One of the main concerns with the introduction of competition in the power sector is the strategic behaviour of market participants. Computable models of strategic behaviour are becoming increasingly important to understand the complexities of competition. Such models can help analyze market designs and regulatory policies. In this thesis, further developments on the modelling and analysis of strategic behaviour in electricity markets are presented. This thesis work has been conducted along three research lines. <br /><br /> In the first research line, an oligopolistic model of a joint energy and spinning reserve market is formulated to analyze imperfect competition. Strategic behaviour is introduced by means of conjectured functions. With this integrated formulation for imperfect competition, the opportunity cost between generation and spinning reserve has been analytically derived. Besides, inter-temporal and energy constraints, and financial transmission rights are taken into account. Under such considerations, competition in electricity markets is modelled with more realism. The oligopolistic model is formulated as an equilibrium problem in terms of complementarity conditions. <br /><br /> In the second research line, a methodology to screen and mitigate the potential exacerbation of market power due to the ownership of financial transmission rights is presented. Hedging position ratios are computed to quantify the hedging level of financial transmission rights. They are based on the actual impact that each participant has in the energy market, and on the potential impact that it would have with the ownership of financial transmission rights. Thus, hedging position ratios are used to identify the potential gambling positions from the transmission rights bidders, and, therefore, used to prioritize critical positions in the auction for transmission rights. <br ><br /> In the last research line, alternative equilibrium models of markets for financial transmission rights are formulated. The proposed equilibrium framework is more natural and flexible for modelling markets than the classic cost-minimization markets. Different markets for financial transmission rights are modelled, namely: i) forwards, ii) options, and iii) joint forwards and options. Moreover, one-period, multi-period and multi-round markets for forwards are derived. These equilibrium models are proposed to analyze the bidding strategies of market participants. The potential impact of bidders on congestion prices is modelled by means of conjectured transmission price functions.

In the presented thesis we deal with the generalized linear models framework in a claims reserving problem. Claims reserving in non-life insurance is firstly described and the considered class of models is introduced. Consequently, this branch of stochastic modelling is implemented in the reserving setup. For computation of the risk associated with claims reserving, we need a predictive distribution of future liabilities in order to evaluate risk measures such as Va- lue at Risk and Conditional Value at Risk. Since datasets in non-life insurance commonly consist of a small number of observations and estimation of predictive distributions can be complicated, we adopt a bootstrap method for this purpose. Model fitting, simulations and consequent measuring of the reserving risk are performed within the use of real-life data. Based on this, an analysis of fitted models and their comparison together with graphical outputs is included. 1

Due to climate change there is a growing concern for soil organic carbon reservoires. The soil is the largest terrestrial pool of organic carbon and its balance is being increasingly disturbed by conversion of natural to managed ecosystem (for agriculture, forestry and urbanization). There are still large uncertainities with estimating real amount of organic carbon sequestrated in soils. Therefore a number of regional and national soil inventories and monitoring networks are currently established or tested to verify soil carbon changes. Thesis is focused on estimation of soil organic carbon pools in the area of Czech basic map Beroun 12-41-08. It evaluates available soil data and restrictions of their use. Especially is focused on comprehensive soil survey undertaken between 1961 and 1970, on soil properties change in time and how to get missing bulk densities of the soil, particularly through pedotransfer functions. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The generalized linear models (GLM) lately received a lot of attention in modelling the insurance data. However, the violation of assumptions about the independence of underlying data set often causes problems and misinterpretation of achieved results. The need for more exible instruments has been spoken out and consequently various proposals have been made. This thesis deals with GLM based techniques enabling to handle correlated data sets. The usage have been made of generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) and generalized estimating equations (GEE). The main aim of this thesis is to provide a solid statistical background and perform a practical application to demonstrate and compare features of various models. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Legal regulation of World Cultural and Natural Heritage Diploma Thesis deals with legal regulation of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and examines legal protection of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the thesis and concisely documents the historic development of the idea of preservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage. Chapter two is subdivided in two parts. Part One presents international organisations dealing with World Heritage. Part Two analyses in particular Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted by UNESCO in 1972 as well as other relevant international treaties. Chapter Three explores purposes of selected international programmes concerning protection of cultural and natural property that are organized by UNESCO. Chapter Four deals with the process of the inscription of properties on the World Heritage List with respect to the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The last chapter provides an outline of relevant Czech laws on conservation of cultural and natural heritage mentions some of the imperfections which are subject to critique in professional circles. The aim of my thesis is...

Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016. / Energy security, particularly liquid fuels, is a vital economic goal for both developed and developing nations.As a region, SADC has large coal, oil and gas reserves,and land for potential crop production for biofuels, yet access to liquid fuels is still a major constraint to economic and social development. Some coal is utilised in the region for petrochemical industries, power generation, and for heating. Crude oil reserves are largely exported due to the lack of refineries and pipelines in the region. Whilst biofuels production is in its infancy. This paper explores the challenges and opportunitiesthe SADC region faces in developing refining capacity and in investing in new CTL/GTL facilities as well as liquid fuels from renewable energy resources. A primary focus will be on Malawi and her neighbouring states, as a case study. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science (Environmental Sciences). September 2015. / African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are still being poached and hunted and this could potentially affect their movement. As a keystone species, crucial to maintaining ecosystem function and therefore food webs, it is important to understand the effects hunting may have on their movements. This study was undertaken in the Associated Private Nature Reserves adjacent to the Kruger National Park, where elephants are hunted. I looked at changes in daily displacement distance and distance from hunting and natural mortality events to determine if elephants were affected by hunting events, up to what distance, and to determine whether elephants reacted in the same way to hunting and natural mortality events. I found that elephants are only affected by hunting events when within 1 km of the event, which is consistent with the literature. When considering natural mortality events, they actually diverted movements towards the event location, which is also consistent with literature. These results, however, are based on a very small sample size. In addition, the time of day of the events was not recorded by the wardens of the reserve, and this provided a further limitation for the data analysis and interpretation.

A frequência ideal de pastejo em gramíneas tropicais é aquela associada com a interrupção da rebrotação quando o dossel forrageiro atinge 95% de interceptação da luz incidente (IL). Leguminosas forrageiras tropicais, particularmente o amendoim forrageiro, apresentam elevado potencial de uso, especialmente pela habilidade de fixar N2 atmosférico. Contudo, informações acerca de suas respostas sob condições de pastejo são escassas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as respostas agronômicas, as reservas orgânicas de C e N e a fixação biológica de N do amendoim forrageiro (Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte) sob condições de pastejo. No caso das avaliações de fixação biológica de N, foram conduzidos dois experimentos, um sob lotação contínua e outro sob lotação intemitente (pastejo rotativo). Durante o período que antecedeu cada um dos experimentos (entre 60 e 90 dias) os piquetes foram submetidos aos tratamentos de pastejo para adaptação. Para o experimento de lotação intermitente os tratamentos corresponderam a combinações entre duas condições pré- (95% e máxima interceptação de luz durante a rebrotação - IL95% e ILMáx, respectivamente) e duas condições pós-pastejo (alturas pós-pastejo correspondentes a 40 e 60% da altura pré-pastejo) alocados às unidades experimentais segundo arranjo fatorial 2x2 e delineamento de blocos completos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Para o experimento de lotação contínua os tratamentos corresponderam a quatro alturas de manejo (5, 10, 15 e 20 cm) mantidas constantes ao longo de todo o período experimental. As avaliações foram realizadas ao longo de todo o ano, em épocas predeterminadas. Sob lotação intermitente, pastos manejados com a meta IL95% apresentaram menor altura pré-pastejo (13,3 cm) relativamente a pastos manejados com a meta ILMáx (18,5 cm), assim como menor acúmulo de estolão durante a rebrotação, porém sem diferença em acúmulo de forragem. Variações estacionais nas respostas agronômicas estiveram associadas ao ciclo anual de desenvolvimento das plantas e sua estratégia para otimizar recursos energéticos, evento conhecido como segmentação. Ao contrário da maioria dos relatos apresentados na literatura, pastejos frequentes (IL95%) e severos (40% da altura pré-pastejo) sob lotação intermitente ou mais intensos sob lotação contínua (alturas de manejo de 5 e 10 cm) não ocasionaram impactos negativos sobre o sistema radicular e o processo de nodulação. Contudo, maiores valores de nitrogênio oriundo da fixação biológica (%Ndda ) e a FBN (kg ha-1 N) foram obtidos em pastos manejados com estratégias de manejo de intensidade de pastejo moderada a leniente, caracterizadas por valores maiores de biomassa da parte aérea (IAF médio) independente do método de pastejo empregado. As reservas orgânicas de carbono (C) e nitrogênio (N) apresentaram variações ao longo do ano. De forma geral, períodos menos propícios ao crescimento e desenvolvimento da espécie (outono/inverno e início de primavera) apresentaram acúmulo de CHO\'s e nitrogênio solúvel tanto em concentração como em quantidade (pool). Independentemente do método de pastejo considerado, lotação contínua e lotação intermitente, as respostas avaliadas apresentaram como ponto comum a luz e suas relações, uma vez que quando avaliadas em função da biomassa áerea média ou IAF médios seguiram um mesmo continuum de variação. Intensidade de pastejo moderada a leniente parece ser a mais indicada para o manejo do amendoim forrageiro sob pastejo. / The ideal grazing frequency of tropical forage grasses is associated with the interruption of regrowth when sward canopy intercepts 95% of the incident light (LI). Tropical forage legumes, particularly forage peanut, have a high potential of use, specialy due to their ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. However, information about their responses under grazing are scarse. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agromic responses, C and N organic reserves and nitrogen biological fixation (NBF) of forage peanut (Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte) under grazing. For measurements regarding NBF, two experiments were carried out, one under continuous and other under intermitent stocking (rotational grazing). Prior to the beginning of the experiments (between 60 and 90 days), paddocks were subjected to the grazing treatments for adaptation purposes. For the intermitent stocking experiment, treatments corresponded to combinations between two pre- (95% and maximum canopy light interception during grazing - LI95% and LIMax, respectively) and two post-grazing conditions (post-grazing heights equivalent to 40 or 60% of the pre-grazing height). For the continuous stocking experiment, treatments corresponded to four grazing intensities represented for sward management heights of 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm. The experimental design was the same, a randomized complete block with four replications. Measurements were carried out throughout the year, in pre-determined seasons. Under intermitent stocking, swards managed with the LI95% target were shorter (13.3 cm) than those managed with the LIMax target (18.5 cm), and accumulated less stolon during regrowth, although with no difference in herbage accumulation. Seasonal variations in agronomic responses were associated with the annual cycle of plant development and strategy for optimizing energy use, an event known as segmentation. Contratry to the majority of reports in the literature, frequent (LI95%) and severe (post-grazing height equivalente to 40% of the pré-grazing height) grazings under intermitent stocking or intense grazing under continuous stocking (management heights of 5 and 10 cm) did not cause negative impacts on root mass and nodulation. However, greater values of nitrogen originated from biological fixation (%Ndda ) and NBF (kg ha-1 N) were recorded on swards managed with moderate to lenient grazing intensities, characterized by greater values of aerial biomass (average LAI) regardless of the grazing method used. C and N organic reserves varied throughout the year. In general, there was an accumulation of soluble carbohydrates and nitrogen (concentration and pool) during periods of limited availability of climatic growth factors (autumn/winter and early spring). Independent of grazing method, continuous or intermitent stocking, plant responses had their variability well associated with light and its relations, since when ploted against average aerial biomass or LAI followed the same continuum of variation. Moderate to lenient grazing intensity seems to be the most adequate for managing forage peanut under grazing.

A transfusão de sangue continua a ser uma importante ferramenta terapêutica, porém como qualquer outra, apresenta riscos. O sangue após coletado é processado e origina os hemocomponentes, dentre eles o Concentrado de Hemácias (CH). O CH é o hemocomponente mais utilizado na prática clínica. É indicado para o tratamento de anemias e em casos de hemorragia aguda ocorridas em cirurgia ou em decorrência de doenças ou traumas. Dentre os principais riscos da transfusão de CH estão a aloimunização e as reações transfusionais, imediatas ou tardias. Deve-se avaliar a real necessidade de se transfundir um paciente, principalmente, no período intra operatório. A transfusão de CH no intra operatório está associada a um pior prognóstico, maior tempo de internação, sobrevida menor e aumento do risco de infecção. Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar as solicitações de reserva de CH, e a partir desta análise, elaborar um protocolo de reservas cirúrgicas de CH com a finalidade de determinar o quantitativo de bolsas a serem reservadas ou não para a realização procedimentos cirúrgicos realizados no Hospital Regional de Ceilândia, no Distrito Federal. Para a elaboração do protocolo, foi realizado o levantamento de dados referentes às solicitações de reservas realizadas neste hospital entre março e agosto de 2017. Baseado nestes dados, calculou-se o Índice de Pacientes Transfundidos (IPT) que definiu o percentual das reservas que foram utilizadas. Verificou-se que a maioria das reservas solicitadas não foi utilizada. Do total de 216 pacientes que tiveram reservas preparadas, para as quais foram compatibilizadas 438 bolsas, apenas 48 destas bolsas foram transfundidas, ou seja, somente 10,95%. A partir do resultado do IPT, foi definida uma conduta hemoterápica cirúrgica para cada tipo de cirurgia. E, a partir destas, foi elaborado, um protocolo de reservas de CH para cirurgias, com o intuito de racionalizar a solicitação de reservas para ser implementado no hospital. Podendo assim ser um instrumento, para a equipe médica e para a agência transfusional, contribuindo para a economia de recursos financeiros e de sangue. / Blood transfusion continues to be an important therapeutic tool but it presents risks. The blood after collection is processed originating the blood components, among them the Red blood cells (RBC). RBC is the most widely used blood component in clinical practice. It is indicated for the treatment of anemias and in cases of acute hemorrhage occurring in surgery or due to pathologies or traumas. Among the main risks of RBC transfusion are alloimmunization and transfusion reactions. The actual need to transfuse a patient, especially during the intraoperative period, should be evaluated. Intraoperative RBC transfusion is associated with a worse prognosis, longer length of stay, shorter survival and increased risk of infection. The aim of this study was to analyze the RBC reserve requests and then to elaborate a protocol of RBC surgical reserves in order to determine the quantity of blood bags to be reserved or not for surgical procedures performed at the Regional Hospital de Ceilândia (HRC), in the Federal District. For the elaboration of this protocol, the data of the reservations requests performed in HRC March 2017 to August 2017 was carried out. The transfusion Index was calculated from the data, which defined the percentage of reservations that were used. It was found that most of the requested reserves were not used. Of the total of 216 patients who had prepared reservations, for which 438 bags were compatibilized, only 48 of these bags were transfused, that is, only 10.95%. From the result of the transfusion Index, so for each elective surgical procedures a guide surgical hemotherapy was defined. In addition, a reserve protocol of RBC for surgeries was elaborated, with the purpose of rationalizing the reservation request to be implemented in the hospital. This can be an instrument for the medical team and for the transfusion agency, contributing to the rational use of financial and blood resources.

A criação voluntária de áreas protegidas privadas está em expansão ao redor do mundo, sendo reconhecida como uma importante estratégia para conservação da biodiversidade e complemento dos esforços públicos de conservação. No Brasil, estas áreas são chamadas Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural (RPPNs), áreas criadas em caráter perpétuo, por iniciativa de seus proprietários e reconhecidas pelo poder público. No entanto, apesar de já existirem mais de 930 RPPNs que protegem 680.000 ha no país, ainda existe uma lacuna de informações sobre o tema. Esse trabalho pretende contribuir para diminuição desse problema, utilizando como área de estudo o Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. Seus objetivos foram identificar as motivações dos proprietários ao solicitarem a criação dessas unidades, os incentivos e dificuldades enfrentadas para criação e gestão, e caracterizar essas áreas e a eficácia da sua gestão. Para isso, seus proprietários ou gestores foram entrevistados e foram consultados os processos de solicitação de criação dessas áreas e outros documentos fornecidos pelos proprietários. Para a avaliação do manejo, foi necessária a adaptação da metodologia de Cifuentes, Izurieta e Faria (2000) para o contexto das áreas analisadas. Ao todo, foram identificados 65 processos de solicitação de RPPNs, mas apenas 36 áreas são efetivamente reconhecidas atualmente. O tempo de tramitação dos processos de reconhecimento tem sido alto e é influenciado pelos procedimentos institucionais, pelo rigor das exigências documentais e pelo número de pendências existentes. As entrevistas com os responsáveis pelas RPPNs demonstraram que estes consideram o processo de criação lento e burocrático. A conservação é a principal motivação para sua criação, mas fatores econômicos e pessoais também são citados. O único incentivo oferecido pelo poder público é a isenção do imposto territorial rural. Outros incentivos para a criação e gestão destas áreas têm sido dados por ONGs e a Associação de Proprietários de RPPN, principalmente na região da Bacia do Alto Paraguai. A conservação e a pesquisa são objetivos de manejo de todas as RPPNs, mas a educação ambiental e turismo também são bastante citados. Com relação à avaliação do manejo, o conjunto de RPPNs obteve 57,6% do total ótimo possível. Mais da metade das áreas foi classificada como gestão muito inferior ou inferior, 17,6% como mediana, e 29,4% como padrão elevado ou de excelência. Os âmbitos mais bem avaliados foram usos atuais e político e legal; os piores foram o planejamento e ordenamento e o conhecimento. Entre os pontos fortes do conjunto estão: compatibilidade das suas atividades com as normas, reconhecimento legal, porcentagem de área alterada, e demarcação física. Entre os pontos mais fracos estão: monitoramento e retroalimentação, tamanho, programas de manejo, informações e plano de manejo. A proteção parece ser uma das maiores preocupações dos proprietários, que de forma geral, parecem reconhecer as principais fragilidades destas unidades. / The voluntary creation of private protected areas has rapidly increased around the world and it has been recognized as an important strategy for biodiversity conservation, adding public efforts to conservation. In Brazil, these areas are called Private Reserves of Natural Heritage (PRNHs), and they are created for perpetuity, by their owners\' initiative, and recognized by the public administration. However, despite the fact that there are already over 930 PRNHs, which are protecting around 680.000 ha in the country, there is still lack of information concerning this topic. This work intends to address this problem, using the case of Mato Grosso do Sul State. The main objective is to identify the owner\'s motivations for the establishment of PNHRs, the driving forces and the difficulties faced by their recognition and management, as well as to characterize these areas and their management effectiveness. To that purpose, the owners or managers were interviewed. There has been also documental analysis and the documents for the application of these areas\' establishment and other related documents provided by the owners were consulted. For the management evaluation, an adaptation of the Cifuentes, Izurieta and Faria (2000) methodology was necessary for analyzing the areas context. In the overall, 65 applications for the establishment of PNHRs were identified, but only 36 areas are currently effectively recognized. The procedural time for the establishment process has been high, and it is affected by institutional procedures, several documentation requirements, and by the lack of required documentation. The interviews with owners and managers showed that they think the processes are slow and bureaucratic. The conservation is the main motivation for their creation, but economic and personal factors were also mentioned. The only incentive offered by the government was the rural property tax exemption. On the other hand, NGOs and the PNHR Owners\' Association have encouraged the creation and management of these areas, mainly for the High Paraguay Basin. Conservation and research are management objectives of all PNHRs, but environmental education and tourism are also fairly mentioned. Regarding management evaluation, the group of PNHRs reached 57,6% of the total possible optimum. More than half of the areas had management classified as very inferior or as quality inferior standards, 17,6% as medium, and 29,4% as high or excellency standards. The set of indicators best evaluated were current uses and political and legal. The worst set of indicators were planning and instructing and knowledge. The strength issues of the group are: the compatibility of their activities with legislation, legal recognition, percentage of disturbed area, and physical demarcation. The weakest points are: monitoring and feedback, size, management programs, information and management plan. The protection of these areas seems to be a major concern for their owners, who usually seem to recognize the main weaknesses of these protected areas.