Numerous studies have pointed to the historiographic and metafictional aspects of Ian McEwan’s and Graham Swift’s fiction, although few have examined the connections between McEwan and Swift. This study develops from that work by proposing that McEwan’s and Swift’s fictions explore similar themes, beyond those of just history and metafiction. By situating McEwan and Swift as postmodern writers who are strikingly intertextual, in the sense initially coined by Julia Kristeva, this study will show that both authors are deeply concerned with the violence of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and the role that violence has played in the failure of metanarratives, as well as the resulting terror subjects face as they seek replacements for the personal authenticity, legitimacy, and meaning once provided by totalizing metanarratives. This study also illustrates that McEwan and Swift recognize the persistence of the metanarrative of science, as well as the psychic violence inherent in trying to replace metanarratives with received literary traditions. By developing on these ideas, this thesis argues that McEwan and Swift are actively engaged not only in exploring the anxiety subjects face as they realize there is nothing left upon which they can base their personal legitimacy, but also that the authors are suggesting there is no easy replacement for the lost, albeit fictitious, authenticity once situated in metanarratives and received genres. Finally, this paper will demonstrate that while these two contemporary novelists significantly problematize narrative and narrative frameworks, McEwan and Swift ultimately convey only one sure method to cope with the mourning and terror of the postmodern condition: continue writing. / Graduate Studies, College of (Okanagan) / Graduate

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In the postmodern society we live in whereby citizens create their unique identities and sense of belonging not by whom they associate with but rather with what they consume (Arrow & Dasgupta, 2009; Berner & Van Tonder, 2003; Kacen, 2000). Addressing the fast-paced lifestyles postmodern consumers are leading and the impact thereof on the natural environment is in many political, economic, academic and social circles high on the agenda (Benton & Ferry, 2010). Studies relating more specifically, to the true impact of consumer behaviour on the environment and the ultimate sustainability thereof for future generations is becoming of great importance. In order to assure future generations the same quality of life and access to natural resources it becomes paramount that investigation sets forth the behaviour of consumers today. This study investigated postmodern consumers’ consciousness of climate change and subsequent food procurement practices. The research identified certain sustainable consumption practices and uncovered very clear deficits with regards to consumers’ knowledge of climate change. Overall results revealed that most consumers either portray or aspire towards lifestyles that reflect luxury and convenience. It was found those who were willing to live more sustainably struggled to do so due to societal pressures, poor support and a knowledge deficit in terms of mitigating skills. This research further discovered that the current lifestyles postmodern consumers’ aspire to encourage very definite changes in terms of gender roles (i.e. more women competing on par with men), which have detrimental effects on their ability to lessen unsustainable behaviour. Recent literature states that women should be viewed as positive agents of change due to their prominent role in socialising their household members (Buckley, Cowan, McCarthy, & O'Sullivan, 2005) and therefore a portion of the research focused on the specific contribution or lack thereof females have toward sustainable consumption practices within a postmodern society. However, this research identified that with a proper knowledge of sustainable consumption practises and mitigating skills the postmodern consumer is able to have a profound impact on curbing the detrimental effects of unsustainable practices and therefore rightfully deserves more attention. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Consumer Science / MA / unrestricted

Les années soixante-dix ont vu la résurgence d'un genre hollywoodien centré sur la figure du justicier civil, errant dans la modernité urbaine ou rurale afin d'éradiquer le crime en lieu et place des institutions officielles. Baptisé "vigilante movie" par la critique des années soixante-dix, ce type de film a connu son avènement commercial dans une séquence que nous situons entre 1968 et 1989.La majorité des œuvres concernées étant, à nos yeux, conscientes des contrastes et des égarements comportementaux de leurs personnages, nous nous attachons ici à analyser le regard critique porté par leurs auteurs sur la justice civile – un regard souvent occulté par les textes rédigés contre ces films, perçus comme des apologies conservatrices des solutions les plus draconiennes à la criminalité. Nous proposons donc de relever les procédés communs fondant la nature profondément pessimiste de ce cinéma d'action. Comme nous allons le voir, les cinéastes et les scénaristes des grands studios et des circuits de l'exploitation ont saisi que le vigilante est en soi l'outil idéal pour incarner tout à la fois l'Amérique, ses origines, son évolution, ses aspirations, son rêve de liberté et d'indépendance. / Within the nineteen-seventies, a Hollywoodian genre focusing on the vigilante archetype, wandering throughout urban or rural modernity in order to eradicate crime instead of legal institutions, came back in the public eye. Called "vigilante movie" by critics in the nineteen-seventies, this genre arose commercially within a period that we situate between 1968 and 1989. Since most works are, according to us, aware of the paradoxes and bewilderments of their characters, we try to analyze the critical view expressed by authors on vigilante justice - that is, a view often neglected by texts written against these movies, perceived as conservative glorifications of the most radical reactions to criminality. Therefore, we propose a collection of common aesthetic processes that define the pessimistic aspect of these action films. As we are about to see, filmmakers and screenwriters from major studios and exploitation channels have understood that the vigilante in itself is the ideal tool for the embodiment of America, its origins, its aspirations, its evolution, its dreams of liberty and independence.

This study examines the early learning educators’ view on the framework of "caregiving" and "education" in preschool. A qualitative method has been used by conducting and analysing four in-depth interviews with four early learning educators. Two of these are preschool teachers and two are nursery teachers: all of them are active within the Stockholm municipality. The interviews have been conducted over the phone, then recorded, transcribed, and analysed with discourse analysis as a basis. The study has a postmodern perspective and is aimed to be a "small story" in a larger context. This by approaching the subject using discourse analysis and displaying the early learning educators’ concept of this based on their experience as a preschool teacher or nursery teachers. That purpose of the study is therefore to answer the following questions: How does the early learning educator describe their outlook on these concepts based on their own experiences? In what way do they perceive the methods by which preschool teachers and caregivers put these concepts into practice? What discourses can be discerned in the early learning educators’ answers? The result shows that all interviewees emphasize the importance of distinguishing teaching in preschool from the teaching that takes place in primary schools. They express worry with regards to how the implementation of "education" in preschool may inadvertently result in preschool teachers trying to emulate the teaching that is conducted in schools. One of the interviewees uses the words "preschool education" to differentiate from "school education", and points out the importance of them being viewed as separate concepts. According to the interviewees, "preschool education" is characterised by spontaneity; something that can be drawn out in all situations and contexts as well as being dependent on the children's participation and interest. The interviewees describe "caregiving" as present in everything they do, but also an invisible discourse wich it's not very well-defined nor often talked about. The interviewees also describe it as a significant part of "preschool education". "caregiving" and "education" are thus related to each other and "preschool education" as a whole is linked to an ethical perspective within the framework of postmodern discourse.

Paul Austers New York Trilogy has long been considered a classic postmodern detective tale. But isn’t there more to the story? In this study I investigate how masculinity and fatherhood is portrayed in the first and the third novel of the trilogy, City of Glass and The Locked Room. Using a theoretical framework including R.W. Connells term hegemonic masculinity, Helena Wahlströms the new father and post-nuclear masculinity, and lived embodiment, as explained by J. Björklund et. al., I discuss how the male characters in the novels struggle with their gender identity and their role as fathers. The results of the study show that the men, portrayed in a time of change and uncertainty about gender roles – New York City during the 1980s – continuously act in relation to the hegemonic masculinity and patriarchal systems, whilst also exploring behaviors and characteristics outside the norm.

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Annette Ljunggren, 2016Titel: ”Gör inte så”Min studies syfte är att undersöka barns uppfattningar om förskolans måltider utifrån barns perspektiv och hur barnen görs delaktiga. För att nå mitt syfte formulerade jag tre frågor. Dessa frågor är hur barnens handlingar och åsikter tas tillvara på. Barnens möjlighet till att få vara involverade i måltiden och hur normer om barn framstår och blir synliga inom måltiden i förskolan. I min studie använde jag mig av kvalitativ forskning och en mini etnografisk studie som metod. Under studien var jag deltagande observatör vid måltiden och kompletterade genom att filma. Efter observationerna antecknade jag ner sådant som jag tänkte på utifrån det jag observerade vid måltiden. Mitt analysredskap är postmodern teori som ifrågasätter de förgivettagna. Då min studies syfte är att få fram barns perspektiv vid måltiden blev denna teori väl passande för min studie. Resultatet av min analys visar på att barns perspektiv inte alltid blir så uppmärksammat i den pedagogiska måltiden. Normer om barns förhållningsätt och uppförande har en stark påverkan. Barns perspektiv blir inte synliggjort i den mån det ska i enlighet med styrdokumenten i förskolan. Nyckelord: barns perspektiv, postmodern teori, normer och maktrelationer.

Detta examensarbete är en fallstudie i hur kvinnliga klienter som söker vård för substansmissbruk upplever mötet med vården och socialtjänsten. Den utgår från djupintervjuer med fyra kvinnor som har haft missbruk och beroendeproblem. Vad som särskiljer dessa kvinnor är att de faller utanför ramarna av den traditionella bilden av den kvinnliga missbrukaren. Det finns ingen social utsatthet i form av våld, bostadslöshet, arbetslöshet eller prostitution som annars brukar vara närvarande. Samtliga av mina informanter är välanpassade och högst kompetenta samhällsmedborgare med arbete, akademisk utbildning, egna företag och bostad. Samtliga har vidare hamnat i kläm mellan olika hjälpinstanser då socialtjänsten i första hand är utformad för att tillhandahålla hjälp som syftar till att återanpassa och återinföra individer som av en eller annan anledning hamnat utanför samhället. Missbruksvården i sin tur kräver att man uppvisar flerårig dokumentation på sitt missbruk innan man blir aktuell för substitutionsvård, för detta krävs bl.a. att man ska vara aktuell hos socialtjänsten. / This is a case study on how female clients seeking treatment for substance abuse are experiencing the treatment that the get in their dealings with the medical and social care services. It is based on interviews with four women who have had addiction and dependency problems. What distinguishes these women is that they fall outside the range of the traditional image of the female drug abuser. There is no social vulnerability in the form of violence, homelessness, unemployment, prostitution that otherwise tend to be present. All of my informants are well adjusted and highly competent members of society. They work, have academic education, private businesses and housing. My aim has been to shed light on these women's experiences of the treatment they have met in their dealings with the medical and social scare services.