This thesis analyzes the supply and value added chains beween Germany and the Czech Republic. Further, the effects of foreign direct investment on the respective economies are discussed. The thesis also investigates the impact of FDI on the automotive industry and the companies within. To illustrate the topic, the case study of the acquisition of Škoda by the Volkswagen Group is presented.

The massive historiography dealing with the problem of Germany's development in the first half of twentieth century has been strongly influenced by the notion that certain peculiar national characteristics led Germany down a Sonderweq, or "special path," which diverged from that of other Western European nations. However, by helping to focus scholarly attention on various political, social and intellectual developments which took place in Germany in the nineteenth century, the Sonderweq thesis has distracted scholars from examining more closely the possible impact which the interplay of international relations had on Germany's development during this pivotal period. The present study examines the extent to which British foreign policy affected the growth of authoritarianism and the decline of liberalism in Prussia during the period 1848-1871, and how certain Intellectual currents in England at the time affected both the formulation and the expression of British policy regarding Prussia. By examining both the policies pursued by British statesmen at certain key points during the period 1848-1871, and the views expressed by a group of highly idealistic British liberal commentators who watched affairs in Prussia closely during this period, I have attempted to demonstrate the following: firstly, that existing interpretations of British policy regarding Prussia have overemphasized the role of liberal idealism in the calculations of British policy-makers, who appear instead to have consistently pursued pragmatic policies aimed at a Prussian-led unification of Germany; and secondly that it was this latter group of British commentators who provided policy-makers with a style of rhetoric which obfuscated the pragmatic considerations underlying British policy. Moreover, it was this same corpus of liberal, "Whig" commentary which laid the conceptual foundations for what was to become the standard interpretative approach to German history, particularly amongst Anglo-American historians writing since 1945 - the Sonderweq thesis. Thus, by separating the rhetoric from the actual practice of British policy, and by identifying the liberal biases which pervaded British liberal discourse on Prussia during this period, I have attempted to clarify Britain's role in the important developments taking place in Germany at this time, while broadening our appreciation of how and why subsequent scholarship on the German question has so readily embraced the notion that German history is "peculiar". / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This diploma thesis deals with German security and foreign policy in the period from its reunification in 1990 until now and focuses on deployment of German soldiers abroad. The aim of this thesis is to analyse eleven most important cases, in which Germany decided to support military missions abroad and to find out if in the decision making process were prevailing normatively guided factors corresponding with concepts of multilateralism, civilian power and antimilitarism or pragmatic guided factors regarding rather economical, geopolitical or other interests. The chosen cases are analysed using single-case studies and sorted into three subchapters following the terms of office of German chancellors. The results of these analyses are presented in the form of a table.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The First World War was a long stalemated war in which millions of men fought and died. Many studies have looked at the reasons soldiers fought and stopped fighting. In this study, the perceptions that Belgian soldiers had of their enemy, Germany, are looked at. The Belgian army was stationed on a small part of the front at the coast, the last part of Belgium that is un-occupied. The war can be divided into three phases: the first phase is the invasion until the Germans were stopped, the second begins with the stalemate and the development of trench warfare on the Western Front, and the third and last phase is the pushing back of the Germans and final victory. In the first phase with the invasion and brutality of the Germans in Belgium, Belgian soldiers formed a view of Germans as barbarians, capable of anything. With the second phase the perceptions started to diverge among the men, depending on experience and surroundings of the soldiers; some get use to their new environment, old and new conflicts resurfaced, Germans faded into the background. On the other hand the war was still going on, violence of war was all around them, and brothers in arms were killed. In the third phase soldiers became enthusiastic again because of the prospect of being able to go home. With the ending of the war old grudges were not settled. The Peace treaty was not what was expected. A lot of memorials built at the time reflected views of Germany that very explicitly highlighted their perceived misbehavior, especially at the beginning on the war. Naturally this led to tensions between Belgium and Germany. Many Belgians never forgot what happened during the war, nor let go of their views that were formed.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2010 / English is listed as the official or second official language in forty five countries. It is the majority language in twenty seven countries. English is spread vastly over the world, resulting in scores of speakers (Kitao, 1996). However, in countries where English is not the dominant language, language schools are available to assist in the acquisition of the language. It is stated that EFL methods are effective and thriving in teaching English to non-native speakers. It is further pointed out that EFL methods rival those used in traditional classes which mainly use teacher-orientated-language whereas TEFL focuses on enhancing student-orientated-language in a classroom (http://teflonline.com). The research’s importance stems from the area of focus and purpose. It is the primary purpose of this paper to examine whether improved possibilities and imperatives of language acquisition to subjects and teachers are offered by TEFL methods. The dissertation derives greater primary importance upon consideration of the effectiveness of TEFL in multi-lingual classrooms. This dissertation will determine whether EFL methods are in fact more effective and efficient in teaching English than other known methods. On another point it should then be possible to improve TEFL methods and take them to further possibilities such as online classes or web-based-training. The dissertation’s aim is to critically review TEFL as an effective method of teaching English in a multi-lingual environment. This is done by incorporating the TEFL teaching methods into an experimental classroom of students from different ethnical backgrounds, age groups and mother tongues – except English. By critiquing the TEFL course content and using contextual and literature reviews, internet research, questionnaires, observations, interviews and formative assessment opportunities, data were gathered on participant perspectives on the following key questions of the research: 1. Do the TEFL teaching techniques differ from those in traditional English classrooms? 2. If this is the case, how do these techniques differ? 3. Do the students benefit from TEFL, or may/can they benefit? 4. And do teachers benefit by using TEFL techniques in the classroom? The Researcher is a qualified TEFL educator and aims to make an in-depth study of EFL techniques and whether it can be effective in a multi-lingual classroom. The study is conducted at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft, Aalen (HTW Aalen) and the Educcare day-care centre in Stuttgart, Germany. xvi Three case studies were conducted throughout the course of this research. A total of fifteen months and thirty-six subjects of different ages, ethnicities and genders participated in observational case studies. The remaining nine months were utilised in preparation of the case studies and drafting of the research paper. The conclusions drawn from this research are definitive distinctions in the subjects’ ability to acquire English by means of EFL methods. The EFL methods were widely accepted by the case subjects. The research showed that the subjects enjoyed the student-orientated classroom, because they felt included in the proceedings of the lessons. This was done by the EFL way of encouraging the potential in the students to actively part-take in the lesson by talking freely, known as Student Talking Time (STT). According to questionnaires and interviews the subjects declared that STT gave them the ability to possess control over the speed and strength in which they acquire the new information. The students did not feel like they were only absorbing information provided to them by the teacher, instead they felt like active participants in the learning process. The teacher, on the other hand also benefits from EFL. The first advantage for EFL educators is more freedom in lesson planning. Due to the fact that TEFL focuses on increasing the STT in classrooms, the teacher’s responsibility shifts from a leading to an assisting function. This gives the possibility to the lecturer to have many potential scenarios for one lesson to the contrary of a strict lesson plan. A stringent lesson plan in traditional classes usually does not allow derivation from the original path or derivation is only possible for very experienced teachers (http://teflonline.com). In the EFL classes a standard path is not needed. Instead it is essentially necessary to be prepared for many likely situations as a reaction to the current needs of the classroom. As an additional benefit the positive reaction of the students to the teaching methods increases the teacher’s motivation. The lecturer1 can then pass this positive effect back to the students and provoke more self-confidence in the students when teaching. This overall self-enhancing cycle shows, in conclusion that incorporating EFL teaching methods into a lesson, realises the main objective of every language teacher: to assist students in acquiring the target language. In addition it is the aim of this research that the findings may participate in future development and improvement in educational systems where teaching a second or foreign language to students, whether English or any other foreign language.

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