El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Nowadays, due to climate change and many other facts affecting daily life a trend to use eco-friendly transportation ways has arisen, and from them the one mostly used and with the highest acceptance is biking. Therefore, several companies have emerged offering bike-sharing systems, and those systems have been greatly accepted in the different metropolises around the world. The generalization of these systems has created a new need: to manage them efficiently. Consequently, in this work, we propose a software architecture and the implementation of a bike-sharing management system using the Internet of things (IoT). / Revisión por pares

Presented diploma thesis deals with concepts from the real estate practice and people, who are employed in this practice. The thesis provides a look at contracts used in the real estate practice and their changes according to the passing of the new Civil code. The thesis is mapping changes in the real estate business as a follow-up to the passing ot the new cadastral act. Focus is also put on new definitions of some terms related to the real estate branch, as the new Civil code stipulates. The thesis studies present level of education of real estate brokers and possibilities of further education in this branch. Within the scope of the diploma thesis a questionnaire has been elaborated, which mapps fundamental issues of the real estate business. The questionnaire is also focused on prepared bill about providing of services of the real estate brokers.

This thesis compares the selected type of property valuation methods in the garage area of the Prostějov. Due to instructions of the work, the methods of valuation were chosen: cost method, comparison according to law and comparison based on databases. The thesis consists of a theoretical part, where is the introduction of basic concepts, market analysis and valuation of real estate. This is followed by a practical part, where is the description of the site and the actual value of selected garages with their descriptions and photographs. Differences of ways of valuation and their causes, which are based on obtained data, are discussed at the end of work.

This study came forth from a rereading of Ariel (2015) by Sylvia Plath and "The Laugh of the Medusa" by Hélène Cixous. Medusa was there, in the title, in the unsaid, but not so much directly in the text, she is only mentioned a few times in Cixous' works. You could still read Medusa in the works, but take away the title and you probably wouldn't to the extent that you do. That's how the questions arose, what do people do when they use Medusa in their works? Why do they decide to revive her?  The purpose of this study is to analyse, from a feministic perspective, what poets invoke when using Medusa in their works. The poems analysed are ”Medusa” by Sylvia Plath, ”Medusa” by Carol Ann Duffy, and ”Medusa with the Head of Perseus” by Torrin A. Greathouse.  Medusa, the Gorgon, used and abused, is a symbol for the silenced women. A woman is usually seen as an object by the patriarchal society, something they can do whatever they want with, Medusa included. This study is to show that women can take back their own bodies from the men, however many years it takes, however many people it takes.  Medusa is not a monster; she is just another victim of men’s oppression.

[pt] A presente pesquisa objetiva iluminar a participação do livro dentro de um recorte específico da arte contemporânea, na expectativa de talvez ali encontrá-lo como organismo vivo, inacabado, não restrito às habituais representações – neste campo que busca não raro descontruir o lugar das representações e provocá-las com impermanências. Observamos o livro sob a proposição de apresentar-se ali como coisa, elemento material descansado do signo social e literário, produzindo obstáculos conceituais. Partindo da distinção objeto e coisa, a tese sugere haver ainda na contemporaneidade uma relação possível entre materiais, experiência e não-automatismo, ainda que estejamos constantemente envolvidos por um univer-so bastante amplo e onipresente dos signos. Investe, por isso, em atuações não naturalizadas do livro, nas quais os significados se apresentam transitórios e flutuantes - nunca permanentes, nunca antes -, estando em movimento constante a cada interação -, uma relação singular e dialética entre pessoas e coisas, que, segundo autores aqui trabalhados, construiria simultaneamente a ambos. Buscando experimentar as estranhezas no contato com objetos que não se deixam definir - diante da perspectiva de coisa -, a pesquisa reúne proposições de artistas que fizeram uso do livro como material e instrumento da arte. Movimentos artísticos, buscando a libertação dos padrões clássicos funcionam de base para a construção da categoria Livro-Coisa, quando se sugere experimentar o livro antes das palavras e das representações. A categoria torna-se depois materializada em uma instalação artística. A tese encontra fundamentação teórica nos estudos da Cultura Material, a partir de expoentes como Daniel Miller e Tim Ingold, em diálogo com os pressupostos de Heidegger, Didi-Huberman, e outros autores, para, a partir desse todo teórico, refletir acerca da relação contemporânea entre pessoas e coisas, e abordar o objeto com alguma novidade. / [en] This research focuses on the position occupied by the book in a specific segment of contemporary art, with the expectation of perhaps encountering it as a living, unfinished organism, not restricted to its usual representations - in a field that often seeks to deconstruct social representations by challenging them with impermanence. In our proposition, we see the book presenting itself as a thing, a material element resting somewhere beyond social and literary signs, building conceptual barriers. Starting from the distinction between object and thing, this dissertation suggests that even in contemporaneity there is a possible relationship among materials, experience and non-automatism, despite the fact that we are permanently surrounded by a very broad, omnipresent universe of signs. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on non-naturalized performances of the book, where meanings are transient and fluctuating - never permanent, never before - being in constant motion at every interaction - a singular, dialectic relationship between people and things, which, according to the authors analyzed, would construct both simultaneously. Seeking to experience the strangeness of the contact with objects that do not accept definitions - from the perspective of things -, this dissertation brings together propositions of artists who made use of the book as a material and instrument of art. Art movements seeking liberation from classical patterns serve as the basis for the construction of the Book-Thing category, when it is suggested that the book be experienced before words and representations. This category then becomes materialized in an artistic installation. The theoretical foundation of the dissertation lies in Material Culture Studies, based on exponents such as Daniel Miller and Tim Ingold dialoguing with the assumptions of Heidegger, Didi-Huberman and other authors; starting from this theoretical framework, it seeks to reflect on the contemporary relationship between people and things, in an innovative approach to the object.

Text in English / Although initially dismissed as superficial, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, and Patrick Marber’s Closer use the theme of marital betrayal as a trope to investigate metatheatrical and epistemological issues. This study aims to demonstrate how these three plays define and explore the concept of authenticity within the fictional as well as the actual world; how arbitrary the construction and mediation of the characters’ identities are, not only from their own perspective, but also from the audience’s; the significance of the audience’s role in these plays and how issues of authenticity, fictionality and dishonesty impact on a genre that depends on illusion. This study intends to provide a new interpretation of these three texts through an analysis drawn from postmodern and poststructuralist theories, concerning the concept of authenticity within art and language. This study finds that the fictional worlds in these plays are created through mediation, which includes everyday language as well as complex works of art. Authenticity is shown to be an elusive concept. Language is either unsuccessfully used to force authentic responses from characters, or as a shield. In Betrayal, language functions as a protective barrier, preventing the characters from knowing one another. The Real Thing suggests that although inauthenticity may be established, the inverse is not necessarily true. In Closer, the characters try in vain to access authenticity through different registers of language. Furthermore, neither the body nor the mind is shown to be the locus of authenticity in Closer. Within the postmodern context where originality is impossible, mimicry is not seen as something external and inauthentic, but as inextricably part of human existence. The audience is drawn into the fictional world of these plays as its members are able to identify with the disillusionment of the characters and their inability to form a definitive view of each other. Simultaneously, the audience is ousted from the fictional world by being reminded of the author’s presence through metatheatrical devices. These plays take advantage of the fictional status of theatre to explore issues of authenticity, positioning them in direct opposition to postdramatic and verbatim plays. / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)

Text in English / Although initially dismissed as superficial, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, and Patrick Marber’s Closer use the theme of marital betrayal as a trope to investigate metatheatrical and epistemological issues. This study aims to demonstrate how these three plays define and explore the concept of authenticity within the fictional as well as the actual world; how arbitrary the construction and mediation of the characters’ identities are, not only from their own perspective, but also from the audience’s; the significance of the audience’s role in these plays and how issues of authenticity, fictionality and dishonesty impact on a genre that depends on illusion. This study intends to provide a new interpretation of these three texts through an analysis drawn from postmodern and poststructuralist theories, concerning the concept of authenticity within art and language. This study finds that the fictional worlds in these plays are created through mediation, which includes everyday language as well as complex works of art. Authenticity is shown to be an elusive concept. Language is either unsuccessfully used to force authentic responses from characters, or as a shield. In Betrayal, language functions as a protective barrier, preventing the characters from knowing one another. The Real Thing suggests that although inauthenticity may be established, the inverse is not necessarily true. In Closer, the characters try in vain to access authenticity through different registers of language. Furthermore, neither the body nor the mind is shown to be the locus of authenticity in Closer. Within the postmodern context where originality is impossible, mimicry is not seen as something external and inauthentic, but as inextricably part of human existence. The audience is drawn into the fictional world of these plays as its members are able to identify with the disillusionment of the characters and their inability to form a definitive view of each other. Simultaneously, the audience is ousted from the fictional world by being reminded of the author’s presence through metatheatrical devices. These plays take advantage of the fictional status of theatre to explore issues of authenticity, positioning them in direct opposition to postdramatic and verbatim plays. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)

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While the strategy of lending a voice to the monstrous is a well known aspect of Howard Phillips Lovecraft's works, the female monster is a notable exception to this case. In this thesis, I excavate a theory of female monstrosity through a reading of some of Lovecraft's most read stories and the agency of female characters that appears within. Comparing these female registers of monstrosity to their masculine counterpart, I develop a concept of female monstrosity manifested through categories of class, race and gender with the help of Judith Halberstams theories of monstrosity. Rather than treating these women as active characters, I argue that Lovecraft's inability to handle these monsters forces him to literally put them away – in attics, cellars, or boxes. These are the marginalized positions from which these women elaborate a monstrous form that transcends the boundaries of sex, gender, class and race. Here lurks a female monster, powerful, independent and evil, Lovecraft's treatment of which reveals his fear of its unfettered emergence. Thus Lovecraft’s narrative technique is broken by his own creation. Indeed, these women, in their reproductive capabilities and the monstrous motherhood they represent, are the true monsters of the Lovecraftian universe.

With the advent of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), people with the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection are increasingly enjoying longer and relatively healthy lives, particularly in developed countries. However, black Africans and African-Caribbean people in the United Kingdom and other developed countries are not yet enjoying the full benefits of HAART, essentially as a result of delayed diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis, in addition to affecting the health of infected individuals, also creates a community reservoir for the spread of the infection; thereby hampering prevention and control strategies by international and NHS guidelines. The delayed diagnosis may be grounded in individual, societal and health service factors that guide help-seeking behaviours of black African and African-Caribbean populations. This study set out to investigate the help-seeking behaviours to diagnose HIV and AIDS among UK based black African and African-Caribbean people, and to investigate the dynamics in those behaviours by place of origin (Africa vs. Caribbean) and by gender. A qualitative methodological approach involving semi-structured interviews was used to explore help-seeking behaviours to diagnose HIV and AIDS among black Africans and African-Caribbean populations in the UK and compared by gender. Thirty (30) purposively selected individuals from patients attending two sexual health clinics in the city of London were interviewed. These included 16 black Africans and 14 African-Caribbean people, and 16 men and 14 women. The symbolic interactionist perspective, and the concepts of broken narratives/silences, biographical disruption and biographical abruption guided the study and interpretation of findings. One main theme ‘Africanness’ and two sub-themes (“African way” and “African thing”) emerged from the findings. The “African way” embodies the risk factors involved in contracting or transmitting HIV and the “African thing” represents the HIV status itself. This is a cultural construction of HIV and AIDS within the acceptable context of participants which helped them to talk about HIV and AIDS without addressing it by the biomedical idiom. The notion of ‘Africanness’ provided a ‘marker’ for African identity. The “African thing” represented a new landscape for naming HIV without necessarily calling it by name and provided a comfortable platform for participants to seek help. The “African way” described the risk behaviours by participants that resulted in the “African thing”. Three sociological concepts; ‘broken narratives or silences, biographical disruption and biographical abruption were key issues in HIV and AIDS diagnosis at a late stage and have formed the basis for the development of a model of help-seeking for diagnosis by participants. Apparently, the main determinants of help-seeking for diagnosis of HIV and AIDS are dependent on cultural factors. Stigma is reinforced by the national health care system practices as well as health professionals themselves. This potentially increases the reluctance among black African and African-Caribbean populations to voluntarily test for HIV. An HIV diagnosis is seemingly a challenging experience because of the impending uncertainties associated with it. Seeking help for diagnosis may even be more difficult because of the anticipated and unpleasant experiences along the path to diagnosis. This may guide the individual to consider other alternatives outside the biomedical pathway, potentially; the biomedical path becomes the least likely choice, especially with black African and African-Caribbean populations. An insufficient cultural understanding is likely to result in inadequate recognition of alternative medical practices, insufficient attention to alternatives to biomedical health systems and potential distortion of the meaning of health messages linking them to practice.