Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Do firms that have low dependence on physical assets as well as high profitability outperform companies with the opposite characteristics in the market? Despite the lack of empirical research, conventional wisdom would suggest that they should. Conceptually, investors should prefer profitable companies to less profitable companies, and lower capital-intensive to high capital-intensity firms. Using a large sample of global stocks over the period from 1988 to 2010, the effect of using capital intensity and return on capital employed (ROCE) as filters for portfolio inclusion was investigated. A quantitative research approach was followed in this study. This involved dividing the sample into five subsets, or quintiles, according to the specific metric (for example capital intensity). The total return of an equally weighted portfolio was then measured for each quintile for the subsequent 12 months. The portfolio was rebalanced annually and the subsequent 12-month return recorded. Because enhanced performance on new capital investments may take longer than 12 months to be reflected in share prices, quintile performance was also measured over five-year holding periods. The empirical findings of this study reveal that there was no discernible pattern of outperformance by low capital-intensive quintiles using annual rebalancing. However, the lowest capital-intensive firms had the highest average returns using five-year holding periods. The highest ROCE firms performed best with annual rebalancing and with five-year holding periods. Combining both capital intensity and ROCE, a portfolio focused on low capital intensity and high profitability produced a compound annual growth rate that is 9.18 percentage points higher than a portfolio focused on the highest capital intensity and the lowest ROCE. Over five-year holding periods there is a distinct outperformance by low capital-intensive firms with high operational profitability. These results indicate that allocation of investment capital to capital-intensive companies with low operational profitability seems likely to impair long-term returns, and there may be value in a focus on low capital-intensity firms that are able to generate high returns on capital employed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sal maatskappye met lae afhanklikheid van fisiese bates, asook hoë winsgewendheid, maatskappye met die teenoorgestelde eienskappe uitpresteer in die mark? Ten spyte van ‘n gebrek aan empiriese navorsing, sal konvensionele wysheid voorstel dat dit so moet wees. Beleggers behoort winsgewende maatskappye bo minder winsgewende maatskappye te verkies, en laer kapitaalintensiewe bo hoë kapitaalintensiewe maatskappye. Die gebruik van kapitaalintensiteit en opbrengs op kapitaal aangewend (OOKA) in die beleggingsbesluit word ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van ‘n groot steekproef globale aandele oor die tydperk 1988 tot 2010. 'n Kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering was gevolg in die studie. Dit het die verdeling van die steekproef in vyf onderafdelings, of kwintiele, volgens die spesifieke maatstawwe (byvoorbeeld kapitaal-intensiteit) behels. Die totale opbrengs van 'n gelyk-geweegde portefeulje is vervolgens gemeet vir elke kwintiel vir die daaropvolgende 12 maande. Die portefeulje is jaarliks herbalanseer en die daaropvolgende 12 maande se opbrengs is aangeteken. Omdat verbeterde prestasie op nuwe kapitaalbeleggings langer kan neem as 12 maande om in aandeelpryse weerspieël te word, is kwintiel prestasie ook oor vyf jaar hou periodes gemeet. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie dui daarop dat daar geen beduidende verbetering in prestasie onder laer kapitaalitensiewe kwintiele oor een jaar houperiodes was nie. Die laagste kapitaalintensiewe maatskappye het egter oor ‘n hou periode van vyf jaar die hoogste gemiddelde opbrengs gelewer. Die hoogste OOKA maatskappye het die beste gevaar met jaarlikse herbalansering en met 'n houperiode van vyf jaar. 'n Portefeulje gefokus op lae kapitaalintensiteit en hoë winsgewendheid het 'n saamgestelde jaarlikse groeikoers gelewer wat 9,18 persentasiepunte hoër was as 'n portefeulje gefokus op die hoogste kapitaalintensiteit en die laagste OOKA. Oor houperiodes van vyf jaar was daar duidelike uitprestering deur lae kapitaalintensiewe ondernemings met hoë operasionele winsgewendheid. Hierdie resultate dui daarop dat die toekenning van beleggingskapitaal aan kapitaalintensiewe maatskappye met lae operasionele winsgewendheid waarskynlik langtermynopbrengste benadeel en dat 'n fokus op lae kapitaalintensiteit maatskappye, wat in staat is om 'n hoë opbrengs op kapitaal te genereer, moontlik meer lonend kan wees.

This paper focuses on literary representations of the transfer of Germans from Czechoslovakia. The central point of the analysis is representation of multilingualism, mainly in the form of its presence, evocation and deformation, and often also in the form of elimination. Various aspects of multilingualism are important means of characterization of the narrative settings and milieu. The use of multilingualism has the potential to illustrate the social and political changes of the Czech society in the last seventy years. However, it is not the only possible way to do so. Different languages are evaluated and considered individually, which offers a possibility to depict the complexity of the transfer of Germans. The most important aspect of the multilingualism is the emphasis on the incomprehensibility of the communication not only at the level of basic speech understanding but also at the higher level, which reflects the failure of interpersonal communication.

This MA thesis analyses the use of autobiographical elements in animated films of contemporary female directors. The thesis employs data obtained from in-depth interviews with eight individual directors. As the main methodological tool for conducting these I used oral history. These data were further combined with the gender-specific textual analysis and interpretation of their films, regarding the main principles of animations studies. The goal was to reach a conclusion whether there is any inclination towards the use of autobiographical elements in animated films of Czech female directors. The thesis also contemplates the potential of animation studies in general and its effective use in connection with other academic disciplines. This approach leads towards obtaining findings, outreaching the mere sphere of animation and that may be enriching in the context of political-economic transformation after 1989 in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, for example. Keywords: animated film, autobiography, animation studies, gender, political-economic transformation after 1989.

The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of students from the so-called less developed countries in communist Czechoslovakia, specifically Arab students in the 50s and 60s of the twentieth century. In the first part the issue is put into a broader context of political and cultural connections. Apart from the situation inside the Arab region after the Second World War, the work offers insight into the mutual Czechoslovak-Arab contacts followed by a recap of Czechoslovak tertiary education after the year 1948. The text also presents the general situation of international students in the Czech environment in the observed era. Because it was the first wave of Arab scholarship holders supported by the Czechoslovak government to arrive at the end of the 50s, it is crucial to describe the shape of negotiation between the Czechoslovak and Arab sides. At the beginning of the second thematic part dealing with Arab students in Prague the attention is shifted towards cultural agreements and forms of studies in Czechoslovakia. The aspects of arriving abroad, preparatory language courses, accommodation in Prague, studying, everyday life of Arab students in Czechoslovakia and the conflicts they had faced are analyzed in the following subchapters. The problem of Arab student adaptation to the new environment and...

The collapse of the communist regimes came at the time of the overall decline of the Left, both in the West and the East. In the Eastern Bloc, much of the Left's language was disqualified as a result of its association with the former communist regime, the rejection of which formed the basis of post-communist democratic identities. Although the post-communist situation was generally seen as unfavourable for leftist thought, it nevertheless represented a liberation from a regime which, in many respects, supressed leftist criticism. Social changes in 1989, guided by mass peoples' movements, enabled the Left to understand these changes through their own conceptual apparatus and integrate them with their own expectations. The defensive position of the Left and the "liberal consensus" of the nineties led the alternative leftist thought to profile itself as a leftist criticism of liberal democracy. However marginal their political position was, left-wing oriented authors tried to advocate alternative economic and social structures to those of capitalism, rejecting current pro-capitalist values and practices (consumerism, neoliberalism) and rethinking the changes in private ownership, redistribution of wealth and common values. Key words: Left, liberal consensus, 1989, democratic socialism, post-communism

The thesis deals with scientific expeditions to the Tibetan plateau carried out by Chinese scientists from the 1950s. The whole thesis is framed by two models of the spread of Western science to an unknown land. Is it or is it not the spread of Western science into Tibet the form of colonial control? We will use these two models to answer this question. The thesis tracks the interests and the meaning of expeditions to China and Chinese science. It deals with the development of Chinese Academy of Sciences, which organized the Chinese expeditions. It also describes and summarizes the work and results of Chinese scientists which were presented at the international conference on Tibet in 1980, and examines their contributions to the Chinese and Western science. Part of the thesis deals with the reflection of otherness in the published interviews with participants which we use as primary sources for the thesis. Keywords: Chinese science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China-Tibet relations, Tibetan plateau, geology, alternity.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representation of the normalisation era as drawn in contemporary Czech literature after 1989. The thesis is based on reminiscent fiction about childhood and youth in the socialist era, dealing with so-called small history - family memories, depiction of childhood, youth and teenage years. This thesis deals with the typical codes for recalling the socialist era, identifies what is recalled and how, and examines what influences remembering of childhood and youth in the era.

The content of this thesis is to find the difference between the system of secondary education of the subject accounting in the Czech Republic and in France. The main focus is on the first year of study of this subject. There is seperately described the system of teaching in business schools in the Czech Republic and on the other side the system of teaching in vocational schools in France. There are identified their differences, advantages and disadvantages using the comparison of both systems as well assuggested recommendations that could help to improve the established educational system.

The purpose of the study is to examine if the gender composition of a board has an effect on a company’s financial performance by analyzing their operating margin and return on capital employed (ROCE). The study is based on a quantitative method, studying companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Previous research has not been studying the gender composition of boards of Swedish companies and its effect on the company's financial performance in regard to their operating margin and return on capital employed. Therefore, this study has examined that in order to draw a conclusion regarding its possible effects. The data that is collected will be used as support in the analysis in order to understand how the current composition and effects are connected. This study will contribute with knowledge for companies in Sweden regarding gender composition of boards and the possible effects on their financial performance. But also, as support for the ongoing discussion regarding board composition and the current inequality in gender representation. In conclusion the study shows that return on capital employed and the proportion of women in the board has a positive relationship. Meaning that the bigger proportion of women in a board, the better return on capital employed the company has. However, for operating margin there was not a significant relationship and therefore a conclusion regarding that cannot be made.

This study deals with the Election Campaign in the Czech Republic in a second-order elections during a year 2008 and the study is investigating the degree how many Election Campaigns were professional. The main aim of this study is a description of process of the Election Campaign and the study was checking up which political marketing is using in a second-order elections.