Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 394-420).

The present study deals with the very difficult Czechoslovak-Yugoslav relations immediately before and at the beginning of WWII. At that time, an independent Czechoslovakia no longer existed, and Yugoslavia was forced to balance between the interests of stronger countries, mainly Germany and Great Britain, in order to save their territory and ensure for its citizens a future without a war. Yugoslavia's reserved attitude towards the happenings in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the establishment of rather formal than friendly and cordial Slovak-Yugoslav relations, the presence of Czechoslovak emigrants in Yugoslavia, the absence of any intervention by Yugoslav bodies against the activities of the members of Czech and Slovak minorities against the Protectorate, Slovakia, and Germany, and, finally, the negative Yugoslav attitude towards the state of Slovakia - this all constituted a complex and colourful world of Czechoslovak-Yugoslav relations in 1939-1941. An analysis of these relations was based primarily on an exhausting archival research as well as on a survey of relevant literature, memoirs, and the period press. This subject has not yet been studied in detail in the Czech Republic and abroad.

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The paper deals with the issue of contemporary flat-tax reforms in Eastern Europe and aims to account for the different approaches that various European countries adopted towards the idea of a flat-tax. Empirically, the work is based on detailed studies of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The analysis considers three factors being decisive for the flat-tax feasibility: 1./ party system institutionalization, 2./ coalition/opposition cohesiveness, 3./ labor union institutionalization. First, the study is concerned with each of the factor's influence on the political decision-making process in the three country cases. Secondly, on country paired comparisons the findings for each of the countries are mutually contrasted. Although all identified factors seem to be at play with regard to flat-tax feasibility, I argue that it is either the strength or the weakness of labor unions' institutionalization and welfare identity that underlie the political decision-making in the East and the West and as a result determine the flat-tax (un-)feasibility. The absence of welfare identity in the East allows for higher coalition cohesion in favor and weaker opposition against the flattax adoption in contrast to the West. / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

Diploma thesis examines how the artist and his work can become a device of power relations illustrated by the example of one artist - Anton Jaszusch. The context of his work has changed several times over time, changing the interpretation of his work. Changes of the context were indirectly influenced by the political - social situation, which affected also the inclusion of his work in the canon of modern art in Slovakia. The thesis closely reviews the literature on the history of art from the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic until now. This review inquires the emergence and development of the phenomenon of Košice modernism and adoption of Anton Jaszusch as its leading artist. The work also analyzes available documents (periodicals, catalogs, articles and publications) in detail to refer to the aforementioned changes in the context of Jaszusch's work and its position as an device of power relations. The thesis examines the documents from three periods related to shifts in the context of Jaszusch's work. It begins in mid-twenties when an exhibition of Jaszusch's post- war series of paintings in Bratislava sparked controversy about "Slovakness" of his work. Then it continues in the Second World War period, when Košice belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary and Jaszusch was presented as...

The theoretical part deals with characteristics of printed textbooks as didactical tools and as curriculum projects, including descriptions of textbook structures and their many functions. It acquaints with the methods used to mark and analyze textbooks, especially according to the evaluation criteria. The experimental part uses the questionnaires to show Informatic teachers' use and need of textbooks in the elementary schools in the Czech Republic. It also focuses on the mapping available in textbooks for ICT and computer-focused subjects used in Slovakia, Russia and the Czech Republic. It also conducts their content analysis and comparison using a quantitative method focused on the thematic tasks and activities of selected textbooks in consideration to the number of pages.

This thesis is about the construction of a nationalised public Catholic culture in Slovakia from 1985 to 1993. At the core of this culture was the assumption that the Catholic Church had always been an integral part of the Slovak nation, her past, her present and her future. The thesis seeks to answer the question of who created this culture during the 1980s and 1990s and how and why they did so. To answer these questions this thesis adopts a cultural approach and explores how this culture was created utilising the concepts of collective memory, symbols and events as its main analytical tools. The data for this analysis include, but are not restricted to, materials produced in relation to various commemorative events and pilgrimages, especially those related to the leading national Catholic symbols: the National Patroness Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and Saints Cyril and Methodius. The thesis argues that this culture was deliberately constructed from the point of view of many actors. Before 1989 these included the official Catholic hierarchy, underground Catholic Church communities, the pope and nationalist Communists. After 1989 these actors continued to construct this culture even as their positions of power changed. Most notably, underground Catholics became part of current ecclesiastical and political elite, and communist nationalists dissociated themselves from the Communist Party but retained their position within the cultural and political elite. The thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter looks at how the nationalised public Catholic culture started in the mid-1980s with underground Catholic communities that focused on culture and grassroots mobilisation. The second chapter looks at how the nationalist Communists and the official church hierarchy became involved in construction of parts of this culture and how their involvement resonated with the underground Catholic communities. Chapter Three examines how this culture continued to develop in the early 1990s in a new political context, and how it contributed to a broader cultural legitimisation of Slovak independence.

1 Abstract To study the effect a change in a tax base has on the corresponding tax revenue is a useful tool to better predict future tax revenues. This property is called a tax revenue elasticity but generally it does not get as much attention as it deserves, and when it does, key points like using data adjusted for the effects of tax reforms or distinguishing between the short-run (instantaneous) and the long-run (equilibrium) elasticity are often omitted. In my thesis, I am the first one to estimate the tax revenue elasticities for Slovakia. I use a unique dataset adjusted for the effects of tax reforms and tax changes to estimate both the short-run and the long-run elasticities for the three tax categories th at account for the majority of each year's tax revenue - Personal Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax and Value Added Tax. I obtain a long-run elasticity of 0.98, 1.28 and 0.94 for the Personal Income Tax, the Corporate Income Tax and the Value Added Tax respectively and a short-run elasticity of 3.51 and 1.93 for the Corporate Income Tax and the Value Added Tax respectively. I do not obtain a significant estimate in the case of the Personal Income Tax. Additionally, I find that it takes more than a year for the elasticity to reach its equilibrium value for all the three tax categories and that there...

This Thesis discusses the mapping and documentation of the folklore of Moravian Slovakia and traditional folk culture in collections of the Museum of Czech Literature. The collections of this culture government organization have never been researched from this point of view before. The thesis findings reveal that a great number of archives oriented on folkloric rich ethnographic region of Moravian Slovakia have been found in the collections of the Museum of Czech Literature, specifically in the three following departments of the museum: Literary Archive, Art Collections, and Library. The vast majority of the found materials come from the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The archives are composed of a wide range of materials, such as manuscripts, typescripts, photography, cuttings, printings, drawings, lithography, graphics, sculptures, paintings, publications, periodicals, bibliophile books. The found materials belong to the traditional folk culture, as far as high art and culture. The outcome of this study is a proposal for the exhibition project Slovácko! which is intended to illustrate possible ways how to propagate and present the explored artifacts and archive materials from the collections. Drafts of financial sources, staffing, concept of the exhibition and graphic solution of some promotional designs are included in the proposal.

The goal of this thesis is to develop a sustainable and realistic business plan for the development of a tourist attraction based around the contact between visitors and farm animals. The thesis consists of the evaluation of tourism and agrotourism in Slovakia and in the region of Liptov, followed by the secondary research on agrotourism attractions. The selection of target groups, followed by primary market research and its evaluation, analysis of strategic partners and location, as well as the operations, marketing, and financials are presented in this thesis. The data presented prove that the business idea of creating a tourist attraction featuring farm animals is a viable tourist platform to build a business upon. The contingencies and risks are also analyzed resulting in a complete and viable business plan.