The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to explore, with former study abroad participants, their perceptions of how their experience abroad has influenced them. The results of the study provide recommendations to prospective study abroad participants and to those that develop and advise for programs. Ultimately, the recommendations inform these constituents of the challenges that occurred while abroad, how participants learned to manage the challenges, and how their attitudes have changed since returning from study abroad. The study is based on the following three assumptions: 1) Participants in the study are potentially still learning and growing from the experience; 2) Participants understand and acknowledge that one can reflect on such an experience; 3) The participants are able and feel comfortable speaking and writing about their experience and the overall influence of studying abroad. With the use of a purposive sampling strategy, data was obtained from former study abroad participants through interviews, critical incident responses, and a focus group. Eighteen participants completed the interview process and also submitted a critical incident response. The focus group was comprised of five additional individuals. The findings of the study stated: 1.) An overwhelming majority of participants described dealing with cross-cultural issues - developing relationships with locals, overcoming language barriers, and understanding values, traditions and ways of life. 2.) All participants indicated that they learned to overcome the challenges faced through conversation with others, specifically with friends and other students, local community residents, and family members. 3.) All participants said they saw an increase in their open-mindedness towards embracing new experiences and perspectives since returning from the study abroad experience. The main recommendations of the study were the following: 1.) The learning outcomes associated with study abroad experiences should be prioritized throughout the program development phase and advisement process. Reflective practice should also be incorporated in order to further a participant’s learning and development; and 2.) prospective study abroad students should have access to a variety of stakeholders and content in order to support them in the study abroad decision-making process. Finally, participants should willingly engage in the decision-making process to ensure that they are making an informed decision.

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Historians regularly conceive of “gentlemen” (shi 士) in 7th–14th century China as men belonging to an elite social stratum, defined by their study of the classical and literary canons, participation in the civil service examinations, officeholding in the imperial bureaucracy, engagement in various literary or intellectual undertakings, hereditary status from a patriline, or connection to certain marriage, kinship, or friendship networks. This dissertation seeks to expand as well as complicate this perception of “gentlemen” as a social category, by understanding the label as referring not to an elite social stratum but to an identity, internalized and enacted in a variety of ways by men in low and high social positions alike. Using this framework to analyze the construction of “gentlemanly” identities in various arts and activities that served as leisure for some and livelihoods for others, this dissertation reveals a significant expansion in the repertory of signals and strategies used to create and perform “gentlemanly” identities in these fields, reshaping what it meant to be a “gentleman” in middle period China. Each chapter draws upon extensive source material from libraries, digital databases, and museums, to examine processes of identity construction and presentation in a series of different arts or activities in which both the “gentlemanly” and “non-gentlemanly” participated: painting, music making, practicing medicine, divining, farming and gardening, fishing and woodcutting, and playing the board game weiqi 圍棋 (also known as go). In each of these fields, between the 7th and 14th centuries, new “gentlemanly” identity signals were constructed to distinguish the “gentlemanly” sort from social categories like “artisan” (gong 工) that they viewed as inferior. New kinds of “gentlemen” like the “qin-zither gentleman” (qinshi 琴士), “painting gentleman” (huashi 畫士), and “classicist physician” (ruyi 儒醫) emerged; older labels like “recluse” (yinshi 隱士) expanded to encompass a wider variety of ways of living. New offices and titles at court were created that could signal membership in “gentlemanly” communities despite a close connection with arts like medicine or painting. And beyond these labels, men developed new “gentlemanly” identities through distinct modes of engagement in the respective field: the way one divined others’ fates, the strategies one used to win a board game, the metaphysical elements and ideals expressed in one’s art and discursive artistic judgments, the tools one didn’t use when fishing, and so on. These identity signals were situational, and each chapter draws upon examples of disagreement or doubt over the inclusion or exclusion of certain men as “gentlemen” to explore instances in which such signals were performed with varying degrees of efficacy. In my conclusion, I discuss the connection between many of these “gentlemanly” identity signals and an emerging form of social snobbery that I call the “discourse of ‘gentlemanly’ expertise.” In the 7th century and earlier, if the “gentlemanly” sort compared themselves to “artisans,” it would almost certainly be based on what they did. However, around the 9th–13th centuries, the “gentlemanly” sort became more actively involved (or vocal about their involvement) in the arts, and started to contrast their own practice and appreciation of these arts more actively with the (ostensibly inferior) practice and appreciation of “non-gentlemanly” sorts. In doing so, they began to define and distinguish themselves not by what they did, but by how they did it. They did not stop with simply articulating “gentlemanly” practices as different but equally good; they asserted that their practices and products were superior, claiming expertise in these fields on the basis of their ethical values, cultural norms, aesthetic preferences, and abstract knowledge of the cosmos and the ineffable “Way” (Dao 道). I argue that, ironically, this snobbish discourse of social distinction actually made it increasingly possible for people earning a livelihood in various arts to enact “gentlemanly” identities, by associating symbolic capital with the demonstration or depiction of “gentlemanly” modes of engagement. By focusing on the increasing number of ways in which “gentlemanly” identities were constructed and performed in 7th–14th century China, this dissertation offers insight into how individuals and groups made decisions of inclusion or exclusion, offered or obtained access to resources, and developed a sense of self and place in society. In doing so, it enriches our understandings of both the social forces shaping the middle period Chinese social world, and the individuals and groups who inhabited it.

Despite the vast literature surrounding tobacco use, there is little work looking at the question of smoking among women in a historical context. The work which has been done on women and smoking has largely looked at the issue from a sociological viewpoint. In addressing this gap, I have drawn from both disciplines to explore the history of smoking among women from 1890 until the end of the 20th century and to historicise existing sociological literature on women and smoking. I have aimed to integrate women into the history of tobacco more generally and to explore women’s own interpretations of smoking in the past. In doing so, I have focused on the relationship between smoking among women and the socio-cultural position of smoking in Britain from the 19th century until the end of the 20th. I have also explored the relationship between smoking and the changing social position of women. Drawing on archival material from a variety of sources and interviews with epidemiologists and health professionals, I have shown the changing, often ambiguous, public discourses surrounding smoking from the late 19th century until the end of the twentieth. I have also shown, through oral history interviews with women aged between 40 and 85, how these discourses have shaped individual women’s interpretations of smoking in their lives and the personal experiences of smoking which they recollect. What I found is that the social meaning of smoking has undergone a series of redefinitions over this period. The advent of the cigarette in the 1880s and its subsequent popularity in the decades following was crucial to this. From having been a recreational pastime, suited to certain times and occasions, in the nineteenth century, smoking permeated every aspect of public and private life for most of the twentieth. The First World War was pivotal in this expansion, as smoking, particularly cigarette smoking, was defined as a necessity to men’s lives, both at the Front and at home. Its increasing prevalence in the interwar period and the priority accorded to tobacco supplies during and immediately after the Second World War served to reinforce the idea that smoking was integral to every day life.

This thesis addresses the contested and poorly defined subject area of cultural iconicity. Careful consideration of three specific uses of the term - in the popular media, as a new way of articulating national identity, and in academic publications - reveals the extent to which the term is currently poorly comprehended and misapplied. The research proposes the introduction of tighter defining parameters to cultural iconography and presents an original definition against existing work in the field. The main aim, therefore, is straightforward; to attempt to answer the general question, what are cultural icons? To meet this end a definition of iconicity will be proposed consisting of four inter-connected conditions comprising, a) distinctness of image, b) durability of image, c) reproducibility of image and d) the tragic-dramatic narrative inherent in the image. The decision to implement such a definition is supported by a range of theoretical influences, from the ideas on perception developed by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, to recent work on the dramatic impact of tele-visual images. The philosophical influence applies the idea that human perception is strongly drawn towards tragic-dramatic forms - the tragic-dramatic narrative of cultural icons being an essential component of the definition - while new research into how images impact on common memory supports this application. The method adopted attacks the central question in three ways. Firstly, by applying throughout the work an original and practical working definition of cultural iconicity. Secondly, by differentiating the properties of primary cultural icons from other important cultural symbols (as in, for example, comparing cultural icons to photographic iconography and non-image based cultural myths). Third, a series of in-depth case studies applying the definition to real examples, which will be the crux of the project and, if successful, may prove not only an original contribution to knowledge in this new and exciting area of research, but should also appeal to a wider, non-academic readership.

Theorists of constitutional patriotism argue that the binding sentiment of shared national identity can be replaced with allegiance to universal principles, interpreted into particular constitutions through ongoing deliberative processes. In this thesis, I explore the implications of such an approach for the defensibility of restrictions on migration, a subject which has previously received very little attention. I argue that constitutional patriotism implies a commitment to the free movement of individuals across borders; but that freedom of movement itself creates challenges for the implementation of constitutional patriotism. This is because it may increase anti-immigrant, nationalist sentiment in the host community. I term this phenomenon the ‘post-national paradox’. I then draw on independently collected qualitative data on Eastern European migration to English rural communities to explore this post-national paradox. I analyse the argumentative strategies, as the well as the perceptions of difference, evident in justifications of anti-immigrant and nationalist sentiment in these contexts. I highlight both perceptions of cultural and economic threat, as well as a ‘banal’ sense of national loyalty, underpinning such attitudes; and suggest that discursive practice at the most local level is necessary for the bottom up construction, or growth, of an inclusive form of identity and belonging.

This thesis explores the use of discourse markers (DMs) in the speech of Chinese non-native speakers (NNSs) of English and native speakers (NSs), using corpus methodologies, the 'Linear Unit Grammar' analysis (Sinclair and Mauranen 2006) and text-based analyses. It reports that the DMs for analysis, 'like', 'oh', 'well', 'you know', 'I mean', 'you see', 'I think' and 'now', occur more frequently in the dialogic genres than in the monologic genres extracted from the three corpora, SECCL, MICASE and ICE-GB. The co-occurrence of DMs is taken as evidence to determine the categories for discussion with the suggested functions being secondary interpretations. Surprisingly, there are similarities in the use of DMs between Chinese NNSs and NSs. For the differences, some require NSs to become more tolerant and inclusive of the versions of English and some require pedagogical interventions for the Chinese NNSs. This thesis demonstrates that the use of DMs correlates with the genre, context, type of activity and identity of the speaker. All such factors affect the speakers' choice of a DM to use when giving priority to discourse organisation, fluency, the engagement of the listeners, the construction of the speaker‟s persona and the creation of solidarity.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-13T14:50:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-03-10Bitstream added on 2014-08-13T17:59:59Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000768117.pdf: 1284864 bytes, checksum: 808e8ff0d64ff956bfb9dc15cb9d12ef (MD5) / A pesquisa teve o propósito de investigar a caminhada como um elemento característico de um estilo de vida, direcionado para a qualidade de vida e o lazer. A partir de uma perspectiva histórica foi possível localizar a caminhada no âmbito social e, assim, determinar uma trajetória de seus usos e apropriações culturais no Brasil. Estabelecido o percurso desta prática e das atividades adjacentes, foi possível estabelecer relações entre a caminhada, os modos de vida e os estilos de vida que emergem desses contextos. Posteriormente à elaboração desse panorama histórico, buscamos, nos domínios eletrônicos, verificar a existência de grupos de caminhantes que atendessem ao perfil procurado, encontrando o grupo Peregrinosrp, de Ribeirão Preto/SP, que evidenciou elementos que consideramos adequados ao propósito da investigação, ou seja, a caminhada como forma de lazer, expressão de um estilo de vida e reverberando na qualidade de vida, porém, como algo compreendido além do contexto do exercício físico. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada durante um evento do grupo, uma caminhada entre os municípios de Analândia/SP e São Carlos/SP, em percurso rural de, aproximadamente, dezenove quilômetros, onde, ao final da atividade, foi feita a coleta dos dados a partir de uma amostra de quinze sujeitos, via questionário e, posteriormente, uma entrevista via e-mail com os idealizadores e organizadores da proposta. Os resultados obtidos das análises das informações, fundamentados nos conceitos e definições de lazer, qualidade de vida e estilo de vida, apontaram que a caminhada do Peregrinosrp manifesta característica que, a princípio, podemos interpretá-las como expressão de estilo de vida voltado para a qualidade de vida. Entretanto, sugerimos que outras investigações se sucedam, com tal proposta e em maior escala, pois a amostra considerada nos permitiu apenas interpretações parciais do fenômeno abordado, inviabilizando... / The research aimed to investigate the walk as a feature of a lifestyle, focused on quality of life and leisure. From a historical perspective be found walking in the social sphere and thus determine a trajectory of its uses and cultural appropriations in Brazil. Established the route of this practice and adjacent activities, it was possible to establish relationships between walking, livelihoods and lifestyles that emerge from these contexts. Subsequent to the preparation of this historical overview, we seek, in the electronic domain, check for groups of hikers who met the profile sought. Peregrinosrp found the group of Ribeirão Preto / SP, which revealed elements that we consider appropriate to the purpose of the investigation, ie, walking as leisure, expression of a lifestyle and reverberating quality of life, but as something understood beyond the context of the exercise. The field research was carried out for a group event, a hike between the towns of Analândia / SP and São Carlos / SP, rural route in approximately nineteen kilometers, where, at the end of the activity, was taken to collect data from a sample of fifteen subjects via questionnaire and later an interview via email with the creators and organizers of the proposal. The results of the analysis of information, based on the concepts and definitions of leisure, quality of life and lifestyle, showed that walking Peregrinosrp expresses the feature that, in principle, we can interpret them as an expression of lifestyle focused on quality of life. However, we suggest that further investigation is succeeding with this proposal and on a larger scale, for the considered sample allowed us only partial interpretations of the phenomenon addressed, preventing generalizing considerations

This thesis represents the most detailed investigation into English royal funeral ceremonies 1570-1625 yet undertaken. It builds on earlier scholarship dealing with the French royal funeral and with the social history of death and burial in early modern England. When gathering my source material I consulted manuscript and early printed material at the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Library of Westminster Abbey, the College of Arms and the Bibliothèque Nationale. My approach is to consider royal funeral rituals in terms of performance. I endeavour to place each of the royal funerals in its immediate performance and broader cultural context. The evidence is analysed using an approach which seeks to take account of both the political and affective implications of ritual. Preliminary chapters establish the form of the English heraldic funeral and the French royal funeral, and assess the impact of the English Reformation on funeral ritual. I go on to discuss the funerals of Mary Stuart, Elizabeth I, Prince Henry Stuart, Anne of Denmark and James I respectively. Included is a bridging chapter which briefly summarises the religious and cultural changes which took place under James I and their impact on funeral ritual. Royal funerals are seen as flexible rather than fixed. They were modified to meet changing political needs but such modifications were always in accord with broader cultural trends. My thesis demonstrates that royal funeral rituals were highly dependent on their performance and cultural contexts. The Epilogue looks at the implications my research has for readings of stage representations of funeral ritual and funeral symbolism in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. I show that royal funerals formed an important aspect of playhouse audience experience. Dramatists exploited that experience to show the operative nature of funeral ritual performance and the potency of its symbols for political propaganda.

Orientador: Carmen Maria Aguiar / Banca: Paulo Roberto da Silva / Banca: Sara Quenzer Matthiesen / Resumo: A pesquisa teve o propósito de investigar a caminhada como um elemento característico de um estilo de vida, direcionado para a qualidade de vida e o lazer. A partir de uma perspectiva histórica foi possível localizar a caminhada no âmbito social e, assim, determinar uma trajetória de seus usos e apropriações culturais no Brasil. Estabelecido o percurso desta prática e das atividades adjacentes, foi possível estabelecer relações entre a caminhada, os modos de vida e os estilos de vida que emergem desses contextos. Posteriormente à elaboração desse panorama histórico, buscamos, nos domínios eletrônicos, verificar a existência de grupos de caminhantes que atendessem ao perfil procurado, encontrando o grupo Peregrinosrp, de Ribeirão Preto/SP, que evidenciou elementos que consideramos adequados ao propósito da investigação, ou seja, a caminhada como forma de lazer, expressão de um estilo de vida e reverberando na qualidade de vida, porém, como algo compreendido além do contexto do exercício físico. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada durante um evento do grupo, uma caminhada entre os municípios de Analândia/SP e São Carlos/SP, em percurso rural de, aproximadamente, dezenove quilômetros, onde, ao final da atividade, foi feita a coleta dos dados a partir de uma amostra de quinze sujeitos, via questionário e, posteriormente, uma entrevista via e-mail com os idealizadores e organizadores da proposta. Os resultados obtidos das análises das informações, fundamentados nos conceitos e definições de lazer, qualidade de vida e estilo de vida, apontaram que a caminhada do Peregrinosrp manifesta característica que, a princípio, podemos interpretá-las como expressão de estilo de vida voltado para a qualidade de vida. Entretanto, sugerimos que outras investigações se sucedam, com tal proposta e em maior escala, pois a amostra considerada nos permitiu apenas interpretações parciais do fenômeno abordado, inviabilizando... / Abstract: The research aimed to investigate the walk as a feature of a lifestyle, focused on quality of life and leisure. From a historical perspective be found walking in the social sphere and thus determine a trajectory of its uses and cultural appropriations in Brazil. Established the route of this practice and adjacent activities, it was possible to establish relationships between walking, livelihoods and lifestyles that emerge from these contexts. Subsequent to the preparation of this historical overview, we seek, in the electronic domain, check for groups of hikers who met the profile sought. Peregrinosrp found the group of Ribeirão Preto / SP, which revealed elements that we consider appropriate to the purpose of the investigation, ie, walking as leisure, expression of a lifestyle and reverberating quality of life, but as something understood beyond the context of the exercise. The field research was carried out for a group event, a hike between the towns of Analândia / SP and São Carlos / SP, rural route in approximately nineteen kilometers, where, at the end of the activity, was taken to collect data from a sample of fifteen subjects via questionnaire and later an interview via email with the creators and organizers of the proposal. The results of the analysis of information, based on the concepts and definitions of leisure, quality of life and lifestyle, showed that walking Peregrinosrp expresses the feature that, in principle, we can interpret them as an expression of lifestyle focused on quality of life. However, we suggest that further investigation is succeeding with this proposal and on a larger scale, for the considered sample allowed us only partial interpretations of the phenomenon addressed, preventing generalizing considerations / Mestre