The topic of this diploma thesis is cross-border cooperation of the Moravian-Silesian region. It contains a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part focuses on regional development and regional policy, including the financing of development strategies. Furthermore, it covers the topic of cross-border cooperation and the characteristics of the Moravian-Silesian region. The practical part is focused on the investment project Hraniční vrch Lookout Tower located in the town of Albrechtice. This project was created in the framework of cross-border cooperation with Poland. Using the knowledge from the theoretical part, the outcome is processed as the evaluation of the impact of cross-border cooperation project on the development of the region in relation to tourism.

This doctoral thesis presents the basic and the main developments of the theories of the firm rooted in Transaction Cost Theory (TCT). Since the article of Coase on the nature of the firm, this question has been elaborated by number of economists. In my point of view, I would like to introduce the last theory developed by the representative of the school called New Institutional Economics. The theory concentrates on the role of institutions. We distinguish institutions formal and informal. The formal are laws, constitution, regulations, contracts and other written rules. The informal don't require a written form and they represent informal restrictions such as rules of behaviour, conventions, traditions and habits. The main purpose of the institutions in their various forms is mainly to protect property rights, enforce voluntary contracts and establish the physical and regulatory infrastructure to facilitate economic activity. Generally, we can call them the rules of the game. They inform us about possible economic behaviour and give us basic restrictions in this sense. First -- the theoretical part of this thesis, we can find a simple model with human asset specificity based on TCT. The main proposition is that transactions with a high level of asset specificity are more probably internalised because the firm handles better such transactions compared to the market, even if asset specificity increases the cost of coordination in the firm. If the hierarchy, for example through the formation of routines, may enhance the efficiency compared to the market, we can modify the previous model. The model developed according to a Knowledge-based view assumes that asset specificity reduces transaction costs inside the firm and increases transaction costs on the market. In the conclusion of the theoretical part is discussed the reply on first formulate hypothesis if the TCT is still compatible with a newer Capability and Knowledge based view. In my opinion based on the presented arguments and views, both theories are compatible, they can answer more questions and explain more issues. The last step links the aforementioned theories into one Theory of firm boundaries. In the practical part of the thesis, I bring basic arguments about the institutional framework quality in the Czech Republic. These arguments rely on the latest studies of the international institutions such The Transparency International, The Heritage Foundation, The Kurtzman Group and mainly The World Bank. Studies reveal certain weak arrangements concerning for example the number of procedures when starting a business, complicated construction permits, rigidity of working hours, time-consuming and administrative demanding tax system, duration of judicial process which results in ineffective contract enforcement and mainly poor protection of property rights. Taking these disclosures into account we have to say that emergent transaction costs are enormous. These transaction costs influence negatively the competitiveness of the firms and the whole Czech economy. Therefore a negative response to the second hypothesis relating to the quality of the institutional framework in the Czech Republic.

The most frequent intervention performed by physicians is the writing of a prescription. Modern medicine has been remarkably effective in managing diseases. Medicines play a fundamental role in the effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of health care systems. However, health care expenditure is a great cause for concern and many nations around the world struggle to contain rising health care costs. Pharmaceutical benefit management programmes such as pharmacoeconomics, drug utilisation review (DUR) and disease management have emerged as control tools to ensure cost effective selection and use of medicine. These managed care instruments are often used to determine whether new strategies or interventions, such as the implementation of a managed medicine reference price list, are appropriate and have "value". The general objective of this study was to investigate the influences of the implementation of a managed medicine reference price list on the usage and cost of antibiotic medicine in the private health care sector of South Africa. The research design used in this study was retrospective, non-experimental and quantitative. The data used for the analysis were obtained over a two-year study period (1 May 2001 to 31 April 2003) from the central medicine claims database of Medschem&. Data was analysed according to prevalence, cost and original (innovator) or generic medicine items. For the purpose of this study antibiotics referred to beta-lactams (penicillins, cephalosporins and "others"), erythromycin and other macrolides, tetracyclines, sulphonamides and combinations, quinolones, chloramphenicol and aminoglycosides. The results of the empirical investigation showed the total number of medicine items claimed during the study period amounted to 49098736 medicine items having a total expenditure of R7150344897.00. There was a decrease in the prevalence of original (innovator) products during the two-year period. The prevalence of generic products increased from 25.87% to 32.47%. A total of 4092495 antibiotic medicine items were claimed with a total cost of R526309279.43 representing 7.36% (n = R7150344897.00) of all pharmaceutical products purchased during the two-year period. Original antibiotics had a prevalence of 42.32%, while generic antibiotics constituted 57.68% of all antibiotic products claimed (n = 4092495). However, original (innovator) products contributed 62.32% and generic products 37.68% to the total cost of all antibiotics claimed. It was concluded that the beta-lactam antibiotics represented 56.99% of all antibiotics claimed (n = 4092495) and contributed 52.51% to the total antibiotic expenditure (n = R526309279.43) for the two-year period. The average cost of beta-lactam items ranged between R112.88 * 69.95 and R122.18 + 81.42. The Medschema Price List (MPL) was implemented in May 2001. The aim of this reference pricing system was to allocate a ceiling price to a group of drugs, which are similar in terms of composition, clinical efficacy, safety and quality, with the ultimate goal to reduce medicine expenditure. During the year of implementation of the MPL 62.24% of beta-lactam antibiotics claimed (n = 1303464) were MPL listed. These products contributed 43.25% to the total cost of all beta-lactam antibiotics (n = R157142778.38). Medical aid companies reimbursed R61649211.86 for penicillins claimed and MPL listed. If all penicillin products were claimed at the ceiling price set by the MPL, a cost saving of 2.79% could have been achieved. Cost analysis indicated that it is possible to reduce health care costs by implementing strategies with the aim to reduce medicine cost. Further research, however, is necessary and in this regard recommendations for further research were formulated. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

In the environmental context banks face direct, indirect and reputational risks from their internal operations and their external business activities. The current specific focus on the protection of the environment makes it essential for banks and their directors to be aware and stay on top of potential risks and liabilities. This is especially so because banks’ directors can be criminally prosecuted for environmental crimes. The application and effect of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) on persons convicted of an environmental crime or crimes has been identified as a possible new or added risk for banks and their directors. Banks in addition to their normal environmental risk and liabilities also need to contend with the possibility of lender liability. Existing legislation pertinent to lender liability does not expressly or specifically deal with lender liability. Absence of judgements on lender liability further exacerbates the risks and the uncertainty for banks in South Africa. Therefore, banks remain subject to legal uncertainty and associated risks. The issue of lender liability specifically with regard to the implication of “the person in control” requires clarification. Hence, it is recommended that legislation relevant to lender liability (National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998; National Water Act 36 of 1998 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008) be revised to specifically accommodate and protect lenders (lending banks) in certain distinct circumstances. The role of banks is that of an intermediary between borrowers and lenders of money. Therefore, it influences the direction and pace of economic development and by default steers and promotes either sustainable or non-sustainable development. Currently, mainstream banks are in effect financing a brown economy and hence subscribe to a weak form of sustainability. It would seem that mainstream banks are more concerned with managing the impact that environmental risk may have on bank lending than the impact of bank lending on the environment. The evolving nature of sustainability (from weak to strong and from a brown to green economy) demands a fundamental policy change for banks. It is expected that mainstream banks will be put under even greater pressure than before to make the transition from weak to strong sustainability. Hence, banks’ current environmental risk management systems will not be sufficient to cater for new environmental risks and liabilities that the move to stronger sustainability (in the form of the green economy) will present. Banks should adopt the stronger version of sustainability; formulate environmental principles that the bank will adhere to; incorporate these environmental principles into all aspects of its lending cycle, develop an environmental risk management system that should include as a minimum the identification of all the applicable legislation pertaining to the specific financing or lending of capital, risk identification, assessment of the specific risk, implementation of risk control measures, mitigation of the risk, risk monitoring and auditing. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In the environmental context banks face direct, indirect and reputational risks from their internal operations and their external business activities. The current specific focus on the protection of the environment makes it essential for banks and their directors to be aware and stay on top of potential risks and liabilities. This is especially so because banks’ directors can be criminally prosecuted for environmental crimes. The application and effect of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) on persons convicted of an environmental crime or crimes has been identified as a possible new or added risk for banks and their directors. Banks in addition to their normal environmental risk and liabilities also need to contend with the possibility of lender liability. Existing legislation pertinent to lender liability does not expressly or specifically deal with lender liability. Absence of judgements on lender liability further exacerbates the risks and the uncertainty for banks in South Africa. Therefore, banks remain subject to legal uncertainty and associated risks. The issue of lender liability specifically with regard to the implication of “the person in control” requires clarification. Hence, it is recommended that legislation relevant to lender liability (National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998; National Water Act 36 of 1998 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008) be revised to specifically accommodate and protect lenders (lending banks) in certain distinct circumstances. The role of banks is that of an intermediary between borrowers and lenders of money. Therefore, it influences the direction and pace of economic development and by default steers and promotes either sustainable or non-sustainable development. Currently, mainstream banks are in effect financing a brown economy and hence subscribe to a weak form of sustainability. It would seem that mainstream banks are more concerned with managing the impact that environmental risk may have on bank lending than the impact of bank lending on the environment. The evolving nature of sustainability (from weak to strong and from a brown to green economy) demands a fundamental policy change for banks. It is expected that mainstream banks will be put under even greater pressure than before to make the transition from weak to strong sustainability. Hence, banks’ current environmental risk management systems will not be sufficient to cater for new environmental risks and liabilities that the move to stronger sustainability (in the form of the green economy) will present. Banks should adopt the stronger version of sustainability; formulate environmental principles that the bank will adhere to; incorporate these environmental principles into all aspects of its lending cycle, develop an environmental risk management system that should include as a minimum the identification of all the applicable legislation pertaining to the specific financing or lending of capital, risk identification, assessment of the specific risk, implementation of risk control measures, mitigation of the risk, risk monitoring and auditing. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The most frequent intervention performed by physicians is the writing of a prescription. Modern medicine has been remarkably effective in managing diseases. Medicines play a fundamental role in the effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of health care systems. However, health care expenditure is a great cause for concern and many nations around the world struggle to contain rising health care costs. Pharmaceutical benefit management programmes such as pharmacoeconomics, drug utilisation review (DUR) and disease management have emerged as control tools to ensure cost effective selection and use of medicine. These managed care instruments are often used to determine whether new strategies or interventions, such as the implementation of a managed medicine reference price list, are appropriate and have "value". The general objective of this study was to investigate the influences of the implementation of a managed medicine reference price list on the usage and cost of antibiotic medicine in the private health care sector of South Africa. The research design used in this study was retrospective, non-experimental and quantitative. The data used for the analysis were obtained over a two-year study period (1 May 2001 to 31 April 2003) from the central medicine claims database of Medschem&. Data was analysed according to prevalence, cost and original (innovator) or generic medicine items. For the purpose of this study antibiotics referred to beta-lactams (penicillins, cephalosporins and "others"), erythromycin and other macrolides, tetracyclines, sulphonamides and combinations, quinolones, chloramphenicol and aminoglycosides. The results of the empirical investigation showed the total number of medicine items claimed during the study period amounted to 49098736 medicine items having a total expenditure of R7150344897.00. There was a decrease in the prevalence of original (innovator) products during the two-year period. The prevalence of generic products increased from 25.87% to 32.47%. A total of 4092495 antibiotic medicine items were claimed with a total cost of R526309279.43 representing 7.36% (n = R7150344897.00) of all pharmaceutical products purchased during the two-year period. Original antibiotics had a prevalence of 42.32%, while generic antibiotics constituted 57.68% of all antibiotic products claimed (n = 4092495). However, original (innovator) products contributed 62.32% and generic products 37.68% to the total cost of all antibiotics claimed. It was concluded that the beta-lactam antibiotics represented 56.99% of all antibiotics claimed (n = 4092495) and contributed 52.51% to the total antibiotic expenditure (n = R526309279.43) for the two-year period. The average cost of beta-lactam items ranged between R112.88 * 69.95 and R122.18 + 81.42. The Medschema Price List (MPL) was implemented in May 2001. The aim of this reference pricing system was to allocate a ceiling price to a group of drugs, which are similar in terms of composition, clinical efficacy, safety and quality, with the ultimate goal to reduce medicine expenditure. During the year of implementation of the MPL 62.24% of beta-lactam antibiotics claimed (n = 1303464) were MPL listed. These products contributed 43.25% to the total cost of all beta-lactam antibiotics (n = R157142778.38). Medical aid companies reimbursed R61649211.86 for penicillins claimed and MPL listed. If all penicillin products were claimed at the ceiling price set by the MPL, a cost saving of 2.79% could have been achieved. Cost analysis indicated that it is possible to reduce health care costs by implementing strategies with the aim to reduce medicine cost. Further research, however, is necessary and in this regard recommendations for further research were formulated. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to determine, whether the discourse of sustainable development (SD) has any impact on the academic public concerning the knowledge of the topics and principles of SD, or whether it has impact on the value orientation. A group of university students of economics was chosen for the purposes of this thesis as an instance of the academic public. The thesis consists of two main parts: the theoretical part and the analytical part. The theoretical part defines the theoretical base of following topics: the development of the human attitude towards the Earth; the warning messages that preceded the revolutionary year 1987; the basis of the sustainable development; selected topics and principles of the environmental pillar of sustainability; the environmental education; environmental sociology and the new environmental paradigm. The methods applied in the analytical part of this thesis are based on the quantitative approach, NEP and HEP, the environmental sociology. The overview of the discourse of SD from the point of view of the environmental pillar allows for the specific research the operationalization of the knowledge of the topics and principles of SD including the readiness to use those principles.

In Chapter 1 different phases of the application of exegetical methods with regard to texts in the New Testament were identified. Each phase provided a different perspective in response to questions about the contextuality of the New Testament. From the overview it became clear that the investigation of the historical background had received some attention, but it had not been as effectively utilized in the hermeneutical process as it could be, and had not been taken seriously enough. In Chapter 2, the place and function of the historical context or background of the New Testament in historical criticism, literary criticism and social scientific methods of exegesis were evaluated. Historical criticism often focuses on the different parts (forms) of the text, but does not consider the text as a whole to the degree required. Literary criticism focuses on the text as a whole. The Gospels are regarded as narrative texts. Narratology foregrounds the spatial aspects or topology of the Gospels. Socio-historical research on the world of the text, contributes to the study of the background of the New Testament. To enhance the progress already made, historical criticism and literary criticism can be supplemented by applying selected social scientific models. The use of such models makes it possible for socio-historical data to be systematized in a holistic interpretive framework. The use of social scientific models can bridge the historical distance between the text and its readers to avoid fallacies based on anachronism and ethnocentrism. A social scientific approach provides a holistic frame of reference for the interpretation of Biblical texts. However the approach may not pay enough attention to the topological or spacial aspects of the Gospel of Matthew. The model of advanced agrarian society and the pre-industrial city have not yet been applied effectively to the Gospel of Matthew. The current study fills this gap. In the study the model in terms of which an advanced agrarian society can be descibed, is used as a broad frame of reference within which the place and function of the Biblical jubilee can be studied. This diachronic overview of the research on the Biblical jubilee (Chapter 3) shows that no such study has as yet been undertaken with regard to the Biblical jubilee. Ancient economy developed from a simplistic agrarian society to an advanced agrarian society. The Roman Empire was the result of a long evolutionary process. Land was the primary economic resource in a self-sufficient society. The aim of the current research was to show that the socio-economic background of the first century forms the context within which the land and jubilee can be understood. The socio-economic background can be interpreted within a holistic perspective of first-century Mediterranean society. The social scientific model of advanced agrarian society includes four factors (family institutions, pre-industrial city, land tenancy and social stratification) that all influenced the land and economy of the first-century Mediterranean world. In Chapter 6, homomorphic models were used to simplify important and representative aspects of complex social structures, behaviour and relations. These models were used for the study of the political, economic and social systems of an empire or government. The current study used the social scientific model of advanced agrarian society as frame of reference for the interpretation of the place and function of the Biblical jubilee in the Gospel of Matthew. / Dissertation (DD(New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

The aim of the master thesis is to empirically analyze if there is a support for new classics or new Keynesians as a dominant theory of short-run aggregate supply curve. The analysis is based on dynamic panel data model for 38 countries and period between 1970 and 2014. Because the results show some evidence on negative significance of level of inflation in contrast with its variability, I conclude that there is support for the new Keynesian theory. I focus on examination of the panel data assumptions such as the stationarity of explanatory variables, existence of the individual or random effects, validity of homogeneity of slope coefficients and mainly the cross-sectional dependence of error terms. After testing for these assumptions, I choose the most suitable method of estimation for dynamic panel data models. I use these methods for analyzing both linear and non-linear specification of the given model. As a result, we can see that the selection of right estimation method plays a great role in final outcomes. I also check model robustness by including changes of real oil price as a proxy variable for the supply shock in the economy.

Since software and hardware is well available for automated text analysis and since a large data that describes real projects submitted to grant program is opened up, there is a possibility to follow phenomena of behavioral economics and psycholinguistics which evidence particularities in textual descriptions may be statistically associated with a reader's behavior or with a reader's decision-taking, which, in this case, involves an influence on final allocation of grant funds. The thesis uses forenamed areas as a starting-point and also employs quantitative indicators from the field of forensic linguistics in order to perform a computer-aided quantitative text analysis. The main goal is to evaluate from correlation perspective, if there in real operational programmes were present any associable relationships between the quantitative features of a proposed project's textual description and the amount of grant allocated to a project. The thesis is divided into four chapters, where it introduces basis, describes analyzed data and used methods, comments on made analyses and found relations, and all the performed research is summarized and evaluated in the last chapter.