Thesis (Ph. D.)--Yale University, 1977. / Typescript. Includes abstract. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, leaves 324-357).

M. Tech. (Multimedia, Department of Visual Arts and Design), Vaal University of Technology / This study investigates the views and opinions of computer animation practitioners about the critical skills required for entry level animators in computer-generated or digital animation design in South Africa. The literature review chapters of the study clarify the terms animation and creativity, examine the changes taking place in the animation discipline, and discuss the relative roles of technical and creative skills in computer animation productions, primarily based on Amabile’s componential model of creativity. The chapters that deal with the fieldwork describe the sequential mixed-methods design which was followed in this study to gather data in two phases, namely a survey with questionnaires (n = 16), and interviews (n = 7) at thirteen South African companies, six in Johannesburg and seven in Cape Town. The main aim of the first phase was to determine (a) which skills are considered more important for entry level animators, (b) whether technical skills or creative skills are considered more important in the selection process for new animators, and (c) whether institutions teaching computer animation should focus on technical skills or creative skills. The main aim of the second phase was to augment the questionnaire results with more detailed explanations. The results of the first phase indicate that according to the respondents computer animation education should focus primarily on creative skills. The results of the second phase confirm that creative skills are regarded as more important, and also elaborate on a number of factors, including job level, the nature of the company, and company size, which the respondents considered important during the first phase of data collection. The information gathered in the course of this study can be used directly by entry level practitioners, experienced animators and design students. The results can also guide the development of the South African animation industry and the revision of multimedia curricula.

Cette thèse s'intéresse à l'engagement dans une démarche de VAE de professionnels de l'animation socioculturelle. Les exigences de professionnalisme renforcent sensiblement les logiques de professionnalisation. Des apports nouveaux en ce domaine semblent alors utiles pour nourrir les connaissances d'autant que le rapport à la formation est une situation privilégiée d'observation de l'articulation et de la négociation entre les dynamiques identitaires d'un sujet, d'une part, et les logiques institutionnelles, d'autre part. L'évolution des métiers de l'animation renforce les rhétoriques de la professionnalisation. Ce mouvement s'inscrit dans un contexte social caractérisé par des transformations convergentes travail/formation apportant une conception nouvelle du professionnel : autonome, responsable et adaptable. Cependant, les savoirs et les valeurs acquis ainsi que la production d'un ethos professionnel participent de la construction de représentations identitaires, de cultures professionnelles et favorisent la socialisation. La signification subjective de la professionnalisation est donc ce qui permet au sujet de mobiliser les ressources subjectives pour l'élaboration de son expérience tout en intégrant des contraintes objectives. Le choix de la VAE comme objet d'analyse s'inscrit dans cette double perspective. Elle constitue une expérience singulière dans la mesure où elle place le sujet au centre du processus. Si cette nouvelle modalité d'obtention de diplômes apporte des droits nouveaux, elle introduit dans le même temps des paradigmes pédagogiques centrés sur l'individualisation des parcours mais aussi une demande de reconnaissance. La question qui est au centre de cette recherche est de savoir comment les sujets construisent leur expérience, en tant qu'expérience de l'expérience. Le rapport à la formation ne s'inscrit pas seulement dans une logique d'acquisition de savoirs mais dans la capacité des sujets de maîtriser leurs expériences d'apprentissage successives. Celles-ci sont une construction du versant subjectif du système pédagogique, se révèlent dans des dynamiques identitaires et combinent les logiques institutionnelles que les sujets doivent articuler entre elles : l'adhésion aux normes pédagogiques instituées, la construction de stratégies, la maîtrise subjective des éléments qui les portent. C'est bien à cette « expérience » que cette recherche s'intéresse pour comprendre si les sujets enquêtés ont la capacité de construire et de gérer toutes les dimensions d'une expérience de formation, qui se nuance diversement selon leur position dans le système pédagogique et selon les situations sociales qui les caractérisent. En articulant de manière inductive l'analyse des entretiens issus d'une enquête menée auprès de 42 animateurs socioculturels, des logiques mises en jeu et des processus d'élaboration d'une interprétation de la situation ont été repérés chez chacun des sujets. De même que des types de rapport à la formation liant construction de l'expérience et interaction avec le système pédagogique ont été mis en évidence. Ceux-ci conduisent à trois formes identitaires typiques qui désignent les modes d'intégration dans le système pédagogique et les dynamiques qui lient rapport à la trajectoire passée, vécu de la formation et anticipation de l'avenir. Si les témoignages recueillis sont le reflet de la complexité de l’univers de la formation, les formes identitaires dégagées ici ne sont en aucun cas à considérer comme un inventaire de nouvelles catégories sociales à partir desquelles il est possible de hiérarchiser, grouper et désigner objectivement les sujets en formation. D'autres articulations sont explorées. / This thesis is interested in engaging in a process of VAE subjects belonging to the professional group of community workers. Professionalism demands that circulate in institutions significantly strengthen professional logics. New contributions in this area seem to be useful to feed all the knowledge that the report to training is a privileged observation position of articulation and negotiation between identity dynamics of a subject on the one hand and the institutional logic, on the other.The development of business of animation, itself linked to the profound changes at work in society, strengthens rhetoric of professionalization. This move is part of a social context characterized by convergent transformations work / training bringing a new design professional: autonomous, responsible and adaptable. However, knowledge and values gained and the production of a professional ethos participate in the construction of identity representations, professional cultures and promote socialization. The subjective meaning of professionalization is thus about mobilizing subjective resources for the development of his experience while integrating objective constraints. The choice of VAE as an object of analysis is in this dual perspective. It is a unique experience in that it places the subject in the center of the process. If this new modality graduation brings new rights, it introduces at the same time teaching paradigms centered on the individualization of course but also a request for recognition.The question that is central to this research is how the subjects are building their experience, as an experience of experience. The report to training is not only anchored in a process of acquiring knowledge, but in the ability of the subjects to control their subsequent learning experiences. These are construction of the subjective side of the educational system, appear in identity dynamics and combine the institutional logic that subjects must articulate them : adherence to established educational standards , construction strategies , mastery subjective elements who wear them. It is this "experience" that this research is interested in understanding whether respondents’ subjects have the ability to build and manage all the dimensions of a learning experience, which variously grade according to their position in the educational system and in social situations that characterize them. This work is not only realizes the sole educational report, it commits the relational sphere but also anchoring in a professional identity and position in the the organization of work.Articulating inductively analyzing interviews from a survey of 42 community workers, with other elements observed in the course of VAE, logic in play and the process of developing an interpretation the situation were located in each subject. Similarly, the type of report to training binder construction experience and interaction withe educational system was highlighted. These lead to three typical forms of identity that designate the modes of integration in the educational system and the dynamic linking compared to the past trajectory, experienced training and anticipation of the future. If the evidence collected reflects the heterogeneity and complexity of the universe of training, identity forms identified here are by no means to be considered as an inventory of new social categories from which it is possible to prioritize, group and objectively identify the subjects in formation. Other joints are explored.

Thesis (MScIng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We designed a generic avatar animator for use in sign language related projects. The animator is capable of animating any given avatar that is compliant with the H-Anim standard for humanoid animation. The system was designed with the South African Sign Language Machine Translation (SASL-MT) project in mind, but can easily be adapted to other sign language projects due to its generic design. An avatar that is capable of accurately performing sign language gestures is a special kind of avatar and is referred to as a signing avatar. In this thesis we investigate the special characteristics of signing avatars and address the issue of finding a generic design for the animation of such an avatar. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons het ’n generiese karakteranimasiestelsel ontwikkel vir gebruik in gebaretaal verwante projekte. Die animasiestelsel het die vermo¨e om enige karaktermodel wat met die H-Anim standaard versoenbaar is, te animeer. Die animasiestelsel is ontwerp met die oog op gebruik in die South African Sign Language Machine Translation (SASL-MT) projek, maar kan maklik aangepas word vir ander gebaretaalprojekte te danke aan die generiese ontwerp. ’n Karaktermodel wat in staat is om gebare akkuraat te maak is ’n spesiale tipe karaktermodel wat bekend staan as ’n gebaretaal avatar (Engels : signing avatar). In hierdie tesis ondersoek ons die spesiale eienskappe van ’n gebaretaal avatar en beskou die soektog na ’n generiese ontwerp vir die animering van so ’n karaktermodel.

This dissertation for the M.A. in Creative Writing consists of a full-length play, titled Last Laugh and a mini-dissertation. The mini-dissertation explores the phenomenon of Theatre-for-Development, which differs significantly from the performance tradition of classical African drama. The study identifies ways in which Theatre-for-Development practitioners, animators or catalysts, (interchangeable names given to agents who teach target community members theatre-for-development skills) abandon the conventions of classical African drama performances, in terms of the form of plays, stage management and costumes. They find different and less formal ways to tackle the social problems which the target communities experience. The origins of Classical African drama are traced from the western tradition, from which it borrows heavily, and there is some discussion of the socio-historical conditions that prevailed during the time when African playwrights performed those plays, and the rise of nationalism in colonised African states, which in part influenced their production. This study then examines how the socio-political dynamics in the Zimbabwean post-farm-invasions era gave rise to Theatre-for-Development projects in the newly resettled farming communities that faced social development challenges. Despite the land gains peasants enjoyed, the resettled communities found themselves in places far away from schools, hospitals, shops and social service centres. That was the source of their problems. It will be shown how government sponsored Theatre-for-Development groups to mobilise the people, through theatre, to initiate home-groomed solutions to their social and economic problems during a time when the government was bankrupt and the country’s economy was shattered by the destruction of the agricultural and mining sectors, triggered by the invasions of the white commercial farms. The Ziya Community Theatre’s production of Sunrise is analysed in the light of these considerations. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / English / unrestricted