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This thesis examines the literary response to the AIDS crisis. It concentrates on literature produced between 1988 and 1995, published in English, and available in Britain and the United States. The AIDS texts investigated here are representative of other AIDS literature produced during this time period in the way that they both enact and construct the identities of those affected by AIDS. Mourning and melancholia are the operative responses revealed in the literature, and revealed as the formative components of changing identities in response to AIDS and its manifestations. The thesis is structured in six chapters: a theoretical introductory chapter that proposes mourning and loss as pre-existing concerns in gay men's literature, followed by a chapter addressing gay AIDS fiction and its narrative response to mourning. The next two chapters examine hybrid texts, that is, AIDS texts that do not conform to a conventional narrative form, and that are connected more firmly to a queer sensibility than to a gay identity. These texts, the thesis claims, are engaged with the processes (and resistances) of melancholia rather than with the work of mourning. The subsequent chapter addresses fictions of caretaking and witnessing, that is, novels written from the point of view of one who is caring for an other ill with AIDS. These are identified as more mainstream texts as they involve representations that are not connected to declared sexual identities and therefore mean to address a wider audience and to work out a more public discourse of grief around AIDS. In conclusion, the thesis suggests that although AIDS literature is involved in an effort to resist loss through narrative form, in fact it is the literature that in some instrumental ways makes the work of mourning and melancholia in response to AIDS productive rather than debilitating.

This thesis is the first full-length study of the fiction-of Kathy Acker, a radical and transgressive American female writer (1947-1997). The study maps the development of Acker's fiction by focusing on the political dimension of her aesthetic strategies. It explores the politics of plagiarism and appropriation; the subversive representation of gender and sexual politics; and the anarchistic impulse of Acker's work. The main theoretical and political approaches employed are: feminist theory, poststructuralism, abjection and anarchism. The study begins with an introduction to Acker's life, since there is a significant if problematic autobiographical impulse in her writing, and her socio-cultural context. It proceeds to a detailed critical exploration of work published between 1968 and 1986, drawing attention to Acker's affinities with a poststructuralist project. Acker's strategies of juxtaposition, paradox, and contradiction, alongside her fragmented, non-linear, digressive narratives, are read as a form of social critique. Her use and abuse of the white, male, Euro-centric canon is examined in light of the construction of female sexuality, and Acker's focus on phallocentric language as a source of subjugation is also considered. The study then argues for and interrogates Acker's move towards a more affirmative narrative strategy before looking in detail at her fiction of the 1990s - fiction which, until now, has received slight attention. Through close readings of her later novels, the study illustrates how Julia Kristeva's concept of the abject is fruitful for an examination of Acker's work, and examines cross-cultural intertextuality (from the horror film to the avant-garde). It also relates the trope of piracy that is present in Acker's later works to the political ideology of anarchism. The conclusion to the thesis argues that Acker's strength lies in her uncompromising belief in the avant-garde, and details her sustained attempt to make critically incisive political art.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La parálisis supranuclear progresiva (PSP) se caracteriza por el depósito anormal de proteína tau hiperfosforilada en ganglios basales y tronco cerebral. Su etiología es desconocida y el único factor de riesgo genético conocido es su asociación con el haplotipo H1, que engloba un conjunto de polimorfismos en la región 17q21 incluyendo el gen tau y genes flanqueantes. Este haplotipo podría actuar modulando la expresión o el "splicing" de tau, pero existen otros genes candidatos importantes para la función neuronal o relacionados con la función de tau como saitohin, NIK y CRHR1 en esta región, o kinasas implicadas en la fosforilación de tau como GSK-3beta, en otras regiones. OBJETIVOS: Investigar el efecto de polimorfismos y mutaciones de los genes saitohin, CRHR1, región 3'-UTR de tau y GSK-3β sobre el riesgo de desarrollar PSP, y analizar la expresión de CRHR1 en el cerebro de pacientes fallecidos con PSP.METODOLOGÍA: Pacientes con criterios de PSP probable y controles sanos reclutados por la Unidad de Trastornos del Movimiento del Hospital Clínic. Se secuenció la región 3'UTR de tau, diseñando primers específicos, y la región codificante de saitohin en 3 PSP y se genotipó el polimorfismo Q7R en 57 PSP y 83 controles usando métodos previamente descritos. Se secuenció la región codificante de NIK en 3 PSP con métodos previamente descritos y se genotipó el polimorfismo 2839G/C en 40 PSP y 35 controles mediante el enzima de restricción HphI. Se cuantificó la expresión génica de CRHR1 en globus pallidus con PCR a tiempo real en 12 PSP, 10 Alzheimer, 5 pacientes con enfermedad cerebrovascular y 6 controles. Se secuenció la región codificante de CRHR1 en 2 PSP y se genotipó el polimorfismo -16C/T en 40 PSP y 51 controles mediante SSCP. Se genotipó el polimorfismo -50T/C de GSK-3beta en 93 PSP y 125 controles. Los análisis estadísticos se hicieron con el programa SPSS 11.5, usando el test chi-cuadrado para comparar las frecuencias genotípicas y alélicas y el test de Kruskal-Wallis para la comparación de los niveles de expresión génica.RESULTADOS: No se hallaron mutaciones en la región 3'-UTR de tau ni en la región codificante de los genes saitohin, NIK y CRHR1. El genotipo QQ de saitohin fue más frecuente en PSP que en controles (91.2% vs 47%) y cosegregaba con el genotipo CC del polimorfismo G(-221)C del promotor de tau. No se hallaron diferencias entre PSP y controles en la frecuencia genotípica del polimorfismo de NIK. La expresión de mRNA de CRHR1 en globus pallidus fue similar en PSP y el resto de sujetos. El genotipo CC del polimorfismo de CRHR1 fue más frecuente en PSP que en controles (80% vs 53%). El genotipo CC del polimorfismo-50 T/C de GSK-3-betafue algo menos frecuente (p=0.048) y el alelo T más frecuente (p=0.033) en PSP que en controles, y no se detectó interacción con el haplotipo H1/H1.CONCLUSIONES: Nuestros resultados no apoyan que la región 3'UTR de tau presente variantes génicas que puedan explicar el riesgo proporcionado por el haplotipo H1 para sufrir PSP. El genotipo QQ de saitohin y el genotipo CC del polimorfismo de CRHR1 están asociados a PSP en nuestra población y forman parte del haplotipo H1. El gen NIK no está incluído en el haplotipo H1 y no incrementa el riesgo de PSP. La ausencia de mutaciones y de alteración en la expresión génica en ganglios basales no apoya un papel funcional del gen CRHR1 en la PSP. El alelo T del polimorfismo -50T/C GSK-3β está sobrerepresentado en PSP y podría ser un factor de riesgo adicional independiente del haplotipo H1; alternativamente, el genotipo CC podría ser un factor protector. / Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterised by abnormal deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau protein in basal ganglia and brainstem. The only known genetic risk factor is the H1 haplotype in the tau gene region, but there are other candidate genes related to tau or neuronal function like saitohin, NIK and CRHR1 in this region or tau-kinases like GSK-3beta in other regions. The aim of this work was to analyse variations of these genes and CRHR1 brain expression in PSP. Patients and controls were recruited by the Hospital Clínic Movement Disorders Unit. Sequencing of tau-3'UTR region and coding region of saitohin were performed in 3 PSP patients, and the Q7R saitohin polymorphism was genotyped in 57 PSP and 83 controls. The coding region of NIK was sequenced in 3 PSP and the 2839G/C polymorphism was genotyped in 40 PSP and 35 controls. CRHR1 gene expression was quantified in globus pallidus using real-time PCR in 12 PSP, 10 Alzheimer, 5 stroke patients and 6 controls. The coding region of CRHR1 was sequenced in 2 PSP and the -16C/T polymorphism was genotyped in 40 PSP and 51 controls. The GSK-3beta -50T/C polymorphism was genotyped in 83 PSP and 125 controls. Genotype and allelic frequencies were compared using the chi-square test and gene expression levels with the Kruskal-Wallis test. No mutations were found. The saitohin QQ genotype and the CRHR1 CC genotype were more frequent in PSP than in controls (91.2% vs 47%; 80% vs 53%), and the NIK genotype frequencies were similar. CRHR1 mRNA expression in globus pallidus was similar in PSP and the rest of subjects. The T allele of the GSK-3polymorphism was more frequent in PSP than in controls (p=0.033), and no interaction was detected with the H1/H1 haplotype. Our results do not support a role of tau-3'UTR and CRHR1 in PSP. The saitohin and CRHR1 polymorphisms are associated with PSP in the context of the H1 haplotype. The NIK gene is not included in the H1 haplotype and does not increase the risk of PSP. GSK-3β genetic variations could be an additional genetic risk factor indepedent of the H1 haplotype.

This thesis explores the fiction of American author Richard Yates to propose that his work provides an insistent questioning and alternative vision of postwar American culture. Such an approach is informed by a revisionist account of four distinct yet interconnected areas of postwar culture: the role of the non-heroic soldier stepping in and out of World War II; suburbanisation and fashioning of anti-suburban performance; demarcation of gender roles and unraveling of sexual conservatism in the 1950s; consideration of what constituted the normative within postwar discourse and representations of mental illness in Yates’ work. These four spheres of interest form the backbone to this study in its combined aim of reclaiming Yates’ fiction in line with a more progressive historical framework while shaping a new critical appreciation of his fiction. Such analysis will be primed by an opening discussion that illustrates how Yates’ fiction has frequently been ensconced in a limited interpretative lens: an approach, that I argue, has kept Yates on the periphery of the canon and ultimately resulted in the neglect of an author who provided a rich, progressive and historically significant dialogue of postwar American life. This PhD arrives at a point when Yatesian scholarship is finally gaining momentum after the cumulative impact of a comprehensive biography, a faithful film adaptation of his seminal text Revolutionary Road (1961), plus the recent re-issue of his catalogue of work. An assessment as to why he remained on the margins of success for the duration of his career is therefore of pressing interest in light of this recent critical and commercial recognition.

President Obama’s tenure in the White House had a significant effect on political comic deliberation and performance within stand-up comedy, particularly in reference to discussions of race and racial politics. This thesis examines the subversive and conservative qualities of political stand-up comedy under his presidency, exploring how the cultural form reacted and responded to the ideological, performative, cultural and political tones and pressures of this era. These chapters range from an analysis of Obama’s own presidential stand-up addresses, to African American, left-wing and right-wing political comic reaction within stand-up comedy, and finishes with an examination of Donald Trump’s effect on political stand-up (and the broader areas of political comic production) in the final year of the Obama era. The thesis’ nine case studies explore narratives and issues of Obama-era power and various political, social and cultural items of the period. The primary methodology consists of textual and discourse analyses of the nine case studies. These are reinforced using a broad data collection of relevant journalistic, political, theoretical, comic, and cultural analysis. The main findings of this thesis are that political stand-up comedy was largely a timid cultural agent in the Obama era due to a range of ideological, racial, cultural and socio-political qualities. Subversive elements can, however, still be found throughout the nine case studies, particularly in the area of right-wing political stand-up comedy, a subversion which is magnified by the field’s deficit in cultural and social insurance in comparison to African American and left-wing political comic ruminations.

This thesis considers the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, focusing on Cat’s Cradle (1963), Player Piano (1952), and Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), through the literary theories of Mikhail Bakhtin. It concentrates on Bakhtin’s carnivalesque inversion from Rabelais and his World (1965), his theoretical perspectives on the text as a site of struggle from The Dialogic Imagination (1975), and the practical application of his theories with the novel as polyphonic from Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics (1963). The thesis concentrates on three main themes: religion, technology, and war. Chapter One will examine the theme of religion in Cat’s Cradle. It will consider how religion is presented in society and how fundamental opinion can become embedded in our social and cultural structures. It will further consider the cultural shift in belief from religion to science, juxtaposing the two ideals and highlighting the destructive forces of absolute belief and fundamental opinion. Chapter Two will concentrate on Player Piano, and how technology could have a detrimental effect on the progress of human civilisation. It considers how valuable technology is to the human experience, and what happens to civilisation if humans are forced to surrender everything that gives their lives meaning. Chapter Three will analyse Slaughterhouse-Five, looking closely at the representation of war, and its effects on the mental state of those that are forced to encounter it. It will engage with the ‘ideals’ of war presented in society juxtaposed with the experience of actually taking part in war. Vonnegut critiqued the American social, political and religious structures prevalent throughout his life. To Vonnegut, America had the possibility to become a blueprint for the rest of the world, a role model for the liberation and equality of all human beings, but it needed work.

The OECD's public discussion draft 'BEPS Action 6: Preventing the Granting of Treaty Benefits in Inappropriate Circumstances' proposed a series of rules for the OECD model. The draft for Article X, "Entitlement to Benefits," the first five paragraphs of which are described therein as "specific antiabuse rule aimed at treaty shopping", are meant to establish a limitation on benefits provision. Article X(6) contains a general antiabuse rule. The analysis carried out here shows that upon closer examination, the proposed antiabuse rule turns out to have no legal relevance. Yet the mere existence of this rule will cause uncertainty, and individual tax administrations and courts will not be deterred from using it as a basis for the denial of treaty benefits. Similar and equally justified criticism would also be directed against any other tax rule that makes combating tax avoidance subject to a combination of objective and subjective requirements. When it is not certain whether an arrangement chosen by a taxpayer is covered by a treaty provision, practitioners will not ask for the object and purpose of the treaty provision but will apply a vague antiabuse provision instead, and the facts will be assessed based on the practitioner's legal instinct and not from the law. Alternatively, tax administrations and courts will be tempted to restrict themselves to the alleged clear wording and to ignore the object and purpose of the legal provisions. If, however, the OECD cannot be prevented from introducing a general antiabuse rule similar to Article X(6) into the model, it will not only impair the quality of the OECD model but will also contribute to its loss of significance because not all states will be able to accept such a rule in their treaties. (author's abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

This thesis comprises three main components: firstly, close readings and critical analyses of four major poetical works by W.H. Auden—“The Watershed”, The Sea and the Mirror, “New Year Letter”, and “In Time of War”; secondly, ten semi-informal letters addressed to W.H. Auden; and thirdly, a serial poem consisting of short and long poems based on the speeches of the public figure, Barack Obama. The thesis proposes a creative writing discipline founded on the productive and intensive exchange between reading and writing poetry, and reflection through letter writing. The chapters of critical analysis argue the following: firstly, that through his idiosyncratic handling of syntax and voice in poems like “The Watershed”, Auden introduced a new element of the uncanny into English poetry; secondly, that in The Sea and the Mirror, Auden re-evaluated his poetics and altered his poetic voice in response to a new reading public; thirdly, that in the “New Year Letter,” Auden uses tone to expand the range of his poetic voice; and fourthly, that in the sonnet sequence “In Time of War”, Auden uses parable to combine lyric and narrative elements in order to universalise the Sino-Japanese War. Some of the issues raised in the chapters of critical analysis, such as poetic truth, poetic voice, the lyric subject, and parabolic writing, are elaborated on in the letters to W.H. Auden. Finally, the Serial Poem presents 74 short and long poems produced using appropriative writing procedures. The idea that runs through all parts of this thesis is that speech, voice, and parable are crucial elements in the poetic practice of W.H. Auden, and that close attention to these three elements through all stages of this project— critical reading and writing, letter writing, and creative writing—has contributed to the development of a rich and productive poetic writing practice.

The diploma thesis aim to the design of equipment for ŠKODA JS a.s., which is part of a new inspection stand (N-SIO). This equipment is an inspection column that provides the possibility to inspect spent fuel assemblies at the operation of the Temelín nuclear power plant. This master thesis is also a summary of the whole design of the new inspection stand and a description of the individual inspection components and devices. One of the parts of the thesis is also a basic strength analysis and a drawing of the main assembly of inspection equipment.