Research object – Risk of international settlements. The aim of this work is to analyze the process of the management of international settlements risk and foresee the opportunities of risk management in Lithuania. The set tasks for achieving the aim of this research: to introduce the understanding of international settlements risk; to set the kinds of international settlements risk; to set the process of the management of international settlements risk; to set the international settlements risk management means; to set the usage opportunities of these means in Lithuania. There are four kinds of international settlements risk described in this work: political, liquidity, currency rate range and economical risk. There are introduced means of risk management for every kind of risk in this work. There you can also find opportunities of usage of international settlements risk management in Lithuania. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of literature, logical analysis and synthesis, statistics analysis.

Nowadays usage of advanced production equipment becomes more common among production industries, future challenges in the market require flexibility in production industries due to growing competition and demand responses. Decisions regarding acquisition and replacement of production equipment have a major role in future profitability and competitiveness of production industries. Production equipment life cycle is dependent on technical, economical and conceptual lengths of life. Technical and economical lengths of life are connected to production equipment and the conceptual length of life is connected to production systems. Acquisition and replacement assessment processes of production equipment within production industries require involvement from different responsible departments. Varieties of perspectives differ from different departments in their prioritization regarding economical, technical and conceptual lengths of life. Lack of collaboration and evaluation of critical factors create quality and capacity issues in production industries. This project is directed to investigate issues concerning establishment of a sustainable long term thinking in consideration of economical, technical lengths of life of production equipment and also conceptual length of life of production systems in an earlier stage of acquisition and replacement assessment processes. Investigated research questions in this project are the following; What is the correlation between lengths of life of production equipment & production systems and how they influence each other? What is the basis for acquisition and replacement assessment of production equipment? How does buyer-supplier relationship influence length of life of production equipment? This thesis work is based on both theoretical and empirical findings. A case study was performed with a survey and interviews to gather data for the analysis. Technical and conceptual lengths of life are both based on economical profitability and have to be adapted to product generations. Expensive investments in production equipment are critical and can be risky for production industries if marketing experts are excluded or if future product generation forecast are not considered in production equipment acquisition processes. Information and knowledge inputs from production equipment suppliers have to be considered in an earlier stage of concept development in production systems. / Nuförtiden blir användandet av avancerade produktionsutrustningar allt vanligare inom produktionsindustrin, framtida utmaningar i marknaden kräver flexibilitet inom produktionsindustrin på grund av växande konkurrens och respons på efterfrågan. Beslut gällande anskaffning och utbyte av produktionsutrustningar spelar en stor roll i produktionsindustrins framtida lönsamheter och konkurrenskraftighet. Produktions-utrustningars livscykel är beroende av teknisk, ekonomisk och konceptuell livslängd. De tekniska och ekonomiska livslängderna är kopplade till produktionsutrustningar medan den konceptuella livslängden är kopplad till produktionssystemet. Bedömningsprocessen vid anskaffning och utbyte av produktionsutrustningar inom produktionsindustrin kräver delaktighet från olika ansvariga avdelningar. Perspektiv variationer och prioriteringar gällande ekonomisk, teknisk och konceptuell livslängd skiljer sig mellan olika avdelningarna. I brist på samarbete och utvärderingar av kritiska faktorer skapas kvalitets- och kapacitetsproblem inom produktionsindustrin. Detta projekt utreder problem gällande etablering av ett hållbart och långsiktigt tänkande med hänsyn till ekonomisk och teknisk livslängd av produktionsutrustningar samt konceptuell livslängd av produktionssystemet i ett tidigare skede av bedömnings-processen. Följande forskningsfrågor har undersökts i detta projekt: Vilken effekt har olika livslängder på produktionsutrustningar samt produktionssystemet, och vad har de för koppling? Vad är grunden för anskaffnings- och utbytesbedömningar av produktions-utrustningar? Hur inverkar relationen mellan köpare och leverantörer på livslängden av produktionsutrustningar? Detta examensarbete är baserat på både teoretiska och empiriska undersökningar. En fallstudie genomfördes med en enkät och intervjuer för att samla in data till analysen och besvara forskningsfrågorna. Den tekniska och konceptuella livslängden är båda baserande på ekonomisk lönsamhet och måste anpassas till produktgenerationer. Dyra inverteringar i produktions-utrustningar är kritiska och kan vara riskabla för produktionsindustrin om marknads-experter är uteslutna eller om framtida produktgenerations prognoser inte beaktades i anskaffningsprocessen. Information och kunskap från leverantörer av produktions-utrustningar måste beaktas i ett tidigt skede vid konceptutveckling inom produktions-system.

本篇論文主要是分析俄羅斯中央銀行的獨立性。本文先由西方經濟理論與中央銀行獨立性文獻說明中央銀行為何必須要擁有一個高度的獨立性。對於俄羅斯的高通貨膨脹現象與中央銀行地位轉變之間的關係，本文也有詳細的說明。 另外，本文就法制面俄羅斯中央銀行獨立地位的評析，接著並對實務面的央行獨立地位加以說明。 法制面的俄羅斯中央銀行獨立性相當高。實務面的俄羅斯央行作業，在政治上總統、政府與國會的角力中，形成了一個特殊的政治力真空，使中央銀行能夠取得政策獨立的地位。在俄羅斯面臨高通貨膨脹風險經濟的情況下，中央銀行對於貨幣政策以及政府財政政策的協調取得一個主動的地位。 / This article’s main idea is the analysis of Russia central bank’s independence. From the aspects of the western economic theories and central bank independence literatures, the author interprets why central bank needs to have a high independent status. This article also provides a relationship description between the Russian hyperinflation phenomenon and the transformation of Russia central bank stance. Moreover, this article uses legislative aspect and real facts to analyze the independence of Russian central bank. The article concludes Russia central bank has a high level of independent status. In the political turbulence of president, government, and Duma, it formed a political vacuum to make central bank a high independence to decide his own policy. When facing the high risk of inflation, Russia central bank also has its own initiative to coordinate the monetary policy with the government’s fiscal policy.

L'organització del treball artesà de les societats preindustrials en gremis o confraries d'ofici semblava reforçar les tesis que postulaven la rigidesa i la immobilitat de les societats d'Antic Règim. Però, els pocs treballs realitzats a Catalunya sobre les estratègies familiars adoptades pels menestrals han apuntat que la transmissió intergeneracional de l'ofici i les estratègies matrimonials dirigides a casar-se amb membres del mateix entorn professional potser no es donaven d'una manera tan general com la historiografia havia subratllat. Aquestes haurien estat dues de les fórmules seguides per les famílies menestrals a fi de preservar un patrimoni força eteri en un marc econòmic ple d'incerteses i serien les responsables de la imatge de societats estàtiques o poc mòbils. Respondre aquestes dues qüestions és el punt de partida d'aquest treball. Per dur-lo a terme s'han analitzat les estratègies familiars dels menestrals d'un centre urbà català, Mataró, entre els segles XVII i XIX. / La organización del trabajo artesanal de las sociedades preindustriales en gremios o cofradías de oficio parecía reforzar las tesis que postulaban la rigidez y la inmovilidad de las sociedades de Antiguo Régimen. Pero, los pocos trabajos sobre las estrategias familiares seguidas por las familias menestrales basados en Cataluña, han apuntado como la transmisión intergeneracional del oficio y las estrategias matrimoniales dirigidas a casarse con miembros del mismo entorno profesional, quizá no se daban tan extensiblemente como siempre había subrayado la historiografía. Éstas habrían estado dos de las fórmulas seguidas por las familias menestrales para preservar un patrimonio bastante etéreo en un marco económico lleno de incertidumbre y serian las responsables de la imagen de sociedades estáticas o poco móviles. Responder a estas dos preguntas es el punto de partida de este estudio. Para ello, se han analizado las estrategias familiares de los menestrales de un centro urbano catalán, Mataró, entre los siglos XVII y XIX. / The organization of the home-produced work in pre-industrial societies in guilds or brotherhoods seemed to reassert the thesis which postulates the rigidity and immovability of societies during the Old Regime. But the few jobs done in Catalonia about the familiar strategies adopted by artisans, have pointed out that the intergenerational transmission of professions and marriage strategies in order to get married to members from the same professional area was not as usual as the historiography had shown. These strategies had been two of the ways followed by families of artisans in order to preserve an ethereal patrimony in an economical setting full of uncertainties, and they would be the responsible of the static and immovable societies. The aim of this study is to answer these two questions. In order to do so, familiar strategies of artisans from Mataró, an urban Catalan settlement during the XVIIth-XIXth centuries, have been analysed.

Dans cette recherche, j’essaie de comprendre quelle est l’empreinte socioculturelle du processus d’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC), particulièrement du téléphone portable, par des agriculteurs de la Boucle du Mouhoun, au Burkina Faso. Privilégiant une approche socioculturelle et ayant comme hypothèse principale l’existence d’influences réciproques entre le processus de construction des usages des TIC et l’organisation socioculturelle des communautés locales, cette recherche explore les transformations des rapports de pouvoir, l’évolution des identités et des formes de communication au sein de ces communautés en lien avec l’usage des TIC. Les sources théoriques principales sont l’ethnométhodologie et la sociologie des associations ; je fais aussi référence à la sociologie des usages et à l’ethnologie des techniques. Fondée sur un travail empirique, ma réflexion est nourrie par des entretiens concernant des initiatives d’application des TIC au développement rural en Inde et en Afrique de l’Ouest, et, surtout, par un séjour de terrain de six mois au Burkina Faso. La méthode adoptée oriente les efforts de recherche vers la compréhension des réalités locales, en opposition à leur interprétation à partir de modèles extérieurs, d’où l’importance attribuée aux protocoles de réflexivité et de décentration. Au-delà d’orientations concrètes sur l’appropriation socioculturelle des TIC, l’apport le plus important de ma recherche est méthodologique. Je propose des stratégies d’approximations successives de la réalité spécifique à un terrain donné, particulièrement adaptées au cas de chercheurs étrangers à leur contexte d’étude. / In this research I try to understand the social and cultural imprint of the appropriation processes of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly mobile phones, by farmers from the Boucle du Mouhoun region, in Burkina Faso. The main research hypothesis is the existence of reciprocal influences between the construction process of ICT uses and the social and cultural organization of local communities. With a social and cultural approach, this research explores changes in power relations, identities and forms of communication within these communities in relation to the use of ICT. The reasoning is supported by theoretical and empirical sources. On the one hand, I refer to the Sociology of uses, to the Ethnology of techniques, but mainly to the Ethnomethodology’s program and to the Actor network theory. On the other hand, I rely on visits to projects applying ICT for rural development in India and West Africa, and most importantly, on a six-month long fieldwork in Burkina Faso. The methodology adopted orientates research efforts towards understanding local realities instead of representing them with external patterns, hence reinforcing the importance attributed to reflexivity and decentring. Beyond practical conclusions on the social and cultural appropriation of ICT, the most important contribution of my research is methodological. I propose strategies to understand a specific field reality by successive approximations, particularly suited when the researcher is a foreigner to the context of the research.

The following report consists of a master thesis (30 credits) within product development. The thesis is written by Philip Ragnartz and Axel Staffanson, both studying mechanical engineering at Mälardalens University. Developing new components for a production line is costly and time consuming as they must be made from manual measurements and must go through all the conventional manufacturing (CM) steps. Eventual design mistakes will be discovered after the component have been manufactured and tested. To fix the design a completely new component must be designed and therefore double the overall lead time. The purpose of this thesis is to establish how additive manufacturing (AM) can best be used to minimize the cost and lead time in the development of new components. The study was performed by looking at the current product development process in the automotive industry at a large company, here by referred to as company A. 56 components already manufactured at company A´s own tools department was examined and compared to different AM methods. The aim of this was to get a larger pool of data to get an average on production time and cost and see how this differ to the different AM methods. Additionally, two work holders were more closely examined in a case study. Work holder one is a component in the production line that occasionally must be remanufactured. It was examined if this problem could be solved with a desktop plastic printer to hold up for a production batch. Work holder two was the development of a new component, this was to examine the use of printing the component in an early stage impact the development process. The findings from this study is that AM can today not be used in a cost efficient way in manufacturing or development of simple components. This is due to the cost of a metal 3D-printer is still very high, and the building material even higher. This results in components that gets very expensive to make compared to producing them with CM. For design evaluation to be cost efficient there will have to be a design fault in over 12 % of the newly design components for it to be cost effective to print the design for validation before sending it to be manufactured. There are however a lot bigger potential savings in the lead time. Producing the end product with a metal 3D-printer can cut down the lead time up to 85 %. This is thanks to the fact that the printer will produce the component all in one step and therefore not get stuck in between different manufacturing processes. The same goes for design evaluation with printing the component in plastic to confirm the design and not risk having to wait for the component to be manufactured twice. Despite the facts that it is not cost efficient to use AM there are other factors that play an important role. To know that the designed components will work will create a certainty and allow the development process to continue. In some cases it will also allow the designer to improve the design to function better even if the first design would have worked. As AM is expanding machines and build materials will become cheaper. Eventually it will become cheaper to 3D-print even simple components compared to CM. When this occurs, a company cannot simply buy a 3D-printer and make it profitable. There is a learning curve with AM that will take time for the designers to adapt to. Therefore, it is good to start implementing it as soon as possible as it allows for more intricate designs and require experience to do so.

The diploma thesis is focused on the current state evaluation of conditions and implementation of educational excursion in the Czech Republic and the economic impact of existing alternatives. The theoretical part defines the educational tourism's market and delimits the educational excursion's peculiarities. The thesis also contains interviews with high school representatives who organize the educational excursions in their practice and the results of questionnaire of secondary schools. The comparison of obtained information reflects the current state of educational excursion's implementation in the Czech Republic. Output of this work is evaluation of educational excursion's direct economic impact.

The Subject evidences the importance of the proposition of indicators of sustainable development for Agricultural Nestings, with the objective to support of the decisions of the governmental bodies and managers of a general form, in the implantation, accompaniment, support and evaluation to the implanted projects and to be implanted. Through the historical analysis of the brazilian agrarian question and the chosen theorical landmarks: the indicators of sustainable development; and family agriculture, was possible to know the theoretical structure witch involves the subject. Regarding the indicators of sustainable development it was proceeded a research concerning it s evolution, identifying the main studies about: the work of construction indicators of sustainable development led by the Commission for Sustainable Development CDS, of the United Nations; indicators of sustainable development Brazil 2004, of the IBGE; of the Balaton Group (Donella Meadows and others), in the Triângulo de Daly ; of the Bossel project; of the Monet model of Switzerland; and, the total socio-ecologial system, of the CEPAL. The boarding of the theorical landmark Familiar Agriculture included the analysis of some definitions and it s categories and identified the types, the sizes and the generated income for the familiar agriculturists in Brazil. The field research was carried through on two agricultural nestings (Farm Amoras and Farm Santa Amália e Santos Apóstolos) both managed by the Land and Agrarian Reformation Institute of Alagoas ITERAL. In the scope of the research we have observed characterization of the nestings, the profile of seated and the dynamics of the nestings, the social world of the seated, the production of the nestings and their impacts, the access to technology and to credit and the characteristics of the generated income. The proposition of the indicators of sustainable development to rural nestings followed the ordained landmark considered by the Commission of Sustainable Development CDS, of the United Nations and followed, in Brazil, by the IBGE, which organizes the indicators on four dimensions of sustainability: Environmental, Social, Economic and Institutional. The indicators proposed reach a total of sixty-two, including twenty-three environmental indicators, twenty-one social indicators, thirteen economical indicators and five institutional indicators. The indicators are also classified, by the model of the Cooperation and Economic Development Organization OCDE, as being Pressure Condition Reply PER. Finally, are identified thirteen indicators considered synthesis, in the total ambit of the indicators. / O tema evidencia a importância da proposição de indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável para Assentamentos Rurais, com o objetivo de apoiar as decisões dos órgãos governamentais e gestores de uma forma geral, na implantação, acompanhamento, apoio e avaliação aos projetos implantados e a serem implantados. Através da análise histórica da questão agrária brasileira e dos marcos teóricos escolhidos: os indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável; e, a agricultura familiar, foi possível conhecer o arcabouço teórico que envolve o tema. No tocante aos indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável procedemos a uma pesquisa concernente a sua evolução, identificando-se os principais estudos a respeito: o trabalho de construção de indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável liderado pela Comissão para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável CDS, das Nações Unidas; indicadores de desenvolvimento sustentável Brasil 2004, do IBGE; o do Grupo Balaton (Donella Meadows e outros), no Triangulo de Daly ; o do esquema Bossel; o do modelo Monet da Suíça; e, o sistema sócio ecológico total, da CEPAL. A abordagem do marco teórico Agricultura Familiar compreendeu a análise de definições e as suas categorias e identificou os tipos, os tamanhos e a renda gerada pelos agricultores familiares no Brasil. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada em dois assentamentos rurais (Fazenda Amoras e Fazenda Santa Amália e Santos Apóstolos), ambos gerenciados pelo Instituto de Terras e Reforma Agrária de Alagoas ITERAL. No âmbito da pesquisa observamos a caracterização dos assentamentos, o perfil dos assentados e a dinâmica dos assentamentos, o mundo social dos assentados, a produção dos assentamentos e os seus impactos, o acesso à tecnologia e ao crédito e as características da renda gerada. A proposição de indicadores de sustentabilidade para assentamentos rurais seguiu o marco ordenador proposto pela Comissão de Desenvolvimento Sustentável CDS, das Nações Unidas e seguido, no Brasil, pelo IBGE, que organiza os indicadores em quatro dimensões de sustentabilidade: Ambiental, Social, Econômica e Institucional. Os indicadores propostos atingem um total de sessenta e dois, compreendendo vinte e três indicadores ambientais, vinte e um indicadores sociais, treze indicadores econômicos e cinco indicadores institucionais. Os indicadores são também classificados, pelo modelo da Organização de Cooperação e de Desenvolvimento Econômico OCDE, como sendo Pressão-Estado-Resposta PER. Finalmente, são identificados treze indicadores considerados sínteses, no âmbito total dos indicadores.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T21:00:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 renatomendoncaturma2004.pdf.jpg: 14289 bytes, checksum: e401576031e5c1c50ba4a9ada4a4d4b7 (MD5) renatomendoncaturma2004.pdf: 535549 bytes, checksum: 3cef20e2f522db040748abfe93126f63 (MD5) renatomendoncaturma2004.pdf.txt: 162025 bytes, checksum: 50e9fa26b8d6c10a0671dfd276849f24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-09T00:00:00Z / This work has the purpose to analyze whether the Brazilian automotive production was influenced by specific segment agreements that took place during the 90’s. For that, over the automotive monthly production series are applied the Dickey-Fuller Augmented test, in order to verify the existence of unit root, and then the ZivotAndrews test, to find endogenously the presence of structural break in the series. These tests conclude that there was a structural break in the end of 1997, when a change of intercept in the series occured, although due to factors with no relation with the adopted measures. However from 1997, a new investment cycle starts in the car makers industry, and these new investments were not directed to States where there had already been investments before such as São Paulo and Minas Gerais. After the study of the main theories of Economical Geography, this work identifies and explores three important variables that influenced the definition for these new regions: labor, transportation costs and public incentives. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar se determinadas políticas setoriais realizadas na indústria automobilística brasileira na década de 90 provocaram impacto na série de produção de veículos. Para tanto são aplicados o teste de Dickey-Fuller Aumentado, para verificar a presença de raiz unitária, e o teste de Zivot-Andrews, para verificar endogenamente a existência de quebra estrutural da série. Após a aplicação desses testes, observa-se a presença de quebra estrutural ao final de 1997, quando acontece alteração de intercepto na série, porém devido a fatores sem relação com as políticas adotadas. Também a partir de 1997 tem início um novo ciclo de investimentos na indústria montadora, sendo que se verifica que esses novos investimentos acontecem principalmente em locais que não possuíam tradição no segmento, como era o caso dos Estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais na época. Após estudo da evolução das principais teorias de Geografia Econômica, o trabalho identifica e explora três importantes variáveis que impactaram a definição por essas novas regiões, sendo elas: mão-de-obra, custos de transporte e incentivos governamentais.

The global social, ecological and economic challenges facing humanity today have given rise to the UN's 17 Global Objectives and Agenda 2030 to achieve sustainable development. Kate Raworth, professor of economics from Oxford University, has in the same spirit developed a visual framework with seven related conditions for mankind to live by, to strive towards living within a safe and fair zone of sustainable development. This framework and associated conditions for sustainable development are applied in this study with the intention to investigate and concretize the potentially contributing sustainable development effects of a norm-creative waste management project in a process of sustainable societal development. The results of the study show clear evidence that the waste management project has contributed to sustainable societal development according to the respondents who participated in the study. However, further studies are required to concretize these results through a more scientifically objective methodology. / De globala sociala, ekologiska och ekonomiska utmaningarna som mänskligheten står inför i dagsläget har gett upphov till FN’s 17 globala mål och agenda 2030 för att vägleda mänskligheten mot en hållbar utveckling. Kate Raworth, professor i ekonomi från Oxfords universitet, har i samma anda utvecklat ett visuellt ramverk med sju tillhörande förutsättningar för mänskligheten att sträva mot för att leva inom ett säkert och rättvist utrymme av hållbar utveckling. Detta ramverk och tillhörande förutsättningar för hållbar utveckling appliceras i den här studien med syftet att undersöka och konkretisera ett normkreativt avfallsprojekts potentiellt bidragande effekter till en hållbar samhällsutveckling. Resultatet av undersökningen påvisar tydliga belägg för att avfallsprojektet har bidragit till en hållbar samhällsutveckling utefter det teoretiska ramverket enligt respondenter som deltagit i studien. Det krävs dock vidare studier för att konkretisera dessa resultat i mer objektiva sammanhang.