This thesis investigates the relationship between identity and discourse in a networked collaborative environment in order to explore the following question: <br /> Is the construction of a common identity taking place? <br /><br /> The research question draws on the socio-cultural theory and, in particular, on the view according to which the development of a common identity is an important dimension of learning. More specifically, the thesis builds upon recent criticism attracted by the sociocultural notion of ―Community of Practice‖ for its inadequate account of the relationship between identity, language and practice, both in traditional and computer-mediated settings. The empirical section of the thesis reports a study which applies the concept of recognition work developed by James Gee to the discursive dynamics identified in a ―discussion room‖ of an Italian online community of young psychologists and psychology students. In the study, discourse analysis was carried out on 20 online discussions and on 23 semi-structured interviews. <br /><br /> The findings demonstrate that the notion of recognition work can be used to study how identities are constructed and negotiated through discourse, and provide an additional insight into the role of computer-mediated communication in the relationship between identity and learning. The findings also have theoretical implications, raising the question as to whether the emphasis on communities of practice has exhausted its possible contributions to a socio-cultural theory of learning. Additionally, the thesis also considers the implications for the design of virtual learning environments that try to foster collaborative learning through networked discourse.

Acompanha CD-ROM / Orientador: Luciane de Paula / Banca: Renata Maria Facuri Coelho Marchezan / Banca: Marco Antônio Villarta Neder / Resumo: O presente trabalho visa compreender como se constituiu a canção brasileira enquanto gênero lítero-musical no início do século XX por meio de conceitos que integram a malha teóricoreflexiva desenvolvida pelo Círculo de Bakhtin. As canções analisadas são partituras para canto e piano e integram a série "Lendas Amazônicas" compostas por Waldemar Henrique. Foram produzidas entre as décadas de 1930 e 1940, momento em que as manifestações artísticas e culturais são fomentadas pela política econômica instaurada pela Era Vargas e servem de propaganda para a consolidação de um discurso nacionalista. Pretendemos, ainda, compreender de que modo os mitos e lendas da literatura oral são incorporados e reelaborados na produção das canções, a partir da relação recíproca estabelecida entre os gêneros primários e secundários. Nossa metodologia de trabalho é de caráter qualitativo e visa (por meio da abordagem dialéticodialógica) descrever, analisar e interpretar as canções. Uma vez que nosso objeto de pesquisa é composto por planos semióticos heterogêneos, nossas análises serão realizadas em dois grandes níveis: o verbal e o musical apenas por caráter metodológico uma vez que compreendemos a canção como um objeto que se situa histórico e socialmente por meio da mescla simultânea de seus dois planos. Bakhtin, em seu conceito de gênero como enunciado relativamente estável, permite-nos trabalhar com as canções de modo mais confortável dada a "instabilidade" de definição deste objeto. Para nós, a relação entre a letra e a música é algo que não se dá de forma estanque havendo a primazia de um ou outro elemento / Abstract: Based on concepts that integrate the theoretical and reflective mesh developed by the Bakhtin Circle, this study aims to understand how Brazilian art song was constituted while literarymusical genre in the early twentieth century through the analysis of the art songs which belong to the cycle "Lendas Amazônicas" composed by Waldemar Henrique. The art songs, for voice and piano, are registered in scores and integrate this set. They were produced between the 1930s and 1940s, when the artistic and cultural events were promoted by economic policy introduced by Vargas and serve as advertisement to the consolidation of a nationalist discourse. This work also aims to understand how the myths and legends of oral literature are incorporated and re-elaborated in the production of the songs from the established reciprocal relationship between the primary and secondary genres. Our work methodology is qualitative in nature and aims (through dialectic-dialogical approach) to describe, analyze and interpret the songs. Since our research object is composed of heterogeneous semiotic plans, our analysis will be performed in two main levels: the verbal and the musical only by methodological character. The song will be understood as an ideological sign that has a dual materiality (at least) - verbal (poem lyrics) and the music (implemented by the musical elements that constitute it: melody, harmony, rhythm, accompaniment etc.) / Mestre

Orientador: José Horta Nunes / Banca: Claudia Maria Xatara / Banca: Suzy Maria Lagazzi Rodrigues / Resumo: Seguindo a teoria e o método da Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, propomos analisar discursivamente a produção lexicográfica de Francisco da Silveira Bueno. Este autor publicou diversas obras na área da Literatura e da Lingüística, mas também teve grande destaque público por sua produção lexicográfica. Nosso objetivo é analisar o discurso dos seus dicionários. Como questão específica, temos a noção de autoria, ou seja, a posição do autor Silveira Bueno na história da constituição de um autor brasileiro de dicionários e, também, as maneiras de se posicionar como autor no discurso dos dicionários. Assim, analisamos questões como a posição de Silveira Bueno como autor de dicionários na história da constituição das idéias lingüísticas brasileiras, a apresentação do autor no discurso dos dicionários, a maneira como ela é feita e quais as relações de sentido que são estabelecidas por essa apresentação. Nosso corpus é composto pelos prefácios e por uma amostragem de verbetes das edições de seus dicionários. Dividimos o conjunto de obras em três séries, de acordo com a tipologia e com algumas características discursivas. Na primeira série estão os dicionários escolares, incluindo os de versão mini; na segunda série estão os dicionários gerais de língua publicados por editoras independentes do Estado; já na terceira estão presentes os dicionários etimológicos. Entre outros resultados, observamos que, enquanto na primeira e na segunda série de dicionários o autor é apresentado por meio de uma discursividade relatada, pelas instituições publicadoras, a terceira série traz textos próprios de autoria, em que há uma afirmação dessa autoria por meio dos posicionamentos teóricos adotados por ele. / Abstract: According to the theory and the method of Discourse Analysis, we intend to analyse Francisco da Silveira Bueno's lexicographical production in a discoursive way. The author has published many works in the field of Literature and Linguistics, but is also known for his lexicographical production. Our aim is to analyse the discourse in his dictionaries. As a central research topic, we have the notion of authory, in other words, the author Silveira Bueno's position in history of the constitution of a Brazilian dictionary author and also, the ways to position himself as an author in his dictionaries discourse. Thus, questions such as Silveira Bueno's position as a dictionary author in the history of the constitution of the Brazilian linguistic ideas, the author's presentation in the dictionaries discourse, in what ways this happens and the sense relations which are stablished by this presentation were analysed. Our corpus is composed by the prefaces and a sampling of entries of his dictionaries editions. The set of works was divided into three series, according to the typology and some discursive characteristics. The school dictionaries are in the first series, including the minidictionaries; the general language dictionaries published by independent State publishers are in the second series, and in the third one, the etymological dictionaries. Among other results, we observed that, while in the first and second series of dictionaries the author is presented by a reported discursivity, by the publishing industries, the third series brings his own authory texts in which there is a statement of this authory through the theoretical positionings he adopts. / Mestre

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Bibliography: leaves 276-295. / vi, 448, [32] leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Education, 1995

Since early after its discovery in 1981, AIDS has often been framed as a sexual disease spread through deviant and hypersexualized populations, perhaps nowhere more so than in Africa. Much has been written about the pandemic in Africa, with the majority of recent attention placed on the sexual transmission of the virus. Omitted from the discourse are other possible avenues of transmission. My thesis hopes to highlight this problem by identifying key works contributing to the sexual discourse, and drawing attention to other possible areas of research which could broaden the scope of research on AIDS in Africa. In this thesis, Edward Saids idea of Orientalism is used as a framework through which to understand the creation of the sexual discourse, arguing that it has become dominant and therefore obstructing alternate avenues of scholarship and investigation. Due to this focus on promiscuity and sex, the literature on the transmission through medical injections was omitted. The focus on sexual transmission as the basis of the pandemic has excluded much discussion on other contributing factors, such as poverty. Arguments for the role of poverty in HIV transmission often centre on sex. For example, women forced into transactional sexual relations or sex work, or movements to urbanization that weaken cultural mores and norms and result in promiscuous sexual relations. The emphasis on the sexual transmission of AIDS in Africa, at the expense of thorough analysis of the non-sexual transmission, has stunted the understanding AIDS, placing blame for the transmission onto Africans themselves, turning AIDS into an African problem.

The 32- hour documentary series <i>Canada: A Peoples History</i> was aired in 2000-2001 and has been widely disseminated: it is now available as video and DVD sets and has been aired in at least nine languages. In this thesis I examine the packaging of the series, that is, the images and promotional blurbs on the boxed DVD set and the introductory and concluding segments of the series, and I intensively examine Episode 10 Taking the West (1873-1896). Through Critical Discourse Analysis, I closely examine the language and other semiotic material used in <i>Canada: A Peoples History</i> to analyse power relationships in the series. As well as paying attention to the overall structure of the verbal and visual text, I am attentive to the way in which grammar and words are used, and the representation that is portrayed through these elements. In this thesis, I find that while the series does include women and Aboriginal people, <i>Canada: A Peoples History</i>s use of language and images portrays a Canadian identity that privileges Whiteness and masculinity and that presents current power imbalances in society as natural and inevitable. By devaluing women and Aboriginal people in its representation, <i>Canada: A Peoples History</i> lends legitimacy to the systemic discrimination against women and Aboriginal people in Canadian society. I find that the series presents past events as inevitable, over which people had no control or influence, and I argue that this presentation encourages people to accept the current situation, rather than challenging it and seeking alternatives.

This thesis seeks to investigate the usage of hedges in political discourse in the Tampa City Council for the purpose of examining whether or not women hedge more than men in this area. An analysis of the occurrence of hedges illustrated that women hedged more than men for various purposes in this meeting. These occurrences mostly involved the epistemic modal function and shields which indicate uncertainty about the utterance and certainty about the utterance respectively. The results also illustrate how political discourse is still an area dominated by men in the sense that men had significantly more speech time than women during this meeting. However, the results also disprove Lakoff’s claim that women hedge simply to signal uncertainty and tentativeness.

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