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The master’s final work is written in Lithuanian language, consists of 77 Pages, 23 Figures, 16 Tables, 54 References, and 11 Appendixes. KEY Words: health insurance, health insurance system, compulsory health insurance, additional (voluntary) health insurance, health insurance Fund, Compulsory Health Insurance Fund Budget, health insurance payments, financing of health attendance, health attendance costs, efficiency. Research object: health insurance system. Research subject: health insurance. Research aim: after analyzing the theoretical and practical aspects of health insurance, to evaluate health insurance system in Lithuania, to foresee its perspectives and to provide the proposals for development. Objectives: to show the theoretical aspects of health insurance, to evaluate health system in Lithuania according to the chosen criterion (financing model, incomes, costs), to foresee the perspectives of health system and to provide the proposals for development. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of literature, logical analysis and synthesis, filing, comparison, vertical and horizontal analysis, simple linear regression and correlation, forecast calculations, diagrammatical representation of data. Health insurance system in Lithuania was analyzed and evaluated as well as the proposals for it’s development were presented by using scientific literature of foreign and Lithuanian authors, legislation, chronicles of statistics and electronic information sources.

This study focuses on foreign direct investment ("FDI") and its importance to the economy of South Africa. Recognising that FDI, notwithstanding the type, can contribute to economic growth and development, most countries including South Africa are constantly working to attract it, and hence its demand has become highly competitive. However, FDI does not go without some negative effects, such as conflicts between host and investor country, and the creation of damaging competition to local firms. These negative effects could be minimised if policies and strategies for the promotion and attraction of FDI is part of, and integrated into, general economic development and economic reform policies, and not seen in isolation. Although South Africa has implemented strategies to attract more FDI, a refinement of some of these policies is needed if the country is to be successful in this regard. / Economics / M. Comm. (Economics)

Text in Afrikaans / Die primere doelstelling met hierdie studie was om 'n kritiese beskouing van die staat van kontantvloei-inligting (hierna genoem die staat) as element van finansiele verslagdoening te verskaf met die oog op die identifisering van moontlike leemtes, tekortkominge en nut wat die gebruikers van die staat ondervind. Die studie dui daarop dat alhoewel daar 'n aantal leemtes en tekortkominge in die huidige staat is, daar wei 'n behoefte aan die kant van die gebruiker na 'n staat van kontantvloei-inligting as deel van die finansiele state bestaan. Die waarde van sodanige staat is deurgaans in die literatuurstudie sowel as met die empiriese studie beklemtoon. Dit het ook in die studie na vore gekom dat die staat vir gebruikers van groot waarde is in die evaluering van solvensie en risiko in bepaalde ondernemings. Die gebruikswaarde van die staat maak dit dringend noodsaaklik dat daar onverwyld aandag aan die leemtes geskenk moet word. Verskeie aanbevelings vir 'n verbeterde staat van kontantvloei-inligting word dan ook in hierdie studie gemaak en dit sluit 'n moontlike model in. 'n Aantal aanbevelings rondom die praktiese aspekte van die gebruik van die staat word ook gemaak, omdat dit die potensiaal het om 'n onmisbare hulpmiddel vir die gebruiker te word. / The prime objective of this study was to take a critical look at the cash flow information statement (hereinafter named the statement) as an element of financial reporting. It was based on the experience of the users in view of identifying possible gaps, shortcomings and benefits. The study suggests that a definite need occurs from the users side for cash flow information as part of the financial statements. It was also evident from the study that the statement is a very important tool for the evaluation of solvency and risk. The usability of the statement necessitates that attention be given to the gaps. Several recommendations, including a possible model were made for an improvement in the statement. A number of recommendations were also made regarding practical aspects for the use of the statement, since it has the potential to be an indispensable tool for users. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

The essence of the thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of targeted subsidies in the selected region. Of the many special-purpose grants provided were the following three: Natural handicap payments provided in mountain areas and payments in other less favored areas (LFA), agrienvironmental measures (AEO) and the national supplementary pension (Top-up). On the basis of selected indicators, an evaluation of the effectiveness of targeted support for the period 2005-2010.

由於智慧型手機與各種手持裝置日漸普及，4G行動上網速度與行動支付安全性、便利性與即時性的提升，行動支付（Mobile Payment）在這幾年已然成為電信、金融、手機軟硬體製造產業之間最熱門的話題之一，多樣化之支付型態因應而生。將個人行動裝置結合金融支付工具進行交易，讓使用者不需帶錢包出門即能輕鬆完成小額支付是未來趨勢，世界各國行動支付的比例逐漸提高，邁入無現金社會。 台灣電信運營商也積極在行動支付戰場爭取一席之地，陸續推出電信運營商帳單代付（Direct Carrier Billing，DCB）及近距離無線通訊（Near Field Communication，NFC）相關行動支付應用服務，以增加創新服務體驗及客戶黏著度，最終目標為提高客戶平均貢獻度（Average Revenue Per User，ARPU）。 本研究採用質性研究方法，透過次級資料蒐集、整理及分析，瞭解國外電信運營商之成功案例從中擷取鑑往知來的想法和做法，再深入觀察目前國內電信運營商在DCB的壞帳風險過高的問題及NFC電子錢包等行動支付之發展現況與窘境。最後提出建議，建議一為推動成立「電信聯合徵信中心」以共同降低壞帳風險，同時針對DCB用戶之消費項目進行分析以精準行銷並提升ARPU；建議二為推廣以「行動號碼」為數位身份認證（Mobile Connect）之行動支付平台，不僅可增加電信運營商之營收，更能夠滿足消費者追求快速、便利、安全性的需求。 / With the increasing popularity of smart phones and handheld devices, The 4G high mobility speeds and the security, convenience and real-time of mobile payment were improved. In recent years Mobile Payments have become a hot topic between the telecommunications, financial industry, mobile hardware and software manufacturing industry, diversified payment patterns in response. It is the future trend to combine personal mobile devices with financial payments tools so that users can easily make small payment no need to bring their wallet. The proportion of the Mobile Payment by countries in the world is gradually increasing and moving towards a cashless society. Taiwan's telecom operators are also preparing to carve out a niche for themselves in the mobile payment battlefield by launching Direct Carrier Billing （DCB）and Near Field Communication（NFC）related mobile payment application service to increase innovative service experience and customer adhesion, The ultimate goal is to enhance their Average Revenue Per User（ARPU）. This research uses Qualitative Research Methods by collect, collate and analyze secondary data to understand the ideas and practices of observing the successful cases of foreign telecom operators to capture from the past to further understanding and solutions. And in-depth observation of the current domestic telecom operator’s highly bad debt risk in DCB and development situation and dilemma of the NFC related mobile payments. Finally, suggestion one is to facilitate the establishment of "Telecom’s Joint Credit Information Center" to reduce the risk of bad debts and then analyze the consumption items of DCB subscribers for precise marketing to enhance ARPU. Suggestion two is to promote “Mobile Connect” digital authentication solution with “Mobile Directory Number” in mobile payment’s platform. It not only increases the revenue of telecom operators, but also satisfy needs of consumer’s about seeking fast, convenient and safe.

Orientador: Valeriano Mendes Ferreira Costa / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T00:55:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Justo_CarolinaRaquelDuartedeMello_D.pdf: 2322207 bytes, checksum: 4e73227f42d4116e675cd2ea516aa44a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Esta tese procura mostrar que, a despeito de sua crescente expansão no Brasil, os programas de transferência de renda - aqui genericamente denominados programas de renda mínima - não apresentam um único modelo consolidado no país. A análise comparativa realizada a partir dos estudos de caso dos programas municipais de Campinas, Jundiaí, Santo André e Santos mostrou que os programas são diferentes não apenas em termos de seus desenhos institucionais, mas de maneira mais significativa em termos das idéias, concepções e valores segundo os quais eles vieram se constituindo. Com base nisso, foi possível identificar diferentes noções de cidadania subjacentes aos programas, a partir de uma dupla abordagem: liberal e fortemente assentada no trabalho - em Jundiaí e Santos -, ou democrático-participativa, potencialmente prescindindo do trabalho como seu substrato - em Campinas e Santo André. Percebeu-se, assim - dos discursos dos gestores públicos aos das beneficiárias -, que as implicações dos programas de renda mínima vão muito além da dotação financeira: elas não só incidem sobre distintas concepções de cidadania, mas também sobre formas diferenciadas de enxergar e pensar a sociedade, bem como de agir sobre ela. Isso significa que estes programas - com base nos distintos projetos políticos sobre os quais se apóiam e dos quais fazem parte, quer como Renda Mínima, quer como Renda Básica - indicam diferentes caminhos: seja, por um lado, para a manutenção (ou apenas alívio) da pobreza e para a conservação da sociedade, seja, por outro lado, para a superação da pobreza e transformação da sociedade / Abstract: This work intends to show that Minimum Income programs, despite their expansion in Brazil since 90's, do not have a consolidated only-model.. Through the comparative analysis about the programs from Campinas, Jundiaí, Santo André and Santos, ali them cities in the state of São Paulo, it was possible to verify that these programs are different not just because of their institutional design, but rather because of the ideas, values and conceptions which support each policy. So, it was possible to identify different conceptions of citizenship underlying each program: those ones from Jundiaí and Santos are supported for a liberal conception of citizenship, in which work occupies a central place; those ones from Campinas and Santo André are supported for a democratic-participative conception of citizenship, whichcan dispense with work as its substrata. Through both spokes, from beneficiaries to policy makers of each program, not just the same conception of citizenship was identified and ratified, but also same opinions about the society and about how to act on it. Thus, beyond the money transfer, these Minimum Income programs have diverse socio-political implications. On the basis of different political projects, in which they appear whether as Minimum Income or Basic Income, these programs indicate different ways: in strict meaning, toward poverty keeping (on the one hand) or overcome (on the other hand); in broad meaning, toward society maintenance (on the one side) or transformation (on the other side) / Doutorado / Doutor em Ciências Sociais

On the frontier of biodiversity-rich tropical forests, how land is used has an important role in buffering the primary ecosystem. Unsustainable small-scale cattle farming endangers soil quality and degrades the landscape. Silvopasture is a type of agroforestry that provides both ecological and livelihood benefits. A number of projects have been implemented across the tropics to encourage silvopasture adoption, with varying success. This dissertation questions the reasons for variable outcomes among participants within these projects: what motivates smallholders to adopt innovative land-use practices, and what form of incentives may help to overcome obstacles and catalyse adoption. This dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate on payments for ecosystem services, specifically about their suitability and effectiveness. To understand what influences decisions to adopt sustainable land-use practices, I review systematically and quantitatively the literature on adoption predictors, and I empirically analyse participation and short-term adoption in a pilot project for planting fodder trees in the border of a protected forest in Chiapas, Mexico, using primary and secondary data. I focus on subjective perspectives and livelihood strategies of actual and potential participants as explanatory variables, which have received unduly scarce attention in past studies. This lack of attention is partially caused by the difficulties of operationalising internal variables. I address this challenge by developing an analytical approach that increases the precision of the resulting perspectives in Q methodology. I cluster livelihood strategies and model adoption. This in-depth case-study suggests the type of incentives that are adequate to encourage adoption of sustainable land-use practices. Results indicate that payments may not be the best incentive for pioneer adopters, and that the adoption process is composed of separate individual steps, which are influenced distinctly by identifiable predictors, such as livelihood diversity. Uncovering this heterogeneity of motivations towards adoption provides useful knowledge for designing more effective external policy interventions.

The main objective of this work is to analyze current trends in contactless payments and consequently implement it on the Czech market. On this base this thesis deals with several wearable devices. Furthermore on this base is also working in the application part, where is one of the secondary objectives of the work to determine consumer preferences on the market of the Czech Republic. One of the secondary objectives is create a brief summary of the history of payment cards and within the sociological aspect to find a certain analogy in introducing innovations in the field of payments towards current trends in contactless methods. Within the secondary objectives there are simultaneously defined key assumptions forms of payment for success on the market. The following section focuses on electronic payments. Specifically, it deals with trends in electronic payment services, where for its implementation aren´t required the physical presence of the card or chip. Furthermore there are analyzed alternative paths in the current payment methods, namely peer-to-peer platforms. On these platforms is based shared economy, which also represents an interesting potential for the possible development of payment field. Chapter with alternative methods for cashless is finished by analyzing digital currencies. The hypothesis of this thesis is whether Apple can have an impact on the area of contactless payments and how it can affect the entire sector. Part of the hypothesis is the claim that Apple manages to change the area of contactless payments, such as happenede in the music industry with iTunes and then in the telecommunications industry with a revolutionary iPhone. Potential benefit of Apple is defined by the method of description. Potential contribution of Apple Pay is characterized by logical deduction base on previous relationships. Conclusion is by quantitative research method, namely through the consumer research, assessed consumer preferences in the Czech Repulic and is also evaluated the hypothesis of potential benefits of Apple contactless payments.

L’objet de cette thèse est d’analyser l’évolution du marché des paiements de détail avec en toile de fond la constitution d’un espace unique pour les paiements en Europe. Notre analyse révèle notamment que ce marché évolue selon la théorie de la Reine Rouge ; en effet, sous le poids de la concurrence, les prestataires de service ne cessent de créer des moyens de paiement de plus en plus innovants afin de maintenir leur part de marché. Paradoxalement, la demande, elle, évolue plus lentement, essentiellement à cause des habitudes difficiles à changer. Pour la dynamiser, régulateur et industrie bancaire ont mis en œuvre de nombreux moyens. Notre étude révèle ainsi que bien que les facteurs sociodémographiques, technologiques et économiques déterminant les comportements de paiement varient et n’ont pas le même impact d’un pays à un autre, certains Etats présentent néanmoins suffisamment d’homogénéité pour appartenir à une même zone de paiement optimale. En outre, nous démontrons que l’harmonisation des pratiques bancaires et des réglementations mise en place pour la réalisation du marché unique a conduit à une convergence des comportements de paiement en Europe. Par ailleurs, en analysant le cas particulier des paiements par carte, nous développons un modèle multi-agents permettant de mettre en évidence l’importance des pratiques tarifaires telles que la commission d’interchange ou la règle de non-discrimination sur la concurrence entre instruments, intermédiaires et systèmes de paiement. L’expérimentation artificielle de ce modèle dévoile les conditions nécessaires à l’efficacité de la réglementation de ces pratiques par l’Etat. / The purpose of present thesis is to study the evolution of the retail payment market. This work is set against a backdrop of the creation of a single payment area in Europe. Our analysis reveals that this market is subject to the Red Queen dilemma; indeed, because of intense competition, payment service providers are forced to a constant evolution of technology in order to maintain their market share. Paradoxically, the demand for payment instruments tends to move slowly, basically because habits are difficult to change. To improve the dynamism of the demand response to innovation, regulator and banking industry have implemented new policies and procedures that encourage the development of trans-border payments. Thereby, although the sociodemographic, technological and economic factors which influence payment behaviours vary and don't have the same impact from one country to another, we find some remarkable homogeneity across countries that are eligible to form an optimal payment area. Besides, we show that the harmonization of the banking laws and products led to a convergence of the payment behaviours in Europe. In addition, by analyzing the case of the payment card industry, we develop an agent-based model which highlights the effects of the tariff practices such as the interchange fee or the no-surcharge rule, on competition within and between payment systems. The computational simulation of this model reveals necessary conditions to achieve the desired result of the regulation of these practices.