Today the selection of drive technology for realizing of moving tasks is made by comparing of investment and energy costs in general. Pneumatic drives are characterized by their low purchase price, but at the same time they show high energy consumption in a comparison with electric drives. This general evaluation leads to the point, that in many cases the optimum drive structure for a certain handling task can’t be found regarding functionality and efficiency. To reach that goal, the dynamic, energy and costs characteristics of the actuator have to be observed and summarized. In this paper the EXonomy analysis is presented as a base for the inter-domain comparison of electric and pneumatic drives. Developed EXonomy approach enables the objective analysis and comparison of electric and pneumatic systems within 3 steps.

This dissertation investigates the distribution and transmission systems reliability and economic impact of energy storage and renewable energy integration. The reliability and economy evaluation framework is presented. Novel operation strategies of energy storage and renewable energy are proposed. The method for optimizing the energy storage sizing and operation strategy in order to achieve optimal reliability and economy level is developed. The objectives of the movement towards the smart grid include making the power systems more reliable and economically efficient. The rapid development of the large scale energy storage technology makes it an excellent candidate in achieving these goals. A novel Model Predictive Control (MPC)-based operation strategy is proposed to optimally manage the charging and discharging operation of energy storage in order to minimize the energy purchasing cost for a distribution system load aggregator in power markets. Different operation strategies of energy storage have different reliability and economic impact on power systems. Simulation results illustrate the importance of the energy storage operation strategies. A hybrid operation strategy which combines the MPC-based operation strategy and the standby backup operation strategy is proposed to flexibly adjust the reliability and economic improvement brought by energy storage. A particle swarm optimization approach is developed to determine the optimal energy storage sizing and operation strategy while maximizing reliability and economic improvement. A reliability and economy assessment framework based on sequential Monte Carlo method integrated with the operation strategies is proposed. The impact on the transmission systems reliability brought by energy storage and renewable energy with the proposed operation strategies is investigated. Case studies are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed operation strategies, optimization approach, and the reliability and economy evaluation framework. Insights into how energy storage and renewable energy affect power system reliability and economy are obtained.

Today the selection of drive technology for realizing of moving tasks is made by comparing of investment and energy costs in general. Pneumatic drives are characterized by their low purchase price, but at the same time they show high energy consumption in a comparison with electric drives. This general evaluation leads to the point, that in many cases the optimum drive structure for a certain handling task can’t be found regarding functionality and efficiency. To reach that goal, the dynamic, energy and costs characteristics of the actuator have to be observed and summarized. In this paper the EXonomy analysis is presented as a base for the inter-domain comparison of electric and pneumatic drives. Developed EXonomy approach enables the objective analysis and comparison of electric and pneumatic systems within 3 steps.

The master’s thesis is focused on fundamental analysis of stocks. The methods of fundamental analysis including their advantages or difficulties and possibilities of implementation in practice were analysed and described in theoretical part of thesis. The experimental part involved the fundamental analysis of the company ČEZ issued in a calculation of intrinsic value stock. In conclusion, the results of the analysis were compared to a current price of a stock on the Czech stock exchange. In addition, the following methods are used in the investment recommendations concerning stocks of ČEZ.

The literature on security sector actors in transitional societies emerging from war and/or authoritarianism has evolved by critiquing local perspectives recently. While the existing literature has extensively analysed transitional societies in Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe, the thesis adds a new geographical perspective by providing a case study of security sector change processes in the Republic of Georgia, 1985 - 2008. More specifically, the thesis examines the local processes and drivers of security sector change in Georgia, and their interrelationships with donor supported programmes including SSR. The thesis employs a political economy analysis to examine indigenous security sector actors and their characteristics. Based on the approach, the thesis particularly examines processes of change and reform of policing institutions. The paramilitary is identified and examined as a key focus for analysis. The research shows that political dynamics among a few political elites determined the course of security sector change in Georgia. Despite ample external assistance, domestic political dynamics remained the main driving factor in the SSR agenda-setting process. In the politically-driven security sector change efforts, the restoration and maintenance of regime security remained a priority under both the Shevardnadze and Saakashvili regimes. Overall, the security sector actors played significant role in the political developments. Consequently, the process of changing these actors was a largely domestically driven political process. The role of paramilitaries in relation to regime security and the security sector change agenda-setting process in Georgia requires the security sector research to treat paramilitary as a distinguished unit for consideration. / Akino Yutaka Eurasia Fund and the United Nations University Akino Memorial Research Fellowship.

Thèse de doctorat de l’Université de Montréal en cotutelle avec l’Université Paris-Diderot. Présentée et soutenue publiquement à Paris le 3 juillet 2019. / Problématique : Le caractère polycentrique de la gouvernance de santé mondiale fait émerger depuis une vingtaine d’années des pôles d’influence politique de différents niveaux. Depuis la fin des années 2000, des acteurs influents appuient la mise en œuvre d’une réforme de financement de la santé : le financement basé sur la performance (FBP). Le FBP repose sur le transfert de ressources financières conditionnelles à la performance des prestataires de santé. En dépit d’une absence d’unanimité sur les preuves scientifiques de son efficacité, la politique a été expérimentée dans plus de 70% des 46 pays d’Afrique subsaharienne. Les projets de FBP sont promus par des réseaux d’experts transnationaux (nouveaux acteurs de la gouvernance polycentrique), financés par des bailleurs de fonds, et appuyés par des assistants techniques provenant le plus souvent d’Europe et d’Amérique du Nord. Au-delà du pouvoir financier, ces acteurs exercent d’autres formes de pouvoir moins visibles pour stimuler la diffusion de cette politique. Introduisant le concept d’“entrepreneurs de la diffusion”, nous utilisons une approche d’économie politique pour comprendre les interactions sociales en jeu dans le processus de diffusion entre les acteurs agissant aux niveaux global, continental et national, ainsi que les relations de pouvoir asymétriques inhérentes à ces interactions. Pour cela, nous réalisons une étude interprétative à niveaux d’analyse imbriqués (global, continental, national). Cadre conceptuel : Nous utilisons un cadre conceptuel interdisciplinaire empruntant aux champs des politiques publiques, des relations internationales, et de la santé mondiale. Nous analysons les caractéristiques des entrepreneurs de la diffusion – leurs systèmes de représentation (leur perception du monde et présupposés sous-jacents), ressources, types d’autorité, et motivations – et les stratégies qu’ils utilisent pour favoriser la diffusion du FBP. Ces stratégies incluent : l’ancrage idéationnel de la politique (policy framing), la stimulation de l’émulation par la constitution de réseaux (policy emulation), la conduite de l’agenda d’apprentissage sur le FBP (policy learning), et la fixation de standards et cadres de collaboration pour assurer une expérimentation réussie du FBP (policy experimentation). Méthodologie : L’objet principal de la thèse est la diffusion du FBP en Afrique subsaharienne, qui s’articule autour d’influents « entrepreneurs de la diffusion » (cinq organisations, trois réseaux transnationaux, et plus d’une vingtaine d’individus). Trois études ont été réalisées à trois niveaux différents : niveau global (arènes politiques de santé mondiale et instituts de recherche européens), niveau continental (Afrique subsaharienne), et niveau national (cas du Mali). L’approche d’analyse est principalement qualitative : nous avons collecté des données d’entretiens approfondis (N=57), d’observations participantes (N=13) et de documents (N=41). Dans l’étude à échelle continentale, ces données qualitatives sont complétées par des analyses de réseaux sociaux et des analyses sémantiques à partir de 1 346 messages de forum. Ces données quantitatives complètent la caractérisation de l’un des réseaux transnationaux et son influence sur la diffusion du FBP. Valeur de la recherche : Cette recherche constitue la première analyse d’économie politique détaillant des processus multiniveaux et protéiformes (discours, constitution en réseaux, et production et dissémination de multiples formes de savoirs) conduits par des acteurs influents – les entrepreneurs de la diffusion – afin de faciliter la diffusion d’une innovation politique (le FBP) dans le contexte particulier de la gouvernance polycentrique. Cette étude apporte d’importantes contributions théoriques et empiriques à la littérature. Premièrement, elle offre un cadre conceptuel novateur adapté au contexte de la santé mondiale et de la gouvernance polycentrique, qui peut être appliqué à divers types de recherche. Deuxièmement, elle fournit des analyses empiriques utiles sur les processus de gouvernance polycentrique, qui ont été jusqu’ici peu étudiés. Mettant en lumière l’exercice du pouvoir d’acteurs européens et nord-américains dans leur interaction avec des consultants et décideurs africains, cette étude ouvre également la voie à d’autres recherches, notamment sur le phénomène de fabrique d’une expertise africaine. / Background: Over the past 20 years, the polycentric nature of global health governance has shaped the emergence of autonomous actors with political influence at different levels. Since the late 2000s, influential policy actors have been supporting the implementation of a health financing reform: Performance-based financing (PBF). PBF relies on the transfer of financial resources conditional on the performance of health providers. In contrast to input financing systems, this mechanism focuses on achieving results based on performance targets. Despite a lack of consensus on the scientific evidence of its effectiveness, the policy has been tested in more than 70% of 46 sub-Saharan African countries. PBF projects are promoted by transnational expert networks (i.e., autonomous actors of polycentric governance), funded by donors, and supported by technical assistants, mostly coming from Europe and North America. Beyond their financial power, these actors exert other less visible forms of power to stimulate the diffusion of PBF. Introducing the concept of diffusion entrepreneurs, we use a political economy approach to explore the social interactions at play in the diffusion process between actors across global/continental/national levels, and the asymmetrical power relations embedded within those interactions. To do so, we carry out an interpretative study with nested analysis levels (global, continental, national). Conceptual Framework: We use an interdisciplinary conceptual framework borrowing from the fields of public policy, international relations, and global health. We analyse the characteristics of diffusion entrepreneurs — their representation systems (their underlying assumptions about the world), resources, types of authority, and motivations — and the strategies they use to promote the diffusion of PBF. These strategies include: policy framing, stimulating emulation through policy emulation, driving the learning agenda on policy learning (FBP), and the setting of standards and frameworks of collaboration to ensure a successful experimentation of the FBP (policy experimentation). Methods: The thesis research object is the diffusion of PBF in sub-Saharan Africa, which involves influential diffusion entrepreneurs (five organisations, three transnational networks, and about two dozen individuals). Three studies were conducted at three different levels: global level (global health policy arenas and European research institutes), continental level (sub-Saharan Africa), and national level (Mali case). The analysis approach is mainly qualitative: we collected data from in-depth interviews (N = 57), participant observations (N = 13) and documents (N = 41). In the study on continental-level diffusion, qualitative data are supplemented by social network analyses and semantic discourse analyses based on 1,346 forum posts. These quantitative data complement the characterisation of a transnational network’s structure and how it influences policy diffusion. Research value: This research is the first political economy analysis detailing multilevel and multifaceted processes (discourse, networks, and production and dissemination of multiple forms of knowledge) led by influential policy actors — diffusion entrepreneurs — to foster the expansion of a policy innovation (PBF) in the specific context of polycentric governance. This study makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature. First, it offers an innovative conceptual framework adapted to the contexts of global health and polycentric governance. The framework can be applied to a variety of research designs. Second, it provides useful insights on the processes of policy diffusion in polycentric governance, thereby filling a research gap on the phenomenon of polycentrism. By highlighting European and North American actors’ exercise of power in their interaction with African consultants and policymakers, this study also paves the way for future research — particularly on the phenomenon of the making of an African expertise.

The master’s thesis is focused on prediction on capital market by fundamental analysis. It's principle and methods that can be used for intrinsic stock value evaluation are described in the theoretical part. The experimental part goes in for the fundamental analysis of the company ČEZ. Evaluated intrinsic value of the stock is compared with the current price of a stock on the Czech stock exchange and the investment strategy is discussed.