<p>This thesis is an investigation into the causes behind the emergence, maintenance and defeat of dominant authoritarian party regimes (DPARs). The emergence of these regimes during certain critical junctures in a country's history is attributed to the ability of charismatic leaders to co-opt political elites using electoral instruments and incentives under the banner of a single party. The presence of institutional mechanisms that can smooth the leadership transition process, provide rewards for elites to remain in the dominant party and increase the costs of elite defections are important explanatory factors in DPAR maintenance. DPARs also employ different strategies to co-opt and divide the opposition in order to reassert their political dominance. Intra regime splits are a necessary but not sufficient condition to weaken a DPAR. Institutional reform which further weakens a DPAR and increases the probability of future elite splits is introduced when the opposition can play a veto card. The mutually reinforcing effects of elite splits and institutional reform explain the downfall of DPARs in Mexico, Taiwan, Senegal and Paraguay. The DPAR in Malaysia is at a critical juncture whereby an opposition veto which can possibly lead to institutional reform currently hangs in balance.</p> / Dissertation

The purpose of this thesis is to map possible benefits and drawbacks of the newly proposed funding system of tertiary education system in the Czech Republic (with a focus on an issue of private funding). The paper should examine two different interpretations of the funding system, that is the perspectives of ¡§Liberal¡¨ part and ¡§Socialist part¡¨ of the Czech political spectrum. The thesis will try to find and explain possible drawbacks (as they are expressed by left-wing oriented observers) and possible positive effects of a proposed tertiary education system funding reform (as observed by the liberal, right-wing, analysts and observers). The paper should demonstrate how market forces are and/or are not beneficial in a tertiary education sphere, and whether and how they can be reflected in efficiency and equity of tertiary education system. This paper should also provide interviews with people from different fields and of different perspectives and explore their reasoning in more detail. The observations included in the research demonstrate three models of higher-education system; these are a general USA model, a Swedish model, and a concrete model of a profitable successful college, EM Lyon, France. These models should offer a comparison and possible implications for the Czech TES funding reform; these possible implications should be a part of a conclusion of this paper.

ABSTRACT THE POLITICAL PARTIES IN GEORGIAN DEMOCRATIZATION Karadag, Yelda M.S., Department of Eurasian Studies Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ay&ccedil / a Ergun &Ouml / zbolat December 2011,181 Pages This thesis analyzes the development of the multi-party system and the role of political parties in the process of democratization in Georgia during both pre-independence and post-independence periods. The conditions shaping both the multi-party system and democratization are analyzed in the light of findings obtained through in-depth interviews with the representatives of political parties, civil society organizations and academicians in Georgia. In accordance with the post-Soviet political system, the nature of the relationship between the ruling party and the opposition is crucial. The diversification among the elite groups and the lack of pact formation among the political elite is the main reason which hinders the process of democratization. Hence, despite the Georgian political party system has numerous political parties / it is shaped in accordance with the dominant political party system.

<p>The political development in the Western world is transforming. Political party participation decreases as well as other non-profit associations. This individualistic development is described as a threat to democracy. Nevertheless, some scholars argue that the political participation is a transformation into a new type of participation that instead could strengthen the democracy.</p><p>The political parties are the foundation of the democratic system and they receive their power by representing the citizens in the decision making process. Yet, the parties transform from organisations with a close linkage to their core groups, to catch-all organisations that aim to maximise votes. Since the goal for parties is to attain as much power as possible, new parties and other political actors have effectively been kept out of political system.</p><p>The individualistic development is observed through the political consumerism in this thesis. The political consumption is described as a political activity where consuming is used as the mean to impact. To actively select products that represent certain values influence companies to work for those values. It is a free individualistic movement without rules. If asked to describe the typical political consumer it would be a young female with a higher education and thus, an income above average. The political consumer prefers to be involved in issues of personal interest rather than broad party politics. Companies are believed to contain a great deal of power in society and must therefore also obtain responsibility.</p><p>The problems associated to political consumerism are connected to poor information. Citizens may make wrong political decisions since the information presented to them is poor or faulty. Another problem is the lack of tools to measure political consumption; we do not know how important it is in comparison to other political activities.</p><p>It is difficult to compare traditional politics with political consumerism since they target different issues and work in different ways. However, political consumerism is not a threat to traditional politics and should instead be recognised as a compliment.</p> / <p>Den politiska utvecklingen i västvärlden håller på att förändras. Deltagandet i politiska partier och ideella organisationer minskar och denna individualistiska trend anses vara ett hot mot demokratin. Dock finns det forskare som hävdar att det politiska deltagandet påvisar en förändring till en ny typ av deltagande som kan stärka det demokratiska systemet.</p><p>De politiska partierna utgör basen för det demokratiska systemet. Partiets makt grundas i att representera medborgarna i beslutsprocessen. Trots det utvecklas partierna från organisationer med en klar koppling till sina kärnväljare till röstmaximerande organisationer som vill attrahera den breda massan. Eftersom partiernas mål är att få så många röster som möjligt har nya partier och andra politiska aktörer effektivt kvarhållits utanför systemet.</p><p>I den här uppsatsen observeras den individualistiska trenden genom politisk konsumtion. Den politiska konsumtionen beskrivs som en politisk aktivitet där konsumtion används som påverkningsmetod. Att aktivt välja produkter som representerar vissa värden påverkar företag att jobba mot dessa värden. Det är en fri och individualistisk rörelse utan klara regler. Den typiska polisiska konsumenten är en ung kvinna med högre utbildning och en inkomst över genomsnittet. De politiska konsumenterna föredrar att involvera sig i frågor av personligt intresse istället för bred partipolitik. Företag anses ha mycket i samhället och måste därför också ta ett ansvar.</p><p>Problemen med politisk konsumtion är kopplade till dålig information. Medborgare kan ta felaktiga politiska beslut när den disponibla informationen är dålig eller oriktig. Ett annat problem är att det saknas verktyg att mäta politisk konsumtion. Vi vet inte hur viktigt fenomenet är i förhållande till andra politiska aktiviteter.</p><p>Det är svårt att jämföra politisk konsumtion med traditionell politik eftersom de jobbar på olika sätt mot olika frågor. Hursomhelst, politisk konsumtion är inte ett hot mot traditionell politik utan bör snarare ses som ett komplement.</p>

La segmentation de maillages polygonaux est un outil nécessaire à de nombreuses applications. Elle correspond au découpage du maillage en régions à partir d'informations portant sur la surface ou la forme globale de l'objet. Ces dernières années, de nombreux algorithmes ont été proposés dans cette thématique en large expansion. Les applications sont très variées; citons la reconnaissance de forme, l'indexation, la compression, la métamorphose, la détection de collision, le plaquage de texture, la simplification, etc.<br /><br />Nous proposons dans un premier temps une étude assez large des méthodes de segmentation de maillages polygonaux. Nous abordons les algorithmes pour les deux principales familles de méthodes que sont la segmentation en carreaux surfaciques et la segmentation en parties significatives. Nous avons concentré nos travaux sur la ligne de partage des eaux (LPE) et formulé des propositions originales pour la fonction de hauteur de la LPE et des stratégies pour limiter la sur-segmentation que produit naturellement la LPE.

Les entreprises françaises diffusent, en plus des informations financières traditionnelles, des informations ayant trait à l'environnement naturel, à leur gestion des ressources humaines, à la qualité et la sécurité des produits, à leur implication dans la Société civile, aux relations d'affaires et à l'éthique, ensemble d'informations que l'on qualifie de sociétales. La question de recherche de cette thèse est la suivante : quelles sont les motivations qui conduisent les dirigeants d'entreprises à diffuser des informations sociétales ?<br />Un chapitre introductif présente l'arsenal réglementaire ainsi que les propositions institutionnelles relatifs à la diffusion d'information sociétale. Il apparaît que la diffusion d'information sociétale résulte d'une démarche volontaire de la part de l'entreprise.<br />La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à la construction d'un modèle théorique explicatif de la diffusion d'information sociétale. La théorie politico-contractuelle, qui intègre la dimension politique du phénomène et explique le rôle de l'information sociétale dans les relations contractuelles entre parties prenantes de l'entreprise, est sollicitée.<br />La seconde partie rend compte d'une étude empirique visant à valider le cadre d'analyse proposé. Elle porte sur un échantillon d'entreprises françaises dont les diffusions sociétales réalisées au sein des rapports annuels et via les sites internet sont explorées. La méthodologie d'analyse des diffusions d'information sociétale des entreprises fait l'objet d'une présentation détaillée. Une grille commune d'évaluation des diffusions réalisées via les rapports annuels et les sites internet des entreprises est proposée. Cette étude permet de souligner l'importance de la dimension politique dans le processus de diffusion d'information sociétale.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the Swedish political parties have been discussing gender politics since 1970 to nowadays, in order to see which problems and solutions that have been suggested by the parties to increase the representation of women and the equality between the sexes. The theoretical framework is constructed by theories of women´s representation, gender politics and women’s interest.</p><p>To describe how the discussions about gender politics have been between the different parties, the methodological foundation consists of an ideology critical textual analysis of the political programs from the Swedish parties.</p><p>The analysis confirms that the discussions about gender politics and the political representation of women increase over time. The most important issue of equality is the lack of women´s rights and possibilities in the labor market as a consequence of women´s responsibility of home and childcare. The analysis also shows that parties which discuss women as a category and the underrepresentation of women also point out the importance to increase equality between men and women.</p>

Diss.--Fakultät für Philosophie--München--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. / Bibliogr. p. 101-105. Index.

Thèse doctorat : Informatique : Rennes 1 : 2007. / Bibliogr. p. 173-195. Index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-132).