This dissertation considers Thai cinema as a national text. It portrays and analyses Thai film from the introduction of cinema to Thailand during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) up until the present day (2004). At its core, this thesis adopts the ideas of Higson, O’Regan and Dissanayake in considering the cultural negotiation of cinema and the construction of nation. In this study of Thai National Cinema two principal methods are employed—economic and text-based. In terms of political economy Thai National Cinema is explored through the historical development of the local film industry, the impact of imported cinema, taxation, censorship and government policy, and the interplay between vertically and horizontally integrated media businesses. Special attention is paid to the evolving and dynamic role of the ruling class in the local film industry. The dissertation’s text-based analyses concern the social and ideological contexts of these national productions in order to consider extant characteristics of Thai nationhood and how these are either reflected or problematised in Thai Cinema. Of particular relevance is this dissertation’s emphasis on three resilient and potent signifiers of Thai identity—nation, religion, and monarchy—and their interrelationship and influence in the development of Thai National Cinema. These three ‘pillars’ of Thai society form the basis for organising an understanding of the development of Thai cinematic tradition, now over a century old. This thesis argues that any discussion of the historical, or current, development of Thai National Cinema must accommodate the pervasive role that these three principal forms of national identity play in formulating Thai society, culture, and politics. The recent challenges of globalisation and postmodernism, as well as the rise of an educated middle-class, provide opportunity for reconceptualizing the relevance of these three pillars. In this way Thai National Cinema can be considered a useful barometer in both reflecting and promoting the construction of Thai identity and thought.

Animism and anthropomorphism have long been methods that humans use to deal with a complicated and changing world. It is infused within every aspect of human life from art to science to religion. In Japan we find that the Shinto religion itself is based on animism. Shinto is infused into the fabric of Japanese life and we find examples of animism and anthropomorphism in Japanese animated productions. I look at three films, My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns and Haruka and the Magic Mirror to examine how Shinto Animism pervades the storylines and creative direction these films take. My contention is that animated productions in Japan incorporate Shinto into their films as a form of reassurance and education for their viewers, as a way to reaffirm the belief of Shinto. This is done via the use of anthropomorphism, which creates a unique dissociative space that removes the feeling of heavy-handed discourse and instead filters Shinto belief structure effortlessly through anthropomorphic characters.

Lack of viable leadership succession has plagued family businesses and contributed to the high failure rate of these businesses (Cabrera-Suarez, 2005; Grote, 2003). Perhaps as a response to this challenge, more family businesses are installing Co-CEOs/Co-Presidents as they make the transition from generation to generation. This study explores the phenomenon of family member Co-CEOs in a family business that has successfully made the transition from founder to sibling ownership and management. While Co-CEOs are considered to be "a special case of shared leadership-the two person case" (Pearce & Conger, 2003, p. 14), the context of a family business introduces further considerations as does the issue of dyadic interaction between the two co-leaders. The family business context is investigated using the concept of internal family social capital which is unique to families and appropriable into family businesses. / This exploratory case study researches the nature of shared leadership between a pair of Co-CEOs in a family business and additionally asks about the role of internal family social capital in the implementation and functioning of the leadership structure. This case study examines a 32 year old hospitality business that is led by brother Co-Presidents. Data were gathered from interviews of company employees, external stakeholders and family members; observations and documents. The findings reveal that the success of this leadership arrangement is due in no small measure to the close knit and value driven nature of the owning family. Strong internal family social capital is an indicator of achieving shared leadership in the top post of a family business. The duo of leaders implement role overlap; practice open communication and conflict resolution; have trust in and respect for each other and use external support as a lubricant to the relationship. / Key words: Co-CEOs, family social capital, shared leadership, co-leadership.

Sullo sfondo del passaggio dal cinema dai primordi alla codificazione del dispositivo cinematografico, la presente ricerca si propone di indagare una pratica marginale: la cinematografia di istruzione e propaganda rurale, nel suo sviluppo in Italia tra il 1912 ed il 1937. Attraverso casi di studio inerenti l'Istituto Nazionale Minerva, L'Istituto Italiano Proiezioni Luminose, la cinemateca agricola dell'Istituto Luce e in maniera più tangenziale l'Opera delle proiezioni Luminose e l'Istituto Cerere, approderemo alla ricostruzione di un corpus specifico di materiali, dispositivi e prassi e all'individuazione di un percorso evolutivo di questo circuito minore. Lo studio di pratiche culturali "invisibili" e scarsamente affrontate dagli studiosi illumina le teorie sull'istituzionalizzazione svelando un paesaggio più articolato e meno scontato. Il circuito rurale incarna contemporaneamente la forza di un nuovo medium e l'instabilità delle istituzioni che lo utilizzano nella difficile transizione al regime, proponendosi come strumento rivelatore di aspettative e urgenze, e del reciproco ricollocarsi delle istanze educative e del pubblico di massa. / Against the background of the (now familiar) transition from early to classical cinema my work explores a marginal filed of research: the educational and rural propaganda cinema and its institutional practices produced ad developed in Italy between 1912 and 1937. Taking the Istituto Nazionale Minerva, Istituto Italiano Proiezioni Luminose, Istituto Luce's agricultural cinemateca and the Opera delle Proiezioni Luminose and the Istituto Cerere as case studies, I outline the films, visual devices, and practices used in what I call a rural circuit of films . My project is therefore focused upon an invisible cultural practice which has been traditionally disregarded by scholars. It introduces an otherwise absent corpus of works into institutionalizations's theories, revealing a complex and less obvious film history. At the same time, the rural circuit of films embodies the strength of a new medium and the movement towards dictatorship in Italy. Film offers itself as an instrument which traces the expectations and needs of pedagogical institutions and their changing relationship to the masses.

This thesis considers the films of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar as postmodern melodramas. The crux of my argument is that melodrama is known for its expressiveness and its attempt to restore a spiritual element to a post-sacred world, and is used by Almodóvar to make clear the problems and contradictions inherent in the destabilized world of postmodernity. This definition of melodrama draws primarily on the work of Peter Brooks, Christine Gledhill and Linda Williams; it is modified to apply to postmodernism as defined by Jean Baudrillard and Frederic Jameson. The conclusion reached is that Almodóvar is deeply ambivalent about postmodernity. Chapter 2 considers the twin issues of representation and sexuality in Almodóvar’s first six films: Pepi, Luci, Born (Pepi, Luci Born y otras chicas del montón, 1980), Labyrinth of Passions (Laberinto de pasiones, 1982), Dark Habits (Entre tinieblas, 1983), What Have I Done To Deserve This? (Qué he hecho yopor merecer esto!, 1984), Matador (1986), and Law ofDesire (Le ley del deseo, 1987); with a special eye to the representation of sexual violence, it establishes how Almodóvar develops his ambivalent melodramatic imagination. Chapter 3 considers fashion as a discourse and argues that Almodóvar’s next four films use clothing to place different versions of femininity in dialogue, and uses this as a springboard to consider Women on the Verge ofa Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, 1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (I Atame!, 1990), High Heels (Tacones lejanos, 1991), and Kika (1993) as postmodern “women’s pictures.” Chapter 4 considers the appearance of the explicitly political along with the symbolism of the image of the map in The Flower of My Secret (Laflor de rni secreto, 1995), Live Flesh (Came trémula, 1997), and All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre, 1999). Chapter 5 uses the metaphor of ghosts to consider the draw of the past in Talk To Her (Hable con ella, 2002), Bad Education (La mala educación, 2004), and Volver (2006), pointing to both the emptiness of the present and the impossibility of returning to that golden past.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Germanic Studies, 2007. / Title from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 25, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0622. Adviser: William Rasch.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Communication and Culture, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 3, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-04, Section: A, page: 1266. Adviser: Robert L. Ivie.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2604. Adviser: Charles C. Stewart. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-277) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--New York University, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2148. Adviser: Mikhail Iampolski.

<p> This project is an effort to adapt computer game prototyping tools as controls for interactive digital music. Secondarily it is an investigation of a social aspect of interactive music. Meaning, is it possible give the game-player-listeners the ability to structure the music interactively and become the composers of their own game experience? Throughout the process these social and aesthetic questions countered and informed the technical questions. </p><p> In every media composer's digital studio the tools of creation and distribution have elided. Work is instantaneously and efficiently distributable on a global scale; many of the aesthetic difficulties specific to art-making in 2015 derive from this fact. This paper describes some of these difficulties strictly within the context of the rising demand for mediated interactive experiences. </p><p> The conclusions are decisive. Contemporary game prototyping programming techniques&mdash;even those limited to WebGL-enabled browser applications&mdash;are highly effective tools for the creation and control of interactive digital music.</p>