This thesis is a phenomenology highlighting the phenomenon of declining youth attendance at mainstream churches where traditional church music is used in worship and the emergence of megachurches where young people are attending and contemporary popular styles of music is used in worship. An Australian Broadcasting Authority survey in 1999 revealed that music is a major influence in the lives of youth, assisting in their identity creation, in their making friends, and in relieving their stress. The survey also notes that youth prefer contemporary popular music and, in particular, rock. This is in stark contrast to the traditional music played and sung in mainstream churches, which tends to be neither meaningful nor relevant to youth, largely because they do not identify with it. An increasing proportion of youth are rejecting the mainstream traditional churches such as Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Uniting Church. National Church Life Surveys in Australia show that by 2001, only fourteen percent of church attenders were young adults. Young non-attenders complained they found church services boring and unfulfilling. This declining youth membership does not auger well for the mainstream church’s future. It is clearly evident that, in Australian society a culture gap has emerged between the secular world and the mainstream Christian church. This thesis examines the role of contemporary popular music in attracting young people to church. Although, in comparatively recent times there has been some movement towards contemporizing worship services in mainstream churches, the change has met strong resistance, but that resistance is based on invalid arguments and the mainstream church is yet to respond effectively to the increasing culture gap and growing alienation of the young. Mainstream congregations are not adequately encouraged to participate in singing praise and thanks to God. Although the lyrics of songs that focus on thanks and praise can teach a Christian message, as well as promote an awareness of the presence of God, the importance of this aspect of worship appears to have been overlooked, even though music has always been a part of worship, with multiple biblical scriptures cementing its pivotal role. In 1980 twelve people began Christian City Church (CCC), a new church which was not one of the mainstream churches, with a vision to communicate the Christian message to the whole of Sydney. CCC used contemporary music as a vehicle to make their message relevant. That church has been strikingly successful, and had grown to five thousand members by 2004. This thesis focusses on a case study of the music of CCC to test a hypothesis that the use of contemporary popular styles of music, with a focus on thanks and praise, can play a significant role in attracting young people to join and remain as members, and that such music can be influential in communicating an experiential understanding of the Christian message. The aim of the case study was to discover whether the music was similar in style to young people’s preferred styles of music, whether they actively participated in its performance, whether it communicated to them, whether the lyrics conveyed a Christian message, and finally whether the congregation was both increasing and retaining young people as members. The songs examined in the study revealed that the music and paramusical aspects of the songs were similar to those of contemporary popular songs. The lyrics of the songs included themes of thanks and praise to God, and as such conveyed a Christian message. Thirty percent of the worship service was devoted to music praising God, and forty-nine percent of the church’s 5,000 members in 2004, were under twenty-five years. Further, the congregation participated enthusiastically in singing, an emphasis on belonging to small groups encouraged fellowship, and sermons addressed problems relevant to young people. It is proposed that CCC provides a pattern that mainstream churches could adapt, including the encouragement of congregational singing and worship, creation of effective small groups, relevant preaching, education opportunities, and culturally appropriate music. It is clear that contemporary and culturally appropriate music has played a significant and vital role in CCC’s successful development. To attract and retain youth membership, music needs to be contemporary, and culturally appropriate, thereby filling the gap between the secular world and the church. Contemporary popular music could provide today’s song for tomorrow’s church.

El término teatralidad es una de las palabras más utilizadas dentro del mundo espectáculo. Sin embargo, existe cierta confusión o ambigüedad a la hora de separar la utilización de este recurso dentro de distintas ramas artísticas. Así pues, si no es bien generalizado, es desatendido por el común artista musical; como consecuencia se ha desestimado el impacto que se puede ocasionar en el espectador, a partir de la mera corporalidad de los participantes de una puesta en escena. Por estos motivos, se ha contenido dentro del presente documento el uso y la transformación de este recurso dentro de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, de manera que se ha investigado la adopción de esta técnica por múltiples artistas a lo largo de las décadas; con el fin de poder esclarecer términos afines y dar a conocer uno de los avances artísticos musicales más elaborados dentro de nuestra coetaneidad. La teatralidad en la música es el resultado de una visión literaria dentro de la misma, por la cual se expanden los modos de composición, producción y ejecución. Así pues, esta viene a ser la introducción de nuevas formas en la lírica y en la narrativa. Se plasman personajes ficticios en la búsqueda de representar dramáticamente un nuevo espectáculo musical; el sonido, el material visual del escenario y la performance de sus componentes físicos son ahora herramientas en pos de consolidar un nuevo conjunto visual y sonoro, compartido entre artista y espectador. / The term theatricality is one of the most used words in show business. However, there is some confusion or ambiguity when it comes to separating the use of this resource within different artistic branches. Thus, if it is not well generalized, it is neglected by the common musical artist; as a consequence, the impact that can be caused on the viewer, from the mere corporality of the participants of a staging, has been dismissed. For these reasons, the use and transformation of this resource within the second half of the twentieth century has been contained in this document, so that the adoption of this technique by multiple artists over the decades has been investigated; in order to clarify related terms and publicize one of the most elaborate musical artistic advances within our contemporary age. Theatricality in music is the result of a literary vision, through which the modes of composition, production and execution are expanded. Thus, this comes to be the introduction of new forms in the lyric and in the narrative. Fictional characters are depicted in the quest to dramatically represent a new musical show; the sound, the visual material of the stage and the performance of its physical components are now tools in order to consolidate a new visual and sound set, shared between artist and spectator. / Trabajo de investigación

Cette thèse se propose d’aborder les représentations et pratiques des arrêts maladie, essentiellement à partir des discours des travailleurs et d’observations in situ, dans l’aide à domicile et les musiques actuelles. L’hypothèse développée est celle d’une pratique polysémique, intelligente, et morale. Polysémique, car les travailleurs donnent des sens multiples aux arrêts maladie, en font un usage varié : les arrêts protègent leur santé dans des environnements astreignants ; ils servent aussi de message pour alerter collègues ou hiérarchie, en vue d’améliorer le bien-être collectif, de s’élever contre des logiques arbitraires ; ils peuvent enfin être interprétés comme une sanction, au sens de conséquence logique d’une situation (notamment les conditions de travail), et au sens de punition, à l’égard de l’employeur ou du travailleur lui-même. Intelligente, car les travailleurs mènent une réflexion avant de recourir aux arrêts, évaluant leur impact, analysant le contexte, les usages. Ils s’adaptent aux normes en vigueur aux niveaux local et macro-social, essaient à l’occasion de modifier la donne. Ils évoluent dans leurs représentations et leurs actes, apprennent de leur expérience, modifient leurs positions tout au long de leurs carrières (de travailleur, de malade, carrière familiale, …), selon les rôles sociaux qui leur incombent. Morale enfin, car les travailleurs tiennent compte des conséquences de leurs arrêts, dans une attitude de « loyauté » envers leurs collègues, leurs clients, leur travail ou leur entreprise. Ils jugent de la légitimité des arrêts et y recourent, ou non, dans le respect ou la lutte pour un ordre plus juste et conforme aux valeurs du métier. / The purpose of this current doctoral thesis was to investigate sick leave practices and representations, mainly through workers’ discourses and field observation, in the home care and contemporary popular music sectors. The hypothesis is that sick leave is a polysemous, intelligent and moral practice. Polysemous, in the sense that workers give sick leaves various meanings and use them in many different ways: sick leaves protect their health from demanding work environments. They serve as warnings for colleagues and hierarchy, in an attempt to improve collective welfare, to speak out against employer’s hegemony. They can be interpreted as a logical outcome of a given context (mainly poor working conditions and organization), as well as a punishment for the employer or the worker himself. Intelligent, because workers think carefully before they have recourse to sick leave, they assess their ins and outs, analyze the situation, the common practices. They adapt to social norms, at both local and macro-social levels, try when possible to be game changers. Their views and behaviors about sick leaves change over time, they learn from their experience, rethink their positions along their careers (within illness, work, family…), according to the social roles they are expected to endorse. Eventually, sick leaves are a moral practice as workers take into account the consequences of their leave : they behave with « loyalty » towards their colleagues, their clients, their work or their company. They evaluate the legitimacy of sick leaves and use them or not according to this judgment, in the respect or the fight for equity, and the defense of their professional identity and values.