The subject of this thesis is to compare the most widely used mobile operating systems from the perspective of the development, distribution and monetization of applications developed for these systems. Compared systems are Android, iOS, Symbian OS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS. The thesis defines a total of 16 criteria against which systems are compared. These criteria are further divided into three categories, namely SDK features, functionality and distribution and monetization. All criteria have assigned weights which are determined by the paired comparison method using the Fuller's triangle, which is part of the Annexes of this work. Practical part of this thesis is focused on determining the values of defined criteria. Each criterion is evaluated separately, including an analysis of results. The overall evaluation is performed in a separate part of the thesis and is composed by categories evaluation and overall evaluation.

New Zealand expatriate artists working in England, Europe and North Africa in the early twentieth century painted a wide variety of market scenes. The subject features in the oeuvre of Frances Hodgkins, Maud Sherwood, Sydney Lough Thompson, Maude Burge, Owen Merton, Robert Procter and John Weeks and made a significant contribution to their artistic development. Like their contemporaries in the artists’ colonies and sketching grounds of England and Europe, New Zealand artists were often drawn to traditional rural and fishing villages and sought to capture the nostalgia of the ‘old world.’ Early exploratory works by New Zealand expatriates have often been dismissed merely as nostalgic visions of colonials, without any real artistic merit. This research offers a re-evaluation of these works, recognising their value as transitional works which illustrate New Zealand expatriate artists experimenting with early modernist trends, as well as revealing prevalent contemporary tastes among the New Zealand public. This study offers a comprehensive examination of the market theme and highlights the aspirations and achievements of New Zealand expatriate artists. This is reflected in both their choice of subjects and in the way in which these were depicted. A key finding of this research is that New Zealand expatriate artists developed a distinctive response towards the market subject. The vibrant atmosphere and activity of the market and colourful views of canvas booths, awnings and costume provided the perfect means of expression for these artists to explore a variety of painterly concerns and techniques, among them plein-air and impressionist painting, watercolour techniques and a modern treatment of colour and light. The hypothesis of a ‘female gaze’ is explored with specific reference to depiction of the market subjects by Frances Hodgkins and Maud Sherwood. Placed within a wider art historical context of images of female market vendors, their market works offer an original interpretation of the female milieu of the European market. Finally, the expatriates’ vision of the exotic and colourful markets in North Africa and Egypt is investigated. They offered an alternative response to more traditional Orientalist interpretations and their Maghrebian explorations were the catalyst for key stylistic developments in colour and form.

My thesis examines how metaphors of globalization shape the global governance of the Internet. I consider how, in a short span of time, discussions of the Internet’s globalizing potential have gone from the optimism of the global village to the penchant of the global marketplace to the anxiety of the global war on terror. Building upon Rorty’s theory of metaphors and Foucault’s notion of productive power, I investigate how the shifts in these prevailing metaphors have produced and legitimated different frameworks of global governance. In considering how these patterns of governance have been shaped in the context of a familiar example of globalization, I demonstrate that globalization has an important discursive dimension that works as a constitutive force – not only in Internet governance, but in global governance more generally. By illuminating globalization’s discursive dimensions, this thesis makes an original theoretical contribution to the study of globalization and global governance. It demonstrates that globalization is more than a set of empirical flows: equally important, globalization exists as a set of discourses that reconstitute political legitimacy in more ‘global’ terms. This recasts the conventional understanding of global governance: rather than a response to the challenges posed by the empirical transcendence of territorial borders or the visible proliferation of non-state actors, the aims, institutions and policies of global governance are shaped and enabled by discourses of globalization, and evolve as these discourses change. In short, this thesis provides further insight into globalization’s transformations of state-based political order. It links these transformations to the discursive processes by which systems of global governance are produced and legitimated as sites of power and authority.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the specification of bazaars and the bazaar economy. Bazaar [bāzār] is a Persian word for marketplace, also used in Turkish- çarşi [čarši]. Like the Arabic term souk وسق [súq], bazaar is both the concrete trading place, where many people meet and interact but like the English word market or the French le marché is also understood as a more abstract notion of buying and selling in the sense of demand and supply and it involves small shopping stalls, modern shopping and business avenues and shopping malls as well. Bazaar can refer to a single shopping unit or a street in the frame of the marketplace or outside its boundaries or to the whole business complex. The marketplace has symbolic and social importance indicative of its urban centrality. The souk is seen as one of the quintessential oriental spaces. Clifford Geertz and his own studies of Moroccan and Indonesian rural markets inspired many economic anthropologists to examine the structure of marketplaces in the developing world as products of informational scarcity. The bazaar economy was defined in Clifford Geertz' extremly influential anthropological study on the bazaar economy in Sefrou (1978), a quite small town in Morocco with about 600 shops. Geertz was the first to emphasise the important difference...

Submitted by JEAN MAKDISSI JUNIOR (jean@intimastore.com) on 2018-07-02T21:15:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 marketplace_on-line_para_um_cluster_comecial_-_jean_makdissi_-_versao_final_2.pdf: 807948 bytes, checksum: 33b55ee6c73e08dfc445e715fbf805db (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Simone de Andrade Lopes Pires (simone.lopes@fgv.br) on 2018-07-04T17:09:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marketplace_on-line_para_um_cluster_comecial_-_jean_makdissi_-_versao_final_2.pdf: 807948 bytes, checksum: 33b55ee6c73e08dfc445e715fbf805db (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzane Guimarães (suzane.guimaraes@fgv.br) on 2018-07-04T17:28:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marketplace_on-line_para_um_cluster_comecial_-_jean_makdissi_-_versao_final_2.pdf: 807948 bytes, checksum: 33b55ee6c73e08dfc445e715fbf805db (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-04T17:28:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 marketplace_on-line_para_um_cluster_comecial_-_jean_makdissi_-_versao_final_2.pdf: 807948 bytes, checksum: 33b55ee6c73e08dfc445e715fbf805db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-07-02 / Os clusters comerciais de rua, também chamados de polos comerciais, têm sido afetados pelas mudanças que a internet e as mídias digitais têm causado no relacionamento do varejo com os consumidores. A alta concentração de lojas complementares e concorrentes em uma localidade geográfica foi a base da formação de clusters comerciais, porém esses fundamentos estão desafiados na nova realidade digital, onde os deslocamentos geográficos são cada vez menos necessários. Para adaptar-se a esta realidade, este estudo conceitua um marketplace on-line como endereço eletrônico oficial do polo comercial, fruto da união dos próprios lojistas. Como ambiente de estudo, seleciona o polo comercial do Brás. Os objetivos deste trabalho aplicado são: (1) testar a adesão dos lojistas ao conceito; (2) identificar as barreiras à execução do conceito; (3) levantar as características necessárias para o sucesso do conceito e (4) apresentar sugestões para o modelo de negócio. Para atingir os objetivos, o estudo baseou-se em: (A) revisão teórica sobre os aspectos acadêmicos relevantes sobre o tema, (B) levantamento de documentação e pesquisas sobre o ambiente de estudo, (C) entrevistas com dez lojistas presentes no polo há mais de 20 anos, e (D) observação direta e participante do pesquisador. Ao término, constatou-se que os lojistas do polo aceitaram a ideia, porém com ressalvas relacionadas à tecnologia de informação necessária, e a questões operacionais e comerciais. Notou-se uma baixa maturidade do campo em termos de preparo para a operação de comércio eletrônico e até mesmo uma descrença em relação aos resultados possíveis de serem obtidos em curto prazo, no entanto, os comerciantes em geral têm estruturas adaptáveis para as funções necessárias em uma operação de marketplace. De forma geral constatou-se que o relacionamento entre os lojistas tem baixos níveis de confiança e comprometimento, mas há disposição para mudança, que em muito, depende da consolidação de uma liderança que trabalhe para esse objetivo. Por fim, o estudo faz sugestões para o modelo de negócios a ser implantado na operação e sugere um modelo tradicional de marketplace baseado em comissão sobre vendas, porém complementado com uma taxa de mensalidade a ser subsidiada pelos lojistas participantes do projeto. / Street commercial clusters, also called commercial poles, have been affected by the internet and digital media changes, affecting the relationship between the retail and the consumers. The high amount of complementary and competitive stores in a geographic location was the basis for the commercial clusters formation, but these fundamentals are challenged in the new digital reality, where geographic shifts are decreasingly necessary. To adapt to this reality, this study defines an online marketplace as the official electronic address of the commercial cluster, consequence of the own dealer’s union, and selects Brás’ commercial center as the study environment. The objectives of this study are: (1) testing dealers’ consent to the concept; (2) identify barriers to concept implementation; (3) raise the necessary characteristics for the concept success and (4) present suggestions for the business model. To achieve the objectives, the study was based on: (A) theoretical review on the subject relevant academic aspects, (B) Brás documentation and research analysis, (C) interviews with ten dealers that are over 20 years in the cluster, and (D) direct and participative observation of the researcher. At the end of the study, it was verified that the cluster dealers accept the idea, but with exceptions related to the information technology needed, and to operational and commercial questions. Low field maturity was noted in terms of preparation for the e-commerce operation as well as a disbelief over the results that could be obtained in short term, however, merchants in general have adaptable structures for the necessary functions in a marketplace operation. It was observed that the relationship between dealers has low trust and commitment levels, but there is a willingness to change, which depends on a leadership consolidation that works towards this goal. Finally, the study makes suggestions for the business model implementation in the operation and suggests a traditional marketplace model based on sales commission, however complemented with a monthly fee to be subsidized by the dealers participating in the project.

The aim of this essay is to find out in what ways the global clothing company H&M uses political and ideological statements, such as feminism, as a sales strategy. I have noticed an expanding trend in fashion; the use of feminism as branding, and how companies such as H&M have started profiling themselves with feminism. This could be seen as a typical neoliberal-femvertising phenomenon. In this essay, I use critique of ideology, a method developed by the Frankfurt school, to examine how H&M expresses feminism through their clothes, whether H&M’s production could be considered as a feminist one, and what consequences H&M’s use of feminist ideology have on the feminist political movement. To be able to answer these questions, I use gender theory and postcolonial theory. My aim is to show how neoliberal/capitalist ideologies often contain cultural and political appropriation, where an ideology such as feminism is exploited in order to make a higher profit. My conclusion is that when companies use feminist statements in their clothing they use irony and humour to emphasize positivity, such as “girl power”, instead of confronting structural inequalities among the sexes and harmful norms and gender stereotypes within this hierarchy. The consequence of this process is that feminism is depoliticized, which is harmful to the feminist political agenda.

The aim of this essay is to find out in what ways the global clothing company H&M uses political and ideological statements, such as feminism, as a sales strategy. I have noticed an expanding trend in fashion; the use of feminism as branding, and how companies such as H&M have started profiling themselves with feminism. This could be seen as a typical neoliberal-femvertising phenomenon. In this essay, I use critique of ideology, a method developed by the Frankfurt school, to examine how H&M expresses feminism through their clothes, whether H&M’s production could be considered as a feminist one, and what consequences H&M’s use of feminist ideology have on the feminist political movement. To be able to answer these questions, I use gender theory and postcolonial theory. My aim is to show how neoliberal/capitalist ideologies often contain cultural and political appropriation, where an ideology such as feminism is exploited in order to make a higher profit. My conclusion is that when companies use feminist statements in their clothing they use irony and humour to emphasize positivity, such as “girl power”, instead of confronting structural inequalities among the sexes and harmful norms and gender stereotypes within this hierarchy. The consequence of this process is that feminism is depoliticized, which is harmful to the feminist political agenda.

This thesis deals with three selected current trends related to consumer behavior -- onslaught of retro products and retro marketing generally, changes in behavior related to electronic marketplace, and stricter demands for flawlessly designed products and services. Each trend is described and attention is given to driving forces of these trends, the ways they can affect consumers' lives and how they can be observed. The knowledge of the trends is then applied to determine how different groups of Czech consumers can be affected by those trends, thus giving businesses hints on how to incorporate the trends in the approach to their customers and monetize on them.

This thesis covers an area of procurement of companies. It's specifically orientated on supporting the procurement processes by electronic purchasing system. In the first part there are by literature search, identified and analyzed key factors for successful realization of the implementation and management of electronic purchasing system. In the second part there is comparison of the case study in Unipetrol Services s.r.o. and the key factors of the first part, which is resulting in a deduction and generalization of best practices for implementation and management of electronic purchasing systems. The main benefit and also the outcome of this work is an extension of the reference model MBI, based on a facts and practical experience in procurement area.

The American Indians population in Minneapolis, Minnesota has experienced limited health care access and threefold diabetes health disparity. The purpose of this study was to measure the extent to which collaborating marketplace clinics and community-based support groups expanded diabetes care and provided self-management education for this largely urban Indian neighborhood. The marketplace clinics located in nearby CVS, Walmart, Target, and Supervalu stores committed financial support, certified educators, and pharmacy staff for the community-based support group. The study was conducted within the patient activation measure (PAM) analytical framework to assess the participants' acquired knowledge, skills, and confidence for diabetes self-management. A case-control study and 3 years retrospective analysis of secondary data were used to test whether the Minneapolis marketplace clinics and the Phillips community diabetes support group participants (n = 48) had improved diabetes health outcomes relative to the control group (n = 87). The intervention group employed motivational interviewing and PAM in coaching diabetes self-care and behavioral modification. The control group received only basic self-management education. T test and Cohen's d effect size measurements were used to quantify the size of the health outcome variables' difference between the study intervention and comparison groups. The positive effects of marketplace clinics and community-based complementation were shown through improved blood sugar control (A1C), weight loss (BMI), and healthful lifestyle changes. Social change progress could be realized by incorporating PAM with diabetes prevention programs for 33 Urban Indian Health Organizations that are located in large cities throughout the United States.