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The Reform of the United Nations Security Council through the Enlargement of its Members Abstract This master thesis focuses on the topic which has been discussed in the international community for several decades. Security Council is responsible for maintaining peace and security in the world since the organization was founded. In order to carry out this task, it has been endowed with several prominent powers, from which the most important and controversial at the same time is the right to veto, with the ability to block any resolution. The structure of the Security Council was established after the end of the Second World War and it has not been changed since then, besides the reform in 1963. This fact negatively affects proper functioning of the Security Council in today's world, which has changed rapidly since 1945, and reduces its legitimacy because of the insufficient representation of the UN members. The organization was founded by 51 states, but since then the membership has increased almost four times and today there are already 193 countries in the UN. Nowadays, there are several reform groups that want to achieve different progresses in different ways. But in most of these cases there have been attempts to increase the number of members of the Security Council - both permanent and elected. The...

The Bachelor thesis titled "Influence of Henry Kissinger on the Rapprochement between China and the United States" focuses on assessing the role of National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, in the process of re-establishing Sino-American relations between the years 1969-1972. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been interrupted since 1949, when the communist party had taken power and proclaimed the People's Republic of China. In 1969, however, republican Richard Milhous Nixon entered into presidential office and he was aware of the need for changing current situation. He chose Harvard professor Henry Kissinger as a National Security Adviser, with whom he shared similar opinions on management of international policy. Their realistic approach to international relations accompanied by centralized and individualized administrative brought satisfactory outcomes not only in the case of rapprochement with China. The aim was to assess, in which way participated the normalization Henry Kissinger, who is up to now considered one of the most successful diplomats. Continuously with a description of the development of reconciliation, there is an attention focused on Kissinger's role in this process, which is afterward evaluated in the conclusion. The thesis tries to map his powers, methods of...

Pietra dura or Florentine mosaic is a method of assembling thin slices of variously colored minerals and rocks into meaningful patterns or scenes. This artistic technique experienced a significant flourishing in Rudolfine Prague, where many works were created by this technique with materials that have not been described in detail yet. Although decorative carbonate rocks are frequently found in works made by the technique of pietra dura, decorative siliceous materials of jasperoid character, colored red, ochre or green, are equally important. This diploma thesis deals with the mineralogical and material research of these siliceous materials. One of the main objectives of the thesis was to explore possible discriminatory characteristics of siliceous materials from Czech localities, especially from the Kozákov area, which is historically documented as a deposit of jasperoid materials since at least the 16th century. The focus of the thesis lies in a set of mineralogical-petrographic and analytical methods of research. Using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and observation in ultraviolet light, it was possible to determine the minerals contained in the studied jasperoid materials....

Determination of provenance of marble from sculptures or architecture, which make part of our cultural heritage, make some of the principal goals of material investigation of artefact and/or archaeological findings. Light-coloured marbles used in antiquity are amongst the most studied types of natural stone. Various methods and approaches, employed for marble provenance, rank to the most developer. Moreover, antique marbles take advantage of having the largest datasets for provenance determination. This bachelor thesis focuses on the review of the main scientific methods which have been used for marble provenance studies during past 130 years. Mineralogical-petrographic description together with thin-section microscopy makes the basis of such studies. Traditional qualitative description has evolved into more precise quantitative study with the help of computer-based image analysis methods allowing for obtaining sound quantitative data (grains size, grain shape etc.). After-2WW period is characterised by adoption of various analytical methods, which employ different chemical characteristics of marbles. Along with trace elements studies (e.g. by INAA, LA-IC-MS), most of the recently used analytical methods focus on the C and O stable isotopes. Each of the methods has also some limitations, therefore...

The aim of this work is to evaluate blast furnace slag as an additive in hydraulic binders. These additives favorably affect the mechanical, chemical and phase properties of cements and binders on their basis. Basic structural and chemical analyzes of studied slags and reference cement and structural analyzes of hydrated binders were carried out on their basis. Furthermore, this thesis deals with testing and comparison of mechanical properties of mortar test bodies based on Reference Portland cement itself and with the addition of finely ground granulated and air cooled blast furnace slag and the development of these properties over time. Subsequently, these results are compared and made out about the usability of the studied materials for the production of hydraulic binders as compared to cements without added slag depending on time. Testing of mechanical properties according to the relevant standard ČSN EN 12390. Attention is paid mainly to the development of compressive strength and flexural tension. The XRD and XRF methods were used to study the phase and chemical composition of studied materials and hydrated binders based on these. Keywords: Slag, portland slime, hydraulic binder, Portland cement, blast furnace slag, phase composition, glass phase, latent hydraulicity, pozolanita, alkaline...

The alkali-silica reaction is one of the most damaging chemical reactions taking place in concrete, which can cause fatal damage. ASR originates under following conditions: high moisture (> 80 %), sufficient amount of alkaline ions (Ca2+ , Na+ , K+ ) and use of reactive aggregates (low crystaline or deformed quartz, amorphous SiO2). Reactive aggretates react with high alkaline pore solution and produce hydrofile gels. These gels absorb water and swell. Dilatometric test methods are commonly used to evaluate the reactivity of aggregates. The principle of dilatometric test methods is simple. Mortar or concrete prisms are created in a laboratory, then they are stored in the special environment, which accelerates the inception of ASR. The creation and expansion of alkali-silica gels cause prism's length changes. The major goal of this diploma thesis was to evaluate the alkali-silica reactivity potential of quartz-rich rocks using microscopic (polarizing microscopy, scanning electron microscopy combined with SEM/BSE image analysis) and dilatometric (ASTM C1260, RILEM AAR-4.1) methods. Rocks were assessed as reactive, potentially reactive and non-reactive by the ASTM C1260 method. The reactivity of aggregates was connected with the amount of cryptocrystaline matrix, grain size, shape of grain boundaries,...

Use of greisen - a rock mined primarily for (Sn-W) ore components - in sculpture and construction industry is typical for the Slavkovský les area and its surroundings. Material mined in the greisenized granite stock near Prameny for construction purposes was the source of stone used for a valuable Baroque sight - the Holy Trinity column in a nearby town of Teplá. Samples collected in the abandoned construction stone quarry were analysed for the study of properties of the original material mined in the locality Prameny. These samples were compared with the material collected from the monument in the pre-restoration research to prove the source locality of the original material. Provenance of the original material was determined on the basis of qualitative and quantitative petrographic and micro-structural characteristics. Micro-structural petrographic parameters of the studied samples were determined by the microscopic study using the Petrographic Image Analysis (PIA). Distribution of accessories and micro-structural characteristics were observed using the cathode-luminescence. Conventional index and mechanical parameters with respect to the use of the material in construction industry and sculpture were determined for the material collected in the abandoned quarry. Studied material collected in the...

In this work was to bring newly discovered volcanic porous rocks in the Czech Republic. These rocks have been found by Dr. Peter Rojíkem who is employed as a geologist in the Sokolov coal and The rocks are of volcanic origin, and therefore occur in the Sokolov Basin in refractive Druzhba. Macroscopic appearance of found rocks and store them in the terrain resembled the character of pumice rock, and therefore the studies addressed the comparison and verification of whether these rocks are actually a pumice stone or not. Geological position of porous volcanic rock is characterized by its deposit base in the bentonite clay in the form of a lahar, and can be attributed to the so-called epiklastickým deposits. Collected rock samples were subjected to analysis petrografickému. Researching, it became clear that these rocks in the initial stage of the research considered pumice from it in some cases differ. Identifying four basic categories of rocks according to macroscopic criteria. Silicate analysis identified according to their chemical composition as the samples trachyandesites, fonotefrit to basaltic trachyandesites, trachybasalts and tefrifonolit. Using other laboratory methods to deal with microscopy was observed in thin sections and holokrystalická hemikrystalická structure and a typical porphyritic...

ii Summary This bachelor thesis is focused on the possible use of limestones from the Český kras area for the preparation of alternative inorganic binders, namely for hydraulic limes and natural cements. In the introductory chapters, the geology of Český kras is described. Silurian and Devonian beds make the most important lithostratigraphic members. Then, the history of limestone exploitation and processing is explained. It is followed by the petrographical characteristic of limestone - its mineralogical and chemical composition, the structure and the texture, the classification, the genesis and the diagenesis. Major part of the thesis focuses on inorganic binders - their basic characterization and evaluation. Limestones are discussed from the point of their general use in the industry. The limestones from the Český kras area are analyzed based on their chemical composition (based on the previously reported data) and evaluated for the potential use for burning of hydraulic limes and natural cements.