The Marchamalo salt flats, built in the 18th century, are located near Cabo de Palos, Murcia (Spain), in a hot spot area with constant pressures of tourism and urban speculation. The salt flats are currently abandoned, but its landscape and ecological value still subsist. This Thesis aims to develop a low impact lighting Master plan for Marchamalo salt flats in which a comprehensive analysis is relevant for the design project. A holistic analysis method is employed which considers three agents: “Space”, “Humans” and “Light” to which the factor “Flora & Fauna” was added since the original method was developed for an urban context while the salt flats are located in a natural protected area. Each agent is studied in depth, separately and the interrelations between them. Applying the interpretation of facts and data developed in the analysis and by means of alternative urban lighting solutions like phosphorescence, portable lamps and smart controls; a customised urban lighting design is proposed based on the salt flats identity, preservation of darkness, multi-sensorial experience of the realm and the reconnection with the sky and nature. The lighting proposal will also be the guiding thread to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the heritage in the Region of Murcia in general, taking as a particular example the case of Marchamalo salt flat.

The way we understand community fundamentally structures the way we approach justice. In opposition to totalizing structures of justice founded upon an ontological conception of community, Emmanuel Levinas conceives the possibility of a political or social structure of difference. I argue that the conceptions of community presented by Kant and Heidegger, either as a harmonious, unified being in common, or as a common-identity disclosed beneath the ontological horizon of being-with, necessarily leads to violence. This violence is reflected in the forms of justice instantiated by these philosophies, which privilege the ‘light’ of the universal over the particularity of individuals in the face-to-face encounter, ultimately corrupting and nullifying one’s anarchic moral responsibility for the Other. The intent of this thesis is to argue that justice can only remain just if it is seen, not on the basis of a communal ‘light’ that absorbs, integrates, and incorporates the Other as an element of a system, but as founded on the anarchic responsibility of the one-for-the-Other. Justice, I will show, cannot be seen as an aim of a community—complete and self-sufficient—in achieving an end, but as a rupture, a disturbance, as a call made among a multitude of particular, unique Others by which ethics (the face-to-face) is fundamental.

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Environmental issues are a hot topic in political debates and residents are becoming more and more aware of them, forcing car manufacturers to follow a strategy based on these principles. Our goal with the study is to analyze four different car manufacturers' commercials to find out how they create their commercials to succeed in selling and make a product that is stressful for climate emissions appear harmless. The method used for this empirical study is a qualitative content analysis based on four different commercials. The manufacturers are Volvo, Volkswagen, Kia and Toyota, which are the most common car brands in Sweden when the study is executed. The result we ended up with is that the car manufacturers embrace the environmental issue so much that their films consist as much of nature as their car. It can't be missed that they are no longer promoting a fossil fuel future. There are many elements of nature in different ways and we could see that they want to present an image of being environmentally conscious and they want to show that their identity is progressive and modern to attract consumers to keep buying their cars.

Área de endemismo ou elemento biótico é uma região geográfica que apresenta congruência distribucional entre táxons. Não há um padrão aceito universalmente para delimitação de áreas de endemismo e, portanto, várias metodologias são usadas para sua identificação. Nesta dissertação, propomos uma comparação integrada de alguns métodos de análises de endemismo, com base em dados de distribuição hipotéticos e reais. Desta forma, este estudo tem como objetivos: (1) comparar a Análise de Parcimônia de endemicidade (PAE), a Análise de endemicidade (EA) e um novo método de codificação que propomos a Análise de Distribuições de Três-Itens (3ID), avaliando sua performance com base na capacidade de identificar padrões hipotéticos predefinidos de áreas de endemismo, representando áreas não conflitantes, aninhadas e sobrepostas; (2) analisar os padrões de distribuição de 214 espécies de hidrozoários bentônicos, pelágicos e benthopelágicos não-sifonóforos do Oceano Atlântico Sul Ocidental (OASO), usando três métodos biogeográficos para testar hipóteses anteriores de regionalização biogeográfica e avaliar o performance da PAE, a EA e a 3ID com conjuntos de dados reais. No capítulo 2, intitulado “Comparison of analysis of endemism procedures based on hypothetical distributions”, nós comparamos a PAE, EA e 3ID e encontramos que a 3ID tem o maior percentual de sucesso na recuperação de áreas de endemismo predefinidas. Adicionalmente, a EA é o único método capaz de recuperar padrões sobrepostos, porém também encontra padrões espúrios. Nós sugerimos, portanto, que a melhor opção para identificação de áreas de endemismo é o uso de 3ID e EA em conjunto. No capítulo 3, intitulado “Biogeographic patterns of benthic and planktonic hydrozoans from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean”, nós utilizamos dados distribucionais de 214 espécies de hidrozoários bentônicos, pelágicos e bentopelágicos não-sifonóforos do OASO (20°-60°S, 33°-75°W), os quais foram organizados em diferentes matrizes (concatenada, bentônica, pelágica, e bentopelágica) de acordo com as diferentes estratégias de ciclo de vida em Hydrozoa. Todas as matrizes foram analisadas por meio da PAE, EA e 3ID. Os resultados mostram três padrões biogeográficos gerais: (1) Tropical (2) Temperado-Quente, e (3) Temperado-Frio. Os padrões obtidos variam de acordo com o tipo de ciclo de vida em Hydrozoa, demonstrando a importância de analisar-se separadamente conjuntos de dados de espécies com diferentes estratégias de reprodução. Cada método teve um desempenho diferente e, portanto, concluímos que o uso de 3ID e EA em conjunto é a melhor opção para inferir padrões biogeográficos marinhos / Areas of endemism or biotic elements comprise regions delimited by more than one taxon with coincident patterns of distribution. There is not an accepted universal protocol for delimitation of areas of endemism, and therefore, they are identified by several different methods. In this study, we propose an integrative comparison of different methods for identification of areas of endemism based on data of hypothetical and real distributions. Therefore, the general aims of this study are: (1) to compare the Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), the Endemicity Analysis (EA) and a new coding method that we propose, the Three-Item Analysis of Distributions (3ID) to contrast their performance based on their ability to identify hypothetical predefined areas of endemism representing non-conflicting, nested and overlapping patterns; (2) to analyze the patterns of distribution of benthic, pelagic and benthopelagic non-siphonophore hydrozoans of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWAO), to test previous biogeographic hypotheses of regionalization for the area and to evaluate the performance of the endemicity methods based on real datasets. In chapter 2, entitled “Comparison of analysis of endemism procedures based on hypothetical distributions”, we compared the performance of PAE, EA and 3ID, and we found that 3ID has the greatest percentage of success in retrieving predefined areas of endemism. EA is the only method that recovers overlapping patterns, but it can also find spurious patterns. We recommend the use of 3ID together with EA as the best available option for hypothesizing areas of endemism. In chapter 3, entitled “Biogeographic patterns of benthic and planktonic hydrozoans from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean”, we used the distribution 214 hydrozoan species from the SWAO (20°-60°S, 33°-75°W), which were organized in different data matrices (concatenated, benthic, pelagic, and benthopelagic) according to the different life cycle strategies in Hydrozoa. All matrices were analyzed through PAE, EA and 3ID. The resulting areas showed three broad biogeographic patterns: (1) Tropical, (2) Warm-Temperate and (3) Cold-Temperate. The output patterns varied according to the life cycle of hydrozoan species, demonstrating the importance in analyzing separately data of species with different strategies of life cycle. Each method performed differently, and we concluded that the use of 3ID and EA together is the best approach to infer strong biogeographic patterns for the marine realm

Ce mémoire étudie les représentations de la volonté humaine dans le Soûtra de l’Entrée dans la dimension absolue. L’exégèse du récit révèle dans un premier temps que l’insatisfaction (duḥkha s.) qui imprègne l’existence est en partie causée par la soif (tṛṣṇā s.). Or, notre analyse montre que c’est en faisant usage de leur volonté – source à priori de liberté et de possibilité infinies – que les êtres s’abandonnent systématiquement à leurs sentiments assoiffés et, à terme, perpétuent le cycle infernal des existences. C’est donc sans surprise que la volonté est désignée comme une faculté négative à proscrire de la pratique par les maîtres spirituels du soûtra. Cette indication, simple, mais capitale, doit absolument être suivie par le pratiquant pour qu’il atteigne l’Éveil et participe au bien commun. Le problème, cependant, est que la libération implique nécessairement l’usage de la volonté – dans les voeux, la compassion et la persévérance par exemple. La volonté présente en cela des aspects positifs, mais son potentiel négatif demeure et une question surgit : comment l’éthique du soûtra peut-elle effectivement mener à des effets positifs en étant liée à cette faculté ? Pour répondre à cette question, nous nous rapportons à la conception de la dimension absolue, l’enseignement final du soûtra. Dans cet espace, la volonté se libère de tout conditionnement et une nouvelle manière d’appréhender la posture psychologique des êtres éveillés apparait : la non-volonté. / This dissertation considers representations of human will in chapter 39 of The Flower Ornament Scripture, entitled “Entering the Realm of Reality”. An exegesis of the narrative reveals that the dissatisfaction (duḥkha s.) that permeates existence is partly caused by thirst (tṛṣṇā s.). However, our analysis shows that by exercising their will – a source a priori of infinite freedom and possibility – beings systematically abandon themselves to their thirsty feelings and, in the long run, perpetuate the infernal cycle of existence. Unsurprisingly, will is considered a negative faculty, to be proscribed from practice by the spiritual masters of the sutra; this simple but essential teaching must be followed by the practitioner so that he can reach Enlightenment and participates in the common good. The problem, however, is that liberation necessarily implies the exercise of will, for example in taking vows or practicing compassion and perseverance. Though the exercise of will can have positive aspects, its negative potential remains, leading us to ask: how can the ethics of the sutra actually lead to positive effects if it is connected to will? To answer this question, we refer to the conception of the realm of reality, the final teaching of the sutra. In this realm, the will frees itself from all conditioning and a new way of apprehending the psychological posture of enlightened beings appears: the non-will.

This thesis aims to classify contemporary way of thought in the architecture and urbanism mainly in respect to the formation of public space. Generally, it seeks to identify ideological background of individual ways of thoughts and their genealogy – therefore it explores their historical roots too. The methodological framework of the thesis is grounded in the critical theory and production of (public) space as well as architectural production is therefore understood as a political act; not necessarily in terms of the established political parties or ideologies but rather in the sense of production of the city space as a social arena, in which completion of various agents, interests and notions is present including the architectural discourses. The resulting form of the public space is than a result of this competition and unavoidable ideological antagonism, which is present in the ideological basis of the individual way of thoughts in architecture and urbanism.

There has been a continual emergence of shopping centres in the 21st century. In recent years the prevailing shopping centres have been designed as an indispensable part of city centres having all the urban elements and qualities of traditional streets in combination with convenience, commercial efficiency, and high functioning design. The evolving shopping malls are challenged to add diversity to the range of shopping facilities and add on to the new experience keeping up with the ever-changing trends in society. This study aims to investigate if shopping malls are over-managed consumer spaces embedded in privatisation and commercialisation, thus creating a hindrance for true public spaces to emerge, or do they have a possibility of becoming a real public realm with true public spaces. Two case studies of shopping centres provided valuable insights on how stakeholders pursued planned public spaces in shopping centres and how the public perceives them. The placemaking model, highlighting the fundamental rights in a public space by covering the tangible and intangible aspects, has been central to this research. The results indicate that the malls should integrate more into the cities. They should focus on incorporating adaptive flexibility with the diversity of usage inclusive of changing demographics and increased urbanisation, which means a greater need for public spaces for mingling and congregation. / Det har skett en ständig uppkomst av köpcentra under 2000-talet. Under de senaste åren har de rådande köpcentrumen utformats som en oumbärlig del av stadskärnan med alla urbana inslag och kvaliteter av traditionella gator i kombination med bekvämlighet, kommersiell effektivitet och hög fungerande design. De utvecklande köpcentrana utmanas att lägga till mångfald i utbudet av shoppingfaciliteter och lägga till den nya upplevelsen som följer de ständigt föränderliga trenderna i samhället. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om köpcentra är överhanterade konsumentutrymmen inbäddade i privatisering och kommersialisering, och därmed skapa ett hinder för att verkliga offentliga utrymmen dyker upp eller har de en möjlighet att bli en riktig allmänhet med verkliga offentliga utrymmen. Två fallstudier av köpcentrum gav värdefull insikt om hur intressenter förföljde planerade allmänna utrymmen i köpcentra och hur allmänheten uppfattar dem. Platsframställningsmodellen, som belyser de grundläggande rättigheterna i ett offentligt rum genom att täcka de konkreta och immateriella aspekterna, har varit centralt i denna forskning. Resultaten indikerar att köpcentra bör integreras mer i städerna. De bör fokusera på att integrera anpassningsbar flexibilitet med mångfalden av användning inklusive förändrad demografi och ökad urbanisering, vilket innebär ett större behov av offentliga utrymmen för mingling och församling.

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Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated impressive results across various language technology tasks. By training on large corpora of diverse text collections from the internet, these models learn to process text effectively, allowing them to acquire comprehensive world knowledge. However, this knowledge is stored implicitly in the parameters of the model, and it is necessary to train ever-larger networks to capture more information. Retrieval-augmented language models have been proposed as a way of improving the interpretability and adaptability of normal language models by utilizing a separate retrieval text set during application time. These models have demonstrated state-of-the-art results on knowledge-intensive tasks such as question-answering and fact-checking. However, their effectiveness in text classification remains unexplored. This study investigates the impact of the retrieval text set on the performance of the retrieval-augmented language model REALM model for sentiment text classification tasks. The results indicate that the addition of retrieval text data fails to improve the prediction capabilities of REALM for sentiment text classification tasks. This outcome is mainly due to the difference in functionality of the retrieval mechanisms during pre-training and fine-tuning. During pre-training, the neural knowledge retriever focuses on retrieving factual knowledge such as dates, cities and names to enhance the prediction of the model. During fine-tuning, the retriever aims to retrieve texts that can strengthen the prediction of the text sentiment classification task. The findings suggest that retrieval models may hold limited potential to enhance performance for text sentiment classification tasks. / Stora språkmodeller har visat imponerande resultat inom många olika språkteknologiska uppgifter. Genom att träna på stora textmängder från internet lär sig dessa modeller att effektivt processa text, vilket gör att de kan förvärva omfattande världskunskap. Denna kunskap lagras emellertid implicit i modellernas parametrar, och det är nödvändigt att träna allt större nätverk för att fånga mer information. Hämtningsförstärkta språkmodeller (retrieval-augmented language models) har föreslagits som ett sätt att förbättra tolknings- och anpassningsförmågan hos språkmodeller genom att använda en separat hämtningstextmängd (retrieval text set) vid prediktion. Dessa modeller har visat imponerande resultat på kunskapsintensiva uppgifter som frågebesvarande (question-answering) och faktakontroll. Deras effektivitet för textklassificering är dock outforskad. Denna studie undersöker effekten av hämtningstextmängden på prestandan för den hämtningsförstärkta språkmodellen REALM för sentimenttextklassificeringsuppgifter. Resultaten indikerar att användning av hämtningstextmängd vid predicering inte lyckas förbättra REALM prediktionsförmåga för sentimenttextklassificeringsuppgifter. Detta beror främst på skillnaden i funktionalitet hos hämtningsmekanismen under förträning och finjustering. Under förträningen fokuserar hämtningsmekanismen på att hämta fakta som datum, städer och namn för att förbättra modellens predicering. Under finjusteringen syftar hätmningsmekanismen till att hämta texter som kan stärka förutsägelsen av sentimenttextklassificeringsuppgiften. Resultaten tyder på att hämtningsförstärkta modeller kan ha begränsad potential att förbättra prestandan för sentimenttextklassificeringsuppgifter.