Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Contemporary cultural contexts'

The transposition of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (originally published in Russian in 1904) to contemporary South Africa in Suzman's The Free State (2000) is based on the corresponding social changes within the two contexts. These social changes cause a binary opposition of past and present in the two texts. Within this context memory functions as a space in which the characters recall the past to the present and engenders a dialogue between past and present. Memory is illustrated in the two plays by associations with place as an important aspect of identity formation. Memory and place are fused in the plays by means of Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope which is best observed in the plays in memories of specific places such as the respective orchards, houses and rooms such as the nursery and the ballroom in. The Cherry Orchard and the garden in The Free State. Furthermore, the influence of the past is also evident in the present when ideas of social status, class, race (in the case of The Free State) and behaviour are contrasted and when various characters express their perceptions of personal relationships and ideas about marriage. The influence of the past is also evident when the characters voice their different perceptions and expectations of the past and future. In The Cherry Orchard these cultural differences are evident in the concept of heteroglossia. However, in The Free State, these dialogues are directed by a specific politically liberal view which diminishes the heteroglossia in the text. The juxtaposing of past and present is also illustrated in The Cherry Orchard by various subversive strategies such as comedy of the absurd in order to portray the behaviour of the characters as incongruous. Another subversive strategy is the contrasting of characters and ideas in order to expose pretensions and affectations in speech and actions to parody both the old establishment and the ambitions of former peasants. These conventions are best illustrated by the concept of the carnivalesque that also features as one of Bakhtin's terms to capture incongruous ideas and situations in literature. In The Free State, comedy is unfortunately much diminished and in contrast to Chekhov's ambiguity, only directed against politically conservative characters. The prevalence of these three Bakhtinian concepts in the texts shows how identity formation is to a large extent influenced and defined by occupied space. When social change affects the distribution of land, a character's concept of identity is destabilised. Although Suzman uses this similarity in the two contexts in order to transpose Chekhov's text to contemporary South Africa, she organises the various stances in the text to advocate a specific politically liberal view. Thus, Suzman's transposition leads to an interesting comparison between the Russian and South African contexts as well as between the two texts. However, her text is limited by her political interpretation of Chekhov's text.
Thesis (M.A. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study is a qualitative analysis of direct cultural encounters between China and the West. It examines the subjective experiences of Chinese students in Britain and Western expatriate teachers in China from their own viewpoints – how they understood and interpreted different cultures and made sense of similarities and differences between one another, that is, how they experienced cultural translation. It employs focus group and individual interviewing methods. This study adopts an analytical framework of a before-during-after logic to answer three questions: 1) why did participants come to the host country and what did they think of it before arrival? 2) how did they relate to the host environment and make sense of differences? and 3) how these direct cross-cultural experiences influenced them as well as the wider context of cultural relations between China and the West? It presents the historical background of cultural and educational exchange between China and the West and identifies motives of participants coming to the host country under the current context of global cultural flows. Furthermore, it highlights factors that differentiated the subjective experiences of participants, such as gender, duration of time spent in the host country, relationships with local people and the subjects of study. The effects of participants’ experiences in the host country also varied according to these factors. What underpins the relationship between China and the West in terms of cultural and educational contacts, presented by Chinese students in Britain and Western expatriate teachers in China, is fundamentally an interplay between economic and cultural factors. Differences between China and the West are as much cultural as institutional. This study provides a detailed account of such differences. It discusses what aspects of Western cultural values have a strong influence on China and which traditional Chinese values still hold their importance during direct cultural encounters with the West. It reveals the internal struggle, caused by cultural differences and institutional limitations, amongst both Chinese students in Britain and Western expatriate teachers in China, but it also highlights the ways in which some differences have been exaggerated during direct cross-cultural encounters as well as the profound social and cultural similarities shared by China and the West, which tend to be overlooked.

This submission comes in two parts; the written dissertation, Contemporary art: the key issues, and the exhibition Melbourne - Moderne. When taken together they present a discourse on the conditions facing contemporary art practice and one artist’s response to these conditions in the context of Melbourne 2003-2007. (For complete abstract open document)

The zheng is a Chinese long zither that was developed from a five-string folk instrument over two thousand years ago to become a concert instrument with approximately twenty million practitioners around the world today. The opposing forces of metamorphosis and continuation have dominated the evolution of the instrument with the most rapid and drastic changes to its conception and practice witnessed in the twentieth century. This dissertation is a musical and cultural study of the zheng’s living tradition from traditional practice to contemporary evolution, with an emphasis on the transformation of its musical and cultural identity. The studied areas include composition, dissemination, performance technique, and aesthetics. These discussions reveal an underlying ancient Chinese aesthetic principle drawn from both Confucian and Taoist philosophies that applies to all developmental periods of the zheng––the relationship between sheng (generated sound) and yin (cultivated sound). In addition to being a researcher, the author combines her four-decade long experience of performing and studying the instrument with the voices of four generations of zheng performers and those of Chinese and non-Chinese zheng composers and scholars to reveal the core musical and aesthetic elements of traditional zheng practice. Crucially this includes analyzing contemporary changes in Mainland China and North America since the twentieth century in the context of political influences, Westernization, and globalization. The author argues that the fundamental values of traditional zheng practice are still pertinent to the contemporary development of the instrument.

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Visto que as transformações culturais decorrem de mudanças na base material e vice versa, esta é resultado das complexas relações sociais, aparecendo como um momento importante e necessário de articulação e de afirmação da sociedade. Assim, a noção de neutralidade cultural não pode mais ser sustentada, é preciso levar em consideração o uso que lhe é dado. Ao manipular as necessidades através de interesses adquiridos, a sociedade industrial impede o surgimento de uma oposição eficaz ao todo, pois se configura em um sistema de dominação, um universo político com um projeto histórico específico. Desta forma, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é compreender o jovem da periferia urbana, que vive a cidade de forma restrita e desigual, ressaltando os rebatimentos da crise atual do capital e da indústria cultural na organização política dos mesmos, que tem seu cotidiano cada vez mais escasso e suas possibilidades restritas, assim como seu potencial questionador.
Since the cultural transformations emerge from changes in the material basis and vice versa, this paper is the result of complex social relations, appearing as an important and necessary moment of articulation and affirmation of society. Thus, the cultural notion of neutrality can no longer be sustained, it's necessary to take the use that's given to it into account. By manipulating the needs through acquired interests, the industrial society prevents the emergence of an effective opposition to all, because the industrial society is configured as a domination system, a political universe with a specific historical project. So, the main goal of this work is to comprehend the urban periphery juvenile, who lives the city in a restricted and unequal way, highlighting the repercussions about the current crisis of capital and the cultural industry in the political organization of those youths whose daily time's been scarcer and their possibilities have been restricted, as well as their questioning potential.

Le présent travail trouve son origine dans le grand débat national sur la mémoire collective, et plus particulièrement dans celle concernant les relations judéo-polonaises en Pologne à la veille, pendant et après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. A partir de romans ainsi que de la presse quotidienne, le chercheur analyse le changement dans le domaine de la littérature de la Shoah et de sa réception au commencement du XXIème siècle. La réflexion tripartite se caractérise par son aspect interdisciplinaire dont les différentes approches se retrouvent à l’intersection de la notion de discours. Tour d’abord, la première partie décrit le contexte culturel dans lequel le corpus défini apparaît. L’épuisement des anciens mythes nationaux ainsi que l’apparition de la nouvelle narration sur le passé sont au centre de l’étude. Dans le prolongement, la deuxième partie analyse la nouvelle mise en scène de la Shoah dans la littérature de point de vue générique. Elle est ensuite complétée par un bilan de sa réception dans la presse nationale. Enfin, la troisième partie se concentre sur la perspective discursive proprement dit. Les énonciations du corpus littéraire sont divisées en fonction de positionnement de personnages face à la tragédie de la Shoah (les victimes et les témoins) et regroupées dans les principales unités énonciatives qui mettent en lumière les stratégies discursives appliquées
This thesis is grounded in the national debate on collective memory, focusing particularly on the Polish-Jewish relationships before, during and immediately after the World War II. The researcher utilises popular novels and press accounts to analyse the changes within writing on the Holocaust as well as public’s reception of these texts in the beginning of the 21st Century. The reflection on the topic is presented in three stages which are underpinned by interdisciplinary approach and mixed-methods analysis to arrive at the common ground of the definition of discourse. Therefore, the aim of the first section is to present and describe the cultural context in which the body of literature to be analysed is embedded. The main areas of interest of this discussion are the depletion of national myths and the emergence of new narration about the past. Leading on from this reflection, the second section examines la mise en scène of Holocaust in the literature, evaluating it from the perspective of genre. This analysis is supported with in-depth research into public reception of the discussed body of literature in national press. Finally, the third section focuses on the perspective of the discourse. Particular expressions used in the analysed novels are classified according to their stance on the subject of Holocaust, i.e. whether they were voiced by witnesses or victims. These are then categorised into the amalgamated enunciative units which consequently disclose the strategic application of discourse

Ce travail de recherche, conduit entre 2011 et 2019, s’intéresse à la place de la culture dans les modes de gouvernement à Douala, à partir de l’étude de la question patrimoniale. A l’échelle de la ville, divers acteurs - institutionnels ou non - réinvestissent la notion de patrimoine. Leurs conceptions, leurs actions, leurs revendications patrimoniales participent à la production de la ville, et se réfèrent à des relectures dites « traditionnelles » ainsi qu’à des stratégies de rénovation urbaine. La « mise en patrimoine » et la « mise en art » des espaces publics libèrent la parole, dans une ville où toute forme de représentations matérielles ou symboliques de la mémoire a longtemps été interdite par l’État. Ces initiatives impliquent une négociation pour l’occupation de l’espace pouvant se référer à une histoire urbaine occultée. J’appréhende ce processus de construction de l’objet patrimonial par les divers acteurs en présence, ainsi que ses effets dans la production de l’espace urbain. L’étude des différents projets, mais aussi de leur articulation ou de leur concurrence, révèle une lecture des rapports de pouvoir et du gouvernement en ville. À travers la culture, l’affirmation d’une mémoire, et par là d’une légitimité, certains acteurs contrebalancent le pouvoir économique et le pouvoir politique à Douala pour se positionner dans l’espace urbain. En filigrane, mon travail vise à réfléchir aux enjeux de la construction d’un discours sur l’art en contexte autoritaire et à réinterroger d’une façon particulière les pouvoirs en ville. Ma thèse suit une approche qualitative. J’allie observations et entretiens auprès des pouvoirs publics, des élites, du monde associatif, des artistes et des habitants. Je m’appuie également sur la production et l’analyse d’images et de films, réalisés en collaboration avec plusieurs groupes d’artistes. Cette recherche s’organise en trois parties. Tout d’abord, la première partie traite de la place du patrimoine dans les plans d’aménagement successifs. Je présente un état de l’art en soulignant l’ouverture des normes de définition de la notion, ce qui me permet de revenir sur la place du patrimoine dans les politiques et les décisions en matière d’aménagement, en analysant les études et les plans de patrimonialisation existants. La deuxième partie s’intéresse à la place de la culture dans les jeux de pouvoir en ville. J’interroge les enjeux de pouvoir liés à l’affirmation de groupes dits « autochtones » dans l’espace urbain, grâce à l’usage du patrimoine. Il s’agit de faire le lien entre patrimoine, histoire et mémoire dans le contexte de Douala. Enfin, la dernière partie discute du rôle d’acteurs subalternes, de leur place dans le monde de l’art, ainsi que de leur possibilité de participer à la fabrique de la ville. Je pose la question plus large de la production de la culture dans le contexte autoritaire et néolibéral de Douala, en proposant d’étudier des initiatives hors-les-murs, et en questionnant leur devenir
This research, led between 2011 and 2019, focuses on the place of culture in the different way of government in Douala, regarding the study of the patrimonial issues. On the scale of the city, various actors – institutionalized or not – continually reinvest the concept of heritage. Their views, their actions, their patrimonial demands participate in the city development and refer to “traditional” re-readings urban renovation strategies. The “process of heritage” and the “process of putting art in public spaces” liberate speech, in a city where every kind of material or symbolic representation of memory has long been forbidden by the State. Those initiatives imply to negotiate for the occupation of space, possibly referring to conceal urban history. I look into the process of construction of heritage through the various actors operating, as well as its effects on the production of urban space. The study of different projects, also in their coordination or competition, shows power and government relationships in the city. Through culture, the assertion of memory, and thus of legitimacy, some actors offset the economical and the political power in Douala in order to position themselves in the urban space. My research reiterates the issue of developing a discourse on art, and its stakes, in an authoritarian political context, regarding the influence of the various actors involved in the city development. My thesis proposes a qualitative approach: interviews with public authorities, local elites, actors from the associative sector, artists and citizens, as well as observation on the field. To make a concrete analytical study, I refer to images and movies, collaboratively produced with numerous groups of artists. This research is divided into three parts. First, the place of heritage in the successive development plans. I present a state of the art and emphasize the opening of the notion definition standards. It allows me to go back on the place of heritage in the development policies and decisions, by analyzing the existing studies and heritage plans. The second part deals with the place of culture in the power relationships in the city and the assertion of groups called “autochthonous” in the urban space, through the use of heritage. This includes linking heritage, history and memory in the context of Douala. Finally, I refer to the role of subordinate actors, their place in the art world, as well as their ability to participate to the city development. I pose a broader issue of the production of culture in the neoliberal and authoritarian context of Douala, by offering to study off-site initiatives, and questioning their future

This thesis discusses contemporary Scottish crime fiction in light of its transatlantic contexts. It argues that, despite participating in a globalized popular genre, examples of Scottish crime fiction nevertheless meaningfully intervene in notions of Scottishness. The first chapter examines Scottish appropriations of the hard-boiled mode in the work of William McIlvanney, Ian Rankin, and Irvine Welsh, using their representation of traditional masculinity as an index for wider concerns about community, class, and violence. The second chapter examines examples of Scottish crime fiction that exploit the baroque aesthetics of gothic and noir fiction as a means of dealing with the same socio-political contexts. It argues that the work of Iain Banks and Louise Welsh draws upon a tradition of distinctively Scottish gothic in order to articulate concerns about the re-incursion of barbarism within contemporary civilized societies. The third chapter examines the parodic, carnivalesque aspects of contemporary Scottish crime fiction in the work of Christopher Brookmyre and Allan Guthrie. It argues that the structure of parody replicates the structure of genre, meaning that the parodic examples dramatize the textual processes at work in more central examples of Scottish crime fiction. The fourth chapter focuses on examples of Scottish crime fiction that participate in the culturally English golden-age and soft-boiled traditions. Unpacking the darker, more ambivalent aspects of these apparently cosy and genteel traditions, this final chapter argues that the novels of M. C. Beaton and Kate Atkinson obliquely refract the particularly Scottish concerns about modernity that the more central examples more openly express.

My work is about the feeling of standing in between two worlds of my cultural heritage. To feel connected but at the same time not connected to them. The feeling of missing out in one of my cultural heritage because of the language that I do not fully speak. I use a traditional craft from that side to build a bridge to fill the gap. It is about combining my heritages and the connection/disconnection and fuse them together into one as I am a person of two cultures. By not putting myself in a box that the society wants me to fit in to, I challenge that norm also in my work. I transformed the traditional craft placed in a room of a house to become jewelry. The wearer is allowed to choose what kind of jewelery it is and it can be placed on many different ways. My work is about investigate the meeting of craft on a body, and body in a craft. Its about to invite the Thai practice to my Swedish practice and vice versa and fuse them together.

En esta tesis realizo un análisis del término Englishness, entendido como la esencia inglesa, la identidad del individuo como ciudadano inglés, que ayuda a comprender el concepto de identidad británica, pero sobre todo de identidad inglesa, así como de su evolución. Asimismo, en este estudio analizo cuáles son las posibles similitudes o desemejanzas que se encuentran entre el concepto de «identidad inglesa» de nuestro siglo y el de siglos pasados, qué factores han intervenido en este proceso de evolución y cómo estos interaccionan entre sí. Este estudio conlleva cierta profundización en la cultura británica. Parto del concepto de cultura como modo de vida propuesto por Raymond Williams, que fue influenciado más tarde por Stuart Hall y el Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, extendiéndolo a cultura como modos de vida. Así mismo, enfoco mi estudio desde la perspectiva de la tradición de los estudios culturales tal y como se vienen desarrollando en Gran Bretaña. Partiendo de esta base, este no es un estudio de la cultura británica tomándola como una categoría única y globlalizadora bajo la que agrupar a una comunidad(es), sino que presto especial atención a aquellos aspectos de la misma que son motivo de diversidad y divergencia. De este modo, en lugar de centrar mi atención en una percepción general y al mismo tiempo superficial y reduccionista de Englishness, mi propósito no es otro sino el de profundizar en las particularidades de la identidad inglesa a nivel individual. Este planteamiento me lleva a un enfoque del estudio de la identidad en el que esta última se presenta como una entidad postmoderna. Así mismo se pueden comparar identidad y postmodernidad debido a su complejidad y el modo en que ambas se componen de elementos y categorías que se superponen para su formación. El «ser inglés» no es una noción simple o de fácil descripción. Aspectos tales como diferencias de clase, género, sexualidad, raza, religión, acento, regionalismo e incluso el mero hecho de pertenecer a un determinado colectivo o no son elementos determinantes en la percepción y formación de la identidad inglesa en la actualidad. Todos ellos son aspectos que se combinan de diferente forma en cada individuo. Se trata de elementos que se mezclan y combinan entre sí para dar lugar a una nueva y heterogénea noción de Englishness, que deja de lado la estereotipada idea del individuo inglés como blanco anglosajón y protestante. En los últimos siglos Gran Bretaña ha sido testigo de importantes cambios en su población. Gran número de inmigrantes de diferentes razas, pueblos, creencias y culturas han convergido en tierras británicas. Esto ha dado lugar a la existencia de muchas y variadas formas culturales que han interaccionado con las gentes y la cultura de la comunidad de acogida, adaptando aspectos de la misma para sí en algunos casos y en otros modificándola. De este modo, mi proyecto ofrece un análisis en profundidad de la cultura de la Gran Bretaña multicultural contemporánea. Sin embargo, es precisamente la «amenaza» de este cambio la que parece generar cierto «miedo» y «ansiedad» en cuanto al futuro de la nación se refiere, y esto se observa en ciertos fenómenos académicos y sociales en Gran Bretaña. Por un lado, parece resurgir una necesidad por redefinirse a uno mismo y a la identidad nacional, que también parece conllevar un resurgimiento de fuerzas políticas nacionalistas populistas. En las últimas elecciones en Gran Bretaña se puede observar un leve resurgimiento de la extrema derecha, que si bien no aparece bajo el nombre del Parido Nacionalista Británico (conocido en inglés como BNP), viene de la mano de partidos con ideales similares como el Partido Independentista del Reino Unido (conocido como UKIP). Esta «preocupación» por la identidad nacional y su posible perdida o distorsión también se ve reflejada en el mundo académico, donde existen una gran variedad de trabajos cuyo objetivo es la identificación de Englishness, que como explico terminan ofreciendo al lector una variedad de Englishnesses, es decir, una pluralidad de versiones de un mismo objeto de estudio. Por otro lado, y de acuerdo con la naturaleza del estudio, en esta tesis he recurrido a diversas fuentes de información. La literatura, el cine, la televisión y la prensa son mis principales fuentes, lo que facilita una visión más global y actualizada de las experiencias del «ser inglés» en Gran Bretaña. Pongo especial énfasis en la comedia televisiva británica contemporánea ya que, desde mi punto de vista, en ella se reflejan gran parte de las experiencias, intereses y modos de representación e interpretación de su cultura y constituye una eficaz herramienta para estudiar la realidad social de la comunidad. También hago referencia a la comedia en su forma literaria, y a diversas fuentes de información como YouTube, podcasts y páginas web cuyo contenido está relacionado con los temas tratados, con el fin de explorar e indagar en estos temas y profundizar en ellos de una manera lo más completa posible. En este estudio dedico especial atención a comedias contemporáneas televisivas, por su alto contenido de imágenes y comentarios irónicos y sarcásticos, además del uso de imágenes estereotipadas de individuos en la sociedad que ofrece a mi parecer un instrumento idóneo para explorar tipos e identidades en la sociedad. En especial me centro en aquellas comedias contemporáneas basadas en un contexto educativo, por diferentes motivos. En primer lugar creo que esta es una etapa muy significativa en la formación de la identidad del individuo. Aparte de la vida familiar, en el ámbito educativo es donde el individuo pasa un gran número de horas al día. Sin embargo, si esto se podría decir que es cierto de la mayoría de los países Europeos, yo diría que es aún más relevante en un sistema educativo como el británico, en el que las diferencias entre los distintos tipos de instituciones educativas y lo que ofrecen tienen desde mi punto de vista un impacto considerable en lo que a la formación de identidad se refiere. Como explico en este estudio, se podría decir que el sistema educativo británico enfatiza la brecha existente entre individuos de contextos socio-económicos distintos (Ball, 1993; Archer, Hutchings, & Ross, 2005; Ball, Davies, David, & Reay, 2002; Archer, DeWitt, & Wong, 2014). Asimismo, las comedias analizadas engloban distintas instituciones educativas. Por ejemplo, Fresh Meat nos presenta el mundo universitario en una universidad ficticia llamada Manchester Medlock, en la que confluyen individuos de todos los contextos educativos, desde ex alumnos de centros estatales y gratuitos hasta alumnos de colegios «públicos», entendidos en el contexto inglés como colegios internos cuya matrícula puede ser superior a las 30.000 libras por curso académico. Por ejemplo, las series Teachers y The Inbetweeners muestran un contexto educativo que se engloba dentro de la educación pública que en Inglaterra se conoce como «estatal», pero en distinto rango de calidad educativa. Por otro lado, Bromwell High nos muestra también un centro educativo público en el sentido real de la palabra, pero en el que ni la educación ni el bienestar de la comunidad educativa se presentan como una prioridad. Teniendo en cuenta lo mencionado anteriormente, y dentro del contexto analizado, presto especial atención al gag (momento en el que se invita a la risa) ya que esta es una manera bastante inusual de estudiar comedia. A menudo, el estudio de la comedia televisiva disecciona su objeto de análisis en elementos léxicos y gramaticales (Quaglio, 2009), personajes, contextos, juegos de palabras, etc., eliminando el aspecto cómico (Dynel, 2011). Esto es solo un ejemplo de cómo generalmente el estudio de la comedia no suele centrarse en la comedia en sí. Si bien es cierto que, a veces, la comedia ha sido criticada como objeto de estudio debido a su lugar en la sociedad como medio de entretenimiento y por su falta de seriedad, también es cierto que no siempre es fácil determinar cuándo se supone que encontramos el chiste o cuando se nos invita a reír. Además, este aspecto cobra aún más relevancia si tenemos en cuenta los nuevos formatos de comedias televisivas donde se omite la risa enlatada y ya no se invita al espectador a unirse a la risa, sino que se deja a elección personal. Es precisamente en estos momentos cuando de alguna manera consentimos y permitimos algo que en otro contexto sería inaceptable o sería tachado de ser políticamente incorrecto. Asimismo, es en estos momentos donde podemos analizar las suposiciones y creencias que informan el texto. Con el fin de definir el concepto de Englishness, en el tercer capítulo parto de aquellos estudios académicos que se «venden» a sí mismos como estudios de Englishness. Así, centro mi atención en trabajos dedicados al estudio de identidades británicas, pero sobre todo inglesas, donde las palabras English o Englishness aparecen en el título, o que se presentan a sí mismos como estudios de alguna de las categorías mencionadas, y que prestan especial atención al/los individuo/os ingleses. En ocasiones, y como ya he mencionado, se hace alusión a trabajos literarios. Sin embargo, no llevo a cabo un estudio detallado de estos ya que esto me desviaría del principal objetivo de esta tesis: el análisis de la identidad inglesa y del «ser inglés» a través de las comedias televisivas contemporáneas populares. No obstante, soy consciente de la gran cantidad de trabajos literarios que existen centrados en el «ser inglés» y en su modo de vida (Bryson, 1991, 1996; Barnes, 1998; Bainbridge, 1999; Gill, 2005; Luddington, 2014; Moore, 2015; Paxman, 2007, 2006, 2012). Estos trabajos tienen un gran potencial de análisis en lo que a mi objeto de estudio se refiere, aunque he decido no centrarme en ellos con el fin de concretar el estudio. Como se puede observar en mi tesis, recurro en gran medida al uso de juegos de palabras para los títulos de las secciones. El motivo de utilizar este lenguaje llamativo radica en que no sólo me da pie a exponer mis ideas, sino que también a que el lector no se deje llevar por el texto y no caiga en la trampa contra la que lucho en este trabajo: la mitificación de Englishness. Además, esta es mi manera de brindar homenaje a mi fuente principal de estudio: la comedia inglesa y el juego de palabras, uno de sus recursos lingüísticos. Tras considerar las distintas versiones de Englishness que ofrecen los trabajos escritos estudiados, en los capítulos cuatro, cinco, seis, siete y ocho llevo a cabo el análisis de las comedias prestando especial atención a los «tipos» de individuos que aparecen en las series. Cada comedia se analiza de manera individual, ya que están basadas en contextos educativos diferentes y por tanto los individuos que en ellas aparecen son considerablemente distintos. No obstante, es importante mencionar que en algunas ocasiones existe cierta similitud y correlación entre los «tipos» presentados en las distintas series, en cuyo caso hago referencia a la tipología, relacionando a individuos bajo la idea de un mismo «tipo». Las comedias analizadas muestran un contexto educativo que parece estar íntimamente ligado a las clases sociales y a la construcción de identidad del individuo. Esta división se muestra en forma de una categoría tripartita que sigue la estructura de clase trabajadora, clase media y clase alta, pero cuya descripción o percepción depende del punto de vista del que se mire. La serie Bromwell High presenta claramente un contexto de alumnado de clase trabajadora, mientras The Inbetweeners muestra a un alumnado de clase media. En la serie Teachers, como el título de la misma indica, el centro de atención es el profesorado, pero en términos generales se podría decir que el alumnado se parece más al tipo de individuo que iría a un colegio como Bromwell High. Sin embargo, las denominaciones y las representaciones de las distintas clases sociales que aparecen en las series varían considerablemente de una serie a otra. Por ejemplo, en The Inbetweeners se hace referencia en ocasiones a una aterrador o deprimente contexto social de la clase trabajadora, mientas que en Fresh Meat los individuos que habían recibido una educación «pública», en el sentido inglés de educación privada, no parecían contemplar otra distinción que la de lo que quiera que fueran ellos y la de los muggles o «normales». En cualquier caso, las comedias nos presentan una sociedad que si bien no se puede decir que esté supeditada a las diferencias sociales, sí que entiende los matices expuestos en las comedias sobre las mismas, que presentan una sociedad en la que aquellos que provienen de un contexto socio-económico más favorecido reciben una educación de mayor calidad y aumentan así sus posibilidades de éxito en el futuro (Reay & Ball, 1997; Reay, David & Ball, 2001). Por otro lado, teniendo en cuenta las representaciones de Englishness estudiadas en el ámbito académico, y tras el análisis de las distintas identidades inglesas que aparecen en las comedias mencionadas anteriormente, es posible afirmar que distintos individuos parecen adherirse a distintas Englishnesses, o a distintos aspectos de distintas Englishnesses, confirmando así la idea de que no se puede estudiar el «ser inglés» y su identidad como un único ente, sino que es necesario centrar la atención en una multiplicidad de identidades inglesas. Asimismo, el análisis de las comedias ha dejado entrever una cierta reticencia a la hora de representar identidades que den cabida a la variedad étnica y multicultural existente en Inglaterra en la actualidad. Es por ello que considero que a la hora de estudiar y representar Englishnesses es necesario tener en cuenta esta heterogeneidad, ya que todos somos iguales en nuestras diferencias, como los personajes de las series estudiadas. Después de todo, todos somos migrantes en este planta llamado Tierra.
In this thesis I aim to study the concept of Englishness(es), which will imply a better understanding of the idea of ‘English identities’ and their evolution. Thus, I shall analyse what possible similarities and differences can be found between the contemporary idea of ‘English identity/ies’ as presented in contemporary English comedies and its/their definition according to some academic works, and how they interrelate. For this I propose to study English culture in depth, focusing mainly on contemporary English comedies set within the educational context. My starting point will be Raymond William’s concept of culture as a whole way of life (Williams, 1958/2011), which later influenced Stuart Hall (Hall, 1992) and the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. Therefore, I shall focus my study from the perspective of the tradition of Cultural Studies as developed in Britain. Comedies will provide an ideal tool to focus on characters’ habits, customs, needs, likes and dislikes to give samples, albeit exaggerated at times, of how individuals relate to each other and express their fears, interests, worries and passions. In the last few centuries Great Britain has been witness to important changes in its population. A large number of immigrants of different races, countries, beliefs and cultures have converged on British soil. This has resulted in the existence of many different ways of life that have interacted with the host culture, with the different cultures adapting and modifying one another. In line with this, there has been a growing interest in the delimitation, definition and assertion of both Britishness and Englishness, although my study in centred on the latter. For this reason there exists a lot of controversy and divergence in the definition of this concept. Different studies focus on different aspects of England, and as a result they come up with different versions of Englishness. Englishness is not seen throughout this study as something simple or even something that can easily be described. Aspects such as differences of class, sex, sexuality, race, religion, accent, region, including the simple fact of belonging to a given club or not, are determining factors in the perception and formation of contemporary English identities. All these things are intertwined to give a new, heterogeneous notion of Englishness that rejects the stereotypical idea of Englishness associated with a white, protestant and Anglo Saxon individual. In this way, my ultimate aim is that of carrying out a profound analysis of some academic works on the matter, and compare these images with those presented by contemporary twenty-first century television comedy, in order to try and reach a better understanding of today’s multicultural Britain. In agreement with the nature of the study, I plan to draw on diverse sources of information. Literature, cinema, television, the world wide web and the press will be the main sources, which will provide a wider and more up to date view of the experiences of Englishness in Britain. I shall put special emphasis on English comedy because, it seems to me, that it reflects a great many experiences, interests and forms of representation and interpretation of culture. In my opinion, it constitutes an effective tool to study the social reality of the community, which on the other hand has not been exploited for this purpose. In doing so, I will focus on comedies set within the educational system, given that I believe these will reveal a great deal about the English and their sense of identity, as I will explain in the following section. Therefore, I will be looking at comedies set within secondary education schools, namely those of Bromwell High, The Inbetweeners, Teachers and some scenes of Little Britain, together with the comedy series Fresh Meat, which is set in a university.

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the distance between theory and practice in the field of management. Theoretical perspective In the literature review we have chosen to give insights on the concepts that aresurrounding management students: organization, management, leadership and culture. Bydoing we were able to get a better understanding of the concepts that are fundamental tomanagement studies. In addition to that, by selecting these concepts we could assimilate thekey points of the theory on management and then have a better understanding of the contextsurrounding managers that we were about to interview both in Sweden and France. Finally,the theoretical block of this paper could allow us in the analysis section to verify if thetheories available to management students could help explaining the current situation ofcontemporary managers. Methodology/ Introduction to interviews and access In the methodology section we strived to give understandings on our research strategy andour research approach but also on how we collected our data, chose our respondents andfinally the method that we used in order to analysis the data collected in Sweden andFrance. In addition to that, we gave more details on the interviews but also described ourfeelings and impressions on the interview and the interviewees in the part entitled access. Empirical data and analysis We analyzed the data collected and carefully compare those with the theoretical conceptsthat used in the theoretical chapter thus leading us to use the same structure for the analysis:organization, management, leadership and culture. The empirics on management andleadership also motivated us to make a comparative analysis of the two concepts. Conclusion From our findings we were able to conclude that the first distance lies into the perspectiveof functions and skills of management and secondly that a distance lies in the waymanagers and the theoretical field of management look upon the issue of responsibilitywhen it comes to management theories.

A tese está organizada em torno dos estudos de caso de três edições da Documenta de Kassel (1997, 2002, 2007), bem como das 24ª (1998), 27ª (2006) e 28ª (2008) edições da Bienal de São Paulo, tendo como foco de análise as transformações ocorridas nas práticas curatoriais e na esfera institucional da arte a partir dos anos 1960 e 1970. A construção conceitual foi realizada através de um diálogo entre as transformações nas práticas curatoriais contemporâneas, resultado de uma revisão dos papéis das instituições como mediadoras entre a produção artística e o público, com os processos de inserção de regiões e discursos periféricos em um sistema cultural global.
The Thesis is organized around the case studies of the last three editions of Kassel´s Documenta (1997, 2002, 2007), and the 24th (1998), 27th (2006) and 28th (2008) editions of São Paulo Bienal. It is focused on the analysis of the transformation that has been occurring in the curatorial practices and in the art institutions since the 1960s and 1970s. Its conceptual background is based on the relationship between the critical (aesthetic) practices and the process of cultural globalization.

This thesis analyses a series of threshold states located within contemporary culture. It investigates the effects of technology on spatial relations and human conditions in recent centuries, with a specific interest in the rise of virtual phenomena and the ongoing process of virtualisation. Key to the discussion is measuring the extent to which America and its narratives have influenced the virtual layer attached to contemporary global technological culture. Prevalent within this framework is the idea of the frontier as an idealised outpost, a lingering threshold state that is scrutinised in terms of its metaphoric power and socio-historical relevance. The research examines the points of interaction between the frontier, the virtual, and recent technology, as well as the areas in which technology has been produced, distributed, and consumed, as a means of building on ‘virtual frontiers’ and the ‘technological state’ as original critical concepts. Chapter one, from a socio-cultural and historical perspective, develops the idea of California as the location where the frontier spirit dispersed, transferring to an extent from land to body. Rich in posthuman ambience, the state functions as a hub from which to negotiate the position of the body in relation to the frontier: to look at the body as a frontier in itself, its virtualisation, and the now perennial dialectic between the positive and negative effects of technology on human/non-human interactivity. From the ashes of the 1960s, pockets of urban youth living in America’s inner cities gave birth to a subculture that is now globally recognised as Hip Hop. Despite Hip Hop always being a potent reflective surface, chapter two assesses its development and continuing capacity as a virtual and technological form of expression. In the decades between Malcolm X’s assassination and the election of President Obama, how has Hip Hop changed as a virtual arena and mode of resistance, as it has simultaneously been incorporated into the American mainstream? Indeed, as a cultural object and virtual space with the potential to carry evocative messages across thresholds, did Hip Hop even survive this transition? And what were the ramifications of its transformation? The third chapter examines the shadows emanating from the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001. The narratives from 9/11 are considered while investigating a diverse selection of transnational texts that touch on the subject, including works from Don DeLillo, Amy Waldman, Martin Amis, and Frédéric Beigbeder. Also considered is the day’s social and historical significance, and its power as a virtual event. More specifically, the impact on time, perception, and narrative structure is observed, each element appearing in the shadows that stretch out from the decades before and beyond the events of that clear blue September morning. Through characters in recent fiction by William Gibson and Hari Kunzru, the final chapter scans American consumption and the representations projected out from its brands and advertising. Within technological states now transmitted globally, the chapter reflects on the consequences of consumer culture as we venture further into the virtual and its realities, drawn through what Jean Baudrillard calls an irreconcilable conflict between ‘total integration’ and the ‘dual form’.

The Post-Fordist structure has aroused as a response to the stable/rigid configuration of Fordism that caused a bottleneck within capitalist organization since the mid 1970s. This period is also labeled as flexible accumulation that is based on the least circulation period of capital and as a result turnover time of the consumption objects. Here, consumption becomes a cultural activity besides its role of meeting material necessities and calls for a form of culture, in which the symbolic value of any object is of significance more than its use-value. Within this frame, the study selected a new form of contemporary housing provision as an exemplification area
the gated enclaves that represent a form of investment for the legitimization of values projected by the consumer culture. They are especially located at the new urban development areas, shared by high income level owners
surrounded by exclusionary devices like
walls, fences and private security mechanisms, and provide additional privatized services. This study aims at studying the modes of marketing strategies of these newly emerging housing provisions in Ankara that all are constructed around the theme of &ldquo
a distinct life style&rdquo
through their representational media. Therefore the study will investigate how the idea of distinctness is made public and by means of spatial analyses, how and to what extent the assertion of distinctness is achieved or constituted a genuine position within the academic or professional architectural culture will be investigated while such concepts as &ldquo
homogenization&rdquo
and &ldquo
distinctness&rdquo
will be also in agenda.

Schools are rich and intense social environments where young people constantly interact with one another, negotiate social relationships and construct their identities. The school context also influences how young people experience and relate to their bodies. Physical education can be especially influential here – an environment where young people learn about the body and through the body within a highly visible setting. Research has investigated how bodily meanings and power relations are constructed within schools and physical education but these processes are ever evolving. For example, the ingraining of online social interaction within young people’s lives currently adds new dimensions to how young people learn, interact and perceive themselves and their bodies. This thesis presents findings from a year-long ethnographic study located within a Scottish secondary school. Participant observation and qualitative interviews were used to explain the contemporary bodily culture amongst young people and to investigate how engagements with online social spaces were shaping young people’s bodily perceptions and practices. Findings evidenced three overarching tenets of informal pupil culture. These were: the centrality and importance of the body within social life; the omnipresence of online social spaces and online social interaction; and the development of a celebrity-esque culture amongst the pupil population. Accordingly, pupils constructed and negotiated hyper-risky social environments where the body and the self were hyper-visible, hyper-scrutinised and hyper-controlled. Working within a critical realist framework, theoretical insights from Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu were utilised to suggest that the online environment represented a very important and attractive medium for identity construction where young people had opportunities, and felt pressure, to create idealised images of themselves. Online self-presentation also had offline implications for how pupils behaved, viewed themselves and for how they perceived and treated others. Physical education therefore became an especially risky social space as it was characterised by a lack of control over bodily identity, which juxtaposed sharply with the intense control over self-presentation afforded online. The online realm was also a highly influential context for learning about health and the body and a space where looking ‘healthy’ was very fashionable. Accordingly, this thesis suggests that socially safe and critical environments should be constructed in physical education. The thesis also concludes by arguing that physical education has unique potential to contribute positively to young people’s lives through practical, experiential learning. Physical education can foster and create a refreshing culture, contrasting and challenging superficial dimensions of contemporary bodily culture. It can become a space that diminishes the significance of outward experiences: a space where young people positively experience their bodies and the world around them; where they can reflect and marvel upon such experiences; and learn to respect their own and each other’s bodies in a very intrinsic and deep sense.

Within contemporary performance arenas young people are fast becoming part of the vanguard of contemporary performance. Performativity, convergence and openness of form are key animating concepts in the landscape of Theatre for Young People (TYP). To ignore what is taking place in the making of performance for and by young people is to ignore the new possibilities in meaning-making and theatrical form. In this period of rapid technological change young people are embracing and manipulating technology (sound, image, music) to represent who they are and what they want to say. Positioned as "cultural catalysts", "the new pioneers" and "first navigators" young people are using mediatised culture and digital technologies with ease, placing them at the forefront of a shift in cultural production. Performance commentators (Schnechner 2002; Shusterman 2000; Auslander 1999; Hill and Paris 2001; Phelan 1993 and Kershaw 1992) believe that there has been a profound shift in the nature of making theatre and performance works. The forces of globalisation, the new economy and advancements in new media technologies have affected young people's making of performance. Three key concepts animate contemporary young people's performance devising and presenting processes. These concepts can be defined as: performativity, convergence and openness of form. These three categories can be harnessed under the umbrella concept of deterritorialisation. The processes of deterritorialisation allows for the synthesis of new cultural and performance genres by fragmenting and hybridising traditional cultural categories and forms including the use of new media technologies. Almost half of all TYP performances now incorporate the technologies of reproduction. The relationship between live and mediated forms, the visceral and the virtual is allowing young people to navigate and make meaning of cultural codes and cultural forms as well as to engage in an open dialogue with their audiences. This thesis examines the way young people are using elements of deterritorialisation to become producers of new performance genres.

Within contemporary performance arenas young people are fast becoming part of the vanguard of contemporary performance. Performativity, convergence and openness of form are key animating concepts in the landscape of Theatre for Young People (TYP). To ignore what is taking place in the making of performance for and by young people is to ignore the new possibilities in meaning-making and theatrical form. In this period of rapid technological change young people are embracing and manipulating technology (sound, image, music) to represent who they are and what they want to say. Positioned as "cultural catalysts", "the new pioneers" and "first navigators" young people are using mediatised culture and digital technologies with ease, placing them at the forefront of a shift in cultural production. Performance commentators (Schnechner 2002; Shusterman 2000; Auslander 1999; Hill and Paris 2001; Phelan 1993 and Kershaw 1992) believe that there has been a profound shift in the nature of making theatre and performance works. The forces of globalisation, the new economy and advancements in new media technologies have affected young people's making of performance. Three key concepts animate contemporary young people's performance devising and presenting processes. These concepts can be defined as: performativity, convergence and openness of form. These three categories can be harnessed under the umbrella concept of deterritorialisation. The processes of deterritorialisation allows for the synthesis of new cultural and performance genres by fragmenting and hybridising traditional cultural categories and forms including the use of new media technologies. Almost half of all TYP performances now incorporate the technologies of reproduction. The relationship between live and mediated forms, the visceral and the virtual is allowing young people to navigate and make meaning of cultural codes and cultural forms as well as to engage in an open dialogue with their audiences. This thesis examines the way young people are using elements of deterritorialisation to become producers of new performance genres.

The aim of this study is to explore disability issues in the Kuwaiti context through a participatory research project with disabled people. Six disabled people participated in this project as co-researchers, and a further eight informants (disabled and non-disabled) contributed to this research as research participants. The thesis initially provides a critical exploration of the dominant conceptualisations of disability, such as the individual and social models and also includes cultural perspectives. The individual model provides an exploration of disability at the biological level, while the social model analyses disability at the socio-economic level (Bhaskar and Danermark, 2006). Cultural perspectives of disability provide an exploration of disability at the socio-cultural level (Danermark and Gellerstedt, 2004).After this exploration, and in relation to the experiences of the co-researchers, the thesis proposes that each of these singular perspectives can only provide limited conceptual effectiveness. The study then goes on to suggest that, rather than reducing the 'problem' of disability to one limited explanation, it is more productive to take an overarching, and more complex and interactional approach to disability that combines the best aspects of individual and social models as well as cultural and societal perspectives. The findings explore a number of disability issues at different levels. The analysis of the discussions with the co-researchers and interviews with the participants of this study emphasise a number of disability issues related to both the body and society. In relation to the body, both the co-researchers and the participants highlight issues and experiences related to the role of impairment in restricting activity, while at the same time acknowledging the roles of society and culture that play a part in disablement. The findings show the complexity of the understandings of disability and challenge the individual model, the social model and cultural perspectives of disability, and show how 'impairment' and 'disability' interact in the lives of disabled people in Kuwait. The thesis argues that an appropriate model for understanding disability in Kuwait is rooted in a critical realist paradigm that views disability from multiple levels, including biological, medical, psychological, socio-cultural and socio-economic levels. The findings also explore the process of participatory research with the co- researchers. In relation to this, the findings highlight the issues of power relations, skills development and reciprocity, decision making processes, sharing the experiences, and the possibility of this research opening the door for further research and changing people's attitudes on disability.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war the global economy has begun to shift its centre of gravity towards the East. This, combined with the consolidation of the power of multi-national corporations and banks and the globalisation of markets at virtually all levels, has led to the emergence of massive new global players in terms of markets and production. Despite the fact that China, unlike the Soviet Union, maintained its political system, it has emerged as a major economic global power and is extending and consolidating it’s economic and political global influence into the 21st Century. Despite China’s economic influence which is acknowledged in its positive economic and political relations with its historical ideological enemies, the ubiquitous presence of Chinese made products and unprecedented domestic and international openness it remains dogged by broadly negative perceptions in the West. This study aims to address this problem through the application of the emerging theories of Nation Branding to envisage China as a brand and to investigate possibilities for the establishment of a competitive brand identity for China as a nation. Therefore, the research addresses the issue of how China can establish a contemporary nation brand and identifies the parameters for its sustainability and management in the 21st century. To this end the study has developed a working definition of the term ‘nation branding’ as a strategically managed process of applying branding techniques to nations in order to gain competitive advantages by improving the perceived image and promoting the principle values of a nation. The study underpins the application of this theoretical model with an investigation into the specificity of the historical context of advertising and branding in China in the 20th Century. The aims and objectives of the study are incorporated into the design brief for a contemporary logo for brand China and it is through the execution of the brief by the researcher as reflective practitioner in the role of art director and designer that the study consolidates the findings of the theoretical research through specific design problems. The study concludes with an evaluative reflection of the interactions between the theoretical and practical outcomes of the research in which it is proposed that addressing the highly specific design problems of brand identity development provides a focussed point of convergence for the extensive and complex issues involved in the conceptualisation of the nation as a brand. It is proposed that the study provides the conceptual tools for the development of China as a contemporary nation brand.

My thesis is an interpretive case study of the exhibition Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis (Tate Modern, 1 February – 29 April 2001). It examines a variety of issues pertaining to the making of institutional modern and contemporary art exhibitions in a Western urban context today. It is concerned with exhibition studies’ methodology, the reciprocity between the art institution and the city, and the relationship between the art institution and the independent curator. With regards to methodology, I propose various readings of an exhibition that fall under two types of knowledge, namely visible and invisible knowledge. The former refers to all aspects of the exhibition that are seen in the public domain, while the latter considers not immediately accessible information about the exhibition, such as archival material and oral history. I also examine the mutual relationship between the city and the institution through the instrumentalization of the exhibition by city politics, and the correlative micro and macro effects. I thus link the exhibition to a passage from an industrial to a post-industrial economy, New Labour politics and the competition of cities in a worldwide urban network. Within that framework I analyse associated issues, such as London’s urban regeneration and cultural tourism, city branding, changing city demographics, the link between the institution, the city and governmental agendas, and the ‘world city’ race. Finally, I question the changing relationship between the art institution and the independent curator. I reflect on the advantages and limitations of curatorial practice in the context of that relationship by considering the exhibition as a platform for the concurrent expression of both personal and collective curatorial interests, and the exploration of canonical versus contemporary approaches. I conclude that an in-depth study of a contemporary exhibition on these grounds allows for important insights to be gained that contribute to the fields of curatorial and exhibition studies, as well as to urban theory.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the assumptions that underpin contemporary hospital infection control programs from the perspective of the influence of clinical culture on the integration and ownership of the infection control program. The results of numerous studies have linked low levels of adherence with infection control principles amongst health care providers as the most significant factor contributing to nosocomial infection. Despite early successes in reducing nosocomial infection rates, results derived from current research demonstrate that nosocomial infection has remained a challenge to healthcare providers and patients alike and outbreaks are regularly reported in the infection control literature. Serious economic and social impact has resulted from the increasing levels of antibiotic resistance that have been reported amongst pathogens associated with nosocomial infection. This interpretive study takes an ethnographic approach, using multiple data sources to provide insight into the culture and context of infection control practice drawing upon clinicians' work and the clinician's perspective. There were three approaches to data collection. A postal survey of surgeons was conducted, a group of nurses participated in a quality activity, and a clinical ethnography was conducted in an intensive care unit and an operating theatre complex. Data were analysed in accordance with the qualitative and quantitative approaches to data management. Findings indicate that the clinical culture exerts significant influence over the degree to which the infection control program activities change practice and that rather than imposing the infection control program on the clinical practice setting from outside, sustained practice change is more likely to be achieved if the motivation and impetus for change is culturally based. Moreover surveillance, if it is to influence clinicians and their practice, must provide confidence in its accuracy. It must be meaningful to them and linked to patient care outcomes. Contemporary hospital infection control programs, based on assumptions about a combination of surveillance and control activities have resulted in decreased nosocomial infection rates. However, sustained infection control practice change has not been achieved despite the application of a range of surveillance and control strategies. This research project has utilized an ethnographic approach to provide an emic perspective of infection control practice within a range of practice contexts. The findings from this study are significant within the context of spiraling health costs and increasing antibiotic resistance associated with nosocomial infection.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the assumptions that underpin contemporary hospital infection control programs from the perspective of the influence of clinical culture on the integration and ownership of the infection control program. The results of numerous studies have linked low levels of adherence with infection control principles amongst health care providers as the most significant factor contributing to nosocomial infection. Despite early successes in reducing nosocomial infection rates, results derived from current research demonstrate that nosocomial infection has remained a challenge to healthcare providers and patients alike and outbreaks are regularly reported in the infection control literature. Serious economic and social impact has resulted from the increasing levels of antibiotic resistance that have been reported amongst pathogens associated with nosocomial infection. This interpretive study takes an ethnographic approach, using multiple data sources to provide insight into the culture and context of infection control practice drawing upon clinicians' work and the clinician's perspective. There were three approaches to data collection. A postal survey of surgeons was conducted, a group of nurses participated in a quality activity, and a clinical ethnography was conducted in an intensive care unit and an operating theatre complex. Data were analysed in accordance with the qualitative and quantitative approaches to data management. Findings indicate that the clinical culture exerts significant influence over the degree to which the infection control program activities change practice and that rather than imposing the infection control program on the clinical practice setting from outside, sustained practice change is more likely to be achieved if the motivation and impetus for change is culturally based. Moreover surveillance, if it is to influence clinicians and their practice, must provide confidence in its accuracy. It must be meaningful to them and linked to patient care outcomes. Contemporary hospital infection control programs, based on assumptions about a combination of surveillance and control activities have resulted in decreased nosocomial infection rates. However, sustained infection control practice change has not been achieved despite the application of a range of surveillance and control strategies. This research project has utilized an ethnographic approach to provide an emic perspective of infection control practice within a range of practice contexts. The findings from this study are significant within the context of spiraling health costs and increasing antibiotic resistance associated with nosocomial infection.

O cenário da cultura contemporânea inclui elementos diversos, ao mesmo tempo raízesprodutos da complexidade da teia social globalizada neoliberalista, tecida num contexto temporal- paradigmático de transição. Imperam, dentre outros aspectos: operacionalização incessante de uma cultura de urgências mediante o racionalismo instrumental capitalista, volatilidade, individualismo, fragmentação, competição exacerbada, consumismo desenfreado a esmo, violência social, violências psicológicas (visíveis e invisíveis) e culto à alta performance. Tal panorama pode exercer influências significativas na esfera das organizações, na Cultura Organizacional das instituições-espaço de trabalho e na saúde psíquica do trabalhador. O objetivo geral da pesquisa concentra-se em identificar características da cultura contemporânea, em especial da Violência Psicológica na Cultura Organizacional, enunciadas nos periódicos científicos brasileiros de 2002 a 2012, referentes às áreas de Administração, Psicologia e Multidisciplinares. Para a consecução do estudo, foi eleita a pesquisa qualitativa, com estratégia metodológica da análise de conteúdo, tendo como conteúdo os artigos de periódicos científicos. A coleta de dados foi executada no ano de 2013 por meio das bases de dados Web of Science, Index Psi, SciELO e Portal de Períodicos Capes. Os descritores utilizados, em diversas combinações e seus respectivos correspondentes em inglês, foram: cultura organizacional, comportamento organizacional, violência psicológica e violência psicológica no trabalho. Após leitura dos títulos, resumos e palavras-chave, foram pré-selecionados 35 artigos: Web of Science (n=2), Index Psi (n=21), SciELO (n=10) e Portal de Períodicos Capes (n=2). Aplicados os critérios de inclusão/exclusão pré-definidos para a coleta de dados, obteve-se uma amostra de 18 artigos. Os dados primários (artigos científicos) foram seccionados em três corpora: corpus 1-Psicologia (n=9); corpus 2-Administração (n=2) e corpus 3-Muldiscisplinar (n=7). Cada corpus foi preparado, conforme demanda exigida para tratamento de dados, para processamento da análise padrão do software Alceste. Realizou-se análise de conteúdo após material processado. Os resultados apontam, para a área de Psicologia, que os artigos revelam tendências de teorização ideologizada do fenômeno da violência psicológica no trabalho. Quanto à área de Administração, os dados indicam o caráter funcionalista das pesquisas, na direção de buscar conhecer o fenômeno da violência psicológica no trabalho para imprimir tratos de enfraquecê-la por meio das estratégias de âmbito instrumental- gerencialista da cultura organizacional. A área Multidisciplinar opera no sentido da denúncia da ocorrência do fenômeno. A análise da fusão das três áreas revela um fazer funcionalista das pesquisas, no sentido lato, sem indícios de superação das evidências imediatas obtidas nas pesquisas que possibilitem um salto qualitativo para novas proposições à Ciência, indicando o caráter reificado de abordagem do fenômeno da violência psicológica no trabalho
The scenario of contemporary culture includes different elements, at the same time root and product of the complexity of the globalized neoliberal social fabric, woven in a transitional temporal-paradigmatic context. Reign, among others: the incessant operationalization of a culture of emergency through the capitalist instrumental rationality, volatility, individualism, fragmentation, heightened competition, aimless rampant consumerism, social violence, psychological violence (visible and invisible) and worship of high performance. This scenario can exert significant influence in the organizations\' scope, in the Organizational Culture of the institutions/workspace and workers\' mental health. The overall purpose of the research focuses on identifying characteristics of contemporary culture, especially of Psychological Violence in Organizational Culture, described in Brazilian scientific journals from 2002 to 2012, referring to Administration, Psychology and Multidisciplinary areas. To achieve the study, qualitative research with methodological strategy of content analysis was elected, taking the articles in the scientific journals as content. Data collection was performed in 2013 through Web of Science databases, INDEXPsi, SciELO and Portal de Periódicos Capes. The descriptors used, in different combinations and their corresponding Portuguese, were: organizational culture, organizational behavior, psychological violence, and psychological violence at workplace. After reading the titles, abstracts and keywords, 35 articles were selected: Web of Science (n=2), INDEXPsi (n=21), SciELO (n=10) and Portal de Periódicos Capes (n=2). Previously defined criteria of inclusion/exclusion were applied and a 18-article sample was obtained. The primary data (scientific papers) were partitioned into three corpora: 1- Psychology corpus (n=9); 2-Administration corpus (n=2) and 3-Multidisciplinar corpus (n=7). Each corpus was prepared, as required, in order to process the standard analyses of Alceste software. Content analysis was performed after processed material. For the Psychology area, the results point that the articles reveal trend to the ideological theorization of the psychological violence issue in the workplace. Regarding the Administration area, the data indicate the functionalist nature of the studies, in the direction of seeking to know the phenomenon of psychological violence at work in order to weaken it through instrumental-managerial strategies of the organizational culture. The Multidisciplinary area operates to denounce the occurrence of the phenomenon. The merge of three areas analysis exposes a functionalist doing in the researches, in a broad sense, with no indication of overcoming the immediate evidences gotten from the research that enables a qualitative leap to new propositions to Science, indicating the reified trait of the approach to psychological violence phenomenon at work

This thesis aims to examine the notion of subjectivity in terms of the theories posed by specific schools of thought, particularly with regard to the notion of resistance within the contexts of contemporary culture. It will be concerned primarily with the theories of Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, Pierre Bourdieu and Michel de Certeau, as well as the contributions made by Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin.

The thesis begins with a discussion of theories which consider subjectivity as a narrative of commoditisation that sets up the potential for both violence and resistance. These theories include Lacanian psychoanalysis, Foucault's notion of power as production and prohibition, Bourdieu's theory of habitus and Butler's notion of performativity, all of which highlight the central issues of commoditisation and contingency as subjectivity's inherent anxiety or 'discontents'. The notion of the cyborg, a primary symptom of this anxiety in postcolonial times, is central to the project's argument of a recursive subjectivising process which must necessarily involve violence, if it is to provide any possibility for emancipation. The thesis goes on to examine the processes of contemporary cultural commoditisation in relation to the hegemonies cultivated by technology and the culture industry, using specific texts from the popular culture genres of science-fiction film and manga.

This PhD thesis entitled Contemporary Sardinian prose from the second half of the XX century in territorial and cultural conditioning examines Italian prose composed in the second half of the twentieth century by native authors of Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The study is based on literary analysis of the novels written in the period between 1970-2010 and aims to demonstrate cultural and social changes that convolved the region and its inhabitants. To illustrate the modifications observed at different levels of social life some novels of various authors have been chosen. For each decade I have selected one author who exemplifies in the most representative way the question of how the changes in society may influence on the literature and how the literature may recreate the perception of the society. To discuss the aspects of cultural conditioning in Sardinian prose I take into consideration the following authors: Salvatore Satta (1902-1975), Francesco Masala (1916-2007), Maria Giacobbe (1928), Giulio Angioni (1939), Sergio Atzeni (1952-1995), Michela Murgia (1972). I do not intend to analyze them neither in chronological nor in comparative way, but I select the most important aspects of their prose to present how constant elements of Sardinian prose have modified in the course of the second half of the past century. I argue that social and cultural changes as well as geographical conditioning play crucial role in the formation of the authors' literature sensibility and define their relation with the art they create and the place they come from. In each of five chapters dedicated to different contents of the novel, I illustrate how the impact created by various factors of cultural universe of each author is depicted in fictional word. The first chapter (Does Sardinian prose exist?) is dedicated to the question of Sardinian prose. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of this genre, the main problems connected with the classification of the literature composed in the region that used to be a cross point of numerous cultural and linguistic influences. In this part of the thesis the aspect of insular literature will be discussed as well. By placing Sardinian literature in larger context it is possible to compare regional particularities with other cultural universes. My short introduction to Sardinian prose does not aim at the separation of Italian national literature in regional fractions, but firstly tries to illustrate the universality of some questions common to cultures considered different and secondly intends to demonstrate social and cultural repercussions of global changes at local level. In the third (The space and non-palces) and the last (The time always present) chapter I will focus my attention on the formation of new elements in the novels of which origin may be indicated in some turning points of the contemporary history of the region. The elements of the fictional word created by the author reinforce consequently mental schemes and associations related to this particular geographic zone. The example of Sardinian prose offers a good opportunity to observe that, due to geographical and social particularities of this Italian region. I will focus my attention on the local realization of universal patterns common to each culture known as archetype. I have selected some motives of which presence in Sardinian prose is culturally determined and repetitive allusions to them are one of the most frequent element of the genre at the structural level of each analyzed novel. The analyse of those constant motives will illustrate the part of the process known as the formation of collective memory and the reinforcement of the sense of social bounds. The language of the novels occupies my attention as well, and this matter will be discussed in the fourth chapter (Sardinian prose in Italian). The distinction of Sardinian prose in two larger groups (Sardinian prose in Sardinian and Sardinian prose in Italian), according to the language in which single novels are written, is quite troublesome, since in the prose only one langue is rarely used. More often the authors are convinced of the linguistic multidimensionality of the universe and their believes and practical experiences reflect in their literary work. The question of the language becomes even more complicated when we consider the features of Sardinian literature in its different historical periods. Only then will we understand how fluid the concept of regional and national literature may become if only one distinctive element will be taken into consideration. In this thesis I focus my attention only on the novels written in Italian, excluding from my research Sardinian prose written in different varieties of Sardinian, which in my opinion requires different approach, not only due to the linguistic questions. Nonetheless, the selected materials give us the possibility to observe the process of language mixing and code switching in writing. The novelist well conscious of the importance of both language, Italian and Sardinian, try to unite this double presence also in fictional word created in their novels. In other words, they aim to reconstruct the reality and to reach this objective, they use the most significant elements of the non-fictional universe. At different levels of the novel Sardinian lexical, semantic and phonetic unites are inserted, both in Sardinian and Italian version, as well as in Italian translation.

This thesis seeks to investigate the role that blogs play in contemporary South African journalism through examining six blogs in the South African blogosphere and their content choices. This thesis draws on four key theoretical frameworks around which the research questions have been formulated: New Media and Journalism, Journalistic Blogging, Audiences and the Public Sphere. There are three key research questions: 1. What is the role played by blogging in contemporary South African journalism? 2. To what extent has the blogosphere become a Public Sphere? 3. How have blogs influenced/changed/impacted on the style and content of South African journalism? The qualitative data collected through blog observation, interviews with blog owner/ editors and concluded focus group discussions with blog readers, is designed to help reveal the role blogs and bloggers play in contemporary South African journalism, and through discussions with the audience and monitoring conversations online, help explore the possibilities of a public sphere. The conclusion of this thesis is that blogs do play a role in contemporary South African journalism and can serve as an effective public sphere. Defining what it means to be a journalist and recognising the differences between blogger and journalist is an issue that needs to be effectively understood before a conclusive agreement is to be reached in the blogger/journalist debate. However, for now the relationship between South African news agents and South African bloggers is promising.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Text in Afrikaans
Die verhandeling behels 'n holistiese benadering tot die geskiedenis van die Israelitiese stamme/clans gedurende die 'tyd van die Rigters' (soos in die Ou Testament gereflekteer). Na my mening het 'n holistiese benadering die potensiaal om 'n meer komprehensiewe beeld van die 'Rigtertyd' te verkry. 'n Vierledige ondersoek na die situasie van die Israelitiese stamme/clans word daarom aan die hand van die politieke konteks, die sosio-kulturele en ekonomiese situasie, die godsdienstig-ideologiese aspek en die literere dimensie gedoen. In die laaste hoofstuk is daar gepoog om die verskillende dimensies op mekaar te betrek. Opsommend kan gese word dat byna alle aktiwiteite gedurende hierdie periode ongestruktureerd en sonder orde was, dit wil se daar was anargie in die Beloofde Land. · Elkeen het gedoen wat reg was in sy eie oe' (Rgt 21 :25).
This dissertation deals with a holistic approach towards the history of the Israelite tribes/clans throughout the 'period of the Judges' (as referred to in the Old Testament). In my opinion, a holistic approach has the potential to offer a more comprehensive analysis of the 'period of the Judges'. A fourfold investigation into the situation of the Israelite tribes/clans is carried out involving the political context, the socio-cultural and economic situation, the religious-ideological aspect and the literary dimension. In the last chapter an attempt is made to integrate the different dimensions. To conclude, it can be said that nearly all phenomena in the tribal period was characterized by a lack of structure or order, in other words, there was anarchy in the Promised Land. 'Everyone did what was right in his own eyes' (Jdg 21 :25).
Biblical and Ancient Studies
M.A. (Bybelkunde)

Text in Afrikaans
Die verhandeling behels 'n holistiese benadering tot die geskiedenis van die Israelitiese stamme/clans gedurende die 'tyd van die Rigters' (soos in die Ou Testament gereflekteer). Na my mening het 'n holistiese benadering die potensiaal om 'n meer komprehensiewe beeld van die 'Rigtertyd' te verkry. 'n Vierledige ondersoek na die situasie van die Israelitiese stamme/clans word daarom aan die hand van die politieke konteks, die sosio-kulturele en ekonomiese situasie, die godsdienstig-ideologiese aspek en die literere dimensie gedoen. In die laaste hoofstuk is daar gepoog om die verskillende dimensies op mekaar te betrek. Opsommend kan gese word dat byna alle aktiwiteite gedurende hierdie periode ongestruktureerd en sonder orde was, dit wil se daar was anargie in die Beloofde Land. · Elkeen het gedoen wat reg was in sy eie oe' (Rgt 21 :25).
This dissertation deals with a holistic approach towards the history of the Israelite tribes/clans throughout the 'period of the Judges' (as referred to in the Old Testament). In my opinion, a holistic approach has the potential to offer a more comprehensive analysis of the 'period of the Judges'. A fourfold investigation into the situation of the Israelite tribes/clans is carried out involving the political context, the socio-cultural and economic situation, the religious-ideological aspect and the literary dimension. In the last chapter an attempt is made to integrate the different dimensions. To conclude, it can be said that nearly all phenomena in the tribal period was characterized by a lack of structure or order, in other words, there was anarchy in the Promised Land. 'Everyone did what was right in his own eyes' (Jdg 21 :25).
Biblical and Ancient Studies
M.A. (Bybelkunde)