Global sport competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup were founded following universal principles of unity and peace and aiming to be celebrations of sportsmanship. Nowadays, however, they go beyond sport, being constructed as global media events in which both politics and media play an essential role. Caught in this triangle, the Olympics and the World Cup have re-emerged in the past years as sites of protests, after decades of relative calmness in this sense. This represents the point of entry into the analysis of global broadcasters, giving the chance to examine the way in which Al Jazeera English, BBC World News and Russia Today represent the protests they put in relation to sport competitions happening in different parts of the world. The chosen case studies are the London Olympics 2012, Sochi Olympics 2014 and Brazil World Cup 2014. The comparative analysis allows the drawing of similarities and differences between both the case studies and the broadcasters overall. The findings show that protests are dealt with differently according to the sport event they are related to, since some of them are legitimized and others are not. A major distinction, therefore, results in the manner in which the broadcasters use the protests in order to depict a certain version of the world. Global broadcasters offer, thus, multiple perspectives on the world as they carry what appears to be a heavy cultural baggage of the societies of origin.

The topic of this thesis is the reflection of XXII Olympic Winter Games in the Czech contemporary press. The aim is to find out in what way the selected press reported about it, more precisely to what extent it informed about the problematic and controversial aspects of its preparation in the period before and during the games. The analyzed period was set to be September 2013 - March 2014 and the chosen daily press includes Mladá fronta DNES and Lidové noviny as representants of rather right wing press, and Právo as a representant closer to the left side of the political spectrum. Weekly press in the analysis includes Týden and Respekt. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first one describes the background of the preparations of the olympic games in Sochi and its context, the second one contains the analysis itself. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Title: Attitudes of Russian Population to Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to determine attitudes of Russian population and residents of Sochi to XXII Winter Olympic Games. Another objective is to show advantages and disadvantages of hosting the Olympic Games and also to make recommendations, which can be used by government and sport institutions while organizing big sports events. Methods: Quantitative sociological research was made for the purpose of this thesis. Research was implemented by written, electronic and oral questioning .Obtained statistics were processed and analyzed. Results: All the findings are compiled into the tables and diagrams in the result part of this diploma work. Keywords: Sociological research, questionnaire, Olympic games 2014, Russia, Sochi

Title: Attitudes of Russian Population to Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to determine attitudes of Russian population and residents of Sochi to XXII Winter Olympic Games. Another objective is to show advantages and disadvantages of hosting the Olympic Games and also to make recommendations, which can be used by government and sport institutions while organizing big sports events. Methods: Quantitative sociological research was made for the purpose of this thesis. Research was implemented by written, electronic and oral questioning .Obtained statistics were processed and analyzed. Results: All the findings are compiled into the tables and diagrams in the result part of this diploma work. Keywords: Sociological research, questionnaire, Olympic games 2014, Russia, Sochi

In this thesis we examine the issue of growth in emerging markets and in specific how MNCs can achieve growth by understanding the customer and building a solid distributor network on the example of EPLSG in the Russian market. In this context we investigate the correlation of the growth potential with institutional environment, customer behaviour, distributorship and brand equity. But let us briefly examine the structure of the thesis chapter by chapter. Chapter one explains the five main themes that structure our thesis from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Chapter two is an account of the methodology used for the conducting of the empirical research as well as of the whole thesis. Chapter three outlines the theoretical background of the thesis while chapter four is a description of the empirical data found on the field. Chapter five is the analysis of the empirical findings and in chapter six the reader can see the conclusions and recommendations for the case company. Finally, chapter seven gives directions for further research. Overall, the authors of this thesis purport that in emerging markets an MNC can grow if it can effectively gather and analyze customer and market data as well as build appropriately a distributor network that can deliver the product to the customer and fully capture the market potential. What differentiates this thesis from other studies is the holistic appreciation of the problems that an MNC faces in an emerging market. The building of theory was based on this perspective as well as the recommendations for the case company. That is why, in chapter seven the recommendations for the case company should be read not as individual ones but as set of interconnected tactics that can allow an MNC to grow.

<p>In this thesis we examine the issue of growth in emerging markets and in specific how MNCs can achieve growth by understanding the customer and building a solid distributor network on the example of EPLSG in the Russian market. In this context we investigate the correlation of the growth potential with institutional environment, customer behaviour, distributorship and brand equity. But let us briefly examine the structure of the thesis chapter by chapter.</p><p>Chapter one explains the five main themes that structure our thesis from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Chapter two is an account of the methodology used for the conducting of the empirical research as well as of the whole thesis. Chapter three outlines the theoretical background of the thesis while chapter four is a description of the empirical data found on the field. Chapter five is the analysis of the empirical findings and in chapter six the reader can see the conclusions and recommendations for the case company. Finally, chapter seven gives directions for further research.</p><p>Overall, the authors of this thesis purport that in emerging markets an MNC can grow if it can effectively gather and analyze customer and market data as well as build appropriately a distributor network that can deliver the product to the customer and fully capture the market potential. What differentiates this thesis from other studies is the holistic appreciation of the problems that an MNC faces in an emerging market. The building of theory was based on this perspective as well as the recommendations for the case company. That is why, in chapter seven the recommendations for the case company should be read not as individual ones but as set of interconnected tactics that can allow an MNC to grow.</p>

In this study, I trace the development and influence of a network of concepts, practices and ideas about nature and health in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991 that I call "turning to nature for health." Turning to nature for health sought to reform and re-frame the processes of urbanization and industrialization in Soviet culture. It provided a vocabulary that framed these processes in terms of their influence on health. "Nature" (priroda) was constructed as an antidote to the modern city. In nature, sanatorium visitors sought relief from various "maladies of civilization," understood to result from the poor material conditions, "Americanization," and alienation from nature of urban life. Nature was conceptualized as a source of spiritual renewal, aesthetic pleasure and rest as well as healing and medical therapy. At the center of the culture of turning to nature for health was a constructed division between the profane urban world and the idealized world of nature. / History

It has been well documented that female athletes receive much less media attention than male athletes, with estimates placing coverage of male athletes at 95% of all sport-related media (Coakley, 1986). While not to that extent, studies focusing on media portrayals of Olympic athletes also confirm that the media dedicates the majority of coverage to male athletes (Duncan, 1990; Duncan & Hasbrook, 1988; Hambrick, Simmons, Greenhalgh, & Greenwell, 2010; Higgs, Weiller, & Martin, 2003; Lee, 1992; Kinnick, 1998; Pfister, 1978). Some evidence suggests that media coverage of female athletes and the recognition of their achievements are slowly increasing (Higgs et al., 2003; Kinnick, 1998). While the aforementioned studies show many of the same results, no recent research on the subject was found. The majority of past research has focused on summer Olympians specifically, and no studies were found looking at the past five Olympic Games. This study will add to the literature by providing new data to compare to that of previous studies. The author conducted a content analysis, looking at six online media outlets, and selecting 100 athlete profiles. The profiles were coded for any reference to the physical/emotional or strength/weakness characteristics of the athlete. The author analyzed the data using SPSS. Findings show no statistically significant relationships between gender and athlete characteristics, suggesting noticeable improvements in the quality and quantity of media coverage for female athletes when compared to previous studies.

The purpose of this thesis is to, through media, observe and map the political controversies during the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and once the games have finished summarize and analyze them in order to close in on a comprehensive understanding of them. In addition to being tinged by the hermeneutics and inductive reasoning the study uses a methodology referred to as a qualitative explanatory case study with an intensive approach. In applying IR-theory, and more specifically the theoretical perspectives of realism, liberalism and social constructivism, the study manage to shy away from mainstream Olympic research. The thesis finds that the political controversies during the Games in Sochi were fewer than anticipated and offers various understandings of why that is, including the realist notion of the triumph of the principle of sovereignty over human rights, the within liberalism found belief of the good nature of mankind, and the social constructivist idea of actions being constrained by social structures.

6 Abstract Title: Public opinion research of visitors of the Olympic Park Sochi - Letna 2014 Goal: To evaluate the importance of the Olympic Park Sochi - Letna 2014 based on public opinion of visitors. To propose conceptual improvements for the following Olympic parks during the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games. Methods: Quantitative questionnaire was used as the main method to determine public opinion. Qualitative in-depth interview with representatives of sports institutions and analysis of documents from internal resources served as a secondary analysis. Results: The Olympic Park Sochi - Letna 2014 was visited mainly by sport active people from Prague and Central Bohemia. Most of them were satisfied with the concept of the park and they would visit this kind of park in the next years, for which they would recommend bigger capacity and fitting refreshments. People came to the park to play sports and to try lesser known sports. They think that the concept of Olympic park would help to motivate public to practise sports. Key words: Public opinion, sport and population, Olympic Park Sochi - Letna 2014, Winter Olympic Games