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Thesis (MHlthSc(OccTh))--University of South Australia, 2000

This thesis presents a critical reading of the theme of phenomenology in the work of the contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou. My criticism is exercised through a reading of Badiou’s references to this theme. I demonstrate that Badiou’s magnum opus, Being and Event, and its sequel, Logiques des Mondes, are the two pillars between which the philosopher exercises his constructive attack against the phenomenological tradition. I argue that Badiou’s developmental logic is driven by a subterranean and disavowed dialogue with phenomenology, a tradition he deliberately marginalises. / The thesis begins with a literature review of academic responses currently in circulation. Six respondents and their critiques of Badiou’s enterprise are examined for key points, significance to this research, gaps and omissions, and consequences thereof. Each respondent’s primary focus (for example, existential criticism or the phenomenon) is detailed for its specific connection to Badiou’s disregard for phenomenology. The thesis then examines ten of Badiou’s works and meticulously lists specific references (or lack thereof) to phenomenology. I demonstrate that Badiou’s philosophical arguments all carry the ghost of phenomenology that the philosopher has, largely, left unexamined. / The thesis ends with a detailed exegesis of Badiou’s most recent text, Logiques des Mondes. With the release of this text, Badiou returns to the question of phenomenology to present an explicit position regarding questions of experience, existence, phenomenality and appearing. Badiou’s references to phenomenology throughout his texts prior to the release of this sequel are clearly marginal, but his attack on the phenomenological tradition is renewed here via a new theory of appearing. Highly dependent on arguments established in Being and Event, Badiou’s theory of appearing provides him with a superior mathematico-logical model (category theory and set theory) to explain the philosophical notions of ontology (what-is) and being-there (there-is) which create the material world.

This thesis offers an interpretation of how eight male primary school teachers experience touch between themselves and their pupils/students. Despite the positive benefits of touch and evidence suggesting that appropriate forms of touch should be encouraged, the many meanings, interpretations and reactions to touch potentially complicate the ways in which people react. The potential for touch to enhance human well-being is therefore often diminished. The taboo surrounding touch is particularly evident in the school environment where limited research has been undertaken. This study gives voice to male teachers as they share their experiences in an era when the risks associated with physical contact between teachers and pupils are increasing. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used to explore and gain deeper understanding of the meaning of touch in education through interpreting the day to day experiences of male primary school teachers in New Zealand. Narrative interviews were interpreted and described thematically. The themes: ‘being careful, cautious and visible’, ‘worrying about misinterpretation’, ‘feeling sad’ and ‘battling with boundaries’, revealed a complex array of tensions that contributed to the findings. Male primary school teachers are constantly aware of the risk they take when interacting with students. They experience tensions and conflict when deciding where and how they will touch children and whether this will be misinterpreted by others. Consideration of the ways in which people respond to this complex and sensitive subject is necessary so that male teachers feel able to use positive and appropriate forms of touch without fear of suspicion and reprisal.

We know very little about the ecology of our designed world. Contrary to all appearances, design is not about making objects. It is rather about structuring the conditions for life. Design is our second nature, naturalising changes in our ways of living. Yet it also conceals dangers and diminishes our sensitivity to respond to them. The security offered by the televisual image � and the solace of design�s promise to remove all environmental risks � are fictions. Ecology of the Image is a critical exploration of idealism in design. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology, socio-cultural and design theory, it argues that design is not a value-free practice but structures epistemological attitudes into the world. Ideas are material elements of our environments. This thesis offers an explanation of how idealism circulates within the designed world, fashioning our minds, bodies and environments. The televisual is analysed as a normative phenomenon that inducts us into a way of seeing and understanding the world. Its vision of the affluent good life inspires and gives purpose to desire, and sustains what Manzini has called �product based well being�. The thesis argues that the televisual puts us out of touch with the consequences of its vision; it diminishes our capacity for forethought. This results in the generation of unacknowledged, yet self-endangering environmental feedback. Environmental problems force us to take account of design�s hidden rationales. Only at five minutes to midnight, for example, do we realise that the stock and supply of potable water is endangered. The problem is not so much this late recognition, but that design led us to believe in water�s abundance. This situation demands the development of an ecological understanding of our designed worlds that can inform future actions. The sign, particularly as it has been mobilised in cultural theory, plays a leading role in this design situation and the perceptions it supports. The sign is utilised for its ability to denaturalise appearances � to �read� design�s claims on the world. Finally, the thesis turns to the designer-in-training in the process of acquiring instrumental skills and worldviews. It proposes a research strategy that inscribes environmental consciousness into the design process � situating the designer in the midst of semiotic and material worlds. Through its observational methodology it outlines ways of first understanding, then of intervening and generating changes in our �ideal� world.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anthropology, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves i-xvii).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2008. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-157).

Thesis--Cologne. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-299).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Wuppertal, 2005. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-242) and index.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1989. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Patricia Munhall. Dissertation Committee: Maxine Greene. Bibliography: leaves 123-128.