The thesis will be aimed on problematics of the social politics, concretely on comparison of the Czech republic pension system and Finland pension system. Aim of the theoretical part of thesis will be to explain and clarify problematics of social politics with focus on pension systems. Diploma thesis will also contain strict preview of the pension system from the political view, because pension system is influenced by the political decisions a lot. Aim of the practical part of thesis will be pointing out between pension systems, reveal their pros and cons and finding appropriate implications, if there are some for Czech pension system and suggest possible improvements to the future. Basic hypothesis of this thesis will be then tested on this comparative analysis. Conclusion of this thesis should reveal answer to the question, if there are some principles and mechanisms, Czech republic can be inspired from Finland and if it is appropriate to implicate these principles to the Czech system.

This study is a contribution to Chinese-Western dialogue of bioethics but perhaps the first one of its kind. From a Chinese-Western comparative ethical perspective, this work brings Chinese ethical theories, especially Confucian ethics, into a contemporary context of the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, and to see how the deeply-rooted thoughts of Confucius interact, compete, or integrate with concepts from Western ethical traditions. An underlying belief is that some ideas in Confucian ethics are important and insightful beyond their cultural and historical origins in China and other Confucianism influenced societies.Methodologically, this thesis employs two approaches, conceptual normative analysis combined with critical interpretation. The ‘interpretive’ approach I employ, as an important methodology supplementing my normative analysis, not only deals with Chinese ancient texts, but also explains specific beliefs and practices in China.With a critical eye, this thesis carefully examines a number of key topics in the ethics of AIDS in China from a cross-cultural perspective. Topics including: views on personhood and the vulnerability of People Living with HIV/AIDS; prioritising and balancing the role of ‘harm reduction’ and the role of ‘eradication of deviant behaviour’ in AIDS policy in China; rights-based opt-out approach and duty-based family-centred approach in HIV testing and Biobanking; blood donation; moral responsibility and personal responsibility for health; and the popular rhetoric of ‘innocent infection’ versus ‘guilty infection’ in AIDS. My overall aim in this work is to present a cross-cultural bioethics study through the investigation of some ethical issues in AIDS in China from a Chinese-Western comparative perspective and also attempt to suggest a humane and effective policy for HIV/AIDS which I believe is appropriate to both traditions. I believe this work has contributed to our knowledge in three related but independent areas: the control of the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in China; medical ethics in China; and to both the methods and the utility of cross-cultural study of bioethics between China and the West.

This thesis examines how the agency of working children relates to the nature of their work and the harm caused by it. Theorists and practitioners specialised in children’s work have argued that its harms should be understood from the perspectives of working children and that efforts to improve their situation should involve them and meet the interests they express. Their approach is premised on children’s capacity for autonomous and rational decision making. The thesis develops an alternative approach, by examining harm in children’s work and children’s responses to it with an understanding of agency as being conditioned by material and social contexts. Its theoretical purpose is to use Bourdieu’s theory to examine children’s work. Its methodological contribution is that it studies children’s work as a practice, rather than children’s individual experiences and perspectives on their work. This involved investigation of patterns characterising forms of children’s work, and exploration of why these patterns exist and how they might be changing which focuses on how children are involved and affected. The thesis is based on empirical study of children’s work in cement block construction in peri-urban localities, as apprentices in Calavi, Benin, and as unskilled workers in northern Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka, India. Construction is recognised as a worst form of children’s work by the ILO, but the work studied was locally condoned. In Calavi, apprenticeship was considered as professional training, and in Bengaluru, children’s construction work contributed to family livelihoods. These are the kind of work situations that social scientists who stress children’s agency have suggested are likely to be beneficial. Main sources of data were observations of construction work and interviews with workers, mostly children, as well as their direct employers. Interviewed children did not see their work as seriously harmful, although it was found to risk impairing their physical integrity and to confirm their inequality. In Calavi, children were much more oppressed in their work than children in Bengaluru, but in both sites children acted with reasons and interests. They did not however act to change harmful work conditions. Analysis shows how their age, gender and class positions might have shaped their perspectives in ways which explain why they largely accepted them. The children’s shared hope that their own children would not work as they had indicated their involvement in social change which might be undermining their work practices. The findings confirm the importance of examining children’s perspectives in attempt to understand the causes and consequences of their work. Yet they suggest that children may not always be able to identify harm, and thus the relevance of pursued efforts to develop ways of studying harm in children’s work which do not assume their capacity for autonomous and rational decision making or rely primarily on their perspectives.

This thesis deals with comparative analysis of Komerční banka, a.s. and Československá obchodní banka, a.s. for the years 2006 to 2010. It mainly focuses on the comparison of activity, performance and economic positions of the banks. The thesis is based on consolidated data published in annual reports of said banks and observes differences between both banks using various criteria.

This thesis compares banks and cooperative credit unions within Czech Republic from different points of view. Specifically, these points of view are history, legal frame and also the position on current Czech market. Depiction of the historic development of Czech banks and cooperative credit unions describes their position on the market across different time periods together with summary of changes in legislation and capital market supervision. Legal frame chapter describes separate points of legislation, based on which it is possible to compare both banks and cooperative credit unions. These points for comparison are creation, liquidation, information duties towards Czech national bank etc. The whole second part of the thesis deals with a comparison of both sectors with following comparison of particular representatives of selected sectors from different points of view. These are competitiveness on the market, capital adequacy and other indicators.

Magister Legum - LLM / Since the early 1990s, the move towards decentralisation has been given prominence in African constitutions. Countries that embarked on ambitious decentralisation processes had to make the necessary constitutional reforms. The emergence and proliferation of constitutional entrenchment of decentralisation in Africa was long overdue and thus necessitated by the popular widespread discontent expressed against leaders who ‘personalize power and concentrate it within a privileged clique in the capital city’. While stifling the inroads of liberal democracy, authoritarian rulerships, single-party state systems and military dictatorships contributed immensely to the downward trajectory of political development in post-colonial Africa. Evidently, the intent and purpose for the quest to consolidate the complementary relationship between decentralisation and constitutionalism is aimed at domesticating the Leviathan – the untrammeled ruler.

Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / Over the years cricket has developed from a traditional and conservative game into an extremely lucrative sport, which requires a great deal of professionalism in all surrounding areas. In recent years cricket has evolved and resulted in the emergence of Twenty20 cricket. The aim of this study focused on identifying batting trends through a comparative analysis between Varisty Cup winning teams and the University of the Western Cape Cricket Club between the age group of 18 – 25. The study used a quantitative research approach with a content analysis methodology research design. Nine key batting variables were analysed in three phases of a cricket match (Powerplay, Middle overs and Death overs) between winning teams and the University of the Western Cape Cricket Club to establish the magnitude of differences (Cohen’s effect size). The top indicators for success in the tournament were averaging a higher number of boundary fours, accumulating a higher number of single runs throughout the match, averaging a high number of sixes during the Middle and Death Overs of a batting innings and accumulating two’s throughout all three phases of a match. The overall summary of this study’s results navigates to a batting strategy that should focus on batting trends by maintaining a higher batting run rate, target to scoring more boundary fours and sixes, good running between the wickets to accumulate two’s, select batsmen with a low dismissal rate and select batsmen with a high single scoring rate [equates to better strike rotation].

Magister Legum - LLM / In societies emerging from segregation or division based on the biological factors of race and/ or colour, the centrality (or lack thereof) of race and colour within those legal systems plays a critical role in the progression and transformation of such societies. South Africa is one such society where race was the dividing criterion which saw the population ‘be[ing] turned into races through social practices [during] apartheid….’1 The post-amble to South Africa’s Interim Constitution2 states that the document was to form a: [H]istoric bridge between the past of a deeply divided society…and a future founded on the recognition of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence and development opportunities for all South Africans, irrespective of colour [and] race…. Le Roux asserts that the late Didcott J in Azapo v The President of the Republic ofSouth Africa3 believed that the metaphor of this bridge ‘implied an absolute break between the old and the new’, a transformation that was meant to be achieved by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).4 Established by section 2 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act5 (PNURA) the TRC was mandated with ‘promot[ing] national unity and reconciliation…which transcends the conflicts and divisions of the past ….’6 This, as it was envisioned, would facilitate the transition that the Republic was making [from parliamentary sovereignty] into ‘democratic constitutionalism’.7 However, the failing of the TRC in achieving this has not only been seen in scholarly articles to that effect, but also within the argument that the ‘new’ constitutional dispensation is nothing more than the continuation of the previous regime masked only with a different face.8 The retention of racial classification gives prima facie credence to this belief. Adopted into the legal system through the Populations Registration Act of 1950 (PRA), racial classification would thenceforth play a decisive role in the lived experiences of ordinary South Africans.9 The PRA would ‘establish race as a domain of knowledge independent of any particular training or expertise, based on the ordinary experience of racial difference, which ranked whiteness as its apex.’10 This lack of knowledge associated with racially classifying people has resulted in what has been coined the ‘common sense’ approach.11 This approach deems it common sense that one can automatically classify what race another belongs to without having any pre-existing knowledge on how to classify or what the blood lineage of the person being classified was. Initially the categories comprised of ‘White’, ‘Native’ and ‘Coloured’ (with Indians being deemed a subset of the latter)12 however, with the passage of time the categories now reflect as ‘White’, ‘Black’ (or ‘African’), and ‘Coloured’, with ‘Indian’ now being a separate category.13 There has also been the inclusion of the category of ‘Other’14 with ‘Asian’ making intermittent appearances. With the advent of the new constitutional dispensation which focused on achieving national unity and the reconstruction of society,15

PHDRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Avian life histories range along the axis from slow to fast, with slow life histories being characterized by greater investments in future reproduction, and fast by greater investments in current reproduction. The concept of pace-of-life syndromes refers to the coevolution of life strategies and related physiological, immunological and behavioral traits. Avian species from tropical areas are characterised by slower life histories (longer parental care, later maturation, smaller clutches, reduced metabolic rate) when compared to temperate zone species. Within this latitudinal gradient, investments in the total amount (weight) of body feathers have also been shown to be reduced in tropical birds. It remains unclear, however, whether feather growth itself follows this latitudinal pattern, and is slower in tropical species. Tropical birds have lower basal levels of corticosterone and testosterone, however available studies are based mainly on analyzes of hormone concentrations from plasma. The first aim of this diploma thesis was to evaluate differences between tropical (Cameroon) and temperate zone (the Czech Republic) passerine species in investments in tail feather growth by using methods of comparative ptilochronology. The second aim of the diploma thesis was to analyze concentrations of steroid...