Ce travail propose une approche novatrice de l’étude des sculptures préhispaniques de l’Altiplano. En nous concentrant sur les pièces de la culture Pucara, c’est toute la vision du monde andin que nous revisitons. Après avoir énuméré les travaux antérieurs et les lacunes qui perdurent, nous procédons à une redéfinition complète du phénomène Pucara. Pour cela, nous utilisons la grande quantité de pièces inédites que nous avons pu inventorier au cours de nos voyages de recherche dans la région. De même, nous réalisons une étude comparative plus globale comprenant l’ensemble des styles affiliés Yaya-Mama, Tiahuanaco ou encore Khonkho Wankane. De la sorte, c’est tout le panorama culturel de cette région des Andes que nous revisitons. Il en découle une description précise des critères d’attributions stylistiques propres à chaque culture, ainsi que l’élaboration de normes de création strictes. Mais dans le même temps, nous mettons en évidence la continuité culturelle qui existe entre les différents phénomènes. Nous aboutissons à une chronologie relative des sculptures Pucara et de l’ensemble du bassin du lac Titicaca, tout en démontrant l’existence de phases de transition. Ces éléments rompent radicalement avec la théorie en place énonçant une disparition soudaine de la culture Pucara. Fort de cette nouvelle vision, nous proposons une lecture symbolique de l’iconographie présente sur ces vestiges. Par cette analyse en profondeur, nous extirpons le phénomène Pucara de son isolement. En fin de compte, nous illustrons comment les sculptures Pucara expriment une tradition pan-andine tout en conservant une forte identité régionale. / This thesis introduces an innovative approach for the Altiplano’s sculptures study of the pre-hispanic times. Focusing on the lithic elements produced by the Pucara culture, our conception of the Andean world is revisited. After the reminder of anterior works and lacks that remain, a complete redefinition of the Pucara phenomenon is given. For that, we use the important quantity of unpublished elements, recorded during our research journeys in this region. In the same way, a more global comparative study is realized, including the whole affiliated styles: Yaya-Mama, Tiahuanaco and also Khonkho Wankane. Thus, we revisit all the cultural overview of this Andean region. Following, we make a precise description of the stylistic criteria specifics to each culture, as well as the elaboration of strict creation standards. However, at the same time, the cultural continuity existing in each phenomenon is highlighted. We come up to a relative chronology of the Pucara sculptures and for the entire Lake Titicaca basin, while demonstrating the existence of transition phases. These elements break radically with the current theory that states a sudden disappearance of the Pucara culture. With this new vision, we propose a symbolical reading of the iconography shown on these artifacts. By our profound analysis, the Pucara phenomenon is taken out of its isolation. In fact, we illustrate how the Pucara sculptures express a pan Andean tradition while keeping a strong regional identity.

Författaren till denna uppsats har ett brett allmänt intresse av alla tänkbara relationer mellan hällbilder och runor ur ett vitt spektrum av aspekter såsom kronologiska, kulturella, epokmässiga, geografiska, semiotiska, språkfunktionella och skrifthistoriska. Särskilt intressant vore att kartlägga och analysera, hur hällbilder och runor kan symboliskt uttrycka religiösa, rituella, kosmologiska och livsåskådningsmässiga föreställningar och ideal. Andra viktiga faktorer, som måste beaktas, är kulturkontinuitet och hur forntidens människor såg på sina ännu äldre föregångares kultur, föreställningar och livsföring. Uppsatsen måste dock begränsa sig att främst behandla två specialområden dels lokaler med överlappande förekomster av hällristningar och runor, dels en jämförelse mellan runnamnens semantiska sfärer och symboliseringar av väsentliga delar i livsvärlden hos de mest frekventa skandinaviska hällbildsfigurstyperna. De frågor uppsatsen vill besvara är primärt: 1/ Vilka samlokaliseringar av hällbilder och runor finns det? 2/ Verkar runinskrifterna på dessa samlokaliseringar kommentera eller anspela på hällbilderna och i så fall hur? 3/ Vilka semantiska sfärer representerar runnamnen och vilka komponenter i de dåtida människornas levnadsvärld refererar de till? 4/ Finns det hällbildsfigurer, som rimligen kan sägas symbolisera samma levnadsvärldskomponenter som runorna? För att besvara dessa frågor presenteras: A/ fem samlokaliseringar av hällbilder och runor; B/ tolkningar av samspelet mellan de fem lokalernas hällbilder och runor; C/ en genomgång av de äldre runnamnens betydelser; D/ förslag på hällbildsfigurer, som symboliskt skulle motsvara runnamnen.  En angenäm effekt av denna uppsats vore, om den kunde leda till en rekategorisering av hällbildernas motiv och symboler utifrån runsystemets förutsatta levnadsvärld och kosmologi.. / The author of this thesis has a broad general interest in all imaginable relations between rock art and runes out of a wide spectrum of aspects such as cronological, cultural, epochic, geografic, semiotic, linguistic and the history of writing. It would be specially interesting to describe (map down) and analyse how rock art and runes in a symbolic way can express beliefs and ideals out of a religious, ritual and cosmological  conception of life. Other important considerations are continuity of culture and how ancient people looked at the culture, beliefs, ideas and living of their ancesters. This thesis has to be limited to deal with two areas, firstly lokacations with overlapping occurrence of rock art and runes and secondly a comparison of the semantic sphere of the names of the runes and symbolizations of important parts of life that can be seen in the most frequently occurring Scandinavian types of rock art figures. The thesis primarily wants to answer the following questions: 1) Which common localisations of rock art and runes are there? 2) Do the runes in these colocalization seem to comment or allude to the rock art? If so, in what way? 3) Which semantic spheres do the names of the runes represent and to which components in the life world of the ancient people do they refere? 4) Are there rock art figures who probably can be said to symbolize the same components of life world as the runes? To answer these questions I will present: A) five common lokalisations of rock art and runes. B) interpretations of the interaction of the rock art and runes in these five lokalisations. C) a catalogue of the meanings of the names of the older runes. D) proposals concerning rock art figures which in a symbolic way could correspond the rune names. A pleasant effect of this thesis would be, if it could leed to a recategorization of the motives and symbols of rock art from the provided life world and cosmology of the runes.

East of Lake Winnipeg is what conservationists call the ‘east shore wilderness’ / ‘heart of the boreal.’ The largest contiguous tract of unindustrialized boreal forest on Earth, this area has been the focus of 15 years of discussion and planning in Manitoba. The area is also designated Waabanong Nakaygum, a homeland to the Anishinaabek of this bush-meets-lake region. Waabanong has seen limited access during the industrial period of personal mechanized mobility due to a lack of constructed all-weather roads. However, an older pattern of travel and mobility does exist across the land, for centuries constituting traditional Anishinaabek patterns of land use and trade. As all-weather roads are being constructed along Lake Winnipeg, oral interviews will examine the question: will the older trails remain in the collective culture of the people or shall the north-south cultural and economic flows replace the east-west bush history traced by the rivers that wind through?

This research project explores the relation between the participation of First Nations women in local governance and the well-being of First Nations youth. To explore this relation, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eleven First Nations women leaders. Special attention was paid to how these women conceptualized their relationships with youth and the differing approaches the women took to connect youth with their culture. The research aimed to identify: (1) the historical, social, and cultural influences that supported or challenged these women’s participation in government and their ability to influence youth; (2) how the women’s interest in the well-being of youth was influenced by their gender, family, and cultural roles; and (3) how these women described their contributions to the health and well-being of youth. Results point to four main themes that underpin the women’s activities as they relate to youth health and well-being: Identity, Relationships, Living in Two Worlds, and Holistic Caregivers.

This research project explores the relation between the participation of First Nations women in local governance and the well-being of First Nations youth. To explore this relation, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eleven First Nations women leaders. Special attention was paid to how these women conceptualized their relationships with youth and the differing approaches the women took to connect youth with their culture. The research aimed to identify: (1) the historical, social, and cultural influences that supported or challenged these women’s participation in government and their ability to influence youth; (2) how the women’s interest in the well-being of youth was influenced by their gender, family, and cultural roles; and (3) how these women described their contributions to the health and well-being of youth. Results point to four main themes that underpin the women’s activities as they relate to youth health and well-being: Identity, Relationships, Living in Two Worlds, and Holistic Caregivers.

Cette thèse entend montrer l’apport d’une prise en compte des repères culturels locaux dans l’analyse des réactions du personnel d’un hôpital public situé la région centrale de la Chine face aux transformations brutales de son organisation au moment où celui-ci est privatisé. Notre approche anthropologique permet d’approfondir l’analyse des (in)satisfactions et des perplexités exprimées librement par les différents acteurs que nous avons interrogés. L’enquête de terrain montre à la fois l’ampleur des transformations survenues et l’écart existant entre les anticipations initiales des acteurs locaux et les réalités observables un peu plus tard, même si les résultats obtenus témoignent de la réussite économique de cette privatisation. Les nouveaux dirigeants de notre hôpital privatisé se sont efforcés d’introduire de nouvelles formes de management, de nouvelles relations inter-organisationnelles tout en évitant autant que possible de trop dévier des valeurs traditionnelles demeurant partagées au sein de l’environnement social de l’hôpital. Ce souci différencie de la plupart des hôpitaux privés qui, faute d’avoir obtenu l’approbation des communautés locales, à se développer commercialement. La thèse apporte ainsi la contribution dans le champ du management. Elle révèle que la continuité culturelle survit aux transformations du système de propriété, créant obligation aux nouvelles directions post privatisation d’en tenir compte. Certes, au cours de la modernisation et de l’évolution sociale, des réformes sont inévitables. Cependant, les repères culturels antérieurs continuent de fournir aux acteurs un cadre d’interprétation leur permettant de s’orienter dans le contexte en transition. La thèse décrit ces logiques enracinées dans la culture chinoise dont la présence pérenne continue d’influencer les fonctionnements des autres entreprises et industries. Nous espérons que la lecture de notre travail pourra aider les gestionnaires et collaborateurs étrangers à mieux comprendre certains comportements inattendus de leurs partenaires chinois. / This thesis expounds, through an analysis of the practitioners’ reactions when privatization drastically transformed their hospital in Central China, the contribution of taking into consideration local cultural factors in the period of organizational reforms. Adopting anthropological approaches, the author interviewed the participants of the reforms and analyzed their various feelings such as disinclination, satisfaction and perplexity. The author also conducted field surveys demonstrating that while the reforms’ observable reality fell short of the expectation of the participants; its outcome was far-reaching and financially successful. The new leadership of the privatized hospital introduced new forms of management and new inter-organizational relationships, meanwhile, considered local cultural factors and strove very hard to avoid departing from traditional values shared within the environment of Chinese hospitals. It is just because of this consideration that the hospital did better than many other private hospitals whose commercial operations failed to obtain the approval of local communities.This thesis is thus expected to make a contribution to the field of the management science. It reveals that the changes in property systems inevitably involve cultural continuity, and this involvement must be taken into account by the new management personnel in post-privatization. During the great change of society, reforms certainly are inevitable. Cultural references, however, continue to provide a framework of interpretation to the actors of reforms, allowing them to orientate themselves in the context of transition.Furthermore, the author discusses some logics rooted in Chinese traditional culture which continues to influence the operations of many companies and institutions. It is hoped that this thesis could help foreign managers and employees to better understand some unfamiliar behavior of their Chinese counterparts.

The Forum was the center of Roman life. It witnessed a barrage of building, destruction and reuse from the seventh century BCE onwards. By around 80 BCE, patrons chose to renovate the Senate House and Comitium with a fresh paving of tufa blocks. Masons leveled many ruined altars and memorials beneath the flooring. Yet paving also provided a means of saving some of Rome’s past. They isolated the Lapis Niger with black blocks, to keep the city’s sinking history in their present. Paving therefore became a technology of memory for recording past events and people. Yet how effective was the Lapis Niger as a memorial? Many modern scholars have romanced the site’s cultural continuity. However, in fifty years and after two Lapis Nigers, the Comitium had borne a disparity of monuments and functions. Rome’s historians could not agree on what lay beneath. Verrius Flaccus reports that the Lapis Niger ‘according to others’ might mark the site of Romulus’s apotheosis, his burial, the burial of his foster father Faustulus, or even his soldier, Hostius Hostilius (50.177). Nevertheless, modern archaeologists have found no tombs. Instead of trying to comprehend these legends, most scholars use them selectively to isolate a dictator, deity or date. We must instead understand why so many views of the Lapis Niger emerged in antiquity. Otherwise, like ancient antiquarians, we will re- identify sites without end. Recreating how these material and mental landscapes interacted and spawned new pasts tells us more about the Lapis Niger than any new attribution. / text

Cette Thèse propose d’expliquer le succès du christianisme au sein de populations urbaines deChine en analysant les processus d’affiliation-conversion, non comme des ruptures radicalesmais comme des résultats d’évaluations et de choix relativement rationnels et contextualisés.Y sont examinés les évolutions institutionnelles, les dispositions culturelles, les facteursconjoncturels, ainsi le processus d’initiation religieuse conduisant certains Chinois à adhérer àdes croyances et des organisations chrétiennes, à partir d’entretiens et d’observations conduitsprincipalement dans diverses organisations chrétiennes à Shanghai. Rappelant la graduellelégitimation socio-politique d’une offre chrétienne diversifiée en Chine depuis plus d’unsiècle, Cette thèse montre d’abord que l’adhésion des acteurs à des représentations etaspirations cosmopolites ainsi que l’expérience d’une mobilité géographique etprofessionnelle rendent possible les affiliations. Celles-ci résultent ensuite de l’identificationdans une organisation religieuse de ressources orientées vers le développement personnel etfamilial dans une structure innovante et moralement conservatrice. La conversion repose enfinsur l’expérience vécue par les acteurs au cours de l’initiation religieuse, dotant l’organisationet ses croyances d’une nouvelle légitimité, divine de leur point de vue, et par laquelle ilsachèvent une subjectivation communautaire. L’homogénéité constatée des processusd’affiliation-conversion ne doit cependant pas masquer la diversité des identités et stratégiesadoptées par les organisations et les acteurs pour accroitre leurs marges de manoeuvres et leurreconnaissance sociale. / This dissertation offers to explain the growth and success of Christianity among urbanpopulations in China, by analyzing affiliations and conversions as the results of relativelyrational and contextualized choices. Institutional evolutions, cultural dispositions, situationalcontingencies and the process of religious initiation leading to the endorsement of Christianbeliefs and organizations are examined mostly from interviews and observations conducted indiverse Christian organizations in Shanghai. Reminding of the gradual socio-politicallegitimation of Christianity since more than a century, this dissertation firstly shows thataffiliations are made possible because of individual’s adhesion to cosmopolitanrepresentations and aspirations, as well as their experience of geographical and socialmobility. Affiliations are then resulting from the identification of resources for personal andfamily development within an innovating as well as morally conservative religiousorganization. Conversion finally results from the individual experiment of a religiousinitiation, through which both the organization and its beliefs gain a new kind of legitimacy,appearing as divine in the eyes of the convert, and through which converts are achieving acommunity-centered subjectivation. Despite strong homogeneity, affiliation-conversionprocesses lead to great diversity of identities and strategies put up by organizations andindividuals struggling to increase their range of motion and social recognition.

This thesis is concerned with the cultural shifts that have occurred in Lihir, Papua New Guinea, as Lihirians were drawn into greater engagement with the capitalist system, initially through the colonial labour trade and more recently through large-scale resource extraction. This research draws upon 15 months of fieldwork in the Lihir Islands from 2003 to 2004. This thesis is intended as a critical dialogue with world system theorists.World systems arguments are constructive for understanding how Lihirians have remained economically marginal.However, I reject the assertion commonly propounded in these approaches that the world capitalist system inevitably destroys ‘traditional’ cultures and remakes them to its own specifications. Working from Sahlins’ (1985, 1992) premise that there is always continuity in change, I have sought to illustrate those enduring structures and received cultural values that have shaped Lihirian engagement with the capitalist system. My concern iswith articulation rather than penetration; to capture the dialectic of global structural inequalities and Lihirian selective appropriation. This approach allows me to emphasise the heterogeneity of Lihirian culture, notonly prior to sustained European contact, or even mining activities, but specifically at the height of their engagement with the capitalist system. (For complete abstract open document)