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Pilot study on the risk assessment of selected water supply
Jedličková, Ivana ; Svoboda,, Miroslav (referee) ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor)
This diploma thesis focuses on risk evaluation of water line for public use. The risk analysis is done in compliance with the methodology created by VODÁRENSKÁ AKCIOVÁ SPOLEČNOST, a. s. and by the method WaterRisk, created by Institute of Municipal Water management, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The thesis clarifies the key points of the topic in question. Its readiness for passing in the Czech Republic and its core in relation to legislature. Then the thesis also includes a description of a specific water line. In the following two chapters the risks are studied according to the methodologies chosen.
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Securitisation of Islam and Counterterrorism Policy in France
Lesot, Coline ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The Copenhagen School's theory of securitisation establishes the construction of security as a predominantly political phenomenon. The discursive formation of an issue as threatening to the survival of a referent object is therefore considered a political act that can be observed and analysed. Between 2012 and 2017, a wave of terrorist attacks took place in France, resulting in a securitarian response from the government that have been questionable regarding its impact on civil liberties. French Muslims have been the collateral victims of the new measures introduced in this time of crisis and Islamophobia have increased in the country, where integration is already problematic and the place of Islam within the secular system of France is questioned. This dissertation aims at questioning the discourse about Islam within the counterterror discourse by the government. It reveals the different legitimation strategies used as a justificatory framework for the measures implemented, and argues that the narrative of Islam within this framework result in a remote securitisation of the religion. It argues that this securitisation can affect negatively further the future relationship of the state and French Muslims, in addition to undermine the ongoing effort of integration and counter-radicalisation....
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The Study of Russo-Baltic Disinformation and Information Manipulation in Contemporary News Media
Halliday, Alexander ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The Study of Russo-Baltic Disinformation and Information Manipulation in Contemporary News Media Page 4 of 109 Abstract Information in the 21st Century is produced and disseminated faster than ever before, resulting in a dynamic, yet chaotic information environment. Likewise, state and non-state actors can exploit this development for their own gains. Russia's increasingly aggressive behaviour has been exponentially drawing Western attention, especially since the annexation of Crimea. Russia's use of public diplomacy is not a new subject, nor is Russia the only state actor utilising such methods, but Russia's manner of pursuing its interests and objectives is inciting considerable concern in the post-Soviet region and the wider Western world. Accordingly, scholars, practitioners and political decision-makers alike have endeavoured to understand Russia's activities and its ambitions. The Baltic States are of geopolitical significance to interested parties. The Kremlin's interests in the Baltic States stem from past legacies and the Baltic States' sizable Russian population, while the Baltic States' memberships in Western institutions are also of interest. The dissertation's examination of Russian-based English-language news media sources, coupled with detailed interviews, identified various themes and...
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Anatomy of Insurgency: Trancing the History of "Insurgency" in Military Doctrine
Clapton, Lawrie ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
This dissertation examines the authors and conflicts which inspired and influenced modern perceptions of 'insurgency' and 'counterinsurgency'. We trace this process through the lineage of Western counterinsurgency proposed by US Field Manual 3-24, examining three authors' experiences of insurgency which have been crucial in the formation of FM 3- 24's doctrine of counterinsurgency: T.E. Lawrence's theory of insurgency drawn from the Arab Revolt (1917); David Galula's doctrine of counterinsurgency, from the French-Algerian War (1954-1962), and Robert Thompson's doctrine of counterinsurgency, from the British Malay Emergency (1948-1960). These three authors have had a substantial influence upon modern doctrine and are key examples of historical 'solutions' to insurgency. As such, each author presents, assumes, and promulgates a perspective of insurgency, which has proven influential to modern discourse. In tracing this history, we trace the imposition of Western structures of political, moral, and military power upon a marginalised ulterior, and the effort made by these structures to subdue and control this ulterior. Reliance upon these accounts by modern doctrine has encouraged the development of a dichotomy between insurgency and counterinsurgency, in which insurgency is integrally subversive,...
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The role of the national military industrial complex in the establishment of the European Defence Market: the case study of Italy
Pisanò, Francesco ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
MSc SECINTEL Independent Study (Dissertation) The role of the national Military-Industrial Complex in the establishment of the European Defence Market: The Case Study of Italy July, 2018 2278345 29202263 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of MSc International Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies (SECINTEL) Word Count: 23746 Supervisor UofG: Prof. Maurizio Carbone Supervisor Charles Uni: PhD. Tomas Kucera 1 MSc SECINTEL Independent Study (Dissertation) Abstract This thesis deals with the issue of European defence industrial fragmentation and evaluates the role of defence industries in the development of a European Defence Market (EDM). More precisely, this dissertation argues that industrial nationalistic pressure has hampered the path of defence integration, with the intention of preserving the monopolistic market environment of defence manufacturing and to protect the financial security of national commissions. While the issue of the European Defence Market has already been acknowledged by the literature as one of the main obstacles for the achievement of a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), this thesis identifies the industrial sector - and not the political will - as the main stumbling block for the establishment of a European Defence Market. In these...
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Regulatory network controlled by sigma factors of RNA polymerase in Corynebacterium glutamicum
Kučera, Tomáš ; Pátek, Miroslav (advisor) ; Roučová, Kristina (referee)
An important feature of bacteria is an ability to adapt to changing environment by regulating gene expression. Level of gene expression and its right timing depends mainly on activation or repression of the gene by transcriptional regulators and recognition of the respective promoter by the sigma factor which is a subunit of RNA polymerase. Transcription regulators with sigma factors and other control elements, form a complex regulatory network. The regulatory network in Corynebacterium glutamicum is one of the best studied networks among gram-positive bacteria owing to genome sequencing and application of a number of techniques at the genome level. There has been a lot of success in understanding the roles of individual regulators and interactions between regulators in response to changes in environment. This work summarizes currently known knowledge of mutual relationships between sigma factors, the influence of sigma factors on transcriptional regulators and their cooperative effect on the initiation of transcription. In the thesis, a regulatory network of sigma factors in C. glutamicum and a regulatory cascade in response to the stress situation is schematically created. Key words: sigma factor (FS), Corynebacterium glutamicum, transription regulator (TR), transcription, regulation
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Higher education analysis in the Czech Republic with a focus on graduates 2001-2017
Pištorová, Markéta ; Rychtaříková, Jitka (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Higher education analysis in the Czech Republic with a focus on graduates 2001-2017 Abstract The aim of this thesis is the analysis of higher education graduates in the Czech Republic between 2001 and 2017, focussing on the type of study program, the field of study, the net duration of the study, the graduation age, the citizenship and the gender. As main data source served the register. Changes in the net duration of the study, depending on the above-mentioned factors, were summarized using a general linear model. The gender dependence on the field and the net duration of the study was modeled using logistic regression. In addition, demographic methods were used for net entry rates and net graduation rates. Theoretical introduction to the topic - Trow's Concept, Bologna Process and Strategic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports - is also included. The overview of higher education is complemented by the historical development of the higher education system in Czechoslovakia, information on the educational structure according to the SLDB 2011 and international comparisons within the OECD countries complements the overall view of higehr education. The main finding of this work is the fact that the amount and the structure of graduates reflect the implementation of the principles of the...
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Alternative Realities on Social Media: Twitter and the German Right-Wing
Pommer, Alexandra Karen Lydia ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Right-wing radicalism has moved to the periphery of public and academic attention. This is despite the fact that hate crimes are increasing and right-wing populist parties win enough votes to be represented in parliament or even make up governments Europe-wide. In addition, the Internet has made it easy for the right-wing to network and transport their ideology to a large audience. The research, therefore, asks how the German right-wing as a contrast society is portrayed on Twitter networks. Because it is the goal of contrast societies to change the target society in its favor, the Internet offers a space where an ideal society can be created online. Right-wing networks on Twitter will be analyzed with a social media analysis using Twitter statistics, NodeXL Pro and Gephi. The analysis will be conducted by identifying online radicalization themes, like for example hate towards refugees, in the form of hashtags, that constitute the alternative reality created online. The results of the analysis will then be presented in the context of radical contrast society's efforts to change society. This way, it will be possible to come to a meaningful conclusion that includes wider societal implications of the right-wings' networking on Twitter.
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Chinese Visual Propaganda
Uhlikova, Jana ; Karmazin, Aleš (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Analysing discourse through visual units is certainly a very fascinating and interesting way of showing how propaganda posters regulate and shape the beliefs, values, and attitudes of social groups. Based on the theory of social constructionism, this research paper aims to explore and examine the use of verbal and nonverbal symbols between the propagandist and the audience in which the social positions of difference and authority are articulated. To accomplish this, I choose six propaganda posters that resonated strongly within the Chinese society to reflect how their symbolic messages and linguistic codes serve as transmitters of certain ideas. I incorporated testimonies of Anchee Min, Duo Duo, and Saul Yeung as a form of evidence in revealing the cultural significance, social practices, and power relations because they all have knowledge and experience in the cultural, social, and political discourse during the Cultural revolution. By applying a hermeneutic approach, this research paper deconstructs the symbolic meanings and linguistic codes of propaganda posters to reveal the notion of communication competence between the propagandist and the audience. Key words: China, propaganda, visual semiotics, symbols, discourse
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Neo-Ottomanism in Turkish Foreign Policy and Changes during the Erdogan Era
Hurych, Vladimír ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
Neo-Ottomanism in Turkish Foreign Policy and Changes during the Erdoğan era Author: Vladimír Hurych Abstract In November 2002, the new emerging Justice and Development Party (AKP) experienced a landmark electoral victory that significantly rewrote the prevailing domestic and foreign policy identity. The Islam-based AKP and its leaders Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Abdullah Gül and Ahmet Davutoğlu initiated a massive transformation of the Turkish society imposing economic market-oriented reforms and emphasizing the role of democratic institutions and the potential EU membership. AKP establishment also adopted a new foreign policy identity - the neo-Ottomanism. The concept has a background in 1990's strategy of former President Turgut Özal who emphasized the historical, cultural and religious heritage of the Ottoman Empire. Based on domestic changing identity, AKP's neo-Ottomanism served as an ideological tool how to transform its foreign policy identity with using the Islamic narrative and soft power tools. The thesis analyses how the new establishment of 2000's redefined the role of Turkey regarding its geopolitical position in the Middle East. Turkey has been emphasizing its strategic role as a regional power on the crossroads of many cultures and geopolitical interests. The question is how and whether the AKP...
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