My diploma thesis focuses on evolution of bilateral diplomatic relationship between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. Both historical development and differences in political and cultural sphere are outlined for complex understanding of sino-us relations. The goal of my diploma thesis is to point out how the historical and cultural differences formed the development of bilateral sino-us relationship, how the development itself affected both states and the rest of the world and to refer to the possible future development. My thesis stresses the time period after the disintegration of the Soviet Bloc because in this period many questions and problems arose in mutual relations which are important even today. How did the mutual relations change after the Soviet threat disappeared? Which issues did become pivotal and how did both sides approach them? What can be expected from the future development of the relations? How have the U.S. reacted to the rise of China? Is there a possible conflict coming? With the progressive movement of the centre of international relations to the Pacific area there are many similar questions emerging. My thesis is divided into 6 chapters which are chronologically ordered. The main focus is on the relations after Tiananmen incident, the role of Taiwan, North Korea and rising China in mutual relations, and last but not least on economic and political questions.

原產地規則已形成一項重要的貿易問題，其對商業進口型態與工廠尋求供 應來源決策之決定有相當影響。因此，企業於尋求最具成本效益之零組件 購買時，必須考慮零組件和最終產品之原產地將會如何被定義，如此才能 了解通關條件和關稅適用情形。於選擇製造廠和裝配工廠的設廠地點時， 企業也必須考慮於最終市場，其產品的原產地將如何被定義，以求能使其 產品之關稅和非關稅貿易障礙降至最低。企業全球化之增加與各國經濟的 互相依賴，使得產品原產地的決定變得相當困難。而且，進口產品的差別 待遇，傳統貿易障礙使用之額外限制，與企業的全球化策略，均使原產地 規則愈來愈重要。雖然政府目前正在草擬“進口貨品原產地認定標準”草 案，但目前國內對原產地規則之研究尚屬有限。基於使我國企業界進一步 了解此重要議題於世界主要貿易體之適用情形，以作為企業於本國與海外 投資和設廠等決策之參考，以及因應我國加入 GATT 及將成立之世界貿易 組織（ World Trade Organization； WTO）後，於原產地規則之國際多 邊談判需要，特對產品與生產者之原產地規則，及原產地規則之政治經濟 學加以探討。最後，再提出個人淺見以供後續研究者及政府決策者於起草 我國原產地規則時參考 。

<p>The purpose of this essay has been to describe and compare the personal qualities that the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) tried to associate Barack Obama and John McCain with during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The main question to be answered is: What social and physical characters as well as what personal experiences, interest and resources did DN tried to emphasize regarding John McCain and Barack Obama during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The theoretical starting-point has been John B Thompson’s theory of the mediated publicity and John Corner´s theory of political persona and spheres of action. Various DN news texts, in all 38 articles, have been examined by content analysis from 25th of august to the 4th of November. The main results show that the most frequent mentioned qualities about Barack Obamas was his skin colour, ethnicity and speech talents. The most frequent mentioned qualities about John McCain was his age and his military experiences from the Vietnam War. The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the qualities described in DN created a picture of two different politicians. Many of the qualities that was mentioned have no connection to politics and even if they was just mentioned one time can they play a significant role in trying to build confidence. Many of the qualities that was mentioned are qualities that necessary not have to be seen as positive.</p>

<p>This thesis deals with questions concerning ongoing constructions of heterosexuality as a norm in the Swedish church. Empirically the study is based partly on interviews with thirteen homo- and bisexual priests, one district visitor and one church politician and partly on some of the church’s own inquiries and documents concerning the question of Christianity and ”deviant” sexuality.</p><p>The aim for this study is to examine how norms for sexuality, coexistence and gender are repeated in the documents created by the Swedish church itself about homosexuality and Christianity and to discern how these norms are present and have sense – are reproduced, challenged and transformed in life stories of Christian homo- and bisexual individuals. To be able to see how the notion of homosexuality as abnormal is reproduced, secured and challenged I have chosen to interpret texts, observations and life stories from a critical discourse perspective. In this theoretical tradition it is central to stress how, or rather to investigate what strategies are used to produce and maintain notions of ”abnormality”.</p><p>One dominating view in the discussions within the church is that homosexuals and heterosexuals have equal value but that partnership cannot be equated with marriage. This understanding is expressed in my examples of formations of heteronormativity within the church.</p><p>In the interview persons’ narratives there are discourses represented that are articulated in the church’s own inquiries but the narratives also express counter discourses. They speak about themselves in relation to, for example, imperative heterosexuality, homosexual ideals, core family ideals, theological way of thinking and dichotomizing understanding of gender. I have identified several ”uses” in the narratives and all of them are contained in an overall Christian homosexual ”us”.</p><p>Instead of viewing themselves as being ”wrong” some of the interview persons have moved the problem to the heteronormativity. Experiences of not being part of the norm have made them strong and willing to struggle and fight for their rights. This position, outside the norm, is by some viewed positively. The homosexuals’ experiences of oppression have led to a desire to liberate the church from homophobia and show ”the true” church, where no one is discriminated.</p><p>Homosexuals are accepted within the church, but only as deviants. This way heterosexuality is being made the superior category. Its meaning and superior position cannot be questioned according to many of the church’s representatives. Still, this is exactly what is happening when homosexuals are increasingly visible to the public and when they challenge the heterosexual norm. This provocation makes the heterosexual norm visible and forces representatives of the norm to deal with it!</p>

The explosion of information and information technology has led many firms to evolve a dispersed product development process with people and organizations spread throughout the world. To coordinate such dispersed processes managers attempt to establish a culture that implicitly rewards product development teams based on their ability to perform against a set of strategic metrics such as customer satisfaction, time to market, defect reduction, or platform reuse. Many papers have focused on selecting the right metrics and establishing the culture. In this paper we focus on a practical method to fine-tune a firm's relative emphasis on the metrics that they have chosen. In particular, we seek to advise a firm whether to increase or decrease their emphasis on each metric such that the change in emphasis improves profits. Using a thermostat analogy we apply an adaptive control feedback mechanism in which we estimate the incremental improvements in priorities that will increase profits. Iterations of adaptive control seek to maximize profits even if the environment is changing. We demonstrate the metric thermostat’s use in an application to a firm with over $20 billion in revenue. In developing the metric thermostat we recognize that there are hundreds of detailed actions, such as the use of the house of quality and the use of robust design, among which the product development team must choose. We also recognize that they will act in their own best interests to choose the actions that maximize their own implicit rewards as determined by the metrics. Management need not observe or dictate these detailed actions, but rather control the process by establishing the culture that sets the implicit weights on the metrics. The thermostat works by changing those implicit weights. We define the problem, introduce the adaptive control mechanism, modify “agency” theory to deal with incremental changes about an operating point, and derive methods that are practical and robust in light of the data that firms have available. Our methods include statistical estimation and internal surveys. The mathematics identify the critical few parameters that need be determined and highlight how to estimate them. Both the measures and the estimation are illustrated in our initial application to a large officeequipment firm. The metrics thermostat suggests that this firm has about the right emphasis on timeto- market, but has overshot on platform reuse and has lost its focus on customer satisfaction. We describe how the firm reacted to the recommendations and changed its organization. We describe additional ongoing applications with the US Air Force, the US Navy, and a major automobile and truck manufacturer. / This research was funded by the Center for Innovation in Product Development (CIPD) and the International Center for Research on the Management of Technology (ICRMOT), M.I.T.

Through four case studies of technological systems - optical tracking of satellites, sounding rockets, instructional television through a geosynchronous satellite, and a launch vehicle--I explore the origins and development of the Indian space program from 1955 through 1976, a period critical in shaping the program's identity and its relationship to the state. Institutionalized, and constructed in different geographic regions of India, these systems were embedded in the broader political, economic, and social life of the country and served as nodes around which existing and new scientific and technological communities were formed. These organic, highly networked communities in turn negotiated and developed a space program to meet the social and strategic demands of a new modernizing nation state. That modernizing program was, in turn, embedded in a broader set of scientific, technological and political relationships with industrialized countries, above all the United States. The United States' cooperation with India began with the establishment of tracking stations for plotting the orbits of artificial satellites. Cognizant of the contributions made by Indian scientists in the field of astronomy and meteorology, a scientific tradition that stretched back several decades, the officials and the scientific community at NASA, along with their Indian counterparts outlined a cooperative program that focused on the mutual exploration of the tropical space for scientific data. This initial collaboration gradually expanded and more advanced space application projects brought the two democratic countries, in spite of some misgivings, closer together in the common cause of using space sciences and technologies for developing India. In the process India and the United States ended up coproducing a space program that responded to the ambitions of the postcolonial scientific and political elite of India. The global Cold War and the ambiguities, desires and tensions of a postcolonial nation-state vying for leadership among the newly decolonized states in the Afro-Asian region are critical for understanding the origins and the trajectory of India's space program. Without this political context and the construction of a transnational web of relationships, it is highly unlikely that the Indian scientific and technological elite, along with their industrial and political partners, would have succeeded in putting India on the space map of the world.

This paper attempts to assess the impact of price fluctuations in oil resulting from worldwide oil supply shocks on the real returns of the U.S. stock market, specifically the S&P 500, during the period of 1986 to 2011. While much past research has found an inverse relationship to exist between simply oil price increases and stock market returns, not many studies have been conducted that focus on the effects of shifts in oil supply. The model utilized, a variation of that used by Hamilton (2008), determines that changes in oil prices arising from oil supply shocks one quarter prior (t-1) and one year prior (t-4) have an effect on real stock returns. However, an F-test assessing the joint impact of the explanatory variables is unable to reject the null hypothesis that the joint effects of changes in oil prices arising from supply shocks have zero effect on the returns of the stock market.

The purpose of the essay is to see if the pupils of Ross Tensta Gymnasium feel it is necessary to have an existing cooperation between the police and Ross Tensta Gymnasium. I would like to know how the cooperation works between Ross Tensta Gymnasium and the police and also if the cooperation is visible for the pupils. Furthermore I would like to know if it is necessary to have cooperation between schools and the police even though there are not any obligations to have any. The methodology I have been using is a qualitative analysis. The entire essay is based on interviews which I have recorded and later transcript it into writing. The theories which I have been using are Wacquant’s use of territorial stigma and also the concept of us and the others in which Stuart Hall explains. The questions I have to help me find the answers to my purpose of investigation are: In which way is the cooperation visible for the pupils of Ross Tensta Gymnasium? How does the relationship work between the pupils of Ross Tensta Gymnasium and the police? What part has the school in the relationship between the police and the pupils?

The purpose of this essay has been to describe and compare the personal qualities that the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) tried to associate Barack Obama and John McCain with during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The main question to be answered is: What social and physical characters as well as what personal experiences, interest and resources did DN tried to emphasize regarding John McCain and Barack Obama during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The theoretical starting-point has been John B Thompson’s theory of the mediated publicity and John Corner´s theory of political persona and spheres of action. Various DN news texts, in all 38 articles, have been examined by content analysis from 25th of august to the 4th of November. The main results show that the most frequent mentioned qualities about Barack Obamas was his skin colour, ethnicity and speech talents. The most frequent mentioned qualities about John McCain was his age and his military experiences from the Vietnam War. The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the qualities described in DN created a picture of two different politicians. Many of the qualities that was mentioned have no connection to politics and even if they was just mentioned one time can they play a significant role in trying to build confidence. Many of the qualities that was mentioned are qualities that necessary not have to be seen as positive.

This project considers the pace of change in international law, focusing on sources of evolution and stagnation. I attempt to determine why negotiators defer to existing law in some situations and not others. To that end, this study explores country preferences towards the status quo in international negotiations. I hypothesize that deference to existing international law is more likely under four conditions. First, countries that have experienced a decline in relative power should promote deference to existing international law. Second, declining powers that have allowed private access by their citizens to existing international institutions should have greater domestic political pressure to protect those arrangements. Third, this relationship should be particularly strong if interested citizens are able to participate (perhaps through the ratification process) in subsequent negotiations. Finally, more complex negotiations (i.e., those including more participants) should result in greater deference to existing international law. The project tests these hypotheses with statistical analysis on a random sample of multilateral treaties, as well as case studies of negotiation practices in the United States, India, and the European Union. The analysis supports all four conjectures, and notes interactions between them. / Dissertation