Sanctions are one of the ways in which individual states or the international community can enforce their rights and interests. They can vary from banning travel to boycott and embargo affecting the entire country's economy. The sanctions have recently been practiced primarily by the European Union and the United Nations, and by the United States in case of particular countries. The topic of this work is international sanctions against Russia and Iran. Both countries have been in conflict with the international community in recent years, and both countries were punished. In the case of Iran, there were concerns about the use of the Iranian nuclear program for military purposes, the main objective was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Russia has been the subject of sanctions as a result of violations of international agreements and international law on the basis of the occupation of the Ukrainian Crimea and the development of the military conflict in the East of Ukraine. The thesis describes the reasons, course and impact of sanctions imposed on Iran and Russia, the Iranian and Russian economies and their representatives. At the same time, it seeks to assess the impact of sanctions both in the economic sphere and in terms of changes in the political direction of both countries.

The Rise and Fall of CSLA?! Military profession (1960-1970) in the collective memory of the officer corps Jiří Hlaváček Abstract: The aim of this dissertation thesis is the reflection of everyday life and the (transformation) of the professional identity of the officers' corps in the 1960s in the collective memory. The research is based on narrative analysis of oral-historical interviews with witnesses who served in the Czechoslovak People's Army during the period under review. Memories of witnesses are compared with other types of historical sources. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the problems of everyday life in the socialist type army. The content analysis focuses on the motivation of witnesses for the choice of the military profession, the specifics of military life, ideology in the army, the relationship between the soldiers and the public, as well as on the combat readiness and role of the Czechoslovak army in the eventual potential cold-war conflict. The second part of the thesis deals with the actions of actors on the background of event history. It is followed by the reflection of the Prague Spring, the August occupation of 1968 and the subsequent normalization of the army in the early seventies. The main focus is on the narrative analysis of the actors' strategies and the different...

Retirement is a complex undertaking that is influenced by many factors. The variables influence the retirement experience either alone or in combination. Because the factors are intertwined, it is sometimes difficult to determine which are the most significant. The complex nature of retirement often leads to people being under prepared for the challenges they are likely to confront. Despite the importance of the retirement enterprise, there has been little research on the subject among black retirees in South Africa. This is especially true when it comes to the case of retired migrant workers. The purpose of the present study is to explore the experience of life satisfaction during retirement and adjustment to retirement of migrant workers when they return back to their communities of origin in the Eastern Cape Region, South Africa. Research participants for the study were retired persons (N=54) who were selected through snowball sampling method. The data for the study was collected using a Biographical Questionnaire, the Life Satisfaction Index-A, Adjustment Scale and Open-ended Interview Questions. Retired non-migrant workers were also included in the study in order to determine whether there are differences on these measures compared to retired migrant workers. The results of the study indicated that: retired migrant workers had significantly lower levels of life satisfaction and encountered more adjustment problems in retirement than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers had less choice in their decision to retire than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers did not participate in sufficient financial planning for their retirement; and financial situation significantly affects adjustment to retirement and life satisfaction during retirement. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Thesis (LLM. (Development and Management Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / South Africa is a country with a past characterised by extreme racial imbalances, and that is the apartheid era. After the apartheid era was dismantled and came crumbling down, South Africa adopted what the courts later described as a ‘transformative constitutionalism’. This was because the country adopted a constitution aimed at striking a balance amongst the lives of the group of citizens who were racially side-lined during the apartheid era. Similarly, the South African government derives its power from the Constitution, thereby defining its democracy through constitutionalism. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution shows the utmost regard and respect that South Africa has for human rights. The inclusion of the right to adequate housing and its underlying provision against eviction and the property right symbolised a significant step that the country was undertaking to engage social justice for all the citizens. Furthermore, the legislature has gone further to enact legislation that gives effect to the protection and realisation of the right to adequate housing. In an attempt to achieve social justice, the adopted Constitution provides the most fundamental socio-economic rights, including the right to housing. This right aims to elevate the most vulnerable citizens in the country who may not afford a decent house or shelter. However, it is apparent that the relief intended by the right to housing is not always readily achieved; most citizens still live in dire housing conditions. Case laws show that citizens in this situation resort to other unofficial means, such as occupying private land illegally to secure better settlement conditions. Coupled with the right to housing is the provision that protects the citizens from being arbitrarily evicted from any shelter they consider as their home. In the backdrop of this, the courts were, however, constantly faced with multitudes of the application calling for eviction orders against people who had illegally occupied properties belonging to other people. The consequence of this situation led to the promulgation of the PIE Act, which aims to protect the rights of both the unlawful occupier and the owner of the occupied property. No right in the Constitution may be exercised, read and interpreted to the obvious detriment of the other rights in the same Constitution. There is a conundrum that the courts and the government have to deal with; regarding the protection of the rights of property owners and unlawful occupiers. In most instances, homeless people were once owners of specific shelters or safely put on the land. Notwithstanding that the government is responsible for providing adequate housing within its reasonable legislative and other measures, issues such as over-population are preceded by homelessness. In other words, the issue of unlawful occupation affects the lawful owners and the entire country as a whole. As a result, the government must have due regard to providing a proper and alternative shelter to unlawful occupiers and homeless citizens to do away with over-population issues and have people occupying non-residential areas. This study will show that legislation can cure all forms of social problems the country encounters. However, that implementation as the life-blood of legislation should be affected by relevant state organs.

Syftet med denna studie var att syntetisera äldre personers erfarenheter kring användning av digital teknik samt dess betydelse för äldres delaktighet i vardagen. Studien är en metasyntes som utfördes genom en systematisk sökning av kvalitativ vetenskaplig litteratur och dess analys. Litteratursökningen genomfördes i fyra databaser och resulterade i 12 vetenskapliga artiklar som ingick i studien. Dataanalysen inleddes med en kvalitetsgranskning av artiklarna och avslutades med en syntes av datan som svarade på studiens syfte. Syntetisering ledde till 34 första nivåns teman samt tre andra nivåns teman; 1. Upplevd nytta och viljan av att använda digital teknik i äldres vardag. 2. Teknikens påverkan ger känsla av gemenskap och ökat stöd för delaktighet. 3. Upplevd begränsning och bristande vilja av användning av digital teknik. Andra nivåns teman lyftes upp och resulterade i två tredje nivåns teman; 1. Äldre entusiaster omfamnar teknikens möjligheter för känslan av trygghet och delaktighet i vardagen trots utmaningar kring dess användning. 2. Upplevelse av egna existensen i livet utanför teknikens värld och hinder för eller möjligheter till delaktighet i ett digitalt samhälle. Resultatet påvisade varierande erfarenheter av användning av digital teknik. Äldre personer lyfte upp stora möjligheter att engagera sig i samt att klara vissa vardagliga aktiviteter med hjälp av digital teknik. Positiva erfarenheter som dominerade i studierna var äldres möjlighet att kommunicera med vårdgivare och myndigheter samt att vara delaktig i sociala liv. Utöver detta visade sig att vissa äldre ansåg att digital teknik var onödig i deras liv, vilket berodde på brist på intresse eller svårigheter att hantera den. Att inte kunna eller att inte vilja hantera digital teknik har lett till upplevelse av utanförskap och minskad delaktighet i samhället. / The purpose of this study was to synthesize older people's experiences of using digital technology and its significance in their participation in everyday life. The study is a Meta-synthesis that was performed through a systematic search of qualitative scientific literature and it’s analysis. The literature search was conducted in four databases and resulted in twelve scientific articles that were included in the study. The data analysis began with a quality review of the articles and ended with a synthesis of the data that answered the purpose of the study. The synthesis led to 34 first-level themes as well as three second-level themes;            1. Perceived benefit and willingness to use digital technology in the everyday lives of the elderly, 2. The impact of technology provides a sense of community and increased support for participation, 3. Perceived limitation and unwillingness to use digital technology. Second level themes were highlighted and resulted in two third level themes; Older enthusiasts embrace the possibilities of technology for the feeling of security and participation in everyday life, despite the challenges surrounding its use. 2. Experience of one's own existence in life outside the world of technology and obstacles or opportunity to participate in a digital society. The results demonstrated varying experiences of using digital technology. Older people highlighted great opportunities to get involved in and to manage certain everyday activities with the help of digital technology. Despite functional limitations and physical barriers, there is potential to perform errands digitally. Positive experiences that dominated the studies were elderly's opportunity to communicate with healthcare providers and agencies but also opportunity to participation in their social life. In addition to this, it turned out that some older people felt that digital technology was unnecessary in their lives, which was due to lack of interest or difficulties in dealing with it. Not being able or unwilling to handle digital technology has led to the experience of exclusion and reduced participation in society.

<p>  </p> <p>My dissertation is composed of three independent chapters in the field of labor economics and international trade. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The first chapter studies marriage market signaling and women’s occupation choice. Despite the general closure of gender disparities in the labor market over the past half century, occupational segregation has been stubbornly persistent. I develop a new model that explains these occupational outcomes through marriage market signaling. Vertically differentiated men have preference over women’s unobservable caregiving ability. Heterogenous women choose caregiving occupations to signal their ability to be caregivers. My model generates unique predictions on the influence of marriage market conditions on women’s occupational choices. I find empirical support for these predictions using longitudinal data on marriage rates, policy shocks to divorce laws, and shocks to the marriage market sex ratio driven by waves of immigration. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The second chapter investigates Covid19 and consumer animus towards Chinese products. Covid19 has tremendously affected all areas of our lives and our online shopping behaviors have not been immune. China is the first country to report cases of Covid19 and suffers from rising animus in the U.S. In this paper, we study consumer animus towards Chinese products post Covid19 using Amazon data. We tracked all face masks sold on Amazon between Sep. 2019 to Sep. 2020, and collect product information that is available to a real consumer, including reviews. By analyzing both seller-generated (e.g., product name, description, features) and user-generated (e.g., reviews and customer Q&A) content, we collect information on the country-of-origin as well as consumer animus for the products. Under a fully-dynamic event study design, we find that the average rating drops significantly after a product is identified as made in China for the first time, while no such drop is found for products with other countries-of-origin. This negative impact is U-shaped, which quickly expands in the first five weeks, and then gradually fades out within six months. An informative-animus review affects the average rating of a Chinese product both directly (through its own rating) and indirectly (through other future ratings), with both mechanisms supported in data. We also provide strong evidence that the drop in average rating is driven by consumer animus instead of product quality. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The third chapter explores how cultural transmission through international trade affects gender discrimination. In this paper, I propose that international trade helps alleviate gender discrimination. With imperfect information on workers’ ability, there is statistical discrimination towards female workers. Through international trade, culture transmits asymmetrically between firms located in countries with different gender cultures. This cultural transmission benefits women because it transmits only in one direction from more gender-equal cultures to less gender-equal cultures. I prove this by linking the Customs data to the Industrial Firms data of China in 2004, and find that Chinese firms trading with more gender-equal cultures hire a higher fraction of female workers and enjoy higher profits. Similar patterns are not found in Chinese firms trading with less gender-equal cultures. The impact of cultural transmission goes beyond the firms engaged in international trade to have spillover effects onto purely domestic firms. Comparing across skill groups, cultural transmission benefits high-skill female workers more.</p>

Les métiers du tourisme emploient un actif sur dix dans l’économie mondiale et affichent une croissance forte. L’hôtellerie doit faire face aujourd’hui à une forte turbulence du marché avec l’apparition de nouveaux acteurs tel que Airbnb, qui concurrencent les groupes hôteliers multinationaux. La complexité croissante de l’environnement exige des chaînes hôtelières une capacité accrue d’adaptation. Les demandes des touristes se diversifiant vers davantage d’expériences et d’authenticité, les hôteliers fondent leurs stratégies sur ces concepts et les diffusent dans les métiers du front office. Ces salariés, qui doivent réaliser un travail émotionnel pour répondre aux attentes organisationnelles d’un service de qualité, se voient prescrire des injonctions parfois paradoxales qui peuvent déboucher sur des comportements de retrait et des cas de déséquilibre émotionnel. Une meilleure compréhension du travail émotionnel et de l’équilibre émotionnel individuel et collectif peut-elle permettre d’optimiser la capacité adaptative dans ces métiers de contact ? Nous proposons un apport original dans la littérature en sciences de gestion en reliant l’équilibre de l’être humain dans son univers de travail à l’équilibre organisationnel dans son environnement concurrentiel. Notre analyse qualitative, multiniveau et transdisciplinaire, guidée par l’approche épistémologique de la pensée complexe d’Edgar Morin, repose sur soixante entretiens d’employés et de managers du front office, et nous éclaire sur les comportements et les vécus émotionnels dans ces métiers à travers la perception de leurs rôles de travail exposés à l’évolution des normes organisationnelles issues de la stratégie des firmes. / Tourism employs one out of ten workers in the global economy and is showing very strong growth. The hotel industry is now facing strong market turbulence with the emergence of new players such as Airbnb, who compete with multinational hotel groups. The increasing complexity of the environment requires hotel chains to improve their ability to adapt. The demands of tourists are diversifying more towards experiences and authenticity, and hoteliers are basing their strategies on these concepts and transmitting them to front office jobs. These employees, who must perform emotional labor in order to meet the organizational expectations of a quality service, are prescribed paradoxical injunctions that lead to a multiplication of cases of emotional imbalance among these employees. The same phenomenon is observed among managers who, in addition to monitoring emotional management within their teams, must manage their own emotions. Can a better understanding of emotional labor as well as individual and collective emotional balances serve to optimize the adaptive capacity in these contact teams? We propose an original contribution in the management science literature by linking the balance of the human being in his workplace to the organizational balance in his competitive environment. Guided by Edgar Morin's epistemology of complex thought, we conducted a multilevel and transdisciplinary analysis based on the hoteliers' strategic issues, which are reflected in the organizational norms and in the work roles and experiences of the employees and managers.

Cette thèse s’intéresse au calcul de solutions globales de problèmes de commande optimaleen boucle ouverte. La méthodologie générale se base sur l’approche par les moments, oùun problème d’optimisation est relâché en un problème généralisé des moments, dont unehiérarchie de relaxations semi-définies peut être résolue numériquement. L’approche esttout d’abord appliquée aux problèmes impulsionnels linéaires à temps variant, en modélisantle contrôle par une mesure. Les conditions semi-définies qui en résultent permettentde s’affranchir complètement des difficultés liées à la discrétisation temporelle. Ensuite, ense basant sur le formalisme des mesures d’occupations, la méthode peut être étendue auxsystèmes impulsionnels non-linéaires, et fournit une suite monotone de bornes inférieuresau coût optimal. Enfin, les résultats précédents peuvent être transposés aux systèmes àcommutation, en modélisant chaque mode par une mesure d’occupation associée. Ceci permetd’obtenir des gains substantiels en charge de calcul par rapport à l’approche classiqueoù l’espace de contrôle est mesuré / This thesis details a global method for optimal control of open-loop systems. This is doneby relaxing the control problem as a generalized moment problem, which can be solvednumerically by a hierarchy of semi-definite relaxations. The approach is first applied tothe impulsive control of linear time varying systems, by modeling the controls by a measure.The resulting semi-definite conditions circumvent time discretiziation and relateddifficulties. By the use of occupation measures, the method is then extended to a classof impulsive non-linear problems. This results in a monotone sequence of lower boundsto the original control problem. Finally, those results are transposed to switched system,by modeling each mode by a corresponding occupation measure. This allows for largecomputational gains with respect to the classical approach, where the control space ismeasured

The use of arguments containing increasingly technical materials has grown significantly in the recent years. Specifically, arguments that are used to justify military expenditures or to allege violations of international agreements are becoming more sophisticated. This study examines the dissemination and use of technical argument in claims made by the United States government that the Soviet Union violated chemical and biological treaties in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan. This study employs the Jowett-O'Donnell method for analyzing propaganda to determine the extent and effectiveness of the government's claims. The study concludes that propaganda was used extensively by the government in order to justify new weapons programs and that the propaganda campaign was effective because of the technological orientation of its claims.

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