This thesis Gender in compulsory reading - Old Greek Myths and Legends: Gender analysis of the writing deals with literary representation of gender issues in mentioned writing, written by Eduard Petiška. The very analysis is based on analysing of gender topics and issues we are interested in and focused on. These topics are compared and showed using examples from particular myths and legend. The question whether these topics are influenced by patriarchal order in the society is the crucial for this thesis. Despite the variability of Petiška's writing, which is necessarily caused by variations of ancient and continuously construated stories; some patterns and systems are there to be found and explored by contemporary gender theories, mostly by feministic literature criticism. In this thesis the method of resisting reading according to Judith Fetterley is used. The deconstruction of the text and its hidden values which are based on male domination and the reconstruction of it in order to show the new perspective at the same moment are the main goals of resisting reading. The characters from the legends are used in context of archetypal criticism method. Considering the literature-critical perspective, the method of close reading is chosen. The question of relations and using of power, considering...

The last few years have seen an increasingly infected public debate about the appearance of contemporary buildings. Regardless of where one personally stands, this ought to be cause for architects to examine their own understanding of aesthetics. This project is an exercise in articulating and examining questions of architectural form. The project is divided into three parts; Theory, Observation, and Design. The first aims to establish a broad overview of the theoretical discourse surrounding the subject of aesthetics in architecture, as well as formulate a position within it. The second part is an observation of aesthetic experiences in practice, in which three existing works of architecture are broken down into component formal properties, and the experiences these evoke are put into words. The final part is an exercise in articulating the reasoning behind aesthetic design decisions. A small self-imposed design task serves as the catalyst for a sequence of explicitly formulated and documented design choices, leading from inception to finished design.

Providing personalized and exclusive services to customers has traditionally relied on in-person interactions between employees and customers. This paper explores video commerce supported by virtual try-On (VTO) technology for personalized and exclusive shopping experiences in the digital environment. The purpose of this study is to identify the affordances and limitations of online luxury beauty consultations supported by VTO. The research methodology primarily involved exploration of the field, market- and UX research. From the results, a set of personas were created, to serve as a heuristic for further research and future development of the technology. Furthermore, the study reveals that the level of decision comfort and satisfaction with the service varies depending on the type of targeted customer. In conclusion, despite a number of technical limitations within the current solution, the perspectives and experiences provided by luxury beauty partners and participants indicate that there is a large potential in online consultations to bring the luxury personalized in-store experience to the digital environment. / Att tillhandahålla personliga och exklusiva tjänster till kunder har traditionellt förlitat sig på personliga interaktioner mellan anställda och kunder. Denna artikel utforskar videohandel med stöd av virtuell prova-på-teknik (VTO) för personliga och exklusiva shoppingupplevelser i den digitala miljön. Syftet med den här studien är att identifiera fördelarna och begränsningarna för online lyxkonsultationer som stöds av VTO. Forskningsmetodiken innebar främst utforskning av fältet, marknads- och UX-forskning. Utifrån resultaten skapades en uppsättning personas, för att fungera som en heuristik för vidare forskning och framtida utveckling av tekniken. Vidare visar studien att nivån på beslutskomfort och tillfredsställelse med tjänsten varierar beroende på vilken typ av riktad kund. Sammanfattningsvis, trots ett antal tekniska begränsningar inom den nuvarande lösningen, indikerar perspektiven och erfarenheterna från lyxiga skönhetspartners och deltagare att det finns en stor potential i onlinekonsultationer för att föra den lyxiga personliga butiksupplevelsen till den digitala miljön.

En cette époque de profonds bouleversements environnementaux, les motifs invoqués par la communauté internationale en vue de protéger la nature sont multiples. Si la préservation de la biodiversité est souvent mise à l’avant-plan, les préoccupations témoignent également d’une sensibilité omniprésente à la beauté des paysages. Cette thèse étudie donc le rôle de l’appréciation esthétique de la nature dans la désignation internationale d’aires protégées. Elle emploie pour cela l’exemple de la Convention concernant la protection du patrimoine mondial, culturel et naturel, adoptée en 1972 par l’UNESCO. Les préceptes de cet instrument de conservation de portée globale admettent l’importance de sauvegarder la beauté du monde naturel, sans toutefois prescrire de moyens clairs pour identifier et sélectionner les sites méritant protection à ce titre. Face à ce flou méthodologique, la thèse examine les facteurs historiques, structurels et techniques qui façonnent, de façon relativement implicite et spontanée, l’inscription d’aires naturelles d’une beauté exceptionnelle sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial. La thèse est constituée de six chapitres. Le premier chapitre introduit le problème et la question de recherche. La revue de la littérature pose ensuite les bases contextuelles et théoriques de la recherche en explorant différents facteurs historiques et philosophiques d’appréciation de la nature. Le troisième chapitre expose la méthodologie qualitative et historique employée dans la thèse. Il est suivi d’un chapitre qui retrace l’origine des préoccupations esthétiques qui ont été intégrées à la Convention du patrimoine mondial lors de sa création, avant de détailler le développement et l’application de ces idées durant les cinq décennies de sa mise en œuvre. Le cinquième chapitre est quant à lui dédié à l’étude spécifique de l’application du critère de sélection (vii), qui prévoit la reconnaissance « […] d’aires d'une beauté naturelle et d'une importance esthétique exceptionnelles ». Finalement, la conclusion renferme une synthèse et une discussion des résultats, appelant à une reconsidération de la valeur esthétique de la nature à travers une meilleure prise en compte de ses dimensions humaine et sociale. Elle aborde également la contribution et les limites de la thèse et suggère des pistes de recherches ultérieures. Les résultats de la recherche brossent un portrait précis des enjeux théoriques et pratiques qui caractérisent l’interprétation de la valeur esthétique des espaces naturels dans le cadre du patrimoine mondial. Celle-ci s’avère largement influencée par la séparation conceptuelle et disciplinaire entre culture et nature ainsi que par le paradigme scientifique, objectiviste et universaliste qui prédominent au sein de la Convention de 1972. Réalisée sans assise théorique claire, l’évaluation de la beauté naturelle est vulnérable aux jugements subjectifs et aux incohérences. Pour y conférer plus de structure et de rigueur, la thèse appelle à une meilleure prise en compte du rôle de la perspective humaine et des facteurs socioculturels dans la construction de la valeur esthétique de la nature. / In this era of substantial environmental disruption, incentives given by the international community to protect nature are many. While the preservation of biodiversity is often at the forefront, preoccupations also show an enduring sensitivity to scenic beauty. This thesis therefore examines the role of the aesthetic appreciation of nature in the international designation of protected areas, through the example of the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The principles of this global conservation instrument recognize the importance of safeguarding the beauty of the natural world, but do not prescribe clear means for identifying and selecting sites deserving protection as such. In the face of this methodological uncertainty, this thesis examines the historical, structural, and technical factors that shape, in a relatively implicit and spontaneous way, the inscription of natural areas of outstanding beauty on the World Heritage List. The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter introduces the problem and research question. The literature review then sets the contextual and theoretical basis for the research by exploring various historical and philosophical factors of nature appreciation. The third chapter outlines the qualitative and historical methodology used in the thesis. This is followed by a chapter tracing the origin of the aesthetic concerns that were incorporated into the World Heritage Convention at its inception, before detailing the development and application of these ideas over the five decades of its implementation. The fifth chapter is dedicated to the specific study of the application of selection criterion (vii), which provides for the designation of "...areas of outstanding natural beauty and aesthetic importance". Finally, the conclusion contains a synthesis and discussion of the results, calling for a rethinking of the aesthetic value of nature through a better consideration of its human and social dimensions. It also addresses the contribution and limitations of the thesis, and suggests avenues for further research. The results of the research provide a clear picture of the theoretical and practical issues that characterize the interpretation of the aesthetic value of natural areas in the context of World Heritage. This interpretation is largely influenced by the conceptual and disciplinary separation between culture and nature, as well as by the scientific, objectivist and universalist paradigm that prevail in the 1972 Convention. Carried out without a clear theoretical foundation, the assessment of natural beauty is vulnerable to subjective judgments and inconsistencies. To provide more structure and rigor, this thesis calls for a better consideration of the role of the human perspective in constructing the aesthetic value of nature.

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I denna uppsats studeras den romersk-katolska teologen Hans Urs von Balthasars teologiska estetik. Mer specifikt utgör uppsatsen en analys av von Balthasars konceptualisering av skönhet, och hur denna förståelse av skönhet kan användas för att teologiskt belysa frågor som berör konst och estetiska uttryck. Detta görs i uppsatsen genom att ställa de teorier om inkarnationen, Kristi gestalt och skönhet som von Balthasar presenterar i bokserien The Glory of the Lord sida vid sida med den engelska konstkritikern Peter Fullers sekulära estetik. Målet med detta är att skapa en dialog mellan Fullers problematisering av modern sekulär estetik och von Balthasars teologiska förståelse av skönhet, uttryck och upplevelse. Båda Fullers sekuläraperspektiv och von Balthasars teologiska ingångspunkt behövs i denna studie, mycket eftersom von Balthasar sällan skrev om de sköna konsterna, vilket Fuller gör. Härigenom blir Fullers kritik av samtida konst och estetik relevant eftersom han skapar ett ramverk som kan nyttjas för att testa om von Balthasars teologiska estetik kan användas för att belysa de frågeställningar Fuller försöker besvara. Det är möjligt att se detta som att Fuller ställer frågorna medan von Balthasar ger ett teologiskt svar. Analysen utgör en rörelse från frågor som berör skönhet och dess grund, via en analys av upplevelsen av skönhet, till ett utforskande av hur von Balthasars teologisk estetik kan läggam grunden för en teologisk förståelse av konstnärliga uttryck. Därmed utgör en större del av uppsatsen en analys av det teoretiska ramverket som, åtminstone spekulativt, kan sägas möjliggöra användningen av von Balthasars teologiska idéer i en estetisk kontext som fokuserarpå konst. Anledningen till detta är enkel, i och med att von Balthasar skrivit så lite om konst behöver de relevanta delarna av hans teologiska estetik lyftas fram och placeras i en ny kontext, härigenom blir Fuller relevant för studien. Eftersom Fuller söker ett sekulärt svar på hur vi bör förstå konst i en ”postkristen” tid lyfter han fram frågor som kan besvaras teologiskt, vilket möjliggör en dialog mellan Fullers problematisering av samtidiga konst och von Balthasars konceptualisering av skönhet. Resultatet av denna dialog är att von Balthasars fokus på skönhetens relationalitet och okontrollerbarhet kan belysa de problem som uppstår när Fuller försöker skapa ett sekulärt estetiskt ramverk förankrat i metafysiska tankegångar. I uppsatsens slutsats presenteras två teoretiska resultat. Det första är en form av kritik av den sekulära estetiken och dess avsaknad av metafysisk grund, vilket tenderar att göra frågan om vad skönhet är till en fråga om individuell eller kollektiv smak. Det andra resultatet är att von Balthasars teologiska estetik bygger på en förståelse av inkarnationen där ”jag-Du”relationalitet spelar en viktig roll. Därmed är det möjligt att argumentera för att samspelet mellan ett ”jag” och ett ”Du” uppvisar potential som teoretisk grund för att utvidga användningen av balthasarisk teologisk estetik. Detta skulle emellertid kräva att von Balthasars teologiska estetik kopplas bort från von Balthasars egna kulturella och estetiska preferenser, detta med anledning av hans konservativa syn på konst försvårar dialogen med kontemporär konst och estetik. Denna separation mellan von Balthasars teologi och smak är dock möjlig på grund av att von Balthasar, åtminstone i bokserien The Glory of the Lord, sällan berör frågan om konst.

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With the invention of the printing press, fairy tales became limited by the idea of an "original" (Pettitt, 2009; Blamires, 2003). However, in the past century, the retelling and changing of fairy tales has become incredibly popular in all forms of media, such as print, film, ballet, musicals, etc. Despite Western populations' familiarity with these tales, the demand for such retellings continues to rise, with the storytellers finding great financial success with each "new" version they provide. Researchers have many varying opinions on the reasons for such intense responses to retold fairy tales, but there is a gap of research on the actual changes made to the retold tales and what they mean. Through the use of Narrative Criticism, three of the most popularly retold fairy tales (Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White) were analyzed for the biggest alterations, and what those alterations are meant to convey to consumers. Findings revealed that the biggest changes across all three retellings were those of character, narrator, audience, and setting. These changes indicate a switch from the authoritative nature of the first printed versions to an inferential nature with the subsequent retellings, with authors leaning into the Narrative Paradigm and forcing audiences to instead ruminate on the changes made in the familiar tales, and to decide for themselves what those changes mean for their personal lives.

Delivery of siRNAs for the treatment of tumors critically depends on the development of efficient nucleic acid carrier systems. The complexation of dendritic polymers (dendrimers) results in nanoparticles, called dendriplexes, that protect siRNA from degradation and mediate non-specific cellular uptake of siRNA. However, large siRNA doses are required for in vivo use due to accumulation of the nanoparticles in sinks such as the lung, liver, and spleen. This suggests the exploration of targeted nanoparticles for enhancing tumor cell specificity and achieving higher siRNA levels in tumors. In this work, we report on the targeted delivery of a therapeutic siRNA specific for BIRC5/Survivin in vitro and in vivo to tumor cells expressing the surface marker prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA). For this, polyplexes consisting of single-chain antibody fragments specific for PSCA conjugated to siRNA/maltose-modified poly(propylene imine) dendriplexes were used. These polyplexes were endocytosed by PSCA-positive 293TPSCA/ffLuc and PC3PSCA cells and caused knockdown of reporter gene firefly luciferase and Survivin expression, respectively. In a therapeutic study in PC3PSCA xenograft-bearing mice, significant anti-tumor effects were observed upon systemic administration of the targeted polyplexes. This indicates superior anti-tumor efficacy when employing targeted delivery of Survivin-specific siRNA, based on the additive effects of siRNA-mediated Survivin knockdown in combination with scFv-mediated PSCA inhibition. Among non-viral vectors, cationic polymers, such as poly(propylene imine) (PPI), play also a prominent role in plasmid DNA delivery. However, limitations of polycationic polymer-based DNA delivery systems are (i) insufficient target specificity, (ii) unsatisfactory transgene expression, and (iii) undesired transfer of therapeutic DNA into non-target cells. We developed single-chain antibody fragment (scFv)-directed hybrid polyplexes for targeted gene therapy of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA)-positive tumors. Besides mono-biotinylated PSCA-specific single-chain antibodies (scFv(AM1-P-BAP)) conjugated to neutravidin, the hybrid polyplexes comprise β cyclodextrin-modified PPI as well as biotin/maltose-modified PPI as carriers for minicircle DNAs encoding for Sleeping Beauty transposase and a transposon encoding the gene of interest. The PSCA-specific hybrid polyplexes efficiently delivered a GFP gene in PSCA-positive tumor cells, whereas control hybrid polyplexes showed low gene transfer efficiency. In an experimental gene therapy approach, targeted transposition of a codon-optimized p53 into p53 deficient HCT116p53-/-/PSCA cells demonstrated decreased clonogenic survival when compared to mock controls. Noteworthily, p53 transposition in PTEN-deficient H4PSCA glioma cells caused nearly complete loss of clonogenic survival. These results demonstrate the feasibility of combining tumor-targeting hybrid polyplexes and Sleeping Beauty gene transposition, which, due to the modular design, can be extended to other target genes and tumor entities.

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