M.A. / This study approaches a special area of comparative literature in English which has not been researched in any great detail to date. Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm, first published in 1883, had an Australian counterpart in Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career, first published in 1901. Both novels stemmed from a deep-rooted discontent with Colonial society and, specifically, with the status of women in that society. Both these novelists were early Colonial writers whose works proved to be watersheds in the development of the literary output of their respective countries. Both novelists have a similar status in their respective literature, and their novels show many comparable attributes ...

The Texas state gas tax has been 20.0 cents per gallon since 1991, and the federal gas tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. The gas tax is not only stagnant, but depreciating in value due to inflation. Thus, damage is being done to the infrastructure but the money needed to maintain and improve roadways is not being adequately generated. One proposed alternative to the gas tax is the creation of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee; with equity being a crucial issue to consider. This research used 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) Texas data to consider the equity impacts surrounding four VMT fee scenarios. Data were filtered and weighted to reflect results representative of Texas vehicle-owning households in 2008. Each scenario was run both statically and dynamically under the assumption that the VMT fee would replace the state gas tax. An assessment of the relative vertical equity of each scenario was made by calculating the Gini Coefficient associated with the proportion of state gas tax or VMT fee revenue generated by each household income level quintile. Results indicate that all VMT fee scenarios are essentially as equally vertically equitable than the current state gas tax system. Scenario 4 was designed to be inherently horizontally equitable because the per mile fee associated with each roadway type (urban or rural) was assessed to all vehicles driven on these roadway types at a rate calculated to generate needed funds to address the mobility and infrastructure needs of that roadway type. Scenario 3, a scenario favoring vehicles with high fuel efficiency, was found to be the least horizontally equitable. Scenarios 2-4 were able to generate additional revenue desired to meet the infrastructure and mobility needs of Texas set forth by the 2030 Texas Transportation Needs Committee. The large fee increase necessary to achieve the desired additional revenue may not be popular or possible. However, an evaluation of the philosophy governing each scenario designed to generate additional revenue is informative when it comes to equity impacts. No one VMT fee scenario affects all household income levels and geographic locations uniformly and it was not the goal of this research to design an equitable VMT fee scenario. Rather, the effect of each scenario on 2008 Texas vehicle-owning households disaggregated by household income level and geographic location are presented and left to the discretion of elected officials to decide which VMT fee, if any, would be best for their constituents.

The first part of this thesis relies on stated and revealed preference survey results across a sample of U.S. households to first ascertain vehicle acquisition, disposal, and use patterns, and then simulate these for a synthetic population over time. Results include predictions of future U.S. household-fleet composition, use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under nine different scenarios, including variations in fuel and plug-in-electric-vehicle (PHEV) prices, new-vehicle feebate policies, and land-use-density settings. The adoption and widespread use of plug-in vehicles will depend on thoughtful marketing, competitive pricing, government incentives, reliable driving-range reports, and adequate charging infrastructure. This work highlights the impacts of various directions consumers may head with such vehicles. For example, twenty-five-year simulations at gas prices at $7 per gallon resulted in the highest market share predictions (16.30%) for PHEVs, HEVs, and Smart Cars (combined) — and the greatest GHG-emissions reductions. Predictions under the two feebate policy scenarios suggest shifts toward fuel-efficient vehicles, but with vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rising slightly (by 0.96% and 1.42%), thanks to lower driving costs. The stricter of the two feebate policies – coupled with gasoline at $5 per gallon – resulted in the highest market share (16.37%) for PHEVs, HEVs, and Smart Cars, but not as much GHG emissions reduction as the $7 gas price scenario. Total VMT values under the two feebate scenarios and low-PHEV-pricing scenarios were higher than those under the trend scenario (by 0.56%, 0.96%, and 1.42%, respectively), but only the low-PHEV-pricing scenario delivered higher overall GHG emission estimates (just 0.23% more than trend) in year 2035. The high-density scenario (where job and household densities were quadrupled) resulted in the lowest total vehicle ownership levels, along with below-trend VMT and emissions rates. Finally, the scenario involving a $7,500 rebate on all PHEVs still predicted lower PHEV market share than the $7 gas price scenario (i.e., 2.85% rather than 3.78%). The second part of this thesis relies on data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) to estimate the welfare impacts of carbon taxes and household-level capping of emissions (with carbon-credit trading allowed). A translog utility framework was calibrated and then used to anticipate household expenditures across nine consumer goods categories, including vehicle usage and vehicle expenses. An input-output model was used to estimate the impact of carbon pricing on goods prices, and a vehicle choice model determined vehicle type preferences, along with each household’s effective travel costs. Behaviors were predicted under two carbon tax scenarios ($50 per ton and $100 per ton of CO2-equivalents) and four cap-and-trade scenarios (10-ton and 15-ton cap per person per year with trading allowed at $50 per ton and $100 per ton carbon price). Results suggest that low-income households respond the most under a $100-per-ton tax but increase GHG emissions under cap-and-trade scenarios, thanks to increased income via sale of their carbon credits. High-income households respond the most across all the scenarios under a 10-ton cap (per household member, per year) and trading at $100 per ton scenario. Highest overall emission reduction (47.2%) was estimated to be under $100 per ton carbon tax. High welfare loss was predicted for all households (to the order of 20% of household income) under both the policies. Results suggest that a carbon tax will be regressive (in terms of taxes paid per dollar of expenditure), but a tax-revenue redistribution can be used to offset this regressivity. In the absence of substitution opportunities (within each of the nine expenditure categories), these results represent highly conservative (worst-case) results, but they illuminate the behavioral response trends while providing a rigorous framework for future work. / text

The objective of the thesis was to focus on all the necessary requirements needed at first for establishing an airline company and then for establishing a regular air route. The thesis also contains a practical part - an analysis of Delta Air Lines company and her two already operated direct and regular air routes Prague - New York and Prague - Atlanta. The thesis has through the company focused on description of operating passenger air transportation from the point of view a network airliner. Part of the objective was to show the contemporary state of the air transportation branch and outlining its possible future development with regard to the chosen airline company.

Since the introduction of frequent flyer miles (e.g. Voyager miles) in South Africa, the concept has evolved in a number of ways. Currently, loyalty programmes are widely used in the consumer industry. Despite the fact that these programmes have been in place for several years, the South African Revenue Service (hereafter referred to as SARS) has failed to issue any legislation or guidance with regard to the treatment of these miles from an employees’ tax perspective. The fringe benefit implications of frequent flyer miles have been the topic of research both in South Africa and abroad. However, little research has been identified on the tax implications of loyalty programmes. This study re-examined past studies and literature identified on frequent flyer miles and analysed the impact these have on loyalty points earned on personal and corporate credit cards from an employees’ tax perspective. The study also extended past research and investigated loyalty points awarded to employees as an incentive from an employees’ tax perspective. The study had three specific objectives. The first objective was to analyse past research studies, court cases and other literature in order to establish the theoretical construct of this study. Secondly, it compared the treatment of frequent flyer miles earned by, or awarded to, employees in South Africa to the treatment of these in Australia and Canada. The third objective was to analyse the employees’ tax implications of loyalty points earned by, or awarded to, employees in specific scenarios. These scenarios were limited to loyalty points earned by employers on corporate credit cards and which are awarded to employees for personal use; loyalty points earned on personal credit cards as a result of business expenditure incurred by employees; and loyalty points awarded to an employee, as part of a loyalty programme operated by the employer, as an incentive. The concluding argument of this study was that loyalty points earned on corporate or personal credit cards, which are used for the benefit of employees, may be considered not to be taxable and that consequently, no employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, this argument is plagued by uncertainties and it is questionable as to whether this view will be supported by the South African courts and SARS. In the scenario where loyalty points are awarded as an incentive to employees, it may clearly be argued that these should be taxable with the result that an employees’ tax obligation will arise. However, the nature and value of the benefit, as well as the point at which the tax event occurs, may create inequities and is therefore uncertain. All these uncertainties highlight the need for guidance in this area from SARS. AFRIKAANS : Sedert gereelde vlugmyle (bv. Voyager miles) in Suid-Afrika in plek gestel is, het hierdie konsep in verskeie vorms ontwikkel. Vandag word lojaliteitsprogramme algemeen in die verbruikersbedryf gebruik. Ten spyte van die feit dat hierdie programme vir baie jare reeds in plek is, het die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens (hierna verwys na as SAID) steeds geen wetgewing of leiding uitgereik oor die hantering van hierdie myle uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt nie. Alhoewel die byvoordeelimplikasies van gereelde vlugmyle die onderwerp was van navorsing in Suid-Afrika sowel as oorsee is min navorsing geïdentifiseer oor die belastingimplikasies van lojaliteitsprogramme. Hierdie studie heroorweeg bestaande studies en literatuur oor gereelde vlugmyle en analiseer die impak daarvan op lojaliteitspunte verdien op persoonlike en sakekredietkaarte uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt. Die studie sal ook bestaande navorsing uitbrei deur lojaliteitspunte, wat as ’n aansporing aan werknemers gegee word, uit ’n werknemersbelastingsoogpunt te analiseer. Die studie het drie spesifieke oogmerke. In die eerste plek is dit om bestaande navorsingstudies, hofsake en ander literatuur te analiseer om ’n teoretiese basis te vestig. Tweedens is dit om die belastinghantering van gereelde vlugmyle verdien deur of toegeken aan werknemers in Suid-Afrika te vergelyk met die hantering hiervan in Australië en Kanada. Die derde oogmerk is om die werknemersbelastingimplikasies van lojaliteitspunte toegeken aan of verdien deur werknemers in spesifieke scenario’s krities te analiseer. Hierdie scenario’s is beperk tot lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werkgewers op sakekredietkaarte en toegeken aan werknemers vir persoonlike gebruik; lojaliteitspunte verdien deur werknemers weens sake-uitgawes aangegaan op persoonlike kredietkaarte; en lojaliteitspunte, wat deel vorm van ’n lojaliteitsprogram wat deur die werkgewer bedryf word, gegee aan werknemers as ’n aansporingsbonus. Volgens die studie se bevindinge kan daar aangevoer word dat lojaliteitspunte verdien op sake- en persoonlike kredietkaarte vir werknemers se persoonlike gebruik nie belasbaar is nie en gevolglik geen werknemersbelastingverpligting teweeg bring nie. Nietemin gaan hierdie siening gepaard met baie onsekerhede en word bevraagteken of dit deur die Suid-Afrikaanse howe en SAID ondersteun sal word. In die scenario waar lojaliteitspunte aan werknemers as ’n aansporing gegee word, kan dit duidelik aangevoer word dat hierdie voordeel belasbaar is en dus ’n werknemersbelastingverpligting teweegbring. Daar is egter onsekerheid oor die tydstip waarop die voordeel belas moet word, asook die aard en waarde van die belasbare byvoordeel. Hierdie onsekerhede onderstreep die behoefte aan leiding op hierdie onderwerp vanaf SAID. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Taxation / unrestricted

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L’intensità del trasporto alimentare è un trend destinato ad aumentare nella sua complessità. La ricerca attesta come sia rilevante analizzare “come il cibo viaggia”, forse più di “quanto il cibo viaggia”, nel mercato globalizzato dei prodotti agroalimentari, nelle realtà urbane che modificano le abitudini di consumo e nel “global food system” composto da cinque tipologie di sistemi agroalimentari. Gli impatti in sostenibilità sono strettamente dipendenti dall’efficienza del trasporto e della logistica, di merci agroalimentari e di persone che si spostano per l’approvvigionamento, dal campo al consumatore e viceversa. Eppure il concetto di food miles si è ampiamente diffuso tra gruppi di consumatori, attestando mutamenti culturali significativi. Si pensi all’idea tutta italiana di “km-zero”. “Può il trasporto del cibo essere economicamente, socialmente e culturalmente sostenibile, per conservare l'ecosistema?” Questa domanda, approfondita pedagogicamente, può essere riformulata: “How can consumers, economical stakeholders and policy makers become environmentally friendly about transportation of food?” Il quesito conduce all’interrogativo di quale formazione e ricerca interdisciplinare progettare per orientare gli sforzi verso questo fine. Una nuova formulazione concettuale potrebbe promuovere azioni sostenibili per la mobilità e i trasporti sulle lunghe, medie e corte distanze, per la filiera lunga e corta: il “Kmetro verde”. / The transportation of agro-alimentary products is constantly evolving. The research has been focusing on long distances, tied with the global market. But results in a lack of investigations in medium and short distances which also possess some efficiency gain. The investigation of these shorter mode of transport is paramount as they have significant impact on the triptych of sustainability. In this context, the concepts of "food miles" and of "km-zero" have spread widely among the consumers, attesting the community awareness regarding sustainability issues. However, as environmental concerns arise, such concept has showed it's limit. Therefore the question, "Can transportation of food become economically, socially and culturally sustainable, to preserve the ecosystem?", that lead to this concept, needs to be reassessed. Starting from a pedagogical standpoint, this question can be rephrased as “How can consumers, economical stakeholders and policy makers become environmentally friendly about transportation of food, to preserve the ecosystem?”. For a successful undertaking of such problematic, it is paramount to evaluate the need of novel training practises as well as the design of interdisciplinary research. A new formulation of such concept, embodied in "kmeter green", would aim to promote sustainable mobility on all the distances and chains' lengths.

Cette thèse étudie essentiellement des phénomènes touchant aux domaines aéronautique et spatial. Elle traite par simulations numériques des écoulements dans les tuyères de moteur-fusée, les écoulements d'arrière-corps d'avions, et les écoulements supersoniques en présence d'interactions onde de choc/couche limite. La motivation principale de ce travail a été de comprendre les différents facteurs qui gouvernent ces écoulements. Ce travail, soutenu par le groupe SNECMA, est consacré plus particulièrement à l'étude et à la modélisation des phénomènes en proche paroi en utilisant le code industriel N3S-Natur. L'objectif visé est d'améliorer les chaînes de conception et de développement industriels (RANS) et de développer de nouvelles méthodes de calcul (LES/DES) pour une meilleure maîtrise des systèmes énergétiques. Ainsi, les modèles mis au point dans cette étude ont été d'abord validés sur une variété d'écoulement simple (couche limite compressible, jet supersonique,...) avant d'être appliqués aux écoulements complexes (tuyères avec film de refroidissement, arrière-corps 3D, interaction visqueuse et décollement tridimensionnel). Une partie de l‘étude a été consacrée aux phénomènes transitoires d'amorçage rapide des tuyères propulsives. En ce qui concerne les aspects instationnaires, il a été montré, à travers l'étude d'une interaction onde de choc/couche limite, que la DES (Detached Eddy Simulation), tout comme la LES (Large Eddy Simulation), constitue un outil pertinent, permettant une prédiction fine des caractéristiques moyennes et fluctuantes des écoulements supersoniques décollés. Les résultats obtenus dans ce travail confirment la portée et l'intérêt scientifiques des études en aérodynamique supersonique.

This study examines the role of the Austin Friars in pre-Reformation English society, as distinct both from the Austin Friars of Europe and from other English mendicant orders. By examining how the Austins formulated their origins story in a distinctly English context, this thesis argues that the hagiographical writings of the Austin Friars regarding Augustine of Hippo, whom they claimed as their putative founder, had profound consequences for their religious platform. As their definition of Augustine's religious life was less restrictive than that of the European Austin Friars and did not look to a recent, charismatic leader, such as Dominic or Francis, the English Austin Friars developed a religious adaptability visible in their pastoral, theological, and secular activity. This flexibility contributed to their durability by allowing them to adapt to religious needs as they arose rather than being constrained to what had been validated by their heritage. The behaviour of these friars can be characterised foremost by their ceaseless advancement of the interests of their own order through their creation of a network of influence and the manoeuvring of their confrères into socially and economically expedient positions. Given the propensity of the Austin Friars towards reform, this study seeks to understand its place within and interaction with English society, both religious and secular, in an effort to reconstruct the religious culture of this order. It therefore investigates their interaction with the laity and patronage, with heresy and reform, and with secular powers. It emphasises, above all, the distinctiveness of the English Austin Friars both from other mendicant orders and from the European Austin Friars, whose rigid interpretations of the religious example of Augustine led them to a strict demarcation of the Augustinian life as eremitical in nature and to hostile relations with the Augustinian Canons. Ultimately, this thesis interrogates the significance of being an Austin Friar in fifteenth- or sixteenth-century England and their role in the religious landscape, exploring the exceptional variability to their behaviour and their ability to take on accepted forms of behaviour.

This thesis in historical-anthropological point of view deals with the ways of reception of ?miles christianus? ideal among Bohemian lower noblemen during the second half of the 16th Century. The medieval ideal of ?miles christianus? was revived in connection with new Ottoman Empire expansion in the South-East Europe. The theme is studied in case of Šťastný Václav Pětipeský of Chýše and Egrberk, a chosen lower nobleman. The attention was concentrated on the reconstruction of nobleman?s inner life and changes in thinking during his whole lifetime with additional insight into the history of Pětipeští of Chýše and Egrberk noble family. The paper contributes to the study of everyday life, political activities and thinking of Bohemian lower nobility before the Bohemian revolt in the context of ?new political history? research.