Presented dissertation is focused on commercial suburbanization in terms of the Prague agglomeration specific aspects and assessment of some of its impacts on the affected locations. The aim is to identify local economic structures from the perspective of commercial suburbanization and assess their level of socio-economic significance in the suburban zone of Prague and their influence on the design of local medium-term priorities. This objective is further specified in terms of the five partial aims and five hypotheses. Monitored spatial units are analyzed at the level of municipalities, administrative districts of municipalities with extended powers and districts of Prague-East and Prague-West. The work represents the first comprehensive attempt to assess the extent of commercial suburbanization in the suburban area of Prague by using index methods. With the use of indexes, impacts of commercial suburbanization have been evaluated, especially the level of local action of companies and the formation of local markets in those local areas. The analysis shows that there is a greater degree of formation of local labor markets compared to rather negligible degree of formation of local markets of goods and services. Local economic structures continue to shape significantly in the regional centers of lower category rather than in the suburban zone of Prague. Following part of the thesis analyzes the socio-economic situation in the selected suburbanized municipality and reflection of key aspects of suburbanization in its medium-term development priorities and brings also a generalization of the findings. For the performed analysis, data from the author's own surveys and available statistical databases were used.

The work deals with two problems of mass rapid transit system operation: The development of flexible timetables and the realisation of flexible timetables. In both cases, genetic algorithms are used. In the process of (flexible) timetabling in suburban railways, a transport offer perfectly adapted to demand is searched for (temporal and spatial adaptation of demand as well as adaptation of capacity of the trains). After determination of the number of train runs per line and hour and their capacity, optimal departure times have to be found (with a precision of a minute down to 10 s), which fulfil criterias of the passengers (short waiting times) as well as of the operator (small number of vehicles needed). Two different codings for use with genetic algorithms have therefore been developed. They are tested on several case studies of the Dresden suburban railway network, assuming different degrees of flexibilisation. In the process of realising a flexible timetable, transitions between train headways as well as running time and dwell time reserves (margins in the order of a few seconds) are slightly modified in order to coordinate braking and accelerating trains and thereby reduce energy costs of a system of trains. Genetic algorithms can be applied for this problem as well, the proposed methods are tested on several case studies (S-Bahn Berlin, Metro Lille). / Die Arbeit behandelt zwei Probleme der Betriebsplanung von Stadtschnellbahnen: Die Erstellung flexibler Fahrpläne und die Umsetzung flexibler Fahrpläne. In beiden Fällen werden zur Lösung Genetische Algorithmen verwendet. Bei der Ermittlung flexibler Fahrpläne von S-Bahnen wird ein bestmöglich an die Verkehrsnachfrage angepasstes Verkehrsangebot gesucht (zeitlich, räumlich und bezüglich der Kapazität der einzelnen Züge angepasst). Nach stundenfeiner Festlegung der Fahrtenhäufigkeiten und Kapazitäten der einzelnen, sich überlagernden Linien werden deren Abfahrtszeiten gesucht (mit einer Genauigkeit von Minuten bis etwa 10 s), so dass sowohl die Wünsche der Fahrgäste nach gleichmäßigen Zugfolgezeiten als auch Betreiberwünsche (geringe Fahrzeuganzahl) erfüllt werden. Hierzu werden zwei verschiedene Kodierungen für die Verwendung mit Genetischen Algorithmen vorgestellt und das geschaffene Verfahren an verschiedenen Flexibilisierungsszenarien für die S-Bahn Dresden erprobt. Bei der Umsetzung flexibler Fahrpläne, die sich im Bereich weniger Sekunden abspielt, werden Übergänge zwischen Zugfolgezeiten, Fahr- und Haltezeitreserven geringfügig modifiziert, so dass durch bestmögliche Koordination von Anfahr- und Bremsvorgängen eines Systems von Zügen die Energiekosten minimal werden. Methodisch werden wiederum Genetische Algorithmen verwendet, die Erprobung des Verfahrens erfolgt anhand von Linien der S-Bahn Berlin und der Metro in Lille.

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To identify how high school assistant principals in large suburban schools serve as instructional leaders and how they develop these skills, this research utilized a multiple-case study design, followed by a cross-case analysis of the data. This research explores the instructional leadership of three female comprehensive high school assistant principals who are employed in the same Northern California school district. Each case was developed with the use of interviews, observation and document analysis. Included in each case is a description of the assistant principal's instructional job responsibilities, how they develop their instructional leadership and obtain opportunities to function in instructional leadership roles. This research found several main themes. They include that the theoretical model for Hallinger's Principals Instructional Management Rating Scale did not work in regards to assistant principals, they were found to serve not in the role of leader, but more in the role of facilitator and relationship builders, the role of the assistant principal has not evolved over the past century, they are constrained by the political dynamics of their school structure which leaves them as marginalized leaders, they lack opportunities to grow as instructional leaders due to opportunities for professional development and the ambiguity of their role, and female assistant principals may not take the opportunity to serve as a leader since this may not be perceived natural due to their gender association.

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Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between the built environment and social and transportation outcomes when comparing traditional and conventional suburban neighborhoods, but much remains to be learned about whether New Urbanism can produce similar results. Among studies where new urban neighborhoods have been assessed, most have centered on regions with highly-utilized public transit systems and with climates that are amenable to utilitarian physical activity. This research sought to build on the existing research base through direct comparison of new urban and conventional suburban neighborhoods in central Florida, a region with an under-developed transit system and a climate that renders utilitarian physical activity impractical. Further, this research sought to lend greater insights into neighborhood selection factors across neighborhood types. A mixed-methods, single-case design was utilized to evaluate one new urban and one conventional suburban neighborhood in the central Florida region. Regional new urban neighborhoods were subjectively rated for adherence to tenets of the Charter of the New Urbanism, with the neighborhood (Celebration, in Osceola County, FL) found to most closely adhere to these tenets selected as the experimental group for the study. A socio-demographically comparable conventional suburban neighborhood (Sweetwater, in Seminole County, FL) was selected as the control group. Quantitative methods consisted of a household survey issued to 250 randomly- and convenience-sampled addresses in each neighborhood, followed by regression analysis to evaluate study hypotheses. Qualitative methods employed analysis of open-ended survey responses, detailed case studies of selected neighborhoods, and resident interviews. The household survey yielded net response rates of 15.79 percent and 25.50 percent iv for experimental and control neighborhoods, respectively, and a mean cross-neighborhood response rate of 20.64 percent. Twenty resident interviews (10 per neighborhood) were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative findings were compared to collectively address research questions. Regression results indicated no statistically significant difference between neighborhoods in attitudinal and behavioral components of community participation, in vehicle miles driven per week, or utilitarian physical activity frequency. However, results indicated that new urban residents had more positive attitudes toward utilitarian physical activity than conventional suburban residents and that attitudes toward community participation and utilitarian physical activity were positively correlated with associated behaviors. Qualitative findings provided substantial individual- and environmental-level insights to factors impacting evaluated attitudes and behaviors, and supported some quantitative findings while not aligning with others. Neighborhood selection factors were found to be quite different across neighborhoods: Celebration residents identified neighborhood social atmosphere and connection to the Walt Disney Company brand as top contributors to their selection decision, while Sweetwater residents expressed that access to quality schools was the most important factor in their selection decision. Qualitative findings indicated that car culture and climate within the central Florida region diminished both attitudinal and behavioral components of utilitarian physical activity across neighborhood types. This research expanded the understanding of the social and transportation outcomes of New Urbanism, particularly with respect to the central Florida region. While case and quantitative limitations may have impeded the ability of this study to draw decisive conclusions v about research questions, distinctive themes regarding social and transportation outcomes were identified. Findings of this research supported those of some prior studies while contradicting others, indicating that further exploration is needed to establish a firm understanding of the capabilities of new urban development to achieve desired outcomes, and of regional characteristics that may influence these outcomes.

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