<p>Genesis is central to both hegemonic and counterhegemonic conceptions of communal identity. Read one way, the book undergirds contemporary assumptions about the nature of communality and the categories through which it is constructed. Read another way, however, it undermines them. This project considers these two readings of Genesis, their asymmetrical approaches to the book, and the intersection between them. </p><p>Using family storytelling as an approach to biblical interpretation allows this study to hold together the constitution of the reading community and the interpretation of the biblical text. In a Eurocentric reading of Genesis, the constitution of the reading community governs engagement of the biblical text. Conversely, in the YHWH-centric reading advocated here, the biblical text governs the constitution of the reading community. This study reopens the question of what it means to be an "us" rather than leaving participation in an "us" as an (often unacknowledged) a priori condition of all interpretation. In doing so it does not deny the existence or the significance of such preexisting commitments, but rather it refuses to regard those commitments as fixed and final. </p><p>From an exegetical standpoint, this study challenges Eurocentrism by finding in Genesis a vision of communality that, in emphasizing the importance of living out the relatedness of all humans to one another and to God, holds the potential for more fruitful relationships between communities. From a methodological standpoint, it offers a reading of Genesis that incorporates features of the text that have been neglected by colonizing readings and avoids the difficulties and internal inconsistencies from which they suffer. Making use of Benedict Anderson's account of the relationship between the imagined community of the nation and religiously imagined communities, as well as Jonathan Sheehan's account of the Enlightenment Bible, this study argues that certain ways of reading the Bible arose to help the West articulate its sense of itself and its others. Drawing attention to the text's reception and the way in which Eurocentric approaches displace Jews and marginalize (the West's) others, this project considers alternative ways of conceptualizing the relationship between the Bible and those who call it their own.</p> / Dissertation

<p>Abstact: Syftet med uppsatsen Berättelser i organisationer - en analys av hur fyra organisationer och två konsulter använder Corporate Storytelling som ett strategiskt muntligt kommunikationsverktyg var att öka kunskapen om begreppet Corporate Storytelling samt att undersöka hur de intervjuade organisationerna och konsulterna använde sig av verktyget i en intern kontext. Vid användandet av Corporate Storytelling inom organisationer handlar det framförallt om hur berättelser kan användas som ett strategiskt verktyg för att förenkla och begripliggöra olika fenomen och budskap dels för den enskilda människan, dels mellan människor. Berättelser kan exempelvis användas för att förmedla känslor, politik och symbolism till medarbetare och omvärlden. Uppsatsen utgick från ett pedagogiskt perspektiv och frågeställningarna besvarades med hjälp av en kvalitativ undersökning bestående av sex intervjuer. I uppsatsen arbetade vi utifrån en abduktiv metod och resultatet visade att de intervjuade organisationerna och konsulterna som medvetet arbetade med Corporate Storytelling främst gjorde det i syfte att stärka organisationskulturen. De slutsatser vi drog av uppsatsen var att Corporate Storytelling är ett kraftfullt och effektivt strategiskt muntligt kommunikationsverktyg för organisationer eftersom det talar till hjärtat istället för hjärnan. Så till vida är Corporate Storytelling ett pedagogiskt verktyg som i allra högsta grad kan användas i organisationers personalarbete.</p>

<p>To stand out in today’s fierce competition companies need to evolve their competitive skills. Many organizations have come to realize that it is not enough to only include individual products in the offering but one has to sell the whole company. It is then required to work with the corporate identity and express ones story when promoting oneself. For the corporate identity to be successful it is critical that it is based on knowledge about the target group’s identity and an understanding of what the target group values. This thesis focuses on the part of communication of the story that is done via visual expressions and employee behavior. To connect our different areas of research we have developed a model which is presented at the end of the theoretical chapter. The model points out the importance of that corporate identity is based on both customer identity and internal elements such as the employees. It also shows that corporate image is influenced by external influences such as customer involvement and customer-to-customer interaction.</p><p>To develop the understanding of how companies in the experience industry can use storytelling and how the customer perceives it, we have made two case studies, one at Såstaholm Hotell & Konferens and the other one at Stenungsbadens Yacht Club. Interviews were made with the employees to learn about the intended corporate identity and customer questionnaires were collected to learn about the image.</p><p>The results have lead us to the following conclusions; storytelling is a useful way to express corporate identity, required that there is emotional engagement and that it permeates all parts of the organization. Visual expressions are mainly a way to communicate a theme, while employees are needed to communicate a full story. Finally we have came to the conclusion that a more suitable term for this kind of communication is story enacting.</p><p>Key words: Storytelling, corporate identity, image and experience industry.</p>

The current and estimated future shortage of nurses presents a threat to the health of both nursing professionals and those in their care. Stress and burnout are contributors to turnover among nurses and needs to be addressed.Story as a potential self-care strategy has the potential to promote health and wellbeing among nurses, which may increase satisfaction among nurses and decrease turnover in the profession. This study used a qualitative descriptive design with content analysis to: 1) describe the use of story and story sharing/telling in nursing practice, and 2) describe how story contributes to the nursing workplace.Findings revealed that stories are inherent in the practice of professional nursing. Nurses share a common bond and connection through sharing stories about the nursing profession. This connection spans generations, care settings, specialty, levels of education, training and experience.Nurses also use story as a way of remembering and processing information and to teach and mentor each other through the experiences they encounter in work settings. This sharing on the job and outside of work settings is more memorable and valuable to nurses than what they learn in the classroom or through textbooks and case study presentations.Story creates ease for nurses through validation of shared human experience. When an individual feels heard both the storyteller and listener benefit from the understanding that is gained from the exchange. The greatest barrier to this exchange within nursing practice is time. Nurses believe that there is a limited amount of time due to the complexity of the work environment, demands on their time, and the structure of the healthcare system.This study provided empirical findings for what has been theorized with respect to story and nursing. Nurses use story in their daily work and personal lives. The findings of this study provide support for the use of story to promote wellbeing in nurses and to improve environments in which nurses' work. Directions for future research would include the development and evaluation of programs for nurses that incorporate story into education and for self-care.

Mönsterformgivare på den svenska marknaden verkar i en växande bransch som är svår att slå sig in och särskilja sig på. Många arbetar även som egenföretagare vilket innebär att individens personlighet till stor del påverkar hur varumärket uppfattas. En möjlighet att stärka eller marknadsföra sitt varumärke är genom storytelling, där sanna historier används för att spegla företagets kultur och värderingar, vilket kan bidra till en unik position på marknaden. Det finns sedan tidigare forskning som visar hur storytelling kan användas för att bygga ett varumärke och som marknadsföringsstrategi. Dock har inga studier inom storytelling som riktar sig mot egenföretagare, mönsterformgivare eller den svenska marknaden identifierats. Därför ämnar denna studie att undersöka hur egenföretagande mönsterformgivare på den svenska marknaden kan använda storytelling för att bygga sitt varumärke.  Studiens empiri redogör hur storytelling kan användas vid uppbyggnad av ett varumärke och berör teorier uppdelade i tre huvudområden där hitta historier handlar om varumärkets identitet, anpassa historier om positionering och varumärkets mening samt använd historier som tar upp teorier om marknadsföring och kommunikation. Utifrån dessa teorier och insamlad data med fallstudieansats, där tre framgångsrika och etablerade formgivare på den svenska marknaden intervjuats med fokus på uppbyggnaden av deras varumärken, analyserades materialet för att besvara studiens syfte. Resultatet visar att egenföretagande mönsterformgivares personlighet, bakgrund och värderingar är de främsta delarna som utgör varumärkets identitet, eftersom en stor del av privatlivet sammanlänkas med varumärket. Det är även utifrån dessa delar historier kan hittas och användas genom storytelling. Historierna kommuniceras omedvetet genom mönsterformgivares stil, vilket även är den faktor som särskiljer dem från varandra om den uppfattas unik. Utifrån stilen borde därefter mönster skapas och genom dem kan storytelling sedan användas, både utifrån varumärkets identitet eller från intuition. Historierna kommuniceras därefter i marknadsföringen av varumärket för att nå kunderna eller genom att låta dem tala för sig själva genom mönstren. Kommunikationen i marknadsföringen sker främst genom ethos och pathos på Instagram, Facebook, hemsidan, PR eller andra medier och signalerar olika budskap utifrån varumärkets identitet beroende på vald medieplattform. / Pattern designers on the Swedish market operate in a growing industry that makes it difficult for them to succeed and distinguish themselves amongst others. A lot of them are self-employed, which means that the pattern designers personality have a large affect on how the brand is perceived. An opportunity to enhance or promote their brand is through storytelling, which through true stories that reflect the company's culture and values, can contribute to an unique position on the market. Research showing how storytelling can be used to build a brand or as a marketing strategy exist, although no studies have been found about storytelling on the Swedish market or with the target of self-employees or pattern designers. Therefore this study intends to examine how self-employment pattern designer on the Swedish market can use storytelling to build their brand.  In the case study data has been collected from interviews with three successful and established designers on the Swedish market with focus on how they build their brands. The study explains how storytelling can be used to build a brand and theories concerning three main areas: finding the stories (brand identity), adapting the stories (positioning and the brand meaning) and using the stories (marketing and communication). Based on these theories and the collected data the material was analysed in order to answer the study's purpose. The results show that self-employed pattern designer’s personality, background and values ​​are the main elements that define the brand identity, since a great deal of the pattern designer’s private life is linked with the brand. Stories can also be found in these parts and used as storytelling. The stories are unintended communicated through the pattern designer’s style. Their unique style is also what distinguishes them from others. Based on the style, patterns should be created and through them storytelling can be used, either from the brand’s identity or from intuition. The stories are communicated by marketing or through the patterns where the stories can speak for themselves. The marketing primarily communicates through ethos and pathos on Instagram, Facebook, websites and public relations and has different meaning based on the brand identity depending on the selected media platform.

This thesis aims to investigate students’ qualitative experiences of assessment in art and design higher education using storytelling and visual representations. It aims to investigate whether collaborative storytelling can encourage students to reflect on, and learn from, each others’ experiences of assessment. In order to examine these aims, an on-line tool, ‘StoriesAbout… Assessment’ was designed and developed, based on an adapted model of storytelling as a reflective tool in higher education. Visual representations of students’ experiences were also used to identify the affective aspects of the assessment experience. In using these novel methods, the research aimed to highlight the whole student learning experience and how assessment affects that experience. Traditional methods of surveying and evaluation do not usually focus on this, nor do they provide a reflective, learning process for students. The analysis of stories led to a greater understanding of students’ experiences of assessment in art and design by identifying a number of key issues: the impact of negative experiences, the need for greater clarity of assessment criteria due to the subjective nature of the discipline, the tension students perceive between their role as creative practitioners in an educational setting and their role in the wider art world, the value of peer support and appropriate feedback. The storytelling model enabled students to view stories from different perspectives and to consider changes to their practice, and the model has demonstrated its efficacy in supporting reflective thinking and transformative learning. The emotional aspect to students’ experiences was particularly evident in their visual representations which often used strong imagery to depict how the stress of assessment affected them. The drawings also showed stereotypes of assessment, such as images of exams, indicating that these previous experiences had become synonymous with assessment, despite there being few formal exams in art and design. In summary, this thesis contributes two new methods for understanding and enhancing the student learning experience, which have been proven in the context of art and design higher education.

Because games set in persistent virtual game worlds (VGWs) have massive numbers of players, these games need methods of characterisation for playable characters (PCs) that differ from the methods used in traditional narrative media. VGWs have a number of particularly interesting qualities. Firstly, VGWs are places where players interact with and create elements carrying narrative potential. Secondly, players add goals, motives and driving forces to the narrative potential of a VGW, which sometimes originates from the ordinary world. Thirdly, the protagonists of the world are real people, and when acting in the world their characterisation is not carried out by an author, but expressed by players characterising their PCs. How they can express themselves in ways that characterise them depend on what they can do, and how they can do it, and this characterising action potential (CAP) is defined by the game design of particular VGWs. In this thesis, two main questions are explored. Firstly, how can CAP be designed to support players in expressing consistent characters in VGWs? Secondly, how can VGWs support role-play in their rule-systems? By using iterative design, I explore the design space of CAP by building a semiautonomous agent structure, the Mind Module (MM) and apply it in five experimental prototypes where the design of CAP and other game features is derived from the MM. The term semiautonomy is used because the agent structure is designed to be used by a PC, and is thus partly controlled by the system and partly by the player. The MM models a PC’s personality as a collection of traits, maintains dynamic emotional state as a function of interactions with objects in the environment, and summarises a PC’s current emotional state in terms of ‘mood’. The MM consists of a spreading-activation network of affect nodes that are interconnected by weighted relationships. There are four types of affect node: personality trait nodes, emotion nodes, mood nodes, and sentiment nodes. The values of the nodes defining the personality traits of characters govern an individual PC’s state of mind through these weighted relationships, resulting in values characterising for a PC’s personality. The sentiment nodes constitute emotionally valenced connections between entities. For example, a PC can ‘feel’ anger toward another PC. This thesis also describes a guided paper-prototype play-test of the VGW prototype World of Minds, in which the game mechanics build upon the MM’s model of personality and emotion. In a case study of AI-based game design, lessons learned from the test are presented. The participants in the test were able to form and communicate mental models of the MM and game mechanics, validating the design and giving valuable feedback for further development. Despite the constrained scenarios presented to test players, they discovered interesting, alternative strategies, indicating that for game design the ‘mental physics’ of the MM may open up new possibilities. The results of the play-test influenced the further development of the MM as it was used in the digital VGW prototype the Pataphysic Institute. In the Pataphysic Institute the CAP of PCs is largely governed by their mood. Depending on which mood PCs are in they can cast different ‘spells’, which affect values such as mental energy, resistance and emotion in their targets. The mood also governs which ‘affective actions’ they can perform toward other PCs and what affective actions they are receptive to. By performing affective actions on each other PCs can affect each others’ emotions, which - if they are strong - may result in sentiments toward each other. PCs’ personalities govern the individual fluctuations of mood and emotions, and define which types of spell PCs can cast. Formalised social relationships such as friendships affect CAP, giving players more energy, resistance, and other benefits. PCs’ states of mind are reflected in the VGW in the form of physical manifestations that emerge if an emotion is very strong. These manifestations are entities which cast different spells on PCs in close proximity, depending on the emotions that the manifestations represent. PCs can also partake in authoring manifestations that become part of the world and the game-play in it. In the Pataphysic Institute potential story structures are governed by the relations the sentiment nodes constitute between entities.

Knowing our stories as Indigenous peoples is a powerful means of remembering and resurgence. My research used an Indigenous storytelling methodology to gather stories from my Grandmother about her life and our family. The purpose of this work was to learn more about my family stories and history as an Anishinaabe person, to honour my Grandmother by sharing part of her life story and to offer an example of Indigenous family-based research to other researchers. In contrast to strategies that focus on political mobilization, legal gains or state recognition, family-based research sees collective transformation as beginning with small-scale change, remembering and reconnection. Social work must expand its understanding of Indigenous resistance and resurgence to incorporate strategies that embrace w/holistic knowledges and encourage introspective and family-based questions in research. / Graduate / 0452 / 0740 / jlking@uvic.ca

This dissertation investigates the online travel writing of Swedish cruising sailors. The aim is to analyze how crews in online travelogues describe ongoing experiences, and to show how the journeys, the stories and the storytelling are mutually related to one another. As journeys are both the plots of the stories and the contexts for the storytelling, the travelogues in question challenge established narrative definitions. The analysis combines Amy Shuman’s folkloristic research on immediate storytelling with historian Reinhart Kosellecks’ perspectives on time as situated and subjective. Storytelling is thereby understood as a contextual and variable practice: conditioned, enabled and limited by the writers’ current position and point of view, and by a series of practical, technological, narrative and social factors. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork online and offline. The material primarily consists of four crews’ blogs and web pages, written texts, photographs, and readers’ comments. Interviews were conducted with the main informants and an additional fifteen crews in Sweden and in the harbours of Horta and Las Palmas. As the analysis show, the sailors’ write and publish updates from ever-changing positions in time and space, thereby depicting their journeys as a practical and cognitive process. These stories are to a great extent motivated by and directed towards the future, as sailors long for warmer destinations and worry about upcoming passages. The sailors write for a real-time audience partly consisting of families and friends, who anxiously wait for new updates. Writing is therefore sometimes perceived as a work-like task, and the sailors must develop strategies in order to write entertaining and exciting stories without further troubling their readers. The study’s result indicate that online storytelling can be understood as a process, which cannot be separated from the described events, nor from its everyday contexts. Stories, storytelling and experiences are understood as integrated with each other, since the storytelling as a practice become an established part of the everyday life during journeys.

Sammanfattning   I studien har de båda berättarformerna högläsning och muntligt berättande undersökts och jämförts. Studiens huvudsyfte var att undersöka om det fanns någon skillnad i elevers förståelse av en sagas innehåll vid användningen av de två berättaformerna högläsning respektive muntligt berättande. Studien undersökte även om elever uppvisade större engagemang vid den ena berättarformen jämfört med den andra. Studiens material samlades in via enkäter, intervjuer och observationer som utfördes i två förskoleklasser. Varje klass delades upp i två grupper, så totalt genomfördes studien i fyra grupper. I studien medverkade 32 elever i åldrarna fem till sju år.    Min undersökning visar att båda berättarformerna (högläsning och muntligt berättande) är lika viktiga för elevers utveckling och lärande. Det framgår tydligt att den muntliga berättarformen generade flest antal korrekta svar i procent vid enkäterna i samtliga grupper. Elevernas egna upplevelse av sagostunden skilde sig inte anmärkningsvärt beroende på vilken berättarform som användes. Eleverna beskrev sin upplevelse som positiv både när de lyssnade till högläsningen och det muntliga berättandet. Resultatet av observationerna redogör för att eleverna under båda berättarformerna uppvisade ett engagemang. Dock varierade graden av engagemang vid de olika berättarformerna. Eleverna visade ett intresse för berättelsen när den lästes högt men de uttryckte inte samma förväntan och engagemang som under det muntliga berättandet. Att överge högläsning till förmån för muntligt berättande är inte ett önskvärt scenario, inte heller är det önskvärt att ignorera det muntliga berättandets värde som pedagogiskt verktyg. Eleverna i denna studie visar att båda berättarformerna behövs. De ger även uttryck för en önskan om att inför mer muntligt berättande i skolans värld. Högläsning och muntligt berättande är båda källor till avkoppling och ett sätt att förmedla kunskap. Båda aspekterna av berättarformerna är lika viktiga och båda behövs! / Abstract    In this study, the two narrative forms reading aloud and storytelling has been examined and compared. The study's main objective was to investigate whether there was any difference in pupils' understanding of a story's content in the use of the two narrative forms reading aloud and storytelling. The study is also intended to investigate whether pupils show greater dedication to one narrative form over the other. Material for the study was collected through questionnaires, interviews and observations which was conducted in two preschool classes. Each class were divided into two groups, so overall the study was conducted in four groups. The study involved 32 pupils aged five to seven.  The study shows that both narrative forms (reading aloud and storytelling) are equally important for pupils' development and learning. Storytelling generated the highest number of correct answers percentage during surveys in all groups. The pupils' own experience of the story time did not differ remarkably depending on the narrative form used. Pupils described their experience as positive both when they listened to reading aloud and storytelling. The observations shows that during story time where both narrative forms was used pupils showed that they were dedicated to the stories. However, the level of dedication varied during the story time depending on which narrative forms was used. The pupils showed an interest in the story when it was read aloud, but they did not express the same anticipation and dedication as during the storytelling. To abandon reading aloud for the benefit of storytelling is not a desirable scenario, nor is it desirable to ignore the value of storytelling as an educational tool. Pupils in this study show that both narrative forms are needed. They also expressed a desire to introduce more storytelling into the world of education. Reading aloud and storytelling are both sources of relaxation and a way to pass on knowledge. Both aspects of the narrative forms are equally important and both are needed!