Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-101). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-164). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Women are subject to a number of societal recommendations about what it means to be an 'ideal' woman. These recommendations take the form of social scripts, constructing an idea of ideal femininity, which women must perform in order to be socially accepted and successful. 'Emphasized femininity', a white, Western, script of femininity is dominant and has been critiqued by feminists, social theorists, and individual women for the limits that it places on women's behaviour. As a result a number of alternative scripts of femininity have arisen. These scripts can provide alternatives to restrictive understandings of female sexuality and beauty - they can serve to challenge 'appropriate' feminine behaviour and hence allow women to live more freely. Raunch femininity is a contemporary alternative that uses sexually explicit public performance, and encourages specific body and dress norms, in an attempt to challenge the norms of emphasized femininity. This thesis looks at raunch femininity, specifically its norms of sexuality and beauty, in the hopes of understanding what the effects of such a script are on women's behaviour. Theoretical understandings and explanations of women's lives are often contradicted by reports that women provide of their lived experiences. For this reason, this thesis investigates the lived experiences of women who self-identify as subscribers to this script in order to assess to what extent superficial expressions of freedom have deeper effects on women's freedom. The tension between theory and empirical reports is evident. However, in many cases, the reports of research participants reveal that the script of raunch femininity, like other scripts of feminine behaviour, has its own limits that women must abide with in order to be accepted. This thesis argues that these limits outweigh the benefits of this script. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

The present study attempted a cross-cultural investigation of ethnic and national stereotypes in South Africa, a land inhabited by a heterogeneous population. In this country, real or imagined differences due to racial characteristics profoundly influence social interaction. Moreover, such differences are entrenched and underscored by the prevailing legal system while supplying the rationale for many actions of the goverru:tent in power. On the basis of relevant literature it was assumed that differentiation between stereotypes would be based mainly on colour, but that further distinctive differentiations would be present inside the ensuing major groupings ("White and "Non-White"). It was furthermore attempted to show that various groups differed significantly in their judgment of an ethnic stereotype only if they had a dissimilar relationship with the group to be judged. Altogether 760 subjects were tested. These belonged to the six major ethnic and cultural groups in South Africa (Africans, Afrikaners, Coloureds, English-speaking White Gentiles, Indians, and Jews). They were all asked to judge each one of ten concepts by means of the semantic differential technique, which consisted of twenty adjective pairs. Six of these concepts were the names of the South African groups mentioned above, while another three concepts represented the names of groups outside South Africa ("the Americans", "the Germans", and "the Russians") which play an important role in the thinking of South Africans. Finally, the subjects were asked to rate themselves ("Me"- concept). For the sake of better comparison, only first-year students were tested at various universities. The results were analyzed with the aid of a computer (the ICT computers at the University of Cape Town and at Rhodes University). Since a cross-cultural study rests on the theoretical assumption that any tests used for the purpose of comparison are reliable and valid in all cultures to be investigated, a few additional questions had to be asked. The checks undertaken confirmed that in the present study:- 1) The motivation of the subjects as well as their comprehension of the test's basic aims did not differ to any great extent. 2) The six groups did not differ appreciably as regards the social desirability of adjectives used, the semantic structure of the adjective pairs, and the range of scores on the adjective pairs. Furthermore, it was established that male-female differences in attitudes in each of the six groups tested were negligible. The stereotypes were compared with each other inside every one of the groups tested, as well as being compared between all the groups. These comparisons were carried out on the single adjective pairs separately (by means of the Sign Test and the Median Test), and then undertaken in the context of the factorial structure of the concepts. The major results showed that:- 1. The 'colour line' is an important criterion of evaluation in all groups but the Coloureds and the Jews. a) Apart from a 'Black Factor', on which the concepts "the Africans" and "the Coloureds" obtained high loadings, there appeared to be two factors dealing with the evaluation of the White groups. b) The evaluation of the 'Black Factor' by the African subjects was much more positive than the 'Black Factor' found in other groups. c) The Indian subjects did not regard themselves as belonging to the ' Non-Whites' ; neither were they regarded as such by the other subjects tested. 2. The criterion of colour was of less importance in the Coloured and Jewish groups tested. 3. The Jewish subjects appeared to possess the most differentiated stereotype structure, since, in their case, there were four, instead of the usual three factors to be extracted. Moreover, they tended to regard the Non-'White groups more positively than did the other two White groups. 4. The Afrikaans subjects held the most negative opinion of "the Africans"; conversely, "the Afrikaners" were also rejected more strongly than the English-speaking Whites by the Non-Whites tested. 5. Of all groups rated, "the Americans" were the most liked. 6. The stereotypes of "the Russians" and "the Germans" were fairly similar, except in the case of the Afrikaans subjects, who had an exceptionally positive regard for "the Germans". 1. Ratings of the subjects' own group were generally very much more positive than the ratings of the same group by members of other groups, except in the case of the English-speaking White Gentiles. 8. When any two groups rated a concept differently, this could generally be traced back to, on the one hand, differences in the relationships between each one of the judging groups, and, on the other, the group being judged. In conclusion it can be stated that differences between the groups as regards any one stereotype were generally smaller than the differences between the stereotypes of different concepts as held by any one group tested. Where no special relationships existed between a judging group and one being judged, ethnic and national stereotypes tended to be relatively similar in the various cultures and sub-cultures investigated.

This study aimed to contest political and cultural stereotypes depicted through the verbal and audio-visual languages used to represent the Rwandan genocide in the films, A Good Man In Hell(2002), Hotel Rwanda(2004), Sometimes In April(2005) and Keepers of Memory(2004). A Good Man in Hell criticised the racism that influenced the international community not to help Rwandans stop the genocide. In Hotel Rwanda, mostly the Tutsis died during the genocide of 1994. Sometimes in April revealed that the Hutu middle class engineered the genocide. Keepers of Memory depicted the gendered nature of the language of genocide and showed that women were silenced at various levels. The films partially succeeded in depicting the Rwandan genocide because the films did not sufficiently foreground the socio-economic factors that created the conditions for genocide to happen. The study suggested that future research on film representations could compare and contrast cases of genocide in Africa. / English Studies / Thesis ( MA (African Languages))

Orientador: Cristiane Pereira Dias / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T07:09:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho_AndreLuisPortesFerreira_M.pdf: 3297372 bytes, checksum: 1b9ed4fb7bda92d42103402bea9ea782 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Esta dissertação visa abordar a utilização de imagens da internet, conhecidas como "memes", buscando compreender seus efeitos como elemento de divulgação cultural. Esses memes, cada vez mais presentes no espaço virtual e feeds de redes sociais, mostram-se como uma tendência crescente não apenas em contextos de humor e descontração, mas também de um discurso de resistência em contraponto ao discurso corrente na sociedade, com subculturas negociando sentidos através das imagens. Através de uma análise acerca dos sujeitos de linguagem e suas condições de produção, podemos compreender os sentidos criados pelos "memes" espalhados pela internet, e seu processo de divulgação cultural resistente. Uma contra-cultura digital? Assim, buscaremos analisar o processo de criação, alteração e replicação das imagens, usando como ferramenta os conceitos da linha francesa de análise do discurso, representada por autores como Pêcheux e Eni Orlandi, buscando assim compreender suas possibilidades enquanto elemento de divulgação cultural. Esse trabalho será feito inicialmente através da analise de um feed de imagens conhecido como "9Gag.com", que é uma rede social na qual os usuários postam, votam, comentam e compartilham seus memes e imagens favoritas. Em seguida, um corpus previamente selecionado por nós, que aborda principalmente imagens relacionadas com as manifestações populares de julho de 2013. Combinando estas duas fontes, criamos um corpus de imagens para seguir com a análise discursiva de palavras, discursos, e a posição-sujeito dos usuários do site, dos memes, e também de sentidos criados pela própria subcultura "nerd" e seu papel em discursos de resistência no espaço virtual / Abstract: This dissertation aims to approach the use of Internet images, known as "memes", seeking to understand their effects as elements of cultural propagation. These memes, increasingly present in the virtual environment and in social network feeds, present themselves as a growing tendency not only in humorous and relaxed contexts, but also as a discourse of resistance as opposed to the current social discourse, with subcultures negotiating meanings through images. By analyzing the subjects of language and their conditions of production, we can understand the meanings generated by the "memes" spread throughout the Internet, and their process of resistant cultural propagation. A digital counterculture? We will thus seek to analyze the process of creation, alteration and replication of these images, using as tool the French school of discourse analysis, represented by authors such as Pêcheux and Eni Orlandi, thereby trying to perceive their possibilities as elements of cultural propagation. This will be done initially by analyzing an image feed known as "9gag.com", a social network in which users post, vote comment and share their favorite memes and images; and also a previously selected corpus primarily comprised of images related to the July 2013 popular protests. By combining these two sources, we create a corpus of images to proceed with the discourse analysis of words, discourses, and the subject position of the site users, memes and also the meanings created by the "nerd" subculture itself and its role in resistance discourses in the virtual environment / Mestrado / Divulgação Científica e Cultural / Mestre em Divulgação Científica e Cultural

Orientador: Sirio Possenti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T17:38:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_AlanLobode_M.pdf: 624061 bytes, checksum: 0d6f933edff4abebdfc05346cc1b9997 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A noção de estereótipo resume, em diferentes perspectivas teóricas, a caracterização de uma idée recue, um lugar-comum, representações cristalizadas na sociedade, no imaginário coletivo. Tratando-se de piadas, este espaço simbólico de significações necessita ser abordado de maneira minuciosa, de modo que seja possível descrever o funcionamento discursivo envolvido na construção de determinadas representações em uma piada, isto é, não podemos desprezar as determinações sócio-históricas que marcam o imaginário coletivo. Uma decisão que nos impõe o seguinte questionamento: quais as condições históricas de produção que possibilitam que determinado grupo seja o objeto do riso a partir de determinados estereótipos (e não outros)? Neste trabalho, voltaremos à atenção para um conjunto de piadas sobre baiano selecionadas, em grande parte, de sites da internet, ou mesmo de livros que trabalhem com o humor, como a obra de Pimentel (2009). Em outras palavras, propomos investigar as ligações que determinadas representações estereotípicas associadas ao baiano mantêm com a História. Ao adotar a perspectiva de Maingueneau (2008a, 2008b), que sublinha o primado do interdiscurso sobre o discurso, o objeto desta pesquisa não se limita ao discurso humorístico, mas ao conjunto de discursos que são manifestados no ato do funcionamento discursivo do humor em piadas sobre baianos. O objetivo central deste trabalho é analisar o modo como esses textos se relacionam e se mantêm, estabelecendo representações frequentemente encaradas como verdades correntes / Abstract: The idea of stereotype summarizes, in different theoretical perspectives, the characterization of an idée recue, a commonplace, consolidated representations in the society, in collective imaginary. When dealing about jokes, this symbolical space of meanings needs to be approached thoroughly, so that be possible to describe the discursive functioning involved in the construction of certain representations in a joke, that means, we can't despise socio historical determinations that defines the collective imaginary. A decision that imposes the following question: what are the historical conditions of production that enables that a specific group be an object of laughter from specific stereotypes (and not others)? In this work we will turn attention to a group of jokes about baiano selected, largely, in sites from internet or even in humor books like Pimentel (2009). In other words, we propose to investigate the connections that determined stereotypes representations associated to baiano keep on History. When adopted Maingueneau's perspective (2008a, 2008b), that emphasizes the primacy of a interdiscourse about speech, the aim of this search is not limited to the humorous discourse, but to the group of discourses expressed in the act of discursive functioning of humor in jokes about baianos. The main objective of this work is to analyze the way how these texts are related and still often establishing representations seen like current truth / Mestrado / Linguistica / Mestre em Linguística

This qualitative study aims to explore attitude formation within a small sample of Tertiary level student-athletes in relation to their antecedent experiences, individual knowledge about psychology and the social factors impacting on their attitude formation. The study is intended to allow for the development of themes related to the participants’ personal responses to the questions posed to them. The participants’ answers from the interviews will allow for an in-depth analysis and interpretation of the constituents influencing attitude formation towards sport psychology consultation. Primarily, the study aims to explore how attitudes towards clinical and sport psychology practitioners are constructed in this sample. Clinical psychology is used as a contrasting reference point to explore attitude formation in sport psychology. The participants’ beliefs, knowledge sources and attitude toward clinical psychology are examined to understand the fundamental constituents of their attitudes and to understand how this might be related to attitude formation towards sport psychology. It is intended that exploration of the participants’ knowledge sources (e.g. parents, peers, media and coaches) and additional influences on attitudes towards clinical psychology are used to provide insight into how they might shape attitude formation toward sport psychology. This is viewed as particularly important as sport psychology is an increasingly important tool in assisting the enhancement of sporting performance output. This qualitative study uses four elite student-athletes from the same sporting discipline and contextual background to allow for close linkages between the participants’ responses about attitude formation to be made. The study further aims to explore and understand how similarities and differences occur between the participants’ responses which will be completed through analysing and drawing parallels within themes relating to the literature or emerging separately. The Literature Review is intended to help guide the research through providing a reference source for contextualizing individual, public and socially generated beliefs and knowledge (literacy) about mental health / psychology, the constituents of attitude formation and the student-athlete’s context. These factors were identified in the literature as crucial components in attitude formation and also assisted in the development of initial themes, thus guiding the research. Unfortunately, there was limited literature pertaining to attitude formation in relation to sport psychology services and thus provide justification for using clinical psychology to explore attitude formation in sport psychology. This initial exploration of attitude formation in clinical psychology was used as a ‘template’ for contrasting attitude formation in the sample student-athletes as an indication of attitude formation in sport psychology. The Literature Review is viewed as an integral and active component of the study that is used as a body of reference guiding the exploration and interpretation of the emergent themes. This is done through the iterative reference to past research relating to attitude formation, health beliefs, and the numerous sources of information influencing attitude formation within clinical psychology and the student-athlete context. Most importantly, the Literature Review provides a significant base of information that guides the Research Question and the particular factors that have been noted as the most significant to the research. The Literature Review is intended to guide the Research Question and highlight the significant components that need to be taken into consideration in exploring attitude formation. This study, having taken the numerous individual, social, contextual and other factors into consideration, seeks to understand how such factors combine to shape attitudes and influence attitude formation. The collection of literature on social, knowledge and antecedent factors are significant in their role of shaping attitude formation and thus have been included within the Research Question. Furthermore, the Research Question and Literature Review had an impact on the Methodology and why Thematic Analysis was selected. Given the similarities in the participants’ sporting and contextual backgrounds (e.g., being in the same crew, university and social context), it was felt that the primary determinants of attitude formation, within antecedent experiences, knowledge and social influences, would emerge in related themes and thus provide greater insight into attitude formation within the student-athlete context. A limiting factor however, does lie in the small number of participants from a limited diversity of backgrounds, experiences or factors that could assist in allowing broader generalisations of the findings. However, this study aims to understand how the particular factors influence or shape attitudes towards sport and other psychology services and aims to understand the more specific or ‘fundamental’ components of attitude formation that are experienced within the student-athlete’s context and environment.