The nature of humans and human interaction has always fascinated me, and due to the extreme complexity of our constantly changing and evolving society, never before has there been such a dire need to understand ourselves and to realize the consequences of our actions on a universal scale; never before has society been so at war and in love with mind-games, which are both disgusting and beautiful at the same time; people have come to depend on the very thing they despise the most. These are themes I am trying to explore in my original play, After Butter. For my Honors in the Major Thesis, I researched and explored the craft of playwriting in an effort to improve my original play, After Butter. As a writer, I wanted to have the experience of creating an original work from concept to public performance. I wanted to do this project because no classes in the theatrical playwriting discipline are offered in my major. My play is a realistic, comedic, modem-day adaptation of our own world. I explore themes such as: the awakening of the consciousness; the interconnectedness of man and nature; genuine strength conquers all; the Axiom of Causality; redemption; the right thing isn't always the easiest; truth never dies; materialism; and, finally, the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, which represents an action's consequences. Outside the university setting, I would like to have my play performed by professional theatre companies in an effort to get audiences to connect with the characters and situations so the play becomes important to them on a personal level, therefore priming the play for a future on the big screen.

This Bachelor’s thesis examines the use of ancient bronze statues in the 2017 film Call me by your name by director Luca Guadagnino. Various scenes which feature ancient statues are examined individually using semiotic analysis. The scenes are examined individually, first described on a denotative level, then analyzed on a connotative level. The theoretical stand point is based on the studies of art works in film. Key theoretical concepts used are ”in between-ness” which is a state in which change in narrative is made possible through looking at art, and ”parallels”, a means of which to make art represent the characters in the film. The thesis finds the sculptures in Call me by your name to play a part in affecting the narrative of the film, mainly in regard to the love story between the two lead characters, two men named Elio and Oliver. The acts of looking, examining, and touching the statues in this film help the narrative turn in favor of the lead characters romantic relationship. The thesis argues that the nude bronze sculptures of men from ancient Greece are used in this film as signifiers of desire, timelessness and homoerotic lust.

Given feminists’ longstanding concerns about the ideological effects of media images, and prompted by the lack of, but continued need for, feminist activism today, some feminist scholars have become increasingly interested in how popular media shape public understandings of feminism, represent its issues, and define its history. Communication scholars also appreciate that both media texts and social movements are produced and received within particular historical contexts, and that controversies over either are discursive sites in which cultural and political values clash and their meanings are negotiated. During the 1970s, second-wave feminism, especially its radical wing, was a controversial movement which threatened to disrupt basic relations between women and men and, therefore, has been much maligned by men, women, anti-feminists, and a new generation of self-proclaimed feminists. Yet, the second wave is often portrayed inaccurately. This dissertation thus reviews key works, theories, and events associated with radical feminism as well as the debates between it and other schools of feminist thought–liberal, Marxist/socialist, psychoanalytic, cultural, and various ‘new’ feminisms. Then, employing a context-sensitive form of ideological criticism, I examine three films, their promotional strategies, their mainstream critical and scholarly receptions, and how these elements converged with particular feminist discourses within their shared historical contexts. Specifically, I investigate why the horror films Rosemary’s Baby (1968), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), and Snuff (1976)–which each featured an exposed, vulnerable, violated, or ‘monstrous’ female body–became objects of controversy when they tapped into the contemporaneous feminist issues of reproduction, rape, and pornography, respectively, and how the films’ receptions reveal ways in which people have made sense of feminism and its issues. I contend that these controversies, both individually and when viewed as a series, were symptomatic of the hegemonic negotiations of second-wave feminism and its attempts to publicize discourses about sex, violence, and the female body, negotiations which were occurring both inside and outside the women’s movement. Through these controversial cases, then, we can see feminism’s transformation–from an active movement which criticized the structures of women’s oppression to a discursive and primarily academic enterprise focused more on criticizing itself. / text

Master of Science / Department of Computer Science / Daniel A. Andresen / New to K-State??? No worries!!! This app will be your first friend and help you with everything you may need. Every new incoming student to K-State has to do a set of mandatory activities before they start their classes. Many times they use a pamphlet or word of mouth by students or faculty around, on what to do and whom to visit. But, this information may not be reliable or could have been expired/updated, and students miss on certain crucial things which delays their work. The same follows with various events organized by the college to welcome new students. This app will be a solution for all these problems. It will provide students with all the details they need before they actually become familiar with the school and even after that. Each student gets to see the To-Do's which are a set of mandatory activities, he/she has to do before they enroll for the classes and also, he can know about various events happening around the university. Students can also suggest new events if they are not already updated in the events list. All these activities are monitored and controlled by the Admin.

<p>Tjejer/damer har i regel sämre ekonomiska förutsättningar i jämförelse med killar/herrar när det gäller idrott, något vi själva har upplevt då vi har varit aktiva på hög nivå en längre tid. Angelica Lorsell berättade för oss om en företagsidé, som skulle kunna gynna elitidrottande tjejer. Idén går ut på att förmedla ett medlemskort, "Elitkortet", där olika samarbetspartners erbjuder målgruppsinriktade rabatter som skulle underlätta vardagen för elitidrottande tjejer. Angelica bad oss om synpunkter och hjälp för att lyckas genomföra denna affärsidé.</p><p>Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att ställa drömmen om att starta företagsverksamheten Elitkortet mot vad som krävs av oss som företagare för att förverkliga detta, dröm ställs mot vardag.</p><p>Litteraturen beskriver vissa personlighetsdrag som en entreprenör bör ha för att lyckas: prestationsbehov, riskbenägenhet och kontrollbehov. Att skriva ner sin affärsidé beskriver teorierna som viktigt för att lättare sätta upp mål att sträva efter. Om entreprenören tidigare har erfarenhet i den bransch det nya företag ska arbeta inom räknas det som en stor fördel. Det är ingen nödvändighet att ha en ny produkt utan det går lika bra att utveckla en "gammal" produkt eller rikta sig mot en ny målgrupp.</p><p>Vi har utgått från olika teorier kring affärsplaner och har valt att försöka skapa vår egen affärsplan. Elitkortets affärsplan som innehåller; affärsidé, produkt, tillverkning och teknik, marknadsplan, finansiering och budgetkalkyl, ägare och organisation samt riskanalys.</p><p>Vår empiriska studie har gått ut på att samla information om en eventuell företagsstart av Elitkortet samt att utforma en affärsplan för Elitkortet. Informationen har vi sökt via Internet, telefon, e-post, intervjuer samt gått på vägledning och starta eget-kurs. För att få en bättre bild kring eget företagande har vi valt att intervjua två företagare med olika förutsättningar som startat eget företag. Vi beskriver även våra känslor som uppkommit i och med möten med olika instanser och de människor vi mött.</p><p>Vi har kommit fram till att vi skulle kunna förverkliga vår dröm att starta företaget redan nu. Tekniskt och organisatoriskt är det fullt möjligt, dock vet vi inte om vi är tillräckligt riskbenägna och villiga att lägga ner den tid och kraft som krävs av oss.</p> / <p>Girls generally have poorer economic conditions in sports, in comparison with boys, something we have experienced ourselves since we’ve been active in high level for a long time. Angelica Lorsell told us about a business idea, which could benefit the elite athlete girls. The idea is to convey a membership card, "Elitkortet", where different partners offering targeted discounts that would make life easier for elite athlete girls. Angelica wished for comments and helps to successfully implement this concept. Our purpose in this essay is to make the dream of starting a business activity Elitkortet and what is required of us as entrepreneurs to make this come true. The literature describes certain traits that an entrepreneur should have in order to succeed, performance requirements, risk appetite and control needs. It’s important to write down the business concept to help set goals to strive for. If the entrepreneur has previous experience in the industry the new company will work within and it counts as a big advantage. There is no necessity to have a new product, by developing an "old" product or aiming a new target group you can succeed anyways. We started with various theories about business plans and have decided to create our own, Elitkortet business plan, which includes; business idea, product, manufacturing and technology, marketing plan, financing and financial spreadsheets, owners and organization, and risk analysis. In our empirical study we have gathered information about a possible start-up of the Elitkortet, and drafted a business plan for the Elitkortet. We have sought the information over the Internet, telephone, email, interviews, and went to counselling and on a start-up your own business course. To get a better picture about entrepreneurship, we have chosen to interview two entrepreneurs who started their businesses under different conditions. We’ve also described our feelings generated in the meetings with various instances and the people we’ve met. We have found that we could make our dream come true and start our company today. It is possible, both technically and organizationally, however, we don’t know if we are sufficiently risk-prone and willing to spend the time and effort required of us.</p>

Tjejer/damer har i regel sämre ekonomiska förutsättningar i jämförelse med killar/herrar när det gäller idrott, något vi själva har upplevt då vi har varit aktiva på hög nivå en längre tid. Angelica Lorsell berättade för oss om en företagsidé, som skulle kunna gynna elitidrottande tjejer. Idén går ut på att förmedla ett medlemskort, "Elitkortet", där olika samarbetspartners erbjuder målgruppsinriktade rabatter som skulle underlätta vardagen för elitidrottande tjejer. Angelica bad oss om synpunkter och hjälp för att lyckas genomföra denna affärsidé. Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att ställa drömmen om att starta företagsverksamheten Elitkortet mot vad som krävs av oss som företagare för att förverkliga detta, dröm ställs mot vardag. Litteraturen beskriver vissa personlighetsdrag som en entreprenör bör ha för att lyckas: prestationsbehov, riskbenägenhet och kontrollbehov. Att skriva ner sin affärsidé beskriver teorierna som viktigt för att lättare sätta upp mål att sträva efter. Om entreprenören tidigare har erfarenhet i den bransch det nya företag ska arbeta inom räknas det som en stor fördel. Det är ingen nödvändighet att ha en ny produkt utan det går lika bra att utveckla en "gammal" produkt eller rikta sig mot en ny målgrupp. Vi har utgått från olika teorier kring affärsplaner och har valt att försöka skapa vår egen affärsplan. Elitkortets affärsplan som innehåller; affärsidé, produkt, tillverkning och teknik, marknadsplan, finansiering och budgetkalkyl, ägare och organisation samt riskanalys. Vår empiriska studie har gått ut på att samla information om en eventuell företagsstart av Elitkortet samt att utforma en affärsplan för Elitkortet. Informationen har vi sökt via Internet, telefon, e-post, intervjuer samt gått på vägledning och starta eget-kurs. För att få en bättre bild kring eget företagande har vi valt att intervjua två företagare med olika förutsättningar som startat eget företag. Vi beskriver även våra känslor som uppkommit i och med möten med olika instanser och de människor vi mött. Vi har kommit fram till att vi skulle kunna förverkliga vår dröm att starta företaget redan nu. Tekniskt och organisatoriskt är det fullt möjligt, dock vet vi inte om vi är tillräckligt riskbenägna och villiga att lägga ner den tid och kraft som krävs av oss. / Girls generally have poorer economic conditions in sports, in comparison with boys, something we have experienced ourselves since we’ve been active in high level for a long time. Angelica Lorsell told us about a business idea, which could benefit the elite athlete girls. The idea is to convey a membership card, "Elitkortet", where different partners offering targeted discounts that would make life easier for elite athlete girls. Angelica wished for comments and helps to successfully implement this concept. Our purpose in this essay is to make the dream of starting a business activity Elitkortet and what is required of us as entrepreneurs to make this come true. The literature describes certain traits that an entrepreneur should have in order to succeed, performance requirements, risk appetite and control needs. It’s important to write down the business concept to help set goals to strive for. If the entrepreneur has previous experience in the industry the new company will work within and it counts as a big advantage. There is no necessity to have a new product, by developing an "old" product or aiming a new target group you can succeed anyways. We started with various theories about business plans and have decided to create our own, Elitkortet business plan, which includes; business idea, product, manufacturing and technology, marketing plan, financing and financial spreadsheets, owners and organization, and risk analysis. In our empirical study we have gathered information about a possible start-up of the Elitkortet, and drafted a business plan for the Elitkortet. We have sought the information over the Internet, telephone, email, interviews, and went to counselling and on a start-up your own business course. To get a better picture about entrepreneurship, we have chosen to interview two entrepreneurs who started their businesses under different conditions. We’ve also described our feelings generated in the meetings with various instances and the people we’ve met. We have found that we could make our dream come true and start our company today. It is possible, both technically and organizationally, however, we don’t know if we are sufficiently risk-prone and willing to spend the time and effort required of us.

This thesis examines the methods through which Gail Anderson-Dargatz and Ann-Marie MacDonald construct region in their novels The Cure for Death by Lightning and Fall on Your Knees. These texts, like all successful regional novels, describe more than geography. Their regions are also functions of time. I introduce the term "temporal region" to describe the spaces created by this interdependence of time and place. I then focus upon the specifics of descriptive and narrative approach that lead to the convincing portrayal of the Shuswap and Cape Breton Island in the texts. Anderson-Dargatz and MacDonald direct attention to the foddways of their regions, expressing the connection between consumption choices and a society's historical and physical location. The authors also articulate their regions by highlighting cultural diversity in the areas they describe. In this way they deny the social homogeneity more sentimental regional texts often rely upon. Finally, the novelists use an appropriately Canadian method of regional opposition to define their temporal regions according to that which they are not ~ they are not American, glamorous, or urban. They therefore must be Canadian, quotidian, and rural.

This study examines the image of house and home as the reification of our domains as living, dwelling, housed beings in three novels: Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits; Anne-Marie MacDonald's Fall On Your Knees; and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Being human, we form through perception, build through forming, dwell in building, and perceive through dwelling. Through close reading and analysis, this thesis examines questions of: If we are how we dwell, then what happens when the structures and the spaces of our dwellings become haunted? What happens when "home" becomes a facade that suspends necessary elements of dwelling? This study projects that if we are how we dwell, the very nature of our being entails a constant questioning of what it is we allow a presence to in our how we form, build, dwell, and perceive within both tangible and intangible realms and the influential perspicacity literature bears within this process.

The application of revenue management (RM) is changing more rapidly than ever before, driven as an important factor of the daily operation to keep prices competitive and to create real-time optimal pricing. In the age of the Internet and social media, negotiated fixed rates have become outmoded. Consumers now have access to online rate comparisons and real time reviews. They think more strategically when making purchasing decisions. Thus, they become more demanding. This research provides an empirical study of revenue management and pricing with an emphasis given to the hospitality industry. The aim of this research is to examine the gap between the theoretical approach and the empirical analysis, the rationality between the implementation of dynamic pricing approaches and the impact on the customer. Furthermore, the research examines the perception of consumers’ willingness to pay when using the Name-Your-Own-Price (NYOP) mechanism, which allows customers to have a greater influence on the amount they are prepared to pay. Instead of posting a price, the seller waits for a potential buyer’s offer, which he or she can either accept or reject. Finally, this study examines, whether the use of social media plays a decisive role in the online purchase environment used by the hospitality sector and the effect it has on a consumer’s willingness to pay. Accordingly, hotel revenue managers will be able to use the findings of this study to effectively plan their short-term, and long-term pricing strategies to generate a stronger revenue management performance for their property, namely to increase the RevPAR (revenue per available room). The research can be useful to businesses, as empirical data and tests were employed to determine what kind of impact the different pricing policies have on the long-term profit optimization. These practical and theoretical elements of the field reinforce each other‚ as well as to a large extent, the constructive interplay of theory and practice. The research is twofold, the holistic approach, which discusses the development of the theoretical dimension, is complemented by the practical analysis of the collected data of the surveys. This approach ensures the relevant observation of ‘real-time’ data and the evaluation of the set of hypotheses. The study conducted two large scale interrelated structured surveys. The first structural survey (NYOP) provides a better understanding of the final consumer, by using the name-your-own-price mechanism and by observing the extended role of social media in the booking procedure. Hypotheses were tested and in the second survey in-depth data from revenue managers and executives working across the tourism industry was collected, in an attempt to measure the use of pricing strategies within the industry. The research contributes to the theory by empirical testing how the extended RM objectives influence RM and pricing. It provides a clear picture of the necessary elements for a successful implementation of pricing strategies. Finally, the study has implications for the consumer. Thus, the researcher investigates consumer’s perception to the NYOP model and the expanding role of social media to the consumer-booking pattern.

Under de senaste två årtionden har det blivit en drastisk ökning av privat ägda laptops. Detta har öppnat för nya möjligheter som bring your own device (BYOD) digitala prov i skolan. Men med detta blir nedlåsning av datorn inför digitalt prov ännu viktigare. Undersökningar har gjorts gällande elevernas uppfattning kring digitala provsystem samt deras åsikter om digitala prov i allmänhet. Andra arbeten har gjorts gällande hur digitala provsystem fungerar tekniskt men samtidigt finns det artiklar som visar hur viktig lärarnas åsikter är. Därför kommer detta arbete definiera kraven som de krav som lärare har för att undersöka deras perspektiv, inte på det digitala prov eller provsystem som andra arbeten utan på nedlåsningsprogrammet för datorn vilket bidrar med information i ett nytt perspektiv. Detta görs genom insamling av enkäter från lärarna på en gymnasieskola för att definiera krav. Dessa krav ställs sedan mot vanligt använda nedlåsningsprogram för att svara på hur de klarar av de krav som lärare har. Resultatet av detta visar att nedlåsningsprogrammen inte uppfyller alla krav som lärarna ställer. Dock vid undersökning av de krav som underkändes bedöms nedlåsningsprogrammen leva upp till en majoritet av lärarnas krav då anpassade lösningar och vikten av olika krav disskuteras. Detta ger ett positivt betyg för nedlåsningsprogrammen och ger uppmaning till lärare att gå över till digitala prov utan att oroa sig för nedlåsningen av datorerna.