The thesis identifies cultural indicators of Englishness through an analysis of readings of children's literature texts. These were taught on a children's literature course to Czech student-teachers at the Pedagogical Faculty, Brno in the Czech Republic from 1992 to 1995. The aim has been to identify cultural indicators of Englishness embedded in the texts and to reveal myths of national identity. This has been achieved by using a cross-cultural perspective whereby the Czech readings have been used to identify taken-for-granted aspects of English culture. The outcome has been to provide a paradigm for the exploration of culture in and through children's literature texts and to argue that children's literature should be incorporated into the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and cultural studies for non-native speakers of English. In addition the methodological implications for the teaching of children's literature texts in the EFL classroom are discussed. The theoretical position which underpins the work is phenomenological in that it is an investigation of meanings. The readings by the Czech students and then the researcher were considered from two theoretical positions. An ethnographic perspective has been employed using the work of Geerz and Cohen to investigate the readings of three cohorts of Czech students who are outsiders to English culture. The reactions of the Czech students to the texts significantly reveal the legacy of the totalitarian system which began to end with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Literary theory has been applied by the researcher to investigate the texts from an insider's perspective. Reader response theories involving the notion of the implied reader (Iser) and horizons of expectations (Jauss) are adopted to reveal and interrogate a culture's notions of childhood. It is established in the thesis that hitherto a sociological perspective has been taken with children's literature texts in the investigation of ideology with reference to class, race and gender. These have been oppositional readings which locate English children's literature as a site for the socialisation of children into the norms, values and beliefs of dominant society. It is argued in this thesis that by a careful investigation of the texts from a literary perspective and using the cross-cultural information gained, another view might be taken which is that English children's literature texts are less than normalising.

This thesis examines women's access to property ownership in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, tracing women's property rights from the pre-communist period to the present transition to a market economy. Focusing on housing and investment property, it finds that women have a high degree of equality in household property ownership. This equality is due in part to gender equality under socialism as well as to traditions of equal inheritance. The thesis then considers women's property ownership in the context of the current 'anti-feminist' movement that encourages Czech and Slovak women to focus their energy on the domestic sphere. It suggests that the withdrawal of women from the workplace and politics may have serious consequences for gender equality.

Inaug. Diss.--Universität Bonn. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis explores the roles that medicine, human rights discourse, and the arts play in the project to improve the lives of patients suffering from severe forms of mental illness in the context of the post-socialist transformation of the Czech Republic. It is a study of the ways in which social solidarity and social exclusion intersect in the spaces of mental illness in a particular historical setting, and how the responsibility for care is negotiated between families, communities, the medical profession, and the state. The first part of the thesis focuses on the proposed reform of care for patients with severe mental illness that was put forward in the two decades after 1989. I examine the origins and aims of the attempted institutional change – the ‘humanization of psychiatry’ – in the context of the influential Charter 77 movement which demanded respect for the rights of those who are unable to claim them for themselves. I also trace how the re-establishment of a civil society that owed much to the concept of ‘apolitical politics’ and the process of the reintegration of Czech Republic into the European community impacted the attempted reforms. More than twenty years after the revolution, Czech Psychiatry still does not comply with international standards of care and, as I show, despite the explicit disclaimer with the totalitarian past and great hopes for change, there is in fact a clear continuation of many of the practices, ideas, interactions, as well as forms of governance of the preceding decades. These historical legacies, in combination with other factors, such as ideological disagreements within the psychiatric profession, a lack of political interest in this area, and a strong focus on other economic priorities have all contributed to the failure to improve mental health care. The second part of the thesis offers a complementary perspective on these processes – a view from ‘inside’ of the institutions that provide psychiatric care. The origins of institutional care in Central Europe date back to late nineteenth century, when large hospitals were built within parks as self-sufficient complexes surrounded by walls, outside of large cities. My research took place in two contrasting institutions: one a highly specialised clinical and research center for treatment of acute conditions, and the other a hospital for treatment of chronic conditions originally devoted to those with ‘incurable’ conditions. I show how the notion of ‘curability’ is a crucial factor in both the experience of the patients and the social responses to their conditions. In this part I also explore some epistemological issues in psychiatry, including knowledge, practices, and ideology, in the context of a strong scientific materialism where – unlike in many parts of the world – the tradition of psychoanalysis has been absent. Specifically, I examine the role of neurobiological paradigm in various interpretations of psychotic experience, its affect on patient’s self-understanding, and its role in the externalization of agency and responsibility. Finally I address the phenomenon of using ‘unclaimed bodies’ of psychiatric patients for anatomical teaching and research, and interpret this practice through notions of liminality, impurity, and sacrifice. I conclude the thesis by examining the ethical dimension of psychiatric care in the light of the writings by Emmanuel Lévinas.

Diplomová práce Bc. Veronika Vrbenská České školy bez hranic. Vícečetná případová studie¨ Czech Schools without borders. Multiple case study Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to describe the development undertaken by the Czech Schools without Borders since their establishment and to illustrate how they currently operate, what is the outcome of their function especially on the field of Czech language education, and how their executives, pupils and their parents evaluate this functioning and its outcomes. The thesis is structured as a multiple case study focused on two such schools with a longer tradition - the Czech School without Borders in Brussels and the Czech School without Borders in Geneva. Its methodology will be based on ethnographic procedures of data collection and handling. It will focus on analyzing the development of the mentioned Czech Schools without Borders (mainly on the basis of official written documents), on the current operation of these schools (on the basis of an analysis of administrative documents, especially curriculums and learning materials) and its outcomes and on the reflection of the function of Czech Schools without Borders by their executives (school principals, through analysis of semi-structured interviews), current pupils and their parents (through a questionnaire survey).

This thesis presents a descriptive study of the Czech translations and reception of Horrible Histories, a popular science book series written by British author Terry Deary. The methodological framework is based on Gideon Toury's 1995 model, which is reflected in the structure of the thesis. First, the Czech translations are contextualised, whereby the preliminary norms derived from an interview with the initiator and commissioner of the translations are described. With regard to the original works by the series translator Robert Novotný, a hypothesis suggesting an initial tendency towards acceptability is formulated. What follows is a stylistic analysis of two Czech translations, based on which distinctive stylistic features of the translated series are determined and ways in which the texts deviate from acceptability are presented. Next, the thesis focuses on the Czech metatexts Děsné české dějiny ('Horrible Czech Histories'). After the circumstances under which the series originated are explained, a stylistic analysis of two metatexts is carried out, followed by a comparison with the translated texts. Subsequently, the thesis discusses the Czech reception of Horrible Histories in general, whereby reception trends are identified using an analysis of readers' comments in online databases. The...

The aim of this thesis is to estimate bilateral equilibrium exchange rate of the Czech koruna relative to Euro and to determine if the Czech currency is undervalued or overvalued relative to the market equilibrium. We employ fundamental (FEER) and behavioral (BEER) equilibrium exchange rate models, which enables to measure the currency position relative to the market rate. To tackle the uncertainty of the implied equilibrium exchange rates that differ among alternative specifications of the models, we aggregate the estimates via principal components analysis. The perception on the market is that Czech koruna is undervalued, since the intervention regime imposed by the Czech National Bank in the 2013, was defending the exchange rate floor of 27 Czech korunas to Euro. Then, we extend conventional specifications of BEER models for variables representing exchange rate interventions and forward rates offered on the market because both can have protracted effects not only on spot rates but on adjustment towards long-term equilibrium as well. The original models with fundamental factors show equilibrium exchange rate near to 25 CZK/EUR. However, extended models with interventions show higher equilibrium exchange rate, near to 27 CZK/EUR. Thus, there is possibility of slow adjustment near to the...

The thesis Verbs with infinitive complements in Czech and Russian with respect to tecaching Czech for foregners is focused on comparing verbs with infinitival complements in Czech and Russian. The aim is to establish a list of verbs with different complements in Czech and Russian and use those differences in the proces of teacheing Czech as a foreign language for Russian speakers.

The diploma thesis is focused on the logistic system of the particular companies. In the theory part you can find explanation for the following expressions: insourcing, backsourcing and outsourcing, focusing on the reasons that lead companies to outsource operations, advantages and disadvantages which outsourcing entail and the whole process description. Practical part focuses on a particular description of general logistical system of companies DSI Czech, s.r.o. and DSI Slovakia, s.r.o.; identifying a weak part of the system and the analysis of possible solutions with the attention to the high level of services provided with the optimal costs. The proposal considers the possibility of using outsourcing or continuing to use inhouse logistic management.

The degree work leads off from theoretical terms, profile of czech golf tourism, treats of current situation of incoming golfers and institutions supporting the growth of czech golf tourism in the first chapter. In the second chapter, there is an analysis of the potencial, all of the golf courses in Czech republic are mentioned. The comparison of golf courses and evaluation of the potencial are in the last, third, chapter.