This master thesis deals with feminist literary analysis of the works of writer Michal Viewegh, specifically his two prose novels Román pro ženy and Román pro muže using a method called resistant reading with a critical gender analysis and subsequent final comparison. This thesis consists of two parts, from the theoretical - methodological, which outlines the theoretical basis for the next analytical part. The key concepts are in the first part the researches of literary critics on Michal Viewegh, theories of Judith Fetterley, Elaine Showalter and Janice A. Radway. Furthermore, there are the theoretical basis of gender, and how gender stereotypes are constructed. This section is mainly based on the theorists Blanka Knotková - Čapková, Annis Pratt, Claire M. Renzetti and Daniel J. Curran and founder of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung. In describing femininity and masculinity are central lines theories of Naomi Wolf, Simone de Beauvoir and Pierre Bourdieu, Michael Kimmel and Robert Bly. The analytical part is the critical uncovering of gender stereotypes and power discourse. The conclusion is made by the final critical comparison of both novels. Key words: resistant reading, literary canon, gender stereotypes, masculinity, femininity, beauty myth, male domination, power

This thesis analyses the theme of power and ideology in the fiction of the Hungarian writer Tibor Déry. Through the techniques of textual interpretation and the New Historicism, it explores issues of class struggle, the conflict of ideologies in the twentieth century as well as aspects of the application of power and violence against individuals in Déry's novels at the thematic and motivational level of the plot. The author has been inspired by the ideas of Michel Foucault, Elias Canetti and Hannah Arendt in his analysis of the writer's texts. The interpretive part of the thesis traces the compositional and plot elements of Déry's novels The Unfinished Sentence and The Answer in particular, considering also other novels and novelistic texts. Keywords: Tibor Déry, power, ideology, Hungary, novel, communism, nationalism, twentieth century, violence

<p>The broad implementation of three-dimensional full-core modeling, with pin-resolved detail, for computational simulation and analysis of nuclear reactors highlights the importance of accuracy and efficiency in simulation codes for accurate and precise analysis. The primary objective of this dissertation is to develop a high-fidelity code capable of solving time-dependent neutron transport problems with 3D whole-core pin-resolved detail in nuclear reactor cores. Additionally, the dissertation explores the optimization of the code's parallelism to enhance its computational efficiency. To reduce the computational intensity associated with the direct 3D calculation of the neutron transport equation, a high-fidelity neutron transport code called PANDAS-MOC is developed using the 2D/1D approach. The 2D radial solution is obtained using the 2D Method of Characteristics (MOC), the axial 1D solution is determined through the Nodal Expansion Method (NEM), and then two solutions are coupled using transverse leakages to find the 3D solution. The convergence of the iterative scheme is accelerated using the multi-level coarse finite different mesh (ML-CMFD) technique. The code's validation and verification are carried out using the C5G7-TD benchmark exercises.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The significant and innovative aspect of this work involves parallelizing and optimizing the PANDAS-MOC code. Three parallel models are developed and evaluated based on the distributed memory and shared memory architecture: MPI parallel model (PMPI), Segment OpenMP threading hybrid model (SGP), and Whole-code OpenMP threading hybrid model (WCP). When computing the steady state of the C5G7 3D core with the same resources, the obtained speedup relationship between the three models is PMPI \(>\) WCP \(>\) SGP, whereas the WCP model only consumed 60\% of the memory of the PMPI model. Furthermore, the hybrid reduction in the ML-CMFD solver and the parallelism design of the MOC sweep are significant issues that decreased the speedup of WCP. Therefore, this study also addresses further optimizations of these two modules.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Concerning the MOC parallelism, two improvements are discussed: No-atomic schedule and Additional Axial Decomposition (AAD) parallelism. The No-atomic schedule evenly distributed the workload among threads and removes the \textit{omp atomic} clause from the code by predefining the MOC calculation sequence for each launched OpenMP thread while ensuring a thread-safe parallel environment. It can significantly reduce the calculation time and improve parallel efficiency. Furthermore, AAD divides the axial layers and OpenMP threads into multiple groups and restricts each thread to work on the layers designated to the same group. </p> <p>Meanwhile, Flag-Save-Update reduction is designed to increase the computational efficiency of the hybrid MPI/OpenMP reduction operations in the ML-CMFD module. It is accomplished by using the global arrays and status flags and establishing a tree configuration of all threads, and it includes no implicit and explicit barriers. In the case of the C5G7 3D core, the parallel efficiency of the MOC solver is about 0.872 when using 32 threads (=\#MPI \(\times\)\#OpenMP), and the Flag-Save-Update reduction yielded better speedup than the traditional hybrid MPI/OpenMP reduction, and its superiority is more obvious as more OpenMP threads are utilized. As a result, the WCP model outperforms the PMPI model for the overall steady-state calculation.</p> <p><br></p> <p>This research also investigates parallelizable preconditioners to accelerate the convergence of the generalized minimal residual method (GMRES) in the CMFD solver. Preconditioners such as Incomplete LU factorization (ILU), Symmetric Successive Over-relaxation (SOR), and Reduced Symmetric Successive Over-Relaxation (RSOR), are implemented in PANDAS-MOC. Except for RSOR, others are unsuitable for hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallel machines due to their inherent sequential nature and dependency on computation order. Their counterparts using the Red-Black ordering algorithm, namely RB-SOR, RB-RSOR, and RB-ILU, are formatted and examined on benchmark reactors such as TWIGL-2D, C5G7-2D, C5G7-3D, and their corresponding subplane models (TWIGL-2D(5S), C5G7-2D(5S), C5G7-3D(5S)), with relaxed convergence criteria (\(10^{-3}\)). Results show that all preconditioners significantly reduce the required number of iterations to converge the GMRES solutions, and RB-SOR is the best one for most reactors. In the case of C5G7-3D(5S), preconditioners exhibit similar sublinear speedup but demonstrate varying runtimes across all tests for both MG-GMRES and 1G-GMRES. However, the speedup results in 1G-GMRES are more than twice as high as those in MG-GMRES. RB-RSOR has an optimal efficiency of 0.6967 at (4,8), while RB-SOR and RB-ILU have optimal efficiencies of 0.6855 and 0.7275 at (32,1), respectively.</p>

The following text is an ethnographical study of relations in which care is shaped. On the example of care homes with special regime I describe how power is made and how different ideals are enacted in care of people with dementia. Through the analysis of daily activities' micro practice, I introduce two possible ways (modes of ordering) of care for frail elderly with cognitive impairment. The first of the modes is based on an enactment of ideals introduced into the practice by the Social Services Act and related system of quality standards: autonomy, individualisation, activation, and inclusion. It relies on standardisation of procedures, detailed specification of actions and management by objectives. The second mode of ordering, which could be located in the stories from care homes, is founded on an inevitable human dependency and vulnerability, and on general human need of giving and receiving care. In it, relationships and care improvisation here and now play the key role. My ethnographic fieldwork has shown that in everyday practice these two ways of doing good care co-exist - they complement each other, overlap and sometimes clash. People in care homes, striving for the better and the best care, either keep together, or hold apart these different and non-coherent ways of care. In discourse of...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a subject of increasing interest among academics and business practitioners globally. This thesis contributes to the discourse on CSR in the context of the Nigerian oil industry with regard to corporate-community relations. Specifically, the thesis constitutes a critique of CSR initiatives by multinational oil companies (MOC) operating in the Niger Delta region and their impact on the traditional livelihoods of local communities. The research attempts to understand the link between CSR and Psychological contract from the perspective of both the host communities and the MOCs. This thesis examines community perceptions, expectations and seeks to interpret the relationship between the host communities and the MOCs. The study provides empirical data through the use of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews and three focus groups. This is significant given that most of the research conducted into CSR in this region has been limited to descriptive and extensive theoretical explanations. Findings from the research suggest that the relationship between the host communities and the MOC is a very complex one and that the impact of the MOCs activities can be interpreted from the host communities’ negative actions. The thesis makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on social license to operate (SLO) and in what manner the local communities seek to enforce it. It also offers an alternative approach to CSR based on need assessment and stakeholder involvement rather than corporate obligations and expectations from society in general. / Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Cross River State government in Nigeria, and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

<p dir="ltr">A fast model of a Rotating Detonation Combustor (RDC) is developed based on the Method of Characteristics (MOC). The model provides a CFD-like solution of an unwrapped 2D RDC flow field in under 10 seconds with similar fidelity as 2D Reacting URANS simulations. Parametric studies are conducted using the simplified model, and the trends are analyzed to gain insight into the underlying physics of rotating detonation combustors. A methodology to assess the performance of operation with multiple waves is presented. The main effect of increasing waves is found to be the increase in the exit Mach number of the combustion chamber. The design process of a mixer component is also presented. The mixer lies downstream of a channel-cooled RDC with subsonic exit and upstream of a Rolls-Royce M250 helicopter engine in open-loop configuration. The mixer dilutes the RDC exhaust with approximately 250% air to condition the flow for the M250 turbine at steady state operation, while also acting as an isolator with a choked throat to prevent back propagation of pressure waves. The mixer aerodynamic design was completed using 2D axisymmetric RANS simulations, and the mechanical design was evaluated using Ansys Mechanical FEA and was found to be able to survive the high thermal stresses present both during the transient heating and steady state operating condition.</p>

of the Thesis "Amendements unrelated to the subject-matter of a bill in the legislative practice of the Czech Republic" The aim of the thesis was to describe the matter of amendments unrelated to the subject- matter of a bill. The first chapter of the thesis gave an introduction into the legislative procedure in Czech Republic and presented possible ways how an unrelated amendment can become a part of a bill. The second chapter was focused on unrelated amendments themselves. Firstly, it explained their essence and gave examples. Afterwards, unrelated amendments were characterised from different points of view, e.g. who and why iniciates them, why are they problematic, and how they can be sorted. The third chapter paid attention to selected decisions of the Constitutional Court of Czech Republic. The fourth chapter presented possible ways of how to prevent legislators from adding unrelated provisions to the bills according to contemporary rules and also mentioned possible ways how legislative rules can change.

L'eau joue un rôle fondamental dans la photochimie du milieu interstellaire (MIS), à travers la formation d'espèces très réactives comme OH. Les radicaux OH peuvent par la suite interagir avec d'autres molécules hydrogénées pour reformer H2O par abstraction d'hydrogène: R-H + OH → R* + H2O. Dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse, nous avons étudié l'influence des photons VUV sur des analogues de glace interstellaire. Nous montrons que l'incorporation d'une petite quantité d'eau dans NH3 et CH4 glaces augmente considérablement la formation de radicaux réactifs comme NH2 et CH3 pendant le processus de photolyse et que le chauffage des glaces binaires irradiées telles que NH3-H2O et CH4-H2O conduit à la formation de NH2OH et d'espèces alcooliques plus complexes comme le propanol et le métoxyméthanol. Nous avons également entamé d'autres études en parallèle sur le l'évolution thermique des glaces de NH2OH d'une part et la formation de propanol par voies énergétiques (irradiation VUV) et non énergétique (réaction d'addition H) d'autre part afin de tenter d'expliquer la non-détection des ces espèces organiques dans le milieu interstellaire. L'étude des glaces mixtes irradiées NH3-CH4-H2O a montré la formation à basse température d'espèces plus exotiques en combinant les spectrométries IR et de masse. Nous avons réussi à identifier des composés organiques très complexes déjà détectés ou activement recherchés dans le MIS. / Water plays a fundamental role in the photochemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM), through OH radical formation. OH radicals can interact with other H-containing species to form H2O through a hydrogen abstraction reaction: R-H + OH → R* + H2O. In this work, we have investigated the VUV processing on different interstellar ice analogs. We show that the incorporation of small amount of water in NH3 and CH4 ices greatly increases the formation of reactive NH2 and CH3 radicals during the photolysis processing. Thermal treatments of irradiated NH3-H2O and CH4-H2O ices lead to the formation of NH2OH and larger alcoholic species such as propanol and metoxymethanol. Further studies of thermal processing of NH2OH ice and formation of propanol through energetic (VUV irradiation) and non-energetic (surface H-addition reaction) processing were carried out in the context of this thesis in order to try explaining their non-detection in the interstellar medium. The study of the irradiated mixed NH3-CH4-H2O ices showed the formation of more exotic species by combining the IR and mass spectrometries. We managed to identify very large complex organic compounds already detected or tensively sought in the ISM.

The thesis presents a detailed analysis of the late medieval murals in the so-called 'green chamber' of Žirovnice Castle and similar late-medieval mural paintings. Compared to the earlier literature the study focuses on the interrelations between the scenes depicted in the 'green chamber': the Judgement of Paris, Judith beheading Holofernes, the exemplum An Old Woman Is Worse than the Devil as well as an image which was previously described as the Judgement of Solomon (perhaps rather a parable about legitimate and illegitimate progeny). They are compared with other depictions of these themes and their treatment in contemporary literature. These comparisons link them with the popular concept of a critique of the power of women (Weibermacht). In Žirovnice, and similarly elsewhere, this concept was connected to the allegory of the transcience of love and the ephemeral nature of the world overall. The ostensible genre depictions of the hunt and tournament can be interpreted in this sense as well. This is demonstrated by numerous details subverting the meaning of these images. The study then compares Žirovnice to other similar murals in Bohemia and addresses the questions of their function as well as of the art-historical phenomenon of 'green chambers' as various secular murals are called following the...

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:51:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 127147.pdf.jpg: 20119 bytes, checksum: a2fd4ab6fd6b053974a62d1b3b806e92 (MD5) 127147.pdf: 912844 bytes, checksum: e713d5718d2d450597c33130beb21773 (MD5) 127147.pdf.txt: 433044 bytes, checksum: 0fedbee5f5a92547544109efa5f7ff42 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-12-08T00:00:00Z / Esta pesquisa assenta-se num campo emergente dos estudos organizacionais e de estratégia: Cognição Gerencial & Organizacional (Managerial e Organizational Cognition, daqui em diante, MOC). Avanços teóricos e metodológicos no campo da Ciência Cognitiva têm viabilizado o acesso, mapeamento e análise de como indivíduos produzem sentido e agem de modo inteligente. A aplicação desse ferramental tem permitido a mensuração do que se convencionou chamar ‘complexidade cognitiva situacional’, ou seja, o grau de diferenciação e integração com que uma pessoa percebe determinada situação, problema, objeto ou fenômeno. Tem havido, no entanto, controvérsias sobre a relação entre essa variável e, em ultima análise, o desempenho do indivíduo na realização de uma atividade e no alcance de resultados. Enquanto alguns estudos têm encontrado apenas relações residuais, grande parte das pesquisas têm encontrado relações positivas, na forma de ‘U invertido’ ou, até mesmo, negativas entre complexidade cognitiva e desempenho. Nosso objetivo principal aqui é identificar como se deu essa relação na indústria siderúrgica no Brasil no período de 2001 a 2003. Para atingir esse objetivo estruturamos esta pesquisa como segue: no primeiro capítulo identificamos as principais bases teóricas e conceituais do campo. Advinda predominantemente da Filosofia, Sociologia e Ciência Cognitiva, essa base fornece os alicerces sobre os quais a Teoria de MOC, de um modo geral e esta pesquisa, em particular, se fundamentam. No capítulo seguinte apresentamos o campo de MOC em si, com especial ênfase sobre suas origens, processos cognitivos estudados, métodos de pesquisa e as principais relações causais exploradas. Em seguida apresentamos um estudo empírico realizado com dois experts e com os CFOs de três das principais companhias siderúrgicas no Brasil. Buscamos, primordialmente, identificar dois tipos de fenômenos nos dados obtidos: diferenças de complexidade cognitiva entre os experts e os executivos, e o tipo de relação existente entre a complexidade cognitiva dos executivos e o desempenho organizacional. Nesse capítulo apresentamos o problema de pesquisa, os objetivos da investigação, as hipóteses, a metodologia utilizada, os resultados e as análises. Finalmente, concluímos com alguns apontamentos em relação ao campo de MOC e à pesquisa empírica, avaliando algumas forças e fraquezas deste trabalho e sugerindo direções futuras de pesquisa nesse campo. / This research is rooted on an emerging field of the Organizational Studies and Strategy: Managerial and Organizational Cognition (hereafter, just MOC). Theoretical and methodological advancements in the field of Cognitive Science have made it possible to surface, elicit, map and analyze how individuals make sense of reality and act based on it in an intelligent way. The application of these tools has allowed the measurement of what is usually called the ‘situational cognitive complexity’ of an individual or, in other words, the degree of differentiation and integration a person notices in certain situations, problems, objects or phenomena. There has been, however, controversies about the relationship between cognitive complexity in one hand, and the individual's performance level while accomplishing an activity and reaching his goals in the other hand. While some studies have found just residual relationships, the majority of the research has found positive, inverted ‘U’ shaped or even negative relationships between cognitive complexity and performance. Our goal in this research is just to identify how these two variables behaved in the steel industry in Brazil from 2001 to 2003. To reach this goal we structured this research as follows: in the first chapter we identify the main theoretical and conceptual bases of MOC. The foundation over which the theory of MOC, in general, and this research, in particular, is based comes mainly from Philosophy, Sociology and Cognitive Science. In the second chapter we present the field of MOC itself, with special emphasis on its origins, cognitive processes studied, research methods used and main causal relationships explored. Then, we follow presenting an empiric study carried on with two experts and three CFOs of the main steel companies located in Brazil. We focused on identifying two different phenomena in the data obtained: differences in the situational cognitive complexity between the experts and the CFOs, and the type of relationship between the situational cognitive complexity of the CFOs and the performance of their companies. We also present the research problem, the goals of the investigation, its hypotheses, the methodology applied, the results obtained and their analysis. Finally, we wrap up with some notes about the field of MOC and its empiric research, pinpoint some forces and weaknesses of this work and suggest future research directions.