This thesis consists of an introductory part and the following four self-contained papers: In Paper [I] we analyze the implications of social identity and self-categorization for optimal redistributive income taxation. A two-type model is supplemented by an assumption that individuals select themselves into social categories, in which norms are formed and education effort choices partly depend on these norms. The results show, among other things, that externality correction by a welfarist government leads to an element of tax progression that serves to reduce the discrepancy between the effort norm and the actual effort chosen by low-productivity individuals in the high-effort group. Furthermore, if the preference for social identity is sufficiently strong, increased wage-inequality leads to higher social welfare through a relaxation of the selection constraint. It may thus be desirable to use publicly provided education to induce more wage-inequality, even if higher wage-inequality increases the intrinsic utility of a potential mimicker. In Paper [II] I employ high quality register data to present new facts about income mobility in Sweden. The focus of the paper is regional differences in mobility, using a novel approach based on a multilevel model. This method is well-suited when regions differ greatly in population size as is the case in Sweden. The maximum likelihood estimates are substantially more precise than those obtained by running separate OLS regressions. I find small regional differences in income mobility when measured in relative terms. Regional differences are large when adopting an absolute measure and focusing on children with below-median parent income. On the national level I find that the association between parent and child income ranks has decreased over time, implying increased mobility. In Paper [III] I study the long term effects of inter-municipal moving during childhood on income using Swedish register data. Due to the richness of the data I am able to control for important sources of selection into moving, such as parent separation, parents' unemployment, education, long run income, and immigration background. I find that children's long run incomes are significantly negatively affected by moving during childhood, and the effect is larger for those who move more often. For children who move once, I also estimate the effect of the timing and the quality of the move. I measure the quality of each neighborhood based on the adult outcomes for individuals who never move. The quality of a move is defined as the difference in quality between the origin and the destination. Given that a family moves, I find that the negative effect of childhood moving on adult income is increasing in age at move. Children benefit economically from the quality of the region they move to only if they move before age 12 (sons) and age 16 (daughters). In Paper [IV] I study the bias of IGE estimates for different missing-data scenarios based on simulated income processes. Using an income process from the income dynamics and risks literature to generate two linked generations’ complete income histories, I use Monte Carlo methods to study the relationship between available data patterns and the bias of the IGE. I find that the traditional approach using the average of the typically available log income observations leads to IGE estimates that are around 40 percent too small. Moreover, I show that the attenuation bias is not reduced by averaging over many father income observations. Using just one income observation for each generation at the optimal age (as discussed in the paper) or using weighted instead of unweighted averages can reduce the bias. In addition, the rank-rank slope is found to be clearly less sensitive to missing data.

La protection des zones littorales contre les agressions naturelles provenant de la mer, et notamment contre le risque de submersion marine, est essentielle pour sécuriser les installations côtières. La prévention de ce risque est assurée par des protections côtières qui sont conçues et régulièrement vérifiées grâce généralement à la définition du concept de niveau de retour d’un événement extrême particulier. Le niveau de retour lié à une période de retour assez grande (de 1000 ans ou plus) est estimé par des méthodes statistiques basées sur la Théorie des Valeurs Extrêmes (TVE). Ces approches statistiques sont appliquées à des séries temporelles d’une variable extrême observée et permettent de connaître la probabilité d’occurrence de telle variable. Dans le passé, les niveaux de retour des aléas maritimes extrêmes étaient estimés le plus souvent à partir de méthodes statistiques appliquées à des séries d’observation locales. En général, les séries locales des niveaux marins sont observées sur une période limitée (pour les niveaux marins environ 50 ans) et on cherche à trouver des bonnes estimations des extrêmes associées à des périodes de retour très grandes. Pour cette raison, de nombreuses méthodologies sont utilisées pour augmenter la taille des échantillons des extrêmes et réduire les incertitudes sur les estimations. En génie côtier, une des approches actuellement assez utilisées est l’analyse régionale. L’analyse régionale est indiquée par Weiss (2014) comme une manière très performante pour réduire les incertitudes sur les estimations des événements extrêmes. Le principe de cette méthodologie est de profiter de la grande disponibilité spatiale des données observées sur différents sites pour créer des régions homogènes. Cela permet d’estimer des lois statistiques sur des échantillons régionaux plus étendus regroupant tous les événements extrêmes qui ont frappé un ou plusieurs sites de la région (...) Cela ainsi que le caractère particulier de chaque événement historique ne permet pas son utilisation dans une analyse régionale classique. Une méthodologie statistique appelée FAB qui permet de réaliser une analyse régionale tenant en compte les données historiques est développée dans ce manuscrit. Élaborée pour des données POT (Peaks Over Threshold), cette méthode est basée sur une nouvelle définition d’une durée d’observation, appelée durée crédible, locale et régionale et elle est capable de tenir en compte dans l’analyse statistique les trois types les plus classiques de données historiques (données ponctuelles, données définies par un intervalle, données au-dessus d’une borne inférieure). En plus, une approche pour déterminer un seuil d’échantillonnage optimal est définie dans cette étude. La méthode FAB est assez polyvalente et permet d’estimer des niveaux de retour soit dans un cadre fréquentiste soit dans un cadre bayésien. Une application de cette méthodologie est réalisée pour une base de données enregistrées des surcotes de pleine mer (données systématiques) et 14 surcotes de pleine mer historiques collectées pour différents sites positionnés le long des côtes françaises, anglaises, belges et espagnoles de l’Atlantique, de la Manche et de la mer du Nord. Enfin, ce manuscrit examine la problématique de la découverte et de la validation des données historiques / The protection of coastal areas against the risk of flooding is necessary to safeguard all types of waterside structures and, in particular, nuclear power plants. The prevention of flooding is guaranteed by coastal protection commonly built and verified thanks to the definition of the return level’s concept of a particular extreme event. Return levels linked to very high return periods (up to 1000 years) are estimated through statistical methods based on the Extreme Value Theory (EVT). These statistical approaches are applied to time series of a particular extreme variable observed and enables the computation of its occurrence probability. In the past, return levels of extreme coastal events were frequently estimated by applying statistical methods to time series of local observations. Local series of sea levels are typically observed in too short a period (for sea levels about 50 years) in order to compute reliable estimations linked to high return periods. For this reason, several approaches are used to enlarge the size of the extreme data samples and to reduce uncertainties of their estimations. Currently, one of the most widely used methods in coastal engineering is the Regional Analysis. Regional Analysis is denoted by Weiss (2014) as a valid means to reduce uncertainties in the estimations of extreme events. The main idea of this method is to take advantage of the wide spatial availability of observed data in different locations in order to form homogeneous regions. This enables the estimation of statistical distributions of enlarged regional data samples by clustering all extreme events occurred in one or more sites of the region. Recent investigations have highlighted the importance of using past events when estimating extreme events. When historical data are available, they cannot be neglected in order to compute reliable estimations of extreme events. Historical data are collected from different sources and they are identified as data that do not come from time series. In fact, in most cases, no information about other extreme events occurring before and after a historical observation is available. This, and the particular nature of each historical data, do not permit their use in a Regional Analysis. A statistical methodology that enables the use of historical data in a regional context is needed in order to estimate reliable return levels and to reduce their associated uncertainties. In this manuscript, a statistical method called FAB is developed enabling the performance of a Regional Analysis using historical data. This method is formulated for POT (Peaks Over Threshold) data. It is based on the new definition of duration of local and regional observation period (denominated credible duration) and it is able to take into account all the three typical kinds of historical data (exact point, range and lower limit value). In addition, an approach to identify an optimal sampling threshold is defined in this study. This allows to get better estimations through using the optimal extreme data sample in the FAB method.FAB method is a flexible approach that enables the estimation of return levels both in frequentist and Bayesian contexts. An application of this method is carried out for a database of recorded skew surges (systematic data) and for 14 historical skew surges recovered from different sites located on French, British, Belgian and Spanish coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the North Sea. Frequentist and Bayesian estimations of skew surges are computed for each homogeneous region and for every site. Finally, this manuscript explores the issues surrounding the finding and validation of historical data

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2017-02-23T14:51:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-02-23T20:43:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-03T14:09:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-14 / The relationship between foreign direct investment and the security situation of a given country is complex and difficult to define. To further complicate matters, security is only one of many variables that drives the decision of a firm to invest in a particular country. This paper simplifies some of the complexities related to the study of this topic, especially as it relates to security, by expanding on previous research done at the country level and applying it at the regional level. It concludes that the security situation of a given country can be approximated through the the independent variable of the annual per capita murder rate and that this rate is directly related with FDI in a given area. Business leaders can use this simple analysis as a starting point to aid in the decision in which country to invest in and why.

Submitted by Pedro Silva Filho (pfsilva@ipen.br) on 2017-11-21T11:27:40Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-21T11:27:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a exposição ao mercúrio de crianças residentes em área de garimpo e em área de controle, sem garimpo. Para isso foi realizado um estudo transversal com crianças residentes nos municípios de Chapada de Natividade e Porto Nacional, no Estado de Tocantins onde foi realizada a coleta de cabelo para análise laboratorial dos teores de mercúrio, comparando com relação aos municípios, gênero, consumo mensal de peixe, profissão dos pais e presença de amálgama em restaurações dentárias. As amostras de cabelo foram analisadas pelos métodos de análise por ativação com nêutrons e também por meio do equipamento DMA (Direct Mercury Analyser) sendo esse último em parceria com a CETESB. Não foram encontradas evidências de doenças causadas pelo mercúrio nas crianças estudadas. A concentração média de mercúrio nas crianças de Chapada de Natividade foi significativamente maior que as de Porto Nacional. Não houve relação significante entre concentrações de mercúrio e o gênero, consumo mensal de peixe, profissão dos pais e presença de amálgama em restaurações dentárias. Análises de amostras de peixes mais consumidos na região exposta ao garimpo apontam concentrações de mercúrio abaixo dos valores recomendados, necessitando de estudo mais aprofundado. Os resultados sugerem que as crianças habitantes em região exposta ao garimpo sofrem maior exposição ambiental ao mercúrio, independente de seus hábitos alimentares ou gênero. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Submitted by Marilene Donadel (marilene.donadel@unioeste.br) on 2018-04-27T17:47:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario_Lobao_2018.pdf: 3422592 bytes, checksum: b5a1c38aa161197fb01540a4b89b8d16 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-27T17:47:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario_Lobao_2018.pdf: 3422592 bytes, checksum: b5a1c38aa161197fb01540a4b89b8d16 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-13 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / From the 1960s to the 2000s, the development of the Brazilian Amazon was marked by two main moments. The first was linked to development policies, in which it was based on the valorization of large private capital projects with the granting of credit by the government, for stimulating population densities through rural settlements and for the creation of several federal highways to integrate social and economically the Amazon to the rest of the country. This model lasted from the 60's and 80's in the military period. The second moment arises from the 90s with the promotion, both nationally and internationally, of environmental discussions around economic explorations. Here were adopted conservationist development policies, where environmental sustainability becomes the main focus on the public schedule. Therefore, the previous model is broken and a new course of development is assumed. It is against these claims that we sought to understand how the process of rural development behaved along these conjuncture and structural changes in the region of the Brazilian Amazon. It was decided to analyze the determinants, levels and regional distribution of rural development in the municipalities of the region under study in the 2000s, which is due to the historical accumulation of the public development policies adopted in the Amazon. The research has a main quantitative character, in which the rural development was measured through an analytical index composed of the dimensions sociodemographic, environmental and economic. The Factorial Analysis by Principal Components was used as a methodological resource for the formation of determinants of rural development and subsequent creation of the Rural Development Index (RDI), verifying the levels of development of the states and municipalities. With the production of the RDI, still is visualized the presence of spatial patterns of rural development by means of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis. The main results showed that the Brazilian Amazon is still a region territorially rural, in which it has some poles urbanized as was the case of state capitals and some middling municipalities. It was also noted that the best social and economic indicators were found in the states of Pará, Rondônia and Tocantins, but the worst environmental indicators. On the other hand, it was in the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas and Roraima that the environmental indicators were more favorable, but the social and economic were deficient. The rural development, because it is multidimensional, had as its determinants variables social, economic and environmental, in which the best levels of this development were concentrated in the Eastern and Southern portions of the Brazilian Amazon, represented by the states of Rondônia, Pará and Tocantins, all currently , inserted in the agricultural frontier of production. In the West and North side were the worst levels of rural development, with the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas and Roraima integrating this territorial portion. Given this, a duality in the distribution of rural development was visible. Five main poles of rural development were highlighted: the Southeast of Pará, the East of Rondônia, the Center of Amazonas, the West of Tocantins and the Northeast of Pará. It was also in these poles where the largest population contingencies were verified and, therefore, confirming the initial hypothesis adopted, that is, the municipalities with the highest rural population densities presented the highest levels of rural development, including with correlation and regression analysis positive and statistically significant. It has also been observed that the main federal highways in the region (BR - 364 and BR - 153) have acted as real development corridors. Finally, we verified the existence of spatial clusters in the rural development of the region, in which six spatial patterns stood out, both high and low development, proving the second part of the hypothesis drawn. There is a pattern of heterogeneous rural development in the region, with formations of spatial agglomerates of municipalities with similar levels of rural development, such as the clusters of low rural development in Acre, Amazonas and East of Tocantins or of high development in Rondônia, Pará and West of Tocantins. / A partir dos anos de 1960 até a década de 2000, o desenvolvimento da Amazônia brasileira foi marcado por dois momentos principais. O primeiro esteve vinculado a políticas desenvolvimentistas, em que foi pautado pela valorização de grandes projetos de capital privado com a concessão de crédito por parte do governo, pelo estímulo ao adensamento populacional através de assentamentos rurais e pela criação de várias rodovias federais visando integrar social e economicamente a Amazônia ao restante do país. Esse modelo perdurou entre as décadas de 60 e 80 no período militar. O segundo momento surge na década de 90 com a promoção, tanto em âmbito nacional como internacional, das discussões ambientais em torno das explorações econômicas. Aqui se passou a adotar políticas de desenvolvimento conservacionistas, onde a sustentabilidade ambiental passa a ser o principal foco na agenda pública. Portanto, rompe-se o modelo anterior e assume-se um novo rumo de desenvolvimento. É diante dessas alegações que se buscou entender como o processo de desenvolvimento rural se comportou ao longo dessas mudanças conjunturais e estruturais na região da Amazônia brasileira. Resolveu-se analisar os determinantes, níveis e distribuição regional do desenvolvimento rural nos municípios da região em estudo na década de 2000, que é em decorrência do acumulado histórico das políticas públicas de desenvolvimento adotadas na Amazônia. A pesquisa tem um caráter principal quantitativo, em que se mede o desenvolvimento rural através de um índice analítico composto das dimensões sociodemográfica, ambiental e econômica. Utiliza-se como recurso metodológico a Análise Fatorial por Componentes Principais para a formação de fatores determinantes do desenvolvimento rural e posterior criação do Índice de Desenvolvimento Rural (IDR), verificando os níveis de desenvolvimento dos estados e municípios. Com a produção do IDR, ainda é visualizado a presença de padrões espaciais de desenvolvimento rural por meio da Análise Exploratória de Dados Espaciais. Os principais resultados alcançados mostraram que a Amazônia brasileira ainda é uma região territorialmente rural, no qual detém alguns polos urbanizados como foi o caso das capitais dos estados e alguns municípios de médio porte. Notou-se ainda que foram nos estados do Pará, Rondônia e Tocantins onde se encontraram os melhores indicadores sociais e econômicos, porém os piores indicadores ambientais. Por outro lado, foram nos estados do Acre, Amapá, Amazonas e Roraima onde se teve os indicadores ambientais mais favoráveis, no entanto, os sociais e econômicos foram deficitários. O desenvolvimento rural, por ser multidimensional, teve como determinantes variáveis sociais, econômicas e ambientais, em que os melhores níveis desse desenvolvimento concentraram-se na porção Leste e Sul da Amazônia brasileira, representados pelos estados de Rondônia, Pará e Tocantins, todos, atualmente, inseridos na fronteira agrícola de produção. No lado Oeste e Norte localizaram-se os piores níveis de desenvolvimento rural, com os estados do Acre, Amapá, Amazonas e Roraima integrando essa porção territorial. Diante disso, ficou visível uma dualidade na distribuição do desenvolvimento rural. Destacaram-se cinco polos principais de desenvolvimento rural, sendo o Sudeste Paraense, o Leste Rondoniense, o Centro Amazonense, o Ocidental Tocantinense e o Nordeste Paraense. Foram ainda nesses polos onde se verificaram os maiores contingentes populacionais e, portanto, comprovando a hipótese inicial adotada, isto é, os municípios com maiores densidades populacionais rurais apresentaram os maiores níveis de desenvolvimento rural, inclusive com análise de correlação e regressão positivas e significativas estatisticamente. Ainda se constatou que as principais rodovias federais da região (BR – 364 e BR – 153) têm atuado como verdadeiros corredores de desenvolvimento. Por fim, verificou-se a existência de clusters espaciais no desenvolvimento rural da região, em que seis padrões espaciais se sobressaíram, tanto de alto como de baixo desenvolvimento, comprovando a segunda parte da hipótese traçada. Existe na região um padrão de desenvolvimento rural heterogêneo e com formações de aglomerados espaciais de municípios com níveis de desenvolvimento rural semelhantes, como foi o caso do clusters de baixo desenvolvimento rural no Acre, Amazonas e Leste Tocantinense ou de alto desenvolvimento em Rondônia, Pará e Oeste do Tocantins.

The master thesis introduces comparison of economic situation and overall quality of life in regions of the Czech Republic in 2013. Based on hierarchical Quality-of-life Index (QLI), the thesis confirms stated hypothesis, which assumes that ordered lists of regions by GDP per capita and alternative, more complex QLI will differ. Aforementioned index is composed of 24 cross-section indicators, which are sorted into three particular categories. Inputs can be considered both consistent and comparable, since the analysis is based on data published by Czech statistical office, individual ministries and official specialized institutions. As the following synthesis proves, Prague region is the best ranked - especially thanks to its favorable economic and demographic conditions. The thesis therefore denies another hypothesis, which expects Prague to perform worse due to its high rate of crime and lower quality of environment than in other regions. Regression analysis implies that total GDP per capita contribution to QLI corresponds to 70 percent.

The Okun’s Law has been frequently addressed in macroeconomic studies around the world, mostly in national levels, with few studies that estimate the relationship at regional level. This work, using 2002q1-2014q3 quarterly data, estimated the Okun coefficients for Brazil and for the metropolitan areas of Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo. The conclusion is that Okun’s Law is valid in Brazil and in one of the three metropolitan regions studied, and there are regional differences in the responsiveness of labor markets to output fluctuations and deviations from their long-term levels, which, according to the literature, implies the need to implement unemployment policies that not only meet the regional disparities in the labor market, but also the elasticity of the labor market to changes in economic activity in each location. / A Lei de Okun tem sido frequentemente abordada em estudos macroeconômicos ao redor do mundo, na sua grande maioria em níveis nacionais, havendo poucos estudos que compreendam a relação em nível regional. Este trabalho, a partir de dados trimestrais de 2002q1 a 2014q3, estimou os coeficientes de Okun para o Brasil e para as regiões metropolitanas de Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre e de São Paulo. Verificou-se que a Lei de Okun é válida no Brasil e em uma das três regiões metropolitanas estudadas, e que existem diferenças regionais quanto à capacidade de resposta dos mercados de trabalho às flutuações do produto e aos desvios de seus níveis de longo prazo, o que, segundo a literatura, implica a necessidade de implementar políticas de desemprego que observem não apenas as disparidades regionais no mercado de trabalho, mas também a resposta deste a alterações da atividade econômica em cada localidade.

Atravessando diferentes escalas, o diagnóstico do ambiente construído considera a floresta urbana como espaço humano de natureza integrada, enfrentando a necessidade de equacionar a capacidade reprodutora de água diante da ocupação e da expansão urbana. O presente trabalho apresenta um método desenvolvido e aplicado para avaliar as diferentes dimensões do espaço urbano, notadamente, aquelas relacionadas à interface cidade-hidroesfera de municípios e de regiões, que necessitam do gerenciamento das unidades hidrográficas. Consiste em um modelo conceitual de uma abordagem multidimensional da paisagem construída, contextualizando os principais componentes do espacial/urbano, visando a configuração adequada de zonas ecológico-econômicas. Avaliaram-se inicialmente as técnicas desenvolvidas por outros autores para a construção de um novo método. A partir das observações diretas e indiretas, dados e informações foram organizados em um banco de dados que viabilizou a leitura cruzada, pela técnica de sobreposição de mapas e imagens de satélite (LANDSAT 7ETM+), processadas para Sistema de Informação Geográfica SIG com o uso do ENVI 4.1 (Environment for Visualizing Images) acompanhado com IDL (Interactive Data Language). Do cruzamento da dimensão horizontal com a vertical, propõem-se sete passos metodológicos: identificar, conhecer, compreender, ordenar, analisar, aplicar e avaliar para a abordagem da dinâmica estrutural combinada a compatibilidade ambiental. Adotou-se a modelagem para a análise multi-espacial da cobertura da terra, analisando os componentes do espaço/território na região do Vale do Ribeira de Iguape e no município de Registro-SP. Nas diferentes escalas observadas, os resultados mostram vários Planos de Informações (Pis) de fronteiras topológicas que traduziram os padrões e processos, interligados em diferentes campos da ecologia da paisagem urbana, unindo a geografia humana, a economia do espacial hídrico e o planejamento adequado. Oito planos de informação estão correlacionados na relação população-recursos da unidade municipal conceituada como florestas coletivas, considerando a gestão urbana para as quais os recursos renováveis estão endereçados ao uso sustentável. A compreensão global da paisagem integrou imagem, formato, função, estrutura e ordem urbanas nas quais vetores socioambientais interagem, revelando três características básicas: a imagem da cidade como recurso coletivo, a dinâmica da expansão urbana e as zonas ecológico-econômicas para o desenvolvimento adequado. Ampliou-se a base teórica entre estruturas do espaço/território e a compreensão de conceitos urbanos num planejamento territorial. Recomenda-se o conhecimento multidimensional e o desenvolvimento metodológico para a ordenação do espaço urbano. / Across different scale, research has focused on the diagnosis of built environment, considered as the urban forest treated as integrated natural human space. However, susceptive to occupation and urban expansion, urban forests are generally in need of adequate management for water catchments areas capacity that is expected to provide the increasing population. A new method has been developed and applied to evaluate different dimensions of the urban space. Notable, those interrelated to the interface of the city-hydrosphere of the municipal and the regional areas where adequate management for hydrographic units is required. Initially existing technique of several author were investigated in order to construct a new method. A multi-dimensional approach towards built environment has been developed and applied for the configuration of ecologic-economic zone by the principal components of the spatial/urban. Through direct and indirect observation, data and information collected were organized as data bank of shapefiles, which was utilized in cross analysis and in the overlaying of maps and satellite images (LANDSAT ETM+). With the aid of computer system and softwares, using ENVI 4.1 (Environment for Visualizing Images) with IDL (Interactive Data Language), satellite images were processed in GIS (Geographic Information System) ambient. By linking vertical and horizontal assessments seven methodological steps proposed were determined to identify, perceive, understand, organize, analyze, apply and evaluate the structural urban components under compatible environment investigations. A dynamic model adopted has treated the multi-spatial view of Land Cover, through spatial/territorial modeling, considering the region of Vale do Ribeira and the municipal area of Registro (SP). In all scales, results has revealed both information layer based on the topological translation of urban social/natural pattern and process interconnected with subjects of urban landscape ecology; linking human geography, water environment ecology and adequate planning. Eight elements in different layers of information were correlated on the subject of population-resources of the municipal area, which was considered as collective forest. Territorial management was addressed for sustainable urban use and settings on which a global comprehension of pattern, image, function, structure and order of the special/urban has been integrated. By introducing social environmental vectors, three basic results were archived: the city image as collective resources, the dynamic expansion model and the configuration of ecologic- economic zones. The notional basis of urban space has been amplified for a comprehensive regional planning. A multi-dimensional approach has been recommended for urban landscape ecology towards environment improvement and physical space configuration.

Dissertation declaring that The United States of America is a Fourth World Nation. It has earned this distinction as direct a result of the manner in which it was established, how it developed, and the fact that it has demonstratively failed to confront its ever-increasing disparity and unevenness. Fourth World Theory provides a foundation and framework for a critical investigation of society and culture though an analytical lens, and an examination of the inequities that are increasingly prevalent throughout a post-industrial, post-agrarian, post-developing space of inevitable decline.

Which factors best explain the regional variation in sick-listing and early retirement? Data from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency is fitted against variables describing different regional characteristics that have been linked to sickness insurance consumption in the literature. Results, in line with earlier empirical investigation, suggest that particularly the employment rate, the populations‟ age, and its wealth are strong determinants of regional insurance usage. Two further factors, though less discussed in the literature, appear to have some relevance as well: A high share of large workplaces is found to predict higher rates of early retirement, while a large share of foreign-born predict lower sick-listing rates. Both effects have been found before, though the first one perhaps not in Swedish cross section analysis and the latter does not appear to be well understood in the literature. A tentative explanation for it is given here.