Modern scholarly theories of oral folk narrative suggest that urban legends contain expressions of cultural beliefs that can be understood both through the contexts in which these stories are told and through the elements of the stories that remain constant across multiple tellings by various narrators. This study centers exclusively on stories and popular culture products that utilize missing or damaged fingers, hands, or arms, in order to identify the cultural values that are attached to hands in American culture. These stories in particular were chosen because the severed hand was perceived at the onset to be a common element within stories that had not been broadly analyzed. The particular theories that drive this study are drawn from the fields of folklore, disability studies, psychology, and neuroscience, and suggest that stories about severed hands express belief about the nature of humanity. Once the hypothesis was formed, I turned to the Fife Folklore Archives of the Merril-Cazier Library at Utah State University in order to collect transcripts of interviews in which severed hand legends had been told. Three hundred fifty potential texts were initially identified, and two hundred fifty featured a mention of severed hands. Those texts were then classified by what role the severed hand played in the course of the story into three distinct categories: villains with severed hands and prosthetics, victims who lose hands in the course of the narrative, and severed hands appearing in pranks or as contaminants. The narratives of each category were then analyzed, and themes of evil, risk, safety, and crossed boundaries began to emerge. To verify the cultural themes of the textual study, popular culture narratives were then analyzed to determine if similar themes were expressed. This set of narratives included movies, television, comic books, and novels. While the same themes were expressed in these narratives, the categories of evil and crossed boundaries each featured subverted forms of heroism and hands as characters as well, all of which supported the original interpretation. The results indicate that severed hands in American narratives represent lost humanity, and therefore that the hand is a vital part of how individuals within the culture might perceive their own humanity.

Desde os anos 1970, o narcotráfico tem figurado papel de destaque nos principais veículos de comunicação da América Latina, com uma cobertura caracterizada pela superficialidade e, em alguns casos, flertando com o sensacionalismo. Porém, alguns repórteres foram bem-sucedidos ao aproximar o narcotráfico e a reportagem, principalmente, a partir da produção de livros-reportagem. O tema influenciou a literatura do continente (originando termos como narcoliteratura, narconarrativa e narcocultura), bem como o contexto do tráfico de drogas proporcionou a produção editorial de obras de não ficção, a partir dos anos 80, atingindo o ápice nos anos 90 e 2000. Desta forma, esta dissertação, apoiado no referencial teórico da análise crítica da narrativa, proposta por Luiz Gonzaga Motta (2013), buscou analisar a contribuição do livro-reportagem em relação à produção cultural da narcoliteratura, a partir do estudo de duas obras: Abusado: o dono do morro Dona Marta (Record, 2011), de Caco Barcellos e El Cártel de Sinaloa (Randon House, 2009), de Diego Enrique Osorno. De forma geral, debruçando-se sobre características como enredo, personagens, tempo, espaço e narrador, encontrou-se aproximações narrativas entre o que ficou considerado como narconarrativas (MEJÍAS; SANTOS; URGELLES, 2016) e a produção jornalística do livro-reportagem. / Since the 70\'s, the cover of drug trafficking showed superficiality in narratives and, the process almost industrial, does not allow a deep analysis. Despite this fact, some journalists was succeded uniting the drug trafficking and the reportage, mainly, with the production of non-fiction books. This theme had influenced the literature of continent (creating terms like narcoliteratura, narconarrativa and narcocultura), as well, the context of drug trafficking provided a mass editorial production of non-fiction books, starting in final of the 80\'s, and reaching the apex in the 90\'s and 2000. In this way, this dissertation, referenced in the concepts of critic analysis of narrative, developed by Luiz Gonzaga Motta (2013), will analyse the contribution of the non-fiction books in relation to the cultural production of narcoliteratura, from the analysis of two books: Abusado: o dono do morro Dona Marta (Record, 2011), of Caco Barcellos and El Cártel de Sinaloa (Randon House, 2009), of Diego Enrique Osorno. In general, looking at characteristics such as plot, characters, time, space and narrator, we found narrative approximations between that was considered narconarrativas (MEJÍAS; SANTOS; URGELLES, 2016) and the journalistic production of the non-fiction books.

The purpose of this study is to examine how various characters are portrayed within the self-narratives of women who are employed to care for adults with disabilities. This research looks at how these women's personal narratives construct characters-their clients (the individuals they provide services for), clients' guardians, and how these women portray themselves as caregivers. Interviews were conducted with eight women who provide paid care services to physically and/or cognitively impaired adults who receive services through the Florida Developmental Disabilities Home and Community Based Services Waiver Program. This program endorses specific expectations about the nature and purpose of caregiving. According to their stories, clients were perceived as diverse and in control; relationships with parents and legal guardians were described in terms of helpful and challenging qualities; and, "good" caregivers were perceived as maintaining client choice, and were expected to know their clients. Given the disparate narratives of care that exist in the Waiver, the work these study participants do requires careful balancing of often contradictory expectations. Their accounts indicate how at the ground level, these narratives of care become "muddled" as caregivers interact with clients and other significant individuals.

I was born in the district village of Cilimus, a little mountainous place in the residency of Cirebon. Between five and nine years old I suffered from dysentery, typhus and eye disease which could have made me die or go blind. Praise be to God I recovered under the loving care of my parents. At that time the uprising of the PKI broke out and soon after the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) was set up by Ir. Sukarno. From 1928 till 1932 Indonesia suffered from the Great Depression which caused much unemployment and business became very bad. At first my education was not a great success since my parents were hesitant in choosing between sending me to a Chinese school or a Dutch school. When I was successful in finishing at Dutch Primary School with good examination records I went to Solo and Yogyakarta to attend Dutch teachers’ Training College and a Dutch Theological College. I had to leave school when the Japanese arrived. My family had to move to Kadugede, a remote village on the slope of Mount Ciremai, 45 km from the city of Cirebon. I could not continue my studies since all Dutch schools were closed. All the young people had to undergo military training or serve the Japanese Military by building airports and so on. I underwent Japanese Keibotai (Intelligence) military training in Linggajati, a mountainous village, 5 km from Cilimus. The Keibotai military training centre in Linggajati was headed by Mr. Watanabe who was a colonel and quite likely responsible to Colonel Kurija, chief of the Joohoobu (Intelligence Staff) of the 16th Army. Some other assistants to Watanabe were Akano, Fukuda and Tomita. The purpose of this training was to train the Chinese youth to become auxiliary Intelligence Staff. I had to flee to the military training dormitory when I was not permitted to go home in order to get engaged to my fiancée. When I came back to the military training I was punished by one week’s room arrest. One month after the arrest I heard that Japan had surrendered to the Allied Forces after suffering from atomic bombardments on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I returned home on 15 August 1945. Two days later, 17 August 1945, Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia. Native young people underwent military training to defend their country. The republic set up the people’s Security Body (BKR) which later become the People’s security Forces (TKR), the foundation of the current Indonesian Armed Forces. Somebody was slandering me and accused me of being a spy for the Japanese military. I had an interview with the council of the BKR of Kuningan which trusted me and set me free. On 10 March 1946 my fiancée and I celebrated our wedding party. When the Dutch occupied West Java I went to Batavia (Jakarta) to find a job and asked my parents, my wife and children to come over when I settled. In Jakarta I improved my knowledge and achieved several diplomas, and degrees in Languages and Business. For many years I worked as manager and managing director of several enterprises until I ran a transportation business where I had 50% share and was appointed Managing Director. The business was running smoothly until the abortive coup of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). After the Communist coup and the rupia devaluation there came a slump in my business. I got a job at the National University as lecturer in English and Dutch. I also had private students in English, Dutch and Indonesian which became a good teaching business. But since I wanted to obtain a foreign degree, my wife and I migrated in 1983 to Australia. In this thesis I address the issue of the role of the Chinese in late colonial Indonesia. In many ways my family was typical of the Chinese as businesspeople and entrepreneurs. My attitudes to colonialism changed from enthusiastic admiration for the Dutch in my youth to a more nationalistic approach and embrace of the Indonesian Republic as a young man. While, like most Chinese, I was no supporter of Japan’s war aims, I was obliged to serve in Japanese-sponsored organisations and my analysis of the Japanese occupation is not entirely negative. This autobiographical analysis charts these important (and representative) changes in my attitudes, as well as providing a personal perspective on a crucial period in Indonesia’s history from the point of view of a representative member of a significant minority. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

I worked as a school administrator in 'disadvantaged schools' for many years. In this study I asked colleagues from sixteen schools in the northern and western suburbs of Adelaide to co - theorise about changes in their neighbourhood, school populations and programs, now that their schools are no longer recognised by policy as 'disadvantaged1. I explore the use of narrative method and arts based approaches by constructing a 'literary' research text that uses conventional sociological forms together with images, poetry and personal stories. I use anthropological and geographical theoretical constructs to look at the changing material, economic, cultural and social landscapes and the mosaic of inequalities in the city of Adelaide. I suggest that this is not a simple binary polarisation, although large numbers of people are similarly positioned by de-industrialisation and the diminishing social wage. After examining the literature on poverty in Australia, I am eventually prepared to call this space class, understanding that this is a sociological metaphor. Through a theorisation of each school as a 'place' within a specific neighbourhood, I look at the similarities and differences across sites. I suggest that 'disadvantaged schools' are similarly positioned as sites for the mediation of social inequalities, and that this can be readily seen in the time consuming 'housework' of discipline and welfare. I indicate how each school is differently able to 'do more with less', because of their unique neighbourhood and its narratives, knowledges, histories, teleologies and people. I show that the common coercive regimes of market devolution, new public management and the 'distributive curriculum' frame the work of teachers, students and administrators in ways that are not conducive to 'doing justice', despite the policy rhetoric of equity and community. I provide evidence that the neoliberal imaginary of context free schooling enshrined in effective schools literatures is Utopian and irrational. I argue that the capacity of the school to 'generate context' is always paradoxically dependent on 'context derived'. I discuss the notion of 'doing justice' and the benefits of 'disadvantaged schools' having a local set of principles that guide their decisions and actions and provide evidence that the school administrator's understandings of 'doing justice' are important. I also suggest that, despite being increasingly isolated and hindered by policy directions, the majority of the sixteen schools continue to work for and with principles of justice and equity, drawing on a range of emotional and intellectual resources and deep, longstanding commitments. I conclude by speculating on the kinds of policy and research agendas that might take account of both the commonalities and differences amongst 'disadvantaged schools', and what might be included in a comprehensive and systematic approach to 'doing justice'.

This thesis analyses narratives associated with the development of public policy in telecommunications from the advent of telegraphy to Australia in 1854 to the end of 2000, with particular emphasis on concepts of universal service. The history of public policy development in telecommunications universal service obligations is analysed to gain an understanding of how different narratives are used to frame policy within particular material contexts. The study demonstrates that narratives in telecommunication development reflect national public policy agendas. In addition the thesis analyses how policy narratives are used to underwrite and legitimise assumptions, values and statements that influence the agendas and expectations of diverse social actors and interpretive communities. Furthermore, the thesis examines the interaction between policy narratives and the barriers and opportunities created by dynamic material environments such as economic, legislative and technological arenas. The study analyses five narratives that influence telecommunication policy and the agendas and expectations of diverse social actors and interpretive communities. National development, technocratic, rights, competition and charity narratives are used to frame different approaches to telecommunication policy, with particular reference to universal service. The study demonstrates how national development and competition narratives compete to dominate policy. Furthermore, diverse technocratic narratives provide scientific reinforcement to underwrite and legitimise the dominant narrative as well as discredit alternative perspectives. In addition, social rights and charity narratives respectively provide moral support to underwrite and legitimise national development and competition policy narratives. A key focus of this study is a narrative analysis of more than a thousand submissions to an independent inquiry in 2000 into telecommunication service levels with particular reference to universal service. The Telecommunications Service Inquiry was a forum that provided examples of the narratives analysed in this study from a cross-section of the Australian community. Submissions came from diverse social actors and institutions that included governments and state bodies, the telecommunication industry, unions, the farming industry, other business groups, community groups and individuals. The research demonstrates that changes in material environments and social expectations of universal service produce tensions within dominant narratives that require greater support from secondary narratives to provide scientific and moral legitimacy. Furthermore the research indicates that, in part, universal service policy functions to stabilise and legitimise the dominant policy narrative. However, the diverse social expectations associated with universal service produce continuing tensions within the dominant narrative that keep the policy in a state of flux. Consequently, government and industry policy makers find telecommunications policy a problematic area to reconcile with expectations of universal service.

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My dissertation, The Question of Cross-Cultural Understanding in the Transcultural Travel Narratives about Post-1949 China, aims to intervene in the genre of travel writing and its critical scholarship by studying a flourishing but under-explored archive. Travel literature about (post-) Communist China is abundant and has been proliferating since 1979 when China began to implement its open-door policy. Yet its scholarship is surprisingly scanty. Meanwhile, in the field of travel literature studies, many critics read the genre as one that articulates Western imperialism, an archive where peoples and cultures are defined within conveniently maintained boundaries between home and abroad, West and non-West. Othersin the field of literary and cultural studies as well as other disciplineshave started to question the binary power relationship. However, some of this work may well reinforce the binary opposition, seeking only evidences of the travellers powerlessness in relation to the native; and some, conceiving travel only on a geographical plane, seems unable to transcend the dichotomy of home and abroad, East and West at a theoretical level. My project is committed to further interrogating the binarism constructed by the genre of travel and its scholarship. My intervention is not to argue who gets an upper hand in a hierarchical relationship, but to challenge the stability of the hierarchy by foregrounding the contingency and complexity of cross-cultural relationships. My dissertation engages with the key issue of cross-cultural understanding and explicates various modalities of the travellers interpretation of otherness. By reading Canadian journalist Jan Wong, geophysicist Jock Tuzo Wilson, US Peace Corps volunteer Peter Hessler, American anthropologist Hill Gates, and humanist geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, I examine the ways in which the Western traveller negotiates and interprets foreignness, and probe the consequences of transcultural interactions. The overall argument of my dissertationin dialogue with other scholarship in the fieldis that travel not only (re)produces cultural differences but also paradoxically engenders a cosmopolitan potential that recognizes but transcends them. / English

In this thesis I have investigated the process of self-schematic transformation that has been argued that offenders undergo in order to desist from crime. In this thesis I have used narrative interviews with twelve desisting offenders consisting of five non-violent offenders and seven violent offenders. I have analysed these narratives using a social cognitive perspective in order to seek an understanding of the self-schemas of the offenders. The results show that the desistance is the result of a longer process and the turning point experienced by the participants were the high point of this process. Social influences were highly important for both groups. Both groups were low in agency, with the exception to their new selves and the desisting process; still, the violent offenders were somewhat higher than the non-violent offenders. In general both groups used outside sources to explain their past crimes and substance abuse, though the violent offenders did this in less extent. Further, the analysis showed that the self-schema of the desisting offenders could be divided into three parts; the former self, the true self, and the new self, or who they used to be, who they have always been, and who they are now. The degree to which the offenders expressed these different selves varied between the two groups.

In 2004 as many as 25% of teachers in Sweden, Denmark, and England were willing to leave their profession immediately; in the United States much effort has been invested in studying why teachers leave the profession. In this paper, four teachers who left the profession were interviewed from within the life-story tradition. In the narratives, which were rendered in a poetic style during the analysis, colleagues were mentioned both positively and negatively. The theme of having colleagues, and especially trust or mistrust between colleagues, was thus explored. The existence or non-existence of lateral trust between teachers can be connected both to school development and to student learning outcomes.