This research investigates sensory-somatic awareness based approaches to the conditioning, training and performance of Odissi dance in India. Through a multidisciplinary and embodied methodology it analyses the practices of three contemporary Odissi dance institutes and a selection of individual dancers in India, who are moving beyond the traditional methodology. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in India, this research explores how sensory-somatic approaches incorporated by these dancers generate meaning-making and in what ways this enriches the dancers’ experience of dancing Odissi. As an outcome of the fieldwork, the term sensory-somatic is proposed and analysed in line with the dancers’ embodied experience of dancing Odissi. The analysis entails a paradigm that embraces the corporeal, sentient and socio-cultural bodymind, and the sensory aspects of senses, sensation, perception, sensibility and sensuality. These form two layers: the somatic and sensory which merge together as the sensory-somatic awareness. It takes into consideration the sensory perception and awareness leading to an agentic, enactive and embodied meaning-making and emotional engagement of the dancers. It also examines how the changing socio-cultural situation has been continuously affecting the Odissi dance embodiment. This thesis does not address the religious aspect and the experience of the audience in Odissi performance. The main focus remains the dancers’ individual experience of learning and performing Odissi dance. Moving away from the study of Odissi dance just as a reflection of the state, regional culture and representation of mythologies, this thesis is an investigation of the Odissi dancer’s meaningful, embodied and lived experience of Odissi dancing. It contributes to the debates on body-mind relationship, emotional engagement, place of the ‘self’, the student-oriented learning, psychophysical training and performance, and rasa-bhāva aesthetics. This study reveals that the sensory-somatic awareness is based upon reflexivity, independent enquiry, psychophysical health, bodymind awareness and leads to empowerment, agency, autonomy, plurality, confidence and responsibility, a level of relief from gender biases, and an inclusive approach to learning and performing.

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Esta dissertação investiga o processo de formação da identidade, através do trabalho artístico/musical da banda de hip-hop norte-americano: Black Eyed Peas, formada na década de 80, nos Estados Unidos da América. Essa investigação diz respeito às questões de identidades discutidas pela temática do hip-hop, bem como a releitura que esta banda apresenta de elementos tidos como essenciais no gênero em questão. Ainda, visa uma maior compreensão da problemática envolvida na obra artística popular e racial e sua relação com a teoria de massa, para à partir daí, analisar seu potencial de resistência, de criatividade e de protesto. / This research ivestigates the process of meaning meaking/ signifyin(g) in the musical work of a North-american hip-hop band: Black Eyed Peas, founded in the decade of 1980, in the United States of America. This investigation is based on the identity questions discussed by the hip-hop themes, as well as the reelaboration/revisionism that this specific band shows about elements considered essences in the gender studied. Yet, this research intends a better understanding of the matters involved in the popular and racial artistic creation and its relation with the mass theories, in order to analyse its potencial of political resistance, criativity and protest.

Orientador: Inês Signorini / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T02:46:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gali_Paula_M.pdf: 4554107 bytes, checksum: 01cd238cb7f620e74661342ac4d2ab99 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Esta dissertação de Mestrado apresenta a análise de três sítios institucionais produzidos por alunos de curso técnico em Web Design, retratando de cada sítio o aspecto da produção de significado hipermodal que se destaca. Interessa-nos apresentar, conforme a intenção de divulgar as empresas e aproximar empresa e usuário-cliente, como os alunos selecionaram e combinaram os elementos semióticos, quais os locais escolhidos para o posicionamento dos elementos nas páginas dos sítios, quais os recursos propostos de interação com o usuário, como os participantes (empresa/usuário) foram representados nos sítios, a fim de comporem os significados, e como a articulação de todos esses elementos foi compreendida por usuários comuns de internet. Esse trabalho é uma pesquisa qualitativa e está centrada nos estudos aplicados de linguagem. Os pressupostos teóricos são da Teoria Semiótica da Hipermodalidade, de estudos sobre hipertexto, Letramento, Gênero e de multimodalidade (fundamentado na Gramática do Design Visual) e tem como recursos metodológicos gravação em áudio e vídeo, anotações de observações de aulas do curso (diário de anotações), documentos escritos do curso / Abstract: This Master's thesis presents an analysis of three institutional websites made by students of a Web Design course, indicating the features of hypermodal meaning production which is emphasized on the website. It is our interest to show how the students selected and combined the semiotic elements, the places at the websites chosen to position the elements on their pages in order to keep the visual or verbal information. Furthermore we want to demonstrate the interactive resource, how the participants were represented on the websites in order to produce the meanings, and how the inter-relation of all the information components were understood by the internet users. This dissertation is a qualitative research which is centered on the applied studies os language and has the focus on the semiotic elements obtained by means of language in specific social context. The fundamental theory is about the Hypermodality Semiotic, and the complementary studies are on Hypertext, Literacies, Genre and in Multimodality (Grammar of Visual Design). Finally, the methodological resources are audio and video recording, noted reflections on class diary, written documents about the course program and the students final text of the course / Mestrado / Lingua Materna / Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

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Denna studies syfte är att undersöka på vilka sätt mening skapas i klassrummet med hjälp av ett dramapedagogiskt arbete, samt hur arbetet kan bidra till utvecklad förståelse av en text. I studien används forskningsfrågorna: vilka meningsskapande processer sker när elever arbetar med dramatisering av text? och: på vilka sätt rör sig eleverna genom olika litterära föreställningsvärldar under processen? Studien nyttjar ett sociosemiotiskt perspektiv, men skriv- och dramaprocesser analyseras också utifrån byggandet av litterära föreställningsvärldar. Med ett etnografiskt förhållningssätt utfördes dels en deltagande observation av arbetet med en dramatisering av ett stycke ur Alf Henrikssons bok Asken Yggdrasil, och dels en serie semistrukturerade intervjuer av eleverna i den berörda klassen. Analysen av resultatet visar att de meningsskapande processer elever får uppleva bidrar till ett ökat engagemang och glädje inför arbetet. Flera förmågor tränas samtidigt som förståelse av en text arbetas med. Med hjälp av drama som en estetisk lärprocess ges eleverna möjlighet att förstå världen tillsammans med andra och på så sätt skapa betydelse i sitt eget lärande, och sina egna liv.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There is general recognition regarding the importance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in assisting students acquire academic discourses appropriate to specific disciplines of study. However, undergraduate students in multilingual contexts, where English is a second or foreign language face challenges in managing the transition from secondary school into the university, where they are expected to appropriate as well as acclimate to new discourses of communication deemed to be essential for their survival in the academic world. Although studies show the importance of agency in language learning success, institutional demands have sometimes led to the adoption of teaching and assessment practices that ignore the learners’ English language learning history, background, experiences and needs, which impact on their sense of agency and voice in the EAP classroom and eventually their learning success. The study investigates whether the EAP course at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) can engender agency and voice among first year undergraduate students transitioning into the University from community day secondary schools (CDSSs). It aspires to generate an understanding of the strong link that exists between institutional orientation to EAP, course design and pedagogical practice on the one hand and learner agency, voice and multiple meaning making in the EAP classroom on the other. Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Lier, 2000, 2004) and positioning (Davies & Harré, 1999), the study argues for EAP pedagogy that provides affordances, empowers and positions transitioning students for critical learning by deliberately making multiple meaning making, agency and voice the mainstays of course design and instruction. The investigation uses a qualitative case study methodology centred on understanding affordances for agency and voice in EAP learning, manifestations of and the factors influencing voice and agency from the perspectives of first-year undergraduate students transitioning from community day secondary schools (CDSSs) and EAP course lecturers. Collection of data involved semester-long observation of 44 EAP lecture sessions of roughly 2 hours each duration, as well as interviews with participant students and course lecturers, and analysis of documents. The findings indicate that design and pedagogical practice in the current EAP course at MUST fail to adequately engender agency and voice among students and to promote learner empowerment or encourage multiple meaning making in and outside the classroom. The entire study has generated some insights for advancement of critical EAP learning that can engender voice and agency, including the need for EAP to deliberately build in and promote learner empowerment, multiple meaning making and negotiation in order to move towards pedagogy that is appropriate for critical learning, voice and agency, the need for EAP to move away from closure-focused teaching, learning and assessment, the need for enhancement of EAP course lecturers’ critical awareness of the world views and inherent assumptions surrounding various approaches to EAP pedagogy, the need for enrichment of EAP learning environments with semiotic resources for learner engagement for agency, voice and multiple meaning making, the need for learning spaces that are enabling for students to identify and utilize affordances for EAP learning beyond the classroom, and the need for exploration of PowerPoint and related technologies for EAP instruction beyond current use as tools for transmission of content to students.

Denna studie har undersökt fem svenska danslärares syn på och erfarenheter av relationer och meningsskapande i sitt arbete på gymnasiet. Studien undersökte utmaningar avseende inkluderande undervisningsmetoder baserade på lärarnas egna erfarenheter. Dessutom undersöktes lärarnas erfarenheter av rådande värderingar och normer baserade på traditioner för dansämnet, samhällets ideal och deras egna övertygelser. Studien intog ett relationellt perspektiv på undervisningen. De fem danslärarna undervisar i en eller flera genrer i gymnasieskolan främst, men de har också undervisat i andra pedagogiska sammanhang. Information samlades in genom kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer och analyserades därefter tematiskt. Syftet med analysen var att identifiera och beskriva variationer i undervisningsmetoder ur ett relationellt perspektiv, baserat på lärarens erfarenheter. Resultatanalysen visade på vikten av lyhördhet, respekt, ödmjukhet och framför allt en tillförlitlig lärar- och studentrelation där läraren bär ansvar att införliva dessa värden. Resultatet visade olika förhållningssätt bland lärarna vad gäller prioriteringar mellan ämnet och relationerna. Vidare framträdde olika dimensioner och djup av relationer beroende på lärarens beskrivningar av ansvar inom olika roller, till exempel mentorskap. Resultat visade att traditionella standarder för dansundervisning, såsom kunskapsöverföring genom rollerna som mästare och lärling, delvis problematiserades av lärarna. Däremot ansågs det vara viktigt för lärande, särskilt inom Dansteknik kurser. Kroppsideal, könskoder och normer som påverkade undervisningen kunde identifieras och beskrivas. Lärarnas uttalanden om dessa ideal, koder och normer analyserades och diskuterades utifrån tidigare forskning och litteratur inom ämnet. / This study investigated five Swedish dance teachers view on and experiences with relationships and meaning making within their work in upper secondary school. It examined challenges within inclusive teaching methods based on the teachers’ own experiences. Furthermore, it examined the teachers experiences with prevailing values and norms based on traditions of the dance subject, ideals of society and their own beliefs and conducts. The study took on a relational perspective of teaching. The five teachers teach in one or several genres in upper secondary school primarily, but they have also been teaching in other educational contexts. Information was gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews and there after analyzed thematically. The aim of the analysis was to identify and to describe variations regarding teaching methods from a relational point of view, based on the teacher’s experiences. The results highlighted the importance of responsiveness, respect, humility and before all a trusting teacher-student relationship in which the teachers carry responsibility to implement. The results further showed different values among the teachers regarding priorities between the subject and the relations. Moreover, it showed different dimensions and depth of relationships depending on the teacher’s descriptions of responsibility within different roles, such as mentorship. Results showed that traditional standards of dance teaching, such as knowledge transfer through the roles of master and apprentice was problematized. Though it was also considered of importance for learning, especially within the courses of Dansteknik.  Body ideals, gender codes and norms that had an impact on teaching could be identified and described. The teachers` statements about these ideals, codes and norms was then analysed and discussed based on previous research and literature on the subjects.

The aim of this study was to explore the relevance and function of Christian reli-gious belief in constructing views on climate change (sv: klimathot) and climate action (sv: klimatengagemang). To ensure a focus on religiosity and the construc-tion of personal beliefs rather than systematic theology the study used psycholo-gist Crystal L. Parks theory on religious meaning making. Fourteen articles about climate change with denominational elements from the Christian newspapers Dagen, Insidan, Kyrkans Tidning, Budbäraren and Världen Idag were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The results showed that the articles had ex-panded the extent of religion to encompass both climate change and climate ac-tion. Through truth claims and references to the Bible the threat of climate change was incorporated in the narrative of Genesis and humanity’s fall from grace and climate change was portrayed as the result of humanity’s failure at properly stew-arding nature. The environment was assigned value through depictions of the en-vironment as a creation by God. Climate action was presented as a necessity and a duty with references to God giving humanity the responsibility of stewarding na-ture. The ascription of religious meaning to climate action also meant that the re-ligiosity of the authors functioned as a motivation in regards to climate action. The religiosity, as portrayed in the articles, also exhibited a transcendent function in the case where the authors described their stewardship as a united effort with God. The idea that God was helping humanity in their stewardship and had the power to renew the world for the better also functioned as a mitigation to climate anxiety.

The focus of this thesis is the KMS at a Sandvik design department. Purposed to deal with information overload using user-generated content, it is also intended to enable the employees to share knowledge. Previous research has studied what motivates employees to use technology for knowledge sharing. This study seeks beyond what is motivating and instead asks what it is that creates meaning for the employees in using and contributing to the KMS. Based on what is found to be meaning-making the thesis discusses and highlights design considerations for the KMS. Qualitative methods as well as theories on learning, motivation and meaning-making is used. Six employees were interviewed and the analysis suggests using thematization that what is meaning-making for the employee is linked with the approach towards work tasks. Meaning-making aspects is seen as either instrumental or social. The use of communicative and social features should be considered. / I uppsatsens fokus står en kunskapsdelningsplattform på en av Sandvikskonstruktionsavdelningar. Plattformen ska med användargenererat innehåll underlätta informationssökning samt tillåta användarna att dela kunskap. Tidigare forskning har studerat vad som motiverar anställda att använda datorsystem till att dela kunskap. Denna uppsats söker bortom vad som motiverar och frågar istället vad det är som skapar mening för de anställda i att använda sig av och bidra till denna plattform. Utifrån detta diskuterar och föreslår uppsatsen designförslag till plattformen. Kvalitativa metoder samt teorier om lärande, motivation och meningsskapande används. Sex anställda intervjuades och i den efterföljande analysen som bestod av tematisering framkom det att vad som skapar mening för den anställde går hand i hand med hur denne ser sina arbetsuppgifter. De meningsskapande aspekterna betraktas som antingen instrumentella eller sociala. Användning av kommunikativa och sociala funktioner föreslås till utformningen av plattformen.