After the success of shale gas development in the United States, countries around the world are looking within their own territories for the possibility of replicating the U.S successes in order to achieve financial and/or energy security objectives. Such enterprise has shown to be not as easy as it might have been perceived to be. Some countries like Argentina, China and Poland, where large reserves of shale resources have been identified, have struggled to obtain beneficial results from their shale operations, with the result that even the more optimistic operators are now showing more caution and are reviewing everything before making any commitments to operate in countries with identified shale resources. Colombia, a country with strong oil and gas roots in its economic history, is actively attempting to attract operators to explore and produce their shale resources. If successful, these efforts have the potential to bring increased foreign investment to the country, while also improving Colombia’s oil and gas reserves, which have been declining over the last five years. This thesis, will address the challenges and opportunities of the development of shale resources in Colombia that operators will face by reviewing several critical aspects of the process. This thesis begins with a discussion of the geology of shale resources in Colombia, followed, first, by a review and analysis of the fiscal and contractual regime established in Colombia for the oil and gas industry, then, second, a risk analysis of possible Colombian shale operations, then third, a financial analysis of a possible shale project and, finally, ends with a summary of the challenges and opportunities an operator could face based on the analysis of the previous topics. / text

This thesis addresses issues of sex equality in the financial services sector in Britain and Turkey. incorporating a critique of the well-established theories of sex segregation in tht? labour force, the labour market and the organisation. The concepts of 'belonging' and 'otherness' are utilised to explain the problems of representation in the lahour force. Sex segregation in the lahour market is analysed using the occupational closure framework which elaborates gendered strategies of inclusion. exclusion. demarcation and dual closure. At the organisational level. the implications of different ideologies of sex equality will be studied. with a specific focus on transformational change ideology. The field study for this project was carried out with male and female stafT working in the financial sector in both countries. Two main types of data were collected: primwy data gathered through interviews and questionnaires. supplemented by field notes: and secondary data provided by the readily available published material such as international. national and organisational surveys, and company publications. The Turkish suryey generated 312 completed questionnaires and 21 taped interviews with staff employed in the sector. The British survey. which presented greater difficulties in secunng access. eventually yielded 50 completed questionnaires and 25 taped interviews. The analysis of the findings revealed certain cross-cultural differences in the gendered norms of "belonging' and 'otherness'. in the gendered strategies of occupational closure and in organisational approaches to redressing issues of sex equality. However. despite these differences. common patterns of disadvantage based on gender were apparent for staff working in the financial services sector in both societies.

This study was based on the present writer's perception that inequality in education is a result of people's negative traditional cultural attitudes to girls and women and that, to provide equal opportunities for both girls and boys, there is a need for changes in the primary and secondary school curricula that will alter peoples' attitudes. The thesis of this dissertation is that equal opportunities policies are often based on developed countries' models, recommended for implementation in developing countries' education systems by funding and research bodies. These policies do not take into account the perceptions of the key players in the implementation process and how their perceptions might influence the success or failure of intended measures to provide equal opportunities in education for boys and girls. It is hypothesised that in Uganda, the government has chosen affirmative action policies to reduce gender inequality in education but, from the perceptions of the key players, they have had unexpected consequences which reinforce past patterns of advantage and disadvantage for the targeted group. The advantages and disadvantages are grounded in the contradictory and paradoxical outcomes of internationally and nationally recommended educational policies. This is because policies deal with only one aspect of educational inequality, which is perceived in terms of girls' non-participation in education (access, enrolment and retention). They ignore the attitudinal problem, which is an outcome of the socio-economic, socio-cultural, and school related factors which not only further disadvantage girls but boys as well, thus creating more inequalities. The study focuses upon a cross-section of those who inform and implement policies in the Ministry of Education, those who implement policies at the district and school level and those whom policies target in the classroom. The data, which is selectively quoted in the study, was derived from standardised open-ended elite and group interviews. Key players' perceptions, which impact on the provision of equal opportunities in education, are discussed in relation to international and national policies in education. Particular attention is paid in the study to understanding key players' perceptions of the meaning of equal opportunities in education. This was considered as central to the successful implementation of equal opportunities measures in a way that will not disadvantage any group. It soon became clear from the perceptions on equal opportunities held by key policy makers and implementers in the Ministry of Education and at the district levels, that the problem was not changing attitudes, but increasing access, enrolment and retention for girls within the system of education. At the school level, the problem involved increasing: enrolment; retention; academic competition between boys and girls; participation of girls in school leadership; interaction; and strategies to reduce discrimination practices between boys and girls by their teachers. These perceptions were reflected in individual schools. Implications for theory and practice of equal opportunities in education are drawn from findings from the study.

The goal of this thesis is to determine and analyze trade relations between the Czech Republic and Colombia and to identify concrete business opportunities among them. the sub goals include the comparison of macroeconomic, political and socioeconomic indicators, analysis of the trade flows of goods, to identify the top 10 products and to determine the competitive advantage of both countries by using Porter's model of national competitive advantage. Finally several business opportunities are identified and each of them is described in more detail. The used methods are description, analysis and comparison of data from the Trademap webpage, World Bank and official records and reports from both countries trade ministries.

Internationalization of energy resources has led to a problem of the smooth functioning of the global energy industry , and now this problem has a greater influence on the entire system of international economic relations. One of the key instruments of the country under such circumstances becomes a foreign policy aimed at providing leadership and competitiveness in the world. The Russian Federation has a unique geographical and strategic position in Eurasia , the largest reserves of primary energy resources on the planet, has a well developed industrial infrastructure and a significant intellectual potential .

The project concerns the subject of prisons. How should architects handle buildings that no one wants to enter and should comfort still be the aim of the building? These questions lead me to define my project with two main research questions: ”What is the purpose of a prison?” and ”How can the architecture aid the purpose of a prison?” Prisons are generally known to have four major purposes: Retribution, Prevention, Deterrance and Rehabilitation. Generally, rehabilitation have been prioritized the least. My focus was how the architecture can aid the purpose of rehabilitation, while still considering the balance of control, security, freedom and liberties. Swedish prisons today have one of three different levels of security. If a prisoner needs to change to a different security-level, it means moving them to a different prison, which is a security risk, among other things. My prison instead consists of four different levels of security within the same prison, and they are all organized around a “central park of opportunities”. This strategy is based on the current prison system in Sweden and the notion of free will. These four levels are connected to the park in different ways to emphasize the gradual release back to society. The park offers different places of work, education and variations in the landscape. It gives the inmates the opportunity to change their own circumstances for the better.

No / Despite the United Kingdom College of Radiographers aspiration that first line reporting or commenting by radiographers be normal practice, radiographers have not as yet embraced these opportunities in clinical practice and the number of radiographer commenting (initial reporting) schemes in operation is currently limited. This study explores radiographer opinion with regard to commenting with the aim of establishing the perceived opportunities and barriers to operating a commenting scheme with respect to trauma radiography. Method A survey of 79 radiographers working within a single multi-centre Trust in the north of England was undertaken using a questionnaire. Attitudinal statements were used to elicit information on perceived opportunities and barriers to the implementation of radiographer commenting. Results Fifty three questionnaires were returned within the specified time frame (n-53/79; 67.1%). A number of barriers to implementing a commenting scheme were identified including time, technology, anatomical confidence and training. Opportunities included improving professional profile and increased professional contribution to decision making within the patient pathway. No correlation was demonstrated between respondent demographic and responses suggesting that opinions expressed were not influenced by hospital site, radiographer grade or years experience. Conclusion Radiographers generally had a positive attitude towards the implementation of radiographer commenting and felt that their operation was both beneficial to patient care and the professional profile of radiographers. However, a number of barriers were identified and while concerns regarding training may be increasingly addressed by the Department of Health’s e-learning image interpretation package, the impact of changes in technology and subsequent service operation have not yet been fully evaluated.

This thesis analyzes how a decrease in the commuting time affects the region’s productivity and accessibility on the targeted area Jönköping, Vaggeryd and Värnamo. Numerous municipalities that surround the railway, within a one-hour time range have been included to determine whether an investment on the railway is efficient. The potential growth effects and productivity are measured in wages, and the accessibility is measured as population accessibility. The accessibility is calculated with an accessibility measure, also known The Potential of Opportunities. Additionally, the study includes four control variables. Out of these, four of the six variables proved to significantly influence the regions accessibility and productivity whereas multicollinearity is present in the remaining two. The study differentiates from other similar reports in such way that it investigates a brand new area, different municipalities and finally through the control variables that have not been explicitly used for this specific purpose. The investment is shown to have a substantial effect on the municipalities, especially the smaller ones close to the railway. Shorter time distances, better accessibility and increased productivity all contribute to economic growth and agglomeration.

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Background: The importance of supportive business networks has been widely acknowledged in the field of entrepreneurship. Due to the success of informal business networks, the same networking concept is frequently encouraged and applied by regional political authorities. However, when duplicating a certain networking approach in different settings, it is important to address motives and expectations of network actors and be aware of potentially arising threats. Purpose of the study: The purpose of the Master Thesis is to explore and broaden the understanding of the relationship between the two actors: entrepreneurs and policy-driven networks. The Master Thesis aims to provide a theoretical contribution to the field of entrepreneurship in identifying and describing main motives and expectations of both actors, when engaging in a mutual relationship. However, the Thesis will focus on a single actor’s perspective and the main emphasis of the research will be placed on a set of entrepreneurs and their behavior within the analyzed policy-driven network. Ultimately, main emerging challenges between the two actors will be identified and analyzed, as well as appropriate guidance to address it will be provided. Methodological framework: The qualitative research approach was chosen for the conducted study. A multiple case study was completed in the form eight semi- structured interviews with the anagerial levels of the analyzed policy-driven network and local entrepreneurs. Completion and findings: The conducted study reveals that it is a great challenge to implement a certain networking approach in a diverse context. The provided frameworks of entrepreneurship, networking and social embeddedness indicate that, when establishing a policy-driven network a considerable amount of attention should be devoted to main network actors – regional entrepreneurs.