Background: More detailed usage of incentive therapy (IT) in the Czech Republic is still unknown. On the contrary, theme of drug issues among female users and issue of usage of drugs during their pregnancy period is becoming much more actual in the field of addictology. Particularly, the public is prejudiced and shows stereotyped behaviour against drug pregnant addicts. The first attempts to combine IT and the specific group of drug pregnant addicts have been started by low-threshold facilities like XTP Sananim in Prague and Centrum U Větrníku in Jihlava. Objective: The aim of this thesis is to map the current situation of IT in that facilities which engage in programmes for drug pregnant addicts based on the IT. Methodology: The data were gained by using semi-structured interviews whose respondents work in low-threshold facilities. In the analysis elements from the theory of addictology were utilised. Results: On the basis of statements of interviewees was found that two chosen facilities has clearly defined program of IT and the structured working course with their clients. The both differ in terms of remuneration clients. The main reason, why to start to work on the basis of IT, is a high number of contacts with drug pregnant addicts, which was always the initiative of one worker in a facility...

In this thesis I provide statistical evidence documenting rigging of football matches in German long-term championship Bundesliga. For the purpose I use 8326 matches played in top three German long-term competitions through years 1995 -- 2012. The championship is based on a point collection in a standings table divided by strict success margins, e.g. title or relegation. The margins lead to a non-linear incentive structure in which one point is worth more for teams close to the margin. Uncertainty about the final outcome, however, postpones the equilibrating effect to the last rounds of a season. I find evidence of increased point earnings as a reaction on relegation margin closeness at the end of a season. Increased effort of the marginal teams cannot explain the findings as players exert no better performance in the incentive situation. In the same time, their opponents with long margin distance decrease their performance. In addition to that I provide evidence on cheating cooperation proxied by variance of players' performance. The variance does not react on the incentive situation suggesting that teammates behave unitedly. Performance of referees seems to exert stable performance with no reaction on teams' incentives. Overall, the results show strong evidence of systemic point trading in German Bundesliga.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Yang-Ming Chang / This report examines merger incentives of cost asymmetric firms under product differentiation and their welfare implications. Considering a simple contract under which merger profit is distributed according to the proportions of differential marginal costs between duopolistic firms, we show in a stylized model that for almost all parameter ranges (in terms of market competition intensity and marginal cost differential), a low-cost firm may have no incentive to merge with a high-cost firm whereas the high-cost firm always finds merger to be profitable. Only when marginal cost differential is sufficiently low and the degree of product similarity is sufficiently high will both the low-cost firm and the high-cost firm share the common interest in merger. On the other hand, the merger equilibrium is not welfare-improving, regardless of whether the firms initially compete in quantities or prices. Viewed from the perspective of production efficiency, mergers with differentiated products thus create a fundamental conflict between the maximization of consumer and social welfare and the maximization of firm profits. We also examine the scenario that merger takes place when merger profit exceeds the sum of firm profits under duopoly, without considering how merger profit is distributed between the firms. We discuss the conditions under which mergers may or may not be welfare-improving.

Today’s organisation competes in a fast-moving global marketplace. With technological developments, global communications and demanding customers driving increased competition in most sectors, organisations cannot afford to stand still for long (Holbeche, 2004:32). They exist only when their products and services are sold, and salespeople are usually one of the most important elements of making this happen. Organisations’ fiscal health depends on their ability to drive revenue, but without mastering sales management, revenue can quickly decline. Salespeople need to concentrate on sales, not on responsibilities that pull them in different directions (Bailor, 2004:53). According to Clarke (1998:29), for any company to succeed, the various departments must co-ordinate their efforts and work together. The sales team relies on other departments for support; without sales every other department is worthless. The method of selling has also changed and the days of salespeople carrying briefcases overstuffed with brochures and knocking on every door they can find to drum up interest in their organisations’ products are waning. Today’s professional salespeople co-ordinate the resources of their companies to help solve customers’ problems (Weitz et al, 2004:5). For organisations to succeed in this new environment the right organisational climate is vital to create high performance. This is about making the most of employee talents and accountabilities, and managing performance in ways which unleash, rather than constrain, employee potential (Holbeche, 2004:32). 2 The Long Term Insurance Industry in South Africa had to deal with the changing environment and the introduction of the Financial Advisor Intermediary Service Act of 2002 (FAIS). The traditional principles of successful sales are being challenged in a changing South African insurance industry. Sales managers must rethink their philosophies as the Financial Advisory Intermediary Act (37/2002) regulates the rendering of certain financial advisory and intermediary services to clients and provides for matters incidental thereto. Sales managers can no longer simply motivate financial advisors to achieve targets but should also ensure that all new business is compliant and falls within the new legislation. According to Natenberg (2004:1), sales managers must have a purpose to cope with the added challenges and demands because success comes from purpose. Until a sales manager or financial advisor recognises what needs to be accomplished, there will be a lack of motivation necessary to accomplish anything. Financial advisors burn out easily because they cannot visualise the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Everyone wants a driven, highperformance sales team. However, not all sales leaders know how to achieve that. The problem could be motivation. Many sales managers see money as the answer to their motivational problem but money is not everything. For all their commitment to keep salespeople inspired, sales managers would do well to stop and consider the simple things their financial advisors desire. Only then might sales managers be able to craft programmes or work situations in which sales people can thrive (Gilbert, 2003:30). “Too often people let life pass them by. They try hard to achieve something, but when they do, they ask, “Is this all there is to it?” That is because they never 3 take a moment to enjoy how monumental their achievements are. When you accomplish what you set out to do, be proud” (Natenberg, 2004:1). / Prof. Chris Jooste

The purpose of the project was to determine if testosterone reactivity and neural changes could be observed in response to a reward-seeking competitive task, respectively, and whether testosterone was related to neural activation. Forty nine undergraduate students were recruited playing the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID). We found that a subset of participants (N=20) showed testosterone reactivity to the task (ps < .05). During the EEG analyses, cue had a main effect on FRN amplitude in a trend level (p = .084): The large incentive cue triggered smaller (less negative) FRN amplitude than the small incentive cue did (p < .05), especially during the second reward seeking block (A’) (p = .065) and especially within males (p < .05). Testosterone level and reactivity were not further associated with FRN amplitude (ps > .1). Taken together, results show both testosterone and FRN amplitude may be sensitive to a complex reward-seeking and competition.

The goal of the diploma thesis is to make analysis of the remuneration system and to identify motivation tools vhich are used by the company. The output of the diploma thesis is summary of areas which are motivated, reasonable and transparent for employees or not. As a part of the diploma thesis are improvement suggestions which are focus on problematical areas.

The study was conducted to explore the role of social capital in the implementation of Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Programs (FVIP) through a case study of the Appalachian Farmacy (AF) program and to fill a gap in literature on social capital utility in the implementation and evaluation of FVIPs. The study was guided by a conceptual model adopted from Berkman et al. (2000) to identify the mechanisms through which social networks can impact health. A qualitative content analysis was conducted retrospectively on secondary data from the evaluation of AF program to identify social capital attributes. In addition, the study conducted two focus groups with AF participants and four interviews with AF program administrators to explore their perceptions on the role of social capital in the implementation of FVIPs using a phenomenological approach. The study utilized both inductive and deductive analysis techniques with the conceptual model as the guide for analysis. The Bengtsson’s four steps for conducting content analysis were used for AF content analysis and Tracy’s (2013) two-level coding was used to analyze the focus groups and interviews. All the findings were triangulated and mapped on the study’s framework to identify the main and emergent themes. The findings revealed the main avenues for social networks were: cooking classes, farmers markets, recruitment sites, and a low-income housing complex. The main social capital 3 mechanisms were: instrumental and informational social support; social participation and engagement; and social influence. The main actors in the networks were the program administrators, market vendors, and other participants. Lastly, the health pathways identified were the changes in perceptions towards diet and health. The emergent themes revealed that barriers to access and individual characteristics were potential moderating themes, and case management by the program administrators was a potential mediating theme to program implementation. The study showed that the model was effective in exploring social capital in FVIPs. It highlighted the role that social networks, program actors and social capital play in implementation of public health interventions. Social capital may play an important role in health promotion and more research is needed to identify the mediating influences of the model.

We investigate whether and to what extent the adoption of an intellectual property box increases innovative activity and the extent to which different types of firms benefit financially. We examine the adoption of the intellectual property box in Belgium because it allows us to cleanly identify the impact on innovative activity and effective tax rates. Our results indicate an overall increase in innovative activity as proxied by patent applications, grants, and highly-skilled employment, at the expense of patent quality. We also provide evidence that firms with patents on average enjoy 7.2% to 7.9% lower effective tax rates, with the greatest financial benefits accruing to multinational firms compared to domestic firms. Within multinational firms, those without income shifting opportunities appear to benefit more than other multinationals with income shifting opportunities. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

O objetivo geral do presente trabalho foi identificar e caracterizar os aspectos financeiros do processo de implementação de inovações tecnológicas na indústria brasileira, no período 1998-2005. Em tal processo foram analisados o financiamento e os mecanismos financeiros de incentivo governamental para a realização de investimentos em atividades inovativas na indústria brasileira. Os dados utilizados foram obtidos em fontes secundárias, como Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT), Organização para Cooperação Econômica e Desenvolvimento (OCDE) e Oficina Estatística da União Européia (EUROSTAT). Especificamente sobre inovação tecnológica na indústria brasileira, foram utilizados os dados da Pesquisa Industrial sobre Inovação Tecnológica (PINTEC), do IBGE. Tais dados foram comparados com os resultados da quarta versão da Community Innovation Survey (CIS IV), da EUROSTAT. Há, na indústria brasileira, uma larga predominância das inovações que correspondem a aprimoramento de produtos e ou processos já existentes na empresa, ou de inovações para a própria empresa, mas já existentes no setor, no Brasil. O investimento nacional em P&D é relativamente baixo e a execução de P&D está associada mais ao governo. O setor empresarial executa cerca de 40% da P&D no Brasil. Na indústria brasileira, cerca de metade dos recursos investidos em atividades inovativas é destinada à aquisição de máquinas e equipamentos para inovar. Em segundo lugar aparecem os investimentos em atividades internas de P&D e em terceiro lugar as atividades de projeto industrial. Dentre as diferentes fontes de financiamento para inovação, o percentual de recursos próprios utilizados no financiamento das atividades inovativas é maior, principalmente no caso das atividades de P&D, em comparação com o financiamento dos investimentos em geral. Com relação aos recursos de terceiros, o percentual de utilização de recursos privados é maior no caso do financiamento das demais atividades inovativas, quando comparado com o percentual de recursos privados no financiamento da P&D, ainda que o percentual de recursos públicos seja maior que o de linhas de mercado, tanto no financiamento da P&D como das demais atividades inovativas. As possibilidades de utilização de linhas de financiamento de mercado para financiamento da P&D são reduzidas, por conta do risco elevado de tais atividades. A possibilidade de utilização de financiamento público para as atividades inovativas, principalmente a P&D, torna-se particularmente importante. As empresas maiores, com 500 ou mais pessoas ocupadas, têm melhor acesso aos recursos públicos, quando a base de comparação utilizada é o percentual de empresas que receberam financiamento público para realização de P&D e de aquisição de máquinas e equipamentos para inovar. O percentual de empresas inovadoras que utilizaram incentivos fiscais à P&D também apresentou grande disparidade entre as empresas maiores (com 500 ou mais pessoas ocupadas) e as menores. Essa disparidade é conseqüência das características dos benefícios previstos pela legislação. / The general purpose of the present study was the identification and characterization of the financial aspects of the process of implementation of technological innovation in the Brazilian industry, from 1998 to 2005. Funding and incentive mechanisms provided by the government to enhance investments in innovation in the Brazilian industry were assessed. The data used in this study were obtained from secondary sources, such as the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT). Concerning specifically technology innovation in the Brazilian industry, data from IBGEs Industrial Research on Technological Innovation (PINTEC) were used. Such data were compared to the results obtained in the fourth version of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS IV) by EUROSTAT. Innovation in the Brazilian industry is mostly based on the improvement of existing products and processes, or else on the introduction of processes that constitute an innovation in a given company, but already exist in the industry segment of the country. Brazilian investment levels in R&D are relatively low and most R&D activities are carried out by the government. Around 40% of R&D activities in Brazil are carried out by the entrepreneurial segment. Approximately half of the resources invested in innovation in the Brazilian industry are devoted to the purchase of machinery and implements to be used in innovation processes. Investments in in-house R&D activities come next and, finally, investments in industrial projects. Considering the various sources of financing innovation, the largest percentage corresponds to enterprises own funds, particularly in R&D activities, compared to the funding of investments in general. With regard to third-party funding, a greater percentage of private resources is used in other innovative activities compared to the percentage of private resources used in the funding of R&D activities, although the percent of public funding is greater than the private funding lines both for R&D and other innovative activities. There are few private funding lines for financing innovative activities, particularly R&D, due to the high risk of such activities. Therefore, the use of public funding in innovative activities, particularly R&D activities, becomes an important alternative. Larger companies, with 500 or more employees, have better access to public funding, when the comparative basis used is the percentage of companies that obtained public funding for performing R&D activities and the purchase of machinery and equipment for innovation purposes. The percentage of innovative companies that used fiscal incentives for R&D activities also showed a great disparity between larger companies (with 500 or more employees) and smaller companies. Such disparity results from the characteristics of the benefits stipulated by legislation.

Este estudo investiga a interferência de aspectos cognitivos, organizacionais e econômicos na Orientação Temporal do Gestor (OTG) de hospitais de grande porte no interior de São Paulo. A literatura prediz que OTG é influenciada por sistemas de incentivo, como o sistema de remuneração gerencial, e nessa pesquisa foi analisado outras perspectivas que impactariam nessa relação, com base em literatura contábil, econômica, de psicologia e gestão hospitalar, entretanto outros fatores poderiam impactar na OTG, tal como o desenho do contrato do gestor ex-ante, os processos empresariais, a incerteza do ambiente e tarefa, o sistema estratégico de avaliação de desempenho e a proximidade do gestor com a atividade fim. O estudo foi realizado com 18 gestores de 5 hospitais e 1 operadora, analisando os fatores que impactam na realização de tarefas e tomadas de decisões gerenciais, com foco em diferenciar as atividades de curto e longo prazo e quais os direcionadores que os fazem focar no resultado de curto ou longo prazo. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas com os gestores e analisados com auxílio do software Nvivo, por meio da análise de discurso. O resultado da pesquisa foi um levantamento das tarefas com resultado no curto e longo prazo em ambientes hospitalares, identificação dos dilemas do sistema de saúde que impactam na gestão e a proposição de hipóteses de variáveis que possam impactar na OTG. As hipóteses levantadas são que no setor hospitalar fatores como dilemas com operadoras de saúde, incerteza do ambiente e de tarefa e gestão de urgência podem impactar na OTG de curto prazo, enquanto sistemas estratégicos de avaliação de desempenho, motivação prósocial, desenho do contrato de LP, gestão por processo e tempo de proximidade com a atividade final podem impactar na OTG de longo prazo. / This study investigates the interference of cognitive, organizational and economic aspects in Managerial Time Orientation (MTO) of large hospitals in the state of São Paulo. The literature predicts that MTO is influenced by incentive systems , like the system of managerial remuneration, and this research was analyzed other perspectives that would impact this relationship, based on accounting, economic, psychology and hospital management literature, although others factors could impact the MTO as the manager\'s contract design ex -ante, business processes, uncertainty of the environment and task, strategic system of performance evaluation of the manager and the proximity to the core activity. The study was conducted with 18 managers in 5 hospitals and 1 health insurance, analyzing the factors that impact the execution of tasks and managerial decision-making, focusing on differentiating activities of short and long term and what are the drivers that focus on results short or long term. Data were obtained through interviews with managers and analyzed using the software NVivo, through discourse analysis. The result of the research was a survey of tasks result in short and long term in a hospital, the dilemmas of the health system that impact the management and a propose hypotheses of variables that may impact the MTO. The hypotheses are that the hospital sector factors such dilemmas with health insurance companies, environmental uncertainty, task uncertainty and emergency management would impact in the short term MTO, while strategic systems performance evaluation, social motivation, design of the contract, process management and time of proximity to the core activity would impact the long term MTO.