The Theory of Earthquakes in Signalling Severe Political Events

This research seeks to conceptualise the use of an earthquake forecasting theory to signal severe political risks such as wars, coups d’état, demonstrations and revolutions. The justification for linking the theoretical framework of an earthquake with severe political risks is twofold. Firstly, it is generally random in its nature; however, there are some patterns which can help in predicting the occurrence of future earthquakes. Secondly, an earthquake is usually region-specific, i.e. there are geographical regions which are prone to earthquakes more than other locations, and there are regions where the odds of an earthquake occurrence are minimal; however, under certain circumstances there is always a negligible possibility of such an event occurring. Severe political events are similar in their nature as they are also location-specific and random in their occurrence. In order to establish the link between these two phenomena, a clearer definition of these two variables will need to be established. Thus this theoretical research will first define the nature of severe political risks in globalised world followed by definition of an earthquake and its nature. Once a clear definition of these two variables has been established, the discussion will move towards discussion of various models for signalling severe political risks and earthquakes. It will conclude by suggesting a new approach to signalling the possibility of an occurrence of severe political events based on various assessment models and methods employed in forecasting an occurrence of an earthquake

The Empirical Determinants of the Adoption of a Political Risk Assessment Function in International Firms

This paper seeks to conceptualise a new approach to the identification of the factors influencing the adoption of a political risk assessment (PRA) function. The research population will comprise a convenience sample of Czech and Slovak international firms. The information whether or not a firm has set up a PRA function will be obtained via a questionnaire survey. By making use of firm value maximization and risk aversion and considering the rationale for risk management activities: (i) reducing the expected costs of financial distress; (ii) reducing the risk premiums payable to various partners; (iii) increasing investment possibilities; and (iv) reducing expected tax payments, we develop a number of determinants to be employed in PRA studies; and we propose a model for predicting the PRA adoption decision

Political risk assessment in the Czech Republic

This paper seeks to conceptualise a new approach to the identification of the factors influencing the adoption of a political risk assessment (PRA) function. The research population will comprise a convenience sample of Czech international firms. The information whether or not a firm has set up a PRA function will be obtained via a questionnaire survey. By making use of firm value maximization and risk aversion and considering the rationale for risk management activities: (i) reducing the expected costs of financial distress; (ii) reducing the risk premiums payable to various partners; (iii) increasing investment possibilities; and (iv) reducing expected tax payments, we develop a number of determinants which be employed in PRA studie

Corruption, Social Trust and Transition: the Case of the Czech Republic

The purpose of this paper is to propose research into corruption and social trust and their effect on businesses in transition economies with special reference to the Czech Republic. The literature review discusses the concepts of corruption and social trust and provides an explanation of how these can be used, in the case of the Czech Republic, when investigating the influence of these two phenomena on businesses operating in this environment. The discussion is augmented by a preliminary analysis based on secondary data obtained from Transparency International, the World Values Survey, the World Bank and the Polity IV project. This suggests that the assumptions derived from the literature review are valid. The paper concludes by proposing a methodology for further research

Southern Sudanese Women in the Diaspora

This paper focuses on the ways in which southern Sudanese women in the African Diaspora are undergoing certain transformations of their gender roles as mothers, daughters, and wives. People’s identities in the diaspora can be regarded as a constant process of negotiation between the traditions of their homeland and the traditions of the host society. This paper investigates the relationship between ideologies of male domination and Sudanese women’s actual status in the family and society.Indeed, immigrants’ identity is affected by the host society’s gender roles. This paper also provides an analysis of the role and importance of Christianity in the lives of southern Sudanese women. Indeed, it will be argued that religion is the main avenue for women’s integration into US society and thus comes to constitute an important dimension of their understanding and experience of citizenship as a sense of belonging. This is particularly relevant to the context of my fieldwork, for religion plays a central role in the lives of Americans in the South. The paper is based upon eight months of an anthropological fieldwork focused on southern Sudanese living in northeast Florida. During this period I met with several men and women from the Sudanese community in Northeast Florida, but conducted in-depth interviews with one Sudanese women about the myriad aspects of her life associated with resettlement, social and gender role changes, and Christian religious identity. Pseudonyms are used to protect individuals’ anonymity

A New Approach to Designing a Political Risk Assessment Survey in International Firms in the Context of Czech International Firms

This paper seeks to resolve a conceptual dilemma in the field of political risk assessment in firms‟ international business activities in the context of the Czech Republic. Exploratory interviews were conducted which were designed on basis of a solid body of literature on political risk, international business, political risk assessment, risk management and assessment, and enterprise risk management. The results obtained via these interviews suggest that this PRA function is almost non-existent in Czech international firms, i.e. suggest that findings of previous studies do not apply. Since previous studies of PRA identified a PRA function in the majority of firms involved in international business the results of the exploratory research suggest a novel and different approach needs to be adopted in order to analyse the nature of treatment of host-country political risk in Czech-specific context, and the factors influencing the choice whether or not to adopt a PRA functio

Analysis of the use of time prepositions based on the Czech learner corpora

The bachelor thesis focuses on the analysis of the use of prepositions with temporal meaning by non-native speakers of Czech in written texts. The starting point of the thesis is the observation that the use of prepositions is very difficult for non-native speakers even at a high level of proficiency. In the theoretical part we outline the system of prepositions in contemporary Czech as described in Czech grammars, but also as reflected in theoretical works in the field of teaching prepositions to non-native speakers of Czech. The theoretical works describing methodological difficulties in teaching prepositions in the context of Czech as a foreign language are based on the authors' personal experiences with teaching. Based on the material of the CzeSL and Merlin learner corpora, we analyse the use of prepositions to confirm/disprove the difficulties in their use contained in the theoretical works. The aim of the bachelor's thesis is to quantitatively map the use of prepositions by non- native speakers in written works. Key words Czech as a foreign language, grammar, prepositions, error analysis, learner corpus CzeSL, MerlinBakalářská práce se zaměřuje na analýzu užití předložek s časovým významem nerodilými mluvčími češtiny v písemných textech. Východiskem práce je poznatek, že užívání předložek je pro nerodilé mluvčí velmi obtížné i na vysoké úrovni pokročilosti. V teoretické části nastíníme systém předložek v současné češtině, tak jak jej popisují české gramatiky, ale i jak je reflektován v teoretických pracích z oblasti výuky předložek pro nerodilé mluvčí češtiny. Teoretické práce popisující metodické obtíže při výuce předložek v rámci češtiny jako cizího jazyka vycházejí z osobních zkušeností autorů s výukou. Na základě materiálu žákovských korpusů CzeSL a Merlin provedeme analýzu užití předložek, abychom potvrdili / vyvrátili obtíže v jejich užití, obsažené v teoretických pracích. Cílem bakalářské práce je kvantitativně zmapovat užívání předložek nerodilými mluvčími v písemných pracích. Klíčová slova Čeština jako cizí jazyk, mluvnice, předložka, chybová analýza, žákovský korpus CzeSL, MerlinÚstav bohemistických studiíInstitute of Czech StudiesFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult