Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Theory of Comedy'

Stories engage a form of virtual play. Though they incorporate language and abstractions, stories engage many of the same biological systems and produce many of the same anatomical responses as simpler games. Like peek-a-boo or tickle play, stories stage dangerous or unpleasant scenarios in a controlled setting. In this way, they help develop cognitive strategies to tolerate, manage, and even enjoy uncertainty. One means is by inspiring confidence in difficult situations by tactical self-distraction. Another is to reframe negative or uncertain situations as learning opportunities, that is, to ascribe meaning to them. While both strategies are useful, each has limitations. In William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, a king succumbs to the desire to make meaning where there is none, and nearly ruins himself in a self-composed tragedy. His friend restores his confidence and enables a happy ending—but only by deceiving him. This deception is benign, but the heroine of Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa is nearly ruined by her abductor’s confidence game. Her “happy ending” is made possible only by reframing her rape and death as redemptive transfiguration—which, as many of her readers suggest, is a dubious affair. The hero of Herman Melville’s The Confidence-Man spends the first half of the novel eliciting his companions’ confidence in order to swindle them, and the second half trying to inspire himself with the same confidence. The novel ends with an ominous impasse: one must trust, but one ought not to. For Samuel Beckett, this impasse is productive. In his middle novels, thought itself emerges from the interplay of spontaneous bouts of irrational confidence and distortive, after-the-fact impositions of spurious meaning. Stories create (illusory) identities, elicit (dubious) hopes, and reinforce (false) assumptions in order to help us cope with the agonies of anticipation and loss, and to transform misfortune, accident, and misery into reward, retribution, and meaning—that is, in a comedy of trauma.

This study examines the relationship between a television text and the women in the audience, using Carla Lane's situation comedy, The Mistress [BBC], broadcast in 1985, as a case study. The project is entirely directed by the audience point of view. An eclectic multi-disciplinary approach was taken to devise an 'open' conceptual model of the audience which located women as key actors in the viewing process. The concept of the Skilled Viewer was developed, incorporating elements from feminist film and television theory, reader response theory, and Uses and Gratifications theory. A feminist perspective, systematised by an ethnographic account and feminist sociological principles, guided the qualitative methods of data collection from 14 individual and nine groups of women viewers. Their discussions were recorded, transcribed, categorised, and analysed. Audience responses were classified into Uses and Gratifications categories. Viewers responded on emotional and/or intellectual levels, pointing up concerns relating to identification with stars/characters; aspects of realism; confirmation of personal values; and aesthetic criticism. Responses were defined within a framework of expectation, in terms of anticipations-expressed/fulfilled and/or hopes-expressed/ fulfilled. Viewers' 'interpretive strategies' and their source 'interpretive repertoires' via which they understood and enjoyed the text were explored. Reasons were posited for response. Major findings are as follows. A multi-disciplinary theoretical design supported by a reflexive, compatible methodological approach is effective. Application of the concept of the Skilled Viewer produces a number of findings not available via pre-existing theoretical models. Viewers are active, self-monitoring participants in the viewing process. The text/audience relationship is in constant negotiation. Viewers' enjoyment depends to a great extent on the priorities with which they approach it. Placing theoretical priority on the female viewer can prove methodologically effective. Legitimating their voice successfully empowers the women in the audience.

Thesis advisor: Scott T. Cummings
My Senior Honors Thesis may be understood as a two-part investigation that addresses both theoretical and practical concerns of physical comedy and the language of gesture. I will first present some of my more general findings about comedy in order to more accurately zero in on the figure of 'the Fool.' I will thereafter investigate the function of the Fool in society and report on two of his most definitive iterations: Arlecchino, of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte and Bill Irwin of the contemporary stage. These theoretical components will eventually serve as a foundation for the practical side of my project- the creation of my own physical performance piece. In the final part of this document I will outline the process of conceiving and developing a physical comedy performance all my own, referring to my research whenever possible. My hope is that this paper will serve as both an informational document about some of the most important historical influences on physical comedy and the language of gesture, as well as relate how those influences affected me in the process of imagination and creation that is the joy of theatre
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2005
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theater
Discipline: College Honors Program

How has political comedy on television in the United States changed over time? Earlier examples of political comedy on television were shows like Saturday Night Live and various late night talk shows, which focused primarily on political or personal scandals or personal characteristics, rather than policies or substantive issues. In other arenas of television and the public sphere in general, there was serious criticism of scandals, but not in political comedy. Shows that attempted to criticize politicians or serious public issues using satire, irony, or invective such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, were routinely censored by network executives. With the advent of cable, and the failures of traditional mainstream journalism after 9/11, a change occurred. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart almost immediately adopted a critical stance on the Bush administration that was widely discussed in "serious" public sphere outlets such as CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post. This form of "critical comedy" has proved popular. This project examines commentary about such programs in the journalistic sphere from each presidential election cycle from 1980-2008. This includes data from newspapers as well as television news sources. Additionally, I conduct content analysis of sets of Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show from each time period, if the show was being produced. I show that political comedy is increasingly influential in public sphere discussions of presidential politics.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006.
Title from title screen. Malinda Snow, committee chair; Tanya Caldwell, Paul Schmidt, committee members. Electronic text (81 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed May 8, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

In humour studies research, there have been few attempts to elucidate why black humour was such a prevalent, powerful force in late twentieth century culture and why it continues to make a profound impression in the new millennium. As Dana Polan (1991) laments: ???Rarely have there been attempts to offer material, historically specific explanations of particular manifestations of the comic???.1 This thesis offers an interdisciplinary analysis of black humour in the late twentieth century. I contend that the experience of black humour emerges from the intricacies of human beliefs and behaviours surrounding death and through the diverse rituals that shape experiences of loss. I suggest that black humour is an attempt to articulate the tension between the haunting absence and disturbing presence of death in contemporary society. Chapter 1 of this thesis offers an historical and etymological perspective on black humour. In Chapter 2, I argue that the increasing privatisation and medicalisation of death, along with the overt mediatisation of death, creates a problematic juxtaposition. I contend that these unique social conditions created, and continue to foster, an ideal environment for the creation and proliferation of black humour. In Chapters 3 and 4, I examine the structures and functions of black humour through three key theories of humour: incongruity, catharsis and superiority. Chapter 5 looks at ways in which the experience of black humour creates resolutions and forces dissonances for people entwined with loss. In this final chapter, I also consider how black humour may help people make meaning from issues surrounding death. Throughout this theoretical discussion, I interweave the analysis of a range of scenes from contemporary black comic texts (i.e. plays, screenplays and television scripts). On the whole, this thesis works towards a more complex, specific understanding of the phenomenon of black humour within a social context.

Comedy is an inherently pleasurable phenomenon with beneficial psychological functions, but its potential to bring on undesirable and socially destabilizing consequences is less intuitively obvious. In this essay, I argue that one of the hitherto under-recognized features of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is its covert problematization of the phenomenon of comedy itself, and that the play invites its audience to become more aware of in what situations laughter is constructive and appropriate. I apply psychological and cultural-historical theories of humor— specifically, Freudian relief theory and Bakhtinian thought on laughter and festivity—as a framework for interpreting the play, with a particular emphasis on the secondary protagonist called Gratiano. I argue that Gratiano serves as a personification of comedy, whose function is to problematize it and demonstrate its positive as well as negative attributes in relation to seriousness and restraint. Gratiano’s laughter-inducing antics compel audience members to sympathize with him in the dialectic which Shakespeare sets up between him and other characters, but the play also portrays his jovial behavior as concomitant with less desirable traits which his comedy successfully obscures. While the character presents comedy as attractive and instinctively preferable to propriety and decorum, he also shows how the allure of laughter and comedy may be used by disingenuous actors to provide an attractive veneer for immoral or abhorrent behavior.

This thesis explores the work of three women practitioners in radio and examines the process of writing radio drama through a mixture of criticism and practice. It analyzes early theories about radio drama and compares them with those of today, in order to ascertain whether the early ideas are still relevant. Starkey points out that radio has been relatively undertheorized (2004: 204), so this evaluation of the practice of writing radio drama adds to knowledge of the medium as a whole. The work focuses on two women practitioners from the past: Hilda Matheson, whose book Broadcasting (1933), was the first single authored text on radio and broadcasting by a woman published in English (Crook 1999: 12) and Mabel Constanduros, who was a prolific writer and actress of the time, specialising in comedy. Matheson s ideas are compared with those of Val Gielgud and other early theorists, which were more accepted at the time. This analysis leads to close examination of a debate at the heart of radio drama, that being whether noises or dialogue are the best method of storytelling. Finally there is a consideration of the author s own writing practice, using three broadcast radio plays, 21 Conversations with a Hairdresser, 15 Ways to Leave Your Lover and Jesus, The Devil and a Kid Called Death. This provides insight into the changing methods of writing for radio. The findings create a story design for writing the Radio 4 Afternoon Drama. Final written drafts are included, along with audio copies of the plays as they were broadcast. Several different types of criticism create the theoretical base, including works on cultural theory, feminist theory and reception theory, as well as texts on radio, screen, play and comedy writing.

While most critics agree that Anton Chekhov is a funny writer and much critical commentary about his comedic techniques identifies how Chekhov is humorous, none examines why readers find him so. Using the tools of cognitive science, this paper explores the cognitive processes behind humor and narrative, as well as Chekhov’s exploitation of them for comical effect in his early short stories – namely the very concise and blatantly humorous “Kids,” “Grisha,” “Vanka,” and “At Home” – and uncovers, in these early writings, the origins of his celebrated and oft-imitated authorial legacy.

Research into political satire programs show that they can be informative in the same way traditional news inform citizens and that the audience trust the information told by satirists. The political satire program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has inspired the phenomenon ‘the John Oliver Effect’ due to comedian John Oliver’s ability to influence the world of politics and beyond with his in-depth investigations in serious subjects. In the author’s previous research Last Week Tonight has been portrayed by the media as being a credible source despite being the work of a comedian. This study therefore aimed to research what it is that makes Oliver and Last Week Tonight a credible source and whether some aspects of the reporting can be seen as communication campaign. With the theory of source credibility as part of its core, this study used the method of multimodality to ascertain that the main aspect that spoke to Oliver’s credibility was his perceived trustworthiness rather that his expertise or attractiveness. Using the same method but with the theory of communication campaign as part of its core, the study also ascertained that the program in general possessed some characteristics of a communication campaign but to be completely successful an episode had to possess all characteristics of a communication campaign. Merging this with previous research would indicate that subjectivity – Oliver’s authenticity and honest opinions and feelings – play an important part in his perceived credibility.

This thesis proposes a critical study of the theoretical framework of Urinetown, asking the question of whether or not the show is truly a “Brechtian musical,” utilizing the tenets and beliefs of Bertolt Brecht. Set in a quirky, Gotham-like town where you have “to pay to pee” due to a severe drought, Urinetown follows a cast of absurdist characters as they navigate a society plagued by the perils of big business, ecological devastation, and the inequalities of capitalism. While the show appears to make a relevant social commentary, supporting a righteous rebellion to overthrow the evil Urine Good Company, in the end, by proving that revolution does not always succeed, writers, Kotis and Hollman invalidate these commentaries, proving that despite its Brechtian appearance, the show in its textual form is much more simply a comedic parody. However, Pomona College’s production, in which I played Hope Cladwell, takes on a much more severe tone, creating legitimate commentary by replacing many of the comedic, two-dimensional characters with living breathing, realities. In a text traditionally lacking authenticity, I approached Hope Cladwell with the intention of finding strength and satire in an otherwise vapid character.

This thesis looks to explore the rise of women in television comedy and the accompanying implications of this phenomenon. Using a historical framework, this thesis looks at the progression of representations of women in television comedies beginning in the 1950s up to today. Considering factors such as the rise of social media, as well as online television streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix as more legitimate avenues to distribute content, this thesis traces women’s place within television comedy, and argues that shows such as Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, and Broad City serve as examples of the progress that has been made in achieving gender equality on television, as well as stepping stones for how much more progress must be made in the future.

Denna uppsats hanterar hur kvinnliga karaktärer porträtteras i romantisk komedi genom att närmare studera begreppet ”Manic Pixie Dream Girl”. Detta begrepp leder till missförstånd om kvinnans roll i filmens värld och skapar diskussioner om jämställdhet och västerländsk berättarkultur. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka två kvinnor i två olika romantiska komedier uppfyller de kriterier som nämns av Manic Pixie Dream Girl-begreppets myntare, Nathan Rabin, har lagt fram och om det således är motiverat att argumentera att karaktärerna upprätthåller sexistiska synsätt. Den teoretiska grund som uppsatsen bygger på kommer främst från feministisk teori, men även från Laura Mulveys teori om skopofili och den manliga blicken. För att analysera det utvalda materialet används en skräddarsydd karaktärsanalytisk metod. Resultatet visar att, trots att de kvinnliga karaktärerna må uppfylla några eller flera av de kriterier som Rabin ställer fram så innebär inte det direkt att karaktärerna är endimensionella och, i förlängning, overkliga porträtt av kvinnor i allmänhet.
This essay deals with how female characters are portrayed in romantic comedies by studying the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"-phenomenon closer. This concept leads to misunderstandings about women's roles in the world of cinema and creates discussions about equality and Western storytelling. The purpose of this essay is to study two women in two different romantic comedies and study if they meet the criteria Nathan Rabin, the man who coined the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”, has announced to be qualities of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl and whether it is justified to argue that the female characters maintain sexist ideals. The theoretical basis on which the essay is based primarily comes from feminist theory, but also from Laura Mulvey’s theory of scopophilia and “the male gaze”. To analyze the selected material I have chosen to use a customized method of character analysis. The results show that, despite the fact that the female characters may meet some or more of the criteria Rabin have announced, the material does not directly imply that the characters are one-dimensional and, in extension, improbable and unreal portraits of women in general.

What is comedy? Can someone learn to be funny? Are there rules or guidelines for the production of laughter, the universal language? This paper, which outlines an investigation of successful comedians and the production of a short film, determines to aggregate as many of the relevant prerequisites of inducing giggles as possible, especially as they relate to the audiovisual medium of cinema.

There is a tendency amongst scholars to view comedic elements common to Roman Comedy, such as the tricky subordinate or the nagging wife, as part of a developing Western Comedic Tradition. The appearance of these characters in Medieval Japanese Kyōgen, a comedic art-form unconnected with Western Comedy, challenges this viewpoint and suggests that they are part of a wider comedic identity. This thesis compares and contrasts Roman Comedy and Kyōgen through their techniques of fear-alleviation, exploring the manner in which each culture addresses social anxieties. The first chapter explores the comedic master-slave/servant relationship through the medium of the tricky slave/servant. It examines how the motif of the tricky subordinate is used to alleviate contemporary fears of authority figures. Chapter 2 considers the other half of this relationship, focusing on authority’s fear of rebellion and how this is addressed through the loyal and/or stupid slave/servant. Chapter 3 explores the depiction of religious and supernatural figures in the two comedic forms and examines the methods by which these awe-inspiring beings are portrayed humorously and rendered harmless. The fourth chapter reflects on the treatment of illness in Roman Comedy and Kyōgen. It discusses how contemporary social anxieties regarding blind men (Medieval Japan) and the stigma of insanity and epilepsy (Rome) are alleviated through the humorous comedic depiction of blind and insane/epileptic characters. Chapter 5 explores the comedic presentation of professional figures. This chapter contrasts the boastful character of the comedic soldier of Roman Comedy with the braggart priest of Kyōgen. In Chapter 6, the focus is on the misogynistic treatment of wives in both comedic art-forms. This chapter explores contemporary fear of wives and how this fear is alleviated through their negative portrayal in comedy. This thesis finds that there is a strong correlation between Roman Comedy and Kyōgen, both in the types of social anxiety which they seek to alleviate and the methods by which they seek to accomplish this. It also finds that the motif of the tricky subordinate and the nagging wife are not just Western phenomena but that they are also present in the Eastern Comic Tradition. The comparison of Roman Comedy with Kyōgen, an unrelated comedic form, leads to an enhanced understanding of the role which these characters play in alleviating social anxiety. It also enables the consideration of stock characters in Roman comedy from a wider viewpoint, presenting an opportunity for scholars to re-evaluate characters such as the tricky subordinate and the nagging wife as products of a wider, universal comic tradition.

Aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, Plaute et Térence furent considérés comme les maîtres de la langue latine, et surtout comme ceux de la comédie. Ils furent cependant évalués et hiérarchisés en fonction d’une conception tout à fait spécifique, qui ne correspondait pas toujours à leurs propres comédies. Les deux auteurs possédaient en effet un statut préconstruit, incontesté, qui les maintenait pourtant dans une image imprécise. Afin d’éclaircir leur statut au XVIIe siècle, nous examinons leur place dans les programmes et la pratique théâtrale scolaires, au sein des différents cadres d’enseignement. Nous étudions également leur présence dans l’art de la traduction, car les versions françaises de Plaute et de Térence qui jalonnent les XVIe et XVIIe siècles contribuèrent non seulement à la naissance d’une théorie de la traduction, mais aussi à une réflexion sur l’art dramatique et la naissance de la « comédie française ». Nous questionnons enfin ce que ces deux dramaturges représentent, et ce qu’être jugé digne de leur succéder pouvait signifier. Enfin, nous tentons de savoir comment Molière a réussi, aux yeux de ses contemporains et successeurs, à synthétiser et à surpasser les qualités de Plaute et de Térence jusqu’à se substituer à eux dans leur rôle de référence. On espère, par cette analyse des multiples enjeux liés aux deux dramaturges latins, apporter une nouvelle contribution aux études sur le XVIIe siècle
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Plautus and Terence were regarded as the masters of the Latin language, and above all as the masters of comedy. They were, however, judged and rated according to a very specific concept, not always consistent with their own comedies. The two authors enjoyed a preconceived and undisputed status which, however, maintained them inside a vague image. In order to cast light on their status in the 17th century, this thesis examines their place in curriculums and theatre practice in schools, within different teaching contexts. Their presence in the art of translation is reviewed, as the French versions of Plautus and Terence that punctuate the 16th and 17th centuries contributed not only to the emergence of a theory of translation, but also to a reflection on dramatic art and to the birth of the “comédie française”. The thesis then looks at what those two playwrights represent and what it might have meant to be considered their worthy successor. Finally, an investigation of how Molière managed, in the eyes of his peers and successors, to combine and surpass the qualities of Plautus and Terence to even take their place as a standard is undertaken. With the thesis, it is intended to make a new contribution to the 17th century, through this analysis of the multiple issues related to the two Latin playwrights

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the comply-or-explain principle in Sweden to determine if the flexible approach is functioning as in-tended. Research design: This paper scrutinizes the quality of the explanations with respect to the Swedish Corporate Governance Code. A quantitative research with a cross-sectional design has been performed and the data collection covers 241 companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm for the fiscal year of 2014. The secondary data has been gathered from corporate governance reports of the researched companies and analysed by using a tax-onomy of explanations. Findings: The report demonstrates that the comply-or-explain principle in Sweden is effective. A clear majority of the explanations, 71,8%, were deemed as informative, mean-ing that a large proportion of the Swedish firms are utilizing the flexible approach in an effective manner. However, one out of four explanations were classified as insufficient and we have thus provided recommendations in order for the code to become even more effective. Contribution: Our findings provide insights on how the comply-or-explain principle works in a country that is supposed to be a leading example of how the comply-or-explain approach should be implemented. This study should be of significance for policy makers considering that we have outlined how the principle works and provided recommenda-tions on how the Swedish Corporate Governance Code can be improved. Value: Our findings demonstrate that companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm pro-vide high quality explanations that can serve as an inspiration for companies listed in other countries. Furthermore, the results indicate that managers are likely to act within ethically desired norm. Considering the social implications, as Swedish firms are informative in terms of explanations, it minimizes the risk of firms acting dishonestly.

The aim of this essay is to investigate how development projects, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, include communication in the project cycle and if it affects their results. The research will take place in Guatemala and will be based on a comparative study in which the program evaluations conducted by the Swedish Embassy, responsible for distributing the funding, will be used to choose two projects: one regarded as successful and the other unsuccessful. By interviewing and conducting surveys with staff members from the embassy, NGO personnel that worked with the project as well as community members affected by the projects, the aim is to get a full picture of the projects themselves as well as the different personal experiences of the projects to allow for a discussion concerning communication for development, participation and governmentally funded development work. The conclusion is that there does not seem to be a defined way in which Sida-funded projects include participatory communication in the project cycle even though it is mentioned and discussed in connection to a project. The comparison of the two local initiatives indicate that defining a method and tools which allows the Embassies to better control and structure in terms of participatory communication are likely to increase the sustainability of the projects.

El principal objetivo de esta tesis es el análisis del comportamiento del tipo de cambio real en el horizonte del medio y largo plazo. Con este objetivo se desarrollan tres trabajos de investigación que, presentados en diferentes capítulos, conforman el cuerpo principal de este estudio.
En particular, el capítulo uno analiza cómo la respuesta del enfoque clásico a la relación entre el crecimiento económico de un país y su tipo de cambio real de largo plazo puede ser enriquecido con la consideración de un modelo más general de equilibrio intertemporal. En este capítulo consideramos un modelo simple de crecimiento exógeno en el que se imponen las condiciones de equilibrio internas, externas e intertemporales de un modelo macroeconómico estándar. El principal resultado de esta consideración es que la relación defendida por la hipótesis de Balassa-Samuelson deja de cumplirse necesariamente. En nuestro enfoque particular, la relación bilateral de la que se ha hecho mención dependerá de un parámetro que mide la propensión al ahorro en la economía. Por tanto, la probabilidad de acabar con una relación positiva entre crecimiento y tipo de cambio -tal y como predice la teoría clásica- será mayor cuando la economía es capaz de mantener una propensión al ahorro mínima. Adicionalmente, dado que en nuestro modelo se considera una función de consumo keynesiana, algunas soluciones explosivas pueden ser posibles.
El capítulo dos da un paso adicional y, siguiendo el enfoque de equilibrio macroeconómico, presenta un modelo estructural micro-fundamentado para determinar el tipo de cambio real de largo plazo de una economía desarrollada. En concreto, el análisis sigue la estructura de un modelo Natrex. La principal contribución de este segundo capítulo es el desarrollo de un esquema teórico sólido que analiza en profundidad los fundamentos del tipo de cambio real y los detalles de la dinámica del equilibrio tras determinados shocks que modifican el estado estacionario. En nuestro caso, los factores intertemporales derivados de la relación entre flujos y stock van a ser especialmente determinantes. Los principales resultados del capítulo se resumen como sigue. En primer lugar, se desarrolla un modelo estructural completo para el tipo de cambio real de largo plazo partiendo de las decisiones individuales de los agentes. Además, de la dinámica particular del modelo se deduce que son necesarias algunas restricciones particulares para la convergencia. Finalmente, se obtienen algunas conclusiones interesantes sobre los efectos que sobre el tipo de cambio real tienen determinados shocks sobre las exógenas del modelo.
Por ultimo, el capítulo tres aplica el modelo teórico previo al caso del euro con una doble contribución. En primer lugar el modelo Natrex se consigue estimar en su verdadera forma estructural. Hasta el momento los modelos Natrex solamente habían sido estimados de forma reducida o semi-reducida. En segundo lugar, el modelo se aplica al tipo de cambio efectivo del euro -en el período que va desde 1970 hasta 2000- haciendo uso de observaciones trimestrales que se obtienen de la base de datos AWM del BCE. En este sentido se contribuye a la creciente literatura empírica que trata de determinar el valor fundamental del euro con una de las más completas bases de datos conocida hasta el momento para el periodo previo a la tercera etapa del euro. El diseño del modelo permite concluir acerca de los principales períodos de sobre e infravaloración de la moneda, siendo particularmente interesante la infravaloración real significativa que se obtiene al final del período analizado.
The main goal of this PhD memory is the analysis of the real exchange rate behaviour in a medium and long run horizon. With this objective we develop three different research papers on the topic that, presented in different chapters, conform the main body of the job.
In particular, chapter one analyses how the classical answer to the empirical relationship between the economic growth of a country and its long run real exchange rate can be enriched through the consideration of a more general, balanced growth, intertemporal equilibrium model. In this chapter, we consider a simple exogenous growth model where it is imposed the internal, external and intertemporal equilibrium conditions of a typical macroeconomic model; this last one through the inclusion of a balanced growth path for the foreign assets accumulation. The main result under this consideration is that the relationship defended by the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis is no more so straightforward. In our particular approach, the mentioned bilateral relationship depends on a parameter measuring thriftiness in the economy. Therefore, the probability of ending up with a positive relationship between growth and real exchange rates -as the classical economic theory predicts- will be higher when the economy is able to maintain a minimum saving ratio. Moreover, given that our model considers a simple Keynesian consumption function, some explosive paths can be possible.
Chapter two gives a step forward and, following a general equilibrium macroeconomic approach, sets a closed micro-founded structural model to determine the long run real exchange rate of a developed economy. In particular, the analysis follows the structure of a Natrex model. The main contribution of this second chapter is the development of a solid theoretical framework that analyse in depth the basis of the real exchange rate and the details of the equilibrium dynamics after any shock influencing the steady state. In our case, the intertemporal factors derived from the stock-flow relationship will be particularly determinant. The main results of the chapter can be summarised as follows. In first place, a complete well-integrated structural model for long-run real exchange rate determination is developed from first principles. Moreover, within the concrete dynamics of the model, it is found that some convergence restrictions will be necessary. On one hand, for the medium run convergence the sensitivity of the trade balance to changes in real exchange rate should be higher that the correspondent one to the investment decisions. On the other hand, and regarding long-run convergence, it is also necessary both that there exists a negative relationship between investment and capital stock accumulation and that the global saving of the economy depends positively on net foreign debt accumulation. In addition, there are also interesting conclusions about the effects that certain shocks over the exogenous variables of the model have on real exchange rates.
Finally chapter three uses the previous theoretical model to check its performance in the particular case of the euro. Its contribution is two-fold. First of all, the Natrex model is estimated in its true structural form. So far the Natrex models had only been estimated in reduced forms or semi-reduced forms. Secondly, the model is applied to the effective euro exchange rate -period going from 1970 to 2000- using quarterly observations from the database of the ECB's area wide model (AWM). We thus contribute to the growing literature on the euro's fundamental value by using one of the more comprehensive databases for pre-Stage III euro area data available so far. According to our structural model we can conclude about the main periods of over and undervaluation of the euro, being particularly interesting the significant undervaluation obtained at the end of the period under analysis.

We are in the information age where most data is stored in digital format. Thus, the management of digital documents and videos requires the development of efficient techniques for automatic analysis. Among them, capturing the similarity or dissimilarity between different document images or video frames are extremely important. In this thesis, we first analyze for several image resolutions the behavior of three different families of image-based similarity measures applied to invoice classification. In these three set of measures, the computation of the similarity between two images is based, respectively, on intensity differences, mutual information, and normalized compression distance. As the best results are obtained with mutual information-based measures, we proceed to investigate the application of three different Tsallis-based generalizations of mutual information for different entropic indexes. These three generalizations derive respectively from the Kullback-Leibler distance, the difference between entropy and conditional entropy, and the Jensen-Shannon divergence. In relation to digital video processing, we propose two different information-theoretic approaches based, respectively, on Tsallis mutual information and Jensen-Tsallis divergence to detect the abrupt shot boundaries of a video sequence and to select the most representative keyframe of each shot. Finally, Shannon entropy has been commonly used to quantify the image informativeness. The main drawback of this measure is that it does not take into account the spatial distribution of pixels. In this thesis, we analyze four information-theoretic measures that overcome this limitation. Three of them (entropy rate, excess entropy, and erasure entropy) consider the image as a stationary stochastic process, while the fourth (partitional information) is based on an information channel between image regions and histogram bins
Ens trobem a l’era de la informació on la majoria de les dades s’emmagatzemen en format digital. Per tant, la gestió de documents i vídeos digitals requereix el desenvolupament de tècniques eficients per a l’anàlisi automàtic. Entre elles, la captura de la similitud o dissimilitud entre diferents imatges de documents o fotogrames de vídeo és extremadament important. En aquesta tesi, analitzem, a diverses resolucions d’imatge, el comportament de tres famílies diferents de mesures basades en similitud d’imatges i aplicades a la classificació de factures. En aquests tres conjunt de mesures, el càlcul de la similitud entre dues imatges es basa, respectivament, en les diferències d’intensitat, en la informació mútua, i en la distància de compressió normalitzada. Degut a que els millors resultats s’obtenen amb les mesures basades en la informació mútua, es procedeix a investigar l’aplicació de tres generalitzacions de la informació mútua basades en Tsallis en diferents índexs entròpics. Aquestes tres generalitzacions es deriven respectivament de la distància de Kullback-Leibler, la diferència entre l’entropia i entropia condicional, i la divergència de Jensen-Shannon. En relació al processament de vídeo digital, proposem dos enfocaments diferents de teoria de la informació basats respectivament en la informació mútua de Tsallis i en la divergència de Jensen-Tsallis, per detectar els límits d’un pla cinematogràfic en una seqüència de vídeo i per seleccionar el fotograma clau més representatiu de cada pla. Finalment, l’entropia de Shannon s’ha utilitzat habitualment per quantificar la informativitat d’una imatge. El principal inconvenient d’aquesta mesura és que no té en compte la distribució espacial dels píxels. En aquesta tesi, s’analitzen quatre mesures de teoria de la informació que superen aquesta limitació. Tres d’elles (entropy rate, excess entropy i erasure entropy) consideren la imatge com un procés estocàstic estacionari, mentre que la quarta (partitional information) es basa en un canal d’informació entre les regions d’una imatge i els intervals de l’histograma

Existeix un ressorgiment en l'ús de mètodes estructurals per al problema de reconeixement i recuperació per contingut d'objectes en imatges. La teoria de grafs, en particular, la posada en correspondència de grafs (graph matching) juga un paper rellevant en aixó. En particular, la detecció d'un objecte (o una part) en una imatge es pot formular com un aparellament de subgrafs en termes de característiques estructurals. El matching de subgrafs és una tasca difícil. Especialment a causa de la presència de valors atípics, molts dels algoritmes existents per al matching de grafs tenen di- ficultats en l'escenari de matching de subgrafs. A més, l'aparellament de subgrafs de manera exacta s'ha demostrat ser una problema NP-complet. Així que hi ha una activitat intensa a la comunitat cientíca per proporcionar algoritmes eficaços per abordar el problema de manera suboptimal. La majoria d'ells treballen amb algoritmes aproximats que tracten d'obtenir una solució inexacta en forma aproximada. A més, el reconeixement habitualment ha de fer front a la distorsió. L'aparellament de subgrafs de manera inexacta consisteix a trobar el millor isomorfisme sota una mesura de similitud. Des del punt de vista teòric, aquesta tesi proposa algoritmes per a la solució al problema de l'aparellament de subgrafs de manera aproximada i inexacta. Des d'un punt de vista aplicat, aquesta tesi tracta el problema de la detecció de símbols en imatges de documents gràfics o dibuixos lineals (symbol spotting). Aquest és un problema ben conegut a la comunitat de reconeixement de gràfics. Es pot aplicar per a la indexació i classificació de documents sobre la base dels seus continguts. El caràcter estructural d'aquest tipus de documents motiva de forma natural la utilització d'una representació de grafs. Així el problema de detectar símbols en documents gràfics pot ser considerat com un problema d'aparellament de subgrafs. Els principals desaàments en aquest domini d'aplicació són el soroll i les distorsions que provenen de l'ús, la digitalització i la conversió de ràster a vectors d'aquests documents. A part que la visió per computador en l'actualitat no limita les aplicacions a un nombre limitat d'imatges. Així que el pas a l'escala i tractar un gran nombre d'imatges en el reconeixement de documents gràfics és un altre desaàment. En aquesta tesi, d'una banda, hem treballat en representacions de grafs eficients i robustes per solucionar el soroll i les distorsions dels documents. D'altra banda, hem treballat en diferents mètodes de matching de grafs per resoldre el problema de l'aparellament inexacte de subgrafs, que també sigui escalable davant d'un considerable nombre d'imatges. En primer lloc, es proposa un mètode per a detectar símbols mitjançant funcions de hash de subgrafs serialitzats. L'organització del graf una vegada factoritzat en subestructures comunes, que es poden organitzar en taules hash en funció de les similituds estructurals, i la serialització de les mateixes en estructures unidimensionals com ara camins, són dues aportacions d'aquesta part de la tesi. L'ús de les tècniques de hashing ajuda a reduir substancialment l'espai de cerca i accelera el procediment de la detecció. En segon lloc, presentem mecanismes de similitud contextual basades en la propagació basada en camins (walks) sobre el graf producte (tensor product graph). Aquestes similituds contextuals impliquen més informació d'ordre superior i més àble que les similituds locals. Utilitzem aquestes similituds d'ordre superior per formular l'aparellament de subgrafs com una problema de selecció de nodes i arestes al graf producte. En tercer lloc, proposem agrupament perceptual basat en convexitats per formar regions quasi convexes que elimina les limitacions de la representació tradicional dels grafs de regions per al reconeixement gràfic. En quart lloc, es proposa una representació de graf jeràrquic mitjançant la simplificació/correcció dels errors estructurals per crear un graf jeràrquic del graf de base. Aquests estructures de grafs jeràrquics s'integren en mètodes d'aparellament de grafs. A part d'aixó, en aquesta tesi hem proporcionat una comparació experimental general de tots els mètodes i alguns dels mètodes de l'estat de l'art. A més, també s'han proporcionat bases de dades d'experimentació.
Existe un resurgimiento en el uso de métodos estructurales para el problema de reconocimiento y recuperación por contenido de objetos en imágenes. La teoría de grafos, en particular la puesta en correspondencia de grafos (graph matching) juega un papel relevante en ello. Así, la detección de un objeto (o una parte) en una imagen se puede formular como un emparejamiento de subgrafos en términos de características estructurals. El matching de subgrafos es una tarea difícil. Especialmente debido a la presencia de valores atípicos, muchos de los algoritmos existentes para el matching de grafos tienen dificultades en el escenario de matching de subgrafos. Además, el apareamiento de subgrafos de manera exacta ha demostrado ser una problema NP-completo . Así que hay una actividad intensa en la comunidad científica para proporcionar algoritmos eficaces para abordar el problema de manera suboptimal. La mayoría de ellos trabajan con algoritmos aproximados que tratan de obtener una solución inexacta en forma aproximada. Además, el reconocimiento habitualmente debe hacer frente a la distorsión. El emparejamiento de subgrafos de manera inexacta consiste en encontrar el mejor isomorfismo bajo una medida de similitud. Desde el punto de vista teórico, esta tesis propone algoritmos para la solución al problema del emparejamiento de subgrafos de manera aproximada e inexacta. Desde un punto de vista aplicado, esta tesis trata el problema de la detección de símbolos en imágenes de documentos gráficos o dibujos lineales (symbol spotting). Este es un problema conocido en la comunidad de reconocimiento de gráficos. Se puede aplicar para la indexación y clasificación de documentos sobre la base de sus contenidos. El carácter estructural de este tipo de documentos motiva de forma natural la utilización de una representación de grafos. Así el problema de detectar símbolos en documentos gráficos puede ser considerado como un problema de apareamiento de subgrafos. Los principales desafiós en este dominio de aplicación son el ruido y las distorsiones que provienen del uso, la digitalización y la conversión de raster a vectores de estos documentos. Aparte de que la visión por computador en la actualidad no limita las aplicaciones a un número limitado de imágenes. Así que el paso a la escala y tratar un gran número de imágenes en el reconocimiento de documentos gráficos es otro desafió. En esta tesis, por una parte, hemos trabajado en representaciones de grafos efi- cientes y robustas para solucionar el ruido y las distorsiones de los documentos. Por otra parte, hemos trabajado en diferentes métodos de matching de grafos para resolver el problema del emparejamiento inexacto de subgrafos, que también sea escalable ante un considerable número de imágenes. En primer lugar, se propone un método para de tectar símbolos mediante funciones de hash de subgrafos serializados. La organización del grafo una vez factorizado en subestructuras comunes, que se pueden organizar en tablas hash en función de las similitudes estructurales, y la serialización de las mismas en estructuras unidimensionales como caminos, son dos aportaciones de esta parte de la tesis. El uso de las técnicas de hashing ayuda a reducir sustancialmente el espacio de búsqueda y acelera el procedimiento de la detección. En segundo lugar, presentamos mecanismos de similitud contextual basadas en la propagación basada en caminos (walks) sobre el grafo producto (tensor product graph). Estas similitudes contextuales implican más información de orden superior y más áble que las similitudes locales. Utilizamos estas similitudes de orden superior para formular el apareamiento de subgrafos como una problema de selección de nodos y aristas al grafo producto. En tercer lugar, proponemos agrupamiento perceptual basado en convexidades para formar regiones casi convexas que elimina las limitaciones de la representación tradicional de los grafos de regiones para el reconocimiento gráfico. En cuarto lugar, se propone una representación de grafo jerárquico mediante la simplificación/corrección de los errores estructurales para crear un grafo jerárquico del grafo de base. Estos estructuras de grafos jerárquicos integran en métodos de emparejamiento de grafos. Aparte de esto, en esta tesis hemos proporcionado una comparación experimental general de todos los métodos y algunos de los métodos del estado del arte. Además, también se han proporcionado bases de datos de experimentación.
There is a resurgence in the use of structural approaches in the usual object recognition and retrieval problem. Graph theory, in particular, graph matching plays a relevant role in that. Specifically, the detection of an object (or a part of that) in an image in terms of structural features can be formulated as a subgraph matching. Subgraph matching is a challenging task. Specially due to the presence of outliers most of the graph matching algorithms do not perform well in subgraph matching scenario. Also exact subgraph isomorphism has proven to be an NP-complete problem. So naturally, in graph matching community, there are lot of efiorts addressing the problem of subgraph matching within suboptimal bound. Most of them work with approximate algorithms that try to get an inexact solution in approximate way. In addition, usual recognition must cope with distortion. Inexact graph matching consists in finding the best isomorphism under a similarity measure. Theoretically this thesis proposes algorithms for solving subgraph matching in an approximate and inexact way. We consider the symbol spotting problem on graphical documents or line drawings from application point of view. This is a well known problem in the graphics recognition community. It can be further applied for indexing and classification of documents based on their contents. The structural nature of this kind of documents easily motivates one for giving a graph based representation. So the symbol spotting problem on graphical documents can be considered as a subgraph matching problem. The main challenges in this application domain is the noise and distortions that might come during the usage, digitalization and raster to vector conversion of those documents. Apart from that computer vision nowadays is not any more confined within a limited number of images. So dealing a huge number of images with graph based method is a further challenge. In this thesis, on one hand, we have worked on eficient and robust graph representation to cope with the noise and distortions coming from documents. On the other hand, we have worked on difierent graph based methods and framework to solve the subgraph matching problem in a better approximated way, which can also deal with considerable number of images. Firstly, we propose a symbol spotting method by hashing serialized subgraphs. Graph serialization allows to create factorized substructures such as graph paths, which can be organized in hash tables depending on the structural similarities of the serialized subgraphs. The involvement of hashing techniques helps to reduce the search space substantially and speeds up the spotting procedure. Secondly, we introduce contextual similarities based on the walk based propagation on tensor product graph. These contextual similarities involve higher order information and more reliable than pairwise similarities. We use these higher order similarities to formulate subgraph matching as a node and edge selection problem in the tensor product graph. Thirdly, we propose near convex grouping to form near convex region adjacency graph which eliminates the limitations of traditional region adjacency graph representation for graphic recognition. Fourthly, we propose a hierarchical graph representation by simplifying/correcting the structural errors to create a hierarchical graph of the base graph. Later these hierarchical graph structures are matched with some graph matching methods. Apart from that, in this thesis we have provided an overall experimental comparison of all the methods and some of the state-of-the-art methods. Furthermore, some dataset models have also been proposed.

En la recerca sobre el consum dels llocs personals a les xarxes socials, com Facebook, YouTube i Instagram, han predominat els projectes basats en la identitat en què les persones utilitzen l’espai online per crear i projectar les identitats que coldrien tenir per mitjà d’un procés de gestió de la imatge. En aquest recerca, es presenta una conceptualització alternativa de l’ús de les xarxes socials, incloent-hi la creació i el consum de continguts, que utilitza la teoria de la gestió dels estats d’ànim i l’exposició selectiva que es deriva de la psicologia dels mitjans. La teoria de la gestió dels estats d’ànim estipula que les persones intenten readaptar el seu entorn d’estímuls per incrementar la durada i la intensitat dels bons moments i reduir la intensitat i la durada dels mals moments. En conseqüència, aquesta recerca té una triple finalitat: 1) explicar amb detall el procés de gestió de l’estat d’ànim col•lectiu en els llocs personals de les xarxes socials, incloent-hi la creació selectiva i el consum selectiu de continguts; 2) il•lustrar sobre les conseqüències d’una cultura de gestió de l’estat d’ànim col•lectiu en les xarxes socials, i 3) identificar formes en què les marques es poden afermar en una cultura de gestió dels estats d’ànim a les xarxes socials i a través d’elles. A partir de 15 llargues entrevistes de més de dues hores de durada cadascuna i de les dades recollides durant vuit mesos d’informació online dels perfils de Facebook dels enquestats, trobem que les persones creen col•lectivament uns continguts en els seus llocs personals de les xarxes socials que són bàsicament positius i divertits, que fan que els continguts visibles a les xarxes socials siguin predominantment positius i divertits. Aquest fenomen s’explica estudiant detingudament els tipus de continguts que creen les persones, els tipus de continguts que no creen, els tipus de continguts que consumeixen online i els que no consumeixen. Les nostres conclusions demostren que l’ús de les xarxes socials implica una combinació de comportaments contraris i contradictoris. Les marques necessiten entendre la cultura que han creat els consumidors de les xarxes socials, no tan sols per determinar com penetrar i actuar en aquesta cultura, sinó també per trobar noves vies al creixement, més enllà de la comunicació bidireccional i de la construcció de relacions, en què les experiències també s’ofereixin a través de les xarxes socials.
En la investigación sobre el consumo de los sitios personales en las redes sociales, como Facebook, YouTube e Instagram, han predominado los proyectos de base identitaria en que las personas utilizan el espacio online para crear y proyectar aquellas identidades que desearían tener a través de un proceso de gestión de la imagen. En esta investigación, se presenta una conceptualización alternativa del uso de las redes sociales, incluyendo la creación y el consumo de contenidos, que utiliza la teoría de la gestión de los estados de ánimo y la exposición selectiva que se deriva de la psicología de los medios. La teoría de la gestión de los estados de ánimo estipula que las personas intentan readaptar su entorno de estímulos para incrementar la duración y la intensidad del buen humor y reducir la intensidad y la duración del mal humor. En consecuencia, esta investigación tiene una triple finalidad: 1) explicar en detalle el proceso de gestión del estado de ánimo colectivo en los sitios personales de las redes sociales, incluyendo la creación selectiva y el consumo selectivo de contenidos; 2) arrojar luz sobre las consecuencias de una cultura de gestión del estado de ánimo colectivo sobre las redes sociales, y 3) identificar formas en que las marcas pueden afianzarse en una cultura de gestión de los estados de ánimo en y a través de las redes sociales. Utilizando 15 largas entrevistas de más de dos horas de duración cada una y datos recogidos de ocho meses de información online de los perfiles de Facebook de los encuestados, hallamos que las personas crean colectivamente unos contenidos en sus sitios personales de las redes sociales que son básicamente positivos y divertidos, que hacen que los contenidos visibles en las redes sociales sean predominantemente positivos y divertidos. Este fenómeno se explica estudiando en detalle los tipos de contenidos que crean las personas, los tipos de contenidos que no crean, los tipos de contenidos que consumen online y los que no consumen. Nuestras conclusiones demuestran que el uso de las redes sociales implica una combinación de comportamientos contrarios y contradictorios. Las marcas necesitan entender la cultura creada por los consumidores de las redes sociales no solo para determinar cómo penetrar y actuar en dicha cultura, sino también para hallar nuevas vías al crecimiento más allá de la comunicación bidireccional y de la construcción de relaciones, en que las experiencias también se ofrezcan a través de las redes sociales.
Research on the consumption of personal social media sites, such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, has been dominated by identity-based projects in which individuals use the online space to create and project their desired identities through the process of image-management. In this research, an alternative conceptualization of social media usage, comprising content creation and consumption, is presented using mood management and selective exposure theory derived from media psychology. Mood management theory stipulates that individuals attempt to rearrange their stimulus environment so as to increase the duration and intensity of good moods and reduce the intensity and duration of bad ones. Subsequently, the aims of this research are threefold: (1) to elaborate on the process of collective mood management on personal social media sites, including selective content creation and selective content consumption; (2) to shed light on the consequences of a culture of collective mood management on social media networks; and (3) to identify ways in which brands can leverage themselves in a culture of mood management on and through social media. Using 15 long interviews spanning two hours each and data collected from eight months of online observation of the respondents’ Facebook profiles, I find that individuals collectively create content on their personal social media sites that is primarily positive and entertaining, leading to predominantly positive and entertaining content visible on social media networks. This phenomenon is explained by elaborating on the types of content that individuals create, the types of content they do not create, the types of content that persons consume online and those which they do not consume. The findings demonstrate that social media usage involves a combination of contrary and contradictory behaviours. Understanding the culture created by consumers of social media is not only necessary for brands to determine how to penetrate and engage in such a culture, but is also relevant for brands to find avenues for growth beyond two-way communication and relationship building, in which experiences are also delivered through social media networks.

Bakgrund

Under de senare åren har ett flertal länder drabbats av bolagsskandaler som bidragit till en snabb utveckling inom corporate governance. För att förhindra liknande skandaler har mer eller mindre frivilliga regler för bolagsstyrning införts, så kallade koder. Bolagsskandaler har även inträffat i Sverige och 1 juli år 2005 infördes svensk kod för bolagsstyrning. Koden skall bidra till förbättrad styrning av bolag, stärka konkurrenskraften och främja förtroendet på kapitalmarknaden.

Syfte

Uppsatsens syfte är att beskriva och analysera om roll- och ansvarsfördelningen har förändrats mellan bolagsorganen efter införandet av svensk kod för bolagsstyrning.

Genomförande

Denna studie bygger på kvalitativ metod och tio intervjuer har genomförts. Intervjuer har skett med representanter från ägare, styrelse, bolagsledning, revisor samt respondenter med god kunskap inom bolagsstyrning.

Resultat

Studien visar att svensk kod för bolagsstyrning inte har haft någon större effekt på roll- och ansvarsfördelningen. Detta beror dels på att ABL redan har en tydlig fördelning mellan bolagsorganen och att behovet av en roll- och ansvarsförändring inte är lika stort i Sverige som i andra länder. Koden har dock stärkt ägarnas inflytande i bolag och ökat fokus på styrelsen.

Background

During last years numerous countries have been hit by corporate scandals which have contributed to a rapid development within corporate governance. To prevent similar scandals, more or less volontary rules for corporate governance have been introduced, so called codes. Corporate scandals have also occurred in Sweden and July 1st 2005 a Swedish code for corporate governance was introduced. The code shall contribute to an improved control of corporations, strengthen competitiveness and promote trust in the capital market.

Purpose

This papers purpose is to describe and analyse if the role- and responsibility distribution have changed between corporate bodies after the introduction of a Swedish code for corporate governance.

Implementation

This study is based on qualitative method and ten interviews have been conducted. Interviews have taken place with representatives from owners, board of directors, corporate management, accountants and respondents with good knowledge within corporate governance.

Result

The study shows that Swedish code for corporate governance have not had any greater affect on the role- and responsibility distribution. Part of this is because ABL already has a clear distribution between the corporate bodies and the need for a role- and responsibility change is not as necessary as in other countries. However, the code have strengthened the owners influence in corporations and increased the focus on the board of directors.

Bakgrund: Under år 2001 bröt den så kallade Enron-skandalen som innebar bokföringsaktiviteter och insiderhandel. Den interna kontrollen samt övervakning av denna funktion blev efter skandalen mer uppmärksammad. Det anses viktigt att ha någon sort granskningsfunktion för att nå ett välfungerande arbete med den interna kontrollen, vilket är internrevisionsfunktion (Internal Audit Function, IAF). Syftet med IAF har under åren förändrats. Tidigare syftade funktionen till att granska redovisningsinformation, medan det idag mer handlar om granskning kring riskhanterings-, kontroll- och styrningsprocesser. Andra händelser som Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) och finanskrisen som skedde under år 2002 samt under åren 2007-2008, medförde en ökad förståelse kring vikten av verksamhetsstyrning, riskhantering och bolagsstyrning. Syfte: Studien syftar till att förklara vilka faktorer som påverkar ett bolags val om att följa koden gällande IAF, samt dess informationsinnehåll i förklaringen till sitt val. Metod: Uppsatsen grundar sig på en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med en deduktiv forskningsansats. Det är en dokumentstudie som har genomförts där det empiriska materialet inhämtats främst från årsrapporter, men även hemsidor som Holdings och Nasdaq. Urvalet utgår från large-cap listorna från åren 2016 till 2017. Slutsats: Utifrån studiens 34 hypoteser har det hittats totalt nio stycken signifikanta samband mellan de beroende och oberoende variablerna. Det har framkommit ett större antal samband till den beroende variabeln följer, jämfört med den andra beroende variabeln informationsinnehåll. Med variabeln följer har studien hittat sju stycken samband och två stycken samband med variabeln informationsinnehåll.
Context: In 2001, a scandal involving accounting and insider trading, called Enron scandal, occured. The internal control and monitoring of this function became more noticeable after the scandal. Now, it is considered important to have some sort of audit function in order to achieve a well-functioning internal control. This function is called Internal Audit Function, IAF. Over the years, the purpose of IAF has changed. Previously, the function of reviewing accounting information was targeted, while today it is more about reviewing risk management, control and control processes. Other occurrences such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the financial crisis that occurred in 2002, as well as in 2007-2008, led to an increased understanding of the importance of business management, risk management and corporate governance. Purpose: The aim of the study is to explaining what factors affect a company's choice to follow the code of IAF, as well as its information content in the explanation of its choice. Method: The essay is based on a quantitative cross-sectional study with a deductive research approach. It is a documentary study that has been conducted where the empirical material was obtained mainly from annual reports, but also websites such as Holdings and Nasdaq. The selection is based on the large-cap lists from 2016 to 2017. Conclusion: Based on the 34 hypotheses of the study, a total of nine significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables have been found. There has been a greater number of connections to the dependent variable following, compared to the second dependent variable information content. With the variable following, the study found seven links and two related to the variable information content.

Bakgrund: Corporate Governance även kallad bolagsstyrning, är något som dagligen berör företag och utgör därmed en central del inom företagsorganisationer. Den teori som blivit mest uppmärksammad inom bolagsstyrning är agentteorin, som förklarar intressekonflikter mellan agent-principalen i ett bolag. Tidigare studier har visat på skillnader i länders bolagsstyrning, främst mellan de anglosaxiska och europeiska länderna gällande ägarstrukturen. För att motverka intressekonflikter som agentteorin uppmärksammar har olika riktlinjer för god bolagsstyrning, i form av koder, tillkommit som kompletterar lagstiftningen.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur börsnoterade bolag på OMX30 Stockholmsbörsen förhåller sig till svensk kod för bolagsstyrning. Studien ämnar även att ta reda på om det finns något mönster mellan bolagens ägarstruktur och hur företagen väljer att följa Koden. Metod: För att kunna besvara studiens undersökningsfrågor avser studien att använda sig av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en deduktiv ansats. Undersökningen har genomförts genom att granska offentlig information i form av årsredovisningar, bolagsstyrningsrapporter samt företagshemsidor för studiens valda företag, som finns noterade på OMX30 Stockholmsbörsen mellan åren 2013-2017. Slutsatser: Den genomförda undersökningen visar på att samtliga bolag i studien väljer att följa svensk kod för bolagsstyrning utan avvikelser, där bolag med ett spritt ägande utgör en majoritet. Däremot visar undersökningen ingen signifikant trend på en minskad eller ökad avvikelse från Kodens riktlinjer från åren 2013–2017. Det finns ingen ägarstruktur som utgör en majoritet bland studiens undersökta bolag, utan fördelar sig någorlunda jämnt bland företagen. Studien visar även på att bolagen avviker mest från kodreglerna 2.4 och 9.2.
Background: Corporate Governance is something that concerns companies regularly and is forming a central part of corporate organizations. Agency-theory is the most attentive theory in Corporate Governance, which explains the differ goals and interests between the agents and principals in a company. Previous studies have shown differences between anglosaxisk and european countries, concerning the ownership structure.To prevent interest conflicts in companies several policies, presented as Codes have been presented in different countries.    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze how companies on the OMX30 Stockholm Stock Exchange, apply the main principles of the Swedish Corporate Governance Code. The study also aims to review if there is any pattern regarding the companies ownership structure and how the companies choose to follow the Code. Method: In order to examine and answer the questions of this study, the study intends to use a qualitative content approach with a deductive approach. The study has been conducted by reviewing public information from annual reports, corporate governance reports and websites for the selected companies during the years 2013-2017. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicates that most of the companies apply the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance without any deviations, where companies with a dispersed ownership is a majority. The study does not show any significant trend of a decreased or increased deviation from the code during the years 2013-2017. There is no ownership structure constituting a majority of the study’s investigated companies. The most common deviations in this study are 2.4 and 9.2 from the Swedish Code.

Mestrado em Marketing
Este trabalho tem como objetivo compreender a relação entre a atitude e a intenção dos indivíduos de se alimentarem de forma saudável dentro e fora de casa. Para tal, foi utilizada a teoria da ação racional, tendo sido estudadas as componentes da atitude e da norma subjetiva. Os conceitos de atitude e a teoria da ação racional, a relação da atitude com o comportamento, a atitude em relação à comida, o conceito de alimentação saudável e as suas particularidades são estudados. O estudo é exploratório e misto, sendo que a recolha de dados é feita através de entrevistas e, de seguida, questionário. Os resultados sugerem que a intenção de fazer uma alimentação saudável em casa é influenciada pelas atitudes do indivíduo, enquanto que as refeições fora do lar são influenciadas pelas atitudes e normas subjetivas. Os resultados ajudam as organizações a conhecerem de forma mais profunda os seus consumidores com base nas suas atitudes e crenças, o que potencia decisões mais assertivas nos níveis estratégico e operacional.
The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between attitude and the intention of individuals to eat healthily inside and outside home. Thus, the theory of reasoned action was used, in which the componentes of attitude and subject norm were studied. The concepts of attitude and the theory of reasoned action, the relationship between attitude and behavior, the attitude towards food, the concept of healthy eating and its particularities are studied. The study is exploratory and mixed, with the data being collected first by interviews and later, by questionnaire. The results suggest that intention of eating healthy at home is only influenced by attitudes, while when eating outside home, both attitudes and subjective norms are good predictors of intentions. The results help companies to understand better their customers and to make better and more assertives decisions at the strategic and operational levels.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Esta tesis muestra cómo una aproximación filológicamente rigurosa y consciente históricamente a la obra de Adam Smith y del grueso de la escuela histórica escocesa obliga a destacar la centralidad que los conceptos de propiedad entendida ésta como independencia material y de comunidad entendida como asociación de individuos civilmente libres y semejantes, adquieren en las proyecciones que tales autores hicieron del mundo industrial previamente al desarrollo del capitalismo. El tratamiento que dichas naciones recibeN en la obra de Smith permite entender la filiación republicana de la reflexión del escocés, así como el estatus de auténtica "economía política" que el republicanismo muestra en todo momento.

By examining five types of astronomical and celestial phenomena—comets, constellations, the zodiac, planets, and the music of the spheres—this thesis posits not only that early modern dramatists were influenced by established and emerging natural philosophy as habits of thought that manifested in their writing, but also that astronomical phenomena operate within the drama, performance, and in the theatre as elements for creating and developing a distinctly spatial dramaturgy. Using theories from the spatial turn, this thesis maps the positions, edges, disturbances, and motions of celestial properties within the imaginary and physical space of early modern drama and theatre. It argues that the case study plays examined within this thesis demonstrate a period-wide engagement, rather than an authorial-, company-, theatre-, or even genre-specific practice. Dramatists developed techniques using astronomical phenomena as dramatic methods that occasionally underscored early modern astronomical thought. However, in many cases constructed plots, characters, visual and sound effects, and movements transgressed astronomical expectations. Dramatists broke down constellations, inserted new stars in the heavens, created zodiacal females, launched pyrotechnical comets, moved planets unexpectedly across the stage, and played (and refrained from playing) celestial "music" for the audience. Recognising composite and often contradictory astronomical constructions within the drama, this thesis moves the critical discussion away from an intellectual history of natural philosophy and gravitates toward an active astronomical dramaturgy.

The Internet, and Web 2.0 tools can empower audiences to actively participate in media creation. This allows the production of large quantities of content, both amateur and professional. Online memes, which are extensions of usually citizen-created viral content, are a recent and popular example of this. This thesis examines the participation of ordinary individuals in political culture online through humor creation. It focuses on citizen-made political humor memes as an example of engaged citizen discourse. The memes comprise of photographs of political figures altered either by captions or image editing software, and can be compared to more traditional mediums such as political cartoons, and 'green screens' used in filmmaking. Popular culture is often used as a 'common language' to communicate meanings in these texts. This thesis thus examines the relationship between political and popular culture. It also discusses the value of 'affinity spaces', which actively encourage users to participate in creating and sharing the humorous political texts. Some examples of the political humor memes include: the subversion of Vladimir Putin's power by poking fun at his masculine characteristics through acts similar to fanfiction, celebrating Barack Obama’s love of Star Wars, comparing a candid photograph of John McCain to fictional nonhuman creatures such as zombies using photomanipulation, and the wide variety of immediate responses to Osama bin Laden's death. This thesis argues that much of the idiosyncratic nature of the political humor memes comes from a motivation that lies in non-serious play, though they can potentially offer legitimate political criticism through the myths 'poached' from popular culture.

El presente estudio se propone investigar el significado interpersonal del lenguaje y su papel en la cultura de los medios de comunicación actuales. Con este fin se examinará un corpus de textos audiovisuales formado por la comedia de situación alemana Türkisch für Anfänger y de sus traducciones a las lenguas románicas como el catalán y el francés. El análisis se basa en la transcripción multimodal de los primeros episodios de la sitcom, e incluye tanto la transcripción de los códigos verbales como de los paraverbales y no verbales (gestos, expresiones faciales, cinematografía, etc.). Para analizar el significado interpersonal en los diferentes niveles narrativos (extradiegético e intradiegético), el estudio parte de la teoría de la valoración, recientemente aplicada en los estudios de traducción.
The present study aims to explore the role of interpersonal layers of meaning in the current media culture of distance. With this aim in mind, we examine a corpus of audiovisual texts composed of the German sitcom Türkisch für Anfänger and its translations into Romance languages such as Catalan and French. The analysis is based on a multimodal transcript of the first episodes including not only the verbal context but also paraverbal, nonverbal (gestures, facial expressions, etc.) and shooting details. In order to explain the interpersonal layers on the extradiegetic and intradiegetic level of narration in film we draw on the theoretical framework of appraisal theory which in recent years has been applied to translation studies.

La tesis doctoral presenta un recorrido que va de lo particular a lo general en el que se parte de un interés -motivado por la vinculación personal con el objeto de estudio- en desentrañar las dificultades a las que se enfrentan las granjas familiares agropecuarias en Galicia para poder continuar dedicándose a la ganadería y a la agricultura, que desembocan en ocasiones en la desaparición de las propias explotaciones El punto de partida es intentar entender cuales son las características de estas explotaciones familiares, observar qué lugar ocupan dentro de la economía capitalista y qué contradicciones y ambigüedades pueden surgir desde ese lugar o desde las distintas esferas (de mercado, de la economía campesina o “tradicional”) en las que se enmarcan (Chayanov 1974) (Friedmann 1980) (Bernstein 1986) (Harrison 1979) (Iturra 1988) . A partir de este análisis, el interés se centra en observar ciertas contradicciones en torno a las relaciones económicas presentes en el contexto de las explotaciones gallegas, que dificultan el proceso productivo hasta el punto en ocasiones del desmantelamiento. Avanzando en esta idea surge la dimensión de la sostenibilidad, y se observa cómo la tensión que se produce entre los tres aspectos relevantes de la sostenibilidad - económica, social y medioambiental- es una cuestión que también dificulta el proceso productivo de estas granjas y su resiliencia. La perspectiva histórica surge como central para observar cómo este desarrollo en el que el proceso productivo se complica se gesta en un proceso de subordinación a las relaciones de producción capitalista. Para comprender este proceso ha sido fundamental el concepto de régimen alimentario (Friedmann 1989, 2016) (McMichael 1989, 2009, 2016), un análisis del sistema alimentario global en el que se pone de manifiesto tanto relaciones de poder como contradicciones clave generadoras de distintas crisis y transformaciones en la producción global y supranacional de alimentos. También tienen relevancia procesos a nivel nacional y regional que son analizados – desde el periodo de autarquía del régimen franquista hasta la actualidad- principalmente a través de dos hitos históricos como la Revolución Verde y la entrada en la Unión Europea. Ambos procesos son generadores de importantes cambios, conflictos y contradicciones en el marco de estas explotaciones familiares. Un concepto clave para entender todo el proceso que interesa observar es el concepto de precio justo. Tiene una importancia central porque es la principal reivindicación de estas ganaderas y ganaderos, y el elemento que estas personas entienden como capital e indispensable para poder subsistir y para poder continuar realizando su trabajo. Es decir, para lograr reproducir su familia y mantener una vida digna. El análisis llevado a cabo, ha permitido observar dos cuestiones relevantes: Por un lado la aparente dicotomía mercado/sociedad o valor de mercado/valor social, que si se observa en profundidad parece mostrar que estos elementos no son completamente estancos, existe entre ambos una considerable ambigüedad, un elemento y otro se solapan constantemente. Se pone de manifiesto que las prácticas y la realidad son mucho más complejas. Por otro lado destaca la constante sensación entre los miembros de estas explotaciones de “sentirse atrapados” (tanto en un sentido material como ideológico y moral) entre el mercado y el anhelo de conseguir alcanzar un nivel de vida que les permita cierto bienestar, pero sobre todo poder mantener su medio y modo de vida en el rural, en definitiva, poder continuar siendo ganaderas y ganaderos. El concepto de precio justo aparece aquí, como el elemento central que les permite expresar esta percepción. La complejidad y ambigüedad entre la dimensión del mercado y la esfera social que se ha revelado en el análisis, así como la posición del campesinado como permeable y no estanca, con prácticas carentes de una lógica completamente unitaria, se presentan como elementos esenciales para tener en cuenta en el análisis de las contradicciones presentes en las prácticas económicas. Esto es particularmente relevante en las situaciones –como la que se analiza-en la que estas contradicciones dificultan el proceso productivo dificultando la continuidad de un medio de vida.
This research aims to unravel the many difficulties and problems that family farms in Galicia are facing in order to maintain their livelihood, which hinges on a combination of livestock farming and agriculture. This livelihood is at risk of disappearing, threatening the future of these farms. I try to understand the characteristics of these family farms and to unveil their place within a capitalist economy. To do this, this work explores the contradictions and ambiguities that emerge vis-à-vis the various spheres of relations wherein these farms operate (market, peasant or traditional economies), while paying particular attention to several contradictions around the economic relations that structure these Galician exploitations, which hamper their productive process to a point that, in many occasions, they are forced to close down. I examine two main issues in relation to these phenomena. On the one hand, there appears to be a dichotomy between market and society or market value and social value which, if explored in detail, seems to suggest that both elements are dynamic and encompass certain ambiguities and even some overlaps. This reveals that the actual practices of these farmers are more complex that it might seem at first sight. On the other hand, there is also a rather common feeling among members of these farms of “being trapped” (in a material, ideological and moral sense) between the market and the desire of a good life: a level of life that provides wellness and allows them to maintain their environment and lifestyle. In other words, a life that allows them to continue being farmers. There are two concepts that are central to my analysis of these different issues. The first one is the idea of sustainability and particularly the tensions between three relevant dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. These tensions render more complex and complicated the productive process of these farms and their resilience. The other key concept is the just price, which is the main demand of these farmers and the element that they consider centerpiece to subsist and maintain their livelihood; in other words, the key to the reproduction of their families and households and to having a decent life.

Jim Wayne Miller’s poetry examines how human history and topography join to create place. His work often incorporates images of land and ecology; it deliberately questions the delineation between place and self. This thesis explores how Miller presents images of water to describe the relationship between inhabitants and their location, both with the positive image of the spring and the negative image of the flood. Additionally, this thesis examines how the Brier, Miller’s most prominent persona character, grieves his separation from home and ultimately finds healing and reunification of the self through his return to the hills. In his poetry, Miller argues that an essential piece of people’s identity is linked with the land, and, through recognition of the importance of topography on the development of the self, individuals can foster a deeper sense of community through appreciation of their place.

Viewpoint selection has been an emerging area in computer graphics for some years, and it is now getting maturity with applications in fields such as scene navigation, volume visualization, object recognition, mesh simplification, and camera placement. But why is viewpoint selection important? For instance, automated viewpoint selection could play an important role when selecting a representative model by exploring a large 3D model database in as little time as possible. Such an application could show the model view that allows for ready recognition or understanding of the underlying 3D model. An ideal view should strive to capture the maximum information of the 3D model, such as its main characteristics, parts, functionalities, etc. The quality of this view could affect the number of models that the artist can explore in a certain period of time. In this thesis, we present an information-theoretic framework for viewpoint selection and object recognition. From a visibility channel between a set of viewpoints and the polygons of a 3D model we obtain several viewpoint quality measures from the respective decompositions of mutual information. We also review and compare in a common framework the most relevant viewpoint quality measures for polygonal models presented in the literature. From the information associated to the polygons of a model, we obtain several shading approaches to improve the object recognition and the shape perception. We also use this polygonal information to select the best views of a 3D model and to explore it. We use these polygonal information measures to enhance the visualization of a 3D terrain model generated from textured geometry coming from real data. Finally, we analyze the application of the viewpoint quality measures presented in this thesis to compute the shape similarity between 3D polygonal models. The information of the set of viewpoints is seen as a shape descriptor of the model. Then, given two models, their similarity is obtained by performing a registration process between the corresponding set of viewpoints
La selecció de punts de vista ha estat una àrea emergent en la computació gràfica des de fa alguns anys i ara està aconseguint la maduresa amb aplicacions en camps com la navegació d’una escena, la visualització de volums, el reconeixement d’objectes, la simplificació d’una malla i la col·locació de la càmera. Però per què és important la selecció del punt de vista? Per exemple, la automatització de la selecció de punts de vista podria tenir un paper important a l’hora de seleccionar un model representatiu mitjançant l’exploració d’una gran base de dades de models 3D en el menor temps possible. Aquesta aplicació podria mostrar la vista del model que permet el millor reconeixement o comprensió del model 3D. Un punt de vista ideal ha de captar la màxima informació del model 3D, com per exemple les seves principals característiques, parts, funcionalitats, etc. La qualitat d’aquest punt de vista pot afectar el nombre de models que l’artista pot explorar en un determinat període de temps. En aquesta tesi, es presenta un marc de teoria de la informació per a la selecció de punts de vista i el reconeixement d’objectes. Obtenim diverses mesures de qualitat de punt de vista a través de la descomposició de la informació mútua d’un canal de visibilitat entre un conjunt de punts de vista i els polígons d’un model 3D. També revisem i comparem en un marc comú les mesures més rellevants que s’han presentat a la literatura sobre la qualitat d’un punt de vista d’un model poligonal. A partir de la informació associada als polígons d’un model, obtenim diversos tipus de renderitzat per millorar el reconeixement d’objectes i la percepció de la forma. Utilitzem aquesta informació poligonal per seleccionar les millors vistes d’un model 3D i per la seva exploració. També usem aquestes mesures d’informació poligonal per millorar la visualització d’un model de terreny 3D amb textures generat a partir de dades reals. Finalment, s’analitza l’aplicació de les mesures de qualitat de punt de vista presentades en aquesta tesi per calcular la similitud entre dos models poligonals. La informació del conjunt de punts de vista és vista com un descriptor del model. Llavors, donats dos models poligonals, la seva similitud s’obté mitjançant la realització d’un procés de registre entre els conjunts de punts de vista corresponents

L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di esaminare criticamente le prospettive teoriche più note sul problema delle relazioni tra sviluppo concettuale del bambino ed acquisizione della prima lingua. Per quanto il lavoro si concentri in particolare sullo sviluppo della componente lessicale, ovvero sul legame tra concetti e apprendimento delle parole con cui gli stessi vengono codificati, verranno necessariamente trattati anche alcuni aspetti relativi alla competenza morfologica e sintattica. Dopo aver presentato sinteticamente le principali teorie proposte nell'ambito della linguistica acquisizionale e della psicologia dello sviluppo, procederemo ad una problematizzazione e discussione dei punti critici delle stesse alla luce dei risultati ottenuti in sede sperimentale negli ultimi anni. Partendo dalla consapevolezza che nell'ambito della linguistica, forse ancor più che in altre discipline, il contrasto tra impostazioni teoriche diverse si traduce spesso in discrepanze significative nell'interpretazione degli stessi dati empirici, abbiamo cercato di dare lo stesso spazio ai vari orientamenti teorici. L'obiettivo di questa tesi, infatti, non è quello di dare giudizi di merito sulla validità di una teoria in quanto tale rispetto ad un'altra, quanto di discutere in modo trasversale i nodi più problematici delle varie teorie e le implicazioni delle stesse. Questo intento è particolarmente evidente nelle conclusioni della tesi, strutturate intorno ad una serie di domande di ricerca.
This work provides a critical overview of the major theoretical perspectives on the relationships between conceptual development and first language acquisition. While our focus is on lexical development (ie. on the relation between learning a word and acquiring the relevant concept), we will also touch on some aspects which pertains more specifically to morphological and syntactical development. After briefly introducing the major theories developed in the field of first language acquisition and developmental psychology, we will discuss them in the light of experimental data collected in recent years. As the same empirical findings tend to be interpreted in completely different ways, in our work we tried to give voice to authors supporting different views. Our goal is not to assess the merits of these theores as such, but to take this comparison as an opportunity to discuss the implications and issues thereof. This will be particularly clear in the Conclusions of our work, which are structured as a series of research questions.

The design of cultural centre is situated in part Kozia Hôrka( well-known city swimming pool), in its advantage takes natural scenery and calm atmosphere of place. Into action of performance brings a message in form of body of reservoir, function of centre is divided into small parts placed in area Kozia Hôrka. Orientation of objects comes mainly from local natural ispirations. Complex is multifunctional in concept, counts with several sorts of culture - sports events. Whereby the main function of swimming pool is preserved and added for higher comfort of inhabitants. Architecture of objects comes from idea of floating leaf on water level and body of reservoir. Objects stylizely illustrate this idea. The design takes the game of solids of organic and strictly ortogonal shapes. Two mutual opposites, in interaction. Objects smoothy and with respect encroach the environment, which is enough marked by human. Simplicity in used materials ( glass, steel, wood ) give transparency and purity to whole solution.

碩士
東吳大學
中國文學系
94
The Chinese traditional culture continuously lacks which should have to respect the dramatic art; therefore, it causes low status to the play. In the beginning of 20th century, many scholars realize the play has the social function and the contribution at first ten years. Thus, Chen Duxiu pointed out, “The theatre is a great school for all the people of China, and the players, great teachers for them” The drama studies develop progressively and have more and more to go deep into studies regarding the comedy discussion. Next, the author makes the discussion to the comedy in view of the researchers to divide into following 5 items to explain it. 1. Regarding comedy of “historical origin" accounted for the attention: The majority of scholars take the Chinese tradition comedy start to "pre-qin actor" as its argument. The performance way was used funny teases and continued to the Tang Dynasty of enlistment play. Latter, it evolved into the Zaju of Song dynasty with two plays - fujing and fumo. It established the Chinese tradition comedy to be funny, humorous, charming and interesting of traditional performance. Moreover, some scholars also notice the comedy dance function like "Ta Yao Niang” (to tread ballad mother), "Dong Hai Huang Gong” (the East China Sea of Master Huang) and “Jiao Di Xi” ( the angle gore play) and so on. 2. The material about the Chinese classical comedy: The Chinese traditional comedy is not greatly displays the fierce social conflict, but mostly it likes to picks some side or partial in the life. Also, it may respond the overall situation of significance the thing. The Chinese classical comedy likes to pay attention to matter which the people is familiar with. 3. The character image of comedy: Mostly it surrounds to "the positive character image" in comedy theory, and the recognition entrusts with the frontage vivid comedy disposition is quite prominent artistic phenomenon in the Zaju of Yuan dynasty. According to the author’s observation, the researchers take the character image as the focal point and the selection of dramatic work is not necessarily in comedy. As a result, it has the possibility to mislead reader "to use comedy vivid character to judge sad and joyful of drama type" the result. 4. The comedy structure: The most scholars thought the characteristic of Chinese traditional comedy structure is "the mixed joy and sorrow" this kind of sad and joyful staggered structure pattern is not only causes to present tragedy of the Chinese comedy with intense color but it is also enable "the play doesn’t worry uneven performance, the audience has sense to watch the different parts." Thus, the comedy enables the audience to achieve "Suan Bi” (nose sore) and "Xie I" (made audience laugh) of the esthetic effect from time to time. But the traditional drama performs this kind irregular of sad and joyful mood. The scholars regard as the characteristic of comedy, the comedy artistic style; moreover, it has never realized that idea holds mistake in the logic. The author thought the mixed of joy and sorrow is "characteristic of the Chinese traditional drama" but non- "comedy characteristic". In the tragedy, the Chinese playwrights also use so mutually shine of sad and joyful and reserve as a foil to interaction technique. But if we’d like to analysis comedy of sad and joyful fluctuation structure, it must be thorough explanation. It has brought with non-language. 5. The comical action of comedy: The researcher thought "the comical action” is also a characteristic comedy of Yuan dynasty. The way of saying is similarity between logical thinking and the comedy structure. The comical action is many drama researchers of places. Author thought the comical action discussion has many slight in the Zaju of Yuan dynasty See the five directions given above; the author collects comedy research of predecessors and makes the induction. Above-mentioned idea has given the author a lot of inspirations for writing the paper. However, it still discovered much unified the idea and the substantive text of research article. At present, there were still not to see; therefore, it’s strengthened author to write the thesis paper of determination.

This dissertation explores the relevance of recent studies of Aristotle’s comic theory to the central dramatists of early modern England, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. Applications of the Poetics to Renaissance English drama tend to treat Aristotle’s theory historically, as a set of concepts mediated to England by continental redactions. But these often conflated the Poetics’ focus on literary form with the Renaissance’s predominant interest in literature’s rhetorical effect, reducing Aristotle’s genuinely speculative theory to a series of often pedantic literary prescriptions. Recent scholarship has both undone these misinterpretations and developed the comic theory latent in the Poetics. Ironically, these studies make Jonson’s and Shakespeare’s comedy look much more Aristotelian than do Renaissance ones. So rather than taking the Poetics simply as a possible source for each dramatist, I read it primarily as a literary theory that, when reinvigorated by modern scholarship, can explain structures and effects arrived at practically by these dramatists. Three recent hypotheses are especially pertinent to Jonson and Shakespeare: that comic hoaxes aim to expose comic error, which is for Aristotle a deviation from the mean of virtue; that “righteous indignation” is the comic emotion equivalent to the “pity and fear” of tragedy; and that catharsis is a clarification, rather than purgation, of reason and emotion. In light of these, I offer detailed readings of four plays that demonstrate these authors’ comic range: from Jonson’s satirical Every Man Out of His Humour to the almost farcical Epicoene, and from Shakespeare’s romantic Much Ado About Nothing to the tragicomic Measure for Measure. These plays demonstrate a variety of ways in which catharsis, the end of drama, results directly from the comic hoax and involves both the audience’s and characters’ experience of indignation and their comprehension of its relationship to the emotions of envy and pity. In each case, Aristotle’s incisive but flexible theoretical framework enables an explanation of the emotional pain present in the these “comedies of affliction” and reveals remarkable similarities between dramatists usually described as direct opposites.

Generally speaking, scholarship in the field of Germanistik has taken an interest in Friedrich Schlegel’s early publication, “Vom aesthetischen Werte der griechischen Komoedie” (1794), either because of its perceived influence on German Romantic Comedy [(Catholy 1982), (Kluge 1980), (Holl 1923), (Japp 1999)], or else because of its relevance as an example of Schlegel's still inchoate aesthetic philosophy [(Dierkes 1980), (Behrens 1984), (Schanze 1966), (Michel 1982), (Dannenberg 1993), (Mennemeier 1971)]. As a theory of comedy in its own right, Schlegel’s essay has garnered little attention, in part because of its supposed inapplicability to comedic praxis and at times utopian implications, in part because of its seemingly contradictory argument, and lastly in part because Schlegel himself abandoned the essay’s central premise soon after its publication. However, it is the central argument of the present study that Schlegel’s essay can be shown to be interesting and relevant precisely for the theory of comedy it contains. Through a close reading of Schlegel’s essay on Old Greek Comedy, as well as an examination of Schlegel’s early political and aesthetic beliefs, which will help render Schlegel’s theory more intelligible, it will be shown that Schlegel’s theory of comedy is novel in so far as it is one of the first aesthetic theories to claim that comedic practice is necessarily deprived of aesthetic validity unless it exists in a social atmosphere of freedom of expression, namely, such as that of the Athenians. The implication is that Schlegel here predicates an aesthetic theory upon one of society. Schlegel’s theory is also interesting for the peculiar type of comedy it advocates, namely a joyous comedy (Comedy of ‘Freude’), which stands in direct opposition to the ‘Satirische Verlachskomoedie’ of the Enlightenment and makes use of a comedic mechanism (joy) that is anathema to traditional negative comedic elements (satire, derision, mockery etc.). The conclusion discusses what the relevance and value of these implications might be for future research.

碩士
中國文化大學
戲劇研究所
97
Lying is a human fault of mortals which is made easily. However, if the leader of a country always lies or deceives the public, isn’t it somehow a disaster to them? There is a saying,” Example is better than precept.” As we, are adults, should consider that whether our behavior is able to be an exact model of children or not. According to this idea, “The king’s face disappears” a play of children comes out. There are two parts in the thesis. The first part illustrates the creation of the play with six chapters. The main interpretation of the contents which is by means of the children’s psychological and ethical cognition development discusses the characteristics of the drama of children. And it analyses the development of children’s drama in Taiwan and points out the specialty of this thesis. Furthermore, it debates the origins, types, traits of the old Greek comedies with Aristotle’s theory, “ Poetics”. With the basis of the theory and the sample of the script of Aristophanes, the intention and methods of the creation get further exposition. Otherwise, it makes the author’s ideas to the creation more sure and clearly. The second part is the presentation of the play. It obtains materials from the Chinese classical fairy tales. The scientist, Honest Wolf, from Formosa Empire is the center role. The vivid moral character and events bring out the deceit topics. Then the finding-face journey of the king who lost his face expresses the confession of faults, retrieves his own main thought, and reaches the effect of allegory and the function of learning through playing.

Satire is often construed as little more than an entertaining form of mockery, of which political and religious satire are only topical instances. However, trends in contemporary satire suggest that it can operate as a sui generis mode of rational discourse. I argue that recent satire often trades in undermining the exchange of coercive ideas, that in doing so it exhibits specific social/political commitments, and that it suggests ways of diminishing the harmfulness of abusive speech through practices of reading or hearing such discourse which do not permit violent ends. This argument proceeds along the following steps: First, satire’s rational function is to undermine the strength of reasons through repeating and embellishing their irrational use. Employing arguments of JL Austin and Robert Brandom, I describe satire as a way of interrupting the giving and asking for reasons by supposing expressed beliefs to have unrealistic intentions, and thus employing them toward unlikely ends. Second, political and religious satire exhibits at least two identifiable commitments which are central to classical social contract theory: that political power should be subject to the collective consent of the governed, and that those in power should not cause harm to the governed. Third, especially within liberal democratic contexts, satire can function to undermine the abuse of power by employing such coercive speech towards socially just ends. Undermining harmful speech implies an ontological consequence that one is denied the social role of perpetrator. This consequence is suggestive for the view that human identity is significantly rooted in public discursive performances; that is, satire exhibits strategies both for diminishing the effectiveness of harmful speech and creating for the perpetrator a new public role. The approach to theorizing from recent satirical trends has consequences which evoke explicitly theological themes of justice and reconciliation.