Diploma thesis Special Relationship? British-U.S. Relations, 1979-1990 examines the nature of relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, focusing predominantly on the period of parallel governance of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. The aim is to study both the extent to which the relationship was genuinely special and anticipations both countries connected with it. Providing an overview of the development of the special relationship after the WWII the paper addresses foreign, political, economic and ideological bonds between the countries and their political leaders. It considers not only the basic similarities of domestic and foreign policies, but also tensions and conflicts accompanying this alliance. The paper also describes the influence of the special relationship on the relations with European states and the Soviet Union. The uniqueness of the special relationship is identified in both the nuclear, defence and intelligence cooperation and in the British Prime Minister's and American President's ideological and political comprehension.

The thesis examines health care system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the beginning there is characterised the United Kingdom and its present structure of health care system including assessment of individual functions of system's parts. Then there are analysed sources of finance and their development between 1999 and 2009. The thesis continues with analysis of expenditures where is traced their development between 1999 and 2009 including international comparison. Next there are introduced methods of financial resource allocation into segments of health care system. In the last chapter there are pointed pros and cons of British health care system out and chosen certain components for application in Czech Republic.

Dans un contexte où l'importance croissante de la mondialisation des flux migratoires en provenance de la région caraïbéenne s'intensifie et se diversifie, une prise en compte plus détaillée de l'évolution des stratégies de migrants au sein des sociétés d'accueil et de leur impact socioéconomique et politique sur les sociétés de départ s'impose. Notre thèse déclinée en trois parties s'inscrit précisément dans une réflexion sur l'engagement associatif à distance du migrant-acteur haïtien et jamaïcain, dans un cadre institutionnel français pour l'un et britannique pour l'autre. Au cœur d'un dispositif qui lie responsables locaux du pays d'origine et élus de la société d'accueil mettant en interaction différentes formes d'intervention de l'État d'origine, comment donc ce dernier peut-il alors agir et avoir un rôle incitatif en favorisant la participation de cette communauté transnationale ou encore en coordonnant des actions des associations de migrants ? En quoi le cadre associatif transnational est-il favorable au développement dans le contexte haïtien / jamaïcain ? En considérant l'émergence puis l'évolution du tissu associatif haïtien en terre française, et celles du tissu associatif jamaïcain en terre britannique, nous avons voulu chercher à comprendre les motivations derrière l'engagement de porter des projets de développement dans le pays d'origine. Notre travail de terrain, ainsi que notre dispositif méthodologique dans une approche de terrain multi-situé, nous a permis de mieux saisir les mécanismes de solidarité collective et de mise en commun de ressources. Partant d'un fait observé, une dynamique associative, qui s'est amplifiée au lendemain du séisme en Haïti / In a context where the growing importance of the globalization of migratory flows from the Caribbean region is intensifying and diversifying, a detailed attention on the evolution of migrants' strategies within host societies as well as their socioeconomic and political impact on the origin societies is required. Our thesis in three parts inscribes itself in a reflection on long-distance associative engagement of the Haitian and Jamaican migrant-actor, in a French institutional framework as well as a British one. At the heart of a model between local officials of the country of origin and elected officials of the host society, how can it act in an incentive capacity to foster or to better coordinate the actions taken by migrants' associations? How can a transnational associative framework be beneficiary to the development in the Haitian/Jamaican context? In considering the emergence and evolution of the Haitian associative landscape (France) and Jamaican (the United Kingdom), we wanted to understand the motivations behind the long-distance commitment to bring about development projects in the country of origin. Our fieldwork as well as our methodological approach in a multi-sited terrain helped us better grasp some of the mechanisms of bounded solidarity and of shared resources.Starting from an observed fact, an associative dynamic, which grew significantly in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, our study highlights three key elements: the relevance of the sense of belonging of migrants associations, the paramount importance of the relationship between the origin State and the its citizens abroad, and the growing, diverse and complex evolution

En janvier 2008, la Commission européenne adopte le « Paquet Climat-Energie contraint les 27 États membres à atteindre trois objectifs d'ici à 2020 : réduction de 20% des émissions de gaz à effets de serre, augmentation de 20% de la part des énergies renouvelables dans le bouquet énergétique, et réduction de 20% de la consommation énergétique. Cettedirective se traduit dans les Etats membres par des programmes nationaux de développement des filières renouvelables. Dans ce cadre, notre réflexion porte sur les conditions de leur diffusion en France et au Royaume-Uni. Sous leurs formes décentralisées, celles-ci se heurtent à des freins techniques, matériels et symboliques qui leur confèrent un statut d’énergies « alternatives ». Cette recherche s’attache à comprendre les systèmes d’actions associés à la décision d’investissement, d’acquisition et d’intégration de quatre technologies renouvelables décentralisées dans la sphère domestique : les chauffe-eau solaires, les systèmes photovoltaïques, les pompes à chaleur, ainsi que les mini-éoliennes au Royaume-Uni. En procédant à une étude des filières, nous cherchons à identifier les conditions sociales entourant la diffusion de ces innovations technologiques auprès de ménages particuliers. Dans une perspective méso-sociale et micro-sociale, nous nous concentrons sur cinq groupes d’acteurs : individus appartenant aux sphères de l’Etat, du marché, de la société civile, ménages adoptants, et ménages non-adoptants ayant interrompu leur processus d’acquisition / In January 2008, the European Commission votes the "Climate and Energy Package", which forces the 27 Member States to achieve three goals by 2020: reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions of at least 20% below 1990 levels; 20% of EU energy consumption to come from renewable resources, 20% reduction in primary energy use compared with projected levels, to be achieved by improving energy efficiency. This directive is reflected in the member states through national programs of development of renewable energy sources. In this context, our research focuses on the conditions of their diffusion in France and in the UK. As decentralized renewables, they have to cope with technical, material and symbolic barriers which give them an "alternative" status. This research seeks to analyze the systems of actions associated with the decision, the acquisition and the integration of four decentralized renewable technologies in the domestic space: solar thermal heating systems, photovoltaics, heat pumps, as well as mini-wind turbines in the UK. In analyzing these renewable networks, we seek to identify the social conditions surrounding the spread of these technological innovations to individual households. In a meso-social and a micro-social perspective, our research focuses on five groups of actors, belonging to the spheres of government, market, civil society, adopters and non-adopters who interrupted their process of acquisition

Nach der Herleitung und Skizzierung der ‚szenariobasierten Delphi-Studie’ als Untersuchungsmethode und Präsentation des Forschungsdesigns werden Konzepte von Wissensmanagement über einen Literatur-Review in den Kontext des aktuellen Forschungsstandes gestellt. Diese Bestandsaufnahme der Gegenwart ist in erster Linie abgeleitet aus Fachveröffentlichungen zum Wissensmanagement im Allgemeinen und denen der BID-Community im Besonderen. Welche Rolle spielt Wissensmanagement gegenwärtig in der bibliothekarischen Praxis Öffentlicher Bibliotheken der im Untersuchungsfokus stehenden Nationen? Was verbindet die Arbeit mit Wissensmanagement in den Öffentlichen Bibliotheken der beiden Nationen und (wo) sind Unterschiede zu finden? Diese Verifizierung des Status quo ist nur ein Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit, Schwerpunkt bildet der Blick in die kommende Zeit. Hat Wissensmanagement eine Zukunft in der Öffentlichen Bibliothek? Wenn ja, wie sieht diese aus und in welcher Intention wird Wissensmanagement eingesetzt? Stellt es mehr als nur ein Instrument der innerbetrieblichen Organisationsoptimierung dar? Wird Wissensmanagement im Sinne des Erwerbs von Demokratiekompetenz an den Endkunden quasi als Werkzeugkoffer weitergegeben? Hilft es den Öffentlichen Bibliotheken im Sinne einer systemischen kommunalen Legitimierung? Mit den Methoden Szenariotechnik und Delphi-Studie werden auf Basis der Aussagen ausgewählter Wissensexperten aus den Großstadtbibliotheken beider Länder Trendprojektionen erstellt, die ihrerseits in einem die Studie abschließenden konsensualen Szenario münden. Auf dem Weg dorthin werden im Laufe von iterativen Befragungen zudem für die Praxis adaptierbare Handlungsoptionen für die Öffentliche Bibliothek der Zukunft generiert und anhand ausgewählter Expertenaussagen im Sinne von Best-Practise-Beispielen und -Ideen in die Arbeit integriert. / Following the establishment and outline evaluation of the “scenario based Delphi-Study” as a medium of examination and presentation of research design, knowledge management concepts were put into context in alignment with the current research status by means of a literary review. This inventory of present conditions is primarily based on scientific publications on the subject of knowledge management in general and those of the LIS commu-nity in particular. What is the current role of knowledge management in the practical operation of public libraries in the two countries that provided the study focus? Which areas in the application of knowledge management in public libraries show similarities, and where can we identify specific differences? Whilst verification of the status quo is part of the study, the main focus is on looking into the future. Does knowledge management actually have a future within public libraries? If so, what does this future look like and what does it hold for the intended application of knowledge management? Will knowledge management become more than an instrument aimed at optimising organisational potential, and as a result develop into a quasi-education tool to be passed on directly to the end consumer? Will it serve to assist public libraries in achieving a sense of systemic, communal legitimacy? Through the application of the Scenario-technique and Delphi-study concept trend projections were established for both countries based on the statements by selected ‘knowledge experts’ of public libraries in both Germany and the UK, and subsequently fused into a conclusive consensual scenario. Along the way, practical and adaptable application options for the public library of the future were generated and integrated with a view to best practice examples and ideas from the selected expert testimonials.

L’objet de cette étude est d’identifier une constitution « britannique » distincte de la constitution anglaise. Si le langage commun tend trop souvent à confondre une partie pour le tout, l’Angleterre pour le Royaume-Uni, cet écueil n’épargne pas les juristes. La notion de constitution britannique vise précisément à rendre compte de la manière dont le droit constitutionnel a pu appréhender et saisir la tension fondamentale qui l’anime entre deux exigences en apparence contraires, l’unité et la diversité. Depuis les lois de dévolution adoptées à la fin du XXe siècle, l’Ecosse, le Pays de Galles et l’Irlande du Nord disposent d’institutions de gouvernement autonomes, soumises théoriquement à la souveraineté du Parlement de Westminster. Le corps de lois, règles et principes qui régissent cet arrangement institutionnel permettent d’identifier un cadre constitutionnel spécifiquement britannique. Mais celui-ci n’est pas pour autant né à la fin du XXe siècle. Il nous semble en effet que cette constitution britannique trouve ses sources et son origine dans les relations qui ont pu s’établir entre le Royaume-Uni et certaines de ses colonies dotées d’un statut particulier et d’un gouvernement autonome, les Dominions. C’est dans ce cadre historique et intellectuel qu’a pu apparaître une manière spécifiquement britannique d’organiser cette tension entre l’unité et la diversité. Celle-ci puise d’ailleurs dans les ressources propres du constitutionnalisme britannique, qui résulte d’un entrelacement ingénieux de règles et principes juridiques et de pratiques institutionnalisées, les conventions de la constitution. Cette rencontre entre le droit et les conventions dessine un droit constitutionnel original et peut-être fédéral. / This study aims at identifying a « British » constitution distinct from the English constitution. If popular language tends to confuse one part with the whole, England with the United Kingdom, so do jurists. The concept of a British constitution aims at capturing the way in which constitutional law may have grasped the fundamental tension between two seemingly antagonist ideas, unity and diversity. Since the devolution Acts have been enacted in the end of the XXth century, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland enjoy responsible government, under the asserted sovereignty of the Parliament of Westminster. The body of statutes, rules and principles that govern this institutional arrangement thus form a specifically British constitutional framework. But this framework was not necessarily born in the end of the XXth century. We intend to show that this British constitution can be traced back to the constitutional relations established between the United Kingdom and some of her colonies, the Dominions. It is within this historical and intellectual framework that may have appeared a specifically British way of dealing with this tension between unity and diversity. It seems to have resorted to the resources of British constitutionalism, which is produced by the ingenious imbrication of legal rules and principles and of institutionalized practices, i.e. the conventions of the Constitution. This confluence of law and conventions sketches a constitutional law that is both original and possibly federal.

The Great Recession that followed the financial crisis of 2008 had a devastating impact on workers, leading to high levels of unemployment and underemployment, increased job insecurity and stagnant or declining wages. While the legitimation crisis of neoliberalism could be viewed as a turning point for labour internationally, the immediate response by political parties across the spectrum was one of austerity measures and cuts to welfare. As the largest collective representatives of workers, trade unions are at the forefront of mobilisations attempting to challenge this consensus. Simultaneously, they are engaging in new activities to enhance public awareness and understanding of the crucial role that trade unions play in the labour market. Thus, the 21st century crisis is creating both challenges and opportunities. Each trade union movement’s response depends on the different forms of power they possess and choose to deploy, their strategies and allegiances, and the specific socio-economic and political context in which they are situated. Questions concerning what constitutes union power and the ways in which it is being exercised and revitalized therefore represent fascinating lines of enquiry to explore. To do so, however, requires a new perspective on trade union power that recognises the significance of the media which has been overlooked in industrial relations theory. Drawing on insights from industrial relations, the sociology of media and social movement studies, this thesis proposes the concept of communicative power to trace how trade unions produce and circulate discourse through the media (either union-owned or corporate) to a mass audience. Methodologically, it uses the tripartite approach which focuses our attention onto three key communication processes involved in trade union attempts to exercise communicative power: the production of union discourse, the circulation of union discourse, and the reception of union discourse. This is applied to four cases involving seven union organisations in the UK and Denmark over a five-year period 2010-2015. Data was gathered using 40 semi-structured interviews with union officials and activists, content analysis of newspapers, union media outlets and social media, and secondary survey data. In sum, this thesis argues that the media is, and always has been, central to how trade unions exercise and revitalize power in society. And within the context of accelerating digital capitalism, it looks set to becoming an increasingly important determinant of their future trajectory.

Localism places a special value on the local, and is increasingly prominent as a political doctrine. The literature suggests localism operates in three ways: bottom-up, top down and mutualistic. To assess its impact, localism needs to be seen within the broader context of multi-level governance. Here localism is examined in relation to three major themes: place, public value (PV), and institutional design. Regarding place, a key distinction is drawn between old and new localism. Old localism is about established local government, while new localism highlights the increasing room for manoeuvre that localities have in contemporary politics. This enables them to influence wider power structures, for example through trans-local organizing. With regard to public value, localist thinking makes a key contribution to core PV domains such as sustainability, wellbeing and democracy, as well as to others like territorial cohesion and intergovernmental mutuality. As for institutional design, the study is particularly concerned with ‘sub-continental’ political systems. A set of principles for the overall design of such systems is proposed, together with a framework of desirable policy outcomes at the local level. This can be used to evaluate how effective political systems are at creating public value in local settings. The thesis presents a comparative study of localism in two significant, sub-continental clusters: India/Kerala/Kollam and the EU/UK/England/Cornwall. Both can be seen as contrasting ‘exemplars’ of localism in action. In India, localism was a major factor in the nationwide local self-government reforms of 1993 and their subsequent enactment in the state of Kerala. In the EU, localism has been pursued through an economic federalism based on regions and sub-regions. This is at odds with the top-down tradition in British politics. The tension between the two approaches is being played out currently in the peripheral sub-region of Cornwall/Isles of Scilly. Cornwall’s dilemma has been sharpened by Britain’s recent decision to leave the EU. The thesis considers the wider implications of the case studies, and presents some proposals for policymakers and legislators to consider, together with suggestions for further research.

Cette recherche étudie le premier âge de l’aluminium, quand ce métal était rare et semi-précieux, au XIXe siècle. Le chimiste français Henri Sainte-Claire Deville l’obtient pur en 1854. Aboutissent ainsi les travaux de scientifiques européens sur la décomposition des terres visant à extraire l’aluminium de son oxyde. H. Deville se lance ensuite dans la production industrielle de ce métal et, en 1860, un équilibre est trouvé : le métal est produit à Salindres, par Henry Merle et Cie (future Pechiney), puis transformé et commercialisé à Nanterre, par Paul Morin et Cie et son successeur, la Société anonyme de l’aluminium. Durant 35 ans, ce métal est exclusivement produit par le procédé chimique de H. Deville. Les concurrences sont rares et éphémères jusqu’aux années 1880, quand sont mis au point les procédés électrolytiques qui condamnent le procédé de Deville.Le principal défi des pionniers est de trouver à l’aluminium une place parmi les matériaux. Sa production est faible, ses applications limitées (instruments scientifiques, orfèvrerie, etc.), et pourtant le métal suscite l’intérêt et des concurrences se font jour : l’innovation est au cœur de cette première industrie de l’aluminium. Le centre de cette nouvelle activité chimique n’est paradoxalement pas l’aluminium, mais son oxyde, l’alumine, indispensable à l’obtention du métal à partir de la terre.Au final, cette thèse vise à comprendre comment un nouveau métal intègre la société, ses us et coutumes (science, industrie, usages, imaginaire collectif). / This study analyses the first age of aluminium, when this metal was rare and semi-precious, during the 19th Century. The French chemist Henri Sainte-Claire Deville obtained it pure in 1854. So ended the works of European Scientists on the decomposition of the earths, aiming for the extraction of aluminium from its oxide. Over the following years, H. Deville launched himself in the industrial production of this metal and, in 1860, a balance was found: the metal was produced in Salindres, by Henry Merle et Cie (future Pechiney), then fabricated and commercialised in Nanterre, by Paul Morin et Cie and its successor, the Société anonyme de l’aluminium. During 35 years, this metal was exclusively produced by the Deville’s chemical process. Rivalries were rare and short-lived until the 1880’s, when the development of electrolytical processes overthrew Deville’s process.The main challenge of the pioneers was to give aluminium a place among other materials. Its production rate was low and its uses, limited (scientific instruments, “aluminiumsmithery”, etc.). However, the metal aroused interest and competition appeared. Innovation was at the core of this first aluminium industry. Paradoxaly, the new chemical activity was not based on aluminium but on its oxide, alumina, which is indispensable for the production of metal from the earth. This thesis aims to understand how a new metal had taken place in the society, in its habits and customs (science, industry, uses, collective imagination).

The regulation of lobbying is a current topic both at the level of international organizations as well as in many European and overseas countries. This work deals with the comparison of the rules on lobbying in selected English-speaking countries. Descriptive, doctrinal and comparative methods are used to analyze the main trends in the lobbying regulation of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as Australia. The text is structured into four chapters. The first chapter deals with the definition of lobbying and its differences from corrupt dealings; it also covers the types of lobbying activities and the various kinds of lobbyists. The second chapter attempts to contextualize lobbying into the theories of the decision-making process. A comparison of the similarities and differences of the lobbying rules is made and analyzed in the third and fourth chapters. Both the third and the fourth chapter have a similar structure -- first, the general rules and approaches to regulation are introduced, and then a comparison of selected English-speaking countries is made. The third chapter deals with the most common rules for lobbyists; the fourth chapter focuses on the relatively neglected side of lobbying contacts, i.e. the rules for the targets of lobbying (public office holders). In the end, some measures and recommendations for the Czech Republic are also outlined.