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This visual arts project investigates notions of liminality and hybridity regarding the ambiguity of the interstitial position of the migrant. An examination of the migrant’s perspective and perception of cultural identity and the sense of home and belonging also underpins these studies. The project examines how the space between two cultures is experienced, and explores ways in which this might be visually expressed through the construction of fibre and textile art works. The researcher’s personal experience, as a German national now resident in the Cook Islands, provides the basis for reflections on cultural liminality and the ambivalence of feelings towards inclusion and exclusion. Material elements from European and Polynesian cultures such as cloth, fibres, and thread, and non-material elements like concepts and rituals are investigated for their potential to transcend the boundaries of their original culture to reveal the liminal space as source of energy and change. The 80% practice based work is accompanied by a 20% written exegesis

Background: In the United States, minorities are numerous and account for 28% of the population. It is well known that some of the cultural elements are related to the patients’ health. Therefore, it is an obligation of healthcare providers to become culturally competent to improve minorities’ overall healthcare. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess the cultural attitudes, skills, and knowledge of undergraduate and graduate respiratory therapy (RT) students at an urban university located in the southeastern United States. METHODS: The study used a descriptive exploratory design with a self-reporting survey. The survey instrument used was a short version of the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment “ASK” (Attitude–Skills–Knowledge) Scale. The survey was administered to a convenience sample of first and second-year BSRT and MSRT students attending an accredited RT program. The survey consisted of 24 items on a five-point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test. RESULTS: Fifty-three students were surveyed; around two-thirds of the respondents were female. Sixty-eight percent of respondents were BSRT and 22% were MSRT students. First-year students accounted for 56.6% of the respondents and second-year students accounted for 43.4%. The majority of the respondents were under the age of 25. The respondents reported to be ready to practice in the attitude and skills subscale (4.49±.49, 4.20±.62 respectively) but they need practice based on the knowledge subscale (3.80±.86). The statistically significant findings were found between first-year and second-year respondents in the skills subscale, knowledge subscale, and the total scale. However, there were no statistically significant difference between BSRT and MSRT students. CONCLUSION: This study found that respondents made progress throughout the RT program. Also, it found that level of education has no effect on cultural competency. This may be because student’s level of cultural competence improves as they advance in their clinical course work and their educational training. The results may assist RT educators to recognize the students’ needs for more information to improve their cultural competency.

This dissertation concerns a certain experienced (sub)reality, a reality which emerged from something “in between”, from a confluence of factors - the project Gender on Stage, a particular actor education programme and myself in the role of observer. The project Gender on Stage started as an interdisciplinary study between the National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm and the Department of Theatre Studies and the Department of Nordic Languages at Stockholm University. It was supported by the Swedish Research Council, and its purpose was to investigate gender in actor education. Actor education is situated between traditional theatre history and trends about the future, between aesthetic ideals and a commercial market. In addition, as was described in the outline of the project, actor education must deal with a long history of male dominance. Actor education could be visualised as the epitome of a cultural production of gender, a site where one has to explicitly deal with discourses of body and language, male and female, self and other, memories and emotions, pleasure and desire. I have stressed gender in actor education as being deeply interrelated with the notion of cultural hegemony, historical discourses of acting as well as gender, myths, and unconscious themes. Beside theories of Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, Sue Ellen Case and Julia Kristeva, the study invokes post-structural notions of “present absence” as well as Freud’s ideas on repression in terms of “the uncanny”. Stanislavsky’s theories of fantasy emotion and the Brechtian concepts of Verfremdung and Gestus were likewise taken into consideration. To resolve problems of confidentiality and ethics, I discuss certain significant observations, considering them to be unique situations, but also representative and symbolic acts. In discussing the gender construction, I put myself into play in the role of observer as a certain persona – a kind of converse representative and a “faceted mirror of the invisible”.

The partnership between China and Africa at the Cold War era was built on ¡¥¡¦Non-Aligned Movement¡¦¡¦. 1978 China launched economic reform and devoted to national economic development. Until China was being isolated in the international society because of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, China turned diplomatic dipolicy to Africa. Besides, with rapid economic development, China¡¦s energy demand keeps increasing. Therefore, China¡¦s interest in Africa has changed. In addition to search supports from developing countries in the international society, China¡¦s economic and energy interest is getting more and more important in Africa. This research will analyse China¡¦s national interest and strategy in African Policy. China self indentifys as a big developing country and emphasizes the equal status with African countries. Hence, China establishes ¡¥¡¥Forum on China¡VAfrica Cooperation¡¦¡¦ in 2000 and ¡¥¡¦New China-Africa strategic Partnership¡¦¡¦ in 2006 in order to incite China and Africa relationship by regular summit. Furthermore, China tries to strengthen bilateral economics and trade cooperations, to continue working on the ¡§South-South Cooperation¡¨ under multilateral diplomacy with African countries, and to reinforce soft power in Africa by ¡§Cutural Diplomacy¡¨. So that, China-Africa relationship could be profound and enduring.

China provides the rest of the world vast opportunities thanks to its low cost labour with ample manpower and gradually increasing expertise. It also has a huge potential in its size and market. With the increasing trade between China and Sweden at a rapid pace, the need for a research into intercultural communication, which helps to gener-ate an efficient and effective supply chain, is also growing at an accelerative speed.The purpose of this thesis is to look for possible problems and identify the frictions that may arise from the cause of cultural differences existing in the communication between Swedish and Chinese companies. This research is carried out from a Swedish perspective through the eyes of Swedish companies. However, the way they perceive the communica-tion between Sweden and China and the methods they have used to adjust to the cultural differences can be good examples to those who are interested in Chinese market.In the frame of references, a number of theories and literature related to intercultural communication were used to identify factors that influence communication between cul-tures, which formed the basis of the framework the authors used for the collection of pri-mary data. This thesis was conducted through an interpretive point of view and a qualita-tive method was used for the collection of empirical data. The primary data consisted of in-terviews and the secondary data was collected through literature reviews. Thus, the empiri-cal result was derived from the companies which have business relationship and experience of dealing with Chinese companies. Data was gathered from seven different Swedish com-panies located in Jonkoping County: Waggeryd Cell AB, Scandinavian Eyewear AB, Kapsch TraficCom AB, Kongsberg Automotive, Hestra-Handsken AB, Arlemark Glas AB and Falks Broker AB.The main conclusions of this study are namely that there are a number of cultural differ-ences existing in the communication between Swedish and Chinese companies. In most cases, Swedish companies initially tend to make the most effort to adapt to the situation and bridge these cultural differences by applying diverse solutions. Furthermore, two criti-cal key factors stand out as more important than the others in leading to successful com-munication between Swedish and Chinese companies: relationship and the concept of face. These two factors were shown to be present in all aspects of communication. Therefore, knowledge and successful incorporation of these two essential elements will be of greatest importance for Swedish companies who seek to communicate with Chinese companies.

Selon nous, la face cachée des Rougon-Macquart réside dans l’articulation de deux histoires : l’une légitime, affichée, déclarée - l’histoire naturelle et sociale d’une famille sous le Second Empire - l’autre cachée, illégitime, non déclarée - l’histoire culturelle et intellectuelle également sous le Second Empire. Cette histoire a culturelle a pu être mise en place car elle repose sur les deux aspects développés par cet auteur : l’aspect social en découpant la société en cinq mondes et l’aspect naturel ou héréditaire (la reproduction). En effet, avec cette histoire culturelle, nous retrouvons ce même découpage en cinq mondes : le monde des arts et des lettres, le monde des sciences, le monde des sciences humaines, le monde de l’information et de la communication et un monde à part (la mythologie et la religion). Cette histoire culturelle a également été envisagée sous l’angle de la reproduction textuelle et non plus sexuelle avec la mise en place d’une véritable machinerie à reproduire les textes-sources (ou textes insérés). La bande-reproductrice ou la bande-annonce qui définit le type de texte ; l’annonce (ou le texte reproduit). Le roman expérimental résiderait davantage dans la mise en place de cette autre histoire qui, de manière souterraine, a permis à Zola de réfléchir sur les différentes méthodes de composition et d’écriture qu’impliquent cette reproduction textuelle comme l’acte de reproduire. Si nous avons défini ces cinq mondes culturels , nous nous sommes davantage attachées à étudier le monde de l’information et de la communication, et en particulier le monde journalistique. Une telle approche nécessite sa prise en compte pour redéfinir tant l’esthétique zolienne que naturaliste. / According to our view, the hidden of the Rougon-Macquart lies in expression of two histories : a legitimate one, which is stated, declared – the natural and social history of family under the Second Empire – and the other one, which is hidden, illegitimate and undeclared – the cultural and intellectual history under the Second Empire as well. The set up of this cultural history was made possible because it relies on the two aspects developpedby this autor :the social aspect by dividing society into five worlds and the natural or hereditary one (reproduction). Indeed, with this cultural history, wie find the same division :the world of Arts and literature, the world of sciences, the world of human sciences, the world of information and of communication and a world apart (mythology and religion). This cultural history was also considered from the angle of textual reproduction, and not fromthe angle of sexual reproduction with the setting up of an authenthic machinery able to reproduce the source texts (or inserted texts). This machinery includes an announcer or reproducer, the announce or reproduction verb in charge of defining the source text ; the reproductive or announcing substance which definies the sort of text ; the announce (or the reproduced text).The experimental novel would more streuously reside in the setting up of this other history which in an underlying way enabled Zola to ponder on the different compsition and writing methods wich this textual reproduction involves as the act of reproducing. If we have defined these five cultural worlds, we have even more studied the world ofinformation and of communication, and the journalistic world in particular. This sort of approach requieres to take it into account in order to redefine Zola’s and Naturalim’s aesthetics.

Le XIXe siècle français a été marqué par une pratique extrêmement répandue de la transcription musicale. Cette thèse veut s'attacher à ses usages comme moyen d'accès à l'œuvre, à travers l'apport exceptionnel en ce domaine du compositeur et organiste Alexandre Guilmant, des années 1850 – époque de ses premières activités professionnelles – à 1910, veille de sa mort. Si transcrire n'est pas spécifique au XIXe siècle, cet acte irrigue la création musicale, se place au cœur de la conception esthétique de l'œuvre, au point de concentrer en lui de nombreuses questions liées à l'écoute, à la pratique amateur et professionnelle, à l'émergence d'une littérature spécifique et adaptée, à la propriété intellectuelle, entre autres. Le cas Guilmant, étudié dans son contexte socio-artistique, éclaire l'image du transcripteur qui se nourrit de l'extrême mobilité de la musique, s'imprègne des styles classiques et anciens, actualise des œuvres choisies et contribue ainsi à la construction d'un répertoire exemplaire. La transcription apparaît alors comme médiatrice d'une culture, capable d'accompagner le développement de la conscience historique. / Musical transcription was an extremely widespread practice in 19th-Century France. This thesis will focus on its use as a mean of accessing the original artwork, through the outstanding contribution in this field of composer and organist Alexandre Guilmant, between the years of his early professional activities in the 1850s until the eve of his death in 1910. Although transcription is by no means confined to the 19th-Century, it flows through all of musical creation and lies at the heart of the aesthetic design of the artwork – to the point of bringing into focus many issues related, among others, to listening, to amateur and professional practice, to the emergence of a literature both specific and adapted to intellectual property. Guilmant’s case, studied against his socio-artistic background, illuminates the transcriber who, feeding on the extreme mobility of music, is impregnated by classical and antique styles, updates selected works, and so contributes to the development of an exemplary repertoire. Transcription appears as the mediator of a culture and capable of supporting the development of historical consciousness.