The objective of this study was to determine the perceptions of the impact of political instability on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria. In conducting this research, 350 questionnaires were distributed to some selected Foreign Direct Investors, Nigerians, and chief executive officers (CEOs) of indigenous companies. Out of the 350, 280 questionnaires were completed, returned and analyzed for this research. Chi-square statistics and frequency distribution were used for the evaluation of the perceptions of the impact of political instability on foreign direct investment in Nigeria. Two hypotheses were also developed on the same subject. The results of the tests conducted showed that fo reign investment is negatively affected by political instability in Nigeria. The results of the study suggest that it would be good public policy for the Nigerian Government to strike a balance between the nation's developmental objectives and the interest of foreign investors. The study makes some recommendations to help improve the climate for foreign investments.

The dispersion and mixing of passive scalars released from two concentrated sources into open-channel and homogeneous isotropic turbulent flows are studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). The simulations are conducted using two fully-parallelized in-house codes developed using the FORTRAN 90/95 programming language. A comparative study has been conducted to investigate the effects of the source separation distance, Reynolds number, relative length scales of the plume and turbulent flow, and source elevation on the dispersion and mixing of two plumes. For both flow configurations, four distinct stages in the downwind development of the cross correlation between the fluctuating concentration fields have been identified which feature zero, destructive and constructive interferences and a complete mixing state. Differences between the exceedance probability of concentrations for the single and total plumes are highlighted and analyzed, and the effects of destructive and constructive interference on the exceedance probabilities for the total plume are used to explain these differences. It is found that the relationship between the third- and fourth-order concentration moments and the second-order concentration moment can be well predicted using a clipped-gamma model. This leads to an interesting conclusion that all the higher-order (third-order and above) moments of the total concentration can be inferred from a knowledge of only the first- and second-order concentration moments of each single plume and of the cross correlation coefficient. From a spectral analysis, it is observed that there exists a range of `leading scales' at which the rate of turbulent mixing of the two plumes becomes the most efficient and the coherency spectrum of the plumes approaches the asymptotic value of unity quicker than at any other scales. / October 2016

As the legislation on vehicle emissions is becoming more and more stringent, increasing attention has been paid to the fine particles emitted by diesel and gasoline vehicles. The high number emission of fine particles has been shown to have a large impact on the atmospheric environment and human health. Researchers have shown that gasoline engines, especially Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines, tend to emit large amounts of small size particles compared to Port Fuel Injection (PFI) gasoline engines and diesel engines fitted with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs). As a result, the particle number emissions of GDI engines will be restricted by the EU6 legislation. The particulate emission level of GDI engines means that they would face some challenges in meeting the EU6 requirement. This thesis undertakes research in the following area. Firstly, the filtration efficiencies of glass fibre filters were quantified using a Cambustion Differential Mobility Spectrometer 500 (DMS500) to see if all of the particles from the sampled gas can be collected by the filters. Secondly, various valve timings and different injection modes such as double injection with a second injection after compression, single early injection and split early injection were implemented to measure the Particulate Matter (PM) emissions and combustion characteristics of a GDI engine under warm-up operating conditions. Thirdly, the techniques for removing volatile particles were investigated using a catalytic Volatile Particle Remover (VPR) and an Evaporation Tube (ET) with hot air dilution under various test conditions. The results show that for the glass fibre filters tested here, the transmission efficiencies of the particles are very low, indicating that PM sampling using fibre filters is an effective method of studying the particulate emissions from the engine. Particle number emissions using double injection with injection after compression were much higher than those with single injection during the intake stroke. Under 1200 rpm, 110 Nm cold engine operation, no reduction effect on PM emissions was shown by using split intake injection to further facilitate homogeneous mixture formation compared with single intake injection. Valve timings showed moderate effects on particulate emissions. Properly adjusted timing for exhaust valve closure led to reduced particulate emissions by a factor of about 2 and the combustion characteristics were not adversely affected much. The VPR temperature and exhaust residence time did not show much effect on the catalytic VPR performance once the mass flow rate of exhaust was above 0.09 g/s. Generally, the transmission efficiencies of the VPR follow the trends of the scaled PMP counting efficiency specification. Hot air dilution is effective in reducing the small size particles. At 23 nm, the transmission efficiencies are within the error range of the PMP specification. The catalytic VPR and the Evaporation Tube were all found to be effective in reducing the particle number of small size (nucleation mode) particles. Both systems have some particle loss mainly due to the physical effects of diffusion and thermophoresis. Until now, GDI engines have not been optimised for reducing particulate emissions as the focus has been on gaseous emissions and fuel economy. With careful re-optimisation of the catalyst light-off and engine calibration (especially for transients) then there is scope for GDI engines to meet forthcoming emissions legislation.

We define a new graph operation called the inner power of a graph. The construction is similar to the direct power of graphs, except that factors are intertwined in such a way that certain structural properties of graphs are more clearly reflected in their inner powers. We investigate various properties of inner powers, such as connectivity, bipartiteness, and their interaction with the direct product. We explore possible connections between inner powers and the problem of cancellation over the direct product of graphs.

The research investigated the impact of EU law and policies on direct taxation in REITs, and movement towards a harmonised EU-REIT with common direct taxation of REITs profits. It represents the first comparative study of EU member state REIT regimes to identify an emerging common understanding informed by European jurisprudence and Europeanization policy and theory. After identifying the fundamental elements of a REIT (following the original US model) within a context of Europeanization theory, the research examined EU policy mechanisms (such as goodness of fit and adaptational soft pressure) and the impact of relevant case law from the European Court of Justice. It then presented in-depth case studies of three member states: France (example of a well-established REIT regime), Bulgaria (a new accession state) and Spain (a recent REIT regime). The research found an emerging common understanding between member states’ REIT regimes, offering the prospect of a European harmonised REIT form distinguishable from the US model. It also found negative approaches to direct taxation in cross-border situations, and member state concerns about loss of sovereignty and tax base, which should be recognised within any harmonised direct tax regime. The research can claim to be the first comparative analysis of MS REIT regimes to address a common understanding, and thus is relevant to practitioners and academics in the fields of European law and international taxation. It has potential to contribute towards an improved common direct taxation approach and the harmonisation of European REITs within the wider processes of Europeanization. The research was limited to REIT regimes in EU member states, and further research could analyse relevant member state tax regimes outside the 'common understanding' REIT model, and further explores issues of loss of sovereignty and tax base in member states.

This thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part there is reported palladium- catalysed regioselective direct arylation of benzofurans with arylsulfonyl chlorides as the coupling partner to C2 carbon. The best reaction conditions of this reaction were investigated, then the influence of various arylsulfonyl chloride substituents to the reaction and finally it is reported direct arylation of C2-arylated benzofuran to C3 carbon to give diarylated benzofuran with different aryl substituents. In the second part, there is reported the synthesis of 2-(hydroxymethyl)-5,7-bis{5- [(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine)-4'-yl]thiophen-2-yl}-2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin and modification of its sidechain. As a starting material of the synthesis it was used commercially available 4'-bromo-(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine). The synthetic sub-steps included Suzuki cross- coupling, bromination and C-H bond activation. Then it was also reported the complexation of synthesized oligomer with zinc and iron cations.

Resumé The thesis examines local referendums, a form of direct democracy that is used the most in the Czech Republic. Nowadays, it is a standard part of municipal politics. The goal of the paper is to provide a complex analysis of the legislation, based primarily on relevant case- law, including the newest rendered in fall 2014. The thesis is composed of an introduction, nine chapters and a conclusion. The order of the paper largely follows the composition of the Act on Local Referendum. Chapter One examines the relevant constitutional and international legislation. Chapter Two describes the scope of topics that may be subjects of local referendums in general and also looks at the most frequent ones. Chapter Three concerns itself with the preparative committee - a body that puts forward the proposal to hold a local referendum - and examines its assembling and operation. Chapters Four and Five explores the review procedure of the committee's proposal conducted by municipal authorities and by municipal councils that render the final decision to hold a local referendum. Chapter Six focuses on the conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to achieve a valid and legally binding decision in a local referendum. Chapter Seven describes all four types of judicial review procedures that relate to local...

The aim of this research is to understand how corruption affects the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Studies of corruption and its relationship with FDI have yielded mixed results; some have found that corruption deters FDI others have found no relation between the two factors, while others have found a positive one. In order to further the knowledge of how corruption affects FDI this study argues that it is not only the level of corruption what might affect FDI but also the distance between host and home countries. This study presents two sections, the first one concentrates on a macroeconomic level analysis of corruption and how it affects FDI to Latin America. The second section analyses how corruption affects the decision-making process of allocating FDI to a highly corrupt host country at the firm-level. After controlling for institutional and transaction cost variables, results show that corruption distance has an asymmetrical impact. Host countries enjoying “positive” corruption distance compared with home countries as sources of FDI experience no significant increases or reductions in levels of inward FDI. However, “negative” corruption distance suffered by host countries is associated with significantly lower levels of inward FDI. Conversely, firms from home countries with high corruption are undeterred by high corruption in host countries. This study also analysed how corruption affected foreign investors at the firm level. To do so, this study researched the decision making process of allocating FDI into a highly corrupt host country. The results of the analysis show that corruption amongst bureaucrats, judges, and members of the government elite do not seem to have an impact on the decision making process of allocating FDI in the country because foreign investors are aware of the problem. However, firms from more corrupt countries seem to have an advantage when operating in a highly corrupt foreign location because they may possess knowledge of how to cope with the arbitrariness dimension of corruption. High corruption levels in the host country seem to have an effect on the entry mode utilised by firms from countries with lower levels of corruption. Based on the results presented on this study, MNEs from less corrupt countries might opt to enter a highly corrupt host country via wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) rather than joint ventures (JVs). This might be explained by the fact that these investors prefer to have more control over their firms’ operations in a highly corrupt country. Also, these managers need to protect their image and not to be associated with local partners that are perceived as corrupt. Finally, even though this study found evidence that all firms operating in Guatemala might participate in corrupt deals, those headquartered in highly corrupt countries are more willing to do so. This claim is based on the fact that firms from less corrupt countries might face stronger pressures from their headquarters to not engage in corrupt deals, whereas firms from more corrupt countries might not encounter such pressures.

This diploma thesis is dealing with the Czech retail market and an influence of foreign direct investment on it. The thesis is divided into five parts. First two chapters are focused on the theoretical definition of the foreign direct investment, trade as well and the tendencies in the international business in the 21st century. Third and fourth chapters are dealing with the inflow of the foreign direct investment into Czech Republic or with the status of the trade in the Czech economy. Fifth part is devoted to the Czech retail market -- its performance and evolution since 1989. In this chapter is also exercised comparison of the foreign and domestic enterprises in their productivity and performance.

This thesis describes the influence of Foreign Direct Investment on the Polish car industry and main characteristics of its development. There are data concerning the amount of realized Foreign Direct Investment to Poland as well as the list of branches in which they are mostly allocated concerning the car industry. The thesis also describes the development of the Polish motorism including the characteristics of models produced there. The last part analyses the four biggest automobile companies on the Polish market, which are specialized in the production of private and commercial motor vehicles. There are also data about the quantity of production, export and sales of these vehicles.