This thesis seeks to reassess the rise of the city of Beirut and its place as a central city in the Levant. From 1834-1939, Beirut built a number of infrastructure improvements which reoriented trade through Beirut and made it a central gateway of between Europe and the Middle East. In the Ottoman Era, local merchants allied with French concessionary companies to build a roadway, a rail line and a port which brought increased prosperity and trade to the city. The merchants had to petition the Ottoman state to secure these improvements, and the business elite continued using and developing these tactics of negotiation under the French Mandatory government. By negotiating and allying with the French state, Beirut instigated the development of a modern port and an air terminal in Beirut, securing her commercial centrality in the Middle East. The development of this infrastructure was powered by moments of economic competition from regional cities like Sidon, and most notably, Haifa. Beirutis saw any transportation development in a Levantine city not their own as a direct threat to the prosperity and commerce of Beirut. To counter these threats, Beiruti merchants and press organized to build competing structures as seen in the construction of the 1938 port. Through a combination of local agency, French capital, and alliances and negotiations with the state, Beruitis successfully developed the infrastructure which redirected the trade routes through Beirut, making it an indispensable gateway to the Levant. / text

The proponents of non-conventional lightning protection devices claim that these devices are superior to the conventional Franklin Rod. Lack of systematic study and insufficient field data make it difficult to compare the non-conventional lightning protection devices with the conventional ones. Previously, the performance of various air terminals was studied by comparing the emission current through various dissipation devices in the MSU High Voltage Laboratory. The study of emission current from the air terminals gives an idea about the space charge developing over them. However, it does not show the behavior of air terminals to attract or repel lightning strikes. The present study presents the measurements of critical flashover (CFO) voltage of the air terminals. The CFO voltage shows the ability of an air terminal to attract or reduce the chance of lightning strike to the protected object.

The aim of the diploma thesis is make a structural design of load carrying steel structure of terminal international airport Brno. The project is designed in two options. The height of the building in highest point is 15 m. The object has rectangular ground floor plan with proportions of 80 x 40 m. For selected option the check of joints and anchorage is performed as well as the design drawings. The object was designed according to currently valid standarts to the ultimate limit states and serviceability limit states.