This thesis compares two theories of voter behavior in the 2019 European Parliament election (EP election). The second-order national contest theory claims that the European Parliament elections are basically seen as unimportant and are predominantly about national issues. In contrast, the competing Europe matters theory (or EU matters) claims that voters to a significant degree are motivated by European issues. Research on earlier elections has presented evidence strongly in favor of the second-order national contests theory, however, the most recent elections show more ambiguous results. With Europe having gone through a refugee crisis since the last EP election, and with Brexit taking place in the run-up to the election in 2019 making the future of the Union uncertain, there are strong reasons to challenge the second-order theory, and examine if voters did care more about European affairs in the 2019 EP election to substantially make this election about Europe. This thesis will focus on political parties and the predictions the different theories make on the electoral outcome. The study will use a quantitative research design to investigate if changes in voter support for parties in the 2019 EP election compared to the preceding national general election (national election), are the result of national or European issues. The findings suggest that the EP elections are still primarily about national issues and the expectations from the second-order national contest theory can largely explain the outcome of the 2019 EP election. For instance, in the 2019 EP election, the popularity of governing parties in the national arena seems to significantly affect their electoral performance in the EP election. Furthermore, small parties overperform, suggesting voters do not vote strategically and have little interest in the EP election. At the same time party position on European integration only had minor effect on the outcome, which is expected to be substantial if the elections are about Europe. This study shows that it is too early to dismiss the long-held notion of European Parliament elections as being second-order national contests. More research is, however, needed to examine different aspect of the EP election and the different mechanisms at play for a more complete understanding of the nature of the EP elections.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans une démarche d’amélioration des connaissances des instabilités des éléments comprimés et fléchis sensibles aux effets du second ordre. Il s’agit de traiter la prise en compte des imperfections initiales dans l’analyse de la structure et d’adapter les critères actuels de vérification pour les structures tubulaires de type échafaudage. Les formulations existantes, proposées dans la littérature et les codes de calculs, sont souvent issues d’hypothèses, et conduisent à des incohérences entre les critères de vérification en section, et les critères de vérification en instabilité. L’approche développée traite l’interaction entre la résistance en section et les phénomènes d’instabilités, et inclut l’influence des imperfections initiales. Ces effets seront, dans la mesure du possible, découplés. À ce titre, une méthode a été conçue pour permettre la définition des imperfections initiales d’une structure, de manière à être la plus précise possible. Cette méthode, basée sur la définition d’une imperfection unique, d’allure identique à la déformée critique du mode de flambement prépondérant, est une méthode précise, entièrement définie permettant de tenir compte des caractéristiques géométriques, des caractéristiques mécaniques intrinsèques, des conditions aux limites et de la forme du chargement, dans la définition de l’imperfection initiale unique d’une structure. Une campagne d’essai a été réalisée en collaboration avec le SFECE, visant à analyser le comportement expérimental au flambement de sections tubulaires formées à froid. Des essais de flambement sur des échelles d’échafaudage, provenant de divers fournisseurs européens, ont été effectués. Une étude statistique des résultats expérimentaux a permis de mettre en évidence que le facteur d’imperfection actuellement défini pour les sections tubulaires formées à froid est bien trop pénalisant à l’égard des sections usitées dans le domaine des échafaudages. Afin de répondre à la problématique, de nouveaux critères de vérification en instabilité ont également été établis en utilisant une approche similaire à celle d’Ayrton-Perry. Ces nouveaux critères permettent de s’affranchir de la modélisation des imperfections initiales tout en offrant une estimation sûre et précise du facteur de sollicitation d’une structure. Des études comparatives ont été menées de manière à s’assurer de la sécurité des formulations proposées par rapport aux critères de vérification en section de la norme actuelle. / This thesis is part of an effort to improve knowledge of the instabilities of beam-columns sensitive to second-order effects. The works deal with the means to take into account the initial imperfections in the structural analysis and to adapt the current verification criteria for tubular section structures, such as scaffold structures. The existing formulations, proposed in the literature and calculation codes, are often based on hypotheses, and thus lead to inconsistencies between, on the one hand, the verification criteria in section, and on the other hand, the verification criteria in instability. The developed approach takes into account the interaction between section resistance and instability phenomena, and includes the influence of initial imperfections (initial defect of aplomb, lack of straightness, residual stresses). As far as possible, these effects will be decoupled. As such, a method has been developed to allow the definition of initial imperfections of a structure, to be as accurate as possible. This method, based on the definition of a single imperfection, identical in appearance to the shape of the predominant critical buckling mode, is a precise, fully defined method to take into account the geometric characteristics, intrinsic mechanical characteristics, limits and the form of loading, in the definition of the initial imperfections of a structure. A test campaign was carried out in collaboration with the French Syndicate of Scaffolding, Formwork and Shoring (SFECE), aiming to analyze the experimental behavior of buckling of cold-formed tubular sections. Nine buckling tests on scaffold ladders, from various European suppliers, have been carried out. A statistical study of the experimental results has made it possible to highlight that the imperfection factor currently defined for the cold-formed tubular sections is far too penalizing for the sections used in the field of scaffolds. In order to respond to the problem, new instability criteria have also been established using a similar approach to that of Ayrton-Perry. These new criteria make it possible to free ourselves from the modeling of initial imperfections while offering a safe and accurate estimate of the stress factor of a structure. A comparative study was conducted in order to ensure the safety of the proposed formulations as regards the section verification criteria of the NF EN 1993-1-1 current standard.

Title: Bifurcation of Ordinary Differential Equations from Points of Fučík Spectrum Author: Vendula Exnerová Department: Department of Mathematical Analysis Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Jana Stará, CSc., Department of Mathematical Analysis MFF UK, Prague Abstract: The main subject of the thesis is the Fučík spectrum of a system of two differential equations of the second order with mixed boundary conditions. In the first part of the thesis there are described Fučík spectra of problems of a differential equation with Dirichlet, mixed and Neumann boundary conditions. The other part deals with systems of two differential equations. It attends to basic properties of systems and their nontrivial solutions, to a possibility of a reduction of number of parameters and to a dependance of a problem with mixed boundary condition on one with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The thesis takes up the results of E. Massa and B. Ruff about the Dirichlet problem and improves some of their proofs. In the end the Fučík spectrum of a problem with mixed boundary conditions is described as the union of countably many continuously differentiable surfaces and there is proven that this spectrum is closed.

The Domain Name System (DNS) oversees the internet's architecture, providing pointers to both internal and external services. Consequently, enterprises increase their attack surface while simultaneously increasing their exposure to potential cyber threats. Subdomain takeovers happen when a subdomain leads to a website that no longer exists. As a result, the subdomain will be in control of an attacker. A compromised subdomain may be the access point to many attacks like information threats, phishing attacks, infrastructure intrusion and many more. Subdomain takeover attacks are one of the overlooked attack surfaces related to cyber security. This thesis aims to investigate the subdomain takeover attacks, how the attacks happen, the attack methodology by an attacker and drawbacks in the current strategies and tools, which are countermeasures for subdomain takeover attacks. The research focuses on resolving an intrusion from happening within the perspective of an enterprise standpoint. A new custom framework which resolves the subdomain takeover attacks was developed. A comparative study of the newly developed framework and the existing open-source tools and their response to an attack scenario too is made. Also, a comparison of the leading cloud platforms was conducted and their existing security features and mitigation measures for similar attacks and threats.

The thesis shows how practice theory can be applied in different ways when exploring how daily life can be supported to become more environmentally sustainable. Ultimately the thesis aims to contribute to new knowledge on how to design policies and interventions that aim at facilitating environmentally sustainable practices.  This thesis argues that practice theory is useful in the field of sustainability research since it offers as point of departure a perspective on human everyday life which decentres focus from individual behaviour and instead looks at how social practices are constructed by integrating and combining material, bodily and mental elements. The thesis discusses the following questions: i) How can the role of ICT in everyday life be conceptualized from a practice perspective?, ii) How can practice theory be used in order to describe and assess second order environmental effects? and iii) What are the key considerations from a practice perspective when designing social/physical interventions for sustainable mobility? The papers in this thesis all use practice theory as point of departure but with different outcomes. Practice theory is thus used conceptually, methodologically and analytically. The main conclusions of the thesis are:  Changes in practices due to ICT usage will inevitably have environmental impacts, both negative and positive, and for policy-makers it is imperative to take this into consideration when planning for the future and actively support and facilitate sustainable social practices. Looking at changes in practices due to new ICT usage can be one way to include second order effects in environmental assessments, in this way contributing to a discussion of potential environmental impacts from implementing a new product, application or service. Interventions, such as a cargo bike pool or restrictive work travel policies, have the potential to change existing practices. However, the potential of these changes, depend on a variety of different factors which are more or less difficult to influence for the individual practitioner such as work location, time schedules, availability of transportation means and modes. Further, it is difficult to foresee exactly how such changes will look and if they sustain in the long run. Finally, it is not necessarily so that an intervention will have the desired outcome that was intended, the outcome might be something else, consequently this means that interventions need to be analysed and assessed from other perspectives, one being a practice perspective. / Denna avhandling visar hur praktikteori (practice theory) kan tillämpas på olika sätt när man ska utforska hur det dagliga livet kan bli mer miljömässigt hållbart. Ytterst syftar avhandlingen till att bidra till ny kunskap om hur man kan utforma strategier och åtgärder som syftar till att stödja miljömässigt hållbara praktiker. Denna avhandling hävdar att praktikteori är användbart inom hållbarhetsforskning eftersom den utgår från de vardagliga praktikerna. Detta ger ett perspektiv på människors vardagsliv som lyfter fokus upp från individens beteende och istället undersöker hur praktiker skapas och omskapas genom de element (material, färdigheter och symbolisk innebörd) som utgör en social praktik. Avhandlingen behandlar följande frågor: i) Hur kan IKT: s roll i det dagliga livet begreppsliggöras?, ii) Hur kan praktikteori användas för att beskriva och andra ordningens miljöeffekter i miljöbedömningar? och iii) Vilka är de viktigaste överväganden utifrån ett praktikteoriperspektiv vid utformningen av sociala och/eller fysiska åtgärder för hållbar mobilitet? Artiklarna i denna avhandling utgår från praktikteori, men det teoretiska ramverket används på ett konceptuellt, metodologiskt eller analytiskt vis i de olika artiklarna. De viktigaste slutsatserna i avhandlingen är: Förändringar i till följd av IKT-användning kommer oundvikligen ha miljöpåverkan som kan vara både negativ och positiv.  För beslutsfattare är det viktigt att ta hänsyn till detta när man planerar för framtiden och aktivt stödja och underlätta för hållbara sociala praktiker. Miljöbedömningar behöver kunna hantera och inkludera så kallade effekter av andra ordningen för att kunna bedöma potentiell miljöpåverkan som en ny produkt, program eller en tjänst kan ha. Ett sätt att inkludera andra ordningens effekter i miljöbedömningar kan vara att titta på förändringar i vardagliga praktiker som uppstår vid användning av IKT. Interventioner och andra typer av åtgärder har potential att förändra befintliga mobilitetspraktiker. Men dessa potentiella förändringar, beror på en rad olika faktorer som är mer eller mindre svårt att påverka för den enskilde utövaren så som arbetsplatsens lokalisering, scheman, tillgång till transportmedel och transportsätt. Vidare är det svårt att förutse exakt hur sådana förändringar kommer att se ut och om de håller i sig i det långa loppet. Slutligen är det inte nödvändigtvis så att en intervention eller annan åtgärd kommer att ha det önskade resultatet som avsågs, utan resultatet kan snarare vara något annat. Detta innebär att insatser och åtgärder måste analyseras och bedömas ur andra perspektiv, till exempel ett praktikteoretiskt perspektiv. / <p>QC 20151023</p>

The token economy is a widely used and versatile motivational system within applied behavior analysis. Moreover, token reinforcement procedures have been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the experimental analysis of behavior, token reinforcement contingencies are conceptualized as three interconnected schedule components: (1) the token-production schedule, (2) the exchange-production schedule, and (3) the token-exchange schedule. Basic work with nonhuman subjects has demonstrated that the exchange-production schedule is the primary driver of performance in these arrangements, and that variable-ratio exchange-production results in reduced pre-ratio pausing and greater overall rates of responding relative to fixed-ratio exchange-production schedules. However, little applied research has been conducted to assess the generality of these findings within applied settings. The purpose of this study was to determine if fixed- and variable-ratio token exchange-production schedules would exert differential effects on pre-ratio pausing and overall rates of responding for three children with ASD during a free-operant sorting task. The results showed that pre-ratio pausing and overall rates of responding were not differentially effected by the fixed- and variable-ratio exchange-production schedules. Discrepancies between the experimental work and the current study are discussed along with additional limitations.

This diploma thesis comparatively analyses elections to the European Parliament held in 2004 and 2009 in the Czech Republic. It focuses on the main features of these elections with the aim of finding their main similarities and differences. For this purpose the framework of the classic "second order elections" concept is used which was introduced by Karlheinz Reif and Hermann Schmitt. The introductory part summarizes the main aspects of the "second order elections" concept. What follows is the examination of development of the electoral system for the elections to the European parliament. Crucial features of the electoral system used in the Czech Republic are explored in detail. The main part of the thesis concentrates on the analysis of elections to the European Parliament held in the Czech Republic in 2004 and 2009. These elections are put into context of domestic political situation. Additionally, party lists and election manifestos are examined, as well as the most important facets of election campaigns of relevant political parties. Necessary attention is also paid to the analysis of election results and to their implications for the political and party system. Finally, in the closing chapter both elections are compared using the "second order elections" concept.

Analysis of the TOP 09 Election Strategy in the Regional Elections 2012 - Region of Pardubice Diploma thesis "Analysis of the TOP 09 Election Strategy in the Regional Elections 2012 - Region of Pardubice" deals with the election campaign TOP 09 in the elections to the Assembly of the Pardubice Region in 2012. TOP 09 is a political party in the Czech political scene first appeared in 2009. Regional elections in 2012 for the political party represented the first major challenge since its entry into the Chamber of Deputies in 2010 and the opportunity to establish themselves at the regional level. The thesis examines the elections in the Pardubice region in terms of the theory of second-order elections. The research of this theory was made in terms of the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979. The aim of this thesis is to introduce the theory of second order elections and to analyze the election strategy of TOP 09 before the elections to the regional council in 2012 in Region of Pardubice. Based on this theory will be find out if it is possible to apply this theory on the election strategy of TOP 09 and if the election managers of TOP 09 reflect this theory or the election strategy is created independently on this phenomenon. Keywords The election to the Assembly of the Pardubice...

This study deals with the Election Campaign in the Czech Republic in a second-order elections during a year 2008 and the study is investigating the degree how many Election Campaigns were professional. The main aim of this study is a description of process of the Election Campaign and the study was checking up which political marketing is using in a second-order elections.

The aim of the thesis Applications of The Theory of Second-Order Elections to Elections in the Czech Republic is to answer the research question, whether is the theory fulfilled in the Czech Republic, through various hypotheses. The introduction introduces the intention of my research. The theoretical part deals with the original Theory of Second-order elections, which was introduced already in 1980 by authors Karlheinz Reif and Hermann Schmitt. During the next electoral cycles, the Theory of Second-order elections was more refined and reflected by other theoreticians, whose contribution is a source of inspiration for my theoretical part. Another major chapter presents the methodology and research design. This chapter defines hypotheses. The Thesis is trying to prove, or disprove the following hypotheses. Electoral participation in the case of Second-order elections is lower than in the case of the First-order elections. The Second-order elections tend to punish ruling parties. Political parties that currently govern, gets in case of Second-order elections less votes. Governmental parties lose the most electoral support in the middle of their term and it turns out the influence of the electoral cycle. Small political subjects have a greater chance of success during the Second-order elections than...