The thesis deals with the issue of cooperation amongst air carriers. There are mentioned several forms of cooperation in this field: bilateral agreements, global airline alliances and also very specific and current ways of cooperation which are mergers and acquisitions. The last mentioned forms are illustrated on specific examples of important European airlines which decided to improve their competitiveness by joining other air carrier or acquiring relevant stake in other airline. The trend of concentration in the aviation area has naturally affected Czech air transport market as well; therefore this thesis includes a separate chapter concerning acquisition of Czech Airlines by Korean Air which bought a 44 % stake in Czech flag air carrier. There are analyzed in detail the main impacts of the transaction from different points of view, including potential synergistic effects resulting from the cooperation. The thesis also deals with the recently established cooperation between Czech Airlines and its rival airline Travel Service which plans to buy a 34 % stake in Czech national airline and to become its legitimate shareholder besides Korean Air. The thesis includes an analysis of cooperation with this company as well.

This qualitative study deals largely with exploring the role of GSAs in schools. The analysis asks why sexual minority youth and allied heterosexual youth are the primary resource for educating their peers, faculty members, administrators, school boards about issues homophobia in schools. Related to this, the thesis also takes up the issue of the school as a heteronormative space, and subsequently asks how heteronormative structures affect student understandings of citizenship curriculum, learning, and social change. The data consists of three individual interviews, and one group interview. In total there were six participants, four female, two male, of varying sexual orientations. All participants were youths between the ages 15-18; all were students in the Lower Mainland, and all were active members of their school's GSA. Queer theory and poststructural theory form the theoretical infrastructure of the study. Drawing from both theatrical frameworks, this study attempts to bridge the perceived gap between theoretical representations and applied, qualitative based analysis in the hopes of opening up a more fluid avenue of inquiry. By way of conclusion I suggest that while beneficial to individual students, GSAs have become a "band-aid" solution for the systemic problem of homophobia in schools. I also argue that GSAs ought not be the only mechanism through which GLBTQI education and pedagogies of inclusion are fostered. Further to this, I recommend that a reconceptualized understanding of citizenship discourse, inclusive of communities, belonging, and personal responsibility would offer productive avenues to engage with heteronormativism, and other normalizing mechanisms within the school environments. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The diploma work deals with the trends in the aviation traffic and the development of main competitors in airlines industry. The first part is focused on the detailed description, evoluation and analysis of the Czech Airlines CSA and its integration into one of the global alliance SkyTeam. It also includes the present status and the future development of this regional carrier compared with big carriers affecting the global air industry. The work is drawn primarily from available information on airline alliances, which are compared in selected aspects of a chosen criterion and show their influence on the national carrier CSA. Comparison is based on the data from last two years.

A dearth of pre-existing research in the field prompted this thesis on whether traditional econometric analyses of war deterrent alliances are applicable to modern alliances for counter terror purposes. Apparent foundational and contextual differences between the two types of alliances and the costs and benefits member nations derive from each lead the author to theorize that factors contributing to the formation of each alliance are fundamentally similar. Multiple types of statistical models are used to measure variables from the Correlates of War and Polity datasets combined with custom variables in a new dataset concerning major transnational terrorist attacks and the resultant alliances in testing the effect of traditionally contributing formation factors on alliances against terrorism. The results indicate that some contributing factors are similar, extant analysis tools have utility and that further investigation is justified.

[pt] Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo identificar as alianças entre o governo municipal e os atores-chave da indústria de turismo, analisando suas implicações estratégicas, em termos de constituírem oportunidades, no contexto de Copa do Mundo e Jogos Olímpicos, para impulsionar o desenvolvimento socioeconômico sustentável do Rio de Janeiro. O produto de turismo envolve diversos segmentos do setor de serviços, em atividades complementares e interdependentes, que precisam aliar-se a entes governamentais para explorar suas potencialidades. À Prefeitura cabe promover o interesse público, podendo estabelecer parcerias com entes privados para garantir o bem comum e, especificamente, a sustentabilidade do turismo e a satisfação do turista e de moradores. Apesar da importância dessas alianças, existem poucas pesquisas sobre a rede de relacionamentos do setor de turismo no Brasil. Para preencher esta lacuna, a pesquisa objetivou analisar, qualitativamente, estas alianças estratégicas, com foco em ações específicas como Pacote Olímpico, Escola de Hotelaria Windsor, Rock in Rio, UFC-Rio e adoção de áreas públicas turísticas, entre outros. Esta pesquisa adaptou o modelo de análise estratégica relacional de Macedo-Soares (2011), no âmbito da pesquisa Processos de Inovação em Redes Estratégicas no Setor de Turismo: Alavancando Desenvolvimento Socioeconômico na Cidade do Rio de Janeiro - PRONEX 2006. Os resultados indicam que as alianças estabelecidas entre a Prefeitura e atores-chave de turismo constituem oportunidades para infraestrutura urbana e promoção da cidade, mas apresentam lacunas na qualificação de mão de obra. Estas oportunidades são analisadas, com aplicação prática em políticas públicas de turismo. / [en] This research aims to identify the alliances between municipal government and the main players in the tourism industry, analyzing the strategic implications, in terms of constituting opportunities, within the context of the World Cup and the Olympic Games, in order to leverage the sustainable socioeconomic development of Rio de Janeiro. The touristic product involves many segments in the service sector, in activities both complementary and interdependent, which need to ally themselves to governments so as to explore their potential. The municipality must promote the public interest, potentially establishing partnerships with private actors to guarantee the common good and, specifically, the sustainability of tourism and the satisfaction of tourists and residents. Despite the importance of those alliances, there have been few researches about the tourism sector network in Brazil. To fill this gap, this research strived to analyze, qualitatively, those strategic alliances, with focus in specific projects such as the Olympic Package, Windsor School for Hotel Staff, Rock in Rio, UFC-Rio and the adoption of public touristic spaces, among others. This research has adapted the relational model of strategic analysis by Macedo-Soares (2011), within the research Processes of Innovation in Strategic Networks in the Tourism Sector: Leveraging Socioeconomic Development in the City of Rio de Janeiro - PRONEX, 2006. The results indicate that the alliances established with the municipality and key players in tourism constitute opportunities for urban infrastructure and destination promotion, but show gaps in workforce training. Those opportunities are analyzed, with practical application in public policies for tourism.

The main topic of the thesis Breaking Free from the Dominance and Establishing Independent Policy: The Analysis of Saudi-Qatari Relations and its Implications on the Region of the Persian Gulf is a thorough analysis of the historical developments of bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar. This hierarchical relationship between the two states is analysed according to the theories of alliance formation, MENA foreign policy analyses and international hierarchy. The aim of the thesis is to ascertain how Qatar was able to break free from the subordinate position within the hierarchical relationship with Saudi Arabia. Contrary to other existing research within the field which explains the end of subordination mostly with the crisis in the dominant state, the present thesis addresses other possible factors in the subordinate state that ultimately cause the evasion of the subordination with particular emphasis on the case study in question. The thesis proposes a classification of several distinct eras in Saudi - Qatari relations and verifies them against the theories described above. The thesis' findings support the hypothesis that subordinate states can evade the subordination without a crisis in the dominant, but only in a very specific set of circumstances, which...

This thesis aims to explore the role of social network in the international market for the companies that plan to test their capabilities of social network for enhancement of business. In order to explore such capabilities, LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter and other social networks have been considered as examples, using companies from three different countries France, China and India. The findings highlight the social network contributing the acceleration of internationalization process and cost reduction. The methodology is used for assessing its relevance of moving internationally by the firms and assessment in the initial phase of implementation. However, its relevance is bigger in advanced stage of the implementation process. LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter can be obtained by new firms to obtain several benefits such as brand awareness and exploring new opportunities, customer retention and few other factors. This study results in providing complete knowledge to those companies or new startups that plan to move into international market after being into the business for few years locally.

Analyzing the various factors that strengthened the Hashemite regime's stability during the spread of chaos caused by the Arab Spring is deemed important; even though the wave of the Arab Spring has ended, Jordan's economy is still suffering and the public is still demanding reform nonetheless, the Hashemite regime is untouched. This research will analyze the regime-society bond in light of the Arab Uprising that has undoubtedly assisted in the survival of the kingdom by creating a framework by which protesters unconsciously adhered to that entailed calls for political and economic reform to be initiated by the existing regime. Furthermore, the Hashemite's most powerful allies made sure to provide military and financial assistance to ensure the regime and the kingdoms remain secure and stable. However, such aid did not come without a price; it was critical for the Hashemite regime to balance between maintaining its coordinated strategies with its allies to maintain the close relations and maintaining its sovereignty and the foreign policies that serve national interests.

The battle over federal Wilderness designation of Bureau of Land Management lands in southern Utah has entered its third decade. Throughout this lengthy debate numerous stakeholders have maintained involvement, including members of Utah's conservation community. Two of the most prominent wilderness advocacy groups in Utah are notable not only for their sustained involvement with the issue, but also for their divergent positions on how to resolve this public land dispute. This research examines those two organizations, the Utah Wilderness Association and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, through an analysis of their respective structural, organizational, philosophical, and tactical perspectives. Ultimately, the background of each organization's leadership, their organizational structures, their ability to mobilize resources, and their distinctive wilderness philosophies offer an understanding of how each organization perceived its mission and its ability to provide a construct for resolution of the Utah Wilderness debate.

Co-creation has been conceptualized in a number of ways but is generally referred to as an ongoing partnership between a firm and stakeholders (i.e. consumers) to collaboratively identify and solve mutually beneficial issues. While current scholarship has deepened our knowledge about the process of including consumers in the co-production of value, much remains to be learned. This is particularly true with respect to the consumer behavior side of the discipline as it pertains to creativity and motivation. Thus, the focus of the following three essays is to investigate how customer participation in the ideation of products and advertising influences down-stream responses, depending upon an individual's regulatory focus. According to regulatory focus theory, individuals are motivated to pursue their goals based upon two distinct self-regulatory systems known as promotion and prevention. Promotion-focused consumers are most concerned with the achievement of accomplishments and aspirations, which often results in approach oriented behavior. In contrast, prevention focused individuals seek to avoid negative end states, such as losses, and therefore are concerned with their security, duties, and obligations, resulting in avoidance-related behavior. These two distinct motivational states influence the way these individuals approach creative goals, which shares commonalities with co-creation. By its very nature, the goal of co-creation is to develop novel output, which often requires creativity. However, the way promotion versus prevention consumers approach creativity significantly varies, and therefore, the purpose of the present research is to understand how regulatory focus interacts with co-creation across three specific contexts to influence consumer responses. Essay 1, titled "From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Using Analogies to Increase Consumer-Brand Outcomes," finds across two studies that when engaging in co-creation, promotion focused individuals have significantly greater purchase intentions if first given an analogical reasoning task prior to a co-creation activity. Prevention-focused consumers (who are often considered less creative) can also experience heightened creativity and purchase intentions if first primed with images having common ground (near analogies) as inspiration, compared to promotion individuals who need images with less common ground (far analogies). In addition, study 1 found that an analogical reasoning task produces ideas that are significantly more creative than providing no task, whereas study 2 finds that far visual analogies produce ideas that are significantly more creative than near analogies. Two post-hoc studies also provide additional insights. Essay 2, titled "Advertising Co-Creation to Decease Texting and Driving: A Regulatory Focus Perspective," demonstrates that co-creation and creativity can also be helpful within a social marketing context (i.e. texting and driving). Construal level theory is combined with regulatory focus theory to show how user generated advertisements about the dangers of texting and driving are more effective at decreasing harmful behavior than an ad that was not self-created. However, it depends upon who the advertisement is created for (i.e. social distance). Across 4 studies, essay 2 finds that a co-created advertisement, as opposed to an ad that was no self-created, is more effective at reducing cell phone related distracted driving because it encourages deeper processing of information which then increases mental imagery and advertisement believability. However, the effectiveness of a co-created ad for decreasing harmful texting behavior can be further enhanced by asking promotion focused consumers to create a socially far advertisement (i.e. ad for an average college student) vs a socially near advertisement (i.e. ad for best friend) for prevention focused individuals. Analytical vs. imagery processing are offered as explanations. Essay 3, titled "Regulatory Focus and Creativity: How an Episodic Induction Enhances Self-Perceived Levels of Creativity and Downstream Consumer-Brand Responses," explores the differences between prevention and promotion individuals pertaining to their self-views of creativeness and how this influences brand responses. Specifically, 5 studies demonstrate that promotion individuals have more positive brand responses (i.e. willingness to pay) when engaging in a creative brand encounter because they have more certainty in their own ideas which increases self-perceived level of creativity. However, prevention individuals can also experience positive outcomes by appealing to their episodic memory through a remembering the past task, which helps them to have more certainty in their own ideas which then increases self-perceived level of creativity. These positive outcomes can be further strengthened by prompting prevention consumers to remember a positive past experience. In summary, these three essays provide a solid foundation of how regulatory focus interacts with co-creation and creativity to influence down-stream responses. Essay 1 provides evidence for the merits of giving consumers a creative task that matches their regulatory focus prior to engaging in a creative brand encounter. Next, essay 2 explores how advertising co-creation can be an effective way of reducing texting and driving behavior among college students. Lastly, essay 3 examines how self-perceived creativity influences downstream brand responses depending upon one's regulatory focus.