collaborative features of work-integrated learning and are resolvable through systematical deployment and quality supervision of innovative learnings under these pedagogical frameworks. / VUCA (består av volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) förhållanden har överskuggat de nationella och globala systemen för högre utbildning, och sociala och ekonomiska system blir alltmer beroende av kunskap och innovationer. Det finns ett krav på att de globala högre utbildningssystemen ska uppnå en ny uppsättning kvalitetsstandarder (Waller et al., 2019). Traditionella undervisningsmetoder och föråldrade pedagogiska ramarsänkte motivationen och engagemanget i inlärningsprocesserna och satte fart på klyftan mellan teori och praktik (Ferns, Rowe och Zegwaard, 2021; Hays, 2014) Work Integrated Learning är ett pedagogiskt ramverk som har en enorm potential för att överbrygga denna klyfta med aktuella alternativa metoder och samtidigt öka ett hållbart engagemang mellan industri, studenter och akademi (Hays, 2014). Denna studie undersökte orsaken till samtida utmaningar och effekterna av framväxande VUCA-förhållanden i ekosystemet för studenter, akademi och industri. Vidare undersöktes huvudfunktionen och potentiella nyttan av arbetsintegrerat lärande (AIL) (WIL) som ett ramverk för att presentera interaktiva inlärningsinnovationer. Dessutom tittade uppsatsen på konceptet kunskapsekonomi (Knowledge Economy) som ett tillväxtparadigm under inflytande av de framväxande internetverktygen som skapar möjlighet för att genomföra simulerat eller virtuellt arbetsintegrerat lärande genom att förändra sätten att skapa ochleverera kunskap.  Den primära forskningen är baserad på en kvantitativ undersökning som delas med ett urvalav 35st KTH-masterstudenter, som valdes ut medvetet på grund av både deras erfarenhet av distansutbildning, samt deras deltagande i lärandet genom en scenariobaserad gamifierad onlinekurs. Forskningen syftar till att identifiera de huvudsakliga områden av högre utbildning som hotas av VUCA samtidigt som man bedömer nyttan av arbetsintegrerat lärande för att överbrygga teori- och praktikklyftan och bilda ett hållbart partnerskap mellan industri, studenter och akademi. Denna studie visade att lärandeprocessen i de högre utbildningssystemen måste förnyas genom att ersätta de traditionella undervisningsmetoderna med mer interaktiva alternativa metoder. Därför kan inlärnings transformation av sig själv anses vara som en viktig stimulansfaktor för att skapa turbulens och VUCA-förhållanden som påverkar studentlivet, det högre utbildningssystemet samt det ekonomiska systemet som helhet. Våra resultat bekräftar elevernas höga nivå av belåtenhet i upplevelsen av lärande genom det scenariobaserade simulerade spelet, elever upplevde mer engagemang och samarbete samt tillägnade sig kunskaper och färdigheter på ett mer praktiskt sätt. De uttryckte också ett positivt adaptivt beteende mot att öka användningen av dessa alternativa inlärningsmetoder. Trots ouppfyllda elevers förväntningar med hänsyn till utveckling av mjuka färdigheter och kvaliteten av deras distansutbildning uplevelse, faller de flesta av dessa brister inom ramen för pedagogisk förmågor och samarbetsegenskaper som arbetsintegrerat lärande erbjuder och är lösbara genom systematiskt utnyttjande och kvalitetsövervakning av innovativa lärande inom dessa pedagogiska ramar.

Text in English / In recent years, there have been tremendous advances in information technology, robotics, communication technology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, resulting in the merging of physical, digital, and biological worlds that have come to be known as the "fourth industrial revolution”. In this context, the present study engages such technology in the green economy and to tackle the techno-economic environmental impact assessments challenges associated with floating solar system applications in the agricultural sector of South Africa. In response, this exploratory study aimed to examine the development of a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based support platform for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and due-diligence analyses for future planned agricultural floating solar systems, especially with the goal to address the vast differences between the environmental impacts for land-based and water-based photovoltaic energy systems. A research gap was identified in the planning processes for implementing floating solar systems in South Africa’s agricultural sector. This inspired the development of a novel GIS-based modelling tool to assist with floating solar system type energy infrastructure planning in the renewable energy discourse. In this context, there are significant challenges and future research avenues for technical and environmental performance modelling in the new sustainable energy transformation. The present dissertation and geographical research ventured into the conceptualisation, designing and development of a software GIS-based decision support tool to assist environmental impact practitioners, project owners and landscape architects to perform environmental scoping and environmental due-diligence analysis for planned floating solar systems in the local agricultural sector. In terms of the aims and objectives of the research, this project aims at the design and development of a dedicated GIS toolset to determine the environmental feasibility around the use of floating solar systems in agricultural applications in South Africa. In this context, the research objectives of this study included the use of computational modelling and simulation techniques to theoretically determine the energy yield predictions and computing environmental impacts/offsets for future planned agricultural floating solar systems in South Africa. The toolset succeeded in determining these aspects in applications where floating solar systems would substitute Eskom grid power. The study succeeded in developing a digital GIS-based computer simulation model for floating solar systems capable of (a) predicting the anticipated energy yield, (b) calculating the environmental offsets achieved by substituting coal-fired generation by floating solar panels, (c) determining the environmental impact and land-use preservation benefits of any floating solar system, and (d) relating these metrics to water-energy-land-food (WELF) nexus parameters suitable for user project viability analysis and decision support. The research project has demonstrated how the proposed GIS toolset supports the body of geographical knowledge in the fields of Energy and Environmental Geography. The new toolset, called EIAcloudGIS, was developed to assist in solving challenges around energy and environmental sustainability analysis when planning new floating solar installations on farms in South Africa. Experiments conducted during the research showed how the geographical study in general, and the toolset in particular, succeeded in solving a real-world problem. Through the formulation and development of GIS-based computer simulation models embedded into GIS layers, this new tool practically supports the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA Act No. 107 of 1998), and in particular, associated EIA processes. The tool also simplifies and semi-automates certain aspects of environmental impact analysis processes for newly envisioned and planned floating solar installations in South Africa. / Geography / M.Sc. (Geography)

The main purpose of this research is to establish whether ICT models as implemented in distance education do help to render desirable results (increment in throughput, meeting clientele expectations, and reduction in learner drop-outs). If it is not the case, what could be done to overcome the established hindrance? The researcher employed programme evaluation (PE) which integrates both the positivistic and phenomenological aspects of research. The samples were drawn from the population group through probability and non-probability techniques. Different research strategies within PE such as discovery, inspection and auditing were at first employed to gauge the physical presence of what is being achieved by Unisa through use of myUnisa & DVC; followed by the use of the surveys (personal interviews, administered questionnaires, focus group interviews). The ultimate outcomes of the said research activities are audiovisual recordings, statistically analysed transcripts and questionnaire data. The researcher employed the following key questions in grappling with issues in this area; their findings are also given: i. Does the application of ICTs facilitate and enhance flexible learning at Unisa? With reference to flexible delivery as it relates to aspect of teaching and learning in Engineering, it has been established that minimal use is made of ICTs. Are the technologies correctly applied for teaching and learning? Based on the evidence of research findings it has been established that technology application is mainly used for administrative support rather than for teaching and learning. iii. Do the instructional design and technological applications meet the needs of their users? As matters stand, the study suggests that users' expectations through rating their perceptions and attitudes (academics, tutors, instructional designers, multimedia developers and learners), are far from being met (as all the critical parts of the models are not yet in place regarding the Engineering and other departments). According to the main finding, while there is some evidence of efforts aimed at proper implementation, underutilisation of the ICTs appears to be the main problem, as established at Unisa and elsewhere. The research is concluded through a number of recommendations based on the established findings. / Educational Studies / (D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies))

The objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between the demographic variables, work-life balance (as measured by the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen), job satisfaction (as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire) and turnover intention (as measured by the Turnover Intention Scale); to determine whether the demographic variables and work-life balance significantly predict job satisfaction and turnover intention; and to determine the differences between biographical groups. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research design was applied to a stratified random sample of 79 employees in a South African IT company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, independent t-tests and regressions were used to analyse the data. Analysis revealed that job satisfaction has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention. Furthermore, the work-home interface sub-dimensions of work-life balance have both a positive and negative relationship with job satisfaction and turnover intention. There are significant differences between the various biographical groups. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology

During the year 2007 when this thesis was completed the European Union could look back at fifty years of collaboration, which began with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and which has developed from being mainly economic in character to incorporating a political as well as a social dimension at the European level. In 2007 the European Union also commemorated the twentieth anniversary of Erasmus, its higher education mobility programme. It is this relatively new political dimension which I have been interested in investigating in this thesis. More precisely, it is the political construction of a common European identity which is analysed using a critical discourse analysis approach. The major aim of this thesis has been two-fold. The first aim has been to investigate how the European is constructed in the discourse contained within the official European Union documents. I have been interested in analysing the various structures, in the form of ideas and norms which are used to construct 'the European'. The second aim has been to explore whether the role of higher educated, as constructed in the official European Union discourse, is given a similar identity-making role as education is argued to have in the nation-state according to the theory on national identity. I argue that there are three versions of European identity construction, i.e. cultural, civic, and neo-liberal, with their own relationship to higher education, present in the empirical material analysed, consisting of official European Union documents. Further, this thesis is also a study of the power of modern government. I argue that there is an increase in normative soft power where 'the Good European' is not something 'you' are but something 'you' become by being a responsible active citizen. Through the use of critical discourse analysis I illuminate the power which resides in the language in the discourse analysed. Thus, I have been interested in investigating how the discourse analysed works to both include and exclude individuals. / Under 2007 då denna avhandling färdigställdes kunde den Europeiska Unionen se tillbaka på femtio år av samarbete som började med Romfördraget 1957 och som har utvecklats från att vara framförallt ekonomiskt till att även behandla politiska och sociala frågor på den europeiska nivån. År 2007 firade den Europeiska Unionen även tjugoårsjubileet för Erasmus, sitt program för rörlighet inom högre utbildning. Det är denna relativt nya politiska dimension som jag har varit intresserad av att undersöka i avhandlingen. Närmare bestämt, det är den politiska konstruktionen av en gemensam europeisk identitet som analyseras med hjälp av kritisk diskurs analys. Syftet med avhandlingen har varit tvådelat. Det första syftet har varit att undersöka hur europén skapas i diskursen som finns att finna i officiella EU policy dokument. Jag har varit intresserad av att analysera de olika strukturer, i form av idéer och normer som används för att konstruera 'europén'. Det andra syftet har varit att undersöka om högre utbildning, som den konstrueras i den officiella EU diskursen, har samma identitetsskapande roll som utbildning sägs ha i nationalstaten enligt nationell identitetsteori. Jag påstår att det finns tre versioner av europeisk identitet, i.e. kulturell, politisk och neoliberal, var och en med sin egen relation till högre utbildning, i det empiriska materialet, bestående av officiella EU dokument, som har undersökts. Dessutom, avhandlingen är en studie av den makt som är del av modernt styrande. Jag påstår att det har varit en ökning då det gäller 'mjuk. makt där en 'God Europé' inte är något 'du' är utan något 'du' blir genom att vara en ansvarstagande aktiv medborgare. Genom kritisk diskursanalys belyser jag uttrycken av makt som finns att finnas i den diskurs jag analyserar. Med andra ord, jag har varit intresserad av att undersöka hur den analyserade diskursen både inkluderar och exkluderar individer.

Inspiré par la réflexion quant aux nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail de la nouvelle économie, ce mémoire s’intéresse à la question des heures supplémentaires non formellement rémunérées chez une frange de travailleurs hautement qualifiés, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo. Très innovantes pour les employeurs, ces formes d’organisation, en particulier l’organisation par projets, ne sont pas sans poser des problèmes aux travailleurs. À l’instar des travailleurs du savoir qui sont souvent prêts à investir de longues heures au travail, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo travaillent fréquemment en heures supplémentaires. Or ces heures supplémentaires sont non seulement non rémunérées, mais elles sont aussi longues et fréquentes. Comment en vient-on à faire accepter aux concepteurs cette situation, sans toutefois exiger d’eux qu’ils travaillent en heures supplémentaires? Pour explorer cette question, les discours de 53 concepteurs de jeux vidéo montréalais ont été analysés. Les résultats de cette recherche dévoilent une explication basée sur un système informel de récompenses et de châtiments qui induit chez la majorité des concepteurs de jeux interrogés une propension à travailler en heures supplémentaires non rémunérées. / Inspired by the reflection made on the new forms of work organization system brought by the new economy, this M. Sc. Thesis is interested in unlimited overtime informally compensated for, among a highly skilled group of workers: video game developers. Innovative from employer’s standpoint, these types of organization system, in particular the project-based system does generate problems for the workers. Like the knowledge workers who are willing to invest long hours of work, the video game developers frequently work overtime. Not only is this overtime unpaid, but also it is long and frequent. How does management come to make the developers consent to such a demand, without requiring them to work overtime? To explore this question, we analyzed the interviews done with 53 designers from the Montreal’s video game industry. Indeed, interviews revealed that a majority of game developers make unlimited unpaid overtime on a regular basis. The results of this research offer an explanation based on an informal system of rewards and punishments.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'économie de développement, et tente de traiter la question de blocage économique dans la région arabe, une situation qui a longtemps marqué cette zone. Nous proposons une nouvelle carde d'analyse qui adopte la notion de l'économie fondée sur la connaissance (EFC), qui a été élaboré par la Banque Mondiale, dans laquelle cette économie est composée de quatre piliers, a savoir : incitation économique et régime institutionnel, éducation et ressources humaines, Système d'innovation et l'infrastructure d'information (TIC). La thèse emploie le concept de l'EFC afin d'inspecter, d'analyser et d'évaluer la situation économiques dans les pays arabes depuis l'indépendance et jusque la veille des révolutions arabes, nommé : le printemps arabe. A travers de cette thèse nous élaborons plusieurs types d'analyse, et à la fin de thèse nous proposons un modèle économétrique permettant l'évaluation de la contribution de la connaissance à la croissance et au développement dans ces pays. / This thesis is part of the economics of development. It addresses the issue of the economic morass in which the Arab region has been mired for decades. We suggest a new analytical framework that builds upon the concept of knowledge-based economies and its four pillars – economic incentive and institutional regime, education and human resources, innovation system, and, finally, information infrastructure (ICT) - as conceived by the World Bank. Our thesis mobilizes this concept of knowledge-based economies in order to analyze and evaluate the state of the economy in the Arab region from the independence period to the eve of the revolution in Arab countries ' Arab spring'. Throughout the thesis, we develop several types of analysis and we conclude with an econometric model, that assesses the contribution of knowledge to growth and development in the Arab region.

Cette thèse se propose d’explorer les modalités de constitution d’un domaine de production de savoirs dits académiques dépendant du pouvoir politique. La première partie examine la convergence de trajectoires individuelles vers une activité relativement nouvelle, située au carrefour de champ professionnels et centrée sur l’analyse de la politique étrangère turque menée depuis 2003 par le gouvernement du parti AKP. Partant de là, la seconde partie s’attache plus particulièrement aux liens des acteurs de l’espace identifié avec les responsables gouvernementaux. Il apparaît que ce domaine constitue un champ d’activité dont la structure concentrique découle de la proximité d’une communauté épistémique en son sein avec le champ politique. Par voie d’institutionnalisation et de cooptation du reste du champ, les membres de cette communauté parviennent à imposer une conception utilitaire des sciences sociales permettant de produire des savoirs convergent avec les priorités politiques du moment. La troisième partie examine donc le contenu de ces savoirs de sorte à démontrer le rôle de médiateur joué par le champ expert. Il se confirme alors que sa vocation est de convaincre diverses parties-prenantes, en Turquie et à l’étranger, de la légitimité et l’opportunité du projet hégémonique du gouvernement turc en direction du Moyen-Orient arabe. En définitive, par l’étude de cette configuration experte, a été aussi posé la question de la profondeur de la rupture créée par l’AKP dans le mode de gouvernement et les orientations géopolitique de la Turquie. L’analyse conclut à une rupture dans la continuité / This Ph. D. research offers an opportunity to explore the form of dependency to political power maintained by a self-labelled academic knowledge production domain. This study is based on the case study of Turkish Middle Eastern policy expertise. The first part examines the convergence of individual trajectories towards a relatively new activity in Turkey, located at the intersection of various professional fields and centered on the analysis of the AKP government foreign policy since 2003. The second part then focuses on the links that exist between the previously identified actors and statesmanship. It soon appears that this knowledge production forms a field of activity which concentric structure derives from the proximity of the epistemic community at its very center with the political arena. Through institutionalization and cooptation with the State’s material support, the epistemic community members manage to impose its utilitarian conception of social sciences to the whole expertise field, thereby bringing its actors to design knowledge convergent with the time’s policy priorities. The last part of this work consists of a study of this expertise’s content in order to demonstrate the go-between function played by experts. It appears ultimately that their mission is to convince foreign policy stakeholders in Turkey and abroad of the legitimacy and opportunity of Turkey’s hegemonic project towards the Arab Middle East (2003-2013). Finally, through the study of this expert configuration, it is the question of policy change and geopolitical shift that has been examined. The thesis concludes on the hypothesis of change within continuity

L'objet de cette thèse porte essentiellement sur deux points. Le premier est de démontrer que l'intégration du droit d'auteur, telle qu'elle a actuellement lieu dans les pays en voie de développement rencontre d'importantes difficultés. Une analyse du droit positif international permettra de constater que les conventions internationales en matière de droit d'auteur ne permettent pas de répondre aux problématiques se posant dans les pays en voie de développement. Ensuite, une étude du droit d'auteur en République Islamique d'Iran ainsi qu'en République d'Inde permettra d'illustrer les difficultés auxquelles le législateur dans les pays en voie de développement doit faire face, notamment vis-à-vis de l'équilibre délicat qu'il lui incombe de trouver entre une harmonisation avec le droit international d'une part, et les besoins des populations en termes d'accès à la connaissance d'autre part. Le second point vise à analyser les perspectives pour une intégration efficace du droit d'auteur dans les pays en voie de développement, d'abord celles tenant à l'émergence de l'économie de la connaissance (qui a contribué au développement d'importants mécanismes d'assouplissement), ensuite celles déduites des spécificités même d'un droit d'auteur instaurant un équilibre, telles que la valorisation des limitations et exceptions, accompagnée de la mise en place d'un contexte favorable au droit d'auteur. / The purpose of this thesis is two-folded. First of all, this study aims at demonstrating that the integration of copyright, as it is currently taking place in developing countries remains problematic. An in-depth analysis of the state of international copyright law will help demonstrate that international conventions do not tackle the particular issues arising in developing countries. A detailed study of the copyright legislations in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of India will also help illustrating the difficulties encountered by the legislator in developing countries, who needs to strike a delicate balance between the harmonization with international law on the one hand, and the needs of the people in terms of access to knowledge on the other. Second of all, this research aims at presenting the prospects for an effective integration of copyright law in developing countries, including those relating to the emergence of the knowledge economy (which has contributed to the development of key flexibility mechanisms). Prospects will also be deduced from the specificities of a balanced copyright legislation, by analyzing the importance of achieving the full potential of limitations and exceptions, and establishing an external environment conducive to copyright.