This dissertation thesis is focused on the research of role of symbols, especially graphic symbols (emblems, logos), in the process of region formation and in the process of shap- ing of regional identities. These aspects are studied in the context of Anssi Paasi's theory of institutionalization of region. The thesis discusses the use of symbols in the develop- ment of regions of different scales. The theoretical background of symbol research in the process of a region formation, as based on literature research, is later verified on an example of the analysis of symbols of the Liberec Region and the way they are used by various regional institutions. The Liberec Region is a suitable model area since it both represents a newly constituted region (after 2000), as well as it is already fully institution- alized. This region is also very heterogeneous from the point of view of the natural and cultural heritage. Regarding the settlement perspective, there are both areas inhabited continuously (traditional, "Czech" areas) and areas resettled after the WWII. In its first part, the thesis is devoted to evolution of regional geography. It briefly pre- sents how regional geography responded to paradigmatic changes, and how it gradually evolved into a "new" regional geography. Next, it discusses the concept...

This thesis will be focused on the analysis of the basic types of the female artificial movie characters - the beings connecting "femininity" (humanity) and technology. These characters holds the external female sexual signs or the characteristics stereotypically perceived as female (e.g. cyborg/cyborg woman, android woman, robotess). My issue will be examinated from the perspective of postmodern approach to the process of shaping their bodies and identities in relation to the narrative movie structure. The characters will be divided into categories based on their dominating physical and "social" function in the story. The subsequent identification and interpretation of physicality, identity and relations with other characters of the narrative will be based not only on principles of semiotic analysis, but will take into account especially the approach of postmodernism. The main theoretical basis for this paper will be the theory of poststructuralism and so called post theories - a theory of posthumanism, transhumanism and cyberfeminism.

The thesis focuses on the analysis of the basic types of the film characters portraying artificial women: creatures who combine "femininity" (humanity) and technology, and who show female sexual characteristics or features that are stereotypically perceived as female-like (e.g. female cyborgs, female androids, female robots). The characters are analyzed and approached from the perspective of postmodern philosophy and post-theory studies; the forming of their body and identity is analyzed on the account of the narrative. The aim of the thesis is to explore whether the film representations of female cyborgs are similar to real cyborgs in the sense that they bring liberalization from the point if view of posthumanism and cyberfeminism, or whether they can only be perceived as the prime form of the Foucaltian body-as-machine, i.e. perfectly controllable precise technicist bodies which are created by the current power dispositions. The characters are divided into four categories, based on their predominant physical and "social" functions: a sexbot, a domesticated artificial woman, a destructive artificial woman and an emotional/intelligent artificial woman. The following identification and interpretation of the body, identity, relationships and the narrative structures are based on the theoretical...

In this thesis, the theory of rational irrationality is used to explore the incentives behind seemingly irrational beliefs held by a large part of the contemporary American society towards anthropogenic climate change. Applying causal analysis, three questions are answered: "is it rationally irrational for people to be indifferent towards climate change?" "Are Americans inherently more likely than others to hold irrational beliefs about global issues such as climate change?" If so, "is this phenomenon rooted in certain values that constitute the American identity?" The author focuses on specific "American values" and uses statistics and recent empirical studies to find correlations and causality between those values and the exhibited behavior of individuals, while discussing its possible causes and implications. The study concludes that the root cause of irresponsibility of the American citizen towards climate change is a lack of social mechanisms rewarding individuals for holding epistemologically accurate beliefs. The author then proposes a set of general measures to be prioritized in order to improve social reward mechanisms in the American society. If implemented, those measures should be able to effectively enforce epistemic rationality in the U.S. political debate, which is desirable...

U N I V E R Z I T A K A R L O V A FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Sociální politika a sociální práce Katedra sociální práce Diplomová práce Master Thesis Bc. Sarah Asfour Factors hampering the integration of Refugee Children Faktory ztěžující integraci uprchlických dětí Vedoucí práce: doc. PhDr. Oldřich Matoušek 2018 ABSTRACT The main aim of this thesis is to describe the factors that hamper the integration of Refugee Children into a new society. Factors that are mentioned in relation to integration are connected with an education gap, unfamiliarity with the language spoken in a new society, a bad economic situation of a family and its consequences and unstable or inappropriate housing. Social economic factors are also mentioned in the thesis. Child Labour closely linked to family conditions are discuess together with the worst form of it: child requitment into army. Refugee children coming from various backgrounds also may face many psychologically challenging situations when forcefully or willingly leaving their home country and other significant situations connected to their refugee status. In this thesis, I discuss psychological distresses that influence children's mental state due to war experience, migration experience, extended stays in refugee camps or post-migration stressors. In this thesis the situation of...

The thesis analyzes formation of Muslim nationalism identity during the 20th century and then its radical discursive transformation in the context of the Bosnian war between 1992 and 1995 and the conflicting struggle with neighboring Serbian nationalism. Internal redefinition of the Muslim/Bosniak national identity is examined in the context of a number of structural, institutional and discursive continuities and discontinuities, as both a contingent and determined event at the same time. As a result of these heterogeneous processes, the current Bosniak national identity is mainly homogenized around the symbols of Islam and the national myth of eternal suffering of Bosniaks and the age-long genocidal endeavor of Non-Bosniaks that resulted in the "Serbian genocide/Holocaust" over Bosniaks between 1992 and 1995. Key words War, nationalism, national identity, ethnic conflict, nation-building, Bosniak nationalism, Muslim nationalism, Serbian nationalismm, Islam, genocide, Holocaust, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian war

The aim of the thesis is to analyse how the EU perceives the specific contribution of Churches to the European integration as stated in the Article 17.3 of the TFEU. The specific contribution is analysed on the case of Roman Catholic Church (RCC) which predominates in the dialogue under the Article 17.3. There are two time periods addressed in the thesis. Firstly, the specific contribution is addressed in the context of the debate on the EU constitution. It is examined, based on the analysis of politicians' speeches and MEPs amendments, whether the specificity is rooted in the area of values. Second period is marked by the year 2009 when the TFEU entered into force, and 2014 when the dialogue with Churches was somewhat degraded. In fact, the new body responsible for the interaction became DG JUST, thereby replacing BEPA, i.e. organization directly reporting to the President of the Commission. Based on the analysis of the speeches and other relevant documents regard all the official meetings, I examine what the EU politicians expected from the Church and what was Her specificity according to them. Against this background is also analysed the fact that the dialogue with Churches was separated from the civil society organizations. It results from the research that the EU perceived the specific...

The diploma thesis Antifeminism in Contemporary Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church examines the mechanisms which shape the identity of women in Roman Catholic teachings. This is the starting point for the subsequent constitution of gender order, i.e. the way the relationship between man and woman is constructed, and in which woman is subordinated to man. To support the subordinate position of women, Roman Catholic theology implemented theory of complementarity into its teachings. This inequality provides an important underpinning of gender-based violence. Feminist movement and feminist theology, such as that of Mary Daly brought new analytical tools in the 1960s and 1970s to understand the functioning of the social mechanisms that lead to women's subordination. These tools are, in particular, feminist critique and perspective, critique of power relations and of androcentrism, and a specifically feminist understanding of woman's identity. The Istanbul Convention, with its perspective that rejects inequality, promotes criticism of power relations and describes violence against women as gender-based violence, is conceptually in accordance with the methods and goals of the feminist movement as well as with democratic principles. In particular, it agrees with them on the issue of gender-based...

Diploma thesis "I become speech." Death and Return of the Author in the Perspective of Philosophy of Identity focuses on the question of inclusion of the author into the interpretation of literary text and aims to highlight the fruitfulness of such inclusion as well as some of its dangers. The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part the author of the thesis presents a polemic account of some antiauthorial approaches, especially the "death of the author" as appearing in the texts of R. Barthes, M. Foucault and Jacques Derrida, along with a short mention of antiintentionalism of W. K Wimsatt and M. C. Beardsley and a theory of the model author by U. Eco. The common feature of the aforementioned antiauthorial theories is a reductive idea of the author and his relation to text - the problematic aspects of authorial interpretation, which their texts wish to make evident, is then only a consequence of the problematic underlying notion of the author-subject. The second part of the thesis intends to present an alternative theoretical understanding of the "real author" using the philosophy of identity od J. Butler and P. Bourdieu. These authors are proposing a theory of a person who is not understood as a "real thing" that would be available for a complete delimitation, description and...

This thesis focuses on critical analysis of the discourse on the Bohemian Forest National Park (BFNP) between 1991 and 2010. This large-size protected area has over the long term been the subject of highly critical debate among various participants including top political representatives, particularly as a result of several cases of massive disturbances of mature forest stands. Hence this discussion offers some very suitable material for an analysis aiming to help expose the links between regional subjects and general politics - and to demonstrate the relations between language and power. The introductory two chapters presenting the subject and a clarification of the position from which my critical analysis is to be performed is followed by a section describing the basic procedures and concepts defining the theoretical and methodological framework of the critical discourse analysis (CDA). This third chapter deals with the mutual relations between the initial CDA qualitative approach and the quantitative corpus approach, particularly in view of the issues surrounding the replicability of critical research. However, it also presents such key terms as discourse, critique, ideology, identity and intertextuality/interdiscursivity. The fourth chapter forms the analytical core of the work - made up of two...