The subject of this thesis is selected parameters cement mortars with partial replacement of Portland cement diatomaceous earth. This work provides information on the basic properties of diatomaceous earth and its deposits with a focus on deposit in Borovany. From the properties is very important pozzolanic activity due to the high content of amorphous silica of this soil. The main use of diatomaceous earth is in the area filtration and is used widely as a nutritional supplement. In the building industry, diatomite can be applied as an admixture to mortar and concrete, where it can, with its abilities, improve some physical mechanical properties. In the experimental part was diatomaceous earth, in its raw and calcined form, tested as admixture for cement pastes and mortars. The main criterion for evaluating these composites was bulk density, flexural and compressive strength. It was also investigated mineralogical composition, microstructure, freeze–thaw resistance and sulfate resistance.

The Diploma thesis is adressing the issue of polymer-modified mortars (PMM) and theirs properties in dependence on curing conditions. The reasons of using polymer additives and some selected applications of PMM are described in theoretical part of this work. Cementitious composite (mortar) hardening is especially focused on mechanism of formation co-matrix system based on cement hydration products and polymer film in dependence on curing conditions. The knowledge of interaction of cement and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer is presented in the latest paragraphs of theoretical work. Following practical part presents influence of EVA to physical and mechanic properties of PMM in dependence of dosage polymer additive and exogenous factors. The study of microstructure was investigated by scanning electron microscope and high-pressure mercury porosimetry. Tests and investigations are described and evaluated.

The paper uncovers the challenges of legalizing abortion within the European Union (EU). Abortion is a highly debated topic. However, many scholars believe it to be a human right. Yet, certain EU member states still have highly restrictive abortion legislations, which creates inequalities based on gender, class and mobility. Contradicting EU norms and values. Furthermore, persons able to birth lose their right to dignity and bodily autonomy. Thus, it is a topic of great importance. In order to get deep insight into this topic the research aims to answers the question: What factors limit the mandating of abortion rights at the EU level? The paper, therefore, makes use of qualitative research by doing a case study. The cases being Poland, Malta and the EU. To answer the research question a textual analysis of documents, such as newspaper articles, journals and reports, is conducted. This is done by investigating the texts by looking for themes, such as religious, social or political factors. Firstly, Poland is examined, followed by Malta. Afterwards, the two cases are briefly compared, in an effort to show that there are common factors influencing the restriction of abortion. Lastly, the factors present in the European Union are investigated.  It is found that in Poland religious and political factors are the main issue in the legalization. The Catholic Church plays an immense role in the abortion ban. Since it is closely connected to the national identity and has a great influence on politics. Furthermore, it is uncovered that the government, especially the Law and Justice party, is a powerful defender of the current restrictive abortion legislation. Within Malta challenges include religious, political, historical and social factors. Such as deep rooted Catholic values, the governments and the populations support for the abortion ban. Both countries share the factor of extreme opposition towards the liberalisation of abortion by the Church and the government. In the European Union many of the factors are of political nature, such as abortion rights not being part of EU legislation. Other reasons that are found include increasing anti-gender discourse and movements, the ignorance of the topic, and abortion rights not being protected as a human rights.  The dissertation concludes by summarizing the findings and explaining that there are a multitude of issues, which are heavily interconnected. It is also explained, that the research shows how difficult it is to legalize abortion in the European Union. Yet, it is important to discuss and address. Additionally, further research is suggested.

Why does the European Union focus on controlling irregular immigration at the external border? The emphasis presents a paradox as most irregular migrants in the EU arrive through legal channels and subsequently overstay or violate the conditions of their visa. In order to explore this paradox, the thesis examines two case studies, Malta and Cyprus. As small island states on the Union’s southern periphery, the two are ostensibly unable to resist the transfer of migration controls and asylum responsibility to the EU’s external borders. Yet, employing nonmaterial power, namely by highlighting the perceived migration pressures they are under, the two states have successfully attracted significant financial and practical support from other member states. In doing so, they have influenced policymaking within EU migration governance, but have ultimately reinforced the emphasis on controlling irregular immigration at the external border by portraying the phenomenon as a crisis. This thesis not only sheds light on the interaction between the EU and the two states under investigation, but combines three levels of analysis – the regional, national, and local. The crisis narrative detrimentally affects the migrant and refugee populations as it encourages the adoption of restrictive and deterrent measures rather than ensuring access to rights and long-term integration. Nevertheless, this population is not without agency. It is their individual decisions to move across national borders without state authorisation that in the aggregate both compels states into dialogue about the issue and provides the basis for the dynamic between the EU and these two member states.

Much has been written about various aspects of the long presence of the Knights of the Order St John on the island of Malta. Nonetheless, throughout this literature there is one noticeable omission - a study of the commercial development of the harbour area during the first decades of the Order’s rule. Despite Malta’s small size, the presence of the Order of St John (1530 -1798) ensured an inflow of foreign resources which eventually permitted very dense human settlement and an international projection beyond the island’s shores which was largely disproportionate to what would normally have occurred in such a small and sterile island. The maritime nature of the Order and the heavy dependence on imports hastened the creation of an efficient maritime communication system. The development of all these economic activities resulted in a prime economic means of generating wealth and served as a pull factor to a large number of enterprising individuals, both local and foreign. Early modern Hospitaller Malta eventually saw the consolidation of an enterprising business class, which, out of sheer necessity, grew accustomed to operating well beyond its narrow confines. In turn, this contributed to the island becoming more open to connectivity with the outside world. Hence, the main aim of this thesis is to explore in detail various economic activities taking place in Malta during this particular period which spans from 1530 to 1565. The year 1565 has been chosen as a marker since during this year there was a break in the normal chain of events due to the turmoil created by the Great Siege. In order to reach this goal the practical functioning of commerce with its agreements and disputes, its currencies, its trading posts and its nodal points shall be analyzed. Furthermore, this thesis strives to show how notarial evidence, together with that derived from records of various tribunals set up on the island at the time, supplement each other and help to fill in gaps. While discussing different methodological approaches to the study of the Mediterranean, the first chapter of this study shall also assess Malta’s place within the wider Mediterranean historiographical framework. It shall also trace the development of Maltese historiography and its contribution to the study of legal, economic and social issues relating to the sixteenth century. Furthermore, this study shall place the various series of primary sources used for its compilation in their proper context, thus allowing the reader to evaluate better the significance of the information provided. The second chapter shall evaluate how the arrival of the Order provided for the setting up of new institutions and for the promulgation of new laws in order to consolidate its authority over the island despite repeated promises to respect and honour ancient rights and privileges. The following three chapters shall each be dedicated to a particular case study which will try to address specific topics that have been largely neglected in Maltese historiography. Thus, starting with an analysis of the grain trade, which was of the utmost importance for a sterile island with an ever-increasing population, it will be followed by another case study which seeks to evaluate the role of women, their legal persona and how this affected their contribution to the island’s economic activities. The final chapter will try to establish whether there were any commercial links between Malta, often described as the frontier and bulwark of Christianity, and its neighbouring Ottoman North African territories. If such trade existed, how did merchants, both Christian and Muslim, manage to overcome religious antagonism which should have inhibited the easy flow of trade? The objective of this study shall therefore be to shed much-needed light on economic activities taking place in and around the harbour area during a largely unexplored period in Maltese history. Moreover, it shall seek to provide a better understanding of Mediterranean commercial relations since the Maltese harbour was a point of intersection not only for people of different nationalities, but even for people of different faiths, such as Muslims, Jews and Christians of different denominations. All had one common goal which unified them, that is, trading and making profit out of it.

The aim of this graduation theses is an evaluation of the economic advancement of the last five euro area countries, i.e. Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Estonia, in the context of the decaying world's economic crisis and adumbration the possible perspectives of their next economic advancement. The thesis is structured into five chapters (according to countries), whereas the structure is always the same - introductory subchapter evaluates the way to euro area by convergence reports of EC and ECB, the second one predicates current economic advancement by chosen economic indicators from Eurostat and the last one implies expected advancement by EC Autumn forecast 2010.

Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion about the audit expectations gap. Research on the expectations gap has focused exclusively on the audit aspect, with limited attention being given to the possibility of the existence of other elements that may in fact contribute to an even wider expectations gap. This study has focused on the financial statements expectations gap. Financial statements are the public face of an organisation. It is therefore crucial that users understand their objective, message, scope and limitations. This study explores and evaluates the existence of a financial statements expectations gap in a small state economy, namely Malta. The data for this study was collected from shareholders and auditors in Malta using a mixed methods approach with a sequential explanatory design through the use of a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings have shown that the financial statements expectations gap exists in various areas, some of which are fundamental to the understanding of financial statements. There is a clear lack of clarity, or confusion, about the objective of financial statements. This appears to be the result of the over-emphasis on decision-usefulness as an objective of financial statements, the imprecision of the word stewardship and the failure to communicate clearly the scope and limitations of financial statements. The study has shown that the attempts by standard setters to satisfy various user needs with the same set of financial statements were unsuccessful in Malta. Communicating financial information has been identified as the primary purpose of financial statements. However, the understandability of financial statements was negatively impacted primarily by the complexity of information, the frequent changes to standards, information overload and the use of technical jargon. The study has accordingly identified those factors that are considered to be conducive to the understandability of financial statements in Malta. Based on the research findings, the study has provided recommendations to the accountancy profession and policy makers on how to address the financial statements expectations gap. Potential areas for future research were also identified.

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The Swedish exit tax legislation in Chapter 22. § 5 p. 4 IL states that businesses who change its tax residence to another Member State within the EES are taxed as having its assets sold at the time of the change of domicile. This legislation was declared incompatible with the freedom of establishment in case RÅ 2009 ref. 30 due to the fact that businesses who changed tax residence were treated worse than businesses that remained within the Member State of origin. Of importance for the outcome of the case was the fact that ECJ had declared exit tax incompatible with the freedom of establishment in two previous cases. In connection with RÅ 2008 ref. 30 the Commission also addressed requirements for Sweden to abolish the restrictive legislation through a reasoned opinion. In the aftermath of RÅ 2008 ref. 30 the legislator drafted a suggestion for new legislation which aimed to make the exit tag legislation in IL compatible with the freedom of establishment. The legislator made clear that the communication from the Commission on exit taxation was of great significance in formulating the legislation, particularly the requirement from the Commission that exit tax ought not to lead to immediate tax consequences for the businesses. The suggested legislation made businesses able to defer payment of the exit tax by introducing a new chapter in SBL. Thus did not the wording of the exit tax legislation in IL change. The suggested legislation was heavily criticized by the respondents in the preparatory legislation and also in legal doctrine. The legislation was, however, adopted and the deferment legislation in Chapter 17a SBL came into force 1 January 2010. The question that arises is whether this addition to the exit tax legislation is a sufficient action to achieve the objective of the legislation. It can be concluded that the situation for businesses changing tax residence is not significantly affected by the introduction of the deferment legislation in Chapter 17a SBL. The fact remains that business changing tax residence still are adversely affected due to the fact that taxation occurs on the exit date, which can have the effect of these businesses being taxed in an earlier phase than resident businesses. Consequently the legislation continue to impose immediate tax consequences in certain cases. The fact that the legislation could be achieved in a less restrictive manner by placing the time of taxation at the real disposal of the assets makes the legislation disproportionate. Furthermore, it is not obvious that the conditions which the deferment is associated with should be seen as proportionate either. Due to the fact that it is ascertain that the conditions in some cases can be costly in terms of valuation costs and that the purpose of the legislation could be achieved in a less restrictive manner by applying directives in the field of mutual assistance and recovery of claims instead of an annual deferment procedure. The conditions could therefore be considered disproportionate in relation to the purpose of the legislation. Nevertheless, the main reason for arguing that the Swedish exit tax legislation should be considered as incompatible with the freedom of establishment is the fact that the legislation does not take full account of the taxed assets potential decrease in value, capable of arising after the businesses transfer of tax residence. Through ECJ-case law it can be noted that decrease in value must be taken into account by either the state of origin or the host state to be considered proportionate. The Swedish exit tax legislation is therefore incompatible with the freedom of establishment in all cases where the host state does not take notice of such decrease in value.

No description available.