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My research provides an inquiry of Black southern queerness situated through the artistic performance of j-setting. I explore j-setting as a dance style created by Black gay men by mapping out its beginnings, and how it has (not) traveled through mainstream culture. With this in mind I interrogate how j-setting exists as a cultural scene for Black queer men in the South to celebrate who we are, while also representing a strategy for our survival against racism, heteronormativity, and other dominant forces that pathologize our realities. This project suggests that an exploration of j-setting exemplifies the resilience and vulnerabilities of Black gay men when engaging dominant/mainstream culture. I contend that j-setting represents a form of worldmaking that allows Black gay men to create new racial and gendered possibilities while grappling with the everyday experiences of anti-Black racism and homo/queerphobia.

The radio is a medium we often listen to whilst doing something else. We wake up, do the dishes, cook or drive to work. Radio as a medium reaches many people, regardless of whether it is through conscious or unconscious listening. We thereby thought it was an important medium to scrutinize in our study. The focus of our study is on the gender representation in P3 Nyheters broadcasts. We scrutinize the representation of gender as well as looking at potential differences in the way men and women are heard. The theoretical frame of reference of the study is primarily based on the agenda-setting theory, which is built on the notion that the media is involved in deciding what subjects we have opinions about, since these subjects are often the ones highlighted by the media. The gender perspective with its theses concerning homosexuality, the masculine norm and the gender stereotypic contract is another theoretic source that the study is based upon. We are also utilizing the theses of hard and soft news to emphasize who gets to talk about what in regards to what is traditionally perceived as feminine and masculine. The results show in a comprehensive way that the stereotypic genders that were created during the ancient time, still remain. Women usually have their say regarding unenlightened public opinion, consumer, neighbor, mother or wife of the man the story is really concerning. The men on the other hand have their say in topics where they get to shine in matters seen as of political relevance and importance to society. The women are under-represented and are portrayed as victims while the men are over-represented and are perceived as experts, which contribute to enhancing stereotypic genders with the masculine norm within the power center of society. The studied material clearly shows signs that P3 Nyheter is far from equal in regards to gender representation, hence, we believe that representation of gender in media is a field that demands more research in order to change or break the masculine norms of the mediasphere.

A controversial party’s entry into parliament - a review of Expressen’s depiction of the Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) The purpose of this essay was to study how Expressen presents the Sweden Democrats, as well as reasoning about the effects this depiction could have on the citizens’ opinion. Using a quantitative method I studied 122 articles, and through a qualitative method four of these could be further analyzed to reach a deeper result. The theoretical perspective that was applied in this study was primary agenda-setting and framing theory, to illuminate the power of media. The result showed that a prominent theme was to present Sweden Democrats as racists. Other recurring themes were to include the party misfortunate-, successful, crime-related scandals and as victims. It also showed that the Sweden Democrats rarely gets to speak in the articles and that the headlines and events are angled in an unfavorable way for the party.

This essay examines the interstices between geography and history in English Canadian poetry by analyzing the production of space through poetic imagery. It introduces two terms, "garrison temporality" and "geologic temporality," to demonstrate how poets created divisions in the Canadian landscape temporally, demarcating these divisions according to their understanding of the perceived spaces' historicity. In early Canadian poetry, poets tended to distinguish colonized spaces from uncolonized spaces by designating them as either historical or ahistorical. This was achieved, more specifically, by appropriating civil, or garrison, spaces into a narrative of English expansion which traced its historical lineage back to European antiquity. The space outside the garrison's perimeter was deemed to exist out of time, providing yet another justification for further colonization. Later generations of Canadian poets contested the ahistorical designations created by this narrative, as well as the division they draw between urban and non-urban spaces, by appealing to geologic time. Geologic temporality functions not so much as a viable explanatory model for the narration of history as it does a poetic device for contesting the centrality of Europe and of urban centers in assessing contemporary Canada's place in time. This essay traces the shift in attitudes towards time and space from Charles G.D. Roberts' "Tantramar Revisited" (1886) to Dale Zieroth's "Baptism" (1981).

Brazil is a high middle income country where health inequities persist across two systems of health care financing and delivery. The publicly financed system (SUS) is one of the world’s largest health organizations, which is charged with the constitutional mandate to provide comprehensive health care coverage to over 190 million citizens. National Health Conferences (CNS), the core forum for societal participation in health policy making for the SUS, occur every four years. Yet, managers and councillors struggle to decide on how to allocate resources to meet competing populational health needs and demands, and to comply with the directives of the SUS. The purpose of my research is to describe the three most recent CNS, based on a scoping literature review, to evaluate the ethical account of these decision making processes, and to provide recommendations for improving priority setting for health resource allocation for the SUS according to the ethical analysis.

This dissertation analyses the influence theatre space and the dramatic genre have on the design process, by examining three designs of Greg King: Aladdin (2007), a pantomime presented at the Playhouse Drama Theatre, Oleanna (2008) a drama at the Seabrooke's Theatre, and The Wizard of Oz (2008), a musical presented at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Through a semiotic analysis of the productions, the scenographic choices of King are interrogated to ascertain the ways theatre space and dramatic genre affected his design choices. The theories around sign systems in the theatre of Keir Elam (1980), Martin Esslin (1987), and Elaine Aston and George Savona (1991) are examined and used to decode King's designs. This dissertation theorises that the theatre space has influenced and continues to influence the decisions and choices of the scenographer, and it is this linkage that informs the discussion around the historical development of the proscenium arch theatre and the scenographer. The case studies offered in this dissertation highlight the challenges involved with the physical limitations of the theatre space, as each venue selected differs in size, shape, and the technical equipment available for the designer. The dramatic text provides the primary basis for both the director and the designer to develop a production concept. However, dramatic texts can be divided into many different genres and the following three genres, namely drama, musical and pantomime, provide the focus for this study. As these three genres have evolved from earlier forms, the historical development of the three genres is examined to ascertain how the genre affects the scenographic process. Atheatre production is the result of a collaboration between many specialists and therefore, the relationship between the designer and other member of the production team is examined. A set design is a visual image of an imagined environment and many designers use symbols, consciously or subconsciously, to communicate their ideas. A theatre production is the result of a collaboration between many specialists and therefore, the relationship between the designer and other member of the production team is examined. A set design is a visual image of an imagined environment and many designers use symbols, consciously or subconsciously, to communicate their ideas. The work of three international designers, Josef Svoboda, Ming Cho Lee and Ralph Koltai is examined further to understand the influence theatre space and the dramatic genre have on the design process. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Brazil is a high middle income country where health inequities persist across two systems of health care financing and delivery. The publicly financed system (SUS) is one of the world’s largest health organizations, which is charged with the constitutional mandate to provide comprehensive health care coverage to over 190 million citizens. National Health Conferences (CNS), the core forum for societal participation in health policy making for the SUS, occur every four years. Yet, managers and councillors struggle to decide on how to allocate resources to meet competing populational health needs and demands, and to comply with the directives of the SUS. The purpose of my research is to describe the three most recent CNS, based on a scoping literature review, to evaluate the ethical account of these decision making processes, and to provide recommendations for improving priority setting for health resource allocation for the SUS according to the ethical analysis.

The intention of the project is to determine whether political elites have to discuss an issue using a specific emotional tone before the public and other political elites consider that issue a problem. Research has not yet demonstrated under what conditions elite rhetorical cues can heighten issue attention. Past studies have suggested that an increase in the absolute intensity of elite issue discussion can heighten perceptions of an issue as a problem. The problem with this notion is that within that absolute issue discussion, elites might simply be repeatedly saying conditions related to an issue are stable. They might also be presenting basic factual background information about an issue, a type of discussion unlikely to capture the interest of many in the political system. There has to be a specific type of cue that elites can offer to compel others in the political system to reconsider their outlook on issue salience. Derived from dual systems theories of emotion, the dissertation predicts that issue discussion that heightens feelings of anxiety increases the likelihood of an altered outlook on issue salience. To evaluate this prediction, time series statistical techniques are employed. The time series models evaluate whether prior change in the level of anxietybased cues by the president and the media predict changes in the level of attention the public offers to that issue. The same types of models evaluate whether this form of issue discussion by the president predicts issue dynamics of the media, and vice-versa. The several issues studied are crime, health care, poverty, and the environment. Information spanning thirty years is collected from presidential papers, general and ideological media newspaper coverage, and multiple public survey organizations. The findings suggest anxiety-based issue discussion does have the potential to guide issue attention. Prior changes in anxiety-based cues do predict future levels of attention the public provides to issues. A positive shift in anxiety cues by elites appears to have the capacity to increase public attention to issues. This increase though appears to be very small and abbreviated, suggesting limited effects. Elites do not appear to influence each other through anxiety cues.

Professions are characterised by the services they provide and in accounting this includes standard setting. The accounting profession became increasingly involved in the regulation of external financial reporting during the twentieth century by setting standards of accounting practice for its members and entity stakeholders. This narrative analysis of the history of accounting standards in New Zealand focuses on why the accounting profession in New Zealand, as elsewhere in the English-speaking world, assumed the responsibility to draft accounting standards. It argues that accountants did so to maintain their professional status. The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants was instrumental in creating accounting standards in New Zealand. Cautious to begin with, the Institute soon became a progressive and innovative standard setter, not only developing a conceptual framework for New Zealand standards but also making the standards sector neutral. The Institute retained control of the drafting of accounting standards even when, as happened in the latter decades of the twentieth century, the New Zealand Government became more involved in the standard setting process. Recent changes in the standard setting process, however, such as the development and use of international accounting standards and the creation of statutory bodies to draft and authorise standards raise questions about the accounting profession’s continuing use of standard setting as a mechanism for maintaining professional reputation.