The techniques currently used to model risk and manage the safety of the UK railway network are not aligned to the mechanism by which catastrophic accidents occur in this industry. In this thesis, a new risk modelling method is proposed to resolve this problem. Catastrophic accidents can occur as the result of multiple failures occurring to all of the various defences put in place to prevent them. The UK railway industry is prone to this mechanism of accident occurrence, as many different technical, operational and organizational defences are used to prevent accidents. The railway network exists over a wide geographic area, with similar accidents possible at many different locations. The risk from these accidents is extremely variable and depends on the underlying conditions at each particular location, such as the state of assets or the speed of trains. When unfavourable conditions coincide the probability of multiple failures of planned defences increases and a 'risk hotspot' arises. Ideal requirements for modelling risk are proposed, taking account of the need to manage multiple defences of conceptually different type and the existence of risk hotspots. The requirements are not met by current risk modelling techniques although some of the requirements have been addressed experimentally, and in other industries and countries. It is proposed to meet these requirements using Bayesian Networks to supplement and extend fault and event tree analysis, the traditional techniques used for risk modelling in the UK railway industry. Application of the method is demonstrated using a case study: the building of a model of derailment risk on the UK railway network. The proposed method provides a means of better integrating industry wide analysis and risk modelling with the safety management tasks and safety related decisions that are undertaken by safety managers in the industry.

In recent years the creative industries have become a focus of policy and academic discussion across the world. However, much of the existing literature has concentrated on national perspectives or on social and economic regeneration strategies in large cultural cities while data and understanding at the local level is more limited. This thesis aims to help redress this imbalance by focussing on the smaller and less established context of Urban South Hampshire on the central south coast of England. Longitudinal case studies are used to explore two key research questions, firstly, what are the needs, motivations and experiences of people hoping to develop careers and businesses in the sector; and secondly, how can local initiatives and public sector interventions support creative industries development. While some guidance is available to assist local and regional decision-makers there are few studies which follow the evolution of specific interventions over time to evaluate their effectiveness and inform future sectoral strategies. Although the urban bias of the creative industries is well documented this thesis argues that under the right conditions and with the right policies and initiatives towns and smaller cities can offer a more welcoming, affordable and socially cohesive creative milieu in contrast to the highly competitive environments of major cities. Demand for specialist initiatives with a dual focus on nurturing creative practice as well as promoting enterprise and business skills is also highlighted. This is especially relevant at the cultural-end of the sector which is becoming increasingly exposed to market pressures in part due to recent cuts in public sector spending. The thesis also argues that creative individuals are seeking new spaces to exist within the sector which allow them a level of creative autonomy over their practice while also enabling them to develop sustainable careers and successful businesses.

Företag blir allt mer globala och investeringar i utländska företag blir allt vanligare. Att investera över gränserna kan vara komplext då redovisningsreglerna länge skiljt sig åt i olika länder. Behovet av att reducera skillnader som finns i redovisningen har länge varit stort. För att komma till rätta med detta tog Europaparlamentet år 2002 ett beslut om att införa International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) inom EU och en process inleddes som innebar att alla medlemsländer ska redovisa enligt IAS/IFRS. I och med att Sverige är med i EU ska alla noterade företag i landet upprätta sin koncernredovisning enligt IAS/IFRS-standarderna från och med början av år 2005.Vårt syfte med denna uppsats är att beskriva hur redovisningen av svenska bankers finansiella instrument har förändrats i och med införandet av IASB:s redovisningsstandarder. Vårt syfte är även att undersöka hur tillämpningen av IASB:s standarder har påverkat redovisningen av finansiella instrument hos banker i Storbritannien.Då syftet med vår forskning är deskriptivt passar kvalitativa metoder väl in i vår forskningsprocess. Vårt material består av lagtexter och intervjuer vilket medför att vi har tolkat mer än statistiskt analyserat och jämfört.Vi har kommit fram till slutsatsen att de nya reglerna gällande finansiella instrument främst påverkar klassificering och värdering av dessa. Resultatet har inte påverkats nämnvärt utan det är balansomslutningen som står för skillnaderna. Vi har även kommit fram till att banker i Storbritannien har påverkats på liknande sätt som de svenska av införandet av IAS/IFRS-standarderna. / Uppsatsnivå: C

Accelerated soil erosion and the subsequent decline in soil depth has negative environmental, and consequently financial, impacts that have implications across all land cover classifications and scales of land management. Ironically, although attempts to quantify soil erosion nationally have illustrated that soil erosion can occur in the UK, understanding whether or not the UK has a soil erosion problem still remains a question to be answered. Accurately quantifying rates of soil erosion requires capturing both the volumetric nature of the visible, fluvial pathways and the subtle nature of the less-visible, diffuse pathways, across varying spatial and temporal scales. Accordingly, as we move towards a national-scale understanding of soil erosion in the UK, this thesis aims to explore some of the multiple techniques available for developing an understanding of soil erosion in the UK. The thesis first explored the information content of existing UK-based soil erosion studies, ascertaining the extent to which these existing data and methodological approaches can be used to develop an empirically derived understanding of soil erosion in the UK. The second research chapter then assessed which of two proximal sensing technologies, Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Structure-from-Motion Multi-view Stereo (SfM-MVS), is best suited to a cost-effective, replicable and robust assessment of soil erosion within a laboratory environment. The final research chapter built on these findings, using both Rare Earth Oxide tracers and SfM-MVS to elucidate retrospective information about sediment sources under changing soil erosion conditions, also within a laboratory environment Given the biased nature of the soil erosion story presented within the existing soil erosion research in the UK, it is impossible to ascertain if the frequency and magnitude of soil erosion events in the UK are problematic. However, this study has also identified that without ‘true’ observations of soil loss i.e. collection of sediment leaving known plot areas, proxies, such as the novel techniques presented in the experimental work herein and the methods used in the existing landscape scale assessments of soil erosion as included in the database chapter, are not capable of providing a complete assessment of soil erosion rates. However, this work has indicated that despite this limitation, each technique can present valuable information on the complex and spatially variable nature of soil erosion and associated processes, across different observational environments and scales.

This thesis focuses on energy governance in the EU. It examines the role of intermediaries in governing conflicts that emerge from changes in material energy landscapes (infrastructures, technologies, resources) and the policy landscapes associated with decarbonisation. The thesis assesses the impact that intermediaries have on the goals of low-carbon transition through case studies of energy governance in Bulgaria and the UK. Intermediaries here refer to organizations, individuals, networks or institutions operating in-between other actor groups. The argument made by this thesis is that their strategic position allows intermediaries to play a key role in shaping energy infrastructure and the context of low-carbon transitions in the EU to their advantage. By using a conceptual framework which brings together 5 bodies of literature - on governance, infrastructure networks, low-carbon transitions, power and intermediaries - the thesis examines several strategic energy sectors in Bulgaria (wind and solar power, natural gas and energy efficiency) and the United Kingdom (offshore wind). The research methods include extensive analysis of energy regulation and a range of official and unofficial secondary literature; 49 semi-structured interviews with energy elites and participant observation at 6 different events. The collected data were used to analyse the material landscapes of energy and a range of strategic institutions involved in regulating, producing, transmitting and distributing energy in Bulgaria and the UK. The key findings of the thesis are that intermediaries can translate, block or accelerate socio-technical change. Intermediaries can be tenacious barriers to change because of their physical integration within energy infrastructure networks. The thesis distinguishes between two types of intermediaries: those disabling and enabling to low-carbon energy objectives. Whether enabling or disabling, intermediaries have the ability to translate knowledge and interests between stakeholders by reordering and prioritising certain interests over others. By translating between stakeholders intermediaries amplify the impact of their own specific context, creating more local, regional and national differences in approaches within the EU. Through their integration within energy infrastructure and/or policy networks, intermediaries are capable of complementing hierarchical government, as well as competing with it in pursuing their own interests. However only intermediaries integrated within material energy infrastructure are able to reorder and change the priorities of the state, while intermediaries integrated within policy networks are limited in what they can translate and between whom.

Adopting an inside out perspective to city branding, this doctoral thesis examines the significance of residents and their relationship towards cities in terms of association, identity and ownership of the physical environment, in the context of city branding. This is important because the growing interest towards city branding not only challenged the traditional understanding of branding concepts but also forced academics and practitioners to seek ways to mould and shape existing concepts to the context of city branding. This qualitative study was undertaken within a constructivist grounded theory methodology and uses Leeds, UK and Istanbul, Turkey as deliberately contrasting case studies. In accordance with grounded theory, the literature was only used to inform rather than direct the research design. The sampling design involved initial and theoretical sampling and in total of 22 residents interviewed from both cities. The emergent place brand identity mosaic comprises of four main categories of social process (SP), place attachment (PA), sense of place (SoP) and built environment (BE), and the most significant feature of the place identity mosaic is that it is processual, dynamic, and time and context specific. In terms of contribution to knowledge, the present study bridges the gap in between the subject fields of branding (brand management) and urban studies by proposing an inside out approach to branding cities. The findings indicate that the place brand identity mosaic elements provide a platform to explain how residents make sense of where they live and to begin to understand the concept of the city brand identity. Moreover, in regards to practice, it brings a new perspective to the existing city managements by highlighting a focal point of “keeping the existing customers happy” through investigating and understanding the role and significance of residents, their attachment to where they live and how this insight can be cooperated into creating and developing a sustainable city brand.

This thesis focussed on examining the talent transfer experiences as lived by the athletes whom went through transitions. The purpose was to examine why athletes chose to continue in their pursuit of international competition by switching sports as well as understanding how they managed the process and their own unique experiences. Talent transfer is a process occurring when an athlete ceases or reduces their involvement in a sport in which they have invested significant time and concentrates their efforts in a sport that is new to them but involving similar skills. The process comprises of athletes who might be able to perform if fast tracked into other sports with sporting organisations seeing the benefits of this alternative talent identification (TID) system with specific examples of success. The first study (chapter 3) examined the athletes' experiences through the transition of talent transfer. Ten athletes were interviewed: five from a supported talent transfer programme (UK Sport/National Governing Body: NGB); and five that went through the process of their own accord (informally). The purpose of the second study (chapter 4) was to examine the subjective experiences and one athlete's meaning of the talent transfer process, who moved from judo to cycling and internationally medalled in both. A life history was chosen as the methodology in which to convey the information gathered through the process. The purpose of the third study (chapter 5) was to explore 10 purposeful athletes' experiences of the talent transfer process to understand their unique experiences within a supported NGB programme through unstructured interviews. The results from all three studies are discussed and culminate in a model of the talent transfer process (chapter 6) with limitations and future research directions also discussed. In conclusion, the findings offer a unique examination into athletes' experiences through the Talent Transfer Lifecycle Model.

Diplomová práce se zabývá vybranými položkami účetních výkazů v porovnání dvou účetních systémů ? UK GAAP a České republice. Hlavním cílem je poukázat na rozdíly v obou systémech, a to jak v postupech účtování, tak i ve způsobu vykazování a sestavování finančních výkazů. V závěru práce jsou některé rozdíly prezentovány na praktických příkladech.

The financial services industry is one of the most rapidly growing industries worldwide. Although mobile payment (m-payment) systems have generated a lot of hype, not all supportive infrastructures are in place where one firm’s service can be applied globally. Technology has provoked major changes in this industry with how firms operate and innovate as well as how they adapt their business models. Additionally, how services expand and understanding the ways new services are developed in different countries are becoming increasingly relevant. This qualitative, multidisciplinary study compares the sectoral system of innovation (SSI) and service innovation of m-payment systems between a developed country, the United Kingdom (UK), and a developing country, India. The dissertation draws upon 27 original interviews in the UK and India in order to analyse and identify the drivers of innovation. The analytical framework is designed for a firm-level analysis where variables affecting the resources and capabilities act as a way of integrating knowledge and influencing the innovation process. The main research questions are: how does a diverse SSI shape business models within the m-payment systems; why and to what extent do the processes of service innovation differ between m-payment systems as explained in the UK and India? The SSI approach links innovation to the interactions of the different actors in the economy and the system. Innovation is either the process of creating or the recombining of knowledge for some new use to become an outcome of that process. Innovation does not sit within the boundaries of an organization nor does it sit neatly at one level, but instead it is a multifaceted construct. Thirteen case studies are employed with the main industries being banking, telecommunications and technology. A thematic analysis is applied in using an inductive, exploratory approach from an interpretive perspective. The outcomes of interpretism are helpful in presenting an understanding of the causal mechanisms of innovation through a theoretical framework of resource-based view (RBV) and knowledge-based view (KBV). Findings from the research will show a lack of an all-encompassing and exhaustive perspective of m-payment systems. A hindrance of innovation has caused a fundamental problem identified in the UK showcasing a lack of strong innovative, specific institutions; while in India, poorly managed implementation of institutions has led to strengthening of cognitive institutions amongst firms. In particular, innovation in emerging fields that have yet to reach their technological maturity is just as strong in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Furthermore, innovation happens in developing countries through processes that are more complex than originally conceptualized. The contribution to the theoretical understanding of innovation is two-fold. Firstly, in researching mobile financial systems in a developed and developing country, an m-financial SSI framework is constructed that is usable by policy-makers, analysts and firms exploring their value chain positioning. Secondly, the research emphasises the importance of integrating firms’ activity (including new product and service design) into integrated service systems since the particular nature of these systems for m-payments varies between contexts. Therefore, the research helps to show how m-payment systems vary and in particular what are the drivers of innovation between a developed and developing context. Thus, existing theory needs to take into consideration the possibility that emerging market firms are perhaps more innovative than developed countries, and as a consequence, future research should address this with caution. For management practice, the research has shown that there is still not a complete model in explaining the performance of firm level innovation. For practitioners, innovation and technological development needs to get better at interoperability with users and merchants. Furthermore, business models will need to evolve from limited proprietary solutions towards cooperation and standardised solutions if there are to be successful, global firms.

The increasing atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) has direct consequences on humans and threatens the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. The European Union has set high targets for reducing their emissions by 80‐95% of the 1990 levels by 2050 and is working progressively to achieve these reductions. Legumes are an important group of crop species as they have the potential to reduce N2O emissions. Biogeochemical modelling can provide a valuable tool to explore options for mitigating GHG emissions and especially N2O from European agriculture by simulating novel legume based rotations. UK‐DNDC is a process based, biogeochemical model that can be used towards that goal. The model was tested for various regions in Europe and showed that it can simulate the N dynamics within crop rotations across a range of pedoclimatic zones. It is a useful tool in 1) identifying where and when high emissions occur, 2) highlighting the effects of the management practices on emissions and 3) exploring the impact of alternative managements on emissions. New rotations, which include legumes, have been proposed in order to assess the sustainability of the legumes in European agriculture and the effect that they will have on N2O production. Five regions in Europe, namely Sweden, Germany, Italy, Scotland and Romania, were selected in order to test the differences between legume based rotations and non‐legume based. These regions represent a wide range of pedo‐climatic zones in Europe. In most case studies, legumes showed that they can make an important contribution to mitigating N2O emissions. However, there were cases in which legumes enhanced the production of N2O. Modelling can help to understand system dynamics and it can also help to explore mitigation options for European agriculture in terms of N2O production. An important element of environmental modelling is to understand the uncertainty and sensitivity of model parameters in relation to the model outputs. The sensitivity testing of the model showed that clay content, initial soil organic carbon content and atmospheric background CO2 concentration are three key input parameters Nitrous oxide emissions were one of the results that showed great uncertainty in all the analyses. That highlights the challenges of the modelling activity for accurate N2O simulations in a dynamic ecosystem.