Twentieth-century writers, scholars and critics have formulated explicitly and illustrated systematically the doctrine that literary language is autonomous. The aim of our thesis is to analyse the scope and implications of this now widespread view of literary language, which we examine here with particular reference to twentieth-century French literature. Our study follows three main lines of inquiry: In the first part we analyse how-the belief in the autonomy of literary language came to be formulated. We then try to envisage such an autonomous literary language in practical terms. Finally we outline some of its broader implications for our understanding of literature. An analysis of the scattered doctrines of the Tel Quel group, dedicated to bringing about the semiotic autonomy of the literary text," reveals the existence of a philosophy of literature based on the premise that, in its very essence, the literary text is not meant to communicate or to transmit an intelligible message and is, in fact, not dependent on any pre-established norms. Since full consideration of a theoretical view involves as well an appreciation of its applicability to the real world, we examine in the second part of our study the theory of an autonomous literary language from a pragmatic point of view. Linguists will readily admit that, in a theoretical sense, every individual is free to create his own independent linguistic code; but they will also maintain that, in realistic terms, the utilization of such a freedom is "absurd," since the process of communication per se can exist only at a socialized level. One must therefore conclude that any theory which propounds the practice of an autonomous literary language is not meant to be taken literally but calls for a metaphorical interpretation. We have searched out this metaphorical meaning by attempting to determine at what precise level, the literary proponents of this doctrine depart, in their own writings, from what linguists have defined as the normal process of communication; in other words, at what level do their writings become incomprehensible to, for example, the educated French reader? It becomes clear in the process that if such literary works in fact need to be "deciphered" it is not because they possess their own private phonological, lexical and syntactical systems but rather because they do not rely on the conventional coherence of traditional narrative. Instead of deriving from a subordination of events in a hierarchy of causal relations, this "new coherence" presents the reader with no more than a simple juxtaposition of semantically related narrative elements. The subordination of narrative units in a cause/effect hierarchy is not essential to the reader's understanding of the linguistic code of a particular novel or work. It is, however, clearly an essential element of the process of communication for without it the reader cannot objectively perceive the context to which the work refers. But what we have labelled a "new coherence" implies the very absence of such a hierarchy essential to the process of communication. Consequently we are forced to the conclusion that the doctrine of an autonomous literary language is significant enough to require new definitions of some fundamental aspects of narration, as well as a radical change in our perception of the historical development of literature and in our cognition of the individual literary text. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

In the first essay, I document sample-specific and time period-specific style returns in two distinct sets of U.S. equities: Fama and French style portfolios and the S&P 1500 style indexes. The value and size effects are apparent in the Fama and French portfolios. Only the size effect is evident in the S&P data. In general, the Fama and French style returns are greater than those of the S&P 1500 styles. Style returns tend to be time-varying and exhibit momentum over a variety of formation period-holding period horizons. In the second essay, I utilize a bootstrap procedure to test for the presence of styleswitchers - as defined in Barberis and Shleifer (2003). I document style winner and loser continuations. There are some periods when no matter which particular style won (lost) in the past, it is more likely to continue winning (losing) in the future. I also test some Barberis and Shleifer (2003) propositions regarding style momentum. One proposition holds that Sharpe ratios from style-level momentum strategies should be at least as large as asset-level momentum Sharpe ratios. While many style momentum strategies generate significant returns, the implied Sharpe ratios are lower than those reported for asset-level momentum strategies. The Barberis and Shleifer (2003) model also suggests that style momentum could be time-varying. I condition style momentum returns on January, lagged market state, lagged monetary policy changes and lagged changes in relative dispersion and find significant conditional style-level momentum. In the third essay, I identify and test explanatory factors that potentially predict style momentum returns. Several macroeconomic, relative dispersion, market related and volatility related factors are associated with future short-term style momentum returns. Interactions of many of these variables with market and monetary state indicator variables are significant in the regressions as well.

This dissertation explores the collaborative process and use of language that went into the creating the United States Constitution in 1787. From a technical communication perspective, the collaborative process explored did not develop any new theories on collaboration, but instead, allows scholars to track the emergence of a well-documented America collaborative process from the early period of the developing American nation on a document that has remained in use for over 235 years. in addition to examining this collaborative process, the author also discusses the use of passive voice and negative language in the first article of the Constitution.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Adolescence has been regarded as a particularly important stage for the continued development of young adults as they start to make their own life’s decisions and engage in a variety of activities that will influence the rest of their lives. One of the important goals of adolescence is the development of decision-making skills as independence increases, requiring more independent decisions. When an adolescent makes decisions, it is important that s/he has the skills to make confident ones. Various studies identify factors that could affect adolescent decision-making, such as the family environment and family-member relationships, but information pertaining to this subject is still relatively limited. This study examines the role of family functioning in the decision-making styles of adolescents. The theoretical framework used for this study is based on the Family Systems Theory, of which the McMaster Model of Family Functioning (MMFF) is a component. The MMFF is one variation that underlies the family system model, be it nuclear or extended families discussed within chapter 2. A quantitative methodological approach was employed in this study with a cross-sectional correlational research design. The sample consisted of 457 Grade 9 learners from schools in the Overberg area. The data was collected using a self-reported questionnaire that included the Demographic Information, the Family Assessment Device and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire, as part of the quantitative methodology. The data was then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences V22 (SPSS). The results were provided using descriptive and inferential statistics. Participation in this study was voluntary after being well informed, while confidentiality and anonymity was maintained throughout the study. The main results for family functioning indicated the assumption that the participants might have ineffective functioning on all the family functioning variables. The main results for decision-making styles showed an assumption that the vigilant decision-making style was the highest and the Buck-passing decision-making style, the lowest.

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Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Parental involvement during late adolescence has been confirmed by scholars as a major determinant in fostering the educational and psychosocial outcomes in the life trajectory of an individual. Certain bodies of literature, however, argue that parental involvement declines dramatically during adolescence, while others insist that parents merely employ more developmentally appropriate forms of involvement. Western-based parental involvement frameworks – while useful – have not sufficiently captured the contextualised perceptions, experiences and challenges of late adolescents in rural South Africa.

The study of construct validity is particularly relevant in the twenty-first century, as more and more entities in South Africa are using psychometric instruments – instruments which have to be valid and reliable in accordance with the requirements of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Even though validity and reliability, together with their accompanying aspects, are the two main considerations of a psychometric instrument, the construct validity of an instrument is one of the most important aspects to consider. This study’s focus is therefore, for the most part, based on the construct validity of the Life-Style Questionnaire. Even though the Life-Style Questionnaire is not a very distinguished questionnaire in the South African context, it is, however, a classified and useable questionnaire to determine into which of the five trait-descriptive lifestyle categories an individual belongs. In recent years, the Professional Board has become increasingly concerned about the misuse of assessment measures in South Africa, while recognising the important role of psychological assessment in the professional practice of psychology, as well as for research purposes (Foxcroft&Roodt, 2005:20). The need therefore existed to determine whether or not the Life-Style Questionnaire actually measures what it is supposed to measure, in other words to determine its construct validity. “The Life-Style Questionnaire was developed as an objective means to measure into which of five trait-descriptive lifestyle categories (aggressive, conforming, defensive, individualistic, or resistive) participants belong” (Driscoll&Eckstein, 2007:1). The purpose of this study was to determine the construct validity of the Life-Style Questionnaire, developed by Driscoll and Eckstein, in the South African -Questionnaire, developed by Driscoll and Eckstein, in the South African context. A quantitative descriptive survey design was used to conduct the research. The Life- Style Questionnaire was administered to a non-probability convenience sample consisting of 301 individuals living in South Africa and the results were subjected to factor analysis (FA), item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Various iterations of the (FA) indicated the primary factors for each of the components of the Life-Style Questionnaire. The final FA yielded a questionnaire consisting of five factors. This was confirmed through Kaiser’s eigenvalues and Cattell’s scree plot. The item analysis indicated that it should be considered to remove items 2, 3, 5, 7, 12, 27, 28, 30 and 32 from the Life-Style Questionnaire. After the factor and item analysis, a CFA was conducted. The purpose of the CFA was to determine whether the postulated theoretical model actually fits the observed data. The most common test used to measure the goodness-of-fit of an instrument is the chi-square test. The chi-square test was conducted by using the EQS programme. The results indicated a poor model fit. However, the reliability of the Life-Style Questionnaire was determined and a Cronbach alpha of 0.853 established the instrument’s high level of reliability. Thus, the Life-Style Questionnaire is a reliable, but invalid instrument. This research study contributed to the understanding and importance of construct validity in psychological instruments. It is important to realise that instruments do not necessarily measure what they are intended to measure and therefore they have to be investigated. Lastly, this study not only emphasises the importance of psychometric properties of psychological instruments, but also the important role that psychometrists and industrial psychologists play with regard to the development and use such instruments. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Factors that influence a school leader's disciplinary determination for student discretionary decisions are many times difficult to measure. The purpose of this study was to investigate leadership style factors that may be linked to contributable factors for African American male disciplinary incidents. The following leadership factors were examined: (a)self -awareness, (b) collaborative dialogue, (c) drive to achieve, (d) internalization of campus disciplinary vision, (e) building relationships, and (f) proactive decision making. This study focused on identifying various leadership styles of administrators that impact the disciplinary rates of African American males at each campus studied. Data for this explanatory sequential mixed methods research study included a survey, a focus group, and one-on-one semi structured interviews. Participants were campus administrators having more than one year of experience as a campus administrator and were completing at least one full year at their current campus site. The analysis of quantitative data collected from the survey of campus administrators' leadership emotional intelligence provided insight into the research questions. The qualitative findings revealed that for campus administrators in the selected urban north Texas school, their leadership style does not significantly contribute to African American male's discretionary disciplinary incident rates. However qualitative data revealed discrepancies in administrators' perceptions and application of student discipline decisions. Research literature and this study support the school leader as the pivotal decision maker for discretionary outcomes for all students, particularly African American male students.

Repressors, defined as individuals possessing an increased cortical sensitivity to anxiety-provoking stimuli combined with the tendency to avoid such stimuli, may be differentiated from low- and high-anxious individuals. This study investigated behavioral performance, electrophysiological reactivity (EEG), and cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) in three major coping style groups (repressors, low-anxious, and high-anxious) during low and high stressful conditions. Conditions were rest, cognitive stress (computerized Stroop Interference Task, with and without negative emotional stimuli), and physiological stress (cool water vs. ice cold water left hand immersions). Participants were 49 healthy, right handed university undergraduate women, chosen with Weinberger et al.'s (1979) criteria according to their differentially extreme scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Scale. Although mixed, findings supported the proposal that these three groups utilize differential attentional strategies and interpretive biases during both neutral and negative stimuli. In the word interference Stroop condition, reaction times (RTs) were longer for negative than neutral stimuli. Unexpected RT differences occurred in low and high error groups across the three coping styles. High error scoring repressors had longer RTs than low error/low-anxious; high-anxious/low error and high-anxious/high error groups did not differ. Repressors perceived the cold water as being less distressful and painful than the low- and high-anxious groups. No heart rate differences occurred. Diastolic and systolic blood pressure increased following cool and cold water immersion. Unexpectedly, the high-anxious group exhibited significantly lower diastolic blood pressure than the other groups, both at rest and following the stressors. EEG activation pattern differences were observed. During anticipation for cool immersion, in comparison to the high-anxious group, repressor and low-anxious groups showed less right parietal involvement suggestive of less arousal (Heller, 1993). During cool water immersion, frontal and parietal differences were observed across groups. During the Stroop Interference Task, repressors showed greater right frontal involvement than other groups. The data are most supportive of Eysenck and Derakshan's (1997) four-factor theory that proposes differential and attentional biases for these three groups. Suggestions for future research and practical applications in health fields are discussed. / Ph. D.