This study, which is based on the private sector perception of urban regeneration initiatives in the Johannesburg Inner City, critically evaluates the current strategy employed by the City of Johannesburg which elevates private sector investment as the mainstay for inner city revival and the pillar for achieving what it calls “a world-class African city”. It argues that, in spite of the positive outcomes that have occurred in the inner city since the advent of urban regeneration, the initiatives informed by the current strategy and designed to induce private sector investment have contributed to urban change only in limited ways. The motives behind the urban regeneration initiatives and the private sector perception do not correspond. General market factors and trends such as the high demand for space, relatively low property prices, perceived financial returns on investment, risk diversification and have been the main motivating factors for private sector investment decisions and subsequent urban growth. Conversely, the urban regeneration initiatives, while making a noticeable impact, are perceived to have played only a secondary role. Factors perceived to be acting as deterrents to private sector investment also relate largely to those aspects at which various urban regeneration initiatives are targeted. For instance, factors such as poor by-law enforcement, neglected degenerating buildings, crime and inadequate delivery of municipal services are increasingly seen to be contributing to limiting investment in the inner city. This suggests that urban regeneration initiatives are perceived as not achieving the intended objectives or as needing strengthening. In addition, policy instruments such as the Urban Development Zone, City Improvement District, the Johannesburg Development Agency, the Better Building Programme and crime prevention measures, which are the pillars of Johannesburg’s regeneration strategy, are each generally perceived to have yielded significant benefits and advantages in the inner city. However, these instruments are also perceived to have some shortcomings and limitations both as concepts and in practice. There is a pervasive perception that the effectiveness of these instruments is marred by, among other things, the fact that they do not embrace the wider inner city, but parts thereof, and have not been implemented in an integrated manner. The findings of the study, particularly around inadequate delivery of municipal services and lax by-law enforcement, also raise serious questions about the plausibility of the competitive cities approach that underpins the City of Johannesburg’s urban regeneration strategy, suggesting that more work is required around the relevance of the competitive cities approach in the Johannesburg Inner City. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

This thesis investigates early translation activities of Czech versatile theatre artist Jan Nepomuk Štěpánek. Štěpánek began to translate theatre plays in 1803. The first part of the thesis looks at the personality of Jan Nepomuk Štěpánek in general, theatre context of his translated plays and a translation method in the time of the Czech National Revival. The most important part of the thesis consists of the introduction of five earliest plays, which Štěpánek translated in 1803-1806. His texts are compared with German original texts. On the basis of this comparation, Štěpánek is introduced as a translator and also then theatre practice is partly clarified.

Gothicism is the primary feature of Nathaniel Hawthorne's fiction, and it is his skill in elevating Gothicism to the level of high art which makes him a great artist. Gothic elements are divided into six categories: Objects, Beings, Mental States, Practices and Actions, Architecture and Places, and Nature. Some devices from these six categories are documented in three of Hawthorne's stories ("Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and "Ethan Brown") and three of his romances (The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and The Marble Faun). The identification of 142 instances of Hawthorne's use of Gothic elements in the above works demonstrates that Hawthorne is fundamentally a Gothic writer.

The present questionnaire study examined attachment-religion connections among 175 believers from Christian congregations within the Læstadianism revival movement in Sweden and Finland. Results generally supported the study’s hypotheses, thus partly replicated, and extended previous research. Replicating previous research, reports of secure attachment predicted the adoption and transmission of Christian beliefs and values. Reports of relative insecure attachment was linked to aspects of religious changes and predicted religious changes occurring in a life-context of emotional turmoil. Results for emotional compensation were, however, not consistent with previous research. Reports of secure attachment predicted emotionally-based religiosity and insecure attachment did not predict the intensity/suddenness of the religious change. Extending previous research, reports of secure attachment predicted the adoption and transmission of the congregation's Christian standards and perceived religious support from one's congregation. Findings are discussed in the context of the Læstadian population of the study.

Diplomová práce se zabývá transformací a novým návrhem funkčního využití území areálu výstaviště v Brně. Areál je vymezen od jihu velkým městským okruhem města Brna a od severu ulicí Hlinky. Cílem návrhu bylo oživit stávající hodnotné území tak, aby se z něho stal fungující městský organismus volně přístupný veřejnosti, který by tvořil symbiózu mezi historickou částí výstaviště a nově navrženou částí.

This master´s thesis deals with the possibility of restoration of lake or pond ceased to exist and its influence on surrounding landscape. The author focusses on the restoration of particular pond and possibilities of it´s use and economical evaluation of the project.

Secularization is an ambiguous concept. An important part of the Swedes' self-understanding is about a larger secularization process that forms the basis of Swedish society. The link between revival movements and secularization indicates a paradoxical relationship, since "revival" may have meant religious renewal; repentance or spiritual awakening. Spiritualism has been hijacked by religion, an individual spiritual center does not have to mean an "invisible religion". The release from the supremacy of religion can mean the prophet, the pope, the priest, the church or the state religion. This essay has a western and a secularized perspective, as the essay also emphasizes that secularization is a western phenomenon. The thesis examines Gustavi's congregation in the dioceses of Gothenburg during the years 1860 to 1903. The thesis investigates how the number of communion guests has changed during these years. The question is how much has the number of communion guests changed as a percentage from 1860 to 1903 as well as what the priests' views on the sects in the congregation were. The question regarding the number of communion guests has been answered by statistical calculations. The question of the priests' view of the sects within the congregation has been answered by reading the priesthood documents. The essay also provides a deeper understanding of the concept of secularization, as this concept is widely debated. The revival movements undermined the unified power of the state church. The collectivist state church was replaced by individualists who, in their revival, sought a spiritual awakening. In the Gustavi congregation there was a liberation from a religious authority.

The goal of the master thesis "National identity in contemporary Czech theatre plays" is to analyse some chosen features of the contemporary Czech national identity based on examples from texts written by David Drábek and Miroslav Bambušek. In the first part, some basic categories are interpreted, that create the Czech identity, from the historical and sociological point of view. The chosen features of the Czech identity are analysed in the second part with regard to the theatre plays by two authors mentioned above. A summary of these features follows, as well as a characteristics of the tools both authors use to interpret topics related to this master thesis.

The aim of this essay is to study the now demolished synagogue in Karlstad, Sweden. Its existence, or rather lack thereof, is shrouded in mystery as it remains unmentioned in most of Swedish architectural history research, and only briefly in historical writing about the city of Karlstad. The essay is an attempt to preserve and immortalise the memory of this lost piece of cultural heritage. To better understand the synagogues unique visual character it is set against two of its contemporary contexts - 19th century synagogue buildings in Europe, and the prayer houses built by the Swedish Free church and Mission movements. Describing and analysing the architecture of the synagogue in Karlstad provides a foundation for comparison between examples of these two architectural phenomena.

Create new ones so the old can live dignified and survive new ones.