The purpose of this thesis is: (i) to produce an in-depth data analysis and computer-based simulations of the market environment to investigate whether financial stability is affected by the presence of High-Frequency investors; (ii) to verify how High-Frequency Trading and financial stability interact with each other under non-linear conditions; (iii) whether non-illicit behaviours can still lead to potentially destabilising effects; (iv) to provide quantitative support to the theses, either from the audit trail data or resulting from simulations. Simulations are provided to test whether High-Frequency Trading: (a) has an impact on market volatility, (b) leads to market splitting into two tiers; (c) takes the lion's share of arbitrage opportunities. Audit trail data is analysed to verify some hypotheses on the dynamics of the Flash Crash. The simulation on the impact of High-Frequency Trading on market volatility confirms that when markets are under stress, High-Frequency Trading may cause volatility to significantly increase. However, as the number of ultra-fast participants increases, this phenomenon tends to disappear and volatility realigns to its standard values. The market tiering simulation suggests that High-Frequency traders have some tendency to deal with each other, and that causes Low-Frequency traders also to deal with other slow traders, albeit at a lesser extent. This is also a kind of market instability. High-Frequency Trading potentially allows a few fast traders to grab all the arbitrage-led profits, so falsifying the Efficient Market Hypothesis. This phenomenon may disappear as more High-Frequency traders enter the competition, leading to declining profits. Yet, the whole matter seems a dispute for abnormal gains only between few sub-second traders. All simulations have been carefully designed to provide robust results: the behaviours simulated have been drawn from existing literature and the simplifying assumptions have been kept to a minimum. This maximises the reliability of the results and minimizes the potential of bias. Finally, from the data analysis, the impact of High-Frequency Trading on the Flash Crash seems significant; other sudden crashes occurred since, and more can be expected over the next future. Overall, it can be concluded that High-Frequency Trading shows some controversial aspects impacting on financial stability. The results are at a certain extent confirmed by the audit trail data analysis, although only indirectly, since the details allowing the match between High-Frequency traders and their behaviour are confidential and not publicly available Nevertheless, the findings about HFT-induced volatility, market segmentation and sub-optimal market efficiency, albeit not definitive, suggest that careful monitoring by regulators and policy-makers might be required.

The aim of this dissertation is to evaluate and compare the chosen integrated transport systems in the Czech Republic and based on findings submit a proposal to improvement. For this purpose are chosen the largest and the smarter transport sysstems in the Czech Republic, which are: - Integrated transport system of the Hradec Kralove region (IREDO) - Prague integrated transport system (PID) - Integrated transport system of the South Moravia (IDS JMK) Within the analysis is used the evaluation of the qulitative indicators, for example the number of the carriers, the number of tthe stations etc. This shows that these indicators haven?t got sufficient predictive value for the analysis and final evaluation, because some differences among the transport system. Therefore are the ratios included the analysis, which arw designed on the basis of the quantitative criterions recalculated for factors causing the significant differences of the transport systems. From the analysiss came out best the Integrated transport system in Prague (PID), because of the high freguency of the transport links, large fleet, reliable continuity of the transport links, and the positive evaluation of the range of distribution network, the number of vending machines, types of tickets and existence of the car lots P+R. The worst rated is Integrated transport system of Hradec Kralove region (IREDO), which was recomended to concenterate for the information sources and to attractive the system by these sources. Generally speaking the successful integrated transport systems are these which comply with conditions of the uniformity, intelligibility and clarity. Another important factor is the high frequency of the transport links, the continuity, availability of the bus stops and of course the quality passenger information.

Esta dissertação trata dos abrigos para usuários em pontos de parada de ônibus na cidade de São Paulo, que são popularmente conhecidos como abrigo de ônibus. Toma como exemplo a produção mais recente no município: os abrigos SP450 e Barbosa & Corbucci (B&C), implantados na gestão da prefeita Marta Suplicy - 2001-2004. Apresenta os abrigos enfocando seus aspectos de concepção, produção e implantação, e os analisa através de suas características de mobiliário urbano e as relações com o sistema de transporte público urbano. Ao observar sua inserção dentro do funcionamento do sistema de transporte e da situação política, evidenciam-se os desvios entre a concepção das propostas e a realidade de sua implantação. Conforme verificado na pesquisa realizada, o desenvolvimento de uma peça de mobiliário abrange uma ampla escala - desde o planejamento urbano até detalhamento de projeto - com interface em diversas áreas do conhecimento: design e produção, instalação e manutenção de peças e serviços, legislação, exploração econômica, gestão de espaço público, gestão de infra-estrutura urbana, entre outras. Longe de esgotar o tema, a pesquisa documenta a atual condição de permanência na cidade, fornecendo subsídios para desenvolvimentos complementares, e expõe algumas das condicionantes de concepção e produção de abrigos de ônibus urbanos, como equipamento para uso em espaço público. / This work raises the formerly São Paulo city´s bus shelters. It starts with the most recent local production, developed in Marta Suplicy Mayor Management (2001-2004): SP450 and Barbosa & Corbucci bus shelters models. The text introduces the bus shelters focusing in the conception, production and installation aspects, and analyses them throughout your urban furniture characteristics and the bus system transportation relations. Looking inside the system transport management and the political situation, show up the differences between the original proposals and the real implementation. As verified, the urban space elements development reaches many scales - from urban planning until design detaliling - with interface in various fields: design and production, service installation and spare pieces maintenance conditions, legislation, economic exploitation, public space management, urban infrastructure management, among others. Without exhausting the theme, the research offers some outlines to the current situation - and provides subside for futures developments - and ask and expose some public space equipment conception and production limitations constraints, especially bus shelter´s guidelines.

The aim of this study has been to examine if an implementation of a One Stop Shop in the public sector and its IT-support can serve as a motor for business development. By examine the relation between the One Stop Shop and the public administrations we have tried to answer this question. The municipality that we have examined underwent a big change, seven years ago, when they implemented a One Stop Shop including a IT-support called Flexite. But despite these seven years and the fact that Flexite has changed approach from a Case Management System to a Support System for Business Development the municipality have not adapted to this change.

En raison de la tendance grandissante du downsizing, des hautes performances, des réductions de la consommation et des émissions des véhicules modernes, la turbocompression des moteurs thermiques s’avère de plus en plus innovante et technologique. Leader dans ce domaine, Honeywell Turbo Technologies s’intéresse à deux axes de recherche majeurs des systèmes lubrifiés. Un délai temporel est couramment observé entre l’appui sur la pédale d’accélérateur et l’augmentation de la pression de l’air ambiant du côté de la roue compresseur. Il s’agit du décalage turbo ou turbo lag. Celui-ci a pour origine principale l’existence d’un couple de frottement parasite au sein de la butée. En ce qu’il pénalise les performances du turbo et limite le confort de conduite, la réduction du turbo lag constitue un enjeu majeur de l’industrie des turbocompresseurs automobiles. En tant que phénomène présent à chaque instant du fonctionnement du véhicule, les pulsations moteurs constituent également un axe de recherche primordial. Celles-ci proviennent des ouvertures et fermetures successives des soupapes des cylindres et résultent en d’importantes variations de la charge axiale appliquée à la butée du turbocompresseur. Or le dimensionnement actuel de la butée se basant sur l’étude stationnaire des cas critiques de la vie réelle du moteur, l’influence de ces pulsations sur le comportement de la butée doit être déterminée. Ce manuscrit présente une modélisation thermohydrodynamique du contact de la butée appliquée au cas des turbocompresseurs. Une équation de Reynolds modifiée est établie et intègre le modèle Modifié de Phan-Thien et Tanner. Elle relie les caractéristiques rhéologiques des huiles de moteurs actuelles au comportement macro-moléculaire des additifs à longues chaînes de polymères qu’elles contiennent. La nécessité de considérer les effets inertiels du fluide ainsi que la recirculation inter-patin est démontrée. L’influence de l’élasticité du lubrifiant sur la dissipation d’énergie au sein du contact est analysée numériquement. Il est montré qu’un compromis sur l’élasticité du lubrifiant peut mener à une réduction du turbo lag. De plus, un banc d’essai est développé en régime transitoire afin de mettre en évidence l’influence des pulsations moteurs sur les performances de la butée. Les résultats obtenus expérimentalement corroborent les effets dynamiques observés par les prédictions numériques. / With increasing focus on downsizing, high performances, low fuel consumption and emission reduction of modern vehicles, turbochargers of combustion engines have become more and more innovative and technological. Leader in this field, Honeywell Turbo Technologies is interested in two major lines of research regarding lubricated contacts. A delay in response time is frequently observed between the gas pedal push and the pressure rise of ambient air at the compressor wheel. It is called turbo lag. This phenomenon is mainly induced by a parasitic frictional torque existing in the thrust bearing contact. Penalizing turbochargers performances and drivability, the reduction of turbo lag constitutes a major concern for the automotive turbocharger industry. As an event constantly occurring on working engines, exhaust gas pulsations represent an essential line of research. Due to successive openings and closings of engine valves, these pulsations result in significant axial load variations applied to the turbocharger thrust bearing. Current sizing of thrust bearing design resting on steady state studies of critical on-engine cases, the influence of exhaust gas pulsations on the thrust bearing behavior needs to be determined. This thesis presents a thermohydrodynamic model of the thrust bearing contact applied to turbochargers. A Modified Reynolds equation is established and uses the Modified Phan-Thien and Tanner model. It connects rheological characteristics of current engine oils to the behavior of long polymeric chain additives they contain. The necessity for fluid inertia and oil recirculation to be considered is demonstrated. The influence of oil elasticity on energy dissipation within the contact is numerically analyzed. A compromise on the extent of oil elasticity can lead to a turbo lag reduction. In addition, a thrust bearing rig is developed to highlight the influence of exhaust gas pulsations on thrust bearing performances. Experimental results support dynamic effects predicted by simulations.

När nya betongbroar över järnväg ska upprättas finns det många aspekter som försvårar byggandet, som t.ex. att trafiken inte kan stoppas helt förutom under kortare perioder under byggtiden. Tågstoppen planeras in många år i förväg vilket gör att produktionen måste planeras och utföras utefter de planerade stoppen. Det är svårt att få till en industrialiserad brobyggnadsprocess med högre effektivitet och mer upprepning. Den traditionella platsgjutna metoden är den metod som är vanligast i Sverige trots att det finns metoder som skulle kunna ersätta den. Det huvudsakliga syftet med rapporten är att ta reda på om prefabricerade betongelement på plats är en möjlig metod för att underlätta byggandet av nya betongbroar över järnväg. Denna rapport baseras på en fallstudie av ett befintligt broprojekt för att se vilka fördelar och förbättringar metoden med prefab på plats kan ge i olika aspekter. Utöver detta har intervjuer och en enkätundersökning genomförts för att samla in material och åsikter om prefab och industrialiserade brobyggnadsprocesser. Resultatet i denna rapport visar att metoden med prefab på plats är mer fördelaktig än den traditionella platsgjutna metoden i flera hänseenden. Det är en metod som gör det möjligt att nå upprepning och serietillverkning av broar. Vid intervjuerna framkom att entreprenörerna är intresserade av prefablösningar men bland annat krav på utformning och konservativ syn på prefab från beställarna hindrar möjligheterna för att tillämpa metoden / When new concrete bridges over railway is to be established there are many aspects that complicates the construction, such as that traffic not can be stopped completely except for short periods during the construction process. The train stop is planned many years in advance, which means that construction must be planned and performed along the planned stops. It is difficult to get to an industrial bridge construction process with higher efficiency and more repetition. The traditional cast on site method is the most common in Sweden although there are methods that could replace it. The main purpose of the report is to find out if precast concrete elements on site is a possible method to facilitate the construction of new concrete bridges over the railway. This report is based on a case study of an existing bridge project to see the benefits and improvements the method with precast on site can provide in various aspects. Also interviews and surveys was conducted to collect opinions about prefabrication and industrial bridge construction. The results in this report show that the method of prefab on site is more advantageous than the traditional cast on site method in several respects. It is a method that makes it possible to reach repetition and serial production of bridges. The interviews revealed that contractors are interested in prefabricated solutions, but among other requirements for the design and conservative view of prefabrication from clients prevents the possibility of applying the method.

New information technology is developing faster than the models, metaphors and methods in use for conceptualizing the sharing and managing of information in organizations, in communities and in society in general. The way we utilize information technology today does not seem to succeed in supporting the everyday work practices through which organizations accomplish their work. In this PhD dissertation, the results of a research project about skill, cooperation and computer support in public service one-stop shops are presented and discussed. Based on these results, alternative metaphors are presented for understanding the constructive aspects of front office work practices, One hypothesis is, that there is added value in not only being aware of multiperspectivity as an issue, but of making use of it in design. A problem here is that many traditional research methods, as well as most methods for systems development, are designed to diminish rather than make use of ambiguity and diversity. The metaphor of inverted indexicality of language is introduced in order to conceptualize the construction of meaning in action. New ways of conceptualizing IT management on the shop floor - including design issues - are proposed. Metaphors like the art of IT management, gardening and caring for are indicative of the issues at stake. / <p>This book is for sale! The Hardcopy-version of this thesis is available for 200 SEK, not including postage. Please contact the author if you are interested! mailto:sara.eriksen@bth.se</p>

Aim of this diploma thesis is to develop a referential catalogue of public administration services, which should provide its users with summary of services provided by public administration. Theoretical part of thesis at first defines notions and presents problems connected with providing public administration services in context of development in period after Velvet revolution in Czech Republic. After that, work follows with global situation in European Union and concentrates on one country (Austria) and its services. During design of the catalogue was used actual knowledge and research about service providing, which reflects customer oriented approach and access through single point of contact. The necessity of splitting the whole process of service providing into two parts, service access and service execution part, is emphasized. Within design of catalogue are presented two main models -- domain model describing the structure of catalogue itself and service model, describing services. Based on analysis of possible uses and its integration potential with existing systems are defined its main benefits and is devised integrating principles designed in catalogue into "Portal veřejné správy".

This thesis deals with the system Mini One Stop Shop and its implementation in IS of Financial Administration of the Czech Republic (ADIS). The first part describes the concept of the Mini One Stop Shop including basic concepts and related legislative documents. In the next part, were analyzed of the current conditions of the Financial administration of the Czech Republic in the area of IS / ICT in order to define a baseline for the implementation of MOSS payments area. The main outcome of this thesis is to design implementation of MOSS payments area in ADIS, which is composed of a detailed process analysis, catalog of functional requirements and an example of a specific analytical design for the selected functional requirements. The main contribution of this work is to link the general principles and requirements of MOSS that are defined uniformly for all EU Member States, with the principles and procedures implemented in the ADIS result in a the design implementation of MOSS payments area.

Esta tese avalia o impacto do treinamento no desempenho individual, durante a abordagem, analisando a capacidade de um grupo de policiais militares seguir procedimentos operacionais padrão (POP), após o treinamento. Em 2002, a Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo criou o SISUPA Sistema de Supervisão e Padronização uma política que padroniza procedimentos operacionais e sistematiza a supervisão e treinamento dos policiais de rua. Desempenhar as tarefas cotidianas de maneira coerente com os procedimentos padronizados pode diminuir tanto o grau de exposição ao risco do policial, como a possibilidade de prática abusiva. Em pesquisa realizada anteriormente constatamos a tendência do policial não seguir os POP de abordagem (PINC, 2007a). Entendemos que esse resultado estava relacionado a ausência de treinamento. Neste sentido, a hipótese central desta pesquisa sustenta que o treinamento aproxima o comportamento individual do policial, durante as abordagens, do padrão estabelecido pela polícia. Para testar esta hipótese realizamos um quase experimento com dois grupos não-equivalentes. Os grupos foram observados por meio da técnica da observação social sistemática (OSS), que registrou as imagens do desempenho dos policiais realizando abordagens sem que soubessem que estavam sendo observados. Como instrumento de avaliação do desempenho, usamos um questionário para buscar identificar a presença de quatorze procedimentos padronizados, em cada uma das 199 abordagens selecionadas na amostra. O treinamento de 60 horas foi aplicado a apenas um dos grupos, entre a primeira e a segunda etapa da OSS. A análise de regressão empregou o modelo estatístico do Difference-in-Difference. Os resultados indicam que o treinamento não atingiu o objetivo de mudar comportamento. Por fim, entendemos que esse resultado está relacionado, principalmente, à metodologia empregada no treinamento. / thesis evaluates the impact of the training on individual performance during the stop and search, analyzing the ability of a group of military police officer following standard procedures after training. In 2002, the Military Police of São Paulo State created a policy which standardized operational procedures (SOP) and a system of supervision and training. Performing daily tasks in a manner consistent with the standardized procedures can reduce both the degree of risk to the police officer and the possibility of abusive practice. Earlier research showed the tendency of the police officer not following the SOP (PINC, 2007a). I argue that the result was related to the absence of training. In this sense, the central hypothesis of this research establishes that training procedures might change police officers behavior by assuring the compliance with institutional standards. To test this hypothesis this study developed a quasi-experiment with two non-equivalent groups. The groups were observed by the systematic social observation (SSO) technique, which videotaped the performance of police officers during the stop and search without knowing they were being watched. The research used a questionnaire as instrument to identify the presence of fourteen standard procedures in each of the 199 stop and search selected in the sample. The 60 hours of training was applied to just one group, between the first and second stage of the SSO. Regression analysis used the statistical model of the Difference-in-Difference. The results indicate that training has not changed the police officers behavior. Finally, this result is mainly related to the methodology used in the training.