Denna studie syftar till att granska elevers uppfattningar om dagens svenska skola som framgångsfaktor. Tre frågeställningar har konstruerats; (a) hur ser eleverna på motivation i skolan, (b) hur ser eleverna på deras framtida väg till framgång samt (c) ser eleverna andra vägar till framgång utöver den väg som skola och utbildning erbjuder och hur påverkar detta deras motivation att prestera i skolan? Då syftet är av en tydlig subjektiv karaktär, har en kvalitativ metod och teknik tillämpats. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt utgörs av två teman; motivation och vägar till framgång. Dessa två ämnesområden innehåller underrubriker som utgör den tematiska ordning som uppsatsen följer. Empirin i studien bygger på åtta semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med elever i grundskolans år nio. Studiens resultat visar att ungdomarna upplever en påtaglig ambivalens i deras motivation i skolan samt i deras syn på vägar till framgång. Samtiden präglas av övergången från det moderna samhället till det postmoderna, vilket medför att ungdomarna ser möjligheten att välja mellan skolans väg till framgång och alternativa vägar. En motivationskonflikt uppstår som påverkar ungdomarnas prestationer i skolan. / The study’s purpose is to examine students' perceptions of today's Swedish school as a factor of success. Three questions have been designed; (a) what are the students’ views on motivation in school, (b) what are the students’ views on their future path to success and (c) do students see other avenues to success in addition to the road of education and training offered, and how does this affect their motivation to perform at school? Because the purpose is of a clear subjective character, a qualitative methodology and technique have been applied. The study’s theoretical basis consists of two themes; motivation and paths to success. These two topics have generated subheadings, which provide the thematic order in which the paper follows. The empirical work is based on eight semi-structured qualitative interviews with secondary school students. The results show that the youths are experiencing a tangible ambivalence in their motivation in school and in their view of paths to success. The contemporary period is characterized by the transition from modern society to the post modern, which means that young people see the opportunity to choose between the school's road to success and alternative routes. A motivational conflict arises that effect the youths’ performance at school.

The appearance, use, and philosophy of the disabled detective are latent even in early detective texts, such as in Arthur Conan Doyle’s canonical Sherlock Holmes series. By philosophy, I am referring to both why the detective feels compelled to detect as well as the system of detection the detective uses and on which the text relies. Because the detective feels incompatible with the world around him (all of the detectives I analyze in this dissertation are men), he is driven to either fix himself, the world, or both. His systematic approach includes diagnosing problems through symptomatology and removing the deficient aspect. While the detective narrative’s original framework assimilates bodies to medical and scientific discourses and norms in order to represent a stable social order, I argue that contemporary detective subgenres, including classical disability detective texts, hardboiled disability detective texts and postmodern disability detective texts, respond to this framework by making the portrayal of disability explicit by allocating it to the detective. The texts present disability as both a literary mechanism that uses disability to represent abstract metaphors (of hardship, of pity, of heroism) and a cultural construct in and of itself. I contend that the texts use disability to investigate what it means to be an individual and a member of society. Thus, I trace disability in detective fiction as it parallels the cultural move away from the autonomous individual and his participation in a stable social order and move towards the socially located agent and shifting situational values.

This thesis examines the applicability of the postmodern theories of consumerism and simulacra to the post-Soviet Russian context by undertaking a case study of Viktor Pelevin's novel Generation "Π". In today's environment of economic globalisation and its accompanying global culture, Western theories concerning the postmodern condition have attempted to explain social dynamics in regions outside of their native context. This thesis seeks to contribute to the debate regarding the global applicability of the postmodem theoretical models by applying the perspectives of Fredric Jameson and Jean Baudrillard to post-Soviet Russian cultural material. Such an analysis will help offer an indication as to whether Russia is merely a regional variant of a larger Western-oriented social paradigm, or a society and culture seeking to follow its own distinctive path of development. Generation "Π" portrays Russia in terms of its post-Soviet experiences of globalisation and media simulation. This novel engages the theories of the postmodern and their application into the post-Soviet Russian context and offers an effective depiction of Russian culture in terms of its similarities and differences to the West. In addition, Pelevin's disenchantment with the cultural dominants within post-Soviet Russia and global culture in general are strongly expressed. This thesis argues that while Pelevin's engagement with, the totality of post-Soviet consumerism and media simulation supports the applicability of many of the discussed theoretical concepts to the post-Soviet context, his work also highlights the distinctiveness of the postmodern cultural condition in Russia. This distinctiveness is not only a result of Russia's transition to the market economy but also stems from Russia's literary quest for an organic culture.

This thesis investigates the relationship between the apocalyptic narrative and the postmodern novel. It explores and builds on Patricia Waugh‟s hypothesis in Practising Postmodernism: Reading Modernism (1992) which suggests that that the postmodern is characterised by an apocalyptic sense of crisis, and argues that there is in fact a strong relationship between the apocalyptic and the postmodern. It does so through an exploration of apocalyptic narratives and themes in five postmodern novels. It also draws on additional supporting material which includes literary and cultural theory and criticism, as well as historical theory. In using the novel as a medium through which to explore apocalyptic narratives, this thesis both assumes and affirms the novel‟s importance as a cultural artefact which reflects the concerns of the age in which it is written. I suggest that each of the novels discussed in this thesis demonstrates the close relationship between the apocalyptic and the postmodern through society‟s concern over the direction of history, the validity of meta-narratives, and other cultural phenomenon, such as war, the development of nuclear weaponry, and terrorism. Although the scope of this thesis is largely confined to the historical-cultural epoch known as postmodernity, it also draws on literature and cultural criticism from earlier periods so as to provide a more comprehensive framework for investigating apocalyptic ideas and their importance inside the postmodern novel. A number of modernist writers are therefore referred to or quoted throughout this thesis, as are other important thinkers from preceding periods whose ideas are especially pertinent. The present thesis was researched and written between March 2010 and August 2011 and is dedicated to all of those people who lost their lives in the apocalyptic events of the February 22nd Christchurch earthquake.

This thesis documents a qualitative research study of twenty postmodern therapy practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on their experiences in the wider field of therapy. The participants were aligned in their subscribing to postmodern critiques of therapy as a instrument of power, and in their interest in, and use of, therapy techniques and approaches that have grown out of those critiques – including narrative therapy, critical psychology, “Just Therapy”, and feminist poststructuralist therapy approaches. I argue that these practitioners represent a social movement within the field of therapy. The thesis examines the nature of the wider therapy field in Aotearoa New Zealand, analysing the perspectives of the participants. I demonstrate how this field has become increasingly dominated by the twin forces of neoliberalism and bio-science, making postmodern therapy work difficult, particularly within public sector services. In the final substantive part of the thesis, I critically examine and appraise the strategies used by participants to negotiate and resist these forces. This discussion is divided into two main chapters, dealing first with the participants who have difficulty in engaging in official politics and who consequently attempt to operate “under the radar” of management surveillance: these participants are characterised as “battlers”, “burn-outs” and “blow-outs”. Then, I turn my attention to the second group of participants – “infiltrators”, “outsiders” and “accepters” – who strategically utilise symbolic capital to pose resistance, or simply leave the public system. I also consider the professed abilities of this second group to cultivate a postmodern sensibility and to tolerate contradiction and compromise. I conclude this investigation of the possibilites for resistance to neoliberal and bio-scientific discourses by recommending greater strengthening of this local postmodern therapy movement.

The Transmittance Device was an architectural installation, constructed as an imposition upon a public evergreen hedge row. The premise behind this exploration was to exploit architecture as a sequence of dynamic human experiences, creating an event or incident. The intention was to initiate a human transfer or violation from one side of a presumed boundary or barrier, to the opposite side. The boundary or barrier metaphorically represented the inherent characteristics human's possess, concerning abidement and conformity, within their normalities of regulated habit.The evolution process included theoretical conception, analysis of past installations, development of objectives, and four proposed projects. The final proposed Device was constructed in September, 1992, adjacent to the Fine Arts Building, on the campus of Ball State University. The Transmittance Device stood for over three weeks, instigating human engagement. The thesis document presents my collection of information gained, questions posed, and aspirations evoked, throughout the process of this exploration.This workbook documents the evolution process of the Transmittance Device. The Transmittance Device is an installation which exploits architecture as an event or incident, occurring as a human participates. Also, it is a construction which attempts to fuse the separation between architecture and sculpture. The document is not to be read as a conclusive narrative, but rather, a working text. The information is compiled in three general sections: architecture, installations, and the Transmittance Device, respectively chronological. The majority of the information presented was collected as scribbled notes, sketches, and study models produced throughout the nine month process (February to November, 1992.) The presentation of the constructed Device IV is presented with process sketches, scaled drawings, and photographs of the built construction. My aspirations are to continue this exploration, building upon the workbook, to never reach an end. / Department of Architecture

This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

En av lärarens stora utmaningar som pedagog är att nå fram till eleverna. Speciellt i dagens samhälle där klyftan mellan lärare och elever blir tydlig genom inaktuella arbetssätt inom skolan och användandet av modern teknik. Ett användande som sällan förmår att stimulera eleverna i en undervisning som ser till den utvecklade digitala verklighet som de lever i. Det är intressant att utreda hur lärare på bästa sätt kan möta de förväntningar som ställs på en undervisning som är anpassad till IKT i ett postmodernt samhälle. Studien avser därför att utreda verksamma gymnasielärares IKT-användning i undervisningen genom att undersöka hur lärare arbetar med IKT avseende webb 1.0 eller webb 2.0. Detta för att undersöka lärares uppfattning om IKT som redskap i undervisningen och överensstämmelsen med läroplanens övergripande riktlinjer samt utröna relationen till den postmoderna samhällsutvecklingen och dess anpassning till skolans verksamhet. Studiens genomförande bygger på en webbaserad kvantitativ enkätundersökning bland verksamma lärare på sju gymnasieskolor. Resultatet pekar på att den äldre tekniken webb 1.0 används mer frekvent än den mer utvecklade webb 2.0-tekniken och att lärarna oftare använder sig av traditionella arbetssättet med informationsöverföring även om den nya tekniken tillåter ett större elevdeltagande. Lärarna ser positivt på den nya webb 2.0-tekniken men motsätter sig tekniken i undervisningen främst då den även medför en distraktion som för många elever kan påverka deras lärande negativt. Att gymnasieskolan har påbörjat en anpassning mot nya arbetssätt blir tydligt men trots detta existerar det fortfarande många utmaningar. En ökad anpassning av skolans verksamhet till ett utvecklande webb 2.0-arbetssätt skulle kunna bidra till ökade tillfällen för mötet med elever i dess egna digitala verklighet samtidigt som ökade möjligheter till interaktion kring lärandet skulle skapas.

This study approaches parody as a multifarious literary form that has assumed diverse forms and functions throughout history. The study handles this diversity by classifying parody according to its objects of imitation. Three major parodic kinds are specified: parody directed at texts and personal styles, parody directed at genre, and parody directed at discourse. In the light of this classification, this study argues that different literary-historical periods in Britain have witnessed the prevalence of different kinds of parody &amp / #8211 / a phenomenon that may be accounted for mainly through the dominant literary, cultural, social, and ideological characteristics of each period. Although all periods from the Middle Ages to the present are considered in this regard, the study attributes a special significance to the postmodern age, where parody has become not only an essential area of inquiry but also a highly popular and widely produced literary form. In line with this emphasis, the study contends further that postmodern parody is primarily discourse parody. It argues, in other words, that discourse is the most essential target of parody during the postmodern age &amp / #8211 / a phenomenon which can again be explained through the major concerns of postmodernism as a movement. In addition to situating parody and its kinds in a historical context, then, this study engages in a detailed analysis of parody in the postmodern age, preparing the ground at the same time for making an informed assessment of the direction parody in general and its kinds in particular may take in the near future.