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Botulotoxin: dangerous poison or useful remedy?
HAMERNÍKOVÁ, Magdalena
ABSTRACT Botulotoxin: dangerous poison or useful remedy? Regarding present awareness of biological agents and the possibilities for terrorist groups several possible sources, which are most likely to be abused in biological weapons and subsequent spread of these diseases (sources) in population have been addressed, botulotoxin is one of them. Poisoning with botulotoxin (botulism) is a possible variant of bio-terrorist attack, which is considered real at present.. Botulotoxin is used in cosmetics, particularly for smoothening wrinkles, and is also applied in medicine. The aim of my thesis was to gather summarized information on botulotoxin and the possibilities of its abuse as poison for terrorist attack, to enlighten its availability, the way of use by terrorist, a scenario of such an attack, the clinical progress of poisoning, possible mortalities and preventive measures minimizing them, the issues of using botulotoxin as medicine in present health care and evaluation the possible consequent risks, and evaluation of awareness of botulotoxin and bio-terrorism in general among general public and professionals. H1: Professionals consider botulotoxin one of the poisons most likely to be used as an instrument of bio-terrorism and has been high attention paid to its study. H2: General public more perceive botulotoxin as cosmetic preparation for smoothening wrinkles in a face and it has only a few informations of its terrorist abuse. Verification of the first hypothesis was performed at theoretical level by studying professional literature its critical assessment and consultation with experts. All available publications on botulotoxin and its relation to bio-terrorism of the last ten years were collected, and the reasons why botulotoxin is considered to be a suitable instrument of bio-terrorism as well as a suitable instrument in medicine and cosmetics. Verification of the second hypothesis was performed by investigation in the form of a questionnaire research. A questionnaire enabling to find out awareness of botulotoxin and bio-terrorism in general among the public was compiled. The research was conducted among the general public and among professionals, represented by members of the Integrated Rescue System in České Budějovice. The questionnaire consists of 18 questions. The samples of both the groups include 100 respondents, stratified selection of whom was performed upon consultation with an expert. Questionnaire evaluation was performed in 2 spheres. The first sphere deals with identification data and the second with general awareness. The aim of this work was to find out what the awareness of botulotoxin and bio-terrorism in general the general public and professionals was like. Finally I analysed the research results and the formulated hypotheses The research results have confirmed my hypotheses. They show that the examined general public sample and the sample of professionals could not have been chosen from an identical outside group, the difference between them is statistically significant. Professionals are statistically significantly better aware of botulotoxin features than the general public. This thesis represent an information source for those interested in these issues, particularly for the Integrated Rescue System units.
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Thinking narratively: qualitative research "on the road"
Čermák, Ivo
The role of narrativity in the process of qualitative research is briefly described in the paper. In narrative research, mathodological canons of representativness, method, and expert position in research are abandoned, validity is replaced by concept of finding trustworthiness, and sharing, participative-dialogical interpretation and meaning re-construction are emphasized. The story is considered a basis and also an object of narrative research. Stories are interpretations of life and an individual became an autobiographic narrativity. Story is a tool of identity construction and also reflection and can be labelled as a narrative identity. The aim of narrative research lies in good-story construction, which has not to be contradictory to the searching of truth. Narrative research is a way toward narrative knowing. Continuous communication with different versions of human research is a basic principle of narrative methodology and protection against rigidity.
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Frustrated sensibilities in the context of the conventions of the New York elite of Wharton's fiction
Křenková, Markéta ; Quinn, Justin (referee) ; Roraback, Erik Sherman (advisor)
The following essay examines Wharton's fiction within the context of a set of societal conventions in which her writing is framed and the ways in which these conventions work to frustrate the natural development of the individual life-narrative. The frustrations depicted in the following works here looked at result from the specific societal conditions in which her characters find themselves. The old New York aristocracy to which Wharton's parents belonged, with its conventional morality and inflexible standards of "scrupulous probity in business and private affairs", 1 is represented by Wharton as having a numbing effect on the moral and sexual development of her female protagonists. The foregoing will form the focus of my analysis in the sections dealing with frustrated moral integrity and frustrated femininity. Also to be found in this chapter is an examination of the specific manners on the basis of which this society operated, and the way in which these manners, as the physical manifestations of strict conventions, compound these individual frustrations. The social elite of New York changed with the impact of a newly emerging industrial society in the 1880s. Wharton focuses on the transitional stage between the merging of these two societies and exposes the damaging consequences of the materialism that...
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Sources of identity creation of adopted children
KLOUDOVÁ, Hana
Regarding the legal act adoption is the highest and the most advantage type of substituted care for a child, as the legal status of an adopted child is the same as of tan own child. Currently children are informed about adoption from a very young age. Applicants for adoption are trained in access courses about the way how to explain the whole situation to an adopted child. The aim of my thesis is to find out what importance adopted children put to the adoption itself and how this fact of adoption influences their identity. What roles play other people around them who know that the child is adopted? I used for my research fact-finding strategy- The method which I obtained data were from semi-structured interviews with adults once adopted as children conducted face to face or by e-mail.the next source of information was internet debate. The research was done on five adopted adults who were adopted as children ranging from 20 to 40 years old including myself. I gained respondents through a method called snowball. Through the biographic research method I worked out the data which means to reconstruction and interpretation of human?s life by somebody else and qualitative conceptual analysis of replies. The result of this is introduced as a biography of adopted children and also as a conclusion of answers in this research. In finalizing of the result comes the fundamental discovery that the effect on identity of adopted children has the foundation of a loving family. I found out that adoption itself did not mean anything noticeable at respondents or the impact of other people around them. The main thing which matters is a functional family, which they have.
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The Final Externalization of the Others and its Consequences for the Turkish Foreign Policy
Chvátal, Viktor ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
This diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) towards the sub- regions of Central Eurasia (the Middle East and Central Asia) in the period between 1991 and 2010. Theoretically, this thesis combines a modified version of social constructivism with the assumptions of critical geopolitics. Interconnecting social constructivism with the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), this thesis targets the domestic level of analysis. Therefore, the ideational background of the decision-makers is examined. Although, the potential impact of the identity variable on the TFP articulation is investigated after 1991 only, the genesis of the long-term identity conflict within the Turkish (Ottoman) society is also included in the analyses. Given the geopolitical part, this thesis draws upon the basic critical insight that the geopolitical argumentation is based on discursive rather than material factors. The aim is to identify the geopolitical metaphors which had been, in the examined period, applied while dealing with the above mentioned sub-regions. At this stage, the theoretical approaches are logically synthetized and the genesis and usage of the geopolitical metaphors is examined in relation to the identity of those who formulated them. This diploma thesis proves that the identity conflict...
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Communication strategy proposal for a language school
Holoubková, Táňa ; Zamazalová, Marcela (advisor) ; Vávra, Oldřich (referee)
The aim of the thesis is to propose a suitable communication strategy for a newly established language school that should start operating in a rather small czech town. The theoretic part includes an explanation of terminology and types of research used in marketing communication, description of ATL, BTL and PR communication, a few words about the importance of Corporate Identity (basis for communication) and description of tools that are used in the application part of the thesis. The application part starts with starts with monitoring of surroundings (competition, inhabitants, possible channels for communication activities), continues with a description of a launguage school, then follows assortment of inhabitans into suitable target groups and a proposal of strategic communication plan for the forthcoming year, more detailed attention is paid to the activities that are planned to be pursued during the first half of the first year (launch).
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Re/construction of masculine identity among men with disabilities within the Czech auto/biographical narrative
Šnokhous, Petr ; Kolářová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Vodochodský, Ivan (referee)
Re/construction of masculine identity among men with disabilities within the Czech auto/biographical narrative. The diploma thesis thematizes intersection of masculinity/ masculinities and disability. It focuses on mechanisms and strategies that are used for self-defining by men with disabilities in the intention of hegemonic discourse of masculinity. These mechanisms and strategies are uncovered on the strength of chosen autobiographical and biographical texts. Content of czech autobiographical and biographical textual material is compared and it serves as a background for critical interpretation of particularly circumscribed narrative of disability in the context of manliness within the czech sociocultural milieu. Epistemological and ontological scope is social constructivism resp. critical theory paradigm. Method of deconstruction is a qualitative content analysis focused on manhood acts creating a sense of male non/normative body through interaction, relation and categorization. Men with disabilities are conceived by processes of re/masculinization and normalization, which are linked to marginalized status and disadvantageous sociocultural representations of the men with non-normative bodies. Keywords: masculinity/ masculinities, disability, intersectionality, auto/biography, narrative,...
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The flat - building with office space
Ellner, Miroslav ; Sedlák, Radek (referee) ; Benešová, Romana (advisor)
The subject of diploma work is the design of residential building with office space in Uničov. This is a five-story building with one underground floor and four storeys. The building is divided into two almost identical parts interconnected communication space. Bearing structures in the underground parts are made of reinforced concrete monolithic walls. The above-ground part is used a brick wall system KM Beta SENDWIX. For communication space is used columned longitudinal system. The building is covered double-walled surface roof.
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From machine to icon:car in popculture from the 60s
Rybář, Václav ; Bednařík, Petr (advisor) ; Jirák, Jan (referee)
An automobile is one of the most important phenomenons of modern technology. Since its origins, it has profoundly shaped our physical, economic, politic, social, cultural and media habitat. The objective of this Master thesis is to analyze the evolution of the role of the car in the popculture from the 60s onwards and its dimensions, with a primary focus on Anglosaxon culture, with excursions to Asia and continental Europe, primarily Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic. The core foundation of the thesis lies in the analysis of the popcultural genres, selected films, TV series, computer games and comic books. The main purpose of the thesis is to reflect upon the identity and conceptual shifts of car, going from a mere transport machine through a vehicle of product placement towards the concept of the icon, a narrative hero of popculture. The hypothesis to verify is that the car has become an essential part of the popculture itself, reflected in many various dimensions: car as a toy, car as a friend, car as a status symbol, car as a narrative extension of the hero and finally, car as a hero and subject. The thesis is divided into five separate chapters, all including case studies. Following an introduction summarizing cultural, economic and historic factors of the car industry, the first chapter describes...
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Web 2.0 ? dopad na společnosta možnosti komerčního využití
Saktor, Marek ; Kubešová, Vlasta (advisor) ; Kašpar, Zdeněk (referee)
Cílem práce Web 2.0 ? dopad na společnost a možnosti jeho komerčního využití je vysvětlit čtenáři tento fenomén, zmapovat současnou situaci na poli internetových služeb a předvést možnosti jejich využití pro jednotlivce, malé společnosti i velké investory. Práce se také snaží nastínit pravděpodobný vývoj této oblasti a prokázat hypotézu, že společenské sítě zjednodušují získávání informací a tím zvyšují dokonalost konkurence na trhu. Práce začíná rozborem prvků, kterými se weby označované jako Web 2.0, tedy web druhé generace vyznačují. Jedná se především o silný důraz na uživateli generovaný obsah, zaměření na velké množství malých klientů, technologický návrh spočívající v lehkém klientu a robustní databázi, síťový efekt, který službu zkvalitňuje a neustále přidávání nových funkcí, zvané též jako permanentní beta. V druhé části je fenomén rozebírán ze sociálního hlediska. Zkoumá se motivace lidí přispívat komunitě, přínosy v oblasti politické, edukativní, rozvoje pracovního trhu a solidárních finančních půjček. Zmíněny jsou i největší hrozby, které se pojí se společenskými sítěmi ? riziko zcizení identity (citlivých osobních údajů), podvody s falešnou totožností a nebezpečí dětského zneužívání. Kromě analýzy těchto hrozeb je nabídnuto i možné řešení, jak se jim bránit a jak s nimi bojovat. Třetí část práce je věnována prostoru pro komerční využití. Popisuje se zde využití takzvaného word-of-mouth marketingu, jež spočívá ve vzájemném doporučování produktu uživateli, reklamy, kterou mezi sebou uživatelé šíří sami (virals), business model pro nový Web 2.0 a budoucnost způsobu prodeje hudby, filmů a knih. Ukazuje komunitní weby jako vhodný distribuční kanál pro drobné podnikání. Je zde i kapitola věnovaná online hře Second Life, která splňuje kritéria internetové služby druhé generace (veškeré objekty ve světě vytváří uživatelé) a má vlastní ekonomiku propojenou skrze pohyblivý měnový kurz s reálnou.
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