Cette thèse se propose d'étudier les aspects de la relation entre littérature, illusion et sens dans le corpus d'Alessandro Baricco, comprenant aussi bien son travail d’essayiste que ses œuvres de fiction. Nous convoquons de la sorte ses recueils de Barnum (1995) à Una certa idea di mondo (2013), des essais comme Next ou I barbari (2002 et 2008) et ses romans de Castelli di rabbia (1991) à La Sposa giovane (2015) – qui peuvent être analysés de différentes manières, stylistiquement, thématiquement, de manière détaillée ou partielle selon les besoins de l’argumentation. Compte tenu de l'ampleur du sujet, relevant tout autant de problématiques philosophiques que de questions sémiologiques, l’étude est focalisée sur la dialectique entre illusion de (la) réalité et vérité fictionnelle, à travers plusieurs prismes. Nous parcourons ainsi les illusions de la postmodernité en tant que nouvelle ère culturelle et littéraire, les remises en cause de l’illusion référentielle, notamment par le biais de l’aspect figural, soit l’exemplarité des personnages baricchiens. Symptomatiques de la tension entre fiction et réalité, eux-mêmes porteurs de thématiques dialoguant avec l’illusion, telles que le désir, le rêve, l’idée de destin, ils nous permettront d’ouvrir la réflexion sur les influences, la résistance, voire la subversion d’une voix narrative qui répond au réel, le conteste ou le diffracte jusqu’à l’émergence d’une autre signifiance. / This thesis intends to study the aspects of the relationship between literature, illusion and meaning in Alessandro Baricco’s corpus, including both essays and novels. We take interest in his collections, from Barnum (1995) to Una certa idea di mondo (2013), as well as his essays such Next or I barbari (2002 and 2008) and his novels from Castelli di rabbia (1991) to La Sposa giovane (2015) – which can be analyzed in various manners, stylistically, thematically, in detail or partially according to the argumentation’s needs. Given the extent of the subject, raising as many philosophical problems as semiotic questions, the study is focused on the dialectic between illusion of (the) reality and fictional truth, through several prisms. We traverse this way the illusions of postmodernity, as a new cultural and literary era, the reassessment of the referential illusion, especially through the figural aspect, that is the exemplary nature of baricchiens characters. Symptomatic of the tension between fiction and reality, they carry themselves themes relating to the illusion, such as desire, dream, the idea of fate. They will enable us to open reflection on the influence, resistance, even the subversion of a narrative voice that responds to reality, contests it or diffracts it until the emergence of another significance.

The landscape of cancer care is evolving and as a result nursing care continues to develop and respond to the changing needs of oncology patients and their families. There is a paucity of qualitative research examining the experience of being an oncology nurse on an inpatient unit. Therefore, a qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological approach has been undertaken to discover the lived experience of being an oncology nurse. In-depth tape recorded interviews has been conducted with six oncology nurses who worked on two adult inpatient oncology units. Van Manen’s (1990) interpretive phenomenological approach has been used to analyze the data by subjecting the transcripts to an analysis both line by line and as a whole. The overarching theme of the interviews is: Investing to Make a Difference. The themes that reflect this overarching theme are: Caring for the Whole Person, Being an Advocate, Walking a Fine Line, and Feeling Like You are Part of Something Good. Oncology nurses provide care for their patients through a holistic lens that further enhances how they come to know their patients. Over time, relationships with patients and families develop and these nurses share that balancing the emotional aspects of their work is key in being able to continue to invest in their work and in these relationships. Their investment is further evident as oncology nurses continuously update their knowledge, for example, of treatment regimes, medication protocols, and as they champion their patients wishes and needs. As nurses develop their own identities as oncology nurses, they in turn enhance the team with their emerging skill and knowledge. These research findings serve to acknowledge the meaning of oncology nurses’ work and inform the profession’s understanding of what it means to be an oncology nurse.

The twofold purpose of this study was to ground a model of Lens Meaning in the literature of the Fine Arts and Social Sciences and to use that term as a referent in evaluating three Media Studies curricula. Lens Meaning is a term derived from a variety of sources, particularly Peirce (1955), whose semiotic theory described three systems of signs used as terms on one axis of a matrix or model by which Lens Meaning can be described. These terms are: "index", "icon", and "symbol". DeLauretis' (1984) expanded understanding of another system of signs described by Peirce, interpretants, is the foundation for the three terms on the other axis of the matrix. Those terms, which describe interpretation or response, are: "emotional", "energetic", and "habit changing". These, and other terms identified in the literature, provided a conceptual model that might be applied to the analysis and evaluation of programs of Media Studies, and similar documents. Three Media Studies programs were selected for study: from Western Australia, Ontario, and Scotland. Application of the model permitted conclusions to be drawn on the extent to which current issues of an ideological and sociopolitical nature were addressed by these programs. It was concluded that the model achieved the purposes required of it and that it may be of further utility for educators. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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This research investigated Punjabi children’s meaning-making processes as they engaged with culturally relevant literature, and presents a critical evaluation of Punjabi and Sikh representation in children’s literature. The Punjabi community in Canada is growing rapidly, with Punjabi being the third most commonly spoken non-official language in Canada. Yet, this minority group remains underrepresented in educational research. Past research has shown the numerous benefits minority children experience when engaging with literature that authentically represents their cultural background (see Cunard, 1996; Goldblatt, 1999; Goo, 2018; Steiner, Nash & Chase, 2008; Zhang & Morrison, 2010). This study gave Punjabi children the opportunity to interact with culturally-relevant stories in multimodal ways, and express their understandings through multiple literacies. The children constructed and shared meanings through verbal discussions, multimodal artwork and the inclusion of movement and dramatizations. They drew on a variety of lived experiences to make meaning from the stories. Their meaning-making processes were further enhanced by the collaborative experience of reading, constructing and sharing meanings. This study opens the door to future research into ways of using literature to foster engagement in the classroom and support children’s meaning-making processes.

abstract: This dissertation addresses empirical, applied, and theoretical issues in the place literature through an ethnographic study of the volunteer stewards in the nonprofit McDowell Sonoran Conservancy (Scottsdale, Arizona). The first phase of study explores Conservancy stewards’ phenomenological place meanings through participant observation, a photovoice protocol (N=18), and life-history interviews (N=53). Findings indicate that being a steward fosters deep, identity-based place meanings within the conservation land (the McDowell Sonoran Preserve) and City of Scottsdale. The second phase of study measures stewards’ psychometric place attachments to the Preserve and broader community using the Place Attachment Inventory (PAI) survey. New stewards’ (N=29) PAI scores—collected before attending orientation and one year after—demonstrate a rise in Preserve place attachment and place identity in the first year of service. Established stewards’ (N=275) PAI data suggests no correlation between place attachment and volunteer intensity. These findings are complemented by phase I results and suggest that stewards experience a rise in place identity after earning the identity of an environmental steward, regardless of engagement. The third phase of study experimentally combines the data from established stewards who participated in phase I and II (N=48) to test the hypothesis that those with identity-based place meanings would possess higher place identity scores. Data analysis found no significant differences in place identity scores between those with and without a Predicted High Place Identity. The outcomes of this experiment suggest construct validity issues with the widely used place attachment and place identity constructs. While it is established that volunteers arrive at an organization with a strong sense of place, this study demonstrates empirically how place attachments increase and place meanings deepen further after joining a volunteer organization. Communities and organizations can learn from the Conservancy’s practices that help stewards easily establish and perform a place-based steward identity. Finally, the experimental mixed methods findings suggest a sense of place research program that measures attachment to a place’s meanings rather than attachment to a place. This shift will allow place meaning and place attachment to be studied concurrently, advancing the sense of place construct and broader place theory. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2020

On Christmas Day in 1841, Fanny Hensel presented her husband with a Christmas gift—Das Jahr—a piano cycle comprised of twelve pieces, each one depicting a month of The Year. Not long thereafter, Fanny and husband Wilhelm would collaborate to create a Gesamtkunstwerk, reworking Das Jahr and expanding it by two additional expressions: vignettes drawn into the score by Wilhelm, and epigrams, snippets of poetry by master German poets. This dissertation seeks to answer the question: “What meaning is achieved by the intersection of the three modalities present in Das Jahr: textual (epigram), visual (vignette), and aural (music)?” The methodology considers the broader texts from which the epigrams are drawn in conjunction with Wilhelm’s vignettes and Hensel’s sonic landscape to arrive at an emergent meaning. An informed musical analysis drawing on formal considerations, contour, metaphor in music, topic theory, and harmonic function has been employed to arrive at the interpretation that will be presented. By analyzing these three modalities in conjunction with one another, a compelling narrative emerges, whereby the words of poets, the artwork of Wilhelm, and the aural world of Fanny conjoin to tell a story, one that relies upon the relationship between text, art, and music.

The general public´s everyday encounters with nature have radically changed during the 20th century in industrial countries. Our relation towards nature in relation to environmental challenges is an important educational question, and this thesis investigates encounters with nature in educational practice. More specifically the aims are to investigate (i) how encounters with nature has been legitimated in the national curricula of Swedish school, and (ii) meaning making processes within pedagogical encounters with nature.   In relation to the first aim a discourse analytical reading of the national curricula in Sweden is conducted. The results show that a scientific perspective of encounters with nature has been dominating during the last hundred years in the national curricula. In recent years, it is also more instrumental encounters that are expressed in the curricula, while students’ personal experiences and feelings are not focused in current curricula.  Paper II and III examine moral meaning making in three different educational practices – Outdoor Education Centres, All-Weather Outdoor Schools and the Radical Outdoor movement. A multidisciplinary method is used in paper II, LEDmodel (Landscape, Ethical and Didactical). Paper III is based on the ethical tendency and language-game analyses. The results from these studies show that the educational purpose have an impact on moral processes in relation to nature. When the purpose is related to scientific knowledge there is often an instrumental relation towards nature in contrast to encounters that are more open. Open encounters instead seem to create relations that are built on a sense of responsibility and empathy. The results show that relations are created in different ways where some are more personal and built on emotion when other emotions are more based on stated rules or norms.

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