In the following thesis I examine the possible evolutionary significance of behavioural differences associated with liberal and conservative ideological orientations. In investigating the evolutionary significance of these two orientations I have two primary research questions. First, how do liberal and conservative oriented individuals differ in their responses to the same socio-environmental stimuli? Second, do differences in their responses to socio-environmental stimuli represent alternative behavioural strategies for social interaction, specifically adaptive strategies to maximize returns from social interactions? To answer these research questions I evaluate how trust and cooperation among liberal and conservative oriented individuals are affected by conditions of social change and inequality. Previous research finds that attitudes and behaviours consistent with the tolerance or intolerance of social change and inequality are strong predictors of ideological orientation across a liberal-conservative scale. Based on a synthesis of behavioural research I construct two theoretical frameworks to account for the adaptive utility associated with a sensitivity to social change and inequality; 1) The Group Reciprocity Hypothesis, and 2) The Social Risk Hypothesis. I test these frameworks using an experimental research design. I predict that, if liberal and conservative orientations are reflective of alternative adaptive strategies to maximize returns from social interaction, then the willingness of liberal and conservative individuals to participate in a social interaction should be differentially affected by conditions related to social change and inequality.

This dissertation develops, presents and tests a new international tool, the so-called Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), which indicates in a comprehensive and easy way the severity of the road safety situation in a specific country and/or in comparison with other countries. There are three pillars of outcomes involved in the framework of RSDI. One pillar is the People focus (road user behaviour). The second is the System focus (safer vehicles, safer roads, enforcement, management, etc). The third is the Product focus in terms of accident death rates. This thesis analyses each of these pillars. In addition, RSDI links the key national practices of road safety to each other and to the end-results (accident death rates). The study suggests a master-list of performance indicators to be implemented for assessing road safety level in a country and for RSDI building. Based on the “master-list”, a short key list of performance indicators is chosen and classified into two primary categories that correspond to two groups of countries: LMCs “Less Motorised Countries” and HMCs “Highly Motorised Countries”. RSDI aggregates the key performance indicators into one single quantitative value (composite index). Four main objective and subjective approaches are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators. Two empirical studies were carried out, in different parts of the world, to determine the applicability of this tool in real world applications. The first empirical study comes from eight European countries (HMCs). The second empirical study comes from five Southeast Asian countries (LMCs). The RSDI results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between the selected countries even at the same level of motorisation and/or with close accident death rates. The unavailability of comparable and useful data are problems for deeper analysis of RSDI, especially the index should be as relevant as possible for different parts of the world. The empirical and theoretical assessments prove that RSDI can give a broader picture of the whole road safety situation in a country compared to the traditional models and can offer a simple and easily understandable tool to national policy makers and public. / Denna avhandling utvecklar, presenterar och testar ett nytt internationellt verktyg, det så kallade Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), vilket på ett begripligt och lättillgängligt sätt beskriver trafiksäkerhetsläget i ett visst land jämfört med andra länder. Resultatet av RSDI utgörs av tre grundpelare. Den första pelaren är Fokus på människor (vägtrafikbeteende). Den andra är Fokus på systemet (säkrare fordon, säkrare vägar, beivrande, management, osv). Den tredje pelaren är Fokus på produkten med avseende på antal döda per fordon och per invånare. Arbetet analyserar var och en av dessa tre pelare. RSDI kopplar dessutom samman de viktigaste nationella praxisarna och erfarenheterna med varandra och till slutresultaten (antal dödsfall). Studien föreslår en lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna på hur olika länder vidtar åtgärder för trafiksäkerheten. Grundat på denna “master-lista” kan en kort lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna skapas och klassificeras i två huvudkategorier för två typer av länder: LMC “länder med låg andel fordon” och HMC “länder med hög andel fordon”. RSDI aggregerar de viktigaste performance-indikatorerna till ett enda kvantitativt mått (ett sammansatt index). Fyra olika objektiva och subjektiva huvudangreppssätt används för att beräkna RSDI och bestämma vilket av dem som är det bästa. En metod använder sig av lika stora vikter för alla indikatorer och länder, medan en annan metod ger olika vikter beroende på indikatorernas betydelse. Två empiriska studier genomfördes i olika delar av världen för att bestämma tillämpligheten av detta verktyg i verkliga situationer. Den första empiriska studien kommer från åtta länder i Europa (HMC-länder). Den andra empiriska studien har gjorts i fem länder i Sydostasien (LMC-länder). Resultaten från detta RSDI tyder på en anmärkningsvärd skillnad mellan de valda länderna, också om andelen bilägare och/eller andra variabler för trafiksäkerhet hålls konstanta. Bristen på jämförbara och användbara data medför problem vid en djupare analys av RSDI för olika delar av världen. De empiriska och teoretiska skattningarna visar att RSDI kan ge en bredare bild av hela trafiksäkerhetssituationen i ett land jämfört med traditionella modeller och kan erbjuda ett enkelt och lättförståeligt verktyg för de nationella beslutsfattarna liksom för allmänheten.

The objective of this thesis was to analyze a tourism supply and demand in České Budějovice. This work focuses closely to museums in the city. On the base of made situational analysis, the output of the questionnaires and SWOT analysis products were drawn that expand the supply in chosen area of cultural tourism. Simultaneously the possibilities of communication and cooperation of chosen cultural facilities and the tourism sector were suggested.

This dissertation examines the ways international research collaboration affects the ability of Colombian research teams to produce bibliographic outputs, and to contribute to local knowledge. Research hypotheses are tested using Zero Inflated Negative Binomial Regression models to account for the effects of international research collaboration on team output while controlling for team characteristics, partner characteristics, scientific discipline, sector, the characteristics of the teams' home institution, and team location. The study uses control groups and the Propensity Score Matching approach to assess the overall impact of international research collaboration on research team performance while controlling for the effects of endogeneity and selection bias. Results show that international research collaboration is positively associated with both team output and teams' ability to contribute to local knowledge. The study shows that such effects depend on the type of collaboration chosen and the type of partner involved. Particularly, it shows that while co-authoring with colleagues located overseas or receiving foreign funding positively affects team performance, hosting foreign researchers does not seem to affect a team's productivity or its ability to contribute to local knowledge once all other variables are held constant. It also finds that collaborating with partners from the South yields greater productivity counts than collaborating with partners from the North, but that collaboration with partners from northern countries is strongly associated with a team's ability to contribute to local knowledge, while collaboration with partners from southern countries is not. Theoretical and policy implications of these and other counterintuitive findings are discussed.

This dissertation examines the ways international research collaboration affects the ability of Colombian research teams to produce bibliographic outputs, and to contribute to local knowledge. Research hypotheses are tested using Zero Inflated Negative Binomial Regression models to account for the effects of international research collaboration on team output while controlling for team characteristics, partner characteristics, scientific discipline, sector, the characteristics of the teams' home institution, and team location. The study uses control groups and the Propensity Score Matching approach to assess the overall impact of international research collaboration on research team performance while controlling for the effects of endogeneity and selection bias. Results show that international research collaboration is positively associated with both team output and teams' ability to contribute to local knowledge. The study shows that such effects depend on the type of collaboration chosen and the type of partner involved. Particularly, it shows that while co-authoring with colleagues located overseas or receiving foreign funding positively affects team performance, hosting foreign researchers does not seem to affect a team's productivity or its ability to contribute to local knowledge once all other variables are held constant. It also finds that collaborating with partners from the South yields greater productivity counts than collaborating with partners from the North, but that collaboration with partners from northern countries is strongly associated with a team's ability to contribute to local knowledge, while collaboration with partners from southern countries is not. Theoretical and policy implications of these and other counterintuitive findings are discussed.